The New South Parallel Runway (NSPR) at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru that began its construction work in mid-2018, is now open for its scheduled flight operations.
The announcement came on Friday, December 6, 2019, following the nod given by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Indian government regulatory body for civil aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
As of now, the clearance is given only for departures at the new runway, which is a 4,000-metre-long and 45-metre wide airstrip.
The first domestic flight was Indigo flight 6E 466 to Raipur via Hyderabad, which took off from the runway at 16.37 (local time), and Emirates EK 563 to Dubai was among the first international flight to depart.
This second runway is equipped with dual parallel taxiways, cross-field taxiways and rapid exit taxiways, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) station, and state-of-the-art Crash Fire Tenders (CFTs) for fire-related emergencies. Over 100 firefighters were recruited from across Karnataka and expert fire engineers from National Fire Safety College, Nagpur, to strengthen the firefighting squad.
Hari Marar, chief executive officer, and managing director, Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) said, “Our first runway opened 11 years ago, and became a linchpin for the region’s economic development during the last decade. With the aviation industry in India set for exponential growth, two operational runways will provide the thrust required to cater to this demand and further bolster the growth of Karnataka and India.”
He added, “It is a historic day for us, as we commenced operations on the new runway. This will further bolster our vision to transform Bangalore International Airport into the new gateway to India.”
The airport officials also said that BIAL becomes the first airport in India to have two independent runways, enabling aircraft to land or take-off simultaneously on both runways.
