Is it time to reopen Bengaluru’s HAL Airport or build a third aerodrome? Premium

Bengaluru's population and industry demand two fully functional commercial airports, but the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will exceed its capacity by 2032-33. A 2020 proposal to build a third airport between Bengaluru and Mysuru is critical to support high value-add industries and decongest Bengaluru. Poor rail and road connectivity, plus the lack of a high-speed rail service, have increased the load on KIA. Reopening the old HAL Airport could help, but it cannot be used for day/night commercial operations. Upgrading the Hassan and Mysuru airports, and using the airstrip in Kolar, could reduce pressure on KIA. Govt. should explore partnership with Taneja Aerospace to use Hosur Airport. Question is: will those who oppose any airport within 150km radius of KIA agree? #Bengaluru #KIA #HALAirport #Mysuru #Hassan #Kolar #HosurAirport

In an explosive multi-pronged growth mode, Bengaluru’s massive population and industry had always mandated at least two fully functional commercial airports. With the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) Managing Director Hari Marar articulating that need recently, the spotlight has shifted back to an old proposal to build a “third airport” after reopening the old HAL Airport.

First, the grim statistics. Already the country’s third busiest, the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will exceed its structural capacity of 92 million passengers per annum (MPPA) by 2032-33. That is less than 10 years from now. After a COVID-induced dip of 31.9 MMPA in the financial year 2022, the airport is all set to spring back with a projected 40 MPPA by the end of FY 2023, a whopping 25% increase.

BIAL’s suggestion came after the Karnataka government reportedly turned down a plan to build a third runway at KIA. But Hari Marar did not make any mention of the HAL airport, which BIAL has steadfastly refused to reopen, citing a 150 km-radius contractual agreement. The contract bars commercial flights from operating at the HAL airport — located within a 150 km radius of KIA — for 25 years after the new aerodrome opened in May 2008.

This is why a 2020 proposal by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) to build an airport between Bengaluru and Mysuru becomes critical. Beyond the rising passenger traffic, BCIC had cited the huge anticipated growth in cargo from the industrial corridor in the vicinity. A new airport, the report said, would ensure rapid growth and development in the southern catchment, including Ramanagara, Bidadi, and Channapatna along the Mysuru Road corridor, besides Electronics City and Whitefield.

“We had proposed the new airport somewhere in the triangle between Bengaluru, Channapatna, and Hassan. The Mysuru Road corridor was suggested for multiple reasons. One is the expressway that now assures good, quick transit. You also have a railway system to leverage. That takes care of surface connectivity to the airport,” says Devesh Agarwal, former BCIC president who had worked on the report.

Airports do not serve passengers alone. He explains, “If you take Memphis, Anchorage, Delaware, Bonn, or Amsterdam, all these airports have more cargo traffic than passengers. Cargo is a very important component of the economy. Looking to expand to a one trillion dollar economy, Karnataka has to ensure connectivity to a high value-add industry in the region.”

Typically, food processing, precision engineering, electronics, and floriculture figure among high value-add industries. “Mysuru is becoming a hub for these. Hassan is one for food-processing and floriculture. The industry is spread all around Bengaluru. The government says to decongest Bengaluru, how are you going to do it? By building infrastructure that will support the IT industries or manufacturing industry to move to Hassan, Mysuru. They cannot move until you give them proper connectivity,” Devesh contends.