Air passengers don't want HAL airport to die, finds Feedback survey

Poor connectivity to the new international airport near Devanahalli from the city has emerged as one of the strong reasons for demanding that the existing HAL airport be retained. A majority of the air passengers want the HAL airport to be kept open even if the new international airport opens on May 11, according to a survey.

Conducted between February 26 and March 1 by city-based Feedback Consulting to map the opinion of air passengers about the closure of the HAL airport, the survey reveals that 81.3 per cent of the total respondents (1,148) strongly agree that existing airport needs to be kept open since connectivity to the new airport is not yet in place.

Since the new airport is located at distance of 26 km from the city centre, air passengers need well over one hour during peak hours to reach it via the existing National Highway (Bangalore-Hyderabad). The government has planned a dedicated rail link to the new airport, which is expected to become operational only by 2011. Consequently, the demand for retaining the HAL airport is raging.

About 54 per cent of the respondents say even if penalties are involved in keeping the HAL airport open, the government should exercise the option. About 71.4 per cent of the respondents feel BIAL, HAL, Civil Aviation Ministry and the government should come together to find a way to operate both airports in the city.

Only 19.4 per cent of the respondents feel that the government should close the HAL airport as set out in the agreement, irrespective of any public inconvenience in the short term.

The business community feels that it will be severely impacted by the longer travel time. Air passengers, particularly from the Electronics City and Whitefield, which house most of the IT community, will need more than two hours to reach the new airport.

Feedback Consulting General Manager Chandramouli said that 77.8 per cent of the respondents feel longer travel time to the new airport will adversely affect the productivity of businesses in the city. Another 72.5 per cent feel it is desirable to keep existing infrastructure like HAL airport open to handle rising demand as Bangalore's economy is growing rapidly.

At least 52.3 per cent of the respondents are not sure whether the new airport will have the capacity to meet the rising demand of air travellers and cargo traffic.