Well, if the latest protests by the city’s corporate honchos is anything to go by, the state government definitely has a problem on it’s hands. Come May 23, the HAL airport is to be shut down and the BIAL airport is to commence operations.

The opening of this airport has been in the offing for a while now and was beset with problems. What is really galling is the lousy manner in which this entire issue has been handled. There aren’t adequate commuting arrangements to/from the BIAL airport yet, and in a city where traffic woes rival those at Pune, travelling for almost 2-3 hours just to reach the airport is simply too much. (for eg. the distance between Electronic City and Devanahalli is almost 80 kms !).

Coupled with the fact that airlines also require a traveller to check-in three hours prior to boarding the flight (especially for intnl flights), travellers will need to leave for the airport almost 5-6 hours ahead of the actual departure. This is sheer madness and enough to throw schedules out of gear. Till companies start relocating closer to the airport, a day trip for any business traveller to the city will now have to be an overnight one, as there won’t be enough time to arrive, complete work and return the same day.

A lot of hassles can be avoided if the Govt. lets both airports exist together, at least for the time being. 

What do you feel?

PS: My father called up Jet Airways a couple of days ago to get their take on this issue and was told that they too were planning to protest against this move !! LOL :)

 

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