Even as the work on the prestigious international airport at Devanahalli is racing ahead to meet its April, 2008 dealine for a grand opening, the fervent cry for a second airport for Bangalore city is getting louder by the day. It is true that the state government has signed an agreement with the multi-corporate consortium that floated the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) that once Devanahalli becomes operational, no other airport would be permitted to operate within 150 km radius of the new airport. Considering that there was already a delay of about a decade and it was the first greenfield airport to be conceived in the country, the state government in its anxiety to get the project off the ground, possibly agreed to this unreasonable demand of the promoters. No other metro, including Hyderabad, which is also in the process of getting an international airport, suffers from such a debilitating condition and there is no reason why Bangalore -- which has shown the highest air traffic growth in the country in the last two to three years – should do so.
There is no doubt that BIAL should be compensated if any change is to be brought about in the agreement at this stage. The demand for a second airport or at least retaining the existing HAL airport has gained credence because of the fact that Devanahalli is 35 km away from the city centre and the rail or road connectivity to the town is still either at planning or execution stage. While the international airport would be ready in another 10 months, the expressway or the elevated double track rail line being bandied about will take at least another two to three years, even if taken up at lightning speed. Many commuters are already dreading the thought of travelling for 90 minutes or more on the existing, congested roads leading to Devanahalli for a 45 minute flight to Chennai or Kochi. It simply defies any logic or reason.
The BIAL authorities should be persuaded to allow short duration domestic flights to be operated from HAL till fast track connectivity to Devanahalli is established. The state government and the Union Civil Aviation ministry can work out the compensation to be paid to the company and perhaps, even  passengers would be willing to pay a little extra to escape the torture of travelling through congested roads to reach the new airport. Meanwhile, the long-term planning for a second, permanent airport for Bangalore city should begin right now.