Bhopal Airport and Indore Airport

As India increases her economic growth the population is taking to the air in travel and more and more are flying. Commercial Aviation traffic has increased ten fold in the last few years. India will need to set up the latest in air traffic control to handle the crowded skies. Additionally India’s private aircraft markets are increasing too along with a brand new general aviation manufacturing sector. India is the second most vibrant aviation market after China. The reason is the strong growth anticipated in the domestic Indian traffic, which they estimate to be 12.7 per cent per annum by 2014. The main drivers of traffic growth are economic upswing, concentration of population, wealth and industries leading to higher propensity to travel and increasing liberalization. And add to this there are penetrations of low-cost carriers which are offering exceptionally low airfare that can be compared with railway AC fares. India is the only country where the number of air travelers a year equals the number of rail passengers in a day. The potential is huge. So low-cost carries are not ready to waste their time and are very much into business. Many of India’s smaller airports are dirt strips and needs to be upgraded. There are 100 civil airports in India and twelve are international airports. Meanwhile India’s airline passenger traffic is expected to exceed 50 million in less than five years and that is at the current growth rates. One industry insider stated in a major Indian newspaper; ''We won't be able to handle all passenger traffic in coming years as is being envisaged now.” One consulting firm determined that it would take over 20 billion in capital investment to bring the airports into normal safety compliance of other countries in the next decade, some think much more as things progress.
Two bigger cities of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are Indore and Bhopal, the distance between the two is 186 kms. Both the cities are vying with each other to attract the available financial resources to expand their basic airport structures. There are flights which are operating from Mumbai and Delhi to Indore, which then proceed to Bhopal. On many occasions the flights are terminated at Indore due to lack of Bhopal passengers and the Bhopal passengers are provided with taxies from Indore airport to Bhopal, much to the chagrin of Bhopalis. The political hotheads are even heard considering reversing the flight landing sequence (from Mumbai-Indore-Bhopal to Mumbai-Bhopal-Indore)to avoid this humiliation of Bhopalis. The Bhopal airport  has a runway of 6500 feet which will be upgraded to 9000 feet. Known as the Raja Bhoj Airport, the Bhopal airport has one terminal building, three Airlines, eight flights and parking space for five aircrafts (being upgraded). On the other hand the Indore Airport, known as Devi Ahilyabai Airport , is an international airport with a runway of 7500 feet which is being upgraded to 9500 feet within one year. The Indore airport has one terminal building; another terminal building is being constructed. There are five airlines, sixteen regular flights, air cargo and parking space for five aircrafts. Flights for gulf countries are being started in June 2008. All this for two cities 186 kms apart, while the biggest airport out there measures 780 km². If only somebody had planned a big International airport somewhere in between the two cities and connected it to Bhopal and Indore with sixteen lane expressways and/or metro rails. The project would have given a boost to the logistics hub project of Madhya Pradesh. coming to think of it, how will the local politicians ask for votes if the airport goes away from Bhopal and Indore, and the farmers of the town in between loose their land? Nobody risks a Nandigram and no point in indulging in wishful thinking.
Would you like to listen to Lata Mangeshkar from Indore sing beautifully for Madan Mohan "Khud Dil Se Dil Ki Baat Kahi, Aur Ro Liye" in the film Aadalat?


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