Flights: The first of the international flights to take off from the new airport will be the Air India flight to Singapore and Dubai. On the domestic circuit, both Bangalore-based airlines Kingfisher and SimplyFly Deccan will be part of the pre-launch tests in the first week of March. Jet airways and Air India are also expected to be part of this launch.
Requests have also made by Air India, Emirates and Singapore airlines to increase their frequency, while Oman Airlines has indicated that it would like to have at least six flights a week.
UDF and roads: No matter the amount of hype surrounding the airport, the two major problems that are going into eat into the time and pockets of the customers are the roads leading to the airport and also the User Development Fee.
The travel time to the new airport from the heart of the city during peak hours is at least three hours, thanks to the horribly managed traffic in Bengaluru!
With the metro rail link taking forever to come up, the only option for the passenger today is to reach the airport by road. There are also proposals by several airlines to introduce flights to the new airport which would take off at the old airport.
However, it does not seem feasible for the common man as he would have to shell out Rs 1,800 as air taxi fare. The airport company has said that it would have a stake in the metro line project to the airport. However, it seems it would take at least one more year to be ready.
Those who would be travelling by road would have to wait for the completion of the two-lane flyover. Once this comes up, things are expected to be smooth as it would ensure easy passenger flow to the airport.
Image: The approach road leading to the new airport.
Photograph, courtesy: BIAL
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