Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will start a new innings on Saturday with a brand new name, Kempegowda International Airport, and an enhanced, feature-packed Terminal-1A with its passenger-handling capacity doubled.
Built at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore, the new terminal will mark a decisive shift in the airport’s ability to handle a whopping 20 million annual passenger traffic.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will formally rename the airport after Bangalore’s legendary founder Kempegowda, while Union Minister Ajit Singh is scheduled to unveil the Terminal-1A. Packed with more check-in, emigration and immigration counters, the new expanded terminal is spacious with a floor area of 1,50,500 sq meters, a substantial increase from Terminal-1’s 73,347 sq meters.
Incorporated in the new set-up are aesthetically redesigned duty-free zones, food and beverage sections, with a distinctly local, South Indian flavour. If check-in counters have gone up from 53 to 86, emigration and immigration counters are up from 18 to 24.
The number of security pedestals is up from 16 to 32 for domestic passengers and from 10 to 16 for international passengers.
Baggage reclaim belts have also been increased from five to seven for domestic and from four to six for international commuters.
Currently, the airport handles about 315 aircraft movements everyday and 12 million passengers a year. The traffic is estimated to rise to 20 million by 2017. Since its launch in May 2008, the airport has catered to over 50 million passengers, linking the City to 51 destinations and created a passage for 33 airlines.
These include seven domestic (including one freighter) and 26 international (seven freighters) flights.