Saudia Airlines, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, will make history on September 12 when it flies into Bengaluru airport’s Terminal 2 (T2). Tomorrow (September 12) at 10:15 am, Saudia flight SV866 from Jeddah will land at T2 of Kempegowda International Airport, according to sources from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). Saudia flight SV867, bound for Jeddah, will afterwards be the first flight to depart from T2 at 11:50 am.
Saudia Airlines Will Land At Bengaluru Airport’s T2
BIAL first announced plans to start international operations at T2 on August 31. However, the company then changed its mind, moving the move to September 12. This choice was made in the midst of a hurried “final preparedness review,” which caused BIAL considerable embarrassment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened Terminal 2, also referred to as a “terminal in a garden,” in November 2022. Its development cost approximately Rs 5,000 crore. On January 15, 2023, domestic operations commenced.
Plans To Renovate KIA’s Terminal 1
T2 is anticipated to support 30 to 35 international departures per day from 27 airlines (25 foreign and two Indian). Meanwhile, domestic aircraft operated by Akasa Air, Alliance Air, IndiGo (domestic), and SpiceJet will only land at Terminal 1.
AirAsia, Air India, Star Air, and Vistara will continue to run domestic flights from T2 in addition to foreign carriers.
Hari Marar, MD and CEO of BIAL, which runs KIA, said in an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol that international operations will be relocated to T2, and Terminal 1 (T1) will exclusively serve as a domestic terminal.
Additionally, there are plans to renovate KIA’s T1, which opened for business on May 24, 2008, around 15 years ago. (As per money control)
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