As many as 70.7 per cent of the 1,148 passengers surveyed by Feedback Consulting felt they would be adversely affected by the closure of the HAL airport once the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) at Devanahalli becomes operational.

The survey was conducted between February 26 and March 1 at the HAL airport premises.  Different time slots in a day were choosen and both residents and non residents of Bangalore/ Karnataka were part of the survey. In all, 81.3 per cent of the respondents felt that airport had to be kept open because the connectivity to the new BIA was not yet in place. Fifty-four per cent were of the view that even if penalties were involved in keeping the HAL airport, the government should consider keeping the HAL airport open.

Here’s what 71.4 per cent of the respondents felt: “It would be great if BIAL, HAL, Civil Aviation Ministry and the government could come together to find a way to operate both airports.”

Longer travel time to the new BIA will adversely affect the productivity of businesses in Bangalore. This was the opinion of 77.8 per cent of the respondents. Bangalore's economy is growing rapidly and it is desirable to keep existing infrastructure like HAL airport open to handle rising demand.