The hasty decision to shift international flight operations to Terminal 2 (T2) has led to a major embarrassment for Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which operates Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
In a last-minute U-turn hours ahead of the scheduled relocation of international flight operations to T2, BIAL announced that it is putting off the move for now. While BIAL didn't specify the exact reason, sources told Moneycontrol that the delay in getting approvals from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) led to the postponement.
“The pending approval from BCAS, which is the regulatory authority for civil aviation security, has resulted in the delay. BIAL had anticipated that the approval would arrive but it didn’t happen. Airlines as well as Cargo and ground handling staff were kept in the dark. It was clear by Wednesday evening (August 30) that it was impossible to start international operations from the next day," a BIAL source told Moneycontrol.
"To commence international operations, clearance from Customs, Bureau of Immigration, BCAS/Central Industrial Security Force etc. is required. Also, system integration is crucial. In international portions of the terminal, work is still on and the presence of workers, machinery, and noise will also affect international passengers/operations," he said.
Another BIAL source said: “Retail & food and beverage stores are not yet fully open in the international 'arrivals' and 'departure' portions as the construction of T2 (international side) is still incomplete.”
However, BIAL said the last-minute decision was taken during the ‘final preparedness review’.
BIAL was unavailable for comment.
Terminal 2 was expected to facilitate 30 to 35 daily international departures in 27 airlines (25 International and two Indian carriers).
International ops from T2 by September second week
While BIAL is yet to announce the revised date, sources told Moneycontrol that international operations will be shifted to T2 only by the second week of September.
At around 11:45 am on August 30, BIAL in a statement said that all international flights departing and arriving from 10:45 am onwards on August 31 will transition from T1 and start operating from T2, marking a 'significant milestone for Bengaluru airport'. Singapore Airlines (flight SQ508) was supposed to arrive at T2 at 10:55 a.m. on August 31. However, BIAL issued a statement at around 8:45 pm on August 30 stating its decision to postpone the date of relocation of international operations to T2.
Incomplete terminal?
An aviation enthusiast said: "International terminal work is still incomplete but BIAL has been rushing with opening it up. When T 1 was running smoothly with all facilities, I’m not sure why they’ve been hurriedly opening an incomplete terminal with barely any functional facilities. They should have waited till most of the facilities were set up and then announced a shift to T2," he said.
In June 2023, in an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, Hari Marar, MD and CEO of BIAL, said international flight operations would commence from September 1
"International operations will be completely relocated to T2, while Terminal 1 (T1) will exclusively serve as a domestic terminal. September 1 is the firm date for the collective transition of all international airlines from T1 to T2. The transition will not be carried out in phases, as immigration counters and customs offices need to be set up. At midnight on August 31, all international traffic will be shifted to T2. This overnight transition is quite exciting" Marar had said.
Regarding the preparedness to commence international operations from T2, he said they have an Operational Readiness Airport Transfer (ORAT) programme. However, BIAL on August 21 announced that they decided to advance it by a day and stated that Singapore Airlines would be the first international carrier to land at Bengaluru Airport's Terminal 2 on August 31
In November 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated T2 of Bengaluru airport, which was constructed at a cost of around Rs 5,000 crore. T2, known as a "terminal in a garden", commenced domestic operations on January 15, 2023.
Passengers likely to be affected
BIAL’s decision to defer international operations at KIA is likely to cause hardship to passengers, especially those with check-in baggage. In fact, BIAL and airlines have been informing the passengers about its plan to shift international operations to T2 from August 31, which is likely to lead to confusion among the passengers. In fact, many aviation enthusiasts who had booked tickets in advance to take a maiden international flight to or from T2 were also disappointed due to the delays.
Ratpk @Ratpk3, a netizen tweeted: "Hope Bengaluru airport will inform all the travellers through email/SMS or other means, in person. I have a September 3 international ticket in front of me that says T2. Last minute running around, with check-in bags would be big trouble" he tweeted.
T1 and T2 are within the same airport campus at a distance of approximately 600m and BIAL is operating shuttle services between two terminals.
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