India Is The World’s Fastest-Growing Aviation Market – And This MBA Wants A Piece Of It

The Indian aviation industry is taking off.

In 2015, domestic traffic soared by more than 20% while international flights increased by over 7%, according to a KPMG study. By 2020, India will become the world’s third largest aviation market after the US and China. Its airports could carry as many as 370 million passengers per year.

Atishay Jain is a high-flying MBA student at the George Washington University School of Business, determined to break into the world’s fastest growing aviation market. First, he wants experience working for a major commercial airline. Then, he wants to start his own.

Prior to his MBA, Atishay worked for his family business exporting paper and in auditing at KPMG in Mumbai, before getting his first taste of the aviation industry in a business development role at Jet Airways’ frequent flier program JetPrivilege.

Competition in his native Indian market is fierce and international airlines are getting involved. Jet Airways partnered with the UAE’s Etihad Airways to secure over 20% of the Indian aviation market and keep up with its big rival airlines, Air India and IndiGo.

Yet Atishay is confident that an MBA in the US, is a one-way ticket to success.
18/04/16 Marco De Novellis/Business Because

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Flight to Jaipur from October

Air connectivity to Jaipur, Rajasthan, from here will soon be a reality with Indigo planning to launch a flight en route to the national capital in October. Indigo has placed request to Air Bus to procure an aircraft for the purpose.
"The flight will serve two purposes. Since it will go to Jaipur having a stoppage in Delhi, passengers get another flight to Delhi. Those who will go to Jaipur, won't have to alight from the plane," said airport director R Mahalingam.
He said that Jaipur operation is being delayed because the Air Bus is yet to provide the aircraft to the carrier. According to my discussion with the carrier, the Air Bus is likely to provide the aircraft by September, he added. "A month ago, Indigo evinced interest to run four more flights from here. However, the destinations to which it will fly were not decided. Once the carrier gets its aircraft, it will ask for approval of schedule," said an airport official.
In March 2015, Indigo evinced interest to use one of its flights to go to an international destination from here. The civil aviation ministry had asked the airport authorities to negotiate with domestic carriers for international operation. Twelve flights of Indigo are currently operating from here.
19/04/16 Riyan Ramanath/The Times Of India

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RSS seeks minister's help in 'kirpan at airports' issue

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Sikh wing Rashtriya Sikh Sangat (RSS) has apprised the Union civil aviation minister Mahesh Sharma that Amritdhari (baptised) Sikh officials and employees working at international airports were being stopped from wearing their kirpan (small sword) citing an international treaty about security.
It told the minister that Article 25 of Indian Constitution granted the right to Amritdhari Saikhs to carry their articles of faith and the Union government had not framed any law or rules barring kirpans.
A delegation of the Sangat, led by its president Gurcharan Singh Gill, met aviation minister Sharma on Monday and demanded his intervention in the issue. The delegation said kirpan-carrying Sikh officials and employees were being barred from wearing it on the basis of a international treaty. "We told the minister that the Article 25 of Indian Constitution gave the right to the Sikhs wear the kirpan. This issue was not just of sentiments of Sikhs but also of their fundamental right. Even after assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi there was no bar on Sikh officials or employees wearing this article of faith," said a statement issued by RSS national secretary Avtar Singh Shastry.
19/04/16 I P Singh/The Times Of India

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Air India, Jet to automate check-in process at Mumbai airport for domestic flights

As per a Hindustan Times report by Soubhik Mitra, From two self-service kiosks at Terminal 2 (T2) of Mumbai airport that issue boarding passes and checked-in baggage tags on a couple of Air India routes, this service will soon be operational on the entire domestic network of the national carrier and Jet Airways, which collectively cater to more than one-third of domestic fliers in India.

Confirming the development, a Jet Airways spokesperson said, “We already have six counters for domestic fliers and three for international fliers dedicated for web check-in, kiosks check-in and baggage drop services. We will soon introduce baggage tag printing.”

On April 1, two self-check-in booths installed by the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) began issuing automated boarding cards and baggage tags. The Common-Use Self (check-in) Service (CUSS), set up at T2, the airport’s new integrated terminal, will also generate tags for checked-in bags.

Fliers using the service can skip the check-in queues and head to a self-bag-drop counter where an airline staffer will verify the tag and complete the check-in process faster, said airport officials.
18/04/16 Travel Biz Monitor

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190 SpiceJet passengers spend night stranded in plane

A SpiceJet flight (SG487) from Mumbai to Kolkata was stranded at the Nagpur airport on Sunday night due to a technical snag. SpiceJet does not have regular service from Nagpur so there is no support or ground staff here. The plane therefore had to wait at Nagpur till a Spicejet Engineer could check it. A plane going from Kolkata to Goa on Monday morning brought the engineers here. The engineers repaired the snag and the stranded plane left for onward journey in the morning.

The 190 passengers aboard had to spend the entire night in the aircraft and were not granted airport access. A passenger aboard the stranded aircraft developed a heart problem and had to be taken to a city hospital as there was no chance of flight reaching Kolkata on time. An ambulance was called and the patient was shifted immediately to a hospital, where he is said to be out of danger.
19/04/16 Ashish Roy/The Times Of India

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Passenger movement up by 2.47 lakh

For the first time passenger movement at Coimbatore International Airport has crossed the 15 lakh mark.

On reaching 17.31 lakh last financial year, the airport is all set to join the select airports in the country that are considered as major airports.

Reason for increase is cited as the over all average increase in passenger movement across the country.

Passenger movement that is steadily on the rise is expected to go up further when Air Carnival begins operations – possibly by the second half of May.

Passenger movement at the airport has gone up by 2,47,261 in 2015-16.

The departure and arrival last financial year is the highest the airport has recorded so far.

It is 16.66 per cent more than the passenger movement recorded the previous year – the highest so far.

This increase was despite a mere 1.18 per cent increase in the aircraft movement.

Passenger movement has gone up in both domestic and international sectors.
19/04/16 M.K.Ananth/The Hindu

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55-yr-old turns up a day late for flight, creates ruckus at Mumbai airport

A 55-year-old caused a ruckus on Saturday evening when he was not allowed to enter Mumbai airport. In fact, he had arrived a day late for his scheduled journey and naturally, the CISF manning the security gates, did not allow him in.
That was when the Chennai resident, G Paul Fredrick, started hurling abuses at the staff near departure gate number 1. He repeatedly claimed that he had been issued a wrong boarding pass and he had booked a flight for April 16, even though his actual booking to Chennai was for an IndiGo flight (6E459) on April 15. After being snubbed by the CISF, Fredrick approached the IndiGo ticket counter, where the staff informed him about the mistake. He then started demanding a refund. “He was shouting and using abusive language while talking to the IndiGo staff and other people. CISF staff tried to pacify him but he just wasn’t ready to leave the terminal premises. He was yelling continuously,” said an airline official, on condition of anonymity. At about 8.10 pm, the IndiGo staff took him to the airport police station.
19/04/16 Neha LM Tripathi/mid-day

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Bekal to join the big league, air connectivity soon

The famous Bekal Fort of the Chirakkal Rajas, one of the largest and best preserved forts in the State, is all set to figure on the aviation map with plans afoot for the construction of an airstrip. The airstrip that can accommodate 50-seater aircraft will offer last-mile connectivity to the Bekal Special Tourism Area that has already been developed as an exotic beach destination.

The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has almost finalised a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the construction of the airstrip.

Incidentally, the authorities are yet to convene a meeting of stakeholders and the Bekal Resorts Development Corporation (BRDC) spearheading the destination development in Kasaragod district, thanks to the code of conduct in force ahead of the May 16 Assembly election.

Sources said the government had already granted administrative sanction and had allocated Rs.35 crore for the first phase of the project proposed in Uduma panchayat.

As much as 120 acres will be required for the airstrip, which will come up close to the notified area, while 40 acres are already in the possession of the government and the BRDC. For the record, it takes two hours by road from Bekal to the Mangaluru airport and the upcoming Kannur international airport.

The airstrip will come in handy for the six resorts that have come up at Bekal to attract upmarket holidayers. Airlines can directly operate to Bekal or can offer air connectivity from international airports in the State.
19/04/16 S.Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

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Campaign rush in poll season leads to windfall at Durgapur airport

Kolkata: Bengal's sleepy greenfield airport near Durgapur has sprung to life with jet-setting VIP politicians flying in and out in the high noon of poll season. The airport has already earned an additional Rs 1 crore in a fortnight in landing and parking fees.
Though commercial operations at Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Andal started in December 2015, it has taken off now with 85 chartered flights landing and taking off with the who's who of politics on board.
Prior to the campaign rush, the airport used to handle 10-12 flights in 15 days.
From PM Narendra Modi to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the list of fliers who have used the airport is impressive. Home minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, human resource development minister Smiti Irani, junior information & broadcasting minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, BJP president Amit Shah and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi have all used the airport to campaign in Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura and even Malda and Murshidabad. Trinamool's Mukul Roy and Dev also used the facility; chief minister Mamata Banerjee did not land there but her chopper refuelled there as tax is not levied on ATF there.
17/04/16 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

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AAI likely to post all-time high revenue of Rs 10,000 crore

New Delhi: National airports operator AAI is expected to report an all-time high revenue of Rs 10,000 crore, with an estimated flat profit growth in the fiscal ended March 31 this year.
The estimated eight per cent growth in the topline which stood at Rs 9,285 crore in 2014-15, is driven by the surge in passenger traffic as well as aircraft movement, particularly from Ahmedabad and Leh airports, a senior AAI official said.
The state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) was accorded 'Miniratna' status in 2008, granting it the right to exercise its powers of autonomy in terms of investment in projects and forming joint ventures.
Of the 125 AAI airports, currently 95 are operational, with 70 of them having scheduled flights.
"While the accounts are still being finalised, we estimate the revenue to touch an all-time high of Rs 10,000 crore in the last fiscal. The net profit during this period is also estimated at Rs 2,000 crore," the AAI official said.
17/04/16 PTI/Economic Times

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Vadodara gets two new flights due to runway repair in Ahmedabad

Runway at Ahmedabad airport is closed for operation between 10 am and 6 pm due to ongoing repair work which is likely to continue for one year. Due to this some flights from Ahmedbad during 10 to 6 are diverted to Vadodara airport which is located at about one and half hour road distance from Ahmedabad. Indigo has diverted its Ahmedabad-Goa flight to Vadodara which is starting today via Mumbai. Similarly the Indigo flight to Bangalore has also been shifted to Vadodara from today. Meanwhile Air India has resumed its Vadodara-Delhi operation. Air India is also planning to start Mumbai-Bhavnagar-Mumbai flight from 21st April.
16/04/16 DeshGujarat

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World's largest 'charkha' to be on display at IGI airport

New Delhi: World's largest wooden Charkha (spinning wheel) proposed to be installed at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport here is ready for dispatch from a unit of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in Ahmedabad.
The four-tonne Charkha made from high-quality teak wood, which is estimated to last for over 50 years, was built by around 26 workers and carpenters who completed it in 40 days, the KVIC said in a statement.
"It was the initiative of KVIC Chairman V K Saxena who decided to install the world's largest charkha at the international airport in Delhi to showcase India's symbol of non-violence to the world through the airport where around 2,50,000 people/tourists visit every day," the statement said.
17/04/16 PTI/Times of India

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Zambian held at IGIA with drugs worth Rs.1.4cr

A Zambian national has been held at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here for allegedly attempting to smuggle out narcotic drugs worth Rs.1.4 crore.
Officials said the incident occurred on Friday when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) sleuths detected suspicious movements of a passenger identified as Zambian Mwenda Paul, who arrived at the airport terminal to board a flight to Addis Ababa.
They said Paul was chosen for detailed frisking after which about 35kg of the banned drug was recovered from his baggage, cleverly hidden in thigh pads (cricketing gear).
16/04/16 PTI/Statesman

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Rare tortoises to be flown to Madagascar

Navi Mumbai: More than three weeks after 146 endangered tortoises were rescued from a Nepalese flyer at the international airport, 131 of them are set to return to Madagascar on Monday. Fifteen of the tortoises died.

Director of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau M Maranko said the process to send the tortoises back was over. An Interpol alert to file a case against the flyer, Lal Babu Thakur (32), was issued.
17/04/16 Times of India

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Changi Airports International, India’s Airports Authority call off collaboration

Singapore: A proposed plan to broaden Singapore and India's collaboration in civil aviation has been called off, after parties involved in the negotiations failed to agree on commercial terms of the project, Channel NewsAsia reported.

Changi Airports International (CAI) had been in talks with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on plans to maintain some Indian airports, and explore mutual areas of commercial interest. A CAI spokesman confirmed to the broadcaster on Friday (April 15) that talks had been called off.

Channel NewsAsia quoted CAI spokesman Ms See Ngee Muoy saying: "“As an airport investor, manager and consultant, CAI will continue to explore opportunities in airport projects in India where we can add value and where there is a strong fit with our global strategy.”

CAI was nominated by the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) in January this year as an expert party to cooperate with AAI on the maintenance of the Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports.
16/04/16 Today

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It’s time Vellore had an airport

Vellore:  An airport continues to be a dream for many in Vellore district. Home to institutions such as VIT University, Christian Medical College (CMC), and a prime leather industrial belt, Vellore has been lacking an airport. This could facilitate easy and faster connectivity, many residents said.

“An airport is definitely necessary for Vellore. A few years ago, the city was declared by the World Bank as a fast growing city in India. It has also been selected as one of the 100 cities in the Smart City project. These reasons add to the need for an airport,” Sunil Chandy, CMC director, said.
He added that there is a huge floating population in Vellore. “If an air service is available, at least 50 to 80 patients coming to CMC will use it in a day. A lot of people from Cochin and Hyderabad come here. Our staff, leather businessmen, and students will be benefitted. People prefer to travel by air, rather by road ,” he said.

He suggested that the Civil Aviation Ministry could upgrade the airstrip at Abdullapuram into an airport.

“There is a potential for business if three places are directly connected from Vellore – Chennai, Bengaluru and Tirupati – by air. Flights to Puducherry could also be operated. There is a huge need from the commercial and business point of view. It will save a lot of time,” he pointed out.

He wondered why the government has not yet identified Vellore as a potential destination for establishing an airport.
16/04/16 Serena Josephine M/The Hindu

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Flights to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur from July

Bhubaneswar: The much-awaited air service to international destinations from the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here is likely to be a reality as services to destinations like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur may begin from this July.

 “International flight operations from the BPIA will begin soon. For this, preparations at our end are over. We have also given green signal to Silk Air. The carrier is awaiting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) approval. We have written to the DGCA for expediting the clearance process. If all goes well, service to Singapore will start from July this year,” BPIA Director R Mahalingam said.

Besides Silk Air, AirAsia has also evinced interest to start international operations from here. “AirAsia is also interested to launch its flight service to Kuala Lumpur. For this, the carrier has finished all the formalities.

DGCA clearance is also pending for Air Asia. Once the approval is done, services can be started within a month,” Mahalingam added.

Notably, AirAsia had announced the launch of its Bhubaneswar-Kuala Lumpur service from December 15 last year. Mahalingam took over as the Director of BPIA last Friday.

Elaborating the expansion plans, Mahalingam further said efforts are being made to increase the footfall at the airport, especially from south Indian cities. For this, air services to Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram would be started soon.
16/04/16 Pioneer

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Fears over non-resumption of Haj services from Kozhikode

Kozhikode: Organisations campaigning for the development of the Calicut International Airport have been trying to mobilise public support through social media, but are sceptical about any political support to their cause, especially with regard to resuming Haj pilgrimage services.

At present, a couple of organisations are using Whatsapp and Facebook to put out their views, expecting, in turn, favourable response from people within the Malabar region and friends who are working in West Asian countries.

Even as the runway strengthening works are in progress and efforts are on to install the instrument landing system, the organisations admit that larger aircraft can land only if the runway expansion takes place.

For that to happen, the government must acquire the required 475 acres. The airport authorities have made it clear that wide-bodied aircraft can be operated only if the runway is large enough to accommodate these.
16/04/16 The Hindu

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9 flights cancelled, ops move to Vadodara

Airline companies and airport authorities have geared up for change in their summer schedule with airport authorities announcing the runway will remain closed for re-carpeting from today. As per authorities, the 3.5km runway at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) will remain closed daily from 10am to 6pm daily for a year, i.e. till April 2017. Airline companies, therefore, have implemented changes in their flight schedules for the coming year. While flights operating in the afternoon have been shifted to early morning or late evening, several airlines have opted to shift their services to the Civil Airport Harni (Vadodara). At least nine flights have been cancelled till further notice.

The SVPI has a 3.5km long runway that has not been resurfaced for close to eight years now. However, aviation experts state that runways that see heavy traffic should ideally be resurfaced and re-carpeted once in every three years. Interestingly, the changes are likely to add to the chaotic situation at the city airport where passengers have already been instructed to report two hours before the flight is scheduled for departure.
16/04/16 Ahmedabad Mirror

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Minor fire near airport premises

Jaipur: Panic spread near airport premises when a minor fire broke out in the garbage lying near its boundary wall on Friday. The state hangar where government helicopters and charter planes are parked was just a few meters away from the spot of the fire. The fire was contained within minutes, officials said.
Smoke and fire flames were seen at a spot adjoining the airport's boundary wall. Three fire tenders were pressed into service and it was doused soon.Sources said that the cause of fire is being investigated, but it seems someone threw a burning object like cigarette in the garbage. The state hangar reports presence of VVIPs like governor and the chief minister.
16/04/16 Times of India

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Foreign currency smuggling on the rise at city airport

Hyderabad: The series of foreign currency smuggling attempts at RGI Airport has made it clear that city-based hawala operators have been transporting huge amount of foreign currency in small suitcases.
Over the past one month, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths arrested four city men and seized Rs 3.56 crore worth foreign currency from their possession.
In two cases, the offenders were travelling to Dubai and in another case, the accused were going to Sharjah.
Initially DRI sleuths thought that the smugglers are trying to take UAE's currency dirhams along with US dollars and euros, which could easily be exchanged in the country.
But during the recent arrest, DRI sleuths were shocked to see the smuggler carrying Australian dollars, Saudi riyals, Omani riyals, Qatar riyals and Kuwaiti dinars to UAE which has flummoxed intelligence officials.
16/04/16 Times of India

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Zambian national held at IGIA in Delhi with Rs 1.4cr drugs

A Zambian national has been held at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi for allegedly attempting to smuggle out narcotic drugs worth Rs 1.4 crore. Officials said the incident occurred on Friday when CISF sleuths detected suspicious movements of a flier identified as Zambian Mwenda Paul, who arrived at the airport terminal to board a flight to Addis Ababa. They said Paul was chosen for detailed frisking after which about 35kgs of the banned drug was recovered from his baggage, cleverly hidden in thigh pads, a cricketing gear.
16/04/16 PTI/Indian Express

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BSF jawan arrested with live cartridge

Agartala: A Border Security Force (BSF) head constable was detained at Agartala airport on Friday after a live cartridge was found in his luggage. The case was handed over to police.

Head constable Sudhir Singh was to travel in a flight to Kolkata for onward journey to his home in Bihar. The cartridge was found in the bag during scanning.

Police said Mr. Singh was serving in the 51 battalion of the BSF with its headquarters in Bagafa in south Tripura. The bullet seized was of a self-loading rifle.
16/04/16  Syed Sajjad Ali/The Hindu

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State keen to spend 3.5cr on Kolhapur airport, says Patil

Kolhapur: District guardian minister Chandrakant Patil has said the state government is keen on spending Rs 3.5 crore for the commencement of Kolhapur airport. He said a proposal in this regard has already been submitted to the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
Speaking to newsmen on Thursday evening, Patil said necessary funds could be arranged as the state government has expressed its willingness to spend, even as the airport is technically under the administration of AAI. The minister said the airport's expansion can take place later, but starting the facility with small capacity aircraft is necessary to boost the district's confidence.
"The funds will be utilised for developing night landing facility, and some services at rest room among other purposes. The night landing facility is necessary so that flights from Mumbai can fly to Kolhapur after sunset as well," Patil said.
"The priority is to start using the airport so that people can get work-related benefits. Once the number of passengers is high, the aviation companies would also show more interest in improving their services from Kolhapur to Mumbai," he added.
15/04/16 Times of India

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AVM protests diversion of flights from int’l airport

Amritsar: Members of the Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) staged a protest alleging discrimination with Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport by the Civil Aviation Ministry here today. The protest was organised at Bhandari Bridge.
The protesters said the ministry was hell bent on diverting international flights from local airport to other airports in the country. They alleged that the ministry was also not allowing other airlines to start international flights from the Amritsar airport.
Daljit Singh Kohli of the Amritsar Vikas Manch said international flights between Amritsar-Birmingham, Amritsar-Toronto and Amritsar-San Francisco were running successfully from the city airport, but these were shifted to Delhi in 2008.
15/04/16 Tribune

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Satellite phone spells trouble for US citizen

Kochi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) arrested an American citizen on Thursday at Cochin airport for carrying and using a satellite phone, banned in India.
CISF arrested Kruss Daniel Morton (65), a resident of Castlewood Ln, Deerfield, Illinois, USA, after the phone was found in his possession during a routine baggage screening at the airport.
Morton, who was in Kochi along with his wife and a group of friends, arrived last week and visited popular tourist locations such as Kumarakom and Munnar.
The accused was intercepted by CISF around 5.50pm on Thursday. He was about to board a flight back to the US along with his wife and a family friend. He was handed over to Nedumbassery police.
Officials said that the foreigner had arrived in Kochi on April 10.
Police said that the accused claimed to be a doctor and director of a hospital in the US. He said he brought the phone fearing that he would be unreachable over his cell phone in Kerala. He also claimed that he was unaware of the Indian rule, restricting the use of satellite phone.
15/04/16 Times of India

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Indore gets direct flight to Goa

Indore: People planning to spend their vacation on Goa's exotic beaches can now reach their favourite destination in less than two hours. Private airline Indigo has announced the launch of a direct flight from Indore to Goa from April 16.
The flight would depart from Indore airport at 10.50 am and reach Goa at 12.35 am. The return flight would depart at 1.05 pm from Goa and reach Indore at 2.50 pm. Fare of flights range from Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,500. The first flight's fare from Indore to Goa is around Rs 5,500 on April 16. The return flight is relatively cheaper and costs around Rs 3,500. Bookings for the flights have already begun. There had been a lot of demand for a direct flight to Goa. While many people prefer to visit Goa, Indore did not have proper rail and air connectivity to the destination. Only a weekly train runs from Indore that takes more than 24 hours to reach Goa.
13/04/16 Times of India

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Fire breaks out near runway of Varanasi airport

Varanasi: Fire broke out in the bushes near the runway of Lal Bahadur Shastri International airport, Babatpur on late Monday night. The security personnel and airport staff immediately extinguished the fire.
According to reports, the dry bushes caught fire due to the sparks caused by electric short circuit around midnight. Immediately the CISF personnel and security staff swung into action and extinguished the fire.
The airport director DS Garia told to TOI on Tuesday that there was nothing serious, and the fire was put off immediately after information received from control room. He said that the dry grass near the runway caught fire after the electric sparks fell on it. He claimed that the entire airport is manned adequately to respond quickly to any situation.
12/04/16 Binay Singh/Times of India

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Unclaimed car parked at airport creates panic

Trichy: An unclaimed hatchback car in the parking lot of Trichy International airport triggered panic among security agencies on Tuesday evening while sanitizing the area ahead of the visit of BJP national president Amit Shah to the city on Wednesday.
The car was spotted by police officials during the security drill before the visit of Amit Shah. It was found that the car was parked for more than seven days in the area and there was no one to claim it. The car bears a registration number of Karnataka. A team of bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) of the city police was pressed into action and they thoroughly scanned the car through their devices to check if there was any explosive material. However, no explosives were found in the car.
The airport police said the car was towed and taken to the airport police station. The police also checked if there was any document relating to the ownership. The officials started verifying footages of CCTV cameras in the airport campus to identify the person who drove the car and parked here. It was yet to be ascertained when the car was parked exactly.
13/04/16 Times of India

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App-based cab company challenges entry fee at IGIA

New Delhi: An app-based cab company has challenged the entry fee of Rs.150 imposed on commercial vehicles at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), while alleging that some taxi operators were allowed to enter and pick up passengers without paying any fee. This privilege was denied to others, said the cab firm in the Delhi High Court.

In its writ petition filed in the High Court, app-based cab firm Magic Sewa alleged that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) were giving preferential treatment to three taxi operators — Easy Cabs, Meru and Mega Taxi — and denying the privilege to others.

A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, issued notices last week to AAI and DIAL and asked them to file their replies in two weeks before the Single Judge who is hearing the plea of Magic Sewa. With this direction, the Bench disposed of the cab company’s appeal against the Single Judge’s decision not to grant any interim relief in the case.

The court also advanced the next date of hearing in the matter before the Single Judge from July 22 to May 17. The Single Judge had on February 24 declined to grant interim relief to Magic Sewa, which had sought stay on the Rs.150 entry fee.
13/04/16 Mohammed Iqbal/The Hindu

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Sunfilm coat for crumbling panels

Kolkata: The airport authority has decided to coat both sides of glass panels with a whopping 10 lakh sq ft of sunfilm. This will not only help reduce the heat on the outer surface, it will also prevent the shattered pieces from falling off.
"We have called for bids for the Rs 8-9 crore sunfilm project and will finalize it at the earliest. We are expediting the process so that the glass panel problem gets resolved for good soon," Kolkata airport director Atul Dixit said.
The urgency follows an injury to an IndiGo ground staff on Monday evening when a 70sqft glass panel shattered and fell on him. One of the shards pierced his skull. When the panic-stricken airline employee tried to flee, he fell hard on the tarmac, leading to further injuries. In the past, too, many persons have narrowly escaped being hit by glass pieces falling off shattered panels. Last year, a CISF jawan had died after he fell through a hole caused by an earlier glass breakage.
"Normally, toughened glass shatters into very small bits that should not cause injury. But seeing glass pieces fall off a terminal that has so much glass does cause panic. We don't want that to happen and have therefore decided on the sunfilm. A test was also carried out to check how the shattered glass behaved. It stayed in place long enough for the glass to be replaced," said Dixit.
12/04/16 Times of India

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Simhastha: Helicopter services to facilitate old, disabled

Indore: Pawan Hans Ltd will operate helicopter service to Ujjain during Simhastha, beginning from April 22.
The company had approached the state government for starting the helicopter services during the Kumbh and received an initial sanction. "Pawan Hans has been allowed to build a helipad near Triveni Ghat for operating the services for pilgrims during the festival," Bhupendra Singh, state transport minister and in-charge of Ujjain, told TOI. The services are expected to help old and handicapped pilgrims who may face problems in walking long distances for taking a holy dip in Kshipra river during Simhastha, he said, adding the pilgrims will alight at the Triveni Ghat and can take a dip in the river.
However, Pawan Hans Ltd is yet to declare details of the services it plans to start in Ujjain. Over 5 crore people are expected to attend Simhastha during the month, from April 22 to May 21. Though Ujjain district administration had made elaborate arrangements for managing the crowd, the pilgrims will have to walk long distances to reach the temple site and banks of Kshipra river to take the holy dip.
13/04/16 Times of India

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Delhi Airport to produce 20 MW through solar energy by 2020

New Delhi: Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the company that operates the Delhi airport, today said that it has enhanced the solar power generating capacity at the Delhi airport to 20MW by 2020.

The airport operator has expanded the current capacity of solar power generation at the IGI Airport from 2.14 MW to 7.84 MW thus making the airport largely dependent on green energy.

"Aligning with the vision of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to harness solar energy to fight climate change, we aim to increase our solar power generation capacity to 20 MW by 2020," I Prabhakara Rao, CEO, Delhi International P Limited said.
The solar power project has been executed at the Airside of the IGI Airport after achieving all requisite safety clearances. The green field area of the Airside has been utilized without hindering and compromising the operations safety. The non-reflective PV solar panels are installed at the plant in a bid to reduce glare effect.
12/04/16 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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TCP approves PDA for Mopa airport site

Panjim: In a major decision, the department of Town and Country Planning (TCP) has decided to bring the Greenfield International Mopa airport site, measuring around 81.29 lakh sq mtrs of area, under the Planning and Development Authority (PDA).
The decision was taken at the TCP board meeting held on Monday in a bid to ensure its proper planning. Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza, who holds the TCP portfolio and chaired the meeting, said the Board has approved a new PDA for Mopa Airport Planning Area.
“The Mopa airport area needs to be properly planned. The requirement of planning for this area is different and hence it was decided to develop it under PDA,” Chief Town Planner Dr ST Putturaju told Herald after the meeting.
He said that in the first phase, the area will be marked under PDA, which will be followed by appointment of a special authority. “The authority will then draft development plans for this site. Here we will need experts from civil aviation, PWD engineers and others,” Putturaju said.
He added that four villages from Pernem taluka will be covered under this PDA. “The PDA would be independent from the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA),” he said.
13/04/16 Herald

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New system at Bamrauli airport

The Allahabad high court on Tuesday directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to install Instrumental Landing System (ILS) at Bamrauli Airport. The court directed the air force to grant permissions for the same.
ILS facilities are already available at other airports of the country. Hearing a PIL filed by Ajay Kumar Mishra, a division bench comprising chief justice Dr D Y Chandrachud and Justice Yashwant Varma directed the AAI to conduct the survey at Bamrauli airport within ten days and report the same to the court.
13/04/16 Times of India

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Green tea costs Rs 4 lakh at Bengaluru airport, Union Minister DV Sadanand Gowda seeks probe

Bengaluru: Price of green tea at Bengaluru airport would leave even the some of the richest person on the globe scratching their heads. One cup of herbal green tea is charged Rs 4 lakh by the authorities at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport. The exorbitant price came as a shock for Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda, who sipped a cup of tea at the airport.
Sadanand Gowda sought a detailed probe in the matter by Karnataka Government. He also wrote to the protocol department of Kempegowda airport seeking an inquiry in the inflated bills on food items at the airport. Not only is the price of green tea hiked to Rs 4 lakh, but even the most basic of food product costs near about Rs 35,000-40,000.
At least 14 officials including deputy secretary and two under-secretaries are reportedly involved in the process of over-inflating the price of food items. Costs are raised in an arbitrary manner to maximize profits in an unreasonable manner.
12/04/16 Mohammed Uzair Shaikh/India.com

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Indian businessman handed 13 month sentence for importing €106,200 in fake banknotes

An Indian leather goods importer has been jailed for 13 months in connection with the largest seizure of counterfeit Euro banknotes in Maltese history.
33-year-old businessman Ravi Kumar, from Mahabat Pur Baoli in India, had been arrested at the airport on 18th May last year. Kumar had been trying to leave the island when he was found to be carrying 1,152 fake €100 banknotes and 20 fake €50 banknotes - a face value of some €106,200.
The court ordered that the counterfeit notes be destroyed.
Although Kumar had initially denied the charges, Magistrate Josette Demicoli noted that the accused had later changed his plea and admitted his guilt.
12/04/16 Malta Today

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2 Sri Lankans with fake passports nabbed

Vasco: Two Srilankan nationals were arrested by Dabolim airport police for trying to board a Sharjah- bound flight with fake passports.
DySP Sucheta Dessai said, "They portrayed themselves as Indians but immigration officials suspected otherwise." The accused as per their names in the passports M Lusin and Srinivasan Balsubramanyam.
13/04/16 Times of India

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Passenger growth, lower fuel prices to boost revenues of airlines

Mumbai: Earnings of Indian carriers are likely to be high in the the March quarter, too, as jet fuel prices are down over 23 per cent from last year. Strong passenger growth will help domestic airlines improve their top line and margins in the March-end quarter, analysts say.
With traffic growing well over 20 per cent and load factors elevated at 85 per cent, airlines are likely to fare well in what is known to be a seasonally weak quarter. Aviation turbine fuel price is 23.7 per cent lower at around Rs 37,900 per kilolitre in January-March 2016 on a year-on-year basis and this could boost airline margins.
According to an analyst poll by Bloomberg, SpiceJet is estimated to show 70 per cent revenue growth on a year-on-year basis while Jet Airways' revenue, excluding other operating income, is expected to rise 15.5 per cent. IndiGo had earlier indicated its revenue would rise six-eight per cent on a year-on-year basis, but analysts expect it to do better than that on strong demand. Bloomberg has not shared a comparative year-on-year figure for IndiGo.
On the flip side, however, a six per cent depreciation in the rupee and pressure on yields due to softening of fares will impact profitability of carriers. While Jet Airways and SpiceJet are expected to post growth in profitability, IndiGo has warned that its profit will be impacted by the rupee depreciation.
12/04/16 Business Standard

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Work on Navi Mumbai airport to start by December

Mumbai: The developer, who will be selected to build Navi Mumbai international airport by October, is expected to start work by December, revealed state officials.

Crucial work on flattening hillocks and changing the course of Ulve river for the aviation project could start soon. On Monday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis gave the go-ahead for the final phase of tendering.

Cidco, the nodal agency for the airport development, expects the contractors for the pre-development work like levelling hillocks, diverting the river and shifting overhead wires to be in place in next couple of months.

"We expect the selection of the main airport developer, after the financial bidding process gets over, by October. The developer will be able to start construction by the year end. By then the groundwork will be done," said a senior Cidco official.

While clearing the proposals on Monday, the chief minister insisted on completion of the airport's first phase by 2019. The new airport is being built to reduce the congestion at Mumbai airport. If all goes according to plan, then the Navi Mumbai international airport should be ready by 2030 and should have the capacity for handling 70 million passengers annually.
12/04/16 Chittaranjan Tembhekar/Times of India

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Ball to be set rolling for Navi Mumbai airport in 5 months: Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Informing that his Cabinet has given its nod for the request for proposal (RFP) for the proposed new international airport at Navi Mumbai, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said that since the period for the tender process is five months, the letter of intent and work order would be given after five months.

Also, after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's hard talk in Kolhapur last week, Fadnavis decided to go soft on the Sena in the Assembly on Monday by giving a clean chit to the Sena-run Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the tablet purchase case. The CM also did not utter a single word regarding allegations of corruption in the BMC in securing permissions for buildings and road construction projects.

Speaking in the Assembly, the chief minister also revealed that his government has prepared an integrated development plan for Elephanta caves near Mumbai so that an additional jetty service, overnight staying facilities and a cable car would be possible at the heritage site.

Speaking about the proposed international airport in Navi Mumbai, Fadnavis said that it would be fully functional by December 2019. He also said that since the maximum capacity of one crore passengers would be achieved in a phased manner, the aiport can even be operational before December 2019, which is the deadline for the project.
12/04/16 Shailendra Paranjpe/Daily News & Analysis

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Understaffed and overworked ATCs told to work longer

Mumbai: Faced with a severe shortage of air traffic controllers, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has come out with a controversial solution that will end up reducing the number of days off they get in a month.
In an order last week, AAI increased the normal duty time of controllers by 12 hours a month — meaning two extra six-hour shifts that will lead to the loss of two off days. It will hit the Mumbai air traffic control the most, where overworked controllers each have been putting in an extra duty of 18 hours a month already.
The AAI order is based on the argument that the working hours of controllers in India are less than the world average. That has been contested by controllers. "All they need to do is check the duty rosters," said a controller, requesting anonymity. Controllers in airports like Delhi, Mumbai follow what's called a "5 shift roster" and their normal duty hours are set at 36 hours per week. "The world average too is 36 hours a week. But with this order, Mumbai controllers will end up doing 39 hours of duty a week. Then again, because of staff-shortage they have to do 18 hours of extra duty a month. All this would add up to 45 hours of duty a week, which would be an extremely unsafe practice," he added.
12/04/16 Manju V/Times of India

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Now, flyers can choose their food on board

Jaipur: Passengers travelling to various destinations from Jaipur airport can now have quality food on board as per their choices. Not only this, the travellers can now even demand famous Rajasthani cuisine.
CAFS, a leading in-flight food caterer opened its air catering unit at Mansarovar area in the city on Monday. It was inaugurated by B K Tailang, director, Airport Authority of India.
"Our aim is to serve not only hygienic and quality food to the air travellers but also provide food of their choice. Jaipur airport is already operating international flights and in future we expect more expansion. Hence, there was a need of having such facility. We are in touch with all the airlines and can serve 4000 meals per day," said George Dominic, CEO and MD of CAFS.
12/04/16 Times of India

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Ground handlers body GHAI seeks Home ministry intervention

New Delhi: Seeking Union Home Ministry's intervention in security and safety related issues, particularly self-handling by airlines, in the proposed aviation policy, Ground handlers body GHAI today expressed hope that the Government will address its concerns before finalising it.

The Ground Handling Association of India (GHAI) has sought time from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to convey their concerns on certain policy provisions, GHAI Secretary General Arvind Kumar said today.

The GHAI has sought Home Ministry's intervention at a time when the Civil Aviation Ministry is in the process of taking the policy to the Cabinet for its approval.

Ground handling, a key aspect of the aviation sector, generally refers to services provided to an aircraft while it is parked at an airport.
11/04/16 PTI/Times of India

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Private airlines ground staff hurt by glass shard

Kolkata: A ground staff of private airlines Indigo was today seriously injured after being hit by a glass shard at the N S C B International airport.
Airport sources said the ground staff Bipul Datta was taken to a private super speciality hospital on E M Bypass after being hit by the stray object this evening.
Datta was working in the taxi bay area when the incident took place.
12/04/16 PTI/India Today

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High Court seeks DIAL, AAI reply on entry fee on commercial vehicles

New Delhi: Delhi High Court has sought the responses of Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) on a cab firm's plea against the entry fee of Rs 150 levied upon all commercial vehicles entering the IGI airport to ferry passengers.

Magic Sewa, an app-based cab company, has also alleged that DIAL and AAI were giving "preferential treatment" to some taxi operators at IGI airport by allowing them to enter and pick-up passengers while denying the same privilege to others.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath asked AAI and DIAL to file their replies in two weeks to Magic Sewa's plea before the single judge who is hearing the matter and disposed of its appeal against the single judge's decision not to grant any interim relief.
The division bench also advanced the next date of hearing in the matter before the single judge to May 17 from July 22.
11/04/16 PTI/Economic Times

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Vijayawada set to get better air connectivity

Vijayawada: Connectivity to Vijayawada airport is getting better with SpiceJet introducing flights in the Tirupati-Visakhapatnam sector via Vijayawada later this month. It is one of the three airline operators currently serving Vijayawada, while Air India and Air Costa being the other two.

Spice Jet will also soon connect global destinations like Dubai, Bangkok, and Colombo to Vijayawada and Tirupati via Chennai and Hyderabad, according to airline industry sources.

TruJet is another new entrant that has plans for operating flights to Vijayawada, Tirupati, Hyderabad, and Kadapa.

The Tirupati-Visakhapatnam Spice Jet flight will leave Tirupati at 11.10 a.m. and reach Vijayawada at 12.15 p.m. and leave for Visakhapatnam at 12.40 p.m. and reach there at 1.40 p.m. In the return direction, the flight will leave Visakhapatnam at 2.20 p.m. and reach Vijayawada at 3.20 p.m. and depart to Tirupati at 3.40 p.m. and reach the temple town at 4.45 p.m.

The development of Vijayawada (Gannavaram) airport on a war-footing assumed significance as the city has become the temporary capital and is hosting several national and international programmes.
12/04/16 The Hindu

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Cochin International Airport posts 20% growth in passenger traffic

Kochi: Cochin International Airport Ltd has posted a 20 per cent growth in passenger traffic, thereby handling 77 lakh travellers in FY-16.

Of this, the growth in domestic passengers was 16.66 per cent, while the international passengers constitute 23.92 per cent.

The number of domestic passengers was 31.29 lakh against 26.82 lakh in the previous fiscal while the figure of international travellers was 46.41 lakh against 37.45 lakh. The aircraft movement during the period also registered a 10 per cent growth.

As many as 24 airlines are currently operating from CIAL and more companies have evinced interest in staring operations shortly both domestic and overseas services. This included Vistara, Air Pegasus and Thai Air Asia’s Kochi-Bangkok service.
11/04/16 Business Line

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Airlines face delays, congestion issues at Indian airports

Key Indian international airports at Delhi and Mumbai are experiencing accessibility problems as a result of traffic volume increases and infrastructure upgrades.

Airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said surface improvements on the airport’s Runway 10/28 would take one week from April 5, but carriers would not be inconvenienced. However, some carriers have warned passengers to expect delays during the maintenance period.

DIAL said remaining runways, 09/27 and 11/29, would be fully available on a 24/7 basis to handle traffic and that “these two runways will be sufficient to take care of the current need of air traffic movement.”
In addition, low-cost carrier (LCC) IndiGo issued a statement to travelers April 8 saying that “consequential delays and congestion” are to be expected during the upgrading work at Delhi International.
11/04/16 Jeremy Torr/ATW online

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More counters, staff to tackle airport rush

Ahmedabad: With runway resurfacing at the city airport scheduled to start by the end of this week, Airports Authority of India (AAI) is taking all measures to help flyers have a hassle-free experience. From increasing the number of counters to deploying more men during rush hours, AAI is gearing up for the yearlong renovation work, during which the flight operations will remain completely shut between 10am to 6pm.
According to a senior AAI official, since the runway will remain unavailable for eight hours each day from April 16 onwards, several flights have been bunched together during early morning and evening.
"The counters for issuing boarding passes in the domestic terminal have been increased to 30 from earlier 22. The staff's working hours have been rescheduled to handle the rush during morning and evening hours," said an AAI official.
12/04/16 Times of India

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GMR increases solar power unit capacity at Delhi airport

Hyderabad: The GMR group managed Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd has increased the solar power generating capacity at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi from the existing 2.14 MW to 7.84 MW.

This will enable the airport to be largely dependent on green energy as the power generated from the solar plant is expected to support the IGI airport operations.

The Delhi airport becomes the first airport in the world to be registered under the Clean Development Mechanism of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
12/04/16 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

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CM inspects airport works

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday inspected the new terminal/building constructions works at Vijayawada (Gannavaram) airport.
He went around the greenery being developed on the airport premises and along the national highway between Ramavarappadu and Gannavaram.
12/04/16 The Hindu

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Now, park your car for three days at airport

Aurangabad: After providing parking facilities to non-scheduled aircrafts at the International Chikalthana Airport in Aurangabad, the airport authority has decided to allow passengers to park their cars for a maximum three days at the airport.
Aurangabad airport director Alok Varshneya said the airport has decided to give permission to passengers, who wish to park their vehicles at the airport during their travel period. At present, the vehicles are not allowed to be parked during the night or for long periods.
"Considering the comfort level of passengers, especially those travelling from nearby areas such as Jalna, Latur, Beed, and catching a flight from Aurangabad, the airport has decided to allow car parking for a maximum of three days at a stretch," he said.
Soon, signage in this regard would be put up in the parking lot. However, passengers have to seek prior permission from the airport authority and will have to pay Rs 149 per day for parking the car. "During the day, on a regular basis, the parking charges are Rs 35 for three hours, while charges increase later," he said.
11/04/16 Times of India

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Who ate at Bengaluru airport in union law minister’s name?

Bengaluru: Cheating is not uncommon here. But when the union law minister is cheated, it becomes news. When the minister belongs to the state, it is bigger news. The state government has taken up investigation into the allegation that some unknown people ate food and drank beverages at the Bengaluru airport and produced the bills in union law minister D V Sadananda Gowda‘s name.
The investigation began after the union minister wrote a letter to the state government stating that the airport staff produced bills in his name while he had not eaten or drank there. The bills are said to contain expensive items. The minister demanded a detailed report so that such things do not take place in future.
A team of protocol staff has been placed at the airport to look after the very important persons and guests of the state during their visits to the state. The protocol staff has made a bill which does not belong to Gowda. Hence he has written the letter to the state government.
The minister states in the letter that as he did not take any food or beverages at the airport during his travels, it was breach of trust. He believes that the staff, employed to keep protocol, are expected to observe basic protocol.
12/04/16 daijiworld

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Passenger held at Delhi airport for stealing other's money

New Delhi: A passenger was nabbed by the CISF at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here for stealing money belonging to another passenger, officials said.

Rajesh Kapoor, who was supposed to travel to Mumbai by Air India flight AI-369, was handed over to Delhi Police by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for removing 5,800 Canadian dollars from the bag of another passenger during pre-embarkation security check, said a CISF official.

"After security check, he moved towards the boarding gate area and changed his dress to avoid detection," the officer said.
11/04/16 IANS/Business Standard

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Airports Authority looks to railways to ensure safer air travel

Mumbai: Due to the frequent glitches in the air navigation system that have been taking place from time to time due to poor service providers, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which controls air navigation and operates most of the country's civil aviation airports, is looking towards the railways for help in ensuring that planes fly safely and on time in the upper airspace.

According to highly-placed sources, the AAI is in 'various early stages' of talks with RailTel for its infrastructure broadband and application service needs, as part of its upper airspace harmonisation programme, which is being rolled out in stages across the country. Kolkata and Chennai have already been covered under the programme, with Mumbai expected to be integrated in the next phase.
"Before Mumbai gets integrated, there is a need for reliable data services infrastructure system. We are hoping that the entire country, including Mumbai, gets covered by the end of the year," said a senior official from the communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) department of the AAI, which is responsible for maintaining infrastructure related to air navigation systems.
RailTel Corporation, which is a 'Mini Ratna' public sector unit, claims to be one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in the country, owning a pan-India optic fiber network on exclusive right of way along railway tracks. Private companies lack reach and connectivity in comparison to it.
11/04/16 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

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AAI to tweak design for Chennai airport Phase II

Chennai:  During phase I of the modernisation of Chennai Airport, many cases of broken glass panel were reported. Now, as the modernisation programme enters the second phase, Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials are confident that glass panel breakage will be a thing of the past.

Airport director Deepak Shastri said: “We will leave the design to our project team. Glass will have a ‘dominant’ role to play in the structure of the terminals in the phase II project. This time, of course, we will ensure there are no design flaws or any other issues.”

The plan for phase II includes new terminals, airside development, walkalator and construction of new bays, at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,000 crore.

Mr. Shastri said the project management consultant will soon be finalised after which the design and structure will be decided upon.

The first phase of the modernisation of Chennai airport, also at a cost of Rs. 2,000 crore, was launched in January 2013; ever since the terminals were opened for public use, there were reports of collapsing glass panels.
11/04/16 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Row over airport land acquisition ends

Nellore: The Greenfield Airport proposed in Nellore district in Public Private Partnership mode has been facing hurdles due to altered plans on land acquisition and volume to be acquired.
Initially, the district administration earmarked around 3,407.77 acres of land under Damavaram, Dagadarthi, Velupodu and K Kourugunta villages for the proposed airport in 2013. The stretch of land was 6-km long and 2-km wide which includes about 420 acres patta lands, 526 acres of DKT lands, 1,120 acres of forest land, 545 acres of government lands, 483 acres of CJSF lands, 30 acres of water tank and 281 acres of hilly terrain. Further, it was proposed to identify lands to an extent of nearly 2,480 acres for developing the airport in 2007.
Again, the decision was revised and efforts to acquire only 1,352 acres of lands began a couple of years ago due to changed design. Meanwhile, there were irregularities in survey for land acquisition, forcing the Collector to order for re-survey of lands. This has been continuing till now. Again, Airports Authority of India asked for only 614 acres of land and again the process has begun.
11/04/16 PV Prasad/Hans India

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Airports see queue pangs

New Delhi: Around 200,000 tourists entered India using e-tourist visa (e-TV) in the first two months of this year. This is equal to 50 per cent of those who arrived in the country using this facility in 2015.

The Union government decided to extend the e-TV facility to travellers in 150 countries, up from the previous 113 countries, on February 26. The announcement, however, precedes the setting up of additional infrastructure and resources needed to manage the increased influx of tourists. This has led to long queues at the immigration counters, leaving both the passengers and officials exasperated.

Officials say a passenger takes three-four minutes to clear the entire immigration process - scrutiny of his travel documents, collection of biometrics and his initial security profiling. But, he ends up standing in a queue for 35-40 minutes waiting for his turn at the immigration counter. On weekends and peak hours - between 11 pm and 2 pm - the wait time extends to one-and-a-half hours. Officials blame it on the shortage of trained staff at immigration counters.

"We are understaffed by 15-20 per cent. Still, our performance is phenomenal compared to both the developed and the developing nations," said a senior immigration officer, requesting anonymity. The official reasoned that immigration was the first opportunity where they check a passenger's antecedent to avoid a situation similar to the David Headley episode.
11/04/16 Sahil Makkar/Business Standard

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Passenger dies of cardiac arrest at Chennai Airport

Chennai: A 42-year-old flyer from Dubai died after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Chennai airport today, airport sources said.

Rahim, hailing from Ambasamudram, complained of chest pain to the airport personnel after he disembarked from the Air India flight and collapsed, they said.

Airport medical staff rushed to the spot and declared that he died of heart failure, they added.
11/04/16 PTI

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Foreigner sneaks into airport on fake ticket, held

New Delhi: A foreign national was arrested for sneaking inside IGI airport by flashing a fake Delhi-Frankfurt ticket to see off his girlfriend. The incident, which took place last Monday, has raised security concerns at the airport as the current security plan allows anyone to enter the airport without any frisking or thorough checks.
"A man, identified as Mikael Elias Rodriguez, holding a Spanish passport entered Terminal 3 by flashing a Delhi-Frankfurt e-ticket of an international airline during the early hours of Monday," said a senior police official, adding, "He was caught by CISF personnel posted at the entrance gates while trying to exit. Rodriguez said that he had entered the terminal to see off his girlfriend."
CISF personnel got a confirmation from the airline that no ticket was booked in Rodriguez's name. He was then handed over to Delhi Police and booked for forgery and cheating.
Senior officials said a strict system needs to be put in place for screening such people as safety of hundreds of passengers is at stake. "IGI is flooded with foreign tourists and Indian passengers during peak hours. Leniency in the security plan may endanger many lives. The issue has been raised many times, but no solution has been achieved," said a senior CISF officer.
11/04/16 Anvit Srivastava/Times of India

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Three detained with fake passports

Kolkata: Three Nepalese citizens were detained for carrying forged passport at the NSC Bose International Airport here, airport officials said on Sunday. All the three persons arrived here from Hong Kong by a private airline last night. They were caught by airport security, they said, adding that their interrogation was on.
11/04/16 PTI/The Hindu

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Cash smuggling on the rise in RGIA

Hyderabad: On questioning several people caught recently trying to smuggle foreign currency running into several lakhs, investigators found that it was mainly meant as payment to procure gold by city-based smugglers or to procure imported goods by evading customs duty.
The cash smugglers, who are mostly transporting US Dollars, UAE Dirham, Bahrain Dinars and Saudi Riyal, are hiding currency notes inside their garments. Since it is not metal, they do not come to light during scanning and passengers are able to fly to various countries without getting caught.
It was 10 days ago that foreign currency worth Rs 96.34 lakh was seized from two Dubai-bound passengers in FlyDubai airlines. "Earlier, gold smugglers used to send cash to Dubai through hawala from Hyderabad. For this, they used to pay at least 5 per cent commission. Now, by sending the cash directly to the gold vendor in Dubai through a passenger, smugglers are saving 5 per cent. Similarly, the foreign currency, which they are transporting illegally, is procured from unauthorised dealers instead of regular foreign exchange dealers, which itself is in violation of FEMA Act," a security official in RGI Airport said.
11/04/16 Times of India

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Airport glass jinx scan

Chennai: A passenger's complaint citing 61 instances of falling glass panels at Chennai airport has led the National Human Rights Commission to issue notices to the civil aviation ministry and the Airports Authority of India.

The two organisations have four weeks to explain the charge of doing nothing despite requests from travellers. All the incidents have occurred since 2013, after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) renovated the airport at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore.

"Providing safety and security to the passengers is one of the cardinal duties of airline operators and airport authorities," Justice D. Murugesan, member of the apex rights panel, observed while issuing the notices.

Airport sources said that glass had fallen from the (false) ceiling only once, the remaining instances involving the collapse of panels from vertical glass walls.

They said there were injuries only once, when an AAI duty officer and three private airline employees were hurt by some of the topmost panels falling off a wall in 2014.

The first mishap involved more than 20 panels falling off the false ceiling at the domestic terminal on May 12, 2013.
10/04/16 Telegraph

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Anupam Kher stopped at Srinagar airport, barred from entering NIT

New Delhi: Actor-turned politician Anupam Kher today was halted at Srinagar airport and was denied entry into National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar by Jammu and Kashmir Police citing law and order problems.
Kher, was scheduled to visit the university to extend his solidarity with the students in wake of the recent events that put the campus into a curfew-like situation.
"He (Kher) was stopped at the airport and not allowed to visit NIT," a police official said. He said Kher was asked to return to Delhi as there were law and order problems.
10/04/16 Siddharth Tiwari/India Today

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Chennai police to create green corridor from airport to Perumbakkam to transport brain dead patient's heart

Chennai: The Chennai Traffic Police will create a green corridor from airport to Global Hospital in Perumbakkam to transport the heart of a brain dead patient in Bangalore.
The heart will be transplanted in a patient in the hospital.
"We were told the flight from Bangalore would reach around 1.30pm," said traffic inspector at the Chennai airport Perumal. "The ambulance is ready and our team is ready to leave as soon as the flight touches down," he added.
"We will take the Radial Road before taking the Medavakkam High Road," he added.
The traffic police said there are seven important junctions in the 18km ride from the airport to the hospital. "There will cops at every one of them and we expect a smooth journey," said the inspector.
10/04/16 Karthikeyan Hemalatha/Times of India

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AAI's plan-B to avoid link fail

Kolkata: Airports Authority of India (AAI) is putting in place a backup for the microwave link that connects critical aircraft communication, navigation and surveillance equipment to prevent a repeat of Thursday's blackout.
AAI officials said RailTel was installing its internet backbone to provide a second connectivity to fall back on in case the primary microwave link service provided by BSNL failed. "Installation of the redundancy line has been expedited and should be in place in three-four months," an official said. RailTel owns a pan-India optic fibre network on exclusive right of way along railway tracks.
While Thursday's link failure had led to a critical situation in Kolkata air traffic control as connectivity to remote VHF radio units had also failed, a radar link failure had happened in October 2015, necessitating the backup. Seamless connectivity between air traffic controllers and pilots is of paramount importance to ensure flight safety as it is the controllers who monitor the relative position of planes and provide navigation guidance by communicating through VHF radio.
09/04/16 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

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Govt mulling standards for noise levels due to aircraft ops

New Delhi: The government is planning to come up with standards to curb noise pollution due to aircraft operations and ensure that noise levels are maintained within permissible levels.

The proposal, which has been in the works for some time, comes against the backdrop of concerns expressed in some quarters, including by resident welfare associations, about noise pollution being created by aircraft operations.

To assess the situation at airports, various studies have been carried out by agencies and discussions have been going on between different government departments over the last few years.

The Environment Ministry is working on a proposal for bringing in standards on noise levels pertaining to aircraft operations and measures for maintaining noise within the permissible limits, a senior official said.

Multiple rounds of discussions have already taken place among various agencies including the Environment Ministry, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the official said.
08/04/16 PTI/Business Standard

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Delayed not detained: This is how Akshay Kumar spent time at Heathrow airport

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar was made to wait at Heathrow Airport as UK immigration officials checked the details of his Canadian passport.
The 48-year-old flew into London from Mumbai for the shoot of his film Rustom but had to wait an additional hour- and-a-half as the authorities checked the entry requirements to the UK for Canadian nationals on Thursday.
"It is being claimed that Akshay was 'detained', which is absolutely incorrect. It was just a delay for which immigration apologised and he went on with his day," a source close to the star told PTI.
Kumar, who is a Canadian national, does not require a visa to travel to the UK for tourism and business purposes for up to 90 days. It is believed the UK authorities took longer to clarify this "fine-print", during which he was made to wait in the general waiting area at the airport.
Kumar's team also denied media reports which claim the Punjab-born actor tried to assert his stardom to get any kind of special treatment or favours. They insist he willingly complied with the request of the authorities and was soon out of the airport and is now busy with his shoot in London. A Home Office spokesperson confirmed no problems were found with Kumar's documents.
08/04/16 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Kota airstrip widening: Raje to meet minister

Jaipur: Chief minister Vasundhara Raje will meet minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma to discuss the widening of airstrip at Kota airport. Sources informed that Centre has also called a meeting to discuss the possibilities of expansion on April 13.
A team of airport authority of India (AAI) has visited the site recently. According to officials, a consent has been given by the government of India in-principal, but there are a few issues that are still to be sorted out. "This was a long pending issue. We want to make Kota airport fully operational and for that airstrip needs to be widened. Additional land was needed for which deliberations are going on," said a senior official of the state government.
AAI is seeking 14 acres of land which the state government failed to provide. Moreover, existing airstrip has now come inside the periphery of city limits with human settlements developed around.
09/04/16 Times of India

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DoNER minister wants speedy implementation of Arunachal projects

New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh on Friday called for speedy implementation of various pending projects in Arunachal Pradesh, including an airport at Itanagar.
He said this during a meeting with the northeastern state's Chief Minister Kalikho Pul who called on him here.
In his first meeting with Singh after taking over as chief minister in February this year, Pul expressed satisfaction at the cooperation and support offered to his government by the DoNER ministry in implementation of various developmental works in the state, an official statement said.
Singh brought to the notice of Pul that there were certain pending projects in Arunachal Pradesh which required to be taken up on an urgent basis.
"In this regard, he particularly mentioned the construction of airport at Itanagar which, he said, had got unduly delayed because of the issues related to identification of site and land acquisition," the statement said.
08/04/16 IANS/Times of India

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From suspect to witness: two days in the life of Ismail

New Delhi: A hunt for the cheapest ticket to reach his place of work in Dubai landed Ismail Bhatkal in trouble at the Pune airport on Monday evening. The nightmare that followed lasted for two whole days.

“Ye zulm ho raha hai hum par, ye galat hai [This is injustice and whatever happened was not right],” says a distraught Abdul Raoof, father of Ismail Musab Raoof Ahmed, who was detained at the airport by intelligence agencies, who suspected he was travelling to Syria to join the Islamic State. Ismail was released by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday night after agencies verified his antecedents.
Abdul Raoof, Ismail’s father, told The Hindu on the phone from Mumbai: “My son has been released but has been asked to be in Mumbai for now. He was on his way to Dubai to earn money. He got his visa only 10 days ago. They have not said why he was arrested.” Raoof sells raw sevai (sweet dish) in Bhatkal, Karnataka. His son is a daily wage labourer. This was not the first time that Ismail had flown out of the country.

He got his passport in 2015 and first went to Dubai 10 months ago.

A senior NIA official said a look out circular (LOC) had been issued in Ismail’s name and as soon as he reached the immigration desk at the Pune airport, he was handed over to the agencies.

Raoof said his son chose to travel to Pune to catch a flight to Dubai as he was getting cheaper tickets there. “We checked the air fare at the Bangalore and Mumbai airports. It was anywhere between Rs.22,000 and Rs.25,000. The ticket was cheapest at the Pune airport: Rs. 12,000 for an Air India flight to Dubai. It made sense to board the flight there.”
The NIA official declined to say Ismail’s detention was a case of mistaken identity.
09/04/16 Vijaita Singh/The Hindu

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City upset that AI ignored Surat-Ahmedabad route

Surat: At a time when Air India (AI) sent a proposal to Gujarat government for starting intra-state air services, flyers crusading for better air connectivity in the state have strongly demanded flights between Surat and Ahmedabad as well.
A campaign has been started by them on social media to make AI authorities aware on the need to consider Surat in their proposal regarding air services in Gujarat.
Recently, airport groups on social media had exhorted Surti passengers travelling abroad and domestic destinations to stop flying from Vadodara and Ahmedabad airports due to heavy traffic jams on national highway (NH) 8 and Golden Bridge in Bharuch and the failure of the state and the Central governments to implement the bridge projects over Narmada River.
Sources said AI authorities recently submitted a proposal to Gujarat government on starting Bhavnagar-Amreli and Bhuj-Ahmedabad intra-state flights. This had irked the airport action groups as AI had again neglected Surat-Ahmedabad route.
09/04/16 Melvyn Reggie Thomas/Times of India

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Monkey perched on airport rooftop in Odisha capital trapped

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), Forest and Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) authorities had a field day today as a rogue monkey left them panting who were after the unusual visitor to the airport in the Odisha capital.
After over eight hours of helter-skelter, the officials heaved a sigh of relief after the monkey was neutralised.

Earlier in the day, the airport authorities spotted a monkey on the truss of the airport in the new terminal following which the operation to capture the wild began. However, the officials ran out of options shortly prompting them to make requisition for the services of the Forest officials.

The officials laid a trap by offering six sedative-laced bananas. Though the monkey took the bait, it was like a cumin seed in a camel’s mouth. The simian seemed sober even after consuming three spiked fruit. The monkey jumped from one truss to another oblivious of what’s happening on the ground. As the joint effort failed to yield any result, an expert team from Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) was called in to tame the monkey.
08/04/16 Odisha Sun Times 

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Sexual Harassment: High Court Sets Aside Air India Panel's Report

Kochi: The High Court on Friday set aside an inquiry report submitted by the Internal Complaints Committee of Air India, constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act-2013, stating that there was prima facie case that one of its ground handling employees harassed women workers at work place.  The court issued the order while disposing of a petition filed by L Sibu of the Apron Ground Service Department under the Air India, challenging the proceedings.  The petitioner submitted that he was not given opportunity to present his views on  the matter. Terming the complaint as fake, he said the case was fabricated by certain officials of the joint venture company and Air India to take vengeance against him for filing a complaint before the CBI about the irregularities in awarding ground handling contract without adhering to stipulated formalities.
The court directed the committee to reconsider the matter, after giving the employee the fullest opportunity for being heard. The court held that there was violation of the fundamental principles of natural justice.
The State Government submitted that a probe by the Crime Branch had revealed that the allegation against the officer - that he had harassed 17 female employees at the workplace - was false. It was revealed  that the complaint against Sibu was fabricated by a group of employees to humiliate him and oust him from the office.
09/04/16 New Indian Express

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Flier caught hiding 2kg gold biscuits in airport toilet

Mumbai Airport Custom's Air Intelligence unit (AIU) on Thursday arrested a Mangalore resident for smuggling close to two kilograms of gold in the form of gold biscuits.

Mohammad Armad, who arrived from Dubai by an Indigo airline flight, was tracked on the basis of passenger profiling by AIU officials -- a system of running a check on the database of all airlines that keep a record of the flying habits of all fliers and point out suspicious trends, which in turn help in nailing smugglers and others.
09/04/16 Mumbai Mirror

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Kolkata ATC loses contact with 300 aircraft, AAI says it's not a safety issue

Airport Authority of India has denied that there was a major air scare at Kolkata airport following reports of a communications failure between the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and some aircraft in mid-air. The Kolkata ATC reportedly lost contact with at least 300 aircraft for a few minutes due to a temporary link failure on Thursday morning.
The ATC also claimed it was a minor communications breakdown although it took nearly two hours to get the systems working again. Some reports claim that there was a power failure which resulted in the BSNL link failure at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Calling it a technical issue, the AAI said that all ATCs are prepared to handle such problems. AAI officials have maintained that there was no safety issue at all.
"This information is not correct and there was no safety issue at all. It was technical issue and generally the ATC is prepared to handle such technical failures. The link failure resulted in data loss from certain radars. For approximately a radius of 400 kms around Kolkata there was no link failure and that's good enough for us," said Sanjay Jain, Regional Executive Director, Eastern Region, AAI.
After the link failure Kolkata ATC sought help from Nagpur and Varanasi ATCs to track the aircraft. The distance between the aircraft mid-air was increased to prevent any untoward incident.
08/04/16 CNN-IBN/IBN Live

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MP’s act of kindness wins several hearts

Malappuram: P.V. Abdul Wahab, Rajya Sabha MP, hailing from Nilambur in the district, won the heart of Air India officials and Malayalis around the world by his act of kindness at Dubai airport on Wednesday.

Mr. Wahab, who was to travel to Karipur on an Air India Express flight from Dubai, gave up his journey by giving his ticket to help a Malayali who was in dire need.

Mr. Wahab was prompt in his move as he met B. Mahamood from Nadapuram in a heart-broken state at Dubai airport. Mr. Mahamood was on the verge of a breakdown after his attempts to get a ticket to Kerala to attend his son’s funeral failed because of the rush. Mr. Mahamood had knocked at all doors for an airline ticket to get back home in time for a last glimpse of his 15-year-old son, who died on Wednesday morning.

Mr. Wahab, on seeing the desolate man, chose not to travel and arranged for his journey in his place. Malayali passengers at the airport saluted Mr. Wahab and some Air India officials stood in awe.
08/04/16 The Hindu

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Indian ATCOs work for lesser number of hours than global average: UN report

Mumbai: While Juhu airport is in the news for shutting operations 90 minutes before the normal closure time due to shortage of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs), it has also come to the fore at the same time that the number of working hours put in by ATCOs in India is far lesser than the global average.

A recent audit by a United Nations (UN) team found out that the number of working hours put in by the Indian Air Traffic Controllers was lesser than the world average. Following that, the Airport Authority of India (AAI), which runs most of the civil aviation airports and the air navigation system in the country, ordered all airports on Wednesday to modify the shift hours and cycles of ATCs to bring it on par with the world average.
The UN-backed team of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had visited India, including the city's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), in December last year. In their report, the team pointed out the serious shortage of air traffic controllers. ICAO submitted its report to Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
"During the safety oversight audit, DGCA pointed out that the weekly working hours of ATCOs in India is less than the world average. This is also resulting in shortage of ATCOs," read the order signed by executive director of Air Traffic Management, PK Mishra.
08/04/16 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

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Bihta gets bigger wings

Patna will have a second airport at the Bihta airbase, around 40km southwest of the city, apart from the Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport.

Union civil aviation secretary R.N. Choubey held a meeting with state government officials in Patna on Thursday, and announced that the Indian Air Force has given its consent for commercial flight operations from the Bihta airbase where around 85 acres of land will be needed for developing the civilian airport.

Choubey claimed that it would take around 24 months for developing the Bihta airport once the state government transfers the required land.

The civil aviation ministry on Thursday also floated a proposal before the state government to extend the Patna airport terminal building over an area of 11.5 acres.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) would transfer land it owns in Patna to the state government in return of the 11.5 acres of land the AAI needs for the extension of the existing building. Senior officials in land and revenue reforms department claimed that the land-swap offer makes the option feasible.
08/04/16 Piyush Kumar Tripathi/Telegraph

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Indian Aviation Authority Orders Probe Into Upkeep of AI's Aging Airbus Fleet

Nearly three weeks after an Air India (AI) flight's tyre burst on touchdown at Mumbai airport, forcing the emergency evacuation of 160 passengers, the the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the airline to send a report on the upkeep of its Classic Airbus fleet -- the oldest in the airline. After the incident on March 15, Hindustan Times had reported that VT-ESL, the aircraft involved in the safety scare, belonged to the fleet which is more than two decades old.

Sources from the aviation safety regulator said the brake fan -- a crucial aircraft component that protects the plane's brakes from overheating -- was not fully functional in last month's incident. "We have ordered a fast-track inquiry on the serviceability of brake fan. The reports are awaited," said a senior DGCA official requesting anonymity.

More than two dozen passengers on board this AI flight had to see the airport doctor with complaints of stiff back and a few others had been bruised while sliding off the inflated escape chutes.

Mumbai airport staffers had reported a thick cloud of oil fumes and sparks coming off the landing gear of the aircraft that had joined the AI fleet in 1994.
07/04/16 Soubhik Mitra/Mcclathcy/AviationPros

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Plea to use Salem Airport effectively

Salem: The Confederation of Indian Industry here has urged the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to take effective steps for the resumption of passenger and cargo services from Salem Airport.

The Salem Airport was established in 1993 and was operated for some time by a private airline. After a gap of 16 years, the Kingfisher Airlines introduced passenger service in the Salem – Chennai sector from 2009 – 11. This service too was stopped abruptly, a memorandum presented by a CII delegation to R.N. Choubey, Secretary, Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, in new Delhi on Tuesday.

The memorandum said that at present, companies such as JSW Steel Limited, Kalyan Jewellers, TVS Group, Thriveni Group and others are frequently using the airport with their privately owned aircrafts for the visit of their executives in Salem region.

Chartered aircrafts are also operated from and to this airport. All this type of operation is likely to grow at a faster pace in the coming years due to increase in the number of companies that owned and chartered aircrafts.

Salem Airport constructed and operated by AAI is an all weather operational airport suitable for operation of ATR72, B-737-200 type of aircrafts with apron to park two aircrafts.
08/04/16 The Hindu

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e-visa, TVOA sought at Vizag airport

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam Member of Parliament Kambhampati Haribabu has sent a proposal to the Ministry of Home and the Ministry of External Affairs seeking the introduction of e-Tourist Visa on Arrival and Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVOA) for foreign nationals at Visakhapatnam International Airport.

On a representation submitted given by the Tours and Travels Association of Andhra Chairman O. Naresh Kumar and President K. Vijay Mohan, the MP sent the proposal to both the Ministries seeking early introduction of the e-TVOA and TVOA to boost tourism in Visakhapatnam and Andhra Pradesh. The e-Tourist Visa allows arrival for people from 147 countries at the following 16 airports in India - Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchi, Varanasi.
08/04/16 The Hindu

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Bird hits down by more than 50 per cent

Coimbatore: There is a drastic drop in the number of bird hits on aircraft at the Coimbatore International Airport from April 2015 to March 2016. While 24 bird hits (the highest in a year at the airport here) was reported in 2014-15, it has reduced to 11 in 2015-16.

While two flights were grounded in the previous financial year in October 2014, only one flight was grounded last financial year (October 2015). Interestingly, there has been no bird hit at the international airport from November to March. “We are striving to make it a zero bird hit year,” Airport Director G. Prakash Reddy told The Hindu . Efforts taken to reduce bird hits included a massive rally near the airport, urging the public not to dump wastes, especially meat waste, in the open.
08/04/16 MK Ananth/The Hindu

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Passenger fined for entering Mumbai airport with cancelled ticket

A passenger managed to enter the airport with a cancelled ticket on Thursday morning. Surya Narayan Reddy Danda entered terminal 1 B on the cancelled ticket of flight 6E 366 to Vishakhapatnam via Hyderabad, to see his family off.
He and his family were in Mumbai for the treatment of his son and were returning to Vishakhapatnam. However, Reddy had to cancel his ticket and stay back. Reddy, who had come to drop them, reached the check in counter of IndiGo at the terminal at Santacruz.
Reddy, an engineer, had come to the city for the treatment of his son who is suffering from polio. His son was to be discharged on Thursday, but it was delayed by a day, due to which Reddy cancelled two tickets on Wednesday night. According to airport police, Reddy was not aware that he was not allowed to go up to the check in area.
“The IndiGo staff saw the passenger had reached their counter with a cancelled ticket. They immediately informed the local police and Reddy was brought to us at around 8 am,” said an official from the airport police station.
08/04/16 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day

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Regus to open facility at Mumbai airport

New Delhi:  Office space provider Regus is opening a business centre at Mumbai airport's terminal T2. The 'Regus Express' centre will be the company's first workplace facility in the country at an area of transit, the company said.
Regus' facilities are largely aimed at traveling professionals. Its India centre will enable passengers to meet, refresh and eat before heading out. Facilities will include open and private work areas, meeting spaces, office support, showers and a cafe, Regus said in a statement.
The 4,000-sq feet drop-in business centre will accommodate as many as 100 people at a time, the workplace provider said.
"The launch of Regus Express will now enhance our service offerings further, strengthening the role we play in building productivity and profitability for our customers," said Harsh Lambah, country manager for Regus.
08/04/16 Prachi Verma/Economic Times

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Passenger held at Mumbai airport with gold worth over Rs 59 lakh

Mumbai: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Mumbai Customs in the wee hours of Thursday intercepted a passenger who was being helped by a staff of a ground-handling agency. The incident took place at around 1.20 am when the AIU intercepted the arrival passenger Mohammed Shammaz Armar, having an Indian passport. He was caught with gold weighing 2.204 kg, worth Rs. 59,76,124. Shammaz arrived from Dubai by Indigo 6E 062 and was seen to be trying to conceal gold in washroom near the transit hold area. After he was caught, he revealed the plan he was to execute and also the name of one Livewell (one of the ground handling agencies at T2). He said that some Sandeep Phalke was going to pick the yellow metal from the washroom. After getting the ground staff's details, the AIU detained the staff at around 2 am. It was learnt that the staff was on overtime duty after completing his shift. On being investigated, the staff revealed the name of another employee of Livewell who was named Nokonha Johnson who, according to Phalke, asked him to do so.
08/04/16 Mid Day

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CBI files case against AISATS officials over royalty evasions

Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram: A day after it asked six international airlines operating in the state capital airport to submit details of charges paid to ground-handling firm AISATS, the agency on Thursday registered a case against its officials for evasion of royalty charges payable to Airport Authority of India.

AISATS, a 50:50 joint venture between Air India Ltd, and leading gateway services and food solutions provider SATS Ltd., has been engaged in ground handling duties at the Thiruvananthapuram airport since 2012.

The Kochi unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation's anti-corruption bureau has registered a case against AISATS vice president Binoy Jacob and finance manager P.K.Anandan.

On Wednesday, CBI officials arrived at Thiruvananthapuram airport and asked six international airlines to submit their statement of accounts of their business transactions with AISATS by April 11.

The CBI started to probe financial dealings between AISATS and Airport Authority of India, ever since whistle blower Air India staff L.S.Sibu, last year wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CBI and the Central Vigilance Commission saying he suspected foul play in the AISATS' dealings.
07/04/16 IANS/Business Standard

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CBI Inspection at Airport, AISATS Office

Thiruvananthapuram: The CBI Kochi unit on Wednesday conducted further inspections at the domestic airport of Trivandrum International Airport (TIA) and at the office of Air India SATS (AISATS) in the city.  AISATS is a  joint venture between Air India Limited and SATS Limited, a leading ground handling agency.  The raid was carried out following complaints against AISATS over the payment of ground handling royalty charges to the Airport Authority of India (AAI). In the complaints, it was said that AISATS had deliberately reduced the per cent of royalty payment which it is bound to give the AAI. Agencies like AISATS are required to pay a certain percentage of their monthly gross turnover (GTO) as royalty charges to AAI. The raid, which began in the early hours of Wednesday, ended in the evening and the CBI officials are learnt to have confiscated several records from the offices.

 The sleuths had directed all airlines dealing with AISATS to produce the documents of payments made to the ground handling agency over the last few years.

According to the CBI officials, this was a follow-up inspection made by the sleuths after a major raid carried out three months ago. Earlier, the CBI had also found misappropriation to the tune of crores.
07/04/16 New Indian Express

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Night landing at Gaya int'l airport suspended

Gaya: Night landing at Gaya airport has been suspended till the reinstallation of the equipment stolen on Tuesday.
Control panel, solar plate and battery were stolen from Ramshila Hills, identified as one of the five obstruction points needing special lighting arrangement for safe landing during night hours. Two flights, including Air India 234, were cancelled on Wednesday.
Confirming the incidence, Gaya airport director Dilip Kumar said it would not be safe to allow landing/take-off of flights during night hours in the absence of proper facilities at the obstruction point. "The night landing is likely to remain suspended for the next few days, as the control panel was not locally available. Efforts will be made to resume night landing at the earliest," said Kumar.
Night landing facility was first introduced at Gaya airport in February 2008 during the visit of the then President Pratibha Patil. The equipment have been stolen many times since then causing periodical suspension of night landing. The last such theft took place on March 27, 2015.
06/04/16 Abdul Qadir/Times of India

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Flight suspensions set to hit revenue

Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad has the state's only profit making airport, but it will soon have to tighten its belt, as the runway resurfacing project from April 16, will lead to a daily revenue loss of Rs2 lakh. At the same time, the numerous cancellation and suspension of flights due to the resurfacing work is expected to affect tourist footfall.
The situation may continue for a year or more as the resurfacing work is being done after a long gap of eight years. At least 12 domestic flights from the city have been suspended, already.
The runway resurfacing will start on April 16 and take place daily between 10am and 6pm keeping the runway shut for eight hours. "On account of runway resurfacing and operational reasons in the summer schedule, various airlines have curtailed 12 flights. These are all domestic flights," said an AAI official.
Besides causing inconvenience to frequent flyers, travel and tour operators claim that the suspension of flights will affect tourism in the state during the summer holidays.
"The tourist flow will drop by 15%-20% with cancellations of so many flights," said Manish Sharma, chairman, Tourism Development Society, Gujarat.
07/04/16 Piyush Mishra/Times of India

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