Flying To And From Bengaluru? Brace For Major Disruptions This February

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Bengaluru Airport, the third largest airport in the country, will face major disruptions this February as both its runways will remain closed ranging from three to six hours of the day during the biennial Aero India show which is being held at neighbouring Air Force Station , Yelahanka. Aero India is being held from 10th February to 14th February.

Starting February 05, 2025, Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport will be closed for all operations, from February 5 until February 8. And on February 13 and 14 the airport will be closed for six hours each day with a three-hour closure block each in the morning and evening.

There won't be any flights from 0900 hours to midday and from 1400 hrs to 1700 hours. On February 9, airport operations will be closed from 0900 hours in the morning to midday. On February 190, the day of the inauguration of the event, Bengaluru airport will be shut between 0900 hours and midday and again between 1400 hours and 1600 hours. The next two days will be relatively better when the airport will be closed for three hours in the afternoon between midday and 1500 hours.

The airshow is open for business visitors from February 10 until February 12, while the common public is also welcome on February 13 and 14 when additional closure and displays are planned.

Aero India was announced a few months ago and the show website has had details of aerial display timings for quite a while now. It remains a mystery on why the authorities like to declare the NOTAM's late in the cycle, which has more impact on passengers, airports and airlines; not just in Bengaluru but across the country. Bengaluru has an average of 743 movements per day, shows data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

The airport's movements have gone up by 5.3% and available seats are up 8.6% since the last edition of the air show in 2023. On a typical Monday, Bengaluru airport handles 370 departures while it handles 367 arrivals, shows data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

In certain hours of the day, there are over 40 movements at the airport and not all can be accommodated at other times. This would mean that passengers will face disruption as well as cancellations. With the airport being a hub for domestic transfer passengers, it could have a higher impact on airlines.

Airlines are now hard pressed for time to make changes to their network in such a way that disruptions are minimal. This would involve seeking changes at multiple airports across the country, not an easy task especially for the major ones which are operating at capacity.

Once these changes are done, airlines will start informing the passengers. The flights which may not depart or land during these hours would also be impacted as airlines try to rejig their network for this period. Passengers should keep their contact details updated with the airline and booking agencies so that they get the updates at the earliest and can replan their travel.

India is set to be one of the top markets for civil aviation in the world. Bengaluru has grown to become the third largest airport in the country and recently joined the 40 million passengers a year club. Such disruptions impact the business sentiment to an extent. Even those visitors who have planned their travel for Aero India are likely to be impacted by this closure.

There have been umpteen discussions about this in the past, starting with traffic jams to airport closures and the need to shift Aero India out of Bengaluru or to another airport from Yelahanka. The history of hosting at Yelahanka and the space which the air base has is unparalleled to host an event of this magnitude.

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