The inauguration of the Bengaluru International Airport has been put off till May 11 as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is still not ready with the air traffic controls. “We have received communication from the Ministry of Civil Aviation seeking a consideration of a suitable airport opening date after May 10 due to delays on the Air Traffic Control (ATC) services. BIAL has decided the new date of airport opening as May 11,” said a Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) statement late on Thursday evening.“We are clearly disappointed with this delay especially as our employees and all our partners have been working tirelessly to launch Bengaluru International Airport on schedule on March 30. This delay is beyond the control of BIAL. To mark the successful readiness of the airport infrastructure, BIAL will hold an event to showcase the new airport on March 28,” the statement said.Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Civil Aviation brought an end to speculation on the opening by stating that the AAI has reservation about the availability of the ATC services by March 30. “Delays in the construction of ATC facilities including the control tower, technical block, office accommodation of AAI personnel and issues like electricity supply, housekeeping, air-conditioning at the ATC facilities were the reasons for this delay,” a ministry statement said. The BIAL and the Ministry of Civil Aviation were until Thursday sending contradictory signals on the readiness of the airport. “What will a potential investor think when they see the way the entire episode has been handled by the Government? Wrong signals have already gone out,” a local representative of a key stakeholder in the project stated. “The airport has displayed operational readiness at test trials on March 7. If the ATC is the problem, then AAI has to be blamed,” the representative added. BIAL signed an agreement for Communication Navigation Surveillance and Air Traffic Management services with the AAI in April 2005. “There have been periodic visits and monthly inspections of the airport by AAI authorities. It is a surprise that this delay was not foreseen,” an official in the Karnataka Government said.
