Bengaluru's Kempegowda International airport is looking at ways to further expand the capacity of its existing terminal to cope with the unanticipated growth that the airport is experiencing.
Speaking to Flightglobal at World Routes in Durban, its president of airport operations Hari Marar says that growth at the airport has "gone beyond what we've anticipated". While the airport projected a 12-13% annual growth, it saw a 30% jump in passenger numbers over the last 12 months.
Marar says the entrance of three low-cost carriers - AirAsia India, Air Costa and Air Pegasus - have driven growth over the last year. The lower fuel prices have also allowed airlines to "test the elasticity of pricing more", further stimulating market demand.
The airport is thus planning to put in more security and immigration counters, as well bring in more traffic at non-peak hours, so as to accommodate more passengers within the same terminal space. With these adjustments, Marar is confident that the airport will be able to handle 26 million passengers annually, up from its current 20 million capacity.
There are also plans for a new terminal, the design of which is ongoing, in Bengaluru. Marar says the airport will award the package for earth works very shortly, and that construction of the terminal, together with that of a third runway, should begin by end-2016. The target is for both runway and terminal to be operational in 2020.
“To build terminal 2 it will take a minimum of four years, and in these four years we can’t afford to lose traffic,” says Marar. "Our biggest challenge is to ensure that capacity keeps pace with the growth of demand."
When completed, the new terminal will have the capacity to handle 35 million passengers annually.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
