Feb 08, 2017: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has announced its annual traffic figures for 2016, highlighting the impressive traffic growth the Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (BLR Airport) recorded in the past year. The year saw the cargo operations scaling new highs with an overall growth of 9.4 percent. In November last year the airport recorded handling a total of 2 million metric tonnes of cargo since it began operations in May 2008.
To meet the ever-increasing demands and handling requirements of temperature-sensitive cargo, BIAL’s cargo partner Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd. (AISATS), commenced trial operations of India’s first ever integrated on-airport perishable cargo handling center, “AISATS COOLPORT”, in September last year. The ‘COOLPORT’ is aimed at catering to the burgeoning perishable cargo demand of the southern region and will give the necessary fillip towards the development of air cargo in India.
The airport clocked 22.18 million passengers marking an overall traffic growth of 22.5 percent. Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) witnessed an increase of 19.9 percent, with the airport now connecting 45 airlines to 66 destinations in India and globally. On an average 60,000 passengers travel through the airport every day. The airport had a record breaking 2 million passengers travelling in November 2016 and an all-time monthly high of 2.15 million passengers in December 2016.
GV Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, BIAL, said, “2016 saw another strong year for us at BLR Airport. Despite the many challenges we have grown exponentially in terms of passenger traffic. Our cargo business has also seen an incremental growth which reaffirms our growth strategy to develop our airport as the cargo hub of South India. The recent statistics continue to establish BLR as an airport of choice not only for travellers but also our business partners. We are grateful to all our customers that helped contribute to our success and retain our position as the No. 1 airport in South India. We are optimistic about the year ahead and we will continue in our efforts to offer excellent customer service. The new year will see us focusing strongly on introducing innovative and interactive digital solutions that will create value for our customers.” Work on the T2 will commence in 2017. US architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has designed T2. T2 will be constructed in two phases; the first phase which will cater to 25 million passengers annually (MPA), while the second phase of the project will add another 20 million passenger capacity. When completed T2 will cater to 45 MPA. The airport is currently growing at 22.5 percent annually. To cater to the growing traffic, the current facility (T1) is undergoing expansion to accommodate this growth till the first phase of T2 is completed. The combined capacity of T1 and T2 will be approximately 65 MPA. The current runway will also undergo upgradation in order to support the growing air traffic at the Bengaluru Airport. The runway upgradation will include building of two Rapid Exit Taxiways (RET) to increase runway capacity. Currently, the runway has the capability of handling 34 air traffic movements (ATM) per hour, the additional RETs could increase the ATM capacity to 44 per hour. Earthworks for the second runway commenced in February 2016. The new runway will have CAT III B ILS and will cater to all type of aircrafts including A380 in all weather conditions. This will also have an associated parallel taxiway, two cross field taxiways on the east connecting the new runway to the existing north runway, T1 apron. Enhancement to the existing north runway with airfield lighting, signage, drainage, fuel hydrants and associated works is also being planned to be executed in a phased manner. The second runway will be ready by September 2019.