JOIN USFirst flight takes off from second runway of KIA
Recording the biggest upgrade since its launch, the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here officially unveiled its brand new runway with a maiden flight take-off precisely at 4.37 pm on Friday.
As the IndiGo flight (6e 466) took off from the New South Parallel Runway (NSPR) with all passengers and crew onboard, KIA became India's first airport with independent parallel runways. This enables aircraft to land or take off simultaneously on both runways.
The new runway is 4,000 metres long and 45 metres wide with two shoulders of 7.5m on either side. The NSPR's Thursday launch was deferred to Friday as the formal clearance from the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) were awaited.
Dubbing it a 'historic day' for the airport, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hari Marar had this to say: “Our first runway opened 11 years ago, and became a linchpin for the region's economic development during the last decade.”
With the aviation industry in India set for exponential growth, two operational runways will provide the thrust required to cater to this demand and further bolster growth of Karnataka and India, Marar said.
The new runway will begin with limited operations before gradually scaling up flight operations.
Initially, the NSPR will have CAT I certification, implying its Instrument Landing System (ILS) will not immediately aid flight operations at low visibility.
However, as operations stabilise, the runway will progressively manage CAT III B operations, enabling landing and takeoff in extremely low visibility conditions, BIAL maintained. The new runway will be coded RWY 09R/27L, while the existing runway will be renamed RWY 09L/27R (from RWY 09/27).
New ARFF Station
To boost safety, BIAL has built an Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Station equipped with advanced, state-of-the-art Crash Fire Tenders (CFTs) to cater to any fire-related emergencies on the South Runway.
The airport fire trucks, according to BIAL, “meet the highest safety standards, replete with innovative product features. Over 100 firefighters were recruited from across Karnataka and expert fire engineers from National Fire Safety College, Nagpur, to strengthen the firefighting squad.”
The airport commenced commercial operations in May 2008, emerging as the country's third busiest in 11 years and six months. Currently, over 37 passenger airlines and 12 cargo airlines connect Bengaluru to the rest of the world transiting through KIA.
An estimated 33.3 million passengers passed through the airport in the financial year 2018-19, registering a 23.8% year-on-year growth.