Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is all set to hit the next milestone of becoming the first airport in India to have independent parallel runways. Once the parallel runway becomes operational, the airport will be able to handle up to 90 flights per hour or will have take-off and landing every 40 seconds. The second runway that will be located south of the existing runway is scheduled to be open on December 5, 2019.
Flights delays due to weather conditions will cease
The second runway planned at Bengaluru airport will be CAT III B ILS compliant. Having CAT III B compliance will allow the flights to operate with high visibility of up to 50 meters. This will solve the flight delay issues due to fog and other weather conditions. The second runway will be 4000-meter long and 45 meters wide.
The existing runway at KIA has CAT I compliance, which is intended for visibility of up to 550 meters. The runway allows the flights to operate using instrument approach procedures.
Second runway will commission as per the schedule
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already issued the Aeronautical Information Publication Supplement informing the stakeholders of Bengaluru airport about the commissioning of the new runway. As per the issuance, the name of the existing runway will be changed from RWY 09/27 to RWY 09L/2R. The second runway will be coded as RWY 09R/27L.
According to a spokesperson of Kempegowda International Airport, the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) has started working with regulatory authorities and other stakeholders for completion of the second runway on time.
Increasing passenger growth at Bengaluru airport
KIA registered an increase of 28.1% in terms of passenger traffic in the second quarter of FY 2019. Around 8.13 million passengers travelled through KIA in the quarter. In the corresponding period of last financial year, the number of passengers travelled through KIA was 6.35 million.
Besides the increase in passenger traffic growth, Kempegowda International Airport also witnessed a rise of 30.5% domestic travellers and 13.8% of international passengers year-on-year.
