Bengaluru’s Road Woes: When a 40‑km Airport Ride Outlasts a Flight to Kolkata

It was supposed to be a routine business trip. Rajesh, a mid‑level manager living in the north‑eastern suburbs of Bengaluru, booked a two‑hour flight to Kolkata and set off for the airport with a comfortable buffer of thirty minutes.

What he didn’t anticipate was that the 40‑kilometre stretch from his house to Kempegowda International Airport would turn into a marathon. The clock kept ticking, the traffic lights seemed to conspire against him, and every lane he entered felt like a dead end. By the time he finally pulled into the terminal, his flight’s scheduled duration – two hours and fifteen minutes – had already been eclipsed by the road journey.

“I’ve been living here for ten years, and still the city feels like it’s stuck in a traffic jam loop,” Rajesh told reporters, a mix of frustration and disbelief evident in his voice. “You’d think the planners would have built better arteries to the airport, especially when it’s a crucial hub for the city’s economy.”

His experience is far from an isolated incident. Residents across Bengaluru routinely recount similar tales: lengthy commutes to the airport, endless queues at signal junctions, and a feeling that the city’s growth has outpaced its infrastructure. The irony is not lost on many – a city celebrated for its IT prowess grapples daily with gridlock that can outlast a commercial flight.

Transportation experts point to a few core issues. First, the rapid expansion of residential zones without corresponding upgrades to arterial roads has created bottlenecks. Second, the city’s reliance on a handful of major highways, such as the Outer Ring Road and NH 44, means that any disruption quickly ripples through the network. Finally, the public transport system, though improving, still falls short of offering a reliable alternative for airport-bound passengers.

“We need a holistic approach,” says Dr. Meera Rao, an urban planning consultant. “It’s not just about widening roads. We have to integrate dedicated express lanes, improve feeder services to the airport, and perhaps most importantly, rethink land‑use policies so that new developments come with built‑in connectivity.”

For commuters like Rajesh, the immediate solution feels more personal: leaving home earlier, using navigation apps that suggest less‑congested routes, or even opting for ride‑sharing services that have designated airport pools. Yet, these stop‑gap measures hardly address the systemic shortcomings.

As Bengaluru’s skyline continues to sprout glass‑and‑steel towers, the city’s planners face a pressing question: can the infrastructure keep pace, or will more travelers find themselves stuck on a road that seems to travel slower than a plane?