Kerala Govt urged to acquire land for Kozhikode airport development

Kozhikode: The Calicut International Airport Development Society (CIADS) has urged the State government to initiate steps to acquire the required land for the development of Kozhikode airport.

The office-bearers of CIADS said here that lack of basic facilities and inadequate number of flights to foreign destinations, especially Gulf countries, had been forcing the passengers from here to head for Kochi and other airports. The main problem faced by Kozhikode airport is the non-availability adequate space.

The State government has been unable to acquire 157 acres of land as promised by it and this has resulted in the development of the airport coming to a standstill. Though successive governments had been making announcements to the effect, they remained only on paper, CIADS said.

While there are 15 and 14 foreign flights from Kochi and Thriuvananthapuram airports respectively, Kozhikode airport, which boasts maximum number of Gulf passengers from the State, has only eight foreign flights. The government seemed to be not having as much interest in the development of Kozhikode airport as in the case of the other two airports, the society lamented.

11/04/12 Business Line

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Merchant airport to be set up at Karaikal

Karaikal: The country's first private merchant airport for both international and domestic operations is awaiting financial closure with the project works slated to begin here in 2012.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has given the in-principle clearance for the proposed airport recently. The project by Karaikal Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Coimbatore-based Super Airport Private Limited, has been proposed with 100 percent private ownership for public use.

The Rs.300-crore project will be spread over 560 acres in three villages of Varichukudi, Kuthakudi and Ponsethi. The plan envisages a 3.5-km long East-West runway to make best use of wind movement to facilitate take off and landing of flights. The control tower operations will come under the purview of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Speaking to The Hindu, J.V. Chowdhury, Chairperson, Super Airport Private Limited, said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation had accorded in-principle clearance on receipt of clearances from the Ministries of Defence and Home, along with no-objection certificate (NOC) and site clearances from the State government and the AAI respectively.

30/04/11 P.V. Srividya/The Hindu

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Chaos reigns at Ahmedabad airport

Ahmedabad: Passengers at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) had a harrowing time as Air India pilots continued with their strike for the second day on Thursday. Nationwide, around 650 pilots are on strike, which forced cancellation of AI 80 flights, both international and domestic.

Sources said that airline authorities cancelled international flights (AI-112, 011, 010, 131, 191 and AI-144) owing to lack of pilots. AI officials were trying to fly two international flights (130 and 180 seater) for international passengers late in the night for Delhi and Mumbai from where they could head to their respective foreign destinations.

Over five dozens of passengers who had come from the

neighbouring states such as Rajasthan and were heading to Kuwait were left stranded at the airport not knowing what to do.

“They (AI officials) told us to come back next week as flights are not available. Giving us a written statement, the officials asked us to get the refund of ticket money from their city office.

However, they didn't allow us to travel in the two international flights they brought for international passengers," said, an angry passenger at the airport.

29/04/11 Daily News & Analysis

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Pilot lands at airport without requisite flight bag

Kolkata: Caught in turbulence following the strike by its pilots, Air India landed in yet another air pocket on Friday when a line pilot allegedly flew an Airbus 321 aircraft into the city without mandatory documents in his kitty.

Flight AI-764 from Delhi to Kolkata touched down at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 7.15pm. It was after the captain of the flight had made the perfect landing that he encountered rough weather, with dissenting pilots alleging that he did not have the flight bag that was mandatory for pilots to carry according to rules laid down by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The flight bag contains vital documents like pilot's license, medical certificate and Jeppesen manual (aviation charts).

Though the captain did not endanger the safety of the 98 Kolkata-bound passengers on board the aircraft, Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) officials insisted it was in gross violation of Indian aviation norms and demanded action against the pilot. While they demanded a probe into the matter by DGCA, AI when contacted, denied having any information on the issue.

AI flights continued to be badly hit by the pilots' strike that led to cancellation of 13 flights on Friday. The airline could operate only seven flights, most of them ATRs to the North-east.

30/04/11 Times of India

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Nightmare for economy passengers

It has been a nightmare for economy class passengers on Air India flights.

With the strike by pilots of the national carrier entering its third day on Friday when at least 126 domestic flights were cancelled, many economy class passengers have been given the short shrift.

The airline failed to inform them about the flights being cancelled, leaving the passengers, many from rural areas, in the lurch at the Chennai airport.

Bokka Srinu, 32, a car driver from Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district who is employed in Kuwait, received a rude shock when AI 975 flight to Kuwait was cancelled on Friday and AI officials nonchalantly told him to return after a couple of days.

While the national carrier has agreed to refund his ticket fare, like other business class passengers, Srinu was not offered alternate travel arrangements or accommodation.

“I have to join duty Saturday evening and I am still stranded at Chennai,” Mr Sirinu told Deccan Chronicle.

“I have no idea about these facilities. I am going back home as the officials have told me that it might take two or three days for the departure of Kuwait flight.”

30/04/11 Deccan Chronicle

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Pilot strike: Two-day trip turns into ordeal

New Delhi: What was to have been a brief two-day trip from Kathmandu to Kolkata and back has turned into an extended nightmare for US citizen Hugh Rossi who is now stuck hundreds of kilometers away in Delhi.

Rossi, in Nepal for a mountaineering expedition with a group of 10, decided to fly to Kolkata on Thursday to meet some Missionaries of Charity Sisters. However, the Air India pilots' strike saw his direct flight to Kolkata being cancelled and Rossi was instead flown to Delhi. "Airline officials in Kathmandu told me only after I reached the airport that they would fly me to Delhi and from there to Kathmandu. We left Nepal at 4pm, reached Delhi a couple of hours later, waited for another couple of hours and was then flown to Kolkata where we reached only around midnight," said Rossi.

Since it was too late to travel from the airport to the Missionaries of Charity home, Rossi decided to spend the night at the airport. In the morning, Air India officials told him that no flight to Kathmandu was operating and, hence, it would be safer for him to travel back to Delhi on the next available flight and from there get back to Kathmandu.

30/04/11 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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Pune's air passenger traffic soars by 25%

Pune: The number of passengers flying in and out of the city's Lohegaon airport rose by 24.64% in the last year. The airport handled 28.14 lakh passengers during 2010-11 ( financial year) as against 22.57 lakh in 2009-10.

Officials at the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Pune, say a stable growth pattern has set in over the last couple of years after the debilitating effects of the global economic slowdown on the airline industry in 2008-09. In 2009-10, passenger traffic grew by a healthy 26.03% over the 17.91 lakh passengers handled by the airport in 2008-09.

Significantly, a measly ating from Pune, connecting 11 destinations on the domestic circuit and another two on the international circuit ( Dubai and Frankfurt). 3.73% growth was recorded in 2008-09.

The airport is well on course to cross the 3 million mark for annual passenger traffic by March 2012. As of now, eight airlines are operating from Pune, connecting 11 destinations on the domestic circuit and another two on the international circuit (Dubai and Frankfurt).

There hasn't been any addition of flights connecting Pune with new destinations but the number of flights on some of the existing routes, like Bangalore, have gone up," Pune airport director P S R K Sudhakar told TOI on Friday. "Our focus now is on making optimum use of the passenger handling capacity of our terminal buildings by segregating the number of flights that get bunched during the peak hours."

30/04/11 Vishwas Kothari/Times of India

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Carl F Int’l bags Chennai Airport order

Chennai: World leaders in handrail and balustrade, the Denmark-based Carl F International is all set to give a new dimension to its operations in south, what with the bagging of orders from the Chennai International Airport for putting up handrails inside the complex, adopting all the global safety measures while executing the prestigious project.

The company has already done the Delhi airport orders for creating handrails running about 30 to 35 km length, said Renu Kathuria, Managing Director, Carl F International Pvt Ltd, during an interaction with the media here on Friday.

“With our impetus on the South, we have teams located at all important locations to cater to the requirements of our clients anywhere in South of India,’’ she noted.

Apart from its products being associated with elite landmarks and buildings for blue-chip clients like the TCS, Cisco, Royal Sundaram, GE Medical, HP and offices of the Reliance Group, Carl F International has introduced the concept of handrails in combination with stainless steel and glass.

30/04/11 ExpressBuzz

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Uncertainty tails Air India, 71 flights operating out of Mumbai cancelled

Mumbai: Uncertainty hung heavy over the domestic airport on Thursday as the Air India (AI) pilots' strike entered a second day, forcing the flag carrier to cancel 71 flights operating out of Mumbai and to suspend bookings until May 3.
Despite reports of chaos on Wednesday, many perplexed passengers booked on AI flights queued at the airport on Thursday in the hope of catching their flight. They said that the airline had taken no steps to clear the air of confusion and even calls to AI's call centres yielded ambiguous answers.
The airline cancelled 39 incoming flights at Mumbai airport and another 32 outgoing ones. It also suspended booking for the next five days as pilots of the erstwhile Indian Airlines refused to back down on their demand for pay parity with their AI counterparts.
Across the city, tour operators were flooded with calls from passengers, who are booked on AI flights over the next week. Most of them, operators said, sought bookings on other airlines.
29/04/11 Chinmayi Shalya & Insha Khan/Times of India

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Visa to expire, Saudi-bound workers stranded at IGI

New Delhi: Mehfuz Alam, a resident of Bihar and working as a tailor at Dammam, found himself in deep trouble on Thursday after Air India told him and his three companions that they would not be able to fly back to Dammam in Saudi Arabia till at least Saturday. The airline's offer to accommodate them in a hotel was of no consolation to the four — their visa to Saudi Arabia is expiring on Friday.
The four, belonging to various parts of the country, have been in Delhi since Wednesday morning when they were scheduled to catch their flight. "Our flight on Wednesday was cancelled and the airline told us to stay at Centaur Hotel and that they would book us on the next available flight. We waited all morning but received no information from them at all and finally decided to come to the airport and check," said Alam, a resident of Bihar.
When the four stood their ground at the domestic counter and refused to move till someone address their concern, an airline official stamped their ticket and sent them back to the international counter once again.
29/04/11 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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First intra-state flight from Surat cancelled after AI strike

Ahmedabad: The intra-state connectivity which was to be flagged off from Surat on Friday has been postponed pending aircraft clearance, thanks to the Air India airlines strike.
On Friday, chief minister Narendra Modi and Deccan Charter's chairman GR Gopinath were scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad to Surat along with other dignitaries, including minister of state for industries and civil aviation Saurabh Patel.
The inaugural flight between Surat and Bhavnagar was to be flagged off by Modi.
Capt Gopinath of the Deccan Charters Limited told TOI, "The commercial air services from Surat and Ahmedabad will begin from May 7 as decided earlier. The inaugural flight which was to take off from Surat has been put off. This is because officials of Director General Civil Aviation and Union Civil Aviation Ministry have been busy tackling the Air India pilots' strike."
The Charters plan to connect Ahmedabad with various destinations in Saurashtra-Kutch and Surat and from Surat to various destinations in Saurashtra-Kutch.
29/04/11 Times of India

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Trapped fliers complain of rude behaviour of Air India staff

Mumbai: Many Air India passengers complained about inadequate information, unhelpful and rude behaviour of the airline's frontline staff at the airport in Mumbai even as the strike-stricken air carrier claimed to have strengthened call centre functions to keep fliers informed about flights.
As many as 19 of the 20 passengers whom PTI contacted this afternoon and who were flying out of the Mumbai airport, said they did not get any prior information from the airline about the cancellations or delays of their scheduled flights.
A few of them even complained of being fed the wrong information that their flights were on schedule and got a rude shock up on their arrival at the airport.
However, a passenger, Archana Joshi, who was to fly to Chennai, said she was informed of the cancellation of her 1500 hrs flight. "But the ticketting staff at the airport were not helpful at all about sharing information about her rescheduled flight," she said.
Navdeep Virkar, who was to fly to Ahmedabad, said on contacting the call centre, she was told her flight was on schedule, but on arrival she was told about its cancellation.
"The staff at the ticketing counter rudely asked me to talk to the manager who was even ruder," Virkar said.
Meanwhile, as the pilots' strike entered the second day today, the AI counters looked almost deserted, as the national carrier was forced to cancel nearly 30 flights from the metropolis alone.
28/04/11 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Maya seeks nod to take car till plane across India

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has sought the Centre’s permission to take her vehicle till the boarding point at airports across the country citing security concerns. The UP government has written to the civil aviation ministry in this regard and has argued that the Z-plus security to the CM is a proof of threat to her life.The aviation ministry has, however, not yet made up its mind on the request as any decision involves several agencies.
“The UP government had certainly some time back written to us. The matter is under examination,” an aviation ministry official said.
29/04/11 Financial Express

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Air cargo piles up due to administrative problems

Chennai: If clumsy software derailed Chennai air cargo operations last time, administrative chaos has brought the complete operations to a standstill now. Consignments of over 600 metric tonnes have piled up in the airport, waiting to reach clearance.
Customs house agents and clearing clerks at Chennai airport say that mismanagement by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and lack of manpower with the AAI-assigned private agency Bhadra International have led to a business loss of several crores. PS Krishnan, president of Chennai Customs House Agents Association, said that consignments that arrived in 12 flights since Monday at Chennai are yet to be cleared.
The reason for the backlog is administrative confusion and outsourcing of cargo handling operations, observers said. They said that the problem has been simmering for a while. Customs clearing clerks who would also help in cargo handling had been forced to work late into the nights owing to problems faced by the cargo handling agency in moving the consignments for clearing. Angered by what was happening, the clearing clerks decided to withdraw their services inside the complex from Wednesday. They had given notice ten days back that they would do so.
While this may have contributed to the problem, works have been delayed from Monday, said D Sridhar, a clearing clerk at Chennai airport. "Due to shortage of manpower at Bhadra International, which is currently handling the cargo at airport, only 200-250 shipping bills were cleared on Wednesday, when a minimum of 1,200 had to be cleared," said Krishnan.
29/04/11 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India

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Transit passengers stuck with no connecting flight

New Delhi: Passengers, already hassled by flight delays and cancellations, were at the receiving end of the pilots' strike on Thursday as well. As more flights were cancelled, the airport ticket counters saw a steady stream of people coming in for alternate bookings and refunds. A new problem cropped up for the airline in the form of transit passengers, who arrived in Delhi but had no way of getting to their final destination.
To shed the increasing load, Air India has been booking seats for its passengers on other airlines. On Thursday, while several passengers managed to arrive in Delhi on other airlines like Spice-Jet and Jetlite, they found themselves stuck here for lack of connecting options, especially since Delhi saw a much larger volume of stranded passengers than any other city. "We were booked from Bangalore to Allahabad via Delhi on Air India. We covered the Bangalore-Delhi leg on SpiceJet, but the timings were different and we missed our Allahabad flight. We arrived in Delhi at 11am, but have been waiting for the last two hours for the airline to make alternate arrangements for us," said Anita, who was travelling with her husband and three children.
Bidyavati Tiwari, who travelled on the same flight and was waiting to go to Varanasi, said: "My niece is getting married on May 1 and I have to get there to make the arrangements, since I'm the eldest in the family. We have been offered seats on Kingfisher Airlines to Lucknow, from where we will somehow go to Varanasi."
Pankaj Singh, a government employee, landed in Delhi from Lucknow at 10.30am, and was told that there might be a seat for him on a 2.30pm flight to Chennai.
29/04/11 Times of India

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Pandemonium at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: On the first day of strikes called by pilots of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), a body of agitating Air India pilots, the airports were mired in confusion and mayhem. Offices were shut down, flights were cancelled, passengers were stranded, and slogans were shouted, with both pilots and government deciding to stand their ground. With the cancellation of more than a dozen flights leaving Mumbai for Delhi, Gwalior, Rajkot and other locations, passengers were stranded at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport. Talking to MiD DAY, the passengers expressed their angst over the mayhem.

Sameer Baderia, whose flight to Gwalior was cancelled, said, "When I reached the airport at 1 pm, I was told that my flight was cancelled. Now I don't have any alternate flight for Gwalior. The airlines have offered me one to Delhi." BCCI Vice President Niranjan Shah was also affected by the upheavals at the airlines. He said, "My flight for Rajkot is cancelled, I have a working committee meeting there." Law student Ruchi Delhiwala's flight to Ahmedabad was delayed by more than two hours. She said, "The executive at the counter could not tell me if the flight was delayed or cancelled."

The strike by Air India pilots gave a number of private airlines the opportunity to hike their fares. "Ticket prices have shot up. Rates for tickets to Delhi and Bangalore have increased by 20 per cent. The difference is even more glaring in small sector flights like Ahmedabad and Rajkot. An Air India flight to Rajkot usually costs Rs 3,000-4,000. But after the strike, a Jet Lite ticket to Rajkot is costing an exorbitant Rs 16,450," said Devang Sanghvi of Venus Holiday.

The Air India management called the strikes illegal, and derecognised the ICPA, sealing its offices in Mumbai and Delhi. Soon, the slighted association members started shouting slogans against the Air India management, in both Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai ICPA members shifted their base to a private hotel near the Mumbai domestic airport.

28/04/11 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

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Calcutta fliers allege ‘bias’

Passengers bound for Calcutta complained of being given the short shrift at Delhi airport on a day an Air India pilots’ strike sent flight schedules haywire in many parts of the country.

Although air travellers faced delays and cancellations at many places, Aniruddha Lahiri, president, The Chatterjee Group, told The Telegraph about “discrimination” in the capital.

He said he saw many flights leave Delhi on schedule this afternoon, but the Air India Calcutta flight’s departure kept getting delayed.

“I was flying back from Heathrow, London, by Air India’s Flight 112. I landed at Delhi at 10am and the connecting flight to Calcutta was at 1.30pm. But the departure kept getting delayed. However, flights to other destinations like Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai were on schedule,” Lahiri said.

Eventually, the flight left almost five hours behind schedule, after the “passengers flying back to Calcutta protested against the discrimination”, Lahiri said. But there was one final leg of delay even after they had boarded the plane.

28/04/11 The Telegraph

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Bidar airport awaits clearance

Bengaluru: Desperate to start civil operations from Bidar airport, the state government is contemplating asking the GMR Group to manage the operation of flights and maintenance of the terminal. The revenue earned will go to GMR.

Bidar Airport is awaiting a No Objection Certificate from the GMR Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), which is operated and maintained by the GMR Group.

The NOC is necessary because under the concession agreement signed by the Union government and the private consortium to develop Hyderabad airport, an exclusivity clause forbids any commercial airport within 150 km radius of GHIAL.

28/04/11 Monica Jha/Deccan Chronicle

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Man on wheelchair sneaks in watches worth Rs. 7 lakh

Within the space of an hour early on Monday morning, in two separate incidents, the Customs department at the airport nabbed two passengers who arrived from Dubai both for trying to smuggle in expensive wrist watches.

The alert Customs officers first caught a passenger who had hidden watches in two pairs of underwear he was wearing, and then apprehended a 60-year-old passenger who was confined to a wheelchair.

Champalal Jain, who arrived by a Kingfisher flight around 4 am, suffers from diabetes, is on dialysis and has other health problems. Under cover of his illness, he hoped to pass through the Green Channel, despite carrying contraband items.

Seated in a wheelchair, Jain was being escorted by two airport staff when he was stopped by hesitant Customs officers at the Green Channel. “Jain appeared rather frail and unable to walk,” said a Custom officer. “He needed somebody to escort him and hence we initially hesitated to stop him.”

28/04/11 Preety Acharya/Mumbai Mirror

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Airline employees are smuggling drugs, watches: Report

Delhi: The Intelligence Bureau has received a report from airport agencies on rampant smuggling being carried out at the Mumbai and Delhi airports.

Airport agencies suspect the involvement of many airline employees in the smuggling business. The report cites two incidents where airline crew members have been used as couriers to smuggle garments, drugs, counterfeit medicines and electronic goods. In March this year, two stewards from Jet Airways were found carrying Rolex watches. The same month, two Air India employees were caught carrying garments.

28/04/11 Rashmi Rajput/NDTV.com

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Centre grounds Mysore airport expansion

Mysore: The Centre has put a spanner in the expansion of the Mysore airport.

The Centre has approved four laning of NH 212 between Mysore and Nanjangud, which effectively derails the expansion plan as the proposed runway cuts across the highway. Chamarajnagar MP R Dhruvanarayan, who is pushing for upgrading the stretch, on Wednesday said the Centre has approved the project and the works will start in a month. According to him, an additional bridge will be built across Kapila river at Nanjangud.

While upgrading the treacherous stretch is necessary to take the load, it is coming in the way of the Airports Authority of India's (AAI) plan to expand the workable airport. The KIADB is in the process of acquiring the land required for expansion. But some part of it has been handed over to AAI, which has told the officials that unless the NH diversion work is taken up they will not go ahead with the expansion that involves expanding the runway that cuts across the highway.

27/04/11 Times of India

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Emirates Skycargo begins Lucknow operations

New Delhi: Emirates SkyCargo today said it has begun cargo operations from Lucknow and plans to expand services to more secondary markets, like Jaipur, Coimbatore and Amritsar soon.

Exporters from Uttar Pradesh to the United Arab Emirates can now directly ship their cargo using the SkyDubai network of 111 cities and 66 countries on six continents.

“We are glad to to have expanded our operations and launched our office in Lucknow, a city that has a growing importance for us from a business perspective,” Emirates SkyCargo Cargo Manager (India & Nepal), Mr Keki Patel said here today.

“Now, we are looking to expand to secondary markets. When I say secondary markets, I mean Jaipur, Coimbatore and Amritsar and Chandigarh and Lucknow and Kanpur, Varanasi, Indore, Vishakhapatnam,” he said.

The cargo airliner, which already operates from 10 stations in India, will offer interline cargo capacity on a thrice—a week—service on the Lucknow—Dubai—Lucknow route.

An interline agreement allows one airline to carry passengers or freight of another based on a formal arrangement between the airlines which involves the coordination of baggage checks, carriage or air cargo, etc.

27/08/11 PTI/Business Line

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Pilots’ strike disrupts Bangalore services

Bangalore: Two Air India flights from Bangalore were cancelled today due to the strike call given by the pilots of the erstwhile Indian Airlines, demanding better working conditions and pay parity with AI pilots.
“Of the seven flights operated in the morning by Air India, two flights were cancelled and the passengers accommodated in another flight,” an Air India spokesman said here. The Bangalore-Hyderabad and Bangalore-Thiruvananthapuram flights were cancelled, he said.
27/04/11 PTI/Business Line

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Little impact on flight movement at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: Air India pilots' strike has had little impact so far on flight operations at the city airport.While Delhi-Kolkata flights were a little delayed, other Air India flights left on time from the N S C B International airport here today, AI sources said.Delhi-bound passengers were sent in two combined flights, while 12 other flights for Mumbai, Port Blair as well as Delhi departed according to schedule, sources said here.Airport sources said flights from Delhi were, however, delayed by 10-30 minutes.AI management said efforts were being made to run operations in a normal manner and customer care officials have advised to keep the passengers informed of changes in flight schedule.
27/04/11 IBN Live

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Pilots' strike affects Thiruvanathapuram domestic flights

Thiruvananthapuram: The strike by a section of pilots of Air India owing allegiance to the Indian Commercial Pilots Association has affected some domestic flight operations of the national carrier to and from Thiruvananthapuram international airport on Wednesday.
The national carrier had cancelled the AI 668 flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai at 7.30 p.m.and has combined the AI 507 and AI 511 flights to Chennai and Bangalore in view of the strike.
Airline sources said the combined flight will depart from here to Chennai at 3.30 p.m. However, the AI flight from here to Delhi operated as per schedule in the morning.
27/04/11 The Hindu

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MIAL can't charge airport development fee without regulator nod: SC

New Delhi/Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the private operator of India's busiest airport, Mumbai, will not be allowed to collect airport development fee (ADF), spreading cheer among passengers who will have to pay less.
However, this has sparked concern among investors as business plans would have to be drawn up afresh. The court asked the consortium led by GVK Group to seek permission to levy these fees from the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), set up to regulate airport tariffs.
"As per the judgement of the Supreme Court, the AERA will have to pass an appropriate order for continuation of the ADF levy at the Mumbai Airport," said the spokesperson for MIAL. However, in a statement on Tuesday evening, the GMR-led Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said it will continue collecting Rs 200 from domestic passengers and Rs 1,300 from international passengers as the regulator, AERA, had allowed DIAL to levy ADF.
"DIAL will continue to charge ADF as per the approval granted by AERA. In view of the facts of the case, DIAL shall not be obliged to refund any amounts collected by it," said the Delhi airport operator. The stocks of both companies slumped as initial reports suggested that ADF had been "struck down".
GMR closed at Rs 38.30, down 3.16% and GVK closed at Rs 25.20, down 4%. The two-member bench, comprising of Justice RV Raveendran and Justice AK Patnaik, which was hearing an appeal filed by Bejon Misra of Consumer Online Foundation , an NGO, against the Delhi High Court order of 2009, overruled the High Court verdict that stated that levy of the ADF by virtue of it being a government decision cannot be challenged.
27/04/11 Economic Times

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AAI to offer sops to boost commercial development at non-metro airports

Mumbai: In a bid to encourage more corporates to take up commercial development at non-metro airports across the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which runs the 125 civil airports, will offer incentives in the form of concession on lease rentals. AAI, which works under the civil aviation ministry, has kick started upgradation of 10 airports across the country and wants to boost private participation in these projects.
AAI had, last year, announced it would take up the development of 35 non-metro airports in the country, starting with the development of 10 airports including Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Amritsar, Indore, Vishakhapatnam, Guwahati and Bhubaneshwar. The agency, which will carry out the development of the ‘air side’ of the projects (runways, terminals, air traffic control tower and so on), has, however, found few takers for the city-side or commercial development of these projects.
AAI wants to offer land at discounted lease rentals, even as much as 30% below the market value, to developers interested in the commercial development of these airports, including duty free shops, internet cafes, business lounges and hospitality chains.
27/04/11 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

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Delhi Airport body can continue with development fee: GMR

The Supreme Court today overturned a ruling of the Delhi High Court and quashed the unpopular and controversial airport development fees (ADF) levied by two of India’s busiest private sector-run airports in Delhi and Mumbai.
A two-judge bench held that development fees cannot be levied or collected on the basis of just authority letters issued by the central government but only if there was clear approval from the airports economic regulatory authority. Consequently, Mumbai airport has been barred from levying the fees, while Delhi airport will be able to continue to levy the fees, reports CNBC-TV18.
Sidharath Kapur, CFO – Airport at GMR Group said that the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has allowed The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to charge airport development fee. However, the moot point of the Supreme Court order is the ADF collections should be done for upgradation, and modernisation of Delhi airport.
26/04/11 CNBC-TV18

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‘Smuggler used AI employees as carriers of expensive cameras’

New Delhi: Sanjeev Malhotra, who was arrested for his involvement in smuggling high value cameras, found the most convenient way of getting his goods from Singapore — using Air India employees as carriers. Air India gives free air tickets to its employees and their family members. According to sources in the customs department, Malhotra had lured some employees to save on the ticket cost by using them as carrier of smuggled goods.
"He used to send Air India employees to Singapore to purchase camera and bring it to India without paying duty at Delhi Airport. He knew few families whose 2-3 members were with Air India. One of them used to go to Singapore while others helped him exit from the staff gate after arrival without paying duty," said a senior custom department official requesting anonymity.
Sources said Malhotra used to save over R1 lakh per camera as there are heavy duties on high value cameras. In return, their stay in Singapore was allegedly sponsored by Malhotra. They also got commission for the cameras they got, sources said.
"Malhotra owns a camera shop in Rajouri Garden. By using AI employee as a carrier, he was not only saving ticket cost but also exiting from the airport easily," he added.
27/04/11 Faizan Haider/Hindustan Times

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Ivory in parcel seized at airport

Guwahati: Customs sleuths today confiscated an Ahmedabad-bound parcel containing ivory at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here.
“Acting on specific intelligence, officers of the anti-smuggling unit of Guwahati customs division seized three pieces of elephant tusk at Guwahati airport this morning,” S.R. Baruah, commissioner of customs (preventive), Northeast, said.
“The consignment was booked under Speed Post parcel from Silapathar in Dhemaji district of Assam and it was destined for Ahmedabad,” he said. The ivory pieces, weighing 3.450kg, were found concealed under paddy husk inside the Speed Post parcel.
The parcel was seized when it was about to be loaded into an Ahmedabad-bound Spicejet flight. The customs officials made the seizure in the presence of forest and postal officers.
The customs department has registered a case under relevant provisions of the Customs Act and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, but nobody has been arrested in this connection so far.
26/04/11 The Telegraph

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Air India Express Dubai base opens, aims to tackle flight delays

Dubai: India’s Minister of Civil Aviation Vayalar Ravi inaugurated the Dubai base of Air India Express with an aim to strengthen and smoothen the operation of all Air India flights in and out of Dubai.
Addressing media in Dubai on Monday, the minister said that setting up of the base in Dubai will help the airline offer better connectivity and improved customer services. The location advantages of Dubai include multi-cultural and cosmopolitan business environment and a growing market with easy access to skilled manpower needed for aviation business, he said.
The base in Dubai would be geared to performing some of the maintenance functions, which are presently being handled out of Mumbai. It is envisaged that some tie-ups with leading airline Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MROs) in the Gulf would lead to a mutually beneficial business partnership.
Dubai would also become an operational base for stationing the pilots, cabin crew and other personnel needed for stepping up flight operations.
Ravi expressed confidence that the base would help avoid further delays due to lack of maintenance support.
Talking about fleet planning and flight operations, CMD of Air India Arvind Jadhav said that more flights could be planned from Dubai with the objective of providing transfers from India to destinations in the Gulf or Europe with transfer connections at Dubai.
As the airline has already two aircrafts positioned in Dubai for operating flights, the on time performance has increased significantly in recent months.
26/04/11 Imran Mojib/Gulf Today.com

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SC quashes levying of airport development fee on passengers

New Delhi: Passengers travelling out of Delhi and Mumbai airports would no longer have to pay Airport Development Fee (ADF) with the Supreme Court on Tuesday quashing the levy which has yielded about Rs 2,500 crores in two years. Hearing an appeal against the Delhi high court's order which had upheld levying of ADF, a bench of justices Cyriac Joseph and A.K. Patnaik set aside the policy of airport developers on the basis of which passengers departing from Delhi airport had to pay a fee of Rs 200 for domestic travel and Rs 1,300 for international trip and Rs 100 and Rs 600 respectively for those departing Mumbai airport. NGO, consumer online foundation, had contended in the appeal that the fee was illegal as it was not approved by Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA). Unconfirmed estimates said GMR-led DIAL had collected about Rs 1,200 crores till 2010 through the ADF and the GVK-led MIAL collected Rs 1,300 crores. The fee was being collected from March 1, 2009, at Delhi airport and from April 1 the same year from passengers at Mumbai airport.
26/04/11 PTI/Deccan Chronicle

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Big flight lands on narrow Port Blair runway, raises concern

Chennai: Landing at Port Blair can be tricky for pilots under normal circumstances. And when an A320 from Chennai with about 100 passengers landed on the runway made narrow by ongoing works, safety norms were back in focus.
The Port Blair airport had put out a notam (notice to airmen) on Sunday, advising caution on the part of pilots as the width of a stretch of the runway has been reduced to 22 metres from 45 metres. The airport said the resurfacing works could not be completed because of rains and hence the reduction in the runway width. The A320 flight of Kingfisher Airlines which left Chennai at 4.30am landed at Port Blair despite the caution.
"It is mandatory that the runway width should be 45 metres to land an A320 type aircraft. This is a serious violation of safety norms by the airline," said former pilot and air safety expert Captain A Ranganathan.
Director general of civil aviation Bharat Bhushan said : "The notam says excercise caution. We are yet to take a stand whether its a violation or not. The issue is being investigated. That was the only flight that flew into the airport today. After that all flights were cancelled."
Air India and Jet Airways cancelled their flights to Port Blair following the notam. A Kingfisher spokesperson said the airlines came to know of the notam late and by then the flight was scheduled. It cancelled its subsequent flights to Port Blair.
26/04/11 Times of India

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New hurdles for Air India crash compensation

Almost a year after the Air India Mangalore crash claimed 158 lives, the disbursal of compensation to the relatives of the victims, already controversial due to allegations of unfair settlements, has hit new legal hurdles.
Relatives of several crash victims have been at loggerheads with Air India, its legal consultant and insurance company ever since they learnt that the compensation claims are being calculated based on what they call ‘the loss of livelihood rather than the loss of life.’
In January, the new Indian Civil Aviation Minister, Vayalar Ravi, had responded positively to their plea to apply the provisions of the Montreal Convention that assures compensation for the loss of life, which amounts to nearly Rs7.5million.
However, the minister, who had assured speedy disbursal of maximum compensation to the next of kin of the crash victims, on Sunday said the procedures have now been delayed due to a pending case in the Kerala High Court based on a petition filed by one of the relatives seeking rightful compensation.
At a Press conference in Dubai, Ravi said he had held discussions to speed up the procedures after his meeting with the relatives and organisations supporting them during his visit to Dubai in January.
“I had also sought an explanation for the progress on the procedures. In between, I have been told that the case in Kerala High Court is pending, and there is delay because of that.”
Since the court has taken over the issue, he said, the ministry was awaiting judgement for taking any further action.
26/04/11 Sajila Saseendran/Khaleej Times

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Passenger boards flight to Singapore on 4th attempt

New Delhi: It took Kunal Shah a week and four trips to the IGI Airport before he was able to fly out to Singapore. This despite a confirmed ticket. Shah, a resident of Delhi, was booked to fly to Singapore on Tuesday morning on Air India's flight AI 380. His flight that night and the following night was cancelled and then he was not permitted to board another flight on Saturday as his ticket showed that he had already travelled. He finally managed to leave for his destination on Sunday, after spending another couple of hours at the airport in the morning as the airline goofed up on his ticket for the second time.
"On Monday morning I did a web check-in and reached the airport two hours before the scheduled departure of 12:05am. While I was standing in line for check-in I heard an announcement that the flight had been cancelled. When I checked with the staff on duty, they said there was no problem and issued me a boarding card. When I reached the boarding gate I realized there was nobody there and the CISF personnel on duty there told me that the flight had been cancelled," said Shah.
When he asked AI officials, they first said they had no idea where the aircraft was and later said that the aircraft had developed a technical snag. "The airline offered to put me on a morning flight but since I was technically not on leave, I could not have my phone switched off during work hours and asked to be accommodated on the same flight the following day," said Shah.
26/04/11 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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Prices soar, flight tickets 5 times as costly

Mumbai: On Monday afternoon, flight prices from Mumbai to Bangalore rose sharply. A Kingfisher flight for Monday evening was available for Rs 14,851, while a GoAir flight on the same route cost R11,764.
"The rise in prices is a result of the demand, which went up as devotees came in big numbers to book a flight to Bangalore," said a senior official with a private airline.
High demand was also prevalent in New Delhi as the flight tickets to Bangalore went up by more than three times.
The fare for a Kingfisher Airlines flight from New Delhi to Bangalore on Monday was R25,178, while an Indigo airline ticket for the same came for Rs 11,933.
26/04/11 Surbhi Borar/Hindustan Times

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Officials trash Swamy’s charges on Balwa using Deesa airstrip

Ahmedabad: Even as Janata Party chief Subramaniam Swamy has alleged that 2G scam accused Shahid Balwa illegally used the Deesa airstrip near Palanpur in Banaskantha district of Gujarat to fly politicians belonging to ruling and opposition parties to Dubai, Airports Authority of India as well as state civil aviation officials have denied the allegations. Balwa hails from Pirojpura village in Vadgam taluka of Banaskantha district.
Anuj Agarwal, director at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here, said he had got the matter enquired into some time ago on a query from the central government but it was found that the airstrip was not useable at all. “Inquiries revealed that the airstrip has not been used in the last two years by any one,” said Agarwal.
He said that even an aircraft carrying the state Governor was not allowed to land at Deesa airstrip in November 2010 because of the bad condition of the airstrip. It was only fit for para-gliding, he added.
26/04/11 Syed Khalique Ahmed/Indian Express

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Air India’s domestic flights in Ahmedabad may operate from international terminal

Ahmedabad: Air India's domestic passengers at the Ahmedabad airport have been running from pillar to post in a bid to know from where their flight is leaving! The uncertainty has resulted in dozens of people missing their flights.
If Air India officials have their way, soon their domestic flights will take off from the new international terminal at Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport.
According to sources, airport authorities and Air India officials held a meeting last week in this regard where it was announced that on May 1 and 2 all their flights will be operated from the international terminal, but on a trial basis.
According to airport officials the decision was originally taken by the then civil aviation minister Praful Patel and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi himself. They had said that Air India flights should be operated from one terminal.
However, customs and immigration officials are skeptical about the proposal. They said that handling the flow of international passengers itself is a difficult task as there are several lacunae at the terminal and staff crunch in the immigration cell.
26/04/11 Satish Jha/Daily News & Analysis

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Check-in at Delhi airport metro to get delayed

New Delhi: The start of check-in facilities on the Airport Metro line may get delayed. The ministry of civil aviation had set a deadline of May 1 to provide check-in at three stations on the route but airline sources said a very slow trial process might see the date getting delayed a bit.
The final meeting to ascertain progress and sort out problems has been called on Wednesday. Sources said the three airlines involved in trials--Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines--would be giving their feedback. "The operational readiness and airport transfer trials started just last week and so far trials have quite slow. Airlines and other agencies concerned also have not had the opportunity to work together so far. It looks possible that check-in may not happen by May 1," said an airline official.
Sources also said financial modalities between airlines and Delhi Airport Metro Pvt Ltd had not been worked out so far.
26/04/11 Times of India

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Bangalore airport road toll illegal: Karnataka govt

Bangalore: The state government on Monday entered into a direct confrontation with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over the collection of toll from vehicles plying on the road towards the international airport, with a state minister ordering the suspension of the “illegal” fee.
Terming the collection of toll, which commenced on Sunday midnight, illegal, minister for transport and home R Ashoka, who visited the plaza, said the NHAI had not taken permission from the state transport authorities before commencing the construction of the toll plaza at near Sadahalli Gate.
The minister also ordered the toll booth employees to refrain from collecting fee from motorists till the government held another round of parleys with the NHAI.
26/04/11 Daily News & Analysis

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AI passenger-unfriendly?

Delhi: There was utter confusion in the airline's passenger handling work besides lack of floor level co-ordination at the check-in counters, as AI-SATS deployed "inexperienced and newly-recruited" staff, according to airline sources.
AI-SATS, a joint venture of Air India and Singapore Airport Terminal Services, provides ground handling services to various airlines at many major airports, including Delhi. The sources said AI-SATS employees who man the check-in counters, were regularly shifted from AI counters to those of the other customer airlines of the joint venture, thereby hampering the work of the national carrier. Apart from this, the checks found that only a few AI-SATS staff were working with their individual confidential sign-in codes, which is a pre-requisite for performing check-in formalities.
Most of them worked on one common shared sign-in code. This was highly irregular and prone to manipulations and misuse, sources said, adding that the vigilance department asked the national carrier stop such practice immediately. The checks also pointed to the fact that Air India duty managers were not being provided with proper guidelines of the service level agreement between AI and AI-SATS.
While the duty timings of AI-SATS staff was not synchronised with those of the AI, the airline officials were not being provided with the lists of employees who were being deployed by the joint venture firm. These employees were also being changed frequently, even during a single shift, the sources said.
25/04/11 MiD DAY

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Regulator pulls up Delhi airport for high cost of makeover

New Delhi: Delhi airport’s $3 billion makeover has resulted in great acclaim for Terminal 3 as a world-class facility. But the newfangled modernity has come at a steep price, which may be paid for by travellers for several more years.
After an audit of the project, the regulator has criticized Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd (DIAL) for overshooting the budget to more than twice the initial estimate, not doing enough to keep a curb on surging costs, keeping the civil aviation ministry out of the loop and exceeding its mandate on the amount of work it was supposed to do.
DIAL, comprising a GMR Infrastructure Ltd-led consortium, completed the development of the airport in a record 37 months that ended March 2010. The airport was privatized by the government in 2006. The modernization cost shot up from Rs5,900 crore to Rs12,700 crore in the same period.
About one-fourth of the project cost is to be recouped through passengers by direct levies on airfare. DIAL has asked the regulator for about Rs3,500 crore in airport development fees.
Passengers are already paying Rs200 on domestic tickets and Rs1,300 on international flights as airport development charges, which would add to Rs1,800 crore by 1 March 2012.
DIAL has also asked for an additional Rs1,793 crore, of which the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (Aera) has proposed to clear Rs994.5 crore so far. Aera made its observations on the technical and financial audit done by Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and consulting firm KPMG on the modernization.
The 179-page final audit report was made available this week on the Aera website.
25/04/11 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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2 bird-hits in 12 hrs, flight schedules affected

Ahmedabad: In less than 12 hours between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, two bird-hit incidents were reported at city airport.
This took the total number of bird-hits this week to three. On Sunday at 7.45 am, Air India 614 Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight was hit by a bird during take off. But, thankfully no damage was caused to the aircraft.
On Saturday, Air India 144 Newark-Mumbai-Ahmedabad flight was hit by a bird while landing at 8.20 pm. All 50 passengers landed safely, but the aircraft engine suffered minor damage.
The bird-hit pulled back the departure of other Air India flights on Satruday evening which were already running an hour late. The delay caused panic among passengers who had to catch connecting flights for foreign destinations from Mumbai.
This is the second incident in the week when a bird-hit incident was reported after 8 pm. On Wednesday, a Delhi-Ahmedabad flight hit a bird while landing at 8.30 pm.
The flight could take off again from Ahmedabad airport at 10.30 pm, but it took fours hours for engineers to repair the engine damage.
"A total of 80 passengers were travelling in same flight to Mumbai but they had to sit inside the plane for two hours. It took off at 12.30 am finally. But, the passengers on board had a connecting flight for Newark from Mumbai at 1.30 am and protested against the delay," said an Air India official.
The bird-hit coupled with mismanagement of airline staff forced back departure of Air India Ahmedabad-Mumbai-London 131 flight by more than 90 minutes.
25/04/11 Ankur Jain/Times of India

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Fly abroad from T1D starting August-end

New Delhi: Delhi’s exclusive terminal for domestic low-cost carriers, Terminal 1D at Indira Gandhi International Airport, is all set to witness two airlines — Indigo and SpiceJet — start international operations by the end of August.
SpiceJet had launched its first international flight from Terminal 3 to Nepal in October last year; it will now shift to T1D.
Airport officials said international operations at T1D would start with four flights, and will increase to 14 flights by December. Both Indigo and SpiceJet already have the requisite permissions to fly to international destinations.
“Taking international operations of the low-cost airlines to T3 would only escalate costs for passengers as parking bays are very expensive. It only makes sense that the international flights of these airlines land at the domestic bays, which would keep costs under control. That’s the reason why SpiceJet would also shift to Terminal 1D,” an official said.
A few officials, however, feel T1D may not be able handle both international and domestic operations.
“At present, the facilities provided in various parts of the terminal are accessible to all passengers. The terminal would have to be partitioned into two with the launch of international operations, making facilities inaccessible to passengers on either side,” said a senior airport official.
25/04/11 Indian Express

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Skip Kabul, Nepal: ICPA tells pilots

Mumbai: After the Directorate General of Civil Aviation served notices to four private domestic carriers for violating norms at the Dabolim airport in Goa and asked the airlines too to de-roster some pilots for the same, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) has asked its 660 members to refrain from flying to Kathmandu and Kabul in the interest of safety of passengers and the crew.
On April 13 the ICPA, a union of Air India (AI), had asked its members not to operate flights to Kabul. Similarly, on April 18 the ICPA asked its members not to undertake flights to Kathmandu.
25/04/11 Daily News & Analysis

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SC to grill govt on keeping pvt airlines off ground handling

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Monday examine the government's defence to justify its policy of keeping out private airlines from ground handling duty, which is to be handed over to a consortium led by Air India or to the airport managing companies. The apex court on April 4 had sought a response from th
e government whether such a move would not hurt the efficiency of private airlines.
The ministry of civil aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation and other government bodies are opposing the petition filed by Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), an umbrella body of private carriers, challenging the policy.
The apex court had refused to stay the judgement of the Delhi High Court, which on March 4 asked private carriers to follow the directions of civil aviation regulator DGCA to enter into agreement with the firms approved by it for ground handling duties.
A bench of justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik admitted the petition filed by Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) and issued notices to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA.
The government, on account of security reasons, had permitted only national carrier Air India and the airport operator (such as Airports Authority of India, GMR and GVK) to render ground handling services.
The change in policy assumes significance as the size of the ground handling business is estimated to be around Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 crore.
As per the policy, airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore are to implement the ground handling policy. The FIA, which represents all Indian carriers, has stated that nearly 3,000-3,500 employees presently deployed by private airlines across the country would be displaced.
24/04/11 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

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SpiceJet to offers new connections to Bangalore, Delhi from May 15

Nagpur: Flyers to Bangalore and Delhi from the city will soon have another option with low cost airline SpiceJet planning to launch daily flights to these destinations from May 15. The flight will be operated from Delhi and Bangalore and will have a halt in Nagpur in both directions.
Confirming the development, a senior Mihan India Private Limited (MIPL) official said that SpiceJet officials have sought permission to operate the flights. The flight will take off from New Delhi at 7am, reach Nagpur at 8.40am and take off to Bangalore at 9.10am, where it will land at 11am. The return leg has been scheduled for the evening with the flight taking from Bangalore at 6.20pm, reaching Nagpur at 8.05pm and taking off to New Delhi at 8.30pm, where it will arrive at 10.10pm.
This will take the number of domestic flights being operated from Nagpur to 28 (14 each way). Apart from this, there is also one international to Sharjah operated by Air Arabia.
The flights by Spice Jet has given city travellers additional flights to both cities. Indigo (8.15pm) and JetLite (8.45am) have flights to Bangalore and, Air India (9.20am), JetLite (8.05am) and Go Air (8.40pm) operate flights to New Delhi.
Indigo, which operates flights from the city to Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and Delhi, connected Nagpur to Bangalore and Indore last month. The flight is operated on the Delhi-Indore-Nagpur-Bangalore route.
Until a few days ago, there were no direct connections to Bangalore with a city flyer being forced to travel there via Mumbai on a JetLite flight. In Mumbai, passengers had no option but to wait in the aircraft for around 40 minutes.
25/04/11 Sachin Dravekar/Times of India

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Transit hotels target airport opportunities

Mumbai: Passengers tired of long delays in flights or looking to relax as they wait for their transit flights now have help at hand.
The newly-evolved concept of transit hotels has marked its entry into the Indian air space. The Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi is the first in India to have a ‘transit hotel’. The hotel, in Terminal 3, is run by the Langham Hospitality Group under their brand ‘Eaton Smart’.
Many such transit hotels are expected to come up, with airports in the country getting ready to provide world-class experience to passengers. Among those eyeing the opportunity are global and domestic brands like Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI), Best Western International, Peppermint Hotels run by Arjun Baljee and Check-Inn Hotels.
25/04/11 Sheta Bhanot/Financial Express

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Air India passenger in Bangalore will get Rs30,000 as compensation

Bangalore: A city-based consumer disputes redressal forum has awarded a compensation of Rs30,000 to a passenger of Air India Limited for deficiency in the service meted out to him by the airline.
The II Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum directed the airline to pay the amount directly to the complainant — Sukumar, 57, of JP Nagar 6th Phase —- through cheque or demand draft within a month, failing which the airline would have to pay an annual interest of 6% of the amount.
Sukumar had in a complaint filed on August 11, 2010 prayed to the court a compensation of ¤11 lakh for mental trauma, stress and harassment caused to him because of the absence of certain services during his travel from New York to Bengaluru International Airport, Devanahalli.
He detailed three incidents in which Air India failed to provide him with adequate facilities.
He said that the airline refused to accept his Indian Airlines American Express (Amex) card for the payment of luggage charge citing unavailability of swiping machine which accepts such cards causing him embarrassment.
Despite specific agreement, the airline failed to make an arrangement for his travel from New York Airport to New York City, and the airline took four days to hand over a misplaced luggage, he said.
25/04/11 Santosh Kumar RB/Daily News & Analysis

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Long walk to check-in leaves fliers tweeting

New Delhi: Walking long distances to catch a flight seems to be biggest pet peeve of passengers at Delhi airport's Terminal 3, which they otherwise find stunning. An analysis of all tweets on the IGI Airport, done by the private airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) over the last eight months, has revealed some interesting feedback from users.
“Most people who tweet about Terminal 3 are usually impressed by its size and facilities, which they believe are at par with the best airports in the world,” said a DIAL spokesman. The most used word in most of the tweets is 'awesome', he said.
DIAL had outsourced the job of collating all tweets regarding the airport and Terminal 3 to another private agency. The analysis was done of tweets posted between July 28, 2010 and March 31, 2011.
“During this period, people have posted 2,015 tweets about the airport,” he said. According to DIAL, 824 of these tweets are positive, with people complimenting the infrastructure of the new terminal; 712 tweets were found to be 'neutral', as these did not directly speak about the airport, but allied services to and from the airport.
The number of tweets that can be termed negative is 479, DIAL said. “A majority of these tweets were either about the 'long walks' required once inside the terminal or about the colour of the carpet,” he said.
24/04/11 Sidhartha Roy/Hindustan Times

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Bangalore airport-goers will pay toll from today

Bangalore: Navyuga Devanahalli Tollway Private Limited, the toll operator, issued a public notification on Saturday, indicating collection of toll from midnight of April 25.
According to the notification, cars will be charged Rs 20 for a single journey, while a two-way ticket will cost Rs 25. Mini buses will have to shell out Rs 30 and Rs 45 for single and return journeys, respectively, while buses/trucks will have to pay Rs 60 and Rs 90, respectively. The return pass will be effective for 24 hours from time of payment of fee.
The toll will not only be applicable to those commuting to the airport, but also to those who want to use that particular stretch of National Highways Authority of India.
The notification was issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on February 2 to collect and retain the user-fee for the use of the section of the highway from Sadahalli Gate.
According to the notification, Navyuga has been granted sanction to collect toll from April 10 till the termination date of the agreement. The rates will be valid till March 31, 2012, after which they will be revised as per the NHAI formula.
24/04/11 Deccan Herald

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Hit by cleaning machine at airport, woman, child injured

Mumbai: In a freak accident, a woman and her two-year-old child were injured when an motorised cleaning machine hit them as they were waiting to board their flight after security clearance.
Pankti Mehta along with her husband Vishal and two-year-old child were on their way to Hyderabad in a Jetlite flight set to depart at 7.15 pm on Sunday.The family had come to Mumbai by train from Gujarat to catch the flight to Hyderabad.
25/04/11 Indian Express

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Devotees have harrowing time at Mumbai domestic airport

Mumbai: A dozen devotees of Sathya Sai Baba, wanting to go to Puttaparthi, alleged that they were put through a harrowing time at the domestic airport on Sunday, when they were prevented from boarding a Kingfisher flight scheduled to depart at 6.50 pm.
The passengers say they were not accommodated on the flight even though they had reached well before an hour of the scheduled departure.
“We were in the queue but it just wasn’t moving. Then, five minutes before scheduled take-off, we were told that we couldn’t board the flight as it was ready to take off,” said an exasperated Dr Aniruddh Ambekar, who runs Lifeline Medicare Hospital at Goregaon.
“We were upset as we wanted to fly to Puttaparthi as soon as possible. I shut my clinic and made arrangements for my patients. Now I am told I cannot go. This is unprofessional of the airline,” said Dr Ambekar.
“When we demanded alternative arrangements, they initially asked us to come to the airport after 12 hours,” said Dr Shilpa Ambekar of Bombay Hospital.
25/04/11 Geeta Desai/Mumbai Mirror

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SL Airlines to carry Sai Baba devotees

Special arrangements have been made by the Sri Lankan airlines to carry all Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba devotees who wish to pay their last respects to the Bhagwan’s remains in India, Sri Lankan Airlines said.
The airline will have additional capacity on their daily flights to Bangalore from Tuesday April 26, onwards, in order to accommodate all devotees who wish to fly to India to pay final homage to their spiritual leader. The airline will also consider adding some special charters to facilitate the travel of all the Bhagwan's devotees.
25/04/11 Daily Mirror

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Row over Shirdi trust's move to give Rs 50 cr for airport project

Shirdi : The Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan, a trust which manages the famous Saibaba temple here, is in the eye of a political storm over its move to extend a Rs 50 crore financial assistance for the upcoming Shirdi airport project.
The trust is headed by former Congress legislator Jayant Sasane, a close aide of state agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who is also a member of the temple's board of trustees and a sitting MLA from Shirdi.
A fairly successful bandh was observed in the temple town on Wednesday to protest the move on the grounds that the cash-rich temple trust ought to address more pressing priorities such as construction of roads, drinking water and other civic amenities in the town rather than fund the airport project, which is the state government's responsibility.
It may be noted that construction work for the Rs 118-crore Shirdi airport project over a 750-acre land at village Kakdi, 10 km from here, had started last year under supervision of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), which is a special purpose vehicle of the state government and is headed by the chief minister.
The MADC has engaged a Hyderabad-based contractor for executing the civil works, including laying of a new runway, construction of the terminal building, safety compound, etc. Most of these works have progressed to the halfway stage mark, but the same have come to a standstill for the last couple of weeks over the pendency of the contractor's bills running up to nearly Rs 20 crore.
23/04/11 Tarachand Mhaske/Times of India

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Mumbai airport closure leaves passengers in the lurch

Mumbai: The closure of the Mumbai airport on Saturday for five hours due to runway maintenance caught some passengers unawares. Inbound passengers, who were warned by the media, were able to reach the city, and the airport was forced to reschedule and combine flights so as to not inconvenience passengers further.
Rama Tirodkar, 50,and advocate Rajan Nair, 50, were two of the passengers left twiddling their thumbs at the airport.
The Goan residents were booked on Spicejet's Jaipur-Mumbai-Goa flight, only to be stranded midway. “On April 21, the airline sent us a message that our Jaipur-Mumbai flight SG 343 has been cancelled. But the next day they SMSed that it has been preponed, and instead of 10am, it will leave at 8.15am from Jaipur,” said Tirodkar. “Now they are telling us that due to runway closure, the flight will leave at 5pm.”
But some passengers like SK Mathur, 50, a civil engineer from Delhi, preponed his flight to Mumbai, thanks to updates from the media.
24/04/11 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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No land acquisition notification yet for Pune airport

Pune: Will the proposed Pune international airport come up at Rajgurunagar near Chakan or shift to another site?
A question which remains unanswered as officials from the state government and the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), the implementing authority, are talking in different tongues.
"The project will come up at the very site that has been proposed at present," divisional commissioner Dilip Band told TOI on Thursday. Sources in MADC maintained that top officials from Pune district's administration had mooted an alternative site which is across the highway close to the present proposed site for the airport project during a meeting with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on March 9. "We are waiting for a joint survey to determine the suitability of such an alternative site," said an MADC official, who did not wish to be identified.
The company has already informed the government in the past that the present site at Rajgurunagar is not suitable for the airport project due to several factors including farmers' opposition to land acquisition, presence of vast tracts of forest land, difficulties in resurfacing of project area, and substantial irrigation activity in patches.
Talks about an alternative site began after Pawar, last November, said that if land acquisition issues are not resolved through the government machinery then private parties are an option for setting up the airport.
23/04/11 Vishwas Kothari/Times of India

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Flyers stranded as Mumbai airport shuts for five hours

Mumbai: The Prabhakarans, a 12-member family including senior citizens and toddlers from Bangalore, spent Saturday afternoon in the sweltering heat outside the Mumbai airport because they did not know that the airport was not functioning. They were supposed to take a Jet Airways flight home at 3.30pm. They
said that the airline was late to inform them about the revision in flight schedules. The airport was not operational for five hours because the runway was closed for repairs from 11.30am to 4.30pm. Next Saturday, too, the airport will not operate for five hours.
“It was unbearably hot and frustrating to wait outside the airport for three hours,” said VK Prabhakaran, a family member. Having headed to the airport straight from Shirdi, the family had few options other than endlessly staring at the flight display screens.
There were at least 20 to 30 such families, mostly non-Mumbaiites, who were stranded at the city airport because their respective airlines did not inform them about the change in the flight schedule.
Suraj and Dipti Mulani, a couple from Dubai, lost money on hotel stay and transport because Spicejet Airlines, allegedly did not inform them about change in the timing of their flight to Delhi. “We had already paid for a bus ride from Delhi to Kulu and the stay there which went waste,” said Suraj.
The worst hit were people booked on morning flights, as their wait was the longest. Surendra Gupta, 50, a tourist from Gujarat, had a Jetlite flight at 11.30am to Delhi.
24/04/11 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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SpiceJet engine B738 ingests bat

A Spicejet Boeing 737-800, flight SG-117 from Delhi to Ahmedabad (India), was on final approach to Ahmedabad at around 22:30L (17:00Z) when the aircraft ingested a bat into one of its engines. The crew continued for a safe landing, the airplane taxied to the gate where passengers disembarked.

23/04/11 Simon Hradecky/Aviation Herald

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After DGCA rap, airlines rework Mumbai arrival schedule

Mumbai: As many as 45 flights across all airlines have reworked their schedules to adjust their departure from the city of origin to the allotted arrival slots in Mumbai.
The change happened after the ministry of civil aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) cracked down on flights cheating on their block time (time taken by a flight between place of origin and destination).
The DGCA had identified 70 flights arriving in Mumbai earlier than their scheduled arrival time. These flights had not adjusted their departure time from the city of origin, to correspond with the allotted arrival time. They were congesting the airspace in the peak traffic hours. Twenty-five flights coming to Mumbai still need to reschedule.
Officials said the rescheduling would help reducing flight delays drastically during peak traffic hours. Currently, delays during the peak hours (between 9.30 pm to 11 pm) go up to an hour or more. However, with these flights landing on their designated time, delays are likely to reduce by 20-30 minutes. During these hours, more flight movements are sanctioned than are allowed.
To add to it, those which are not scheduled also come and jam the skies. These flights are the ones that land before their scheduled time, said a senior airport official. There were around 70 such early but untimely arrivals at Mumbai after 6 pm.
With 45 flights coming on time and not interfering with other flights, delays and hold time will automatically reduce, said the official.
23/04/11 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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MADC rapped for favouring CARE hospitals

Nagpur: The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has been pulled yet again by the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) - the regulator for government bodies. The CAG report tabled in the state assembly this week says that MADC management unduly favoured Hyderabad-based Care Group of hospitals leading to a loss of Rs 8.8 crore to this state-government company. The MADC is coming up with the much-touted Mihan-SEZ.
Quality Care of India Limited, a joint venture of US' John Hopkins and CARE Group, was allotted 74 acres of land in the SEZ for setting up a state-of-the-art health complex. The land was allotted for Rs 36.60 crore in November 2008. RC Sinha was at the helm of the affairs at MADC at that time. An advance of 20% of the amount too was paid. The company, however, defaulted in paying the rest of the money which became overdue by October 2010.
However, MADC went soft on it and did not recover the penalty which could have been otherwise due on account of the delay. In all other cases a clause of charging Rs 5 lakh per week of delay was incorporated, but not in the case of Quality Care. The CAG has calculated a loss of Rs 8.80 crore on this account, which the regulator says should have been recovered from Quality Care.
23/04/11 Times of India

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45 early birds under scanner change course

Mumbai: Departure schedules of as many as 45 flights of four airlines have been reworked to ensure that they adhere to their allotted timings for arrival at the city airport.
The development comes close on the heels of a crackdown by the ministry of civil aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to rein in airlines manipulating their block time (the number of hours taken by a flight between the place of origin and destination).
The DGCA had zeroed in on 70 flights that were found landing at the Mumbai airport earlier than their scheduled arrival time. "These flights had not adjusted their departure time from the city of origin in order to stick to the slots allotted to them for arrival here. They were arriving early and congesting the airspace during peak hours," an official said, adding that 25 more flights still need to rework their schedules.
According to the official, the move will help reduce delays drastically during peak traffic hours. "Currently, delays between 9.30 pm to 11 pm can extend up to more than an hour. However, with these flights landing on time, delays are likely to reduce by 20-30 minutes," he pointed out.
"It is a challenge to handle flight movements sanctioned during the peak hours. To add to it, those which are not scheduled also jam the skies and compound the problem,'' said a senior airport official.
23/04/11 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Brawl at airport after passenger's luggage goes missing

Lucknow: A scene was created at the Amausi airport after a passenger entered into a heated argument with the staff of Indigo airlines after he found his luggage missing on Friday evening.
According to reports, an ex-army person, Appasaheb Deshmukh, along with his family members, had arrived in Lucknow from Mumbai by an Indigo flight (6E-342) at around 4 pm. But as Deshmukh checked out, he found his luggage missing.
To this, he lodged a complaint with the Indigo officials who asked him to fill up a form giving details of the luggage that went missing. In the meantime, the aircraft left for Patna, leaving the family at a complete loss. Reports said that the infuriated passenger grabbed an employee of Indigo by collar and slapped him. In retaliation, the official too tried to hit the passenger even as other passengers in the lobby watched in horror.
Soon, CISF personnel registered a challan against the passenger and handed him to the police. "There is a specific process through which a misplaced baggage in any airlines can be found. There was no need to lose the temper," said a senior airport official witness to the incident.
When contacted, airport director Atul Dikshit confirmed that such an incident had occurred.
23/04/11 Times of India

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Cockpit cold war led to Mangalore plane crash

New Delhi: Could prior counselling of co-pilot HS Ahluwalia, who had reservations about flying with foreign commanders, have averted the crash of an Air India Express flight in Mangalore last May?
The ill-fated Boeing 737-800 flight was commandered by Serbian Z Glusica and was on way to Mangalore from Dubai on the morning of May 22. A detailed report on the accident has found that ‘sleep inertia’ of the captain and his insistence on landing despite Ahluwalia’s repeated cries of a “go around” led to the crash. But it also says that First Officer Ahluwalia did not wake up Glusica earlier “due to such feelings” (against expat commanders) and that Glusica and Ahluwalia were not on talking terms for a long time. The crash claimed over 150 lives.
The lack of communication between the captain and his co-pilot has now led to a Court of Inquiry (CoI), instituted to investigate the crash, to suggest that greater emphasis be laid on effective communication between cockpit crew.
The CoI has concluded that the cause of this accident was the captain’s failure to discontinue the “unstabilised approach” and his insistence in continuing with the landing.
22/04/11 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Srinagar Airport sans vital weather gear

Srinagar: Notwithstanding frequent bad weather conditions in Kashmir, the Srinagar ‘International’ Airport sans one of the vital weather equipments which could enhance the efficiency of air operations and passenger safety at the ‘sensitive’ aerodrome, especially in turbulent times.
Highly placed sources, well-versed with the civil aviation requirements, told Greater Kashmir that in the wake of frequent bad weather and mountainous terrain in the Valley, Srinagar airport should have the Digital Automatic Terminal Information System (D-ATIS) to enhance the air operations and the passenger safety.
The D-ATIS, they said, is the ground-based equipment which allows pilots and flight-crews to receive and read Automatic Terminal Information text messages rather than take the same manually through the Air Traffic Control (ATC).
“If the D-ATIS is put in place at the airport, it will facilitate pilots to take the Meteorological reports after every 30 minutes. Right now a pilot has to depend upon ATC officer to inform him about weather updates at the aerodrome, which is an old phenomenon,” said the sources. “The installation of the new equipment would cut down the human element of the issue. With manual information, there is possibility of a communication gap between the sender and the receiver. You may sometimes not be able to hear proper information. So to be accurate, it is important to have this equipment installed.”
Sources said the Srinagar-based AAI should consider installing the equipment, which doesn’t cost much. “It costs only a few lakh rupees which can be easily affordable by the AAI. Such equipments have been installed in many airports in India, including a couple of defence enclaves,” they said.
22/04/11 Faheem Aslam/Greater Kashmir

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Rusty equipment used for ground handling at the airport

Chennai: Rusty and rickety vehicles and equipment are used to do ground handling at Chennai airport. Most of the baggage trolleys, baggage and cargo loaders, pushback vehicles and other equipment are in bad shape.
Over 14 big and small private agencies carry out ground handling for around 16 airlines at the airport. Most of these companies have been using the same vehicles and equipment for several years.
These equipment need to be maintained periodically because they are parked in the open in the apron area and exposed to the weather. Unused equipment are also left to rust in the apron area.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) does not have a system in place to monitor the health of these equipment but prefers to wait for an incident to happen to take action. "We do not keep watch on these equipment. But take strong action if any incident happens," said a senior AAI official.
Sources said that except passenger shuttles all other equipment that were used close to the aircraft were in bad shape and have old-fashioned safety mechanisms that are inadequate. The box-type baggage trolleys pulled by tractors are rusting because they have not received a coat of paint for years. Similar is the condition of huge baggage loaders that are used to unload and transport baggage and cargo from aircraft to terminal.
22/04/11 Times of India

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Air India flight aborts take off after smoke emanates from engine in Kochi

Kochi: Air India's Kochi-Mumbai flight with 150 passengers and six crew members on board on Friday aborted take off soon after smoke was detected from one of its engines at the airport here.
The smoke was detected in the Auxiliary Power Unit and engineers rectified the "very minor snag", Air India sources said.
The plane was towed to the aircraft base for inspection and the problem rectified following which it resumed its onward journey to Mumbai.
22/04/11 PTI/Times of India

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New ATC system trial in Mumbai airport from May

New Delhi: Air traffic controllers are unhappy at the decision to go in for a trial run of Auto Track Three, a hi-tech system which it is claimed would help improve air traffic management, at the Mumbai airport in May.

The system is already operational at Delhi airport and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is keen that it becomes functional at the Mumbai airport also. Confirming the trial of the new system, an AAI spokesperson said: "It is happening as per the decided schedule of the operations wing of the AAI. The trial had been happening in the past too."
But news of Auto Track Three trial has been greeted with dismay by the air traffic controllers in Mumbai because of the timing. "In the next three months, the Mumbai weather is certainly not the best time to conduct trial or switch over to a new system. In such weather conditions, rain and cloud formation is so fierce that an aircraft often goes beyond from its intended flight track," said an ATC official posted in Mumbai.
The system is used by the ATCs to facilitate take off and landing of aircraft and also streamline the flow of aircraft movement overflying the airport. Mumbai airport handles over 700 air movements every day. AAI has been carrying out trials of the new system for the past two years. "In the earlier trials, there were several technical faults and the manufacturer was informed about them. We hope the faults have been corrected to expand its operational abilities," said another ATC official.
22/04/11 Yogesh Kumar/Times of India

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Mumbai runway to shut for 5 hrs on Sat

Mumbai: Travel plans of several fliers will be affected on two Saturdays — April 23 and 30 — as flight movement will be halted for five hours at the Mumbai airport due to runway repair work. The closure is expected to affect around 120 flights, one-fifth of the daily air traffic at the city airport.
Most airlines have cancelled, rescheduled and clubbed flights to minimise inconvenience to fliers. While Air India has cancelled eight flights, most on the Mumbai-Delhi sector, Jet Airways has clubbed a Mumbai-Bhubaneshwar flight with a Vishakhapatnam-bound flight.
Jet Airways has also revised the timings of its Mumbai-London flights. The stretch that will be taken up for repairs is the area where the two runways at the airport intersect. According to airport officials, the lights on the edge of the runway would be relocated as the main runway has been widened from 45 metres to 60 metres.
22/04/11 Hindustan Times

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Mangalore crash report out: Sleepy captain was just one of the reasons

New Delhi:

Co-pilot (6:03:35): It’s too high!

(6:03:42): Runway straight down.

Captain (6:03:43):Oh my God. Okay

Co-pilot (06:03:54): Go around?

Captain (06:03:56):wrong loc.. localizer

Co-pilot (06:04:06):Go around

(06:04:07): Captain

(06:04:12): Un-stabilised

(06:04:38): Go around Captain

(06:04:44): We don’t have runway left

Captain (06:04:54): Oh my God

(06:04:59): awwww. Big One!

(06:05:00): Ohhhh

At this point, 6:05:00 am on May 22, 2010, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) went blank. The Captain, soon after touchdown, attempted to take off again against air safety norms and failed. Few minutes later, Air India Express IX 812 overshot the tabletop runway at Mangalore’s Bajpe airport. Within seconds, the flight from Dubai was a ball of fire, claiming 158 lives on board. Eight passengers survived.

The final investigation report has held the Captain’s failure to execute a safe landing as ‘the direct cause of accident’. The report, which has been accepted by the government, said Captain Zlatko Glusica, who was in command during take-off from Dubai and landing at Mangalore, carried on with the “unstabilised approach” during landing and ignored both the first officer’s (HS Ahluwalia) three calls to ‘go around’ and several warnings to ‘PULL UP’ and ‘SINK RATE’ from the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS).

The Captain was found sleeping for the first one hour and forty minutes out of the total two-hour and five minutes recorded on the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), the report said. “As a result of relatively short period of time between his awakening and the approach, it possibly led to impaired judgement,” the report said.

Another contributory factor, as per the report, was the incorrect landing instructions received by the flight as the Mangalore Area Control Radar (MSSR) was out of order and a notice to this effect was given in advance to all flights operating into or out of the airport. There was lack of communication between the flight crew, and the CVR recordings show that first officer was not assertive when he made a call for ‘go around’.

Giving its recommendations, the court of inquiry — headed by Air Marshal (rtd) BN Gokhale—has said that Air India Express should be allowed to function as in independent organisation, and its training and flight safety should be accorded due priority. It also noted the airline’s simulator, on which training is conducted, suffers from maintenance problems and frequently breakdowns. It has asked the AAI to avoid downward slopes near the runway, as was the case in Mangalore, and instead bring them to the same level as the runway surface, especially in tabletop runways.

21/04/11 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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AAI keen on expansion of Patna airport

Patna: Buoyed by unprecedented growth in air traffic at the city's Jaya Prakash Narayan International airport (JPNI) in the last couple of years, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is working out strategies to better tap the growing flying capacity of people from Bihar.

In a recent letter to the Bihar chief secretary, AAI chairman V P Agrawal has requested the state government's civil aviation department to intensely deliberate upon AAI's expansion proposals of JPNI airport.

"During 2009-2010, the city airport had emerged number one in the country in terms of percentage growth of domestic passengers as well as domestic aircraft movement. AAI's survey report for the year 2010-2011 is due to be declared soon and JPNI airport is most likely to once again notch number one spot this year too," said a source.

According to the AAI figures, Patna airport handled over 5.52 lakh domestic passengers in 2009-10, which was 60.4% more than the corresponding figure of over 3.44 lakh passengers for 2008-09.

The AAI's letter to Bihar government clearly mentions the traffic growth and the acute space constraints that it has to face.

"The space crunch is not only an obstacle in the way of increasing the number of airlines for providing more options to air travellers, but more seriously, it becomes an obstacle in the way of providing fliers amenities at the airport," said a senior official.

21/04/11 Alok K N Mishra/Times of India

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Twin scare for flight

A squall and a flier in distress gave passengers on board a flight from Mumbai a scare before the plane made it to Calcutta on Tuesday night.

The Airbus 320, carrying 155 passengers, flew into “severe turbulence” at 35,000ft about 200 nautical miles (370km) west of Calcutta, forcing the pilot to make a Mayday call to the air traffic control (ATC).

An airport official said the city ATC received the distress call from the pilot of the Indigo flight around 9.20pm, half an hour before it was scheduled to land.

“The pilot said he was unable to maintain altitude because of bad weather and unreliable air speed. He also said he had lost all automation and sought a priority landing,” said the official on Wednesday.

Automation refers to the aircraft’s automatic pilot system that became non-functional because of the turbulence.

The flight was then given “a continuous descent” by the ATC, which means the aircraft was allowed to descend steadily from the altitude at which there was turbulence. It was also given priority over other flights approaching Calcutta for landing.

The aircraft had come out of the turbulence without any structural damage and was approaching Calcutta, when the pilot made another call to the ATC around 9.30pm to declare a medical emergency.

“A 55-year-old passenger was bleeding from the rectum and was in distress. He had an existing problem and the aircraft being caught in turbulence did not trigger the bleeding,” said the official

21/04/11 The Telegraph

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Indigo flight makes landing for 'medical emergency' in Kolkata

Kolkata: An Indigo Mumbai-Kolkata flight with 155 people on board made a landing for a 'medical emergency' at the N S C Bose International airport here as a woman passenger fell sick, Airports Authority of India sources said tonight.

The aircraft pilot, who had last night initially detected a technical snag and sought priority landing permission from the air traffic control (ATC) at 9:05 pm, then asked for 'medical emergency' consent minutes after the 55-year-old woman complained of uneasiness, the sources said, quoting the delay report.

21/04/11 PTI/Times of India

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Congress MP seeks civil terminal at defence airport

Ludhiana: Member of Parliament from Ludhiana Manish Tewari Wednesday urged Defence Minister A.K. Antony to open a civil terminal at the defence-controlled Halwara airport near this Punjab industrial city.

The Halwara airport is under the control of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

In a letter to the defence minister, Tewari, who is the national spokesman of the Congress, sought the defence ministry's clearance to construct a civil terminal of the Airports Authority of India at the airport. He sought the urgent intervention of the defence minister in this regard.

The MP also sought shifting of the Baddowal ammunition depot from Ludhiana saying that it was posing a danger and harassment to residents of nearby areas.

Tewari also brought to the notice of the minister the problems faced by the residents around the S.K. firing range that is located in the rural part of the Ludhiana parliamentary constituency.

He said the firing range is surrounded by villages and farm land which has very dense population.

20/04/11 IANS/Mangalorean.com

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Air India passengers stranded for 3 hrs

Patna: At least 90 fliers, booked on Air India's Patna-Delhi IC 410 remained stranded for nearly three hours at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport here on Wednesday morning.

AI's Delhi-Patna IC 409, which arrives at 8.30am to return to Delhi as IC 410 at 9am, had landed on time. All the passengers had boarded the return flight on time and the pilots had even got cabin clearance to take off. But the aircraft could not take off.

Technical staff later detected a snag in the plane. The passengers, including BJP MP Prabhat Jha and JD (U) MP Ranjan Prasad Yadav, had to deplane and wait for more than three hours before they were accommodated in the AI's next Patna-Delhi flight.

20/04/11 Alok K N Mishra/Times of India

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Irregularities found in Air India's check-in system

New Delhi: Sudden cancellation of an Air India international flight has revealed irregularities in its check-in system at Delhi's Terminal 3. While economy class passengers are allowed to check-in with luggage weighing 20kg, a Singapore-bound Delhiite managed to check-in with several bags weighing 140kg by just paying for less than half of that weight. This scam would have gone unnoticed had the flight not been cancelled and the man been stopped by customs for carrying a large number of bags.

The irregular check-in happened when a passenger reached T3 late on Monday night to fly AI 380 to Singapore, whose schedule departure time was half past midnight on Tuesday. Sources claimed he checked-in 20 bags, a number disputed by the airline without giving any figure of its own. "Traders and shopkeepers fly with a large number of baggage to Southeast Asia. This passenger, it seems, is a businessman," said sources.

After the flight was cancelled at the last minute, all the passengers were returned their checked-in bags. When this person was walking out, the customs officials stopped him as he was found carrying a large number of bags. Inquiries revealed that the bags were meant to be flown in on that flight without paying the required charges.

An AI spokesperson admitted that the irregularity was done by the airline's check-in staff.

20/04/11 Times of India

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Power failure delays 12 flights in Chennai

Chennai: Tension prevailed at Kamaraj domestic terminal as nearly 12 flights were delayed due to total power failure. All computers were down for 30 minutes on Wednesday afternoon leading to manual check-in of baggage and passengers as the back-up power also went bust.

The power failure was attributed to a punctured cable at the construction site of the new domestic terminal building.

“Services, including escalator, announcement systems, display boards and aerobridges were affected when the circuit-breaker switch tripped around 11.40 am,” said an AAI official.

There was a short circuit due to cable fault. The cable passing through the new domestic terminal construction site was accidentally punctured and a wire got burnt leading to complete blackout.

The lift, aerobridge and other services were restored at 12.35 pm and complete restoration was by 4.40 pm.

The power failure was compounded by the fact that the back-up power system also failed.

An airline employee told this newspaper that power cuts are common at the airport but neither the employees nor passengers get to know about them as the back-up power would automatically turn on.

“But on Wednesday, there was some issue with the back-up system also,” he added.

This led to a delay in 12 flights at Chennai airport as all computers were down for around 30 minutes. All the processes had to be done manually.

21/04/11 Deccan Chronicle

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