Praful Patel not averse to second airport in B'lore
Mumbai, June 14: As the ongoing debate on retaining the existing HAL airport after the launch of Devanahalli International Airport continues, the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Bangalore International Airport Authority (BIAL) have reiterated that the contractual obligations bar a second airport in the IT hub.
The issue was debated intensely at the three-day conference on civil aviation organised by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation as minister Praful Patel triggered it stating that even though the governments have to honour the agreement, a way out should be explored on giving a second airport for the technology centre.
On Wednesday, while two aviation honchos - Vijay Mallya and Capt G R Gopinath - demanded that the HAL airport be retained, ministry secretary Ashok Chawla and BIAL chief commercial officer Stephen Widrig asserted it cannot happen. Chawla said the contractual agreement which provided for the closure of HAL airport once the Devanahalli airport began operations, cannot be abrogated unilaterally.
"If
it
has
to
be
worked
out,
then
it
has
to
be
only
with
the
active
involvement
of
the
airport
management," he
added.
Faced
with
similar
questions
on
a
session
on
airports,
Widrig
said
continuing
the
HAL
airport
was
out
of
question
and
added
such
a
step
would
not
help
anyone.
"How can you have two airports that are miles away? Suppose a passenger wants to fly to Bangalore and has to take an international flight immediately, will it be possible if he lands at HAL airport? In any case, the concessionaire agreement expressly negates the second airport. What the people and airlines need is one integrated airport with seamless connections," Mr Chawla added.
The
BIAL
official
noted
that
the
Bangalore,
which
is
the
third
largest
domestic
and
fourth
international
airport
in
terms
of
traffic
handled
in
the
country,
accounted
for
37
per
cent
of
the
low
fare
airlines' market
share.
With
an
annual
growth
at
44
per
cent
in
2006-07,
Bangalore
is
set
for
newer
goals
when
the
new
airport
opens
in
April
2008.
At
present,
the
BIAL
is
not
looking
at
a
separate
terminal
for
budget
airlines
but
may
do
so
in
the
second
phase
of
expansion,
he
added.
Answering a question, he admitted that having a defence air base at Yelahanka nearby may contrive the international airport operations but added that airport authorities would coordinate with the defence ministry in this regard.
The
consortium,
consisting
of
Zurich
Airport,
Siemens
and
L&T,
hold
74
per
cent
equity
in
BIAL
with
the
rest
being
equally
held
by
the
Karnataka
government
and
the
Union
government.
OneIndia
News
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