Tool Carriers, Aprons, Belts

HAL Bangalore International Airport (IATA: BLR, ICAO: VOBG), also known as HAL Airport or Hindustan Airport, is the domestic and international airport serving Bangalore, Karnataka, India. more...

Home
Bird & Wildlife Accessories
Children's Gardening Items
Fertilizer, Soil Amendments
Garden Décor
Garden Structures & Fencing
Gardening & Plants
Hand Tools, Gear & Equipment
Aerators
Bonsai Tools
Composting
Gift Sets & Kits
Gloves, Protective Gear
Knee Pads, Seats, Cushions
Loppers, Pruners, Snips
Moisture, pH Meters
Other
Rakes, Shovels, Hoes
Seeders, Sprayers, Spreaders
Tool Carriers, Aprons, Belts
Watering Cans
Watering Equipment
Wheelbarrows, Carts, Wagons
Hydroponics, Seed Starting
Other Gardening & Plants
Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor Power Equipment
Pest & Weed Control
Planters, Pots, Window Boxes
Plants, Seeds, Bulbs
Publications

It is the fourth busiest airport in India. It handled an estimated 7.5 million passengers a year as of 2006 and an average of at least 300 flights (take-offs and landings) per day, earning an estimated Rs 1-1.5 billion in landing and aircraft parking fees from scheduled airlines. The airport is scheduled to be replaced by the new Bangalore International Airport on April 2, 2008.

The airport is maintained by Hindustan Aeronautics which uses it to test and develop aircraft for the Indian Armed Forces. Manufacturing and overhauling of such aircraft has averaged nearly one per day (on a company-wide, All-India basis) over the 40 year life span of the firm. Thus this activity, per se, may not have posed an insuperable barrier to the rapid growth of civilian air traffic at HAL airport. However, rapid growth of traffic at Bangalore Airport has had some (so far relatively minor) impact on military training flight schedules at the Indian Air Force base of Yelahanka, a scant 17 km away. Bangalore airport gives priority to civilian flight movements.

Overview

Originally set up by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in 1964, mainly for defence purposes, operations were extended for domestic commercial flights in the 1980s while the airport started to serve international destinations in 1997. In the past decade, the airport has gone through a series of expansions and upgradations to keep pace with the growing civilian air traffic in the city. While the rated capacity of the airport is 3.6 million passengers per year it is currently operating at a super saturated level of 7.5 million. Reportedly HAL requested airlines to discontinue the addition of flights to and from Bangalore some time ago.

In the mid 1990s, friction started to arise between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Hindustan Aeronautics. AAI wanted more control over airport management which HAL refused, citing national security concerns. The HAL airport is the site of much of HAL's test and research facility. Currently, more than 50% of the Indian Air Force fleet consists of aircraft manufactured by HAL. The airport's management issue also caused contention between the Indian Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Ministry. Thus turf wars may have been the major problem, and not over-riding operational factors. In 2005, a private consortium in which AAI was a minority shareholder, finally started construction on new Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). Once complete, BIAL will replace HAL airport as Bangalore's international and domestic airport while HAL airport will serve only as a test and research facility for HAL. The new airport is about 35 km from Bangalore and a new 6-lane highway is being built to access it. However, highway access to the new airport has been delayed at least 1 year after its expected opening in early April 2008. Travel time is estimated at about an hour. Hence low cost airlines are making strong representations to the Civil Aviation Minister to let them continue to use the more conveniently located HAL airport despite the contractual obligation to close down the airport's civil enclave.

Read more at Wikipedia.org