Bengaluru airport will operate at reduced capacity during Aero India

Aero India the biennial air show and aviation exhibition will be held at Air Force Station Yelahanka in Bengaluru from 20^th to 24^th of February. Like its previous editions, the air show will lead to air space closure at Bengaluru and disrupt the schedule of flights for five days of the airshow and the days leading to the airshow.

The sole runway of the airport will be closed for all movements between 1320 – 1630 hours from 14^th to 17^th February. The close will be from 0950 – 1200 hours and 1350 – 1700 hours on 18^th, 19^th, 21^st, 22^nd, 23^rd and 24^th of February and on 20^th February the airport will remain closed from 0850 hours to 1200 hours and 1350 to 1700 hours.

A0106/19 NOTAMN

1. Q) VOMF/QFALC/IV/NBO/A/000/999/
2. A) VOBL B) 1902140750 C) 1902241130
3. D) 14-17 0750-1100

18-19 , 21-24 0420-0630 0820-1130

20 0320-0630 0820-1130

1. E) AS A CONSEQUENCE OF AIRSPACE CLOSURE IN CONNECTION

WITH AERO INDIA SHOW 2019 KEMPEGOWDA INTERNATIONAL

AIRPORT, BENGALURU WILL REMAIN CLSD FOR ACFT OPS

The last edition of Aero India was held in 2017 and then it was a bigger impact on the flight connectivity to Bengaluru as the airport had planned a 70-day partial closure for construction of Rapid Exit Taxiways (RET). The airport which is constructing its second runway and Terminal 2 has been plagued by issues since inception and has had to revise its master plan multiple times. GVK sold its stake in Bengaluru Airport to Fairfax in July 2017. The airport now has a declared capacity of 40 air traffic movements per hour.

Aero India was announced a few months ago and a functional Aero India 2019 website was widely publishing the time slots for aerial display. With experience, the authorities could have well worked together to simplify the issue for passengers and airlines alike. With a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) released only some 40 days in advance, airline teams must scramble to change the flight timings and get necessary approvals in place. In an infrastructure constrained country like India, change of slots at major airports, even beyond metros is a serious challenge. This year the issue is compounded with the fact that Mumbai airport closure for re-carpeting of runway intersection will co-inside with the closure at Bengaluru on 14^th, 16^th, 19^th, 21^st and 23^rd February. On these two days, Mumbai will be closed from 1100 to 1700 hours. The connectivity deficit will lead to higher fares as flights are cancelled to accommodate the closure.

Bengaluru handles about 744 air traffic movements per day comprising of 659 domestic and 85 international services as per the airport website. The airport recently upped its hourly capacity to 40 from 38 with a maximum of 27 arrivals or departures per hour.