Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
Bangalore Airport to cut flights
By agencies
|
Tuesday, 25 April 2006, 19:30 IST
BANGALORE: The first impression passengers get after landing at Bangalore airport is it's crowded space. Passengers are left searching for trolleys and there is not one empty chair.
The situation in the air is even worse. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited that runs the Bangalore airport has decided to freeze the number of flights operating out of there.
Considering that air traffic is growing at more than 25 percent annually, this is bad news for passengers. The Bangalore airport handles 300 takeoffs and landings a day and the authorities feel they can't handle anymore. So the airport management has asked all airlines not to add any flights in or out of Bangalore.
The airport's decision has been conveyed in a letter written to the Director General of Civil Aviation.
The letter states, "HAL Bangalore airport as well as airspace has reached a state of high saturation and each day there are conflicts in airspace, which is an indicator of unsafe airspace. The airport management is not in a position to accept any additional flights at Bangalore."
HAL's Chairman, K Baweja said, "We have only one runway and we have to do our flying. The passenger traffic has gone up, the domestic traffic has gone up and the cargo movement has gone up. So an airport can only handle the traffic according to its capacity."
The letter even goes on to ask airlines to voluntarily reduce flights during peak hours. The airlines of course are a worried lot. The situation of Bangalore airport is not an isolated case. Unfortunately it represents the condition of airport infrastructure in the country.
Airlines are already fighting for parking bays or for space in the airport terminal, but this is a first when an airport is to stop airlines from adding flights.