Exiting Bangalore airport to close down

With the new Bangalore International Airport near here all set to begin commercial operations by the end of this month, the Federal Government is understood to have decided to close down the existing HAL airport in the City.

A decision to this effect was taken at a recent meeting held in New Delhi between senior officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), a private consortium that has developed the Greenfield airport at Devanahalli, about 35 kms from Bangalore.

According to information reaching here, Secretary of the Civil Aviation Ministry Ashok Chawla told reporters after the meeting that the BIAL rejected the Government’s proposal to keep both the airports operational. “They are not agreeable to the proposition”, Chawla said.

The meeting between BIAL representatives and senior officials of Civil Aviation Ministry was held in the light of a court directive to carry out renegotiations on the agreement in an effort to keep the existing HAL airport operational in view of the popular demand.

“We discussed with BIAL and other stakeholders the best arrangement possible after the new airport opens. BIAL was not agreeable to continuing the use of HAL airport. As of now, it seems that the HAL airport will close for commercial operations when the new airport opens”, Chawla said.

Meanwhile, the new international airport at Devanahalli is all set to begin commercial operations by the end of this month. Though the exact date of launch of air services from the new airport is not finalized in view of the ensuing elections in Karnataka, Chawla said the new international airport will start functioning from “this month-end”.