A security blanket was thrown at the airport throughout the day to ensure that the launch went off smoothly. The first flight to land at the airport was the Air India IT 609 from Mumbai at 10.40 pm.
As per plans, a Jet Airways flight was to land from Mumbai at 9.45 pm, but it had to be rescheduled thanks to the Election Commission's stricture which said that no flight could land in the new airport before 12.01 am on Saturday.
However, a concession was given to the Air India flight that landed as the same aircraft was to leave for Singapore at 12.05 hours.
Describing the airport as world class, Sunil Vashisht, the IT 609 Air India pilot said he encountered no problems.
Eshwar Paul, Air India's pilot, which took off to Singapore, termed the moment "the proudest". He said that he was privileged to fly the first flight out of the new airport.
The Jet Airways flight, which was to land at 9.45 pm on Friday, landed at 12.36 am on Saturday.
Albert Brunner, who could not stop smiling, said that he was the happiest man in the world. He added that everything had gone on as per schedule and he was happy the way things shaped up finally.
The passengers at the airport looked enthused. Lauding the space, they said the HAL airport was congested and the new one came as a relief.
The entire inaugural show went on smoothly, barring a minor hiccup at the check-in counter, where the staff faced some technical snag.
People had to wait for some time before the problem was sorted out.
Image: The brightly lit-up airport.
Also read: All about the new Bangalore airport
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