BIAL draws up plans to decongest Bengaluru airport

BENGALURU: Keeping in mind growth in passenger traffic, the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which operates Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), is drawing up plans to ease traffic congestion on the airport premises.
BIAL is now planning to upgrade the existing 5.5km-long four-lane road between the trumpet interchange to the passenger terminal into a 10-lane one It will also build a flyover connecting the proposed Terminal 2 from the trumpet junction as well as dedicated lanes for trucks reaching the cargo terminal at the airport.
BIAL will also allocate adequate space for Metro pillars and stations while taking up these projects. Namma Metro will connect KIA from Nagawara, which is part of phase-II. Also, two stations have been planned on the airport campus — one at KIA Road and another at the terminal.
“We are implementing a phased airport development programme to achieve an airport capacity to handle 55 million passengers annually by 2030 and 1 million tonnes of cargo,” said a BIAL official. However, the BIAL official maintained that the proposals for road widening and elevated corridor are still in initial stages and nothing has been finalised.
BIAL had earlier said any reduction in user development fee (UDF) may force them to drop the Rs 1,200-crore Eastern Tunnel Connectivity project to help passengers from east Bengaluru reach KIA faster. While the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) slashed UDF for international and domestic passengers at KIA by 67%, BIAL officials say they haven’t taken any decision on this so far.
Passengers to KIA may have to face some inconvenience during the time of road upgradation and elevated corridor works. The number of passengers handled by KIA has increased from 10 million in 2008 to 26.9 million in 2018. After completion of Terminal 2, the combined capacity of both terminals will be 70 million.
Trumpet Interchange at NH 44 (Bengaluru–Hyderabad), which was constructed in 2008, connects to the forecourt area of the terminal, to reduce traffic snarls. However, traffic congestion at airport may get worse in near future, particularly during peak hours due to an alarming rise in the number of passengers travelling through KIA.