The Hindu Business Line : Bangalore may have two airports

While the new airport at Devanahalli is set for opening on May 24, the issue of reopening the existing HAL airport at a later date to handle commercial flights is also being examined.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is seeking legal opinion and looking at what contractual obligations there might be if the HAL airport is kept open for commercial operations after the new airport opens. No date has been fixed nor a final decision taken on keeping HAL airport open, officials said.

The issue of keeping HAL airport open even after the new airport becomes operational has become contentious as the agreement signed with the promoters states that the existing airport will close when Devanahalli starts functioning.

The Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, told Business Line that among other issues, keeping the HAL airport open should be viewed as an infrastructure issue. “The country requires infrastructure and we need to explore all avenues to increase its availability,” he said.

At the same time, in Bangalore, the promoters of the project showed the first signs of softening their stand. “For the time being, the HAL airport would be shut for all commercial operations. But the HAL chapter has not been closed,” said the Chief Executive Officer, Bangalore International Airport Ltd, Mr Albert Brunner.

The Principal Secretary, Karnataka Infrastructure Development Department, Mr V.P. Baligar, added that re-negotiation talks were still on with BIAL.

“After two rounds of negotiations, we have not been able to come to an amicable conclusion on the issue. No date has been fixed but we will have to inform the Supreme Court of an option by mid-June,” he said.

So far, the State Government, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and BIAL have had broad discussions on the “parameters and possibilities” of operating short-haul flights from the HAL airport while long-haul and international flights will land at the new airport, officials indicated.

A revenue share model has also been suggested, he said.

“We will have to see if there are any capacity constraints at the new airport and then decide on whether HAL should also be kept open,” said Mr Baligar.

The demand for keeping both the airports open has come from several quarters, including citizen groups and Parliamentarians.