Bengaluru airport, India's third-busiest, to get new ATC tower

Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), the country's third-busiest airport, will soon get a new air traffic control (ATC) tower, to handle growing traffic.

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which operates KIA, has invited expressions of interest (EOI) for design and development services for the new ATC tower.

“The upgraded tower is expected to enhance operational safety, strengthen emergency management, improve weather adaptability, increase obstruction awareness, and provide robust contingency support,” the tender document says.

The airport, spread across 4,009 acres, has two runways, taxiways, aprons, Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) infrastructure, and an ATC tower.

Also read: Bengaluru airport surpasses 41 million passengers, 5 lakh MT cargo in FY25

The airport operator is expanding overall capacity across aeronautical and non-aeronautical infrastructure to cater to the passenger handling capacity of 114 million passengers per annum.

An ATC tower is a critical part of airport infrastructure, essential for safe and efficient air traffic management. While existing tower was designed to support full-capacity parallel runway operations, it is now increasingly constrained, especially in accommodating new air traffic management (ATM) automation systems.

An ATM system has a ground part and an air part, both of which are needed to ensure the safe and efficient movement of aircraft.

In view of these limitations, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had asked BIAL to construct a new ATC tower.

“It (the tower) will also improve communication efficiency, thereby boosting the airport’s ability to manage air traffic safely and reliably," the tender document says.

In FY2024, BIAL handled 43 million passengers and has emerged as a major hub in India’s domestic aviation market.

‘A tower is not enough’

Sources in the ATC Bengaluru told Moneycontrol that what they urgently need is an integrated Air Traffic Services (ATS) complex, not just a new tower.

The ATC building, constructed 17 years ago, has a severe space crunch, they said.  According to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), an ATS/ATC facility must provide adequate rest and relief amenities for controllers, including bed‑rest rooms, shower facilities, leisure facilities such as a gym or recreation/lounge, and recreational areas to mitigate fatigue. It should also have locker, professional training rooms and simulation rooms.

The complex does not have adequate space for all these requirements, they said.

Bengaluru airport’s traffic has grown from 500 arrivals and departures to 800, and is expected to touch 1,600 in the coming years. “Now there are two terminals and parallel runways. To manage this growth, an integrated ATC complex has been a long-pending demand,” they said.

In the future, ATC will also have to handle drones and air taxis. “So, we need an integrated space for operations, administration, training, new procedure development, simulation rooms and proper rest facilities where controllers can take breaks to avoid fatigue,” the source said.

Also read: Bengaluru Airport back in the black with net profit of Rs 510 crore