Advani’s flight makes unscheduled landing in Hyderabad after technical snag

Hyderabad: An aircraft carrying senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani made an unscheduled landing at the old airport at Begumpet here Monday, after developing a technical snag.
Advani was on his way from New Delhi to Bangalore to campaign for BJP for the next month’s elections in Karnataka, party sources said.
The former deputy prime minister had to wait for nearly two hours at the airport before Karnataka Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar reached the airport in his special aircraft. Advani later left for Bangalore in the chief minister’s plane.
30/04/13 First Post

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Green tribunal dismisses petition against Aranmula airport

Chennai:  The proposed KGS Aranmula International Airport in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala got a reprieve on Tuesday when the National Green Tribunal, Chennai Bench, dismissed a petition that challenged the project.
The petitioner had challenged the notification of the proposed airport site as an industrial belt and the no-objection certificate given by the state government for the project.
The present order also sets aside the interim order passed by the bench two weeks ago. In the interim order, the bench had stayed construction at the site.
The verdict is expected to speed up the project.
30/04/13 Jayaraj Sivan/Times of India

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Delhi cops grounded at Vadodara airport

Vadodara: Kapil Nagle, an accused in an online banking fraud, was arrested from the city on Monday and taken to the national capital by train, reportedly after an attempt to take him by air failed due to procedural lapses by the Delhi cops.
Nagle has been accused of siphoning Rs 70 lakh from the account of a Delhi-based company and transferring it to different accounts.
He was arrested from Soma Talav area on Dabhoi Road in the city on Sunday by Delhi police with the help of their city counterparts. Nagle was kept in the lockup of the Wadi police station and was brought out on Monday at around 4pm.
Delhi cops had obtained a transit warrant to take him.
30/04/13 Times of India

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Airlines challenge hike in charges at Mumbai airport

New Delhi: Federation of Indian Airlines and German carrier Lufthansa have challenged an order of airport economic regulator AERA approving hike in various aeronautical charges at Mumbai airport.
The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal will hear the petitions of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) and Lufthansa on July 18.
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) in a January 15, 2013, order had approved hike in various aeronautical charges such as landing, housing and parking, aerobridge and fuel throughput.
A three-member bench of the tribunal issued notice over condonation of delay to AERA, Airport Authority of India and Ministry of Civil Aviation and Mumbai International Airport Ltd, which operates Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport.
28/04/13 PTI/Economic Times

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Air India flight takes off without Tolly star

Kolkata: Actor Rituparna Sengupta was stranded at Delhi airport On Sunday after the Air India flight, on which she had a booking, took off without her. The airline claims that it did make several announcements and finally shut the boarding gates as per regulation when the passenger did not turn up. AI later endorsed her and another passenger on a Jet Airways flight to Kolkata.
The actress, who had gone to Delhi to host the programme celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema at the Siri Fort Auditorium on Saturday, reached the airport at 6am to take the 7am flight AI 401. After collecting her boarding pass and undergoing security check, she lazed around as there was adequate time at hand. "After pottering around for a while, I began moving towards the designated boarding gate. Just then, I experienced a bout of sickness and rushed into a restroom. I was violently ill for a while.
30/04/13 Times of India

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Airport theft turns glare on cameras

Siliguri: An SUV theft from the parking lot of Bagdogra airport yesterday has raised doubts about CCTV surveillance at the facility which is a security installation.
C.K. Shrestha, whose car was stolen, today alleged that when his family wanted to see CCTV footage to see the exit gate of the airport and check who had driven away the car, the airport authorities said they could not provide him with such footage.
He alleged that the airport authorities told his son Yash that the CCTV cameras on the premises were out of order when he wished to see the footage between 1pm and 2pm.
However, K. Bhowmik, the director of the Bagdogra airport, denied the charge that the CCTV cameras were not working.
“We have met the person concerned whose car was stolen from the parking lot and promised all necessary steps. It is not correct that CCTV cameras were not functioning at the airport,” Bhowmik said.
30/04/13 The Telegraph

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Nigerian held at airport for not declaring USD

Mumbai: A Nigerian was arrested from Mumbai international airport for allegedly not declaring that he was carrying USD 80,000 with him, a customs official said today.
As per rule, passengers carrying above USD 5,000 have to give declaration before the authorities.
The man, identified as Bello Almou, was frisked on Thursday after he passed through the green channel at the Chhattrapati Shivaji Terminus airport, the official said.
29/04/13 PTI/ZeeNews

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Land-locked Punjab to hop onto Boeings: Sukhbir Badal

Chandigarh: For a state, whose urban vacationers frequently set off to Macau and Jats zip between Majha and Doaba in their SUVs, airports with facilities for large aircraft like Boeing-747s and 4/6 lane roads have received an official stamp to overcome Punjab's limitation of being a land-locked state.
Speaking at the Times Group's Achievers of the North ceremony here on Saturday, Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal promised to make the state epicentre of investment by improving air connectivity and road infrastructure. The programme had Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa and revenue minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia attending.
"We are conscious of Punjab's land-locked status. Which is why the roadmap ahead for us is to have an airport every 100-km and Boeing 737s and Airbus 320s landing here," Sukhbir told business tycoons who had gathered at the gala event.
29/04/13 Times of India

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New terminal at Bamrauli airport proposed

Allahabad: Keeping in mind security related problems faced by passengers, a new terminal may come up soon within the precincts of Bamrauli airport which at present is under the control of Central Air Command (CAC).This was decided at a meeting of officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and district administration on Saturday.
Presiding over the meeting after visiting the spot along with AAI officials, district magistrate (DM) Rajshekhar said the present terminal at Bamrauli airport is relatively small in size and is not in a position to accommodate heavy rush of passengers and additional flights.
Considering this fact a new terminal would be constructed close to the present airstrip which would streamline movement at Bamrauli airport.
29/04/13 Times of India

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Salman Khurshid behind US airport detention: Azam Khan

New York: Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Minister Azam Khan, who was briefly detained on Wednesday at a US airport, on Sunday accused External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid of hatching a "conspiracy" to defame him outside India.
He even claimed that a call on continuation of Samajwadi Party's support to the UPA government will be taken by party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav after hearing his version and that of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on their return to India. "Our leader knows exactly what had happened and who is behind this and he will take a decision soon on the continuation of support to the UPA government," he said.
On Akhilesh meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in Chennai, Khan said formation of a third front with the AIADMK and Pattali Makkal Katchi could not be ruled out. Mulayam Singh, he said, would lead the front, if and when it is formed, and would become the next prime minister.
29/04/13 PTI/Indian Express

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Days of the jackal numbered in airport

Kolkata: The city airport may have got a glitzy integrated terminal, but problems at the ground level continue to disrupt seamless flight operations. And talking of the immediate menace, it's packs of jackals that are giving sleepless nights to airport officials. The problem identified, the airport authorities are now going all-out to evict jackals from the airport complex before monsoon arrives.
Director general of civil aviation Arun Kumar Mishra on Friday called the jackal packs a major safety hazard at the airport. "The animal menace at the airport is a big problem. We need to resolve this before the monsoon sets in so that flight operations are not affected by their incursions on the runway," he told TOI.
It isn't known how many of these animals inhabit the 1,670-acre airport ground but pilots and ground staff have sighted several packs roaming about along the east of the primary runway.
29/04/13 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

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Visakhapatnam Airport pins hopes on AAI

Visakhapatnam: For Visakhapatnam, which boasts of a national highway, a major railway junction and one of the best ports, lack of good air transport facility is a drawback. The City of Destiny, as a result, lags far behind not only in terms of passenger travel but also cargo transportation. And for some strange reason, expansion works of the airport are progressing at a snail’s pace notwithstanding promises from all stakeholders.
The Visakhapatnam Airport, which was originally set up for defence purposes, is the second busiest in the State. It bagged the Best Airport Award in tier two category from the Union Tourism Ministry last month.
At present, the airport handles 16 arrivals and departures every day. The airport has been developed with a new terminal building functioning with an expanded runway of 10,500 sft. Night landing facility with instrument landing system is also in place.
29/04/13 PS Dileep/New Indian Express

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Int’l status for Tirupati airport still a dream

Tirupati: Upgradation of the Tirupati domestic airport into an international airport is unlikely in the immediate future. It was way back in September, 2010 that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation stone for the expansion and upgradation of the airport.
Emphasising the need for the same, the Prime Minister had said, “Once this new integrated terminal is operational, the Tirupati airport will have the capacity to handle 500 domestic and 200 international flights during peak hours. The new terminal building will be equipped with state-of-the-art amenities. After international operations commence, pilgrims from neighbouring countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka will find it easier to come in large numbers, contributing to Tirupati’s development into a major religious-cum-tourist hub.”
29/04/13  S Viswanath/New Indian Express

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Two Senior GMR executives quit

Bangalore: Two senior executives of infrastructure developer GMR have resigned their posts, the latest in a series of top-level management moves in the country's infrastructure sector. A Subbarao, chief financial officer of the group, resigned last month. He is moving out of the infrastructure sector, a person with knowledge of the development said.
Vikram Jai Singhania, chief executive of the Hyderabad International Airport, left the company last week to join as president of Mumbai-based tyre-maker Alliance Tire Group. Bangalore-based GMR confirmed the exits. "Subbarao is moving on to pursue different interests," a spokesperson for GMR said, adding that he was replaced last week by Madhu Terdal, chief executive for special economic zone. Subbarao will continue in the services of the GMR Group till July to smoothen the transition, the spokesperson added. Subbarao had joined GMR in December 1999 after working with Kotak Mahindra as head of retail finance operations. He has also worked with ITW Signode, a multinational manufacturer of Packaging Solutions, and audit firm Sudit K Parekh & Co.
Terdal, who has been with GMR for over 13 years, was involved in the company's urban infrastructure projects before taking over as CFO. He has also served as president for GMR Infrastructure, looking into the company's international business.
29/04/13 Sobia Khan/Economic Times

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New weather system to make flying safer

Juhu airport is set to become the first in the country to have the latest technology that will enhance the safety and efficiency of aircraft operations. Officials said the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) will be installed at the airport next month by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). A similar system is operational in the US and Canada.
Airport sources said the technology, which has been developed mainly for helicopters, will automatically send audio messages on weather updates directly to the pilot every minute.
Conversely, the pilot can also choose to receive this information every two or three minutes. Presently, all such details are given manually by the IMD to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) every 30 minutes. The ATC then passes it on to the pilot.
28/04/13 Daily News & Analysis

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Airlines challenge hike in charges at Mumbai airport

New Delhi:  Federation of Indian airlines and German carrier Lufthansa have challenged an order of airport economic regulator AERA, approving hike in various aeronautical charges at Mumbai airport.
The airport economic regulatory authority appellate tribunal will hear the petitions of federation of Indian airlines (FIA) and Lufthansa on July 18.
The airports economic regulatory authority (AERA) in a January 15, 2013, order had approved a hike in various aeronautical charges such as landing, housing and parking, aerobridge and fuel throughput.
A three-member bench of the tribunal issued a notice over the condonation of delay to AERA, Airport Authority of India and ministry of civil aviation and Mumbai International Airport Ltd which operates Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport.
28/04/13 Times of India

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Airlines unhappy with Chennai international terminal

Chennai: Airlines may not be in favour of the new international terminal being opened for public use without the availability of necessary facilities, said sources. The Airline Operators Committee (AOC), comprising representatives from airline operators, met the Minister of State for Civil Aviation K.C. Venugopal on Saturday in this regard.
“The new terminal will open in mid-May but may not operate separately and will require the old terminal to function for a while. The new international terminal will not have an inline baggage screening system. We are also unsure how procedures including check-in, customs, security and immigration can be carried out in both terminals without disturbing passengers,” said an official. The opening of the new terminal has also been plagued by shortage of manpower in CISF, customs and immigration.
28/04/13 The Hindu

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Airlines challenge hike in charges at Mumbai airport

New Delhi: Federation of Indian Airlines and German carrier Lufthansa have challenged an order of airport economic regulator AERA approving hike in various aeronautical charges at Mumbai airport.
The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal will hear the petitions of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) and Lufthansa on July 18.
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) in a January 15, 2013, order had approved hike in various aeronautical charges such as landing, housing and parking, aerobridge and fuel throughput.
A three-member bench of the tribunal issued notice over condonation of delay to AERA, Airport Authority of India and Ministry of Civil Aviation and Mumbai International Airport Ltd, which operates Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport.
28/04/13 PTI/Indian Express

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'Govt should get one more runway'

Panaji: The state unit of the NCP on Saturday demanded that the state government should get one more runway for the Dabolim airport, so as to enable flights to land and take off. The party did not oppose the proposed international airport at Mopa.
The NCP's chief spokesperson, Trajano D'mello, addressing mediapersons along with state president Nilkant Halarnkar, on said that the NCP believes that Goa should be developed as a whole. He said that the centre needs to be approached for another runway at Dabolim.
28/04/13 Times of India

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Just landed? Get ready for another round of frisking at domestic airport

Mumbai: Passengers arriving at the domestic airport will need to go through a security check similar to the one at the departing terminal in a bid to beef up security.
The move comes after security personnel from the customs department discovered two cases of smuggling in the last fortnight. The accused were detained after receiving a tip-off from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
Last week, officials intercepted two couriers involved in a smuggling racket who flew in from Bangalore with gold worth Rs12 lakh. One of the smugglers hid the gold in the seat of an international flight which came in from Dubai the day before and flew to Mumbai the next day. “The modus operandi used assumed that the courier would not be checked at the domestic wing of the Mumbai airport and they would have escaped if we didn’t have  intelligence input,” said an AIU official.
28/04/13 Daily News & Analysis

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Airports Authority of India developing northeast's defunct airports

Guwhati:  The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is developing three non-operational airports at Daparizo in Arunachal Pradesh, Tura in Meghalaya and Kamalpur in Tripura for operating ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft to connect the remote hill areas of the NE region.
An official said the AAI is also developing civil enclaves at Along, Passighat and Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh and Rupsi in Dhubri district of Assam.
The source said the proposals are subject to land acquisition by the state government concerned.
Operationalisation of Tezu airport has also been taken up, which can handle ATR-72 type aircraft.
27/04/13 Times of India

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SP condemns Azam Khan’s detention at Boston airport

Washington: The Samajwadi Party has reacted strongly to the frisking and detention of senior leader and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan at Boston’s Logan International Airport in the United States on Thursday.
Mr. Khan, who was accompanying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for a lecture at Harvard University on the successful logistics of the Mahakumbh event organised in Allahabad this year, has threatened to curtail his visit in protest against what he described as misbehaviour by the American officials.
In a statement released here through his information officer after midnight on Thursday, Mr. Khan alleged that he had been humiliated by the American authorities because he was a Muslim.
26/04/13 The Hindu

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Azam Khan's detention issue: MEA asks Indian Embassy

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs has taken seriously the matter of detention of Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan in Boston, United States. Accordiing to Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of MEA, "The ministry has asked our embassy in Washington DC to take up this matter with the appropriate authorities. We have received reports from our consulate in NYC on this incident.? Samajwadi party has also lodged a formal protest with the Indian government over the issue. Senior SP leader Ram Asrey Kushwaha said that he was not at all surprised by the incident, as this has happened in the past with several Indian leaders, film stars and citizens. Kushwaha said, "We get to see the culture of America through this. Whatever happened with Azam Khan is condemnable. The whole of India is angry."
26/04/13 News Track India

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Navi Mumbai airport delay to hit investors hard

Mumbai: The proposed international airport at Navi Mumbai is indefinitely delayed, leaving investors, politicians, builders and land traders in the lurch. Ever since the airport was announced a few years ago, speculators put a heavy premium on land surrounding the site of the new airport. Land prices shot up manifold as investors believed they would reap a bonanza once the airport came up. But early this month, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan confessed that the government was in no position to fix a timeline to start construction work. Cidco, the nodal agency for the project, is yet to acquire 475 hectares of private land for the airport, which is to be spread over 2,072 hectares. Of the 475 hectares, about 291 are required for aeronautical purposes.
26/04/13 Nauzer K Bharucha/Times of India

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Creditors ask KFA to shut shop or pay up Rs 300cr

Kingfisher Airlines' promoter Vijay Mallya's woes seem to see no end in sight. As United Spirits ' much-awaited deal with Diageo is nearing fruition, one of the final hurdles on the way is the winding up petition that eight creditors have filed against the company. These creditors, including BNP Paribas, Rolls Royce and Wells Fargo Bank have filed the petition against UB Holdings in the Karnataka High Court.
The creditors are alleging that the company owes them over Rs 300 crores while UB Holdings has sought the court's permission for the stake sale to Diageo.
27/04/13 moneycontrol.com

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Miffed Akhilesh Yadav, Azam skip Harvard lecture

Washington: Miffed over the brief detention of his Urban Development Minister Azam Khan at Boston airport, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav skipped a Harvard University event they had come to participate in.
Instead, UP Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani took the duo's place in a panel discussion on "Harvard without Borders: Mapping the Kumbh Mela" - a Harvard study of the pilgrimage at an annual symposium on South Asia hosted by the university's South Asia Institute (SAI).
An announcement posted on the SAI website Friday said "Due to unforeseen circumstances, today's panel speaker will be Shri Jawed Usmani (Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Government-India)" in place of Yadav and Khan. It made no reference to the incident at Boston's Logan International Airport Wednesday that led India to formally lodge a protest with the US Thursday. Khan was detained for about 10 minutes for "further questioning" on arrival Wednesday.
27/04/13 Business Stanard

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Non-inclusion of Madurai airport in treaty hindering operations

Madurai:  Frustrated over the repeated appeals to include Madurai airport into the 'bilateral airport treaty', the trade and industrial bodies, political parties and public forums staged a demonstration here to air their grievance. They condemned the indifference of the aviation ministry and said that though many of the foreign airlines are willing to operate flights to Madurai, they are unable to do so since the airport is not included in the treaty.
The demonstration was called after the Union civil aviation minister refused to include the Madurai airport in the treaty during a meeting held in Singapore on April 2. In spite of the Singapore government expressing its interest with Tiger Airways coming forward, the airport was not included. Besides, the protesters also condemned the Union finance ministry for not announcing the airport as a cargo airport, thus crippling enormous export opportunities from the region.
27/04/13 Times of India

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Airport main runway shut due to blast fence work

Mumbai:  The main runway at Mumbai airport was shut on Friday due to the construction of a new blast fence. The runway would be closed on Saturday as well. All flight operations were shifted to the secondary runway. While MIAL said flight operations were not affected, officials said there was only a delay of about 15-20 minutes. Airport officials said the runway was closed between 11am and 5pm for the construction of the blast fence.
27/04/13 Times of India

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Airports have to go a long way to reduce carbon emissions: Airports Council of India

Mumbai: Airports across the world are looking for carbon accreditation. This year, Airports Council of India (ACI) accredited 74 airports in Europe and eight in the Asia pacific region. These airports have been ranked based on the efforts taken to reduce carbon footprints. While global aviation has woken up to carbon emissions in the sector, a lot needs to be done to bring down emissions from aircraft and allied activities, feel experts.
Among European airports, ACI ranked 27 at the mapping stage. This means that these airports are actively trying to map and make an account of the emissions. At the next stage are 21 airports which have mapped the emissions are now taking steps at reduction. Further on top are 12 airports which have reached the optimization stage, followed by 14 European airports at the neutrality stage.
26/04/13 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Role of senior police officials omitted: HC

Kochi: The police investigation into the alleged human trafficking through Nedumbassery international airport failed to bring out the role of senior police officials deputed to emigration duty there, the Kerala high court observed on Friday.
The observation by justice P D Rajan came in the judgment denying bail to Abdul Hameed Savad, a visa translator and former employee of Saudi Airlines, who is accused in the case.
A P Ajeeb, a police officer who was on deputation in the emigration wing at the airport, is the prime accused in the case in which police officials allegedly helped racketeers send many people, including women, abroad illegally and in violation of emigration rules.
27/04/13 Times of India

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Mumbai airport gets carbon accreditation award

Mumbai: The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai has been awarded the globally recognised Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) for 2012-13 by the Airport Council International (ACI) for its pioneering carbon footprint management system.
In the Asia Pacific region only eight airports have been awarded with ACA, only five have made it to the reduction level and CSIA is one of them. Mumbai’s airport has now been upgraded from level 1 (mapping) to level 2 (reduction). This certification primarily recognises its efforts as an airport operator in managing the carbon dioxide emissions, as a part of airport industry’s response to the challenge of climate change.
26/04/13 Pamela Raghunath/Gulf News

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AAI preparing detailed project report for Itanagar airport

Itanagar: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed airport here, official sources said on Friday. Besides, the AAI is in the process of obtaining environmental and other clearances for the proposed airport. The draft Master Plan for the airport site at Holongi projects a requirement of 320 hectares of land, which has been forwarded to the state government, the sources said.
26/04/13 PTI/Business Line

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India protests questioning of UP minister at Boston airport

Washington/New Delhi:  India has formally protested to the US the brief detention of Uttar Pradesh urban development minister Mohammad Azam Khan at Boston airport as he arrived to take part in an event at Harvard University.
Khan, who is accompanying UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for the presentation of a Harvard study on the Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, was detained for about 10 minutes for "further questioning" at Boston Logan International Airport Wednesday, according to Indian officials.
The issue was raised in the Parliament by the Samajwadi Party (SP) members who protested the "insult" of their leader.
26/04/13 IANS/Times of India

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Goa airport will now offer visa on arrival for foreign tourists

Mumbai: Five more international airports across the country, including the one in Goa, will now offer visa on arrival facilities to foreign tourists. Currently this facility is operational only at four international airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
It was decided at the third inter-ministerial coordination committee meeting to extend Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility at Goa, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi airports. The government has permitted VoA facility for citizens of 11 countries – Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia.
26/04/13 NVO News

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Four kg of gold seized at Karipur airport

Karipur: The Customs Intelligence wing of the Calicut International Airport seized four kilograms of gold worth `1.12 crore from a passenger who arrived in a Sharjah flight on Wednesday.
However, the officials refused to divulge more details about the passenger, who hails from Koyilandy. According to the officials,
four gold bars were kept inside a separate box attached to a television set, and at first sight, it would look like a part of the TV.
26/04/13 New Indian Express

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Non-reporting of air-safety lapses a worry

Mumbai: Two consecutive incidents in Mumbai, where pilots attempted to hide the air-safety lapse, have raised serious concerns. The attempt at covering up shows the lack of responsibility on part of the pilots as well as the airlines involved.
Last month, an Indigo flight had veered off the runway and the incident came to light only when the airport inspection team saw some lights broken on the runway. An unauthorised landing by an Air India (AI) aircraft ten days ago also showed how lax the administration is when it comes to air-safety issues. The pilot involved was allowed to fly the next flight despite the goof-up.
25/04/13 Times of India

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Better Air Connectivity for NE Region

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Shri K. C. Venugopal informed Rajya Sabha today that in order to connect the remote hill areas of the North Eastern Region the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is developing non-operational airports at Daparizo in Arunachal Pradesh, Tura in Meghalaya and Kamalpur in Tripura for operation of ATR42/ATR72 type of aircrafts. The AAI is also developing civil enclaves at Along, Passighat and Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh and Rupsi in Assam. However, the proposals are subject to the land acquisition by the State Government for these projects. In addition to this, construction of Greenfield airport in Pakyong and operationalisation of Tezu airport in Arunachal Pradesh has also been taken up, which can handle ATR-72 type of aircrafts. Once these airports are developed, they can be used for STOL aircrafts also, subject to commercial viability and demand. The AAI had undertaken a study through Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) for improving the air connectivity in north east which includes air connectivity among state capitals and other important remote locations in the north-east region.
25/04/13 Press Information Bureau

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NIIT Tech wins Rs 344 crore contract from Airports Authority of India

Bangalore: Delhi-based IT services company NIIT Technologies said it has won a technology contract from the Airports Authority of India worth Rs 344 crore.
The multi-year contract is for the integration of IT systems at the operations control centers at about 10 airports in India. The initiative is part of an airport modernisation initiative by India's civil aviation ministry headed by Ajit Singh.
NIIT said the project will be executed over the next 15 months at airports in Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Mangalore, Guwahati and Jaipur, the company said in a statement on Thursday. At Chennai and Kolkata airports, NIIT will set up a data centre and a disaster recovery data centre. The project could be extended to 25 airports, according to NIIT.
25/04/13 Indu Nandakumar/Economic Times

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Immigration bureau to take over operations at Tiruchi airport

Tiruchi: The stage is set for the proposed take over of the immigration wing at the Tiruchi international airport by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) coming under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Although a final date for the “official” take over by the BoI is yet to be finalised, the transition may happen in May first week or latest by the middle of next month.
Tamil Nadu State police personnel drawn from various police stations and units on “on deputation”, headed by an officer of the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, are attached to the Security Branch CID wing and take care of immigration matters.
Consequent to the changeover, the immigration wing would come under the complete administrative and operational control of the BoI and the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer stationed in Chennai.
25/04/13 R Rajaram/The Hindu

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Dabolim airport runway to remain shut for repairs

Vasco: The Dabolim airport's runway will be closed for eight hours daily for four days from Saturday for repairs. The work will not affect international flights, but only the domestic flights.
The closure will be effective between 8am to 4pm daily to allow the military engineering services (MES) to resurface and repair the runway on the Indian Navy's behalf.
The arrangement was made after Indian Navy, Airport Authority of India and various scheduled/charter operators held a meeting recently.
The passengers have been requested to contact the respective airlines and confirm their flying timings. "All the flights have been rescheduled," the source said.
25/04/13 Times of India

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Flight from Bhagalpur likely to start from May 15

Bhagalpur: The long-cherished demand of people for introduction of air-services from Bhagalpur is likely to get fulfilled with a private air-service operator Skyfisher Airways Limited agreeing to introduce air-services from May 15, 2013. The air circuit will be Patna-Bhagalpur-Gaya-Varanasi sector in the initial stage followed by other sectors including Kolkata and Bagdogra.
The proposal of Skyfisher Airways Limited has come in the backdrop of unending efforts of former civil aviation minister and present BJP MP from Bhagalpur Shahnawaz Hussain for introduction of air-services from here. Hussain had made vociferous demand for starting commercial air-services from Bhagalpur airport in view of the required airfield and basic infrastructure being available for initiating commercial air-services by small aircrafts.
25/04/13 Kumar Rajesh/Times of India

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Now, pigeons add to airport’s woes

Chennai: Don’t be surprised to encounter a flight of birds before flying out of the city from the new airport terminal.
While some passengers have spotted bird droppings, some others have come across flocks of pigeons at the new domestic departure terminal of the Chennai airport.
Gopal Madhavan, a frequent flyer who travelled to Mumbai recently, said, “Last week, I saw about four or five pigeons on the departure level. Nowhere else do you find birds inside the terminal of an airport. I think they were nesting in the metal trusses that run across the terminal.”
An official of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said they had tried, unsuccessfully, to drive the birds away from the terminal.
25/04/13 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Arunachal Govt. has initiated action to acquire land for Holongi airport project: Ajit Singh

New Delhi: The Government of Arunachal Pradesh has initiated action for acquiring 320 hectares of land for the proposed greenfield airport project at Holongi on the outskirts of Itanagar, the state capital.
This was disclosed by Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh in a letter to Arunachal Pradesh Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Takam Sanjoy recently.
In his letter, Singh informed Sanjoy that he had been told by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) that it had forwarded a draft master plan for the proposed project to the Arunachal Pradesh Government.
He further informed that the state government had initiated action for acquiring the land for the project vide its gazette notification dated February 13, 2013.
25/04/13 ANI/News Track India

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350 cases of baggage theft reported from Indian airports since 2010

New Delhi: Around 350 cases of baggage theft were reported from international and domestic airports in the country since 2010, government said on Thursday.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation K C Venugopal, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, said the incidents of baggage theft were reported from 19 airports in the country.
In 2010, there were 105 such cases of which, maximum 35 was from Mumbai airport, followed by Delhi with 26, Hyderabad 14, Kolkata seven, six Cochin, five Jaipur, three each from Chennai and Calicut, two each from Coimbatore and Bagdogra and one from Raipur.
In 2011, of the 126 such cases, Kolkata had maximum with 32, followed by Delhi with 31, Mumbai 28, Cochin nine, Hyderabad eight, Calicut seven, Jaipur four, two each in Chennai and Port Blair and one each at Aizwal, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram.
25/04/13 First Post

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Gold seized at Karipur airport

Kozhikode: Officials at the Karipur International Airport seized gold worth Rs 1.12 crore from a passenger who arrived at the airport from Sharjah on Wednesday. Customs officials foiled the attempt by a passenger hailing from Koyilandy to smuggle 3.99 kg of gold concealed in his baggage.
The gold, in the form of gold bars, was hidden in a metal box in the rear side of a TV. The gold bars were detected during the X-ray scan. Assistant commissioner Rohit Kumar led the search and seizure operation.
Customs superintendent M K Saveen said the passenger, who is employed in Sharjah, had landed in the AI- 998 flight at 6.30 am. Customs is investigating if the person was a carrier working for gold smuggling network.
25/04/13 Times of India

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40 passengers stranded as SpiceJet cancels flight to Jabalpur

Mumbai: Over 40 passengers of SpiceJet's flight to Jabalpur from here were stranded on Tuesday at the airport after it was cancelled for "technical reasons".
The passengers, who had already boarded the flight (SG-2452) which was to take off at 1615 hrs from, were asked to vacate the plane after nearly two-and-a-half hours, a passenger said.
"My flight for Jabalpur was scheduled to take off at 1615 hours. We were issued boarding passes and also sat in the aircraft. After remaining inside the plane for nearly two-and- a-half hours, we were told the flight has been cancelled due to technical reasons and it can take off only on Wednesday morning," Anurag Shrivastava, a stranded passenger, told PTI over phone from the airport.
24/04/13 PTI/ZeeNews

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Goa airport to be closed partially this weekend

Panaji: Domestic flights arriving in Goa have been re-scheduled for four days due to temporary closure of the runway at Dabolim airport here between April 27-30 for annual maintenance.
All the airlines have been informed about the closure of runway for four days between 8 am - 4 pm, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) spokesman said.
"The airlines have ensured that there are minimum cancellations and have adjusted the passengers in other flights," he said.
The spokesman said that the closure will affect around 15-20 domestic flights daily.
24/04/13 PTI/ZeeNews

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Who'll receive body there, asks family

Mumbai: When Aslam Ali booked flight tickets on Monday from Mumbai to Jabalpur after sending his father’s body there in an ambulance, he thought he and his family members would reach well in time on Wednesday to receive it. Ali’s father died due to brain haemorrhage while he was on a visit to the city.
However, the grief-stricken family’s troubles worsened when Spicejet 2425 (Mumbai-Jabalpur-Delhi) flight got cancelled due to technical problems. Also, they were allegedly informed about the cancellation two hours after being made to board the aircraft. The flight was scheduled to take off at 4.15pm.
The airline staff told Ali and his co-passengers that they will have to wait till Wednesday morning to reach their destination due to lack of night-landing facility at Jabalpur airport.
Those headed to Delhi were accommodated in other flights.
24/04/13 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

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Jharsuguda airport to be developed

Bhubaneswar: The state government has asked Jharsuguda collector to identify 119 acre of land for expansion of the airport there.
In a letter to the district collector, the government last week stated that the land should be identified according to the demand and revised master plan of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for expansion of Jharsuguda airport, spread over 909.22 acre.
To convert it into a full-fledged airport, the AAI needs additional 275.75 acre.
24/04/13 Siraj Mohammad/The Hindu

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Sidhu slams Aviation Minister for turning down requests for Amritsar airport

Amritsar: BJP Member of Parliament from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu today came out of his political slumber and trained his guns on Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh for turning down his requests to restart Amritsar-Toronto via Birmingham flight and linking Amritsar with upcoming India-Australia flight.
Intriguingly, three-time MP Sidhu who had been keeping away from Amritsar for months together now, broke his silence in a press statement today to a reply by Ajit Singh to him dated March 30, 2013 over the issue of said flights.
24/04/13 Naveevan Gopal/Indian Express

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Centre urged not to divert Vijayawada airport funds

Vijayawada: Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has written letters to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy urging them to take necessary steps to develop and modernise the Gannavaram Airport.
Chamber president Muthavarapu Muralikrishna said that they were shocked to learn that the Central Government was examining a proposal to divert funds meant for Vijayawada airport to Aurangabad airport. If it were to happen, the proposal to expand Gannavaram airport would be shelved permanently.
24/04/13 The Hindu

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Cargo complex ready, no booking yet

Mangalore: The cargo complex at Mangalore International Airport will start functioning on May 1; however, no order is lined up yet.
There are enquiries on sending cargo from Mangalore International Air Cargo Complex in Bajpe, but they have not translated into bookings, said representatives of two airlines.
This emerged at an interactive meeting among representatives of Customs, the airport, airlines and air cargo exporters and importers at the office of the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), here on Tuesday.
Melwin D’Souza, Station Manager – Mangalore, Air India, said that most enquiries were about perishables (vegetables and fruits). The airline has flights from Mangalore to destinations in West Asia. The flights go to Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dammam and Dubai (twice a day). Cargo is expected to be sent from Kozhikode and Dakshina Kannada, he said.
24/04/13 The Hindu

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GoAir increases Pune-Delhi services

Pune: Low-fare airline GoAir has increased the frequency of its services between Pune and Delhi to six direct flights daily.
The airline will now operate three flights originating from each of the two cities per day.
It already operates between Pune, Chennai and Bangalore, and with the new service, travellers have a choice of onward connections on select destinations such as Kolkata, Leh, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Srinagar, Jammu, Bagdogra and Guwahati via Delhi.
23/04/13 Alka Kshirsagar/Business Line

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Lack of standby crew, delays not new in Air India

Mumbai: The muddle that a Muscat-Chennai flight landed in over an unscheduled crew change on Sunday indicates how Air India (AI) operates without proper back-up and coordination.
The AI flight was diverted to the city airport as the flight duty time limit (FDTL) of the crew had expired following a four-hour delay at Muscat, but it took the airline three hours to arrange for another team, leaving 72 passengers fuming.
The incident was another reminder of the lack of a strong standby system in AI because of a shortage of co-pilots—at least 250 more are required—and other crew.
24/04/13 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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GMR gets new CFO, Amarthaluru to quit

New Delhi: GMR Infrastructure on Wednesday said its Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Subba Rao Amarthaluru has decided to quit to pursue his career interest elsewhere.
“...Subba Rao Amarthaluru, Group Chief Financial Officer has decided to pursue his career interests elsewhere,” the Bangalore-based infrastructure firm said in a BSE filing.
Meanwhile, GMR has appointed Madhu Terdal as the Group CFO, with effect from Wednesday.
24/04/13 PTI/The Hindu

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Chennai Airport's secondary runway is unsafe: Expert

Chennai: With the opening of the secondary runway at Chennai Airport already stuck in limbo over land acquisition issues, further doubts about when it would come into use have been raised after an aviation expert termed its construction “unsafe”.
Echoing concerns of residents of Maxworth Nagar in Kolapakkam regarding the bridge constructed over Adyar River, Captain A Ranganathan, member of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council claimed, “The bridge on Adyar River is not safe for landing and take off of aircraft. It will be a safety, security and an environmental disaster,” as it wasn’t constructed according to safety norms.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had closed the secondary runway in 2009 to extend it over the Adyar River, increasing its length by 1,400 metres to about 3,445 metres. Even  two years after construction of the bridge, the runway has not been commissioned as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has not given clearance, citing lack of lighting systems and obstructions on the runway path.
23/04/13 New Indian Express

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Problems still plague secondary runway: expert

Chennai: Several problems surround the extended portion of the secondary runway at the Chennai airport due to which it cannot be put to use immediately, said Capt. A. Ranganathan, Aviation Safety Consultant, here on Monday.
Listing various problems in the newly constructed portion, Capt. Ranganathan said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) could not install instrument landing system (ILS) as they were not be able to locate a place for installing the localiser antenna, which the AAI wanted to set up on the northern portion of the runway, near the Trident Hotel point. If they install the antenna there, its signals would be disrupted, leading to problems. Therefore, landing of aircraft from Kolappakkam side could only be a non-precision one.
A non-precision runway did not require an ILS. However, the AAI claimed that they need 15.67 acres of land to install ILS. But in reality it did not require the land and there was no need for clearing the houses from Maxworth Nagar, which were said to be obstructions, he said. In January this year, the AAI had prepared an obstacle chart, which also clearly showed the trees as the obstacles and not the houses in Kolappakkam.
23/04/13 The Hindu

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Airport defends 'unfit' runway landings

Mumbai: Citing a directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) norm that applies to "fixed objects", Nagpur airport officials on Monday defended their decision to allow flights to land on a runway despite an aircraft being stalled on it. Aviation experts wondered how an aircraft, even though stranded, could be called a fixed object and pointed out that the norm cited by the officials pertained to navigation aids and other such immovable objects, which need to be located close to the runway, and not to an aircraft with fuel in its wings.
The problem began on Saturday around 2.30pm, when a Cessna 152 aircraft lost control while landing on runway 32. "There was no damage to the runway or installations; aircaft stopped at a distance of 90m from the runway centreline, therefore no blockade of runway and diversions," said the note sent to the DGCA office in Mumbai by MIHAN, the state government-owned company that runs the Nagpur airport.
23/04/13 Manju V/Times of India

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A problematic hub

Abu Dhabi has sought to increase its airline capacity (called bilateral traffic rights) with India from 13,000 seats a week to 25,000 seats. Indian carriers want it to be raised to 55,000 seats; out of this, Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways alone has demanded 42,000 seats. If the civil aviation ministry agrees, several smaller Indian cities will get linked to Abu Dhabi. This will be bad news for the newly modernised airports in Delhi and Mumbai. People from other cities will have the option to fly to Abu Dhabi and thence to Europe, North America and Africa. Instead of Delhi or Mumbai becoming a hub for international air traffic, the business will go to West Asia, questioning the logic of making huge investments in the last few years in both the airports to augment capacity to meet the anticipated rise in traffic in the next decade or so. Delhi airport has serious ambitions to become a hub for the substantial traffic between Africa and China and also between the former Soviet Union countries and Southeast Asia. All its plans will come to nought if the civil aviation ministry increases the bilateral traffic rights. Naturally, the Delhi and Mumbai airports have opposed the move.
23/04/13 Business Standard

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23,000 Haj pilgrims to fly from IGI's special terminal

New Delhi: Around 23,000 Haj pilgrims are likely to fly to Jeddah later this year from the special terminus at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Delhi Urban Development and Revenue Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said the city government will make arrangement for providing various facilities to the Haj pilgrims.
"23,000 Hajis would fly from Delhi Haj Terminal in the supervision of Delhi Haj Committee," he said, adding 1,700 Hajis would go to Jeddah from Delhi's quota.
Haj pilgrims from various states come to Delhi to take special Haj flight to Jeddah.
Lovely was speaking at a function organised to select Haj pilgrims through draw of lots.
23/04/13 Zee News

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Air India diverts flight to Mumbai for fresh crew

Mumbai:  More than 70 passengers on an Air India (AI) flight from Muscat to Chennai were stranded inside the aircraft after the flight made an unscheduled landing at Mumbai airport on Monday morning. The flight duty time limit (FDTL) of the flight crew had expired and the airline landed in Mumbai to change crew.
The flight duty time limit is the designated time a crew can operate a flight free of fatigue. After those designated hours expire, it is mandatory for the crew to take rest before they operate another flight. The FDTL is about eight hours for short-haul flights.
The passengers had to wait for three hours before the flight eventually took off.
23/04/13 Times of India

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Land-locked infrastructure, overlapping schedules root of flight delays at Mumbai

Mumbai: Over-lapping flight schedules, on-going construction activity and a unique land-locked location are some of the reason behind perennial delays at Mumbai airport. Though the situation has improved drastically over the last couple of years, flights during peak traffic hours still choke the airport and lead to prolonged delays. However, airport experts feel that it would be unfair to compare Mumbai with other metro airports as it faces major space constraints and handles the second highest passenger traffic in the country.
Mumbai has always been a land-locked airport, located in the heart of the city and flanked by slums and residential areas and roads. Over the last seven years, it has witnessed an almost threefold increase in passenger traffic. It currently handles 30 million passengers, next to Delhi airport which caters to a little over 34 million annually. In terms of area, however, the Mumbai airport is spread over 1190 acres which is only one fifth of Delhi's 5,000 acres. Apart from that, other airports like Bangalore, Chennai and even Kolkata handle only 5-10 million passengers.
21/04/13 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Kanpur airport under expansion, to connect with major cities

Kanpur: Kanpur (Ahirwan) Airport will soon be extended as the land for it has been identified and soon the acquisition proceedings will be underway. According to Sub Divisional Magistrate, Kanpur, IP Uttam, the airport authority has identified a land of around 100 acres in Sheikhpur and Mavaiya villages. Both villages are adjacent to the airport and a report regarding this has been sent to civil aviation ministry. After the expansion, citizens of Kanpur will avail direct flights to Gujrat, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra.
Kanpur airport, also known as Chakeri airport, was originally designated to Indian Air Force, and regular flights to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Kolkata, Banglore, Chennai and Mumbai were operating during the 1970s. But due to some reasons flights were reduced and now they operate between Kolkata and Allahabad airport only. Earlier, passengers bound overseas or other parts of the country used to travel around 80 kilometers to Amausi Airport, Lucknow.
22/04/13 Times of India

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GMR submits documents to bid for Philippines airport

New Delhi: GMR Infrastructure is learnt to have submitted qualification documents for a formal bid for developing 17.5 billion peso (about USD 425 million) Mactan-Cebu International Airport project in Philippines. The request for qualification document has been submitted by GMR in a consortium with local Megawide Construction Corporation ahead of its closing on Monday, sources said.
GMR consortium is competing with 6 other groups, including that of Singapore's Changi Airport International and Switzerland's Zurich Airport International, for qualification. Results of eligible firms for putting final bids are expected in next 15-20 days. GMR spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. Email sent to Megawide Construction remained unanswered.
22/04/13 PTI/Times of India

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2 flights land on ‘unfit’ runway

On Saturday evening, a passenger aircraft from Mumbai and another from Bangalore landed at Nagpur airport's runway even though it was unfit for handling flight operations and so should have been shut down temporarily. The revealing detail of the incident is that the safety norm was violated because the aviation officials concerned had poor knowledge and were ignorant of the rules.
The problems began around 2.30pm when a Cessna 152 aircraft, a two-seater plane belonging to the Nagpur flying club, touched down on runway 32 of Nagpur airport only to swing off a few seconds later to the left. The small, piston-engine aircraft ploughed into the mud and lodged itself a few metres off the runway.
"About five minutes later a call was made to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) office in Mumbai and the official concerned in charge of investigation was informed,'' said a source. ``The DGCA officer instructed that the aircraft should not be removed till the time he flew down to Nagpur to investigate the matter," the source said.
 "It was about 90 metre from the runway centerline, which meant that it was too close to the runway and so would need to be removed if other flight operations were to be allowed on the said runway,'' said the official. That is because according to the DGCA and the International Civil Aviation Organisation's "Clearway Standards", a distance of at least 150 m (500 feet) from the runway centerline should be kept free of obstacles or objects. A stranded aircraft within the clearway distance is a clear violation.
Even as the Cessna 152 aircraft lay close to the runway, a Jetlite Boeing 737 from Bangalore landed in Nagpur around 4.30pm and took off an hour later. Around 6 pm, an IndiGo flight from Mumbai landed in Nagpur and took off a while later for Kolkata.
22/04/13 Manju V/Times of India

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Visa on arrival approved at two Kerala airports

Thiruvananthapuram: The central government has approved the introduction of visa-on-arrival (VoA) service at Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports, a minister said on Sunday.
“The new facility will allow citizens of 11 countries - Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia - to obtain tourist visas upon arrival in Kerala,” Kerala Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar said.
He added that the preparations are on to implement the scheme at the two airports. The minister hoped the new facility would encourage more tourists from these countries to travel to Kerala.
21/04/13 IANS/The Hindu

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In new terminal, Chennai airport manager out of reach

Chennai: The airport manager’s office, which used to be easily accessible on the ground level of the Kamaraj and Anna terminals, is now nestled on the first floor inside the iron-and-glass edifice that is the new terminal. While people using the arrival floor (ground) have no access at all to the office, those entering the departure floor (first floor) have no chance of contacting the manager without going through security.
People who are not passengers literally cannot enter the terminal even to make enquiries because the CISF security guards do not let them pass. “It was very disturbing. I had come here last week and wanted to escort a friend’s cousin inside because he had sprained his ankle while alighting from the taxi. When I asked the security guards to allow me to speak to the manager, they rudely refused and asked me to stop blocking the line. There was no visitor entry at that time either,” said Sajan S, a resident of Vadapalani.
22/04/13 New Indian Express

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‘High-flying’ gold racket grounded

Mangalore: In a major operation, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths on Sunday busted a gang which was using international flights which go on domestic lines after arriving in India, for smuggling gold and seized 500 gm of the yellow metal.
On the basis of credible intelligence, the officers of the DRI, Mangalore, intercepted a passenger Meethala Kallulla Parambath Nazar of Kozhikode who arrived by Jet Airways No 9W 531 from Dubai to International Airport, Mangalore, on Sunday morning.
Upon enquiry, it was revealed that he had concealed five gold biscuits (about 500 gms) under his seat and that the gold would be carried by another passenger, namely, Paivalike Ahamed Ali of Kasaragod, to Mumbai in the same flight from Mangalore to Mumbai.
21/04/13 Deccan Herald

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DRI nab three - one at MIA, and two at Mumbai airport

Mangalore: Sleuths of Directorate Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted part of a four-member gang of international-domestic gold smugglers arresting three of them and recovered 500 grams of gold worth Rs 12.5 lakh from them on Sunday. While one passenger was arrested at Mangalore International Airport, air intelligence unit personnel at Mumbai nabbed two others based on information given by DRI at Mumbai airport and recovered gold there.
Informed sources in know of the operations of this gang told TOI that they smuggled gold in small quantities on a regular basis from the Gulf. "Gang chose flights that connect domestic stations after an overnight international trip," the sources said. Accordingly, MKP Nazar, 33, resident of Vadakara in Kerala arrived by the Jet Airways flight from Dubai that touched here this morning. This flight later took off for Mumbai by the time DRI sleuths could reach it.
21/04/13 Jaideep Shenoy/Times of India

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Refused boarding due to low BP, flyer, hubby protest at airport

Mumbai: A couple booked on a flight to Jodhpur on Sunday morning sat in protest at the airport boarding gate after the airline refused to allow one of them on board on medical grounds.
Narendra Lodha's wife Pushpa, who wasn't allowed to board the plane, is wheelchair bound and suffers from an incurable degenerative neurological disorder—multiple system atrophy.
The airline said Pushpa's blood pressure had dropped and the decision was taken after consulting her doctor.
The incident occurred around 10am. Narendra had brought Pushpa to Mumbai for treatment. As her condition had stabilized, she was given a go-ahead to fly by her doctor.
"They told us that she is not fit to fly at the last moment despite us having clearance from her doctor," said Narendra.
22/04/13 Times of India

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Airports Authority of India unveils Rs 3cr Juhu helipad plan, experts cry foul

Mumbai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has floated yet another controversial proposal under which it will spend about Rs 3 crore to build a dedicated helipad at Juhu airport's northern end. Pilots who fly from Juhu, the country's busiest airport for off-shore helicopter operations, have dubbed the project as useless for numerous reasons.
The Juhu airport has two runways, laid out in such a way that they cross each other, much like the layout of Mumbai airport's runways. Early this month, AAI, to the disbelief of helicopter pilots, announced that the shorter of Juhu's two runways will be shut down permanently The AAI officials and civil aviation secretary did not divulge details about the proposed helipad at that time, though the plan has been in place for about two months now.
"Currently, 40% of the time, we use Juhu's secondary runway because of prevailing winds and the usage of secondary runway at Mumbai airport," said Capt Uday Gelli, president (west), Rotary Wing Society of India, which promotes safety in the helicopter industry. Said a source: "To show that the Juhu airport can function minus the secondary runway, the AAI has come up with the helipad plan."
21/04/13 Manju V/Times of India

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Catering vehicle catches fire, triggers panic at Chennai airport

Chennai: A catering vehicle, which was loading food on a Chennai-Hyderabad Air India flight, caught fire and caused a flutter at the city airport late on Saturday evening. Nobody was inhured in the accident.
The incident took place at 5.15pm when the aircraft, which had arrived from Male, was being readied for its departure to Hyderabad at bay 29. The vehicle belonging to a flight kitchen had completed loading food through the front door of the aircraft and was proceeding to the rear of the plane when smoke started coming from its engine. A fire alarm was triggered and airport fire service was informed. Two crash tenders at the airport rushed to the spot and put out the fire.
The incident brought ground handling operations to a halt for a few minutes. Sources said that staff of the flight kitchen used handheld fire extinguishers and put out the fire before crash tenders reached. Fire personnel said thick smoke billowing from the vehicle.
21/04/13 Times of India

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Kingfisher has to clear dues before getting permission to fly

New Delhi: It is unlikely that Kingfisher Airlines will be able to restart operations any time soon. This is because the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Government’s Service Tax Department and a consortium of banks are insisting that their dues be cleared before the airline is given permission to take to the skies again.
Kingfisher owes Rs 350 crore to AAI and over Rs 7,000 crore to a consortium of 17 banks.
Airline’s Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Agarwal had met the Directorate- General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) here last week and submitted a fresh proposal for restarting the airline. According to the proposal, UB Group would pump in Rs 650 crore in the airline over 10 months to facilitate restart of its operations.
20/04/13 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Flying Club plane skids off runway

A Cessna 152 VT-EUK plane of the Nagpur Flying Club (NFC) skidded off the runway on Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred when trainee pilot AnkurKhare was attempting to land during the take off-landing practice session.
"The trainee pilot has finished 233 hours of flying and is on the verge of finishing his commercial pilot licence (CPL). It should be remembered that he is still in the learning process and landing and take-off is a very complicated process where decisions are very complex and quick," said chief flying inspector (CPI) captain SMA Salam.
21/04/13 Times of India

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Time takes a heavy toll at airport

Chennai: At the toll booths at the Chennai airport, lines of cars move through the open gates in a hurry towards the new departure terminal of the Chennai airport.
The vehicles quickly disgorge hordes of passengers and their luggage, and rush to exit the airport at the earliest.
Ever since the Airport Authority of India threw open the departure terminal for operations, many cars have been forced to pay the parking fee despite not using the parking facility.
Under the booth system at the Chennai airport, four wheelers must enter and exit the airport within seven minutes failing which they pay the parking fee that varies depending on the time period by which they have overshot the limit.
21/04/13 The Hindu

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Blue bulls trouble Indian Air Force at Maharajpur airbase in MP

Gwalior: Indian Air force (IAF) officials are troubled by an unseemly innocuous enemy at the Maharajpur air base on the outskirts of Gwalior district. Blue bulls or Nilgai as they are commonly called often venture on to the runway a posing threat to the fighter jets during take off and landing- forcing the IAF to issue a caution to its pilots.
It is learnt that IAF base has been plagued by blue bull menace for some years now but the forest department has expressed its helplessness stating that rules allow killing or translocation of the antelopes only in case they damage the crops.
IAF officials had carried out an aerial survey to find out the number of wild animals around the air base that have led to mishaps in the past.
20/04/13 P Naveen/Times of India

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From Chennai to Kolkata: pangs of terminal envy

It’s usually a dash to the airport, never a leisurely drive. You have one eye on the clock on your mobile and another on the passing landmarks so you know how far you have reached. Finally, that green hill appears on the horizon and you know you’ve made it — just in time — for, Chennai airport sits right across. You get out of the cab and run to the departure gate, forgetting all about the hill; really, when did you ever pause to have a good look at it?
But now you can stand and stare at the hill, even if only for a few moments, because the cab will take you up a ramp right to the first floor of the newly-opened glass-walled Chennai airport terminal — that’s where the departure gates are located. From that height you suddenly see your own city in a new light: a majestic view of the hill, far removed from the madness of the traffic you see below. Until moments ago you were part of that madness.
“Not bad,” I tell myself as I enter the imposing glass building after showing my ticket and ID proof to the sentry. My destination: Kolkata.
21/04/13 Bishwanath Ghosh/The Hindu

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Passengers at airport abuse rape accused

Patna:  Passengers waiting for their scheduled flights at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport here, along with Anna Hazare supporters who had gathered in large numbers at the airport, started abusing Manoj Sah, the accused in the Delhi rape case, when he was brought there to board the Air India flight at 3.15pm on Saturday.
Madhuri Kumar, who was waiting for her flight to Chennai, said, "Police should not protect such culprits. They should be handed over to women. They will teach him how to behave with them."
Anna supporters were demanding instant justice to the accused. Sanjay Sisodiya, an Anna supporter, said, "Rape is an inhuman act. The rapist should be stoned to death. No lawyer should plead for them before the court."
21/04/13 Sayantanee Choudhury/Times of India

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Imphal airport to go international by July

Imphal: Manipur’s only airport Tulihal will become an international airport in July this year, according to Principal Secretary O Nabakishore of Commerce and Industries department. Private airlines Spice Jet is likely to make the first flight, he added.
Nabakishore was speaking on tourism potential of Manipur during a seminar on ‘Strategy for Tourism development and capacity building in Manipur’ here on Friday.
He informed the Ministry of Civil Aviation has also communicated to the Customs and Immigration officials to prepare for the upgradation of Tulihal airport (Imphal) into an international airport in July this year. Presently more than a dozen flights land in Manipur’s lone airport daily.
19/04/13 Sobhapati Samom/Assam Trubune

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Bomb threat grounded Amritsar-Toronto flight: Intel

Chandigarh: Amid mounting chorus to resume international flights from Amritsar, an intelligence document sent to the Punjab government and Amritsar airport authorities has now revealed that the Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight, that was cancelled last year, could have been discontinued due to a bomb threat by several radical Sikh groups based in Canada.
The intel note, dated August 12, 2012, sent as a routine alert before I-Day, to the airport authorities across India, had cited "the unleashed protests against hanging of Punjab militant Balwant Singh Rajoana by radicals, looking to plan an attack on Air India flights from Amritsar as a cause for concern".
The note said they had alerted the national carrier and intelligence agencies across India, through several messages, on "possible attacks at airports including Amritsar and Hyderabad".
20/04/13 Times of India

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Alliance Air to fly Lucknow-Dehradun

New Delhi: In a bid to service regional and Buddhism tourist destinations, Alliance Air, a subsidiary of national carrier Air India, will start flight services between Dehradun and Lucknow from May 2, an official said Saturday.
"It is the first time that two major political centres of north India will be connected by direct flight services. Alliance Air sees major potential in the sector, which will not only cater to government sector passengers, but also to the Buddha circuit tourist traffic," a senior official with the airline told IANS here.
20/04/13 IANS/News Track India

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Singapore Airlines Group and Changi Airport to benefit as India-Singapore market opens up further

The Singapore-India market is poised for a modest increase in capacity, driven by further expansion from the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group made possible by the recent signing of an expanded bilateral between the two countries.
The updated air services agreement only increases the previous capacity allotment for Singapore-based carriers by 10%. But SIA will take whatever it can get as Singapore-India is an important and generally under-served market. Incremental increases are typical with the India-Singapore bilateral, which has been updated several times in recent years, although Singapore would prefer a much bigger and broader agreement.
SIA along with full-service subsidiary SilkAir and low-cost carrier affiliate Tiger Airways already account for over 70% of capacity between India and Singapore. Indian carriers do not require a revised bilateral as they were using less than 40% of the prior allotment. Indian carriers over the last year have seen their share of the market decrease and may see their share drop further by the end of 2013 as the SIA Group again boosts capacity to India.
19/04/13 CAPA

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Avoid these 44 cabs at domestic airport

Mumbai: Fed up with a few rogue drivers sullying their reputation, the taxi unions in the city have approached the state transport commissioner and police, demanding action against 44 drivers, who reportedly fleece passengers by tampering with meters.
This list comprises of cabbies working for Cool Cabs (17) as well as black and yellow taxis (26), near the international airport area in Sahar.
Reportedly, these drivers refuse to comply with RTO regulations, derailing the automated process of prepaid cab allotment.“We identified these drivers based on the complaints from passengers and other fellow drivers. These drivers do not allow a transparent passenger-friendly system to develop,” said A L Quadros, general secretary of Mumbai Taximen’s Union.
20/04/13 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror

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Delhi, Mumbai airport operators oppose more flights to Etihad

Mumbai/New Delhi: The GMR and GVK groups, which run the Delhi and the Mumbai airports, respectively, have strongly opposed a plan to increase air traffic rights between India and Abu Dhabi, fearing an adverse impact on their hub prospects. The two companies have taken up the issue of opening up the skies to United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Etihad Airways with the civil aviation ministry, which would negotiate an air service agreement with UAE next week.
Air service agreements dictate the frequency, number of seats and destinations for airlines operating between two countries. Typically, the benefits are reciprocal in nature. The Delhi airport’s opposition comes in the wake of Jet Airways’ plans to seek 40,000 additional seats between India and Abu Dhabi.
Currently, airlines from both sides are allowed 13,000 seats a week. Following Etihad’s acquisition of stake in Jet Airways, the UAE-based airline would tap into the Indian market to feed its global routes. This has led to jitters among Indian airlines and airports. The move, aviation sources said, would impact all other airlines, especially Air India, which flies to Europe and the US. “Not even Emirates has been allowed so many seats at one go. Etihad can demand a similar number of additional seats,” said an executive at a private airline.
Jet Airways flies to Abu Dhabi from Mumbai and Delhi, while Etihad connects 10 UAE cities with India.
19/04/13 Aneesh Phadnis & Disha Kanwar/Business Standard

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Government shies away from Airport chairmanship

Kochi: It seems that each and every step taken by the promoters of the proposed KGS Aranmula Airport (KGSAA) and the government is getting mired in controversies.
 The latest controversy to hit KGSAA is the sabotaging of a government decision at the cabinet-level, resulting in the denial of the chairmanship of the airport project to a government representative. The new move is in total contradiction to the decision arrived at a ministerial-level meeting earlier.
On August 22, 2012, a meeting under the chairmanship of minister K Babu had made decisions on two points - the government participation in the project and the chairmanship. The meeting was attended by K Sivadasan Nair MLA, Tom Jose, principal secretary (Transport), Gigi George, Managing Director and P T Nandakumar, Executive Director of KGSAA and H Salim Raj, ADM in-charge of Pathanamthitta.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the  MLA had forwarded the suggestion of having government participation in the project. Principal secretary (Transport) proposed the inclusion of two government nominees in the board of directors, with one of them appointed as the chairman of the board. The meeting finally decided that the state government would have a 10 per cent equity participation in the company and the government nominee would be the chairman.
However, the cabinet meeting on January 10, 2013, remained silent on the chairmanship for its representative while all other points were stated.
19/04/13 Chandrakanth Viswanath/New Indian Express

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2 Air India pilots suspended

 New Delhi: Two pilots of an Air India flight, which landed at Mumbai airport last Friday without air traffic control (ATC) clearance, have been suspended.
"Pending the enquiry, the Air India management had suspended both the pilot and the co-pilot. They will not fly again till they come clean," a senior airline official said.
He said if they are found guilty, then further action would be taken against them.
Air India flight AI-944 from Abu Dhabi had reportedly landed at the Mumbai airport on Friday morning without the requisite clearance from the ATC.
Also, within 60 nautical miles of landing, the aircraft had changed its communication frequency, allegedly flouting laid-down procedures.
19/04/13 PTI/Business Standard

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Navi Mumbai airport in fresh controversy over wildlife clearance

Mumbai: While the proposed Navi Mumbai international airport did get environmental clearance in November 2010, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has now asked two members of the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) to visit the area and prepare a site inspection report.
Kishore Rithe, president of Satpuda Foundation, and member of the standing committee of the NBWL is one of the two nominees. However, the other nominee - Dr Asad Rahmani is director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) which is conducting avian fauna studies for the City and Industrial Development Corporation(CIDCO), the nodal agency for the airport project. Dr Rahmani told The Hindu that he was not present for the NBWL meeting when his name was proposed. He has written to the MoEF that there would be a conflict of interest if he was asked to take up the site inspection. Mr. Rithe says the MoEF sent a letter on April 4 appointing the two-member site inspection committee. The proposal for wildlife clearance for the airport came from the Maharashtra State Wildlife Board as the site falls within ten km of the Karnala bird sanctuary. A Supreme Court ruling has made it mandatory for projects located within ten km of a protected wildlife area to get NBWL approval.
19/04/13 The Hindu

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Indian airports low in world rankings; Hyderabad best in country

New Delhi: Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGI) has been rated as the best airport in India, the fifth best regional airport in Asia and the eighth best airport in the 5-10 million passengers per annum capacity category. The ratings were given at the recently concluded Skytrax-World Airport Awards held at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Geneva.
The RGI, along with Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), also figured in the list of the World's top 100 Airports. This year, however, Hyderabad's airport has been rated above Delhi's IGIA. While in 2012, RGI ranked at 77 and IGIA at 62, in 2013 Hyderabad's airport has grabbed the 65th position and Delhi's airport has been pushed down to 69.
19/04/13 IBN Live

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Cochin airport plans bomb disposal unit

Kochi: Cochin International Airport is setting up a well-equipped bomb squad to do away with Kerala police units that have to race thru chaotic traffic to the airport during emergency. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has advised the squad modernisation because the airport has no bomb-defusing mechanism.
19/04/13 Vinod Nedumudy/Deccan Chronicle

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Ready for departure? Don’t wait for call

Mumbai: If you fail to board after checking in at Mumbai airport, don’t expect the airline to call out your name and keep the flight waiting.
In keeping with international norms, the public address system at the domestic wing of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has been shut down. The idea is to check noise pollution, says Mumbai International Airport Limited.
“We can’t be minders for passengers, telling them what to do over a PA system all the time,” an MIAL official said.
“They know the flight timings — they’re on the display board. Any changes to the departure time or (designated) boarding gate are notified there. Nowhere in the world do people constantly blare out instructions over a PA system.”
18/04/13 Samyabrata Ray Goswami/Telegraph

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GMR Airports to sell shares in public offer to raise Rs 2,000 cr, help PEs exit

New Delhi:  India's largest airport developer GMR Airports, which owns Delhi, Hyderabad, and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul, will sell shares in a public offer this financial year to raise roughly Rs 2,000 crore for expansion and to help a clutch of private equity investors to sell shares in the company, two people familiar with the development said."The listing is primarily aimed at providing exit route to the investors as the company does not have immediate fund requirement," one of the two persons said. GMR Airports is making operating profit and even on net profit level it has achieved breakeven in the third quarter. It has Rs 4,000 crore debt.
"We are evaluating options of a potential IPO in GMR Airports and the issue size and details will be worked out later. One of the objectives is to provide an exit to PE investors." the spokesperson said in a email response.
18/04/13 Arun Kumar/Economic Times

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Probe Chandy’s role in airport scam: activist

Pathanamthitta: The Thiruvaranmula Paithruka Grama Karma Samiti (TPGKS) chief patron Kummanam Rajashekharan has said that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy too should be made a key accused in the ongoing Vigilance probe into alleged corruption and irregularities involved in the illegal land deals, conversion of paddy land, natural stream and so on taken place in the name of the proposed airport project at Aranmula, in the backdrop of the Cabinet decision to take 10 per cent equity in the controversial private airport company at Aranmula.
Deposing before the investigating officer, P.K. Jagadeesh, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Vigilance and Anti-Corruption), Mr. Rajashekharan alleged that the government decision to take 10 per cent equity in the airport company came at a time when the Kottayam Vigilance Court had ordered a detailed inquiry into the alleged corruption.
18/04/13 The Hindu

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The secondary runway’s saga

Chennai: The new domestic terminal at the Chennai airport has finally opened, but there is yet another project that is awaiting clearance before it can begin functioning — the secondary runway.
The extension of the runway from 2,035 metres to 3,400 metres — covered under the modernisation project — which began in 2009 and ended in 2011, is still awaiting clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Airport director H.S. Suresh said, “We need to acquire 15.67 acres of land, which we are unable to do because of resistance from the residents of Maxworth Nagar. Unless we get this land, the houses there will be obstacles on the runway. We will not be able to position the ILS system, without which we can’t start flight operations. Now we want the DGCA to allow us to operate with the available distance of 2.3 km, since we really need this runway,” he said.
18/04/13 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Airport expansion:Land owners want higher quantum of compensation

Madurai: A majority of land owners have sought higher compensation for their land to be acquired for the Madurai airport's expansion.
Participating at a public hearing called by the District Collector Anshul Mishra here today, they said price should be commensurate with the market value.
The collector said the farm land owners would get Rs.2000 per cent and house site owners would get Es.74120 for a cent.
18/04/13 Economic Times

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Passenger held with 12 gold biscuits at Hyd airport

Hyderabad: A passenger was arrested today for allegedly trying to smuggle 12 gold biscuits worth Rs 40 lakh hidden in his body cavities and clothes at Rajiv Gandhi international airport here.
Mohd Riyaz, who belongs to Tamil Nadu, was found to have concealed eight out of the twelve gold biscuits, each weighing 116 gms, in his rectum and the rest in his socks, according to a Customs official.
17/04/13 PTI/Business Standard

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GMR Airport To Raise Funds Through Public Offer

GMR Airport is planning to raise funds through public offer this year in order to raise R2,000 Cr and also plans to provide exit route to its PE investors, ET stated.
The issue would involve sale of fresh shares and secondary sale of shares owned by PE investors.The size of issue has not been decided yet.GMR Airport manages projects like Delhi International Airport( 54% stake), GMR Hyderabad International Airport( 63% stake), Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport( 40%).
It had revenues of R4391 Cr and operating profit of R1143 Cr in April-December, 2012. Currently, the company has a debt of R4000 Cr.
18/04/13  Pranav Puri/Deal Curry

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Mumbai airports: Space crunch to hit parking of choppers

Mumbai: Space crunch may hit parking of helicopters and small airplanes at the two airports in Mumbai, with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) planning to implement stringent guidelines to decongest the aerodromes and their runways.
Lack of parking space is more acute at the main Chhatrapati Shivaji International ( CSI) Airport and implementation of the guidelines would begin soon, airport sources said, adding "parking is a major issue due to the space crunch."
AAI guidelines mandate that at least 75 metres on either side of the runway has to be kept vacant, they said, adding that no obstruction, including parking of aircraft, are allowed within this limit.
17/04/13 PTI/Economic Times

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Cocaine worth about Rs. 24 cr seized by customs at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Cocaine worth about Rs. 24 crore in the street market has been seized from the cargo terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi by custom officials.
The seized drug was hidden in a consignment of nylon pipes, used in industries for various purposes, which has to be sent to Canada, custom officials said.
"The officials have yesterday seized 4.8 kg cocaine in a consignment which was to be shipped to Canada. The drug was hidden in nylon pipes," Additional Commissioner of Customs at cargo terminal, IGI airport, KK Katheria said. The consignment was booked by a person said to be living in Moradabad, he said.
18/04/13 NDTV

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New radars to make skies safer

Kolkata:  For several years, air traffic controllers at Kolkata airport have been on tenterhooks. Saddled with an outdated radar system, sudden snags have left them groping in the blind.
The good news is that the controllers will have to live with the aged radars for six months more when they will be replaced by advanced radar systems from Czech firm Eldis. The current primary and secondary radars were installed by American firm Westinghouse in 1997. According to Airports Authority of India member (air navigation surveillance) V Somasundaram, the new airport surveillance radar (ASR) and mono-pulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) have already been shipped from the Czech Republic.
18/04/13 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

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AI pilot admits he had no instructions to land

The Air India pilot who landed his plane at Mumbai airport without permission from air traffic control (ATC) on April 12 could have caused a huge disaster, documents available with Mumbai Mirror reveal.
In his flight safety report, Captain R S Otaal writes that he continued his approach even though the runway wasn't empty and he did not have instructions to land. In both these situations, pilots are supposed to go around (circle) and await landing instructions from ATC.
In his report, available with Mumbai Mirror, Captain Otaal, who was operating Air India flight 944 from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, categorically states that he continued the approach despite receiving no instructions.
“During the final approach but we could not establish clear two-way communication. Loss-of-communication procedure was followed and we continued our approach.
17/04/13 Bipin Kumar Singh/Mumbai Mirror

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Man arrested for carrying five venomous snakes in flight

Chennai: Customs officials arrested a man at the airport here with a suitcase containing five venomous snakes on Wednesday.
Airport sources said the arrested Mohammed Azarudin, who arrived by a Thai Airways flight, told the Customs officials that one of his friends in Thaliand gave the suitcase to him with a request to handover it to a person in Chennai.He said he was given Rs 10,000 for carrying the suitcase and was unaware of the contents in it.
17/04/13 PTI/IBN Live

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Airlines may get direct subsidy for small town

New Delhi: In a bid to boost regional connectivity from 89 small towns that either have small airports or airstrips, the aviation ministry is planning to give upfront subsidies to airlines to put them on their networks. For this, the existing route dispersal guidelines (RDG) that mandate that airlines fly a certain percentage of their flights to the northeast, Kashmir and some other areas may be phased out in the next two to three years.
"We expect an annual subsidy of Rs 400 crore would be required for airlines for flying to these otherwise commercially unviable areas. To fund this, a reasonable cess of about Rs 50 will be levied on all domestic tickets. There will be a bidding process for the flights linking the small towns to bigger cities. Airlines with lowest viability gap funding would be given those routes," said a senior official.
The ministry has decided not to force airlines but 'nudge' them to provide regional connectivity through this route.
17/04/13 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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MRO facility at Kochi Airport on the road to completion

Kochi: The Aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) wing of the Cochin  International Airport Limited (CIAL) is at its final stages of completion.  The CIAL officials are in talks with four major European companies for  technical joint venture for the MRO facility. On completion, the facility will provide a large number of direct as well as indirect jobs.
As part of the MRO facility, line maintenance work is already operational at the airport and a twin hangar facility to carry out major maintenance at CIAL is already in place.
“The MRO facility of CIAL is yet to become full swing. Talks are on for a  technical joint venture partner for the project. Since CIAL is looking for an international partner, it will take more time to realise the project,” CIAL sources said.
For the MRO facility to become full fledged, major maintenance facility has to be operational.
17/04/13 Pramod Thomas/New Indian Express

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Juhu residents mull PIL against airport plans

Mumbai: The Airport Authority of India's plan to develop Juhu airport into a commercial airport that supports the operations of 20 ATR aircraft plus private jets is meeting with stiff opposition from Juhu residents, who plan to meet the chief minister and civil aviation minister to present their objections. If necessary, the residents will even file a PIL to oppose the plan, they said.
Juhu residents say that the Rs 2,000-crore project, which would spread across 260 acres, would use government funds and public land to build a facility for private extravagance. They added that the BMC's Development Plan (DP) has for 40 years envisaged sports facilities, a recreation ground and two arterial roads connecting Santa Cruz and Vile Parle. All this would have to be shelved to accommodate the new airport. The iconic Juhu beach and a catchment area for monsoon rainwater would also be damaged.
17/04/13 Linah Baliga/Times of India

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Flyer pays price for undeclared goods

Bangalore:  When Dr Banda Venkata Ravi Kumar was boarding a flight to Delhi, little did he know that not declaring the value of his goods would cost him dear. Not only did the 59-year-old lose his luggage, but he couldn't even claim full compensation for his monetary loss since he hadn't declared his possessions.
For consolation, Kumar was recently granted a compensation of Rs 15,850, including Rs 10,000 - the litigation cost Air India has been ordered to pay for deficiency in service. The airline has been granted 30 days to comply with the order.
Kumar's luggage was lost while he was on board an Air India Bangalore-Delhi flight on February 18, 2012. In October 2012, Kumar moved the Third Additional District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum after Air India and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) failed to redress his grievance. He alleged negligence on the part of both Air India and BIAL, and claimed compensation.
17/04/13 Hetal Vyas/Times of India

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Absence of servicing facility at Indore Airport delays snag-hit flights

Indore:  Frequent incidents of flight delays at Indore airport due to technical problems have left flyer high and dry. Airport officials blame lack of maintenance facility at Indore airport for flight delays.
In last one month four flights have been delayed to technical snag. Every time an aircraft develops some technical snag, maintenance crew has to be flown in from some other destination.
"We have asked the airlines to convey to their headquarters the need for better servicing facility and availability of spare parts at Indore," airport director of Indore airport, R N Shinde said.
At times, the passengers have to wait for hours while engineers and spare parts are called from other cities. Sometimes, relatively small faults such as electric faults not only result in delays but also cause a great discomfort to the passengers.
17/04/13 Bagish Jha/Times of India

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Couple with jewellery worth Rs 1.39 crore detained at Jaipur airport

Jaipur: A couple was intercepted with gold jewellery worth Rs 1.39 crore at the Sanganer airport in Jaipur.
The couple, hailing from Phalodi area in Jodhpur district, had come from Hyderabad on Tuesday and the jewellery was found during the scanning of their bags, officials said.
On being questioned, they failed to produce the relevant documents regarding the jewellery, they said.
17/04/13 PTI/IBN Live

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Delhi HC refers pleas on noise pollution at airport to green tribunal

New Delhi:  The Delhi high court on Tuesday referred to National Green Tribunal (NGT) a batch of petitions alleging that noise pollution generated by aircrafts at the IGI airport is affecting health of the residents of nearby areas.
"Considering the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, the Environment Protection Rules and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules as also the definition of noise pollutants given in the Air (Prevention and Control) of Pollution Act, it can hardly be disputed that these petitions involve a substantial question relating to environment," said a bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain.
"If the noise level in Vasant Kunj, Brijwasan and other areas in the vicinity of Terminal-III of IGI Airport exceeds the limits laid down in the schedule, that would be substantial question relating to environment and also amounts to violation of provisions of the Environment Protection Act. Thus, these petitions fulfill the twin requirements of section 14 of the NGT Act," the bench said.
17/04/13 Economic Times

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Nagpur AAI officials to train Mumbai and Delhi staff for acquiring ISO 27000

Nagpur: A few days ago, Nagpur airportbecame the first airport in the country to receive an ISO 27000 certificate. Airports Authority of India chairman VP Agrawal unveiled the certificate on Sunday, April 14. He also suggested that Nagpur will now guide other airports into getting the certification.
In fact, Nagpur is not only the first in India but also the first in world to be certified for air navigation service providing (ANSP). There are seven airports in the world which have ISO 27000, but none of them have it for ANSP.
Praising the efforts of the Nagpur AAI staff, Agrawal said that it was indeed a great achievement for not only the city but also the country. "Now they will lead their colleagues in Mumbai and Delhi into getting an ISO 27000 certification," he said.
16/04/13 Times of India

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Go Air to operate direct flights from Mumbai to Srinagar

Jammu: The Go Air Would operate its direct flights from Mumbai to Srinagar from tomorrow and is also exploring possibilities to operate night flights from several capital cities of the states of the Country to Srinagar to meet the rush of tourists to the Valley and other destinations of the State.
This was disclosed by the Chief Executive Officer of Go Air Company during his meeting with the State Tourism Minister,  Ghulam Ahmad Mir here on Thursday.
The Tourism Minister hailed the steps of the Company and hoped that the Company would soon start its night flights to Srinagar from different Cities for the convenience of tourists.
17/04/13 Scoop News/Ground Report.com

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Rethink on ‘threat’ from Aerocity hospitality district to IGAI: Aviation ministry to BCAS

New Delhi: An exasperated aviation ministry has written to BCAS ( Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) to spell out the exact threat perception from Aerocity hospitality district to Indira Gandhi International Airport.
In all meetings that aviation authorities have had with various security agencies, the main threat that has been cited is that of the runway being in direct line of sight from four of 12 hotels. But a joint team of aviation and security officials that recently visited the United States and Amsterdam to see how hotels in big airport cities function found exactly the same situation there.
"Being in line of sight cannot be a security threat. So far we have not been told of any other reason to suspect a threat from the hotels. We will like to know if there are some other factors that are worrying the agencies," said a senior official.
17/04/13 Economic Times

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