Guys,
Please post your first hand experience with BIAL as airport in operations, which starts tomorrow May 24, 2008 @00:01 hours.
Syed
BIAL Experiences
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Violation of CA?
Isn't messing up of the cargo terminal some kind of CA violation on part of BIAL?
very nice idea...
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore
Violations
It goes back to the 9 years calculation I showed. The first inspections do not commence till 3 years later.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
RTI for Customs Department - BIAL Cargo Fiasco
Devesh,
Thanks for enlighting us on the sorry state of affairs at BIAL including the Cargo side. You are right. Picture is a worth thousand words.
IA, I will file the RTI request with the Customs Department w.r.t for its role in issuing licensing for starting Cargo Operations at BIAL. For that I need to know which is the exact agency/department that takes care of issuing license for Cargo operations at airports, specially at BIAL. It may not do much but still should wake up some feathers in Customs. I would appreciate if you could post that info here on Praja or email it to me.
Devesh for larger Praja audiences, could you pls tell us how the Cargo operations works at airports and what is the role of cargo operators like AI-SATS etc, at BIAL.
Also, any info on the basic infrastructure requirements of Cargo Facility at airports would be highly appreciated
Regards,
Syed
Cargo operations
Syed, it will be the Bangalore Customs Commissionerate, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
Cargo is essentially the same as a passenger. Cargo from customer is normally handed over to a freight forwarder (who consolidates cargo from many customers to obtain a better rate from the airline), the freight forwarder works with a Customs House Agent (could be internal or external) who will interface with customs and complete formalities, and then hand it over to the cargo terminal. Airlines are the customers of these terminals. Same process in reverse at the destination.
Just like various passengers have differing needs, so does cargo. You have regular cargo, DGR (dangerous) cargo (like batteries, chemicals, etc.), valuable cargo (cash, gold, precious stones, financial instruments), perishable cargo (food, medical, chemicals, films, flowers).
In perishable cargo you can have frozen (<20 Deg C), chilled (-4 - +4 Deg C), cold (+4 - +12 Deg C). Perishable cargo by its nature is the most time sensitive.
Overall all air cargo is "perishable" by nature. Due to world competitiveness, material in transit loses its value every minute. If you see the supply chain, the supplier's meter starts ticking the moment he cuts the invoice. The buyer's meter does not start till the goods reach his/her warehouse. So it is important to minimise the time.
A basic cargo warehouse is just like a house. It must have good security, a good environment, must be easy to move around in, good traceability. Bangalore warehouse will have thousands of parcels going in or out every day. Parcels from the size of an envelope, to a carton 12ft tall x 20 feet long x 12 feet wide i.e. a container on the back of a truck.
Any international airport, will have cargo warehouses capable of handling all the diversities of cargo that are possible. Of course, it is a chicken and egg story. Creating infrastructure i.e. investing, vs. demand or potential demand.
Think of a car. What is a basic car all the way to a luxury car. There are all types and people willing to pay the premium for it.
There are some new concepts coming in to air cargo. Like for cold cargo, bringing in a refrigerated pallet (similar to a sea refrigerated container (reefer)) and plugging it in at the warehouse till the customer clears it and then rushes it to their unit in a reefer truck or a regular truck.
Coming back to AI-SATS, their security is poor. India imports a lot of gold. Gold is imported, very regularly, in Ten Tola (TT) biscuits, or 1kg bars. I was there once when a gold shipment came. A box the size of a shoe box contained gold worth about $350,000. At INR 44 to USD that is is over Rs. 1.5Cr., all in the size of shoe box. So this cargo is specially handled all the way from the plane to strong room of the warehouse and then to the armored truck once cleared.
Cargo is a subject I can go on for hours. But I hope I got the basics clarified.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
Is BIAL Cargo Facilities planned well !
Devesh,
Thanks for th detailed post on Cargo operations.
We know that Cargo facilities are still under construction. Since you have made the trips recently, from your on-spot inspection and your expertise could you pls shed some light on:
1. Does the BIAL Cargo Facility has been planned well with all the basic amenities for staff and customers?
2. Does these facilities have enough infrastructure to grow given the demand?
Syed
BIAL Cargo
1. Does the BIAL Cargo Facility has been planned well with all the basic amenities for staff and customers?
The problem is that BIAL just gave the sub-concession to Menzies and AI-SATS and forgot about it. Now they have realised their error and are fire-fighting to correct it. Basic amenities are still missing. But I believe Menzies is 90% ready and can come up to speed in about 1 month. AI-SATS will need at least 2~3 months if they stop operations and focus on construction 100%. Otherwise around 6 months.
The service road is far far too narrow, and this impacts the entire operations of the airport, since all the services buildings are located in one cluster.
2. Does these facilities have enough infrastructure to grow given the demand?
For the foreseeable future, yes. However, I am not sure how long term growth will be handled. Expansion of current operators or increasing the number of operators (i.e. adding a 3rd one). Both methods will employ additional warehouses, but since all the warehouses today are side by side, it will mean that new warehouses will have to come up some distance away. That means more running from warehouse to warehouse, and Indian Customs authorities need to be stationed in each warehouse.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
The New Bangalore Airport – The outside experience
Courtsey - http://bangalore.metblogs...
by lokesh - May 29th, 2008 @ 5:20 PMThe new Bangalore Airport has been written about & talked about a lot largely due to the fact that it is far off from the city. A not so positive point that but then the fact is The Bangalore Airport is up & running. Flights are taking off & landing, getting delayed & canceled. I was there a day after the inauguration and came back…well…read on…
First facts, yes the Bangalore International Airport is far from the city. This fact is so drilled into all of us by now that I suppose we are so mentally tuned to a long travel & starting off well in advance. Once the mental tuning is done the ride becomes that much more bearable. Largely the road from the Hebbal flyover is wide & good so a good car should be able to travel 80-100 km/hr. It took us about an hour to get to the Airport from Commercial Street that Saturday evening.
I really don’t know what a layman should expect from an Airport or from a new Airport for that matter. And especially for someone like me who doesn’t travel around by flights then it is once again of very little significance. But all the hype of the new Airport mostly for the wrong reasons got me curious & I wanted to be there & check it out functioning. Luckily, Brother was off to the US so we went there to see him off.
Only the passengers are allowed entry in to the terminal building while those who travel with the passengers to see them off basically have to hang outside the terminal building. Entry inside is allowed only in the Arrival section. That said the facilities for people who go all the way there to see off someone are not great at all. The Terminal building is all glass & completely see-through type. So the only activity for most people who go there to see someone off is to follow the progress being made by their traveler in the check in queue. Apart from doing that we looked around for two things. One, some place where we could sit & two, for the toilet. Both were not to be seen. When we enquired with some uniformed facility management chaps their answer was, ‘there is no toilet outside’. That definitely had to be wrong. How could BIAL miss out on something as basic as that? Some more enquiries and we got the directions. We had to walk about 500 meters from the Terminal building for the toilet. And honestly there was nothing International about this toilet, at least in its maintenance. It is very Indian & very local.
I was keen to know how different can an ‘International Airport’ be from an ‘Airport’. I mean really what can be the difference? Well this is what I realized. There is no difference. An Airport is an Airport. And that’s pretty much it. For all those of us who hang out a lot at the malls in Bangalore, we are already used to the escalators, glow signs, uniformed facility management chaps, colorful chairs in the food zones, the organized parking & so on & so forth. The Bangalore International Airport is no different. But yes where the Bangalore International Airport can learn something from the Mall’s facility management chaps is in the maintenance of the toilets. One other area where they can take tips from a mall is in putting up some displays as to where the toilets are. I guess the kind of people who make malls & airports are the same. Because at both places you cant sit.
But yes where the feel of International comes in according to me is in the fact that you don’t see any autos & two wheelers around (I didn’t see any two wheelers at the air port that day but can’t confirm if they are not allowed there). Another area where you get a feel of International is in the size of the entire thing. It’s big & especially so when it’s compared to the previous HAL Airport. Despite these stand out features where it probably lacks in the International tag is Security. It does seem relaxed. Even the area next to the terminal building where some flights are parked can be clearly seen from the distance. The flights are only about a stone’s throw away. One other area where some improvement would be great is in the food area. Is darshini type food or South Indian food per se not International? Why is it that we get more North Indian & the burger/sandwich type fare there than South Indian? Where is the promotion of local culture there
To sign off on a good note there is one good thing and that too with the most dreaded aspect about the airport, the connectivity. One can rest assured about the connectivity. BMTC has buses every half hour & round the clock. We took a BMTC Volvo well past mid night. This definitely is more cost effective & convenient but only to get into the city. From there you will have to rely on the auto or a taxi again. Other wise of course there are taxi services round the clock as well at the airport.
Daily Updates on BIAL !
Guys,
Is it possible for those of you based in Bangalore to post the daily updates on BIAL. I am sure everything will not be rosy, but still helps to guage the BIAL opeartions in opening days. It helps people like me to to be on top of the hepennings in Bangalore.
Devesh, I see your blog postings on "skyscrapercity" and you had mentioned that you are in regular touch with people at BIAL. May be you can help us on this. Your help would be highly appreciated.
Syed
Dialy Updates
Hi Syed
I thought the newspaper chaps are doing a good job at it, so I did not want to overcrowd Praja. As you can see GG is doing it at SSC.
Plus I ran in to a loon with the handle LionRapier at SSC that really pissed me off.
This is my pictorial post on my blog. What do you think of it.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
BIAL visit 28-May-2008, service infrastructure in shambles
While much is said about the passenger terminal building and the passenger experience, the support facilities are in a sorry shape, and partly explain the problems, plaguing the passenger terminal.
The cargo terminal building of Air India - Singapore Airport Terminal Services (AI-SATS) is an unmitigated disaster. How Customs authorities permitted a warehouse, that is at least 2 months away from even basic inhabitation, to function as a high security bonded warehouse, is a mystery.
What is even more sad, is that fact that SATS is renowned for it good service, and is a subsidiary of the world famous Singapore Airlines, of whom, I am still a very loyal customer. It appears they were pressed in to commencing operations before they were ready. This is an answer the BIAL management, and the Indian Customs Authorities in Bangalore should answer.
AI-SATS Cargo terminal serves the following airlines :
The narrow service road leading from the passenger terminal building to all the service and auxiliary buildings (BIAL administrative offices, airline offices, flight kitchens, cargo terminal buildings (CTBs), fuel farm). It was completely choked. It took me 30 minutes to travel the 2 km.
In the absence of any public toilet facilities in the auxiliary buildings, employees and workers at the airport, have to "make do", with an Indian touch to the International airport.
The narrow service road is completely jammed. It took me about 30 minutes to travel 2 km from the PTB to the CTB. There is no alternate road. I saw works of ground handling agents AI-SATS, getting off their shuttle bus, and running the 1 km to the terminal, in order to report to work on time. This narrow service road cannot handle the all vehicles. It is having unintended consequences on passenger operations since the flight kitchens, airport and airline offices are all on this service road.
Due to overloading of the cargo warehouse parking, and the lack of any policing or security control, vehicles are parked haphazardly, encroaching upon the already narrow service road.
Absolutely mayhem on the road with no policing or security to control the chaos.
More cargo just lying already soaked in the rain. Notice all the civil construction in progress, and the cargo and customs agents having to use boxes and cartons as tables for work.
Zinc sheets and flapping plastic making up a temporary wall, of what is supposed to be the AI-SATS Customs bonded "high security" warehouse. Customs is required to grant permission, only after a thorough inspection.
Workers on the roof of the AI-SATS warehouse. Welding was being done directly overhead the cargo. The roof is incomplete and this is the rainy season.
Valuable export cargo, damaged by poor handling and storage before it is has even left our city.
Over 70% of the floor space of the AI-SATS warehouse is being used to store building construction materials. Welding is being done, right next to cargo. Due to sheer un-preparedness, over 100 tons of cargo is lying outside the warehouse on the tarmac waiting to be brought in. What cargo was brought in, is just haphazardly dumped all around, and is not traceable. Both the Menzies and AI-SATS warehouses are badly understaffed. Cargo agents, and even airlines' managers were seen trying to help AI-SATS locate cargo to pacify irate importers and agents.
Another view of the choked service road. Observe the incomplete civil construction of the AI-SATS terminal.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
South Indian Food?
From the metroblog article posted by syed:
Why is it that we get more North Indian & the burger/sandwich type fare there than South Indian? Where is the promotion of local culture there
Duh! Looks like another so called "zealot" raising trivial issues. There must be valid reasons for these, like "regulations" from up the vindhyas. I am sure the "tolerant" will agree that we shouldn't expect such things from BIAL. Maybe we should just print a pamphlet on south indian food and hand it out to visitors. The local users can take a hike!
easy on sobriquets
South Indian Restaurants were absent in HAL
South Indian restaurant was absent in HAL airport. Only cafe coffee day was available which was serving just western food. This is very bad. Majority of us who travel in these airports are South Indians and what if we don't get our favourite Idli, Dosa. After travelling abroad, it is difficult to find these. Why punishment from Airport itself.
We also need an economical caterer such as Prakash Cafe or our SLVs or Adigas and not a North Indian prepared Dosas.
I don't know if it is the same problem in BIAL. Those who travelled can say.
south indian food available even at changi(singapore) airport !!
Dont remember the name of the outlet.. but I relished good south indian food at the changi airport so I can remember it.
http://clean-and-green.bl...
Update @ 31/08/2008 at 8.15 PM
Today I am traveling to SIN, so for my experience is mixd
First Good part
1. Travel to airport; despite heavy rain and traffic, it took me 35 mins to reach airport.
2. Many BIAL staff around to direct the passengers. Probably this was missing in last few days
3. Check in was smooth; but however i would like them much faster
Bad & Need improve
1. Floor inside the terminal is has lot of dirt and requires cleaning. Unfortunately I don't see much cleaning staff
2. Toilets are cramped (BIAL has cut corners here). Instead they allowed such huge retail spaces .. No excues here, BIAL should be taken in task.
Prasad
Airport & Food
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore
Kaveri at Changi
Bangalore-guy - that is Kaveri. It used to be near gate F34. I think it has shifted to a different area now.
I tend to agree with Narayan - if there is sufficient demand for idli/dose then there would be a stall. I don't think this is meant to "insult" South Indians (notice how "locals" have now joined hands with our neighbours for a common cause ;)). I have found good dose even in Vietnam.
I had once given Jet Airways a piece of my mind. I was flying from Bangalore to Cochin and they served some paneer dish for breakfast. I don't mind paneer and all that - but not as breakfast and that on a flight within South India. So when you are there tell BIAL that you want a place that serves idli/dose.
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
Vasanth
Having travelled a couple of hours to get to this architectural marvel and with some time to kill before boarding the flight, there were very few options for a quick grub or drink (non-alcoholic). Not sure if they have plans for a sit down North Indian outlet in the departure lounge or prior to check-in, but I couldn't see the space for it. Of course hoping for South Indian food is treason and I will temper my expectations accordingly.
Forget the UDF paying users, BIAL should consider an affordable Adigas/SLV on the campus just outside the terminal building for all the support staff who work there and the drivers of cabs and buses. Unlike the HAL airport, there are no such facilities in the vicinity of the Airport and I think it is cruel to expect them to shell out Rs.15 for a cafe latte and Rs.70 for a stale sandwich from one of those outlets outside the terminal building.
that is the best way
Concise Daily Updates !
Devesh,
I agree, Praja should not get clogged with all the newsmedia contents. Brief updates on BIAL would be highly appropriate.
Syed
South Indian food available at BIAL
You need to walk 500 mtrs to the West of the terminal to the Airport Staff Canteen (picture in my earlier post) and you will get decent South Indian food for about Rs. 40~50.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
A Positive Exeperience Post !
comments by a set of frequent flyers
Comments by a set of frequent flyers ( Iam not one):
1)
Having travelled recently ,my two bits:
a) The new airport LOOKS modern,steel and glass etc-completely non-descript. Could be anywhere in the world with no distinctive feature.Maybe my expectations were too high.But obviously an improvement over the old dump.
b) Looks badly and inadequately planned with an eye on minimising investment.
-the smallest loos on the departure side in probably any airport in India.A narrow passage leads to it and there are queues!
-highly crowded ,with most seats taken at 5pm .I am sure it is rush hour but still.....
-passages are narrow,unlike other modern airports.
c) Could do with an escalator rather than a straicase on arrival.
d) Though there are many doors to enter the building, as usual the police have only one door mannedand the rest locked,hence queues to enter!
Overall,looks very small and inadequate.
2)
Would like to second - have been to the airport multiple times now and have had a bad experience all along. The departure terminal is inadequate for so many people. There is n’t even enough seating. We had to stand on a Sunday evening (non peak). It is clearly under designed - one felt quite let down and cheated. Don’t see how they can scale this up in a hurry.
The loos are not only small, they are not clean either.
I am assuming the stairs coming half an hour late, the baggage coming an hour late are all teething problems.
3)
Looks like a shoebox with skylights!!! Classic case of zero programming before design....An civil engineer's approach to building design..
Broadly in addition to s's comments,
a) bad circulation. ...stairs are too narrow ,loos too small, inadequate wayfinding,small monitors(42" Tv's) awkwardly placed to show arrival/ departure,
b) Bad acoustics,very noisy inside cannot hear announcements (haven't they heard of Bose systems? anyway which international airport still has annoucements? )
3BAdly and crudely finished..
c) Parking pick up and drop not thought of
All in all quite disappointing. ...Wonder who the architect was? :) :(.......
4)
Yes, I echo the views, though I bow to N's superior wisdom on design.
My major crib though is that there was an opportunity to depict something or demonstrate some character which has been missed.This is just another inadequate facility.
Muralidhar Rao
no place for visitors to sit?
"This was the scene on Saturday when Union Minister for Finance P. Chidambaram was at the international airport to inaugurate an ATM of a nationalised bank. There were at least 200 people who had assembled there.
Mr. Chidambaram’s flight was delayed and he came 2 hours 15 minutes late to the venue.
"All the people assembled there had to stand. When some people asked the bank officials why there were no seating arrangements, they said, “BIA officials did not give us permission.” The reason they gave was that only people who paid the user fee were provided with seating arrangements inside the lounge. Visitors are not clients of BIA. Only passengers will be provided with seating arrangements in the foyer of the terminus.
On the other side were people who were compelled to remain standing for long hours. When an elderly man among those who had assembled got tired and squatted on the floor, a security personnel rushed to the spot and made him stand again. When one of those accompanying the elderly man questioned the security personnel, he was told that it was a “no sitting zone”. If they wanted to sit they must take a visitors ticket to the arrival hall. "
Link to Daijiworld article.
Sad!
Much better and functional than the New Hyderabad Airport ?
" ..Stepped through the BIAL airport last week, following hit my mind immediately
1. The airport is much better and functional than the New Hyderabad Airport..."
For more info, read
http://sawme.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/devanahalli-aka-bengaluru-intl-airport/
Courstey - http://sawme.wordpress.com
AirLift Experience
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore
My BIAL Experience
I flew out of BIAL early on 11th - took only 50 mins from old airport to BIAL at that early hour, with practically no traffic.
Generally, it appears that BIAL has got it's act together, now.
A few things I observed which I felt were inappropriate :
1) The duty-free exhibits & shop is immediately after immigration - thus, all passengers are forced to pass through it. Also, the area is somewhat congested. For present traffic levels, it may be okay, but when say sometime later, if A380 starts operation, it might become cramped.
2) There are totally 20 gates for boarding craft. Only 6 were in operation for int'l flts & all the rest were being used for domestic since early morning, there are too many domestic flts. The limited no. of gates also may pose problems.
3) The toilets are all very small & just about meet requirements. Again, this may pose problems when bigger & more craft is operated.
4) The galls work seperations are yet to be cleaned up.
Flash Strike at BIAL Cargo Complex
Flash Strike at BIAL Cargo Complex
Wednesday, 11 June 2008, saw about employees of Customs House Agents (CHAs) go on a flash strike at the two cargo terminal buildings (CTBs) at Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL). The CTBs at BIAL are operated by Air India - Singapore Airport Terminal Services (AI-SATS) and Menzies Aviation Bobba Group.
As a compromise, since opening, AI-SATS allowed staff of the CHAs, access to the restricted areas of the complex, to help with the cargo. In a show of fair business practices, AI-SATS refrained, from charging demurrage and vehicle parking fees, as a compensation for all the delays.
The AI-SATS warehouse was forced to open on May 24, 2008, along with BIAL, in a completely unprepared state. Over the last 18 days they have been putting herculean efforts and have brought the situation to a level of semblance.
Today, AI-SATS have rightfully imposed the warehouse entrance restrictions, and will start charging, demurrage for cargo left uncleared after 5 days, for cargo landing from 9-June onwards, and vehicle parking fees.
At the same time, the working conditions for the CHA staff are still quite poor. They have been facing problems of food availability. The remoteness of BIAL, just magnifies this relatively minor problem, in to a major frustration.
The AI-SATS restrictions, coupled with the frustrations, blew the lid off the situation, and CHA staff resorted to a flash strike, stopping all work at both AI-SATS and Menzies warehouses.
I have repeatedly voiced concerns about the working conditions at BIAL. "If we do not look after those who look after us, it is just a matter of time"............. today, was just a small example.
While I fully support the AI-SATS move, the working conditions complaints are legitimate. The managements of AI-SATS, Menzies, and BIAL need to take a hard look and arrive at some quick solutions.
Industry has suffered delays to about Rs. 100 Crore worth of cargo today, and Bangalore's economy can ill afford it.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
Another User experience !
Courtsey - Deccan Herald
Now that the Bangalore International Airport has started functioning, not a day passes without some adverse comment in the newspapers. The place is dusty; the toilets not clean; luggage retrieval has problems; and, yes, idli-sambar is priced exorbitantly.
Before the airport opened the hue and cry was all about the distance. Some reporters actually set out to measure how much time it would take to reach Devanahalli from MG Road. It turned out to be, it seems, a horrifying 3 hours!
But now the question of distance is not talked about anymore. From my house near Cauvery theatre (First Main, Sadashivanagar) it is just one hour. Yes, one hour. But for the bottleneck between Mekri circle and Baptist Hospital, it would take less than 40 minutes to reach the airport. It used to take much longer to reach the old HAL airport. As for idli-sambar being excessively priced, do you know how much a cup of tea costs at the new international airport in Hyderabad? A whopping Rs. 85! (I was there just a few weeks ago.)
Work is still in progress barely a hundred metres from the airport. It is not surprising that the airport is a bit dusty. As for toilets, isn’t it the user’s responsibility to leave the place clean?
Of course there are some genuine problems. I’m sure they will be sorted out soon. The Chief Executive, has already taken steps to make the toilets user-friendly for the physically handicapped...
It is a pity no one talks about the stunning architecture and décor; the access roads which remind one of the access roads at JFK once you leave Flatbush Avenue and are on Van Wyk Expressway...
Does the old HAL airport which is no better than a Jutkastand come anywhere near the BIAL?
But obviously there are powerful interests working against the new airport. So, all is fair in love and war. Give a dog a bad name and hang him. And, for good measure, any stick is good enough to beat a dog with.
The writer can be contacted at <removed email>
Stunning architecture
"It is a pity no one talks about the stunning architecture"
I agree it beats any warehouse in the world hands down.
BIAL terminal needs immediate expansion
BIAL terminal needs immediate expansion
The managements, of both, Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), and, of their partners, have been going hammer and tongs for the last 18 days, correcting problems. Many of the "teething problems" have been addressed, the few others, hopefully, very soon.
However, the passenger terminal building (PTB) is not a "teething issue", and needs to be expanded on a war footing.
I am comparing the PTBs of Singapore's Changi Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA), Rajiv Gandhi International Aiport (RGIA), Hyderabad, and Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL), Bangalore.
The graph below shows a comparison in terms of terminal area and annual passenger capacity.
Airport terminals are becoming larger in terms of area per passenger. Case in point, Singapore Changi, consistently rated as the best airport in the world. Despite an acute shortage of land in tiny Singapore, Changi's new Terminal 3, is considerably bigger than the equally luxurious Terminal 2, despite having a lower rated capacity.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Delving in to the details, some startling truths come forth.
Singapore Changi Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, and Beijing Capital International Terminal 3 (which holds the record as the single largest terminal in the world), have a per daily passenger terminal area, THREE times larger than BIAL.
Even the low featured stripped down Changi Budget Terminal, which serves only the Low Cost Airlines (LCAs), and Hyderbad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, have a passenger-terminal area ratio 33% greater than BIAL.
Is it small wonder, why the BIAL airport terminal appears so crowded from the day it opened ?
Click on the image to enlarge.
A similar shortfall in capacity, when compared to international airports, is evident, in the baggage handling capacity.
One reads wildly differing figures on BIAL's terminal capacity, annual passenger capacity claims range from 11 million to 15 million. The BIAL official website claims "The current airport infrastructure is designed to handle over 11 million passenger movements annually. Once the final master plan has been achieved, it can accommodate upto 50 million passenger movements annually".
Bangalore achieved 10.12 million passengers in the financial year Apr 2007 - March 2008. With An 11 million annual capacity, BIAL's terminal, allows for less than 10% expansion. In the past 3 years, 2005 - 2008, Bangalore has achieved 250% growth, in passenger traffic.
At the time of closure of HAL airport, the average passengers per flight was 96.07. BIAL indicates a maximum of 30 flights per hour, which translates to 2,882 passengers per hour. However, BIAL has a maximum terminal capacity of 2,733 passengers per hour.
These two simple statistics, highlight the critical need for immediate terminal expansion.
What is the point of having an airport which impedes a city's progress, instead of promoting it, and I am confident that no one at BIAL wants to be an impediment.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
Industry supply chain leaders visit BIAL cargo complex
A reprt on BIAL's Crago facility during the visit from Industry Chambers led by Devesh Agarwal.
Devesh Reports ....."Compared to my visit of 28-Apr-2008 (read article), the progress made in the last 15 days has been astounding, reflecting the hard efforts of everyone at Menzies, AI-SATS, and BIAL."
" ...Compared to the poor conditions at MSIL and JWG terminals at HAL airport, the new cargo terminals are definitely superior, (read article), but they need to improve to global standards.
While new concepts in cargo handling have been brought in, the team, all expert supply chain managers, some handling over 100,00 item inventories, was disappointed by the lack of quality systems and metrics with regards to traceability and handling. ..."
For more details, pls read. teh full report at:
"http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com/2008/06/industry-supply-chain-leaders-visit.html"
BIAL should meet international standards
Thanks Syed
Yes, it was a fruitful visit. The ground realities came out. The great, the good, the bad and the ugly.
People are working hard and they are committed. No doubt about it.
There was one thing that I did not put in my blog. Across BIAL, I get the impression that EVERYONE there is judging themselves against HAL.
Given the space constraints of HAL airport in passenger terminal and cargo terminal, even abig cardboard box will be an improvement.
There are some excellent names at BIAL. Unique Zurich, Menzies, SATS, etc. They all have global reputations as experts. Which is why there were brought in to this project.
It is imperative that everyone at BIAL, as an airport, i.e. all the operators, contractors, employees, administration, enforcement etc., judge theselves to international standards, not the old AAI, MSIL, JWG run operations.
We do not expect international standards right away, but there was no response on our request for a road map of benchmarks or standards 3, 6, 12 months in to the future. That was disconcerting.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
Devesh - encouraging
Devesh,
Thanks for the unbiased reports. I have not been to the cargo complex, but on my last trip to Bombay, I found even the passenger section vastly improved. I am flying to Bombay tomorrow and will let you know how things are.
Very important that BIAL establish a scorecard and metrics for its cargo handling. They should easily be able to benchmark themselves against the best as that data can be easily accessed by Brunner and team. They really have no excuse for not measuring operating effectiveness and efficiency and reviewing via a scorecard.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
I am biased on BIAL .... to a higher standard
Sri
Thanks for the words of encouragement.
I am biased on BIAL, holding them to a higher standard. Bangalore has always led India from the front in terms of quality, delivery, and effectiveness. Pity in the last 4 years, we also led in all the negative aspects of governance as well.
We need a global level airport. BIAL should be an edifice to excellence, with passionate and committed people, not an incomplete marker of broken dreams.
If all we needed was a bigger terminal with the same quality and efficiency standards as HAL, we did not need to go outside the country.
I believe the people at BIAL are excellent, and the organisations they represent are excellent. That is what I told all the people during my visit, and that is the standard to which I hold them to.
Unfortunately, almost all of Bangalore, is following lead of our governments, state and union. Governments have been traditionally loathe to implement benchmarks and standards for themselves, and are giving BIAL a free ride.
We are conveniently comparing BIAL to HAL, without considering that we have expended / will expend, 10 times the cost.
Are we getting value for the money received ?
Bon Voyage. I am travelling on Friday. Will get to the airport early, and meet with some BIAL officials. Lets try to get to the truth.
Rumour has it that the MoD has agreed to the 2nd runway. If correct, BIAL management should not hold back on expansion. Holding back will send the wrong financial signals.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
Devesh, Holding AAI & GOK for higher returns !
Per Admin's suggestion, this post has been moved to "BIAL - What's working and What NOT".
Syed.
Please guys
This thread is for BIAL user experinces only. For any other thing, consider creating separate threads. Devesh, time permitting, will create a "Tracking BIAL" thread under your name and move a few comments from here to the new thread.
Do respect our time, as of now, its a bit tough for us to watch all threads and keep them relevant. There are two things about not-so-relevant comments 1) you would be disappointing readers 2) more important, some nice comments may not get the visibility because of being in the wrong place. (ex: here - Devesh's important personal experience about BIAL trying to benchmark against HAL, Syed's note on the silent P in PPP)
thanks and cheers
{editor}
Today's flight out of BIAL
Took the 8:55 a.m. flight to Bombay today. Left home (JP Nagar 7th phase) at 6:30 a.m. My taxi covered the 50km in about 55 mins and I was in BIAL at 7:25.
They have added some seats outside the departure hall now.
Check in was done by 7:35 and I found myself jobless. Luckily had a book. Security was done in less than 5 mins.
Did not feel that the place was too crowded. Many people were browsing the shops. Some were sitting in the cafes. A mezzanine on the first floor could have made things feel a little more spacious.
Our flight came in 5 mins late. It was turned around in 30 mins and we had push back just after 9:00.
Looks like BIAL is getting its act together. For an airport that has not even finished a month it is working fine. If check-in times remain in the 5-10 min range and security remains in the 5-10 min range, I will be very tempted to reach 45 mins before the flight, vs. 1.5hrs which I have been doing, in future.
I also noticed that cars were driving a bit more sedately on NH-7. Maybe people understand that driving at 80kmph or less can help them get better fuel economy.
Let's see how the arrival goes tomorrow.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
Return from Bombay
Took the Jet Airways flight back from Bombay. Flight took off late from Bombay. Landed at about 3:45 at BIAL. Deplaned at about 3:50. By the time I reached the baggage belt, bags had started to come out. Had my bag at 3:55.
Reached home at 5:40 after taking a 20 minute detour to Yelahanka new town to drop off something. Would have taken 1hr 20 mins without that detour. This is for 50km.
I think BIAL is doing a pretty decent job on the operation (at least from a passenger POV) itself.
The other thing that I observed was that most VV buses (9/10) were 3/4ths full on the way into BIAL. Looks like VV is doing well. Hope that continues.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
Airport wows travellers
Courtsey - M . A. Siraj (Khaleej Times)
Weblink (http://www.khaleejtimes.com)
BANGALORE International Airport (BIA) certainly makes a Bangalorean proud. As I entered its portal early last week to take my maiden flight (to Nagpur) from the new facility, it really wowed me. But perhaps one needs to keep much of the sense of jubilation in reserve. For, in its present avatar, BIA is just about 35 per cent of its eventual shape and size. The fleet of nearly 200 Vayu Vajra air-conditioned buses that connect the city with the Airport provide an efficient mode of access.
However, bottlenecks still exist near the Hebbal flyover but are likely to ease in due course as road widening operations are on. The Rs125 ride to the airport is indeed a great relief for the city folk. Nagging taxiwallahs are already having second thoughts about continuing their services to the Airport (located at Devanahalli, 40km south of the City).
Waiting lounge for outgoing fliers is a bit crowded and stuffy but things may ease as expansion work completes.
However, incoming passengers' area is more roomy and better maintained. Baggage collection is speedier and smooth. Check-in counters leave no room for complaint. Flight information is widely displayed. Parking area is large and can accommodate as many as 4,000 vehicles.
Access roads to the Airport have been aesthetically landscaped with thousands of coconut palms. Aroma of crisp coffee and cookies blends with perfumes to make the new Airport a welcome departure from its crammed, ever-chaotic predecessor, the HAL Airport.
BIAL has improved significantly. Devesh's trip report
http://aviation.deveshaga... has my detailed trip report.
There are a lot of photos and I do not know how to paste them on Praja.
These improvements, I have learnt, are the result of the hard work, cooperative approach, and pragmatic outlook of the BIAL COO, Mr. Marcel Hungerbuehler. Congrats on a job well done, Marcel.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
BIAL Improvement !!
Devesh
That was a nice report on how BIAL has improved. Pics are nice I read your blog and its nice to read many positive aspects of how BIAL has improved from its first week of operations.
As far as the expansion plans are concerned do you have any insight to their plan? are they changing it to make it a truly worldclass airport? Have they given a thought on changing the layout of the airport to accomodate more passengers and ofcourse all the visitors? I think taxi hawkers should be kept at bay - it paints an ugly picture. They can always wait in their respective taxis faraway where they are designated and lure passengers to take their taxis - I know they have to live and let live but hawking passengers is definitely bad.
Its nice to know that BIAL is atleast working very efficiently for a start :)
My BIAL experiences
Came to BLR from Goa on Friday night and took a flight to DEL on Monday morning. My home is in Vijayanagar. Distance to airport: 45 kms
Positive experiences:
1) Plane to outside airport in flat 20 mins - ladder attachment to plane, entry to terminal, baggage claim, terminal to parking lot - totally smooth.
Drop-off area to check-in to security check to boarding gate to plane (by bus) - flat 25 mins - again totally smooth
2) Meru cabs are really good - paid about 675 bucks from home to airport - professional driver, untampered meter and bill printouts. Took me 45 mins to airport at 4.30 AM. I would add another 45 mins at peak hour in the evening and I can live with that:-) Will try out Easycabs and Airlift cabs in future trips.
3) Terminal is very spacious during non-peak hours. Can't comment during peak hours as my schedule was either before/after the daily peak hours. Still I thought the terminal looks small end-to-end compared to other airports even in India.
4) Road to airport is good, from Hebbal onwards. Cat-eyes actually make a difference. But it should be lit till the trumpet interchange. Pedestrian overpasses are definitely required. I really pity the residents along this stretch. Trumpet interchange onwards is amazing - couldn't believe this is Bangalore!!
Negatives/Areas of improvement:
1) Need a larger per capita area inside the terminal - I can imagine how peak hours will be
2) Need traffic wardens to chase away cab drivers from arrival side and to regulate traffic flow better
3) Need pedestrian overpasses and lighting along NH-7.
Can't comment on the Vayu Vajras as I didn't visit their parking space at BIAL. But they seem to be popular even at night going by the no. of passengers using them from BIAL. The buses towards BIAL were mostly running empty.
International Standards
SS,
Hard work by everyone is paying off. I credit this to the pragmatic and engaging leadership of Marcel Hungerbuehler. We all credit Mr. Brunner with building the airport, and rightfully so. Marcel deserves the credit for the actual take-off of BIAL. Not to forget the efforts of all the stakeholders including cargo terminal operators and airlines and AAI.
With regards to the future, there is no doubt BIAL terminal is small. With the excessive dedication to retail, it is even tighter. The Airport Reference Design Manual (I forget whether it is ICAO or IATA) calls for a minimum 25m2 per peak hour passenger. BIAL is 2733 peak pax. At 71,000 sqm they barely clear the minimum requirement. All AAI run airports use this number since GoI will not sanction a further waste of public money (remember air travel used to be seen as a luxury). So my query goes back to, how does BIAL plan to go beyond an ordinary AAI facility ?
The new T3 at DIAL will be at 54m2 per peak hour pax, and world class airports like Changi and others are all 80m2 and greater.
From what I gather, is that a temporary structure will be built as an initial terminal expansion, and then I get the hint, that after the UDF and HAL issues are settled, will BIAL consider expanding to the 2d terminal.
The PTB operations are settled, but cargo is still in very poor shape. I understand that both cargo operators are facing issues with software and automation. That will definitely impact the service delivery levels. Add to this the fact that customs assessment is still sitting in HAL. So importers are having to run back and forth between the two airports with documents.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
Re: International Standards !
Devesh
Thanks for that insight! I am sure Mr .Marcel Hungerbuehler and Mr Brunner should be lauded for their efforts to make it going good.
Terminal Expasion : Like you said the temporary extension is the BIAL version of LCC terminal? right ? wrong?
We already know that BIAL is not even close to being called big.. my quesiton is are they redesigning their expansion plans? or will they continue to build more warehouse terminals as an expansion? Will they share their plan with public before they start building this? I am sure you agree too that Bangalore deserves a more aesthetic airport than what we have got.
If they are waiting for UDF and mobilize money I can understand - but what I still dont understand is how can we account for the Rs2400+ cr spent already on the small terminal we have :) - that debate I guess is dead since BIAL is not ready to disclose their balance sheets..
Next steps : Will BIAL atleast be ready to show the plan to the public or concerned citizens and more SME's like you and other industry leaders? I feel BIAL has to get back to the drawing board to redesign the whole expansion aspirations to match world standards in terms of making it more futuristic.
Thanks for the insight on the airport plans again!
BIAL and Aesthetics
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore
Re Bial and Aesthetics!
Narayan :)
I completely agree with you on the point that a fully functional airport is always great but an aesthetically functional airport is even greater. Its like this... We build homes - cant we all live in an old warehouse or an open hall with no structures inside? We can if its functional with a restroom and a small area to cook etc.. But its human to create beautiful things that are also functional.
I agree again with you that the airport city would be an eyecandy (hopefully) for all of us who visit the airport but why not the terminal compliment it atleast in a minimal way? I am not of the opinion that we have to create an 8th wonder here.. but something more to compliment everything else that is going around in Bangalore and also to set standards for future projects. I support a very efficient airport just like you do :) - but I am hard headed when it comes to pushing limits.. cant we do it better?
Bial and Aesthetics!...(Contd)
Sure, not denying that the ideal mix is the best deal, but getting it right is harder! Maybe (in my understanding) when BIAL took charge w.r.t the deadline they decided a modular expandable terminal would be a better idea then a fancy looking PTB (something like HIAL). Also what is built is built, and changing ii would be time consuming, and might end up looking like a mix of both - better of none!
Again, I too, do not like an airport that is unappealing in anyway, but this again does not depend on the external structure. You see, inside the terminal building there can be murals, sculptures, galleries, all sorts of visually appealing items that make this a very entertaining place! Interestingly, The TATE Modern in London was a power station and now is a beautiful art gallery! So without physically building expensive structures, a simple layer of culture/art can be added to give this place a more vibrant look and feel!
In fact a official from BIAL mentioned that such ideas are in place and will happen shortly over the next year maybe. So that is some relief...I also learnt that since there was lot of presssure on BIAL fromt he technical angles they were not able to spend too much time on this aspec. But it is in store.
About your comment, "but I am hard headed when it comes to pushing limits.. cant we do it better?" - I totally agree! But lets push in directions no one pushed before. Let see if we can create an airport where you can check in 15 mins before the flight! What if we made a new record in getting passengers off the plane and into the parking lot faster than anyone else?
As a designer, my job is to make things look good :) but now with all my experience I have learned that no one cares about good looks (including me!) in public areas its all about effeiceny! Good looks may get you a few more brownie points but it never rakes in the moolah!
So I sincerely hope that AIrport City is something out of this world. I still hope it will stick to some ecological ethics and not pump the living daylights out of nature!
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore
Re Bial and Aesthetics! Contd..
Gotcha! - I understand the point that a functional piece is always better than mere aesthetic marvel. My argument here is a sturdy cardboard box can be a stool or a seating but when you can cover it with some piece of cloth and padding it becomes a functional piece of art which can be used well too.
In my vision - what I mean by redesign here is to compliment the existing design. It has to be an extension of the already built terminal. Internal aesthetics like arts and galleries are a part of the aesthetically functional airpot. What I mean here about a more characteristic design with aesthetic appeal and functional is like a central visitors area may be the middle connector of the U or H shaped BIAL's vision can extend with a visitors lounge large and big enough for anyone to enter without a ticket and see their friends or relatives off at the airport. If it will cost us to build a long terminal building we can always make it bigger and bring in some design elements to make it both aesthetic and highly functional.
About your comment : "As a designer, my job is to make things look good :) but now with all my experience I have learned that no one cares about good looks (including me!) in public areas its all about effeiceny! Good looks may get you a few more brownie points but it never rakes in the moolah!" You are right that a beautiful design alone will not fetch money... on the contrary in my experience I have always seen a good design which is highly functional definitely brings in the moolah! plus the continual interest in any thing we do. In comparision Changi has a very beautiful airport thats highly functional too - BIAL is a very functional airport too but the experience that one carries while in Changi vs BIA will be of utmost importance.
I completely agree with your point that we can always push the management at BIAL to make it more efficient interms of making it the most easy to use airport in the world. All that I am trying to say is that before we expand can we add in some aesthetic value to the already incorporated functional aspect of the airpot? The design can be simplistic but it should resonate local architecture. Hope you agree :)
Agree
"The design can be simplistic but it should resonate local architecture. Hope you agree :)" - totally!
In fact we have a great platform for it - the simplistic design is in place, and now we can add a layer of local architecture. The problem with foreign architects trying to make something Indian is that "india" has a narrow meaning. Rajasthan Palaces, Elephants and the cliches. So its up to us (locals) to create this value. which i hear is on track.
Also the beauty of this airport is that its spread out (the parking area) - so there is place for visual tests along the way - which in a way also improved the airports customer interaction front.
I think both of us our in agreement over the issue - that we need to add another layer of aesthetics and "good Looks" to the airport. Looking at the constraints from BIAL's start date (cash, time and man power) maybe thats why they left it for after the terminal is built.
BTW anyone interested in Phase MUST see this!
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore