HC hearing today, calls to retain old Bangalore airport

The admitted petition argues that passengers will be forced to travel for longer to get to the new airport even for short-duration flights. The petition also seeks a stay on the proposed user development fee of Rs 675 on domestic passengers and Rs 955 on international passengers at the new airport.

Among the other petitions, one has been filed by a group of information technology, biotechnology and other industry representatives under the Bangalore City Connect banner. Petitions have also been filed by a member of the empowered committee on infrastructure in Bangalore, R K Mishra, and a social worker, B Krishna Bhat. The petitions come on the back of growing demands from various sections of the society to keep the existing HAL Airport, located in the heart of the city, open until road connectivity to the new airport, located 37 km away from the city, is established.

Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries Bharti Mittal is among those to have written in recent days to the Karnataka Government, under Governor Rameshwar Thakur, to keep the old airport open.

The Karnataka Infrastructure Department, the coordinating partners for the new airport project, is arguing against keeping the old airport open on the grounds that it will violate the contract signed with the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) Consortium. According to the contract, no airport can be allowed to compete in a 150-km range of the new airport.

The existing HAL Airport earns an annual profit of Rs 270 crore for HAL and Rs 250 crore for the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The CII Chairman has suggested that the state and central governments compensate BIAL for keeping HAL Airport open. The state has however prepared a list of measures being taken by it to ensure smooth accessibility to the new airport for presentation in the Karnataka High Court.

The state Government has outlined the creation of a high-level task force, including industry representatives; construction of seven underpasses on the route to the new airport; widening of NH-7 to eight and six lanes on the airport route; introduction of 156 buses on the route; construction of an interchange at the airport junction; and development of all supplementary roads, including state highways, leading to the airport, as measures taken by it to ensure smooth access to the new airport.

The state has also outlined a dedicated high-speed rail link to the new airport and an elevated road connection as some of the long-term measures to ensure smooth traffic flow on the airport route.