KIA second terminal, infra expansion to be delayed by 6-12 months

Revenues hit drastically by a lockdown-triggered shortfall in passenger numbers and flights, the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will see its second terminal and other allied infrastructure work delayed by at least six months to a year.

However, the airport's first runway upgrade will be completed by the year-end as scheduled, says the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) Chief Executive Officer, Hari Marar. Currently, only the first runway is being operated for domestic flights that resumed last week.

BIAL had formally launched its New South Parallel Runway (NSPR) on December 6, last year. It became fully operational with the first landing on March 20. Equipped with a Category-III B Instrument Landing System (ILS), the runway allows flights to land even with poor visibility.

Work on upgrading the existing runway to ILS-III B was scheduled to begin sometime in March once the NSPR stabilised. However, the cancellation of flights post-lockdown and the shortage of manpower has left BIAL with no choice but to defer it.

Unavailability of labour has also been attributed to the delay in Terminal-2 (T2). “T2 (Phase 1) was originally scheduled for completion by April 1, 2021. There will be a 6-12 months delay. The road works within the airport will also be delayed,” says Marar.

The terminal is at the core of KIA's massive Rs 13,000 crore expansion plan. The garden-themed T2 was designed to boost KIA's capacity by 25 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA). At over 2.55 lakh sq metres, the T2's first phase would be massive.

An estimated 2,300 labourers are engaged in the T2 and other allied projects. “Most of the labourers have gone back,” Marar informs.

KIA clocks 13,000 daily passengers

Air traffic at KIA is nowhere near the pre-lockdown days. But once domestic flights resumed, the country's third busiest airport has nearly hit daily passenger numbers of 13,000. On Monday, 12,700 passengers transited through the airport, BIAL Chief Executive Officer, Hari Marar informed.

Only 65 arrivals and 65 departures are recorded daily, a far cry from the 350 arrivals and departures befor the pandemic broke out. The low numbers will also dramatically alter the airport's annual passenger numbers that had crossed 33 million last year.

During a demonstration of the contactless parking-to-boarding process at KIA on Tuesday, Marar highlighted the uncertainty over international flights and schedules in the future. “The Ministry of Civil Aviation has asked us to operate with 33 per cent personnel till August. It is impossible to predict the annual passenger numbers, but it will be significantly lower,” he said.