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From my Interim Bureau at TAJ Bangalore I am enjoying a spectacularly panoramic view of Kempegowda Internatinal Airport Bengaluru’s twin-parallel runways.
An IndiGo aircraft is taxiing along one of the airstrips, a constant sight here as the airport’s passenger traffic surges (41 million last year, up +12% year-on-year). In 2024 IndiGo became the first Indian airline to carry more than 100 million passengers in a year.
I’m here to attend the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) Pinnacle Awards this evening, a programme that recognises and rewards performance excellence among airport stakeholders. I had the privilege of being a judge and I can promise you the widespread levels of commitment and quality that simply permeate this great gateway made for some tough evaluation calls.
I have said before that the arrivals duty-free store here (run in a joint venture between Bangalore International Airport Limited and Avolta), is the best I have seen in any airport worldwide and my experience in the wee small hours of yesterday morning only confirmed that impression.
I will let the visuals tell the story – one of colour, vibrancy, space, great merchandising, a fantastic product offerng (both local and international) and outstandingly attentive and courteous service.















I also had the immense pleasure of visiting the new Mitti Café in the public forecourt outside the arrivals zone. As in brand new, having just opened around eight hours earlier.
As I have written before on this Blog, Mitti Café is a wondrous social enterprise, founded by an extraordinary young female entrepreneur Alina Alam (named among The Moodie Davitt Report People of the Year in 2024) and dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities by providing them opportunities for economic independence and dignity.
The Bengaluru gateway was the first airport to welcome a Mitti Café, a breakthrough that led to more openings across fellow Indian airports and other high-profile public institutions.
This latest and most ambitious Mitti Café incarnation to date was designed with sublime artistry and deep affection by the prodigiously talented Aura Dezyne Founder and Principal Designer Payal Khanna (a speaker at FAB 2025 in late June).
It’s as joyous an environment as you’ll ever find in an airport, a mood that is marvellously reflected by the team members, all keen to display, as the Mitti mantra has it, ‘The Magic of Abilities’.
I was welcomed like an old friend, even though some of the staff were new to me, enjoying a delicous cup of Masala Chai and some cookies while chatting with the team and managers Aayush and Akhil.
If Bengaluru Duty Free is the airport world’s best arrivals duty-free shop, this Mitti Café is surely its most special food & beverage outlet, ‘The Magic of Abilities’ writ large across the warmest smiles you could ever hope to encounter on your travels.






Today I had the equally welcome opportunity to have a coffee and chat with Bangalore International Airport Limited Managing Director Hari Marar.

Hari is one of the most articulate and visionary airport executives you could ever meet, an outstanding professional and one with a rare and burning sense of humanity. Talking about his and BIAL’s priorities for 2025 and beyond, he told me,“We want to be recognised as an airport that takes accessibility and inclusion to a level that nobody else has done.”
What a noble mission and given BIAL’s track record over its proud first17 years (an anniversary celebrated earlier this week), few would bet against it being delivered. ✈
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