I had the (mis)fortune of traveling on the very same day as the opening day of the new Devanahalli Bangalore International Airport. It is only 60 kms from my house!!! 
Here is a snippet of the new Bangalore Airport to the Bangaloreans…
This was inside the bus that took us from the plane to the arrival section of the airport. Kindly Note the fan like structure. This was just above the driver’s seat!
This is the view from the place we got down from the bus. The arrival section…
For some God forsaken reason, the ladies washrooms have shrunk… 
Do they expect lesser women to use the loo when every damn thing in the airport has blown to at least twice the size?? 
The new fresh trolley looks like this. Though there is a defect in its wheels and it has now become a pain to maneuver it… :O
Why is the new airport a pain?
- It is 55-60 kms from the main city areas. It will easily take you 2-2.5 hours to travel one way, on a good day.
- There are only two modes of public transport available at the airport:
- Taxis - Pre-paid taxis are available in plenty. And they are out there to loot you. One guy asked me to shell out 1200/- for a ride to koramangala
- Volvo Buses - Volvo buses are a cheaper option. They charge only 150/-. The only hitch is that the frequency is very less – one per hour!
- Taxis - Pre-paid taxis are available in plenty. And they are out there to loot you. One guy asked me to shell out 1200/- for a ride to koramangala
- The time to wait for baggages to arrive has nearly doubled, as the distance between the baggage claim area and the plane has more than doubled and the technique continues to remain the same
- Usage tax - The airport is going to charge usage tax for every passenger flying off from the airport. Rs 1200/- is already being levied on the international passengers.
I can’t imagine that the airport is not near indira nagar anymore. we used to live there and it was so convinient! the only way the new one will be worth the trouble traveling to is if its really great…you did say everything is blown to twice the size? Well, the loos being small aren’t a very happy situation, I judge everything by its loo, even a restaurant!
The distance to the airport is a great way for these volvo buses to make money! But honestly Nova, I can’t imagine traveling for 2 and a half hours to reach the airport! why even in mumbai its not far even if you live in town. perhaps this is a temporary situation and they will have a metro or something to reduce the distance. anything over an hour is a bad idea.
Nice photos by the way…
By: Nita on May 26, 2008
at 8:44 am
@Nita: I totally agree with you. If you have to take an international flight, u will have to leave a good 7-8 hours before the scheduled time. That kind of defeats the purpose of traveling by flights to small distances like Chennai. People would rather go by train/bus and reach in the same time and 1/10th the price!!!
Thanks for the compliment. I was all excited about clicking the new airport
By: Nova on May 26, 2008
at 8:47 am
[...] The World as I see it My Life. My Views Skip to content AboutGuest BookGreat Lakes Yaadein!Books « Welcome to the new airport of Bengaluru - Devanahalli [...]
By: Back after a short stint… « The World as I see it on May 26, 2008
at 9:27 am
with a single terminal, (landing strip) this airport would also meet with the same fate…
btw one of my friends flew in from chennai.. and his words were “it would have been cheaper, less time consuming and more convenient for me to just take a taxi from Chennai to Koramangala.”
BTW your css theme needs a bit of editing, sidebar is blocking the main posts
By: Ankur Aggarwal on May 26, 2008
at 9:33 am
@Ankur: Thanks for the feedback Ankur. Since the siderbar is towards the end of the page, I wonder how is it blocking the main posts? Would appreciate more light on this… Thanks
By: Nova on May 26, 2008
at 9:38 am
I guess thats too expensive. I can’t imagine travelling for 2.5 hours to catch a plane. Its takes me exactly the same time to reach from Chennai to Delhi!!!!!
By: Amit on May 26, 2008
at 9:55 am
the taxis are charging way toooooooooooo much. I guess everyone else is benefitting out of the new airport except the public.
I heard in hyderabad, they are planning for air taxis (helicopters)…. that wud cost 1000-1500Rs to be airlifted out of the airport to the city. cool huh?
By: Xylene on May 26, 2008
at 11:10 am
What you need in B’lore and for that matter many Indian cities are high speed rail links b/w the city and the airport. That’s the only way the local commute can be made less painful and if possible reasonable too. Any other means of transport wouldn’t help as they all need roads which don’t exist. Someone suggested helicopters, hmm.. interesting. I wonder how many people + baggage you can move in each trip No, I am convinced trains are the way forward. Comfortable, fast and easy, no competition from other users/commuters.
By: Abishek on May 26, 2008
at 3:10 pm
just curious…. when you say “pre paid taxis are out to loot you”, what kind of taxis did you approach? The airport authorised cabs- Meru cabs charge just Rs. 15 a km…. and they are a post paid service. Did you try and get a Hertz/ Akbar travels cab? Those are prepaid, but the premium segment cabs…
By: mnm on May 27, 2008
at 3:49 am
@Amit: Exactly!!!! Why O Why, would you travel so much!!?? :O
@Xylene: Yeah that sounds like a good idea… M not sure if they planning to do that!!
@Abishek: Thats a nice suggestion. Lets hope Metro solves this bit of the problem!!
@mnm: Yes I tried Akbar travels cab. Meru’s counter was empty with the official missing…
By: Nova on May 27, 2008
at 4:45 am
Amit,Nova,
Do not know the extent of your familiarity with Bengaluru, but in the last decade, what was outskirts is pretty much — within the metro now : Anekal, Kengeri, Hebbal are well within the city these days, while they were cities unto themselves a decade ago. Touted the fastest growing city in Asia and in top 5 in the world, Bengaluru, is still growing..
We needed a good international airport and we seem to have got one. Imagine what it would have done if you were to set one up in the heart of the city. As is the project failed to take off in a decade since inception and land acquisition, of that magnitude withing the city, with the associated cost-litigation would make it near impossible.
4000 acres at Rs.4,000-10,000 per sq ft and you can do the math..
Most new major airports the world over are usually on the outskirts — helps traffic, expansion plans, creation of economic zones , better service et al and is plain economical.
The link was a major oversight and a major sore thumb, else the airport is beautiful. I flew out of BIAL recently and loved it ! Wish I could say the same about my Delhi trip ; I would gladly take smaller loos than ones that would perfume the entire terminal leave alone being able to go anywhere near it ; as was the case in Delhi..
By: Madhu Rao on May 27, 2008
at 3:13 pm
Guyz, hold your horses. You guys think the people who designed the airport would’t have thought about this. They certainly have. There are developements going about for faster commute. I heard there are high speeds roads under planning. There is a ring road coming near horamavu area that will cut short the airport travel time in to half.
So give it some time.
By: Nandu on May 28, 2008
at 2:31 am
Considering the location of the new airport … what about shifting the Electronic City to somewhere around Nandy Hills
!!!!
By: Nikesh on May 28, 2008
at 5:31 pm
Thanks for the great info Nova. And how did you reach koramangala finally. How much it costed & which cab you took? I am arriving on June 1st.
By: lmey on May 28, 2008
at 6:13 pm
[...] The journey was nothing short of “spectacular”… It started with the trip to the New Banglore Airport….we took an auto but 10 kms to the airport we were asked to take a bus as autos aren’t [...]
By: A note from a grieved passenger of Air India « The World as I see it on June 1, 2008
at 7:11 am
Leaving a short comment. I am expected to go home in July. But after reading all the user-reviews, I’m postponing my plans… or better opt for train journey.
By: Bikram on June 2, 2008
at 11:49 am
[...] problem of all, reaching home from the new airport. As I had already read through some previous travelers blog about reaching home from BIAL airport, I was expecting it to be difficult. And I had found some [...]
By: My experience @ New Bangalore International Airport « Mey opinions on June 4, 2008
at 12:54 am
It is disheartening to see that every piece of news I read about the new airport seems to air negative sentiment. I, like a million other Bangaloreans, have been waiting for this airport to become a reality for years. And finally, when a world-class piece of infrastructure has been built, all that people do is lament about a laundry list of issues. I don’t intend to side with the people who are responsible for the poor state of transportation or (heck!) the small restrooms. But, just sit back and think for a moment. Could you even imagine, just 15 years ago, that a a $700m airport could be built to rival the best in the world in our own backyard? I admire that effort, I really do! It is a big step for all of us.
Whatever the facilities or the lack of them, I for one still admire this feat. Yes, it will take a few bumpy cab rides and some disgruntled superNovas to get past the initial hurdles, but nothing good has come by without some trouble. I’m sure we’ll overcome them.
Nikhil
By: Nikhil on June 4, 2008
at 4:22 am
travelled BLR/BAH/DOH by GF on 25th June, Driving at early morning was pleasant, reached APT at 0400,people at entry point asked us not to go on to the first lane saying you will have only 90seconds to getdown and take luggage from your car better you park at P2 again it is paying slaught never mind,later after we got down our driver took it to P4,wher you can stay fr a while.
I was told that International departures are on the other end we pushed our trollies, security said if you are flying Gulf Air go to check in counter 1&2, pushed from this end to other end,i had postponned my ticket,unfortunately i did’nt had my altered eticket copy, check in staff bluntly said me n my wife will go by same flight and from BAH we have to go by different flights,inspite of repeated explaining and they said its non of their business,i asked them to tag by first flight,by which my wife reservation was confirmed,blessed staff tagged by second flight for which my reservation is confirmed, they were not ready to listen and said sorry we cant do any thing beyond this,i asked can i speak to any GF staff,sorry no one is there.
I reached BAH, i find seats available on first flight because my bags were tagged in my name i had to stay back for the afteroon flight by wasting 4 hours, i had to spend extra money to organise for my wife transportation and pay extra for my transportation when i reached.
Infrastructure is good but feel no proper planing and coordination still, lacks professionalism.
After check in counter 1&2 for security check no proper signage for iNTERNATIONL Passenger like halli gamar we had to go and stand in all 3 security counters and and there they say go to next counter,no proper guidance.
BIAL must make sure that their outsourced agencies appoint experienced staff for counters and supervisors who are customer friendly.
I have also worked for the Private Airline in Bangalore HAL airport and I was an Airport Manager for 6years, inspite of explaining to the counter staff they were reluctant to listen what a passenger wants. I wish I had an opportunity to work in this Airport to guide for the new staff, I was remebering the monopolised Indian Airlines staff strike during 1992 Decemeber peak season by which only one private airline no computer reservation and passengers coming with confirmed ticket,we were taught to handle the passenger in Crisis management with love and smile as customer is King and he is right always.
Hope I will get a reply for my coments from BIAL and expect customer friendly staff at counters by my next visit.
By: Yeshwanth Reddy on June 30, 2008
at 8:21 pm
@Madhu: Very true…
@Nandu: Well…
@Nikesh: Lol
@Imey: Oops sorry m late…
@Bikram: Lol
@Nikhil: Yeah lets hope these are just teething problems which will go away with time..
@Yeshwanth: I agree with you sir. It is indeed unpardonable!!
By: Nova on July 5, 2008
at 10:53 am