Bangalore can raise a TOAST

With the Karnataka elections, the last of the impediments, outof the way, the Greenfield airport at Devanhalli has at last been thrown open to commercial operations on May 24.

Contrary to popular conception, requirement for a new civil airport for Bangalore was perceived in the 1970s not because of growing civil traffic—low at the time—but because the use of HAL airport for civil flights would have only been an interim solution. The HAL airport, owned by a defence public sector unit, was established for developmental flights of prototypes and production aircraft for the army, navy, air force and civil flying establishments. The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment, which is collocated, conducts intensive flying activities for systems development and testing as also training of test pilots and engineers.

Other agencies, such as National Aerospace Laboratories and Centre for Airborne Studies, also use the HAL airport for R&D in aeronautics. Several projects with these establishments are currently underway, such as the development of Saras and the AWACS. Given the sensitive and potentially hazardous nature of testing and experimental flying, mixing with high density civil air traffic is neither prudent nor conducive to air safety. The management of HAL is conscious that this arrangement is unhealthy and cannot be sustained indefinitely, but regards the substantial revenue from HAL Airport Services as conducive to the financial health of the company.