Showing posts with label Airports Apr 2019. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Apr 2019. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

British Airways Increases Mumbai Capacity Amid Jet Airways Collapse

British Airways are increasing their capacity on their Heathrow to Mumbai service, saying that it is in response to ‘increased customer demand’. With Jet Airways grounded, there are around 21 flights a week fewer between India and London than there used to be
Overall, their service to Mumbai will increase from 14 flights per week to 18 per week as a result. Reservations for these flights are already open, with the additional capacity scheduled through to 26th October 2019.
Speaking to the Independent, a BA spokesperson said:

“We regularly review our extensive global network and make changes to the schedules where necessary. We’ll be increasing our Mumbai service from 14 to 18 flights a week due to increased customer demand”

Previously, Jet Airways flew to London Heathrow twice a day from Mumbai and once daily from New Delhi.
30/05/19 Joanna Bailey/Simple Flying

Cleared: Night landing on the second track of Hyderabad's Airport

In addition to joining the major leagues of New Delhi and Mumbai, the Hyderabad International Airport will now have nighttime landing operations on its second runway, after authorization from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The secondary reservation track was updated to this state from a parallel taxiway in 2012. In addition to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) of the city, there are only four other facilities in India: Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatta and New Delhi, which have more than one runway.
"The DGCA recently accorded clearance following a series of trial landings and take-offs carried out over a period of time. Capable of handling large aircraft such as Boeing 747 jumbo jets, the secondary runway will be used as a back-up during non-availability of the main runway," said an airport official.
This comes as a great relief for airline operators, who serve RGIA during the night hours.
Incidentally, in March 2018, the operations at RGIA suffered a heavy beating after the tyres of a Tirupati-Hyderabad Indigo aircraft exploded at the landing.
29/04/19 Kahekashan/Hans India

Reverse Vending Machine installed at Airport

Jammu: Chairman, J&K State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), Ravi Kesar today inaugurated Plastic Bottles Vending Machine called Reverse Vending Machine at Jammu Airport.
The first of its kind in North India, the machine has been installed by State Pollution Control Board for scientific disposal of the Pet Bottles which otherwise is the great source of plastic waste and difficult to dispose off.
The bottles will be crushed in the machine and plastic thread will be made from the crushed material which will be used for weaving clothes.
30/04/19 Daily Excelsior

Airport authority appoints Jindal as new regional ED, NE

Guwahati: Airports Authority of India (AAI) has appointed Sanjeev Jindal, former general manager – Engineering and Corporate Social Responsibility, AAI, as the new regional executive director of Northeast region.
Known for successfully completing many odd and difficult assignments, including the Leh airport in Jammu and Kashmir or greenfield projects like Kishangarh in Ajmer, Rajasthan, Jindal has an experience of over a quarter century in planning, designing and construction of airports in India.
As the first airport director of Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Leh, Jammu and Kashmir, he was commended by the then chairman, AAI and secretary, ministry of civil aviation, for handling natural calamity , that is, cloud burst in the year 2010.
30/04/19 East Mojo

Monday, April 29, 2019

Spicejet Flight Overshoots Runway in Maharashtra's Shirdi, Operations Hit

New Delhi: A SpiceJet plane overshot a runway at Maharashtra’s Shirdi airport on Monday afternoon. The airline has said that their operations have been hit.
Shirdi Airport is located at Kakadi village, about 14 km South-west of the town of Shirdi in Maharashtra, India.
All the passengers, however, had a providential escape, the source added. The number of passengers is not known immediately.
The aircraft apparently touched down some 30-40 meters away from the landing spot and veered off the runway, the source explained.
29/04/19 News18.com

Immigration servers at IGI Airport resumes operation, 8 flights delayed

Immigration servers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Monday resumed operations after eight flights got delayed due to a technical glitch.
Six flights were delayed by half an hour and two by more than an hour after the immigration servers went down. A long line of passengers was seen at the airport following the same.
The glitch in the immigration servers comes after Air India servers developed some snag on the wee hours of Saturday resulting in the delay of 137 flights.
"The average duration of delay is of 197 minutes," airline's spokesperson had said.
Thousands of passengers were left stranded at airports across the world after several Air India flights got affected due to a glitch in SITA server.
29/04/19 ANI/Economic Times

Smart airport measures apace

International Airport has a footfall of over 21 million passengers. Every day, the airport handles over 60,000 passengers through both domestic and international arrivals and departures. Currently, the airport sees more than 500 aircraft movements per day. The airport has 9 domestic and 21 international airlines connecting over 70 destinations in India and across the globe. The airport has recently commissioned 26 new aircraft stands, as part of its massive expansion plan, including the terminal building, airside and landside infrastructure.
The airport has commissioned an exclusive Interim International Departures Terminal (IIDT) in Oct 2018 to de-congest the present terminal for domestic passengers. In March, the airport also commissioned an Interim Domestic Arrivals Terminal (IDAT), a dedicated baggage reclaim concourse in the airside with 4 new baggage carousels for service and operational excellence. RGIA has embarked on a large-scale expansion project to increase the airport's annual passenger handling capacity beyond 34 million and to introduce a range of new technology enabled solutions to deliver an enhanced passenger experience. The first phase of the expansion of the airport will take around 3 years to get shaped completely.
28/04/19 Hans India

GoAir provides respite to Ranchi from rising fares

Ranchi: Planning a vacation but cowed down with soaring airfares? Worry no more – GoAir is providing respite and how! Book a ticket in next 48 hours for as low as Rs 1368 onwards all inclusive and unleash your dreams of enjoying the hard earned vacation with your dear ones. GoAir, India’s fastest growing low cost carrier and 7 times best-on-time-performer has stepped in to make India FlySmart by opening up its hearts and doors to the newly launched additional 28 flights across 12 cities, including Ranchi. Flying period:  26th April to 31st July 2019.

Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir said, “GoAir strongly believes that Ranchi deserves respite from soaring airfares during peak season. As a low cost carrier it is incumbent upon us to take initiatives that will immediately alleviate the shortage of flights and inconvenience caused to passengers due to the Jet Airway’s flight cancellations. GoAir stepped in by launching additional 28 flights and went one step further by introducing 48-hours window to offer low cost fares for flights from Ranchi. Rs 1368 onwards per ticket all inclusive is a dream come true for many.”
28/04/19 Avenue Mail

Biman to resume direct Delhi flight

Dhaka: Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to re-launch its Dhaka-Delhi direct flight operations next month after five years eying to earn handsome revenues as India’s private Jet airways halted its flight operations between the two capitals.
‘We are resuming the Dhaka-Delhi flight on May 13 which was stopped in 2014,’ operations manager of the state-run airlines Mohammad Zahidul Islam told BSS in the Indian capital.
Islam said Biman was set to get landing permission in Delhi by the end of this week and would initially operate three
flights weekly in its Dhaka-Delhi route with its 162-seat Boeing 737-800 on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
29/04/19 New Age

VSS airport records high traffic in 1 month

Bhubaneswar: Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) airport recorded maximum traffic between Jharsuguda and Delhi in the last one month since operations resumed there under UDAN scheme.
The budget airline, SpiceJet, started operating daily direct flights from VSS airport to Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata on March 31. The airlines is flying 78-seater Bombardier Q400 series aircraft from VSS to the three metro cities.

“In the last one month, Jharsuguda to Delhi witnessed 95 per cent traffic followed by Delhi to Jharsuguda 90 per cent. While the average traffic between Hyderabad and Jharsuguda and back was 70 per cent, the average occupancy from Kolkata to Jharsuguda and back was 60 per cent during the same period,” said VSS Director SK Chauhan.

The Director informed that about 5,160 passengers have travelled from VSS while 4,692 passengers arrived at the airport from March 31 to till date. The budget airline has planned to start an additional flight from Jharsuguda to Kolkata and back every morning. This apart, the airlines has also planned to start operations from VSS to Mumbai and Bengaluru.
29/04/19 New Indian Express

GMR Hyderabad International Airport to launch facial recognition system

Shamshabad: The trial runs for the Face Recognition (FR) system, a technology enabled, passenger-friendly initiative at GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), have been successful, so far, with the excellent performance of the system in accurately reading faces and verifying data of the individuals above and beyond. Face Recognition is a biometric verification process that maps an individual's facial features mathematically and stores the data as a face print. The process uses deep learning algorithms to compare a live capture or digital image to the stored face print in order to verify an individual's identity.
Considered as one of the most sophisticated passenger-friendly initiative in the country, The Face Recognition facility is coming into existence under 'DigiYatra,' a signature program of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. The system will be fully operational by the end of this year in phased manner. After the successful trials in face reading, the trial team jumped on the bandwagon and embarked on other throughputs.
28/04/19 Esa Bin Abdul Rehman/Hans India

Vijayawada airport clocks 500% hike in passenger traffic in 5 years

Vijayawada : The Vijayawada International Airport has been getting busier and patronage for air travel has been growing exponentially with more people taking the air route to travel between the capital city and various destinations in the country. The passenger traffic has increased by five times since 2014, the year in which the State was bifurcated.

According to the traffic reports by the Airports Authority of India, between April 2018 and March 2019 the city airport in Gannavaram handled 11.84 lakh international and domestic passengers registering a growth of 58.7 % in overall passenger traffic compared to the traffic of 7.46 lakh passengers in 2017-18 fiscal year.

The airport also registered a steep growth in the number of flights handled in the past fiscal. With a total of 19,026 movements handled between April 2018 and March 2019, the airport achieved a growth of 58%. In the previous year, the airport handled close to 12,000 movements.

International flight services did not add much to the overall growth of the airport traffic. The number of international passengers and aircraft handled since the launch of services in December 2018 is 6,294 and 69 respectively. The government expected higher occupancy ratio but it was just above 50% until March this year.
29/04/19 Tharun Boda/The Hindu

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Trujet to start Hyderabad-Nagpur-Ahmedabad flight

Hyderabad-based airline company - Trujet - is all set to start commercial flight on Hyderabad-Nagpur-Ahmedabad route from June. The company promoted by Turbo Megha Airways Pvt Ltd will operate ATR 72 Aircraft on the route that will have capacity of 64 passengers. L N Sharma of Pawansut Travels Pvt told The Hitavada on Saturday that Trujet has recently announced the new service. “The company has not yet reveled the airfare but we are hoping to receive the details very soon,” he said adding that the fare is likely to be very reasonable. The proposed flight (flight no 2T180) will start from Ahemedabad at 17.00 hours and will arrive at Nagpur at 19.00 hours.

Further, it (flight no 2T186) will take off for Hyderabad at 19.25 hours and reach the destination by 21.05 hour. Similarly, the flight no 2T185 will start from Hyderabad at 16.55 hours and reach Nagpur at 18.35 hours and then it (flight no 2T179) will take off from Nagpur at 19.00 for Ahmedabad and reach the destination by 21.00 hours. It will be a daily service. Trujet is known for its ATR 72 Aircraft. It is small aircraft which the company is successfully operating it in South India.
28/04/19 Hitavada

Saturday, April 27, 2019

GVK’s Mumbai International Airport Conducts Full Scale Simulated Emergency Response Drill

Mumbai : GVK led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 conducted a simulated emergency response mock drill (Full Scale Aerodrome Emergency Exercise) at the Mumbai airport. The mock drill was conducted by simulating a situation of collision between a passenger aircraft and a landing cargo aircraft during the late evening hours. The full-scale emergency exercise witnessed an involvement of more than 1000 participants. Starting the drill at 20:38 hrs., it was concluded at 00:34 hrs. on April 25, 2019. The drill included participation of DGCA, Airlines, Ground Handling Agencies, hospitals, Mumbai fire brigade, Mumbai police, Indian coast guard, State Disaster Management Authority, and CISF. To make the mock drill realistic, a dummy aircraft was created by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL). IndiGo and GoAir were the participating airlines in the mock drill.

The exercise began when a simulated freighter aircraft (Flight No. XYZ 123, from Zurich-Mumbai) while landing assuming was set on fire as it collided with a passenger flight PQR 102 on ground. The Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting team of MIAL along with Mumbai Fire brigade personnel extinguished the fire. For rescuing the survivors on board, MIAL’s newly acquired best-in-class rescue stair was also used during the drill. The simulation also included 210 passengers and 6 crew members on passenger aircraft and 4 crew members on the freighter aircraft who were categorised into four categories of casualties. The casualties requiring hospitalization were rushed to 07 hospitals with whom MIAL already has MoU for responding to such contingencies.
26/04/19 APN News

Tiruchi airport goes green, taps solar power

Tiruchi: The Tiruchi international airport has taken the green route by harnessing solar power to meet its electricity requirements to the extent possible and bring down its huge electricity bill. The move is also aimed at conserving power and protecting the environment.

The Airports Authority of India has established a one mega watt ground-based solar power plant at the airport to harness green energy. The plant is expected to generate 15.4 lakh units per annum which is 25% of the airport's annual energy consumption.

Established at a cost of ₹4.63 crore, the solar plant was commissioned by Anuj Aggarwal, Member (HR), Airports Authority of India, on Friday. Airport Director K. Gunasekaran and senior AAI officials were present on the occasion.
The anticipated cost savings per year for the airport is ₹1.23 crore and the payback period expected of this plant was three years and nine months. Once the plant starts functioning, Airports Authority of India is anticipating a minimised green house gas emission, thereby contributing towards the country's goal of minimising environmental degradation, a press release said.
26/04/19 The Hindu

Friday, April 26, 2019

2 new flights to Delhi, Mumbai

Patna: Budget carriers GoAir and SpiceJet are set to introduce four new direct flights from Patna to Delhi and Mumbai this week.
As part of the summer schedule of the Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport, GoAir will start operating a new flight between Patna and Delhi from Friday. SpiceJet, on the contrary, will introduce one flight on the Mumbai-Patna-Mumbai route the same day and two more flights between Patna and Delhi from Saturday.

According to a GoAir executive, “The proposed Delhi-Patna-Delhi flight (G8-2511) will leave Delhi at 11.30am and reach Patna airport around 1.20pm. After a 30 minute halt, the flight will take off for Delhi at 1.50pm and reach there at 3.25pm.

GoAir is already operating 10 flights, including six to Delhi, two to Bengaluru and one each to Kolkata and Mumbai, from Patna.

The new SpiceJet flight (SG-284), connecting Patna to Mumbai, will fly at 10.30am and arrive at Patna at 12.45pm. It will depart from Patna at 1.15pm after a 30 minute break and reach Mumbai at 4.05pm.

SpiceJet’s Delhi-Patna-Delhi flight (SG-8998) will reach Patna at 9am and leave at 9.30am. It will land at Delhi airport at 11.10am. The second flight (SG-8722), connecting Patna and Delhi, will begin its journey at 12.55pm and arrive at Patna at 2.40pm. It will take off from the Patna airport at 3.10pm and reach its destination at 5pm.
26/04/19 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Rahul promises airport for Kota

Jalore/Ajmer/Kota: Congress president Rahul Gandhi was on a whirlwind tour of the state, campaigning for his party candidates in Jalore, Ajmer and Kota on Thursday. At all three places, he touched upon local public issues while attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to fulfill promises. Beginning the campaign from Jalore, Rahul accused Modi of failing to deposit money in the bank accounts opened for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) scheme.
Taking a jibe at the PM, the Congress president said, “Narendra Modi ji is very clever. He deposited money in accounts of Mehul Choksi, Lalit Modi and Anil Ambani. He says he opened bank accounts for you. But he did not deposit money in those bank accounts. Now, I will complete the task and will deposit money of NYAY scheme in the bank accounts opened by him.”
In his 18-minute speech, Rahul prepared the pitch for NYAY by asking people how many of them received Rs 15 lakh, which he claimed was promised by the BJP during the last Lok Sabha elections.
“PM Modi drained out your savings through demonetization and GST. Congress’ NYAY will get back that money in your bank accounts,” he told the packed gathering that braved 43-degree temperature to hear him.
“Our NYAY model will not harm the economy rather it will accelerate the country’s growth. The Rs 72,000 that 5 crore families will receive will increase the much needed circulation of money to create demand. This, in turn, will increase jobs and benefit small shopkeepers as well as factories,” Rahul said.
The crowd from Jalore-Sirohi Lok Sabha seat, which is at the bottom of all economic indicators and is marred by the high rate of migrations, reflected their understanding of the subject by chanting ‘NYAY zindabad.’
Rahul said Modi is spending Rs 1 lakh crore for a bullet train to benefit a handful of people. He pointed to the poor network of trains in Jalore and blamed it on “mismatched priorities” of Modi. “I want to ask you, how many will travel in the bullet train? 500 or 1000 people. This is how Modi government has worked to benefit a selected few,” Rahul said.
The Congress president, along with chief minister Ashok Gehlot and deputy CM Sachin Pilot, flew to Bandanwara town, around 40-km from Ajmer, to address the second election rally. His father, former PM Rajiv Gandhi, too had visited this town in 1984. One Kamala Sharma, a local woman, gifted him a picture of his father from that visit. Rahul later posted the pic on social media.
Here he promised the women 50% reservation in panchayat elections and 33% quota in state and parliamentary elections. Trying to connect with locals, Rahul said that large numbers of people from Ajmer have a small earning, therefore, the NYAY scheme will benefit them. He focused on how NYAY would protect the esteem of women. “The money will be transferred in the accounts of women only,” he said.
Seeking votes for Riju Jhunjhunwala, the Congress candidate from Ajmer, Pilot said, “He is young, in keeping with Rahul ji’s policy of bringing in more youth into politics.” The Congress president addressed the day’s final rally in Kota, where he promised a new airport for the city.
26/04/19 Times of India

AAI revises parking charges at Visakhapatnam airport

Visakhapatnam: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has issued a circular on Thursday regarding the revised parking charges for vehicles entering the Visakhapatnam airport. It would come into effect from the midnight of April 30.
In order to reduce unnecessary bottlenecks outside the parking area, vehicles will not be allowed to wait on the pathway in front of the terminal for more than three minutes and the airport staff would monitor the time taken by vehicles to drop the passengers and luggage. As per the circular, issued by AAI-Visakhapatnam, the 10-minute free parking window has been abolished. However, no access fee would be levied for vehicles entering and leaving the airport for just pick up and drop. Any vehicle found waiting on the pathway in front of the terminal longer than the time alotted will be first directed to the parking lot, if the driver were to disagree and argues, a fine of Rs 3,000 would be imposed.
Speaking to TOI, Visakhapatnam airport director G Prakash Reddy, said, “We are not charging anything for entry and exit of vehicles to and from the airport who come to drop or pick up passengers and no time is calculated at entry or exit points for these vehicles. However, our staff would be present around the pathway leading to the terminal to assist and ensure that vehicles do not queue up or unnecessarily wait there blocking the lanes or obstructing movement of other vehicles. It would hardly take two-three minutes for passengers to get down or get into the car along with their luggage. If some passengers and drivers want to take longer time, say around 15-20 minutes or longer, they can wait in the parking lot and depending on the time spent on waiting, charges would be levied from Rs 20-Rs 165 for cars and Rs 10-Rs 45 for two-wheelers.”
26/04/19 Times of India

Aveva eyes smart city, smart airport projects

Hyderabad: As it looks to double its revenue from India operations, the UK-based engineering and industrial software solutions firm Aveva has doubled its office space to 1,20,000 sq ft here to strengthen its research and development capacities.

The facility will house a new Global Service Hub with a capacity of 400 people. It is planning to hire 200 people for its Hyderabad facility in the next 12-18 months.
The company, which has bagged a smart city project at Naya Raipur along with its consortium partners, is looking at opportunities in smart city and smart airport projects in the country. It is confident of bagging 4-5 more smart city projects soon.

“Our India business is contributing 5 per cent to our overall global revenues. This is growing at over 30 per cent annually. We expect contributions from India to double over the next five years,” James Kidd, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Aveva, has said.

The firm invested over £200 million on building research and development capacities in the country in the last six years.
25/04/19 Business Line

Kochi’s global travel boom

Kochi: Investment and consumption may have waned in India, but the number of Kochiites travelling to foreign destinations has increased by 25-30% this summer vacation.

Almost 50% tour operators are now offering international packages for 5-10 days. The bookings are often done in advance as airlines charge exorbitant fares from last minute flyers. Though far-east countries draw the highest number of tourists, Europe is also catching up in a big way.

As many as 100 group tours are being organized from Kochi to far east countries in the April-May period, with the total number of travellers touching 4,500-5,000. In comparison, close to 2,000 passengers are travelling to Europe during the same period. Around 50 group tours are underway or being planned. It is almost a 50% increase compared with the number of people who travelled to Europe last year.
In fact, outbound tourism from Kochi to foreign locales has been growing robustly in the past 4-5 years. Almost 75% travellers book at least two months in advance for a trip and majority of those travelling are couples, either in the forties or retired.

Trips to the Holy Land is also popular among the travellers. US and Scandinavian countries have also been growing in popularity as favoured tourist destinations.

This summer, 10-12 group tours are being organized from Kochi to the US taking the number of travellers to the country to 500 while another 250-300 passengers have opted for Scandinavian countries.
25/04/19 Times of India

High security alert at KIA

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, a high security alert has been sounded at the
Kempegowda International Airport.
Security has been beefed up at all key installations within the airport and frisking of passengers
intensified.
This comes just two days aer over 170 passengers bound for Singapore were stranded at the
airport aer an alert raised by a passenger.
The traveller, mistaking a bag for a gun-like article, had raised the alarm just as the Scoot Airlines
flight was about to take o early Tuesday morning.
The high security alert could increase the already long waiting time at the airport’s security gates.
In this regard, KIA’s operator, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), tweeted a passenger
advisory.
The advisory read: “The high-security alert at the #BLRAirport might mean some additional wait
time, queues and delays. We are working hard to ensure e your safety. Do plan your travel
accordingly. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.”
26/04/19 Rasheed Kappan/Deccan Herald

GoAir provides respite to Chandigarh from rising fares

Chandigarh: Planning a vacation but cowed down with soaring airfares? Worry no more – GoAir is providing respite and how! Book a ticket in next 48 hours for as low as Rs 1368 onwards all inclusive and unleash your dreams of enjoying the hard earned vacation with your dear ones. GoAir, India’s fastest growing low cost carrier and 7 times best-on-time-performer has stepped in to make India FlySmart by opening up its hearts and doors to the newly launched additional 28 flights across 12 cities, including Chandigarh. Flying period: 26th April to 31st July 2019.

Mr. Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir said: “GoAir strongly believes that Chandigarh deserves respite from soaring airfares during peak season. As a low cost carrier it is incumbent upon us to take initiatives that will immediately alleviate the shortage of flights and inconvenience caused to passengers due to the Jet Airway’s flight cancellations. GoAir stepped in by launching additional 28 flights and went one step further by introducing 48-hours window to offer low cost fares for flights from Chandigarh. Rs 1368 onwards per ticket all inclusive is a dream come true for many.”
26/04/19 Punjab News Express

IndiGo temporarily halts non-stop services from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad

India’s leading private airline IndiGo has decided to temporarily halt direct services from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad from May 1, citing “commercial viability” reasons.

However, the airline’s online bookings to Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad non-stop are open, again from August 1.

The airline has already notified passengers who have booked to Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad between May 1 and July 31 about the temporary suspension of services to the two Indian cities.

A passenger said he was “offered either a full refund or rebooking via another IndiGo destination in India that caters to Doha.”

When contacted C Leekha, director (Corporate Communications) at IndiGo Airlines said, “With high demand due to holiday season approaching and commercial viability reasons, IndiGo flights operating on Ahmedabad and Trivandrum to Doha routes will now fly out of Mumbai and Delhi respectively. This said, we will continue to explore various alternate routes which will enable us to optimally utilise our fleet. We are committed to serve the air-transportation needs of the Indian public with on-time, courteous and hassle-free and low fares proposition.”

She, however, did not say whether the decision to halt services to Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad was temporary or not.

Many Qatar-based passengers were dismayed by the Indian carrier’s decision as it was “affecting their travel plans during the peak season.”
25/04/19 Gulf Times

Jet crisis cuts Pune’s direct links to Indore, Chandigarh

Pune: The temporary grounding of Jet Airways flights has left V V Ravi Kumar, the deputy director at the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, high and dry.
“Jet operated two flights from Pune to Chennai and their timings were good for me. One used to take off from Pune at 4pm and reach Chennai at 5.40pm. The other was at 8.40pm. With these flights gone, I am in a problem. Apart from an IndiGo flight in the afternoon hours, the rest fly to Chennai late in the evening or in the night,” he told TOI.
The city has lost direct connection to many cities following Jet’s temporary closure of operations. While close to eight of the total 18 slots belonging to the grounded airline have been taken over by other airlines, the absence of direct connectivity to places like Chandigarh, Indore and Coimbatore, among others, is posing problems to travellers.
“Last week, I was trying to book a ticket from Pune to Chandigarh. I was shocked to find that there were no direct or connecting flights. Among the options, one was to travel to Delhi and then take a flight to Chandigarh. It meant booking two tickets. The total airfare for a round-way trip that way was double of what I used to pay,” Jaswant Malhotra, a businessman, said.
Samar Duggal, travelling to the same destination next week, said there was a Vistara flight connecting Pune to Delhi and then from Delhi to Chandigarh with a layover of close to two hours. “Apart from this, the other so-called connecting flights to Chandigarh have a journey time of more than 24 hours,” he said.
26/04/19 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

IndiGo to operate flights for Delhi and Ahemdabad

Allahabad: Flyers of the Sangam city, who always wanted a flight for Delhi in morning hours would soon have a direct flight for the national capital from Bamrauli airport starting from May 25. This new flight is being introduced by IndiGo.
Likewise, IndiGo has also decided that the present flight to Mumbai would be extended to Ahmedabad.
After commencement of this second flight, air travelers of the city would have two flights for Delhi as Air India operates a flight in the evening for Delhi.
Besides, if someone has to go to Bhopal, he or she can catch a connecting flight from Delhi as IndiGo is also launching a direct flight for Bhopal and Patna from the same date.
The new flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travellers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options. Travellers who would like to plan their travel can book tickets through its official website www.goindigo.in, informed William Boulter, chief commercial officer, IndiGo in a communiqué.
He said, “As part of our endeavour to strengthen Delhi as a travel hub, we are delighted to announce the addition of six new flights to enhance direct connectivity to Allahabad, Bhopal and Patna. These flights will not only provide more travel options to customers, but also bolster regional connectivity within the country.”
Flight number 6E2037 would leave from Delhi for Allahabad everyday at 9:55am and after reaching Bamrauli at 11:20am, it would return for Delhi via flight number 6E2038 at 11:50am and reach Delhi at 13:20pm.
25/04/19 Rajiv Mani/Times of India

In one yr, Surat airport records 3,400MT of cargo movement

Surat: Cargo movement from Surat airport has touched 3,400-metric tonne mark in the last one year.
Official sources said airlines take saris, dress material, courier, chemicals, diamonds and laboratory-grown diamond jewellery articles etc from Surat airport to Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur and other destinations in the country.

Majority of cargo movement to and from Surat airport is handled by SpiceJet followed by Air India. SpiceJet is the only airline that provides high value cargo box for shipment of valuable goods such as jewellery items, diamonds etc.

Until last year, Surat airport did not figure in air cargo list in the country. In the last one year, it has attained the 31st position in the cargo list of the country.
Manoj Singapuri, a textile entrepreneur, who is associated with Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (SGCCI) civil aviation committee, said, “We had to send textile material urgently to Delhi. We inquired with transporters and they committed to deliver it after four days. We decided to avail of the cargo facility of Surat airport and the material was delivered in Delhi within six hours by SpiceJet aircraft.” Singapuri added, “Apart from industrial cargo, online commercial portals like Amazon and Flipkart have been using the cargo facility provided by airlines for fast delivery of goods to and from Surat. On daily basis, saris and dress material ordered online are shipped from Surat airport.”
26/04/19 Times of India

Bid to smuggle gold, foreign currency foiled by Customs department at Chennai Airport

Chennai: The Air Intelligence unit of the Customs department foiled bids to smuggle foreign currency worth Rs 46.45 lakh and gold worth Rs 5.92 lakh, in separate cases at Chennai Airport. A customs release said AIU officials detected two cases of gold smuggling on Wednesday night and one case of foreign currency on Thursday morning.

On Thursday morning, AIU officers intercepted a lady, Rayavarapu Sridevi, 54, of  Malaysian nationality, who was about to board Batik Air flight which was bound for Kuala Lumpur, on suspicion of carrying foreign currency. She was carrying one piece of hand baggage which was taken up for examination.
On examination, $24,300 (243 of 100 denomination each) equivalent to Rs 16.7 lakh, were found concealed in her bag. Her checked-in luggage was also recalled from the aircraft and taken up for examination. On examination, $43,300 (433 in 100 denominations each) equivalent to Rs 29.75 lakh were found concealed. A total of US dollars equivalent to Rs 46.45 lakh were recovered and seized. 
26/04/19 New Indian Express

Delhi: Gold worth Rs 50 lakh seized from airport's toilet

New Delhi: The customs officials at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport has seized gold worth Rs 79 lakh, officials said on Friday.

The gold was hidden in the washroom at the airport.
According to a report in PTI, a 21-year-old man has been arrested for his alleged involvement in gold smuggling.

Acting on a tipoff, the accused was intercepted by customs officials when he arrived at the airport from Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.

The accused has admitted having brought gold to India during the inquiry.

"The passenger informed that he had hidden the gold in one of the washrooms at the airport. Based on his information, 20 gold bars, collectively weighing 2.49 kg, were recovered," a customs official was quoted as saying.

A number of people have been arrested from Delhi airport in connection with the smuggling of gold from foreign shores.
26/04/19 Mirror Now News

Customs puts up standees of wild animals at IGI Airport to create awareness about illegal trade

In order to create awareness about illegal wildlife trade, the customs department and WWF-India have installed life-sized standees of animals like snow leopard, pangolins, greater one-horned rhino and Asian elephant at the Delhi international airport.

The customs department has also displayed the list of prohibited wildlife species, the possession or trade of which is punishable in India, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a statement.

While snow leopard is poached for its fur and body parts, the greater one-horned rhino is targeted for its horn used in supposed body tonics. Pangolins, the most trafficked wild mammal globally, are poached for scales and meat.
Asian elephants are poached for tusks, which are used to make artefacts and jewellery, and sometimes for meat and skin.

"Illegal wildlife trade has grown to become a very serious crime globally.
26/04/19 DNA

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Delhi airport gets 5 display boards to warn travellers of illegal wildlife trade, poaching

In an endeavour to spread awareness about poaching and illegal wildlife trade, the customs department and WWF-India have set up five

life-sized, brightly lit standees displaying protected species at the international airport here.

The display boards show pictures of snow leopard (Panthera uncia), greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), pangolins and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) along with the message "Don't Buy Trouble (which lists prohibited wildlife species for possession or trade in India), a statement issued by NGO TRAFFIC, working globally on trade in wild animals and plants, said.

The boards have been set up in arrival area at the customs checkpoint at Terminal 3, it said.
25/04/19 PTI/Business Standard

SACON to study bird behaviour at SVPI

Ahmedabad: As part of its bird-control measures, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has commissioned the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) to study bird sightings at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport six months ago. The study was to span two years and will include observing bird behaviour.
A senior AAI official, said, “We received an interim report a week ago, with several recommendations. We are examining them and are trying to implement them. The final report will be out after six months.”

To avoid bird strikes at the city airport, the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation had been tasked with conducting bird counts at SVPI airport, one in January and before and after the monsoon.

That decision was taken during a meetings of the Airport Environment Management Committee (AEMC). However, state government sources confirmed that no such study has been conducted in the last year. No reasons were accorded for giving the task of conducting the census to SACON either.
25/04/19 Times of India

Soon, unwind with music while waiting at airport

Chennai: Forgot your earphones and bored at Chennai airport? The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has got you covered. Soon, you can relax with curated music from the public address systems while waiting for your flight. Part of a move to improve the ambience at the airport, the AAI has planned to play music, often anchored by an RJ, over speakers and the public address systems at the airport. The plan is set to take off in a few months.

The move is also aimed at offering a stress-free environment and is part of a bid to add more amenities for passengers at 29 airports run by the AAI.

Earlier, the airport would play instrumentals, but this was discontinued after the airport was declared a silent one, wherein airlines and other agencies would make an announcement over public address systems only when it is unavoidable.

A tender has been floated to identify an experienced broadcaster with radio license to curate music and broadcast it round-the-clock across terminals and passenger areas for three years. The contractor is also allowed to engage an RJ, who would select and play the music. A decision will be taken about awarding of contract on May 10.

The playlist will include Indian or international music and covers all genres from classical to contemporary music, including folk, film scores, regional, rock, pop and more.

In addition, 30-second pre-recorded audio capsules on the local culture, heritage, monuments, festivals and tourist spots would be played around eight to 10 times a day.
25/04/19 Times of India

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Eight new daily flights between Bengaluru and Mumbai by May 1

Bengaluru: While nine Jet Airways services between Bengaluru and Mumbai have been cancelled, eight new daily flights between the two cities offered by other airlines will start operations from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) by May 1.
Vistara will operate five new services between Bengaluru and Mumbai starting April 30 and AirAsia India will operate three new services from April 30. Operations of IndiGo’s new service between the two state capitals were kicked off on April 15.
A total of nine services each from Bengaluru to Mumbai and Mumbai to Bengaluru operated by Jet Airways were cancelled by the airlines, which has now temporarily suspended all its operations.

Connectivity between Delhi and Bengaluru is also set to be enhanced with SpiceJet starting a new daily flight between the two cities from April 26. Meanwhile, city-based Star Air kicked off a service between Bengaluru and Belagavi on March 31, while another service between the two cities will begin from May 1.
24/04/19 Times of India

SpiceJet becomes second carrier to link Kozhikode and Jeddah

SpiceJet launched its latest international route on 20 April, commencing a daily service between Kozhikode (CCJ) and Jeddah (JED). The carrier will serve the 4,088-kilometre route using its fleet of 737-800s. It becomes the second airline to offer services between the Indian and Saudi Arabian cities, joining Saudi Arabian Airlines on the sector. It presently serves the route six times weekly using its fleet of A330-300s. Jeddah becomes SpiceJet’s second international route from Kozhikode, with it already offering a daily service to Dubai, while it also provides domestic links to Bengaluru and Chennai. For Jeddah, Kozhikode becomes the second destination flown to by the LCC, adding to the carrier’s existing route to Hyderabad, a connection which is also flown daily this summer, again on 737-800s, of which the airline presently operates 28 according to Flightradar24.com data.
24/04/19 anna.aero

Nagpur airport privatization after AAI clears lease papers

Nagpur: Last month as chief minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed a function to inaugurate commercial run of the Metro rail, he also announced that bid for privatizing Nagpur airport has been cleared. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is now in the process of finalizing lease documents with GMR, which had emerged as the highest bidder in the tender process. AAI is a joint venture partner in Mihan India Limited (MIL) — the current airport operator along with state government’s Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC).
AAI owns over 500 hectares of land in the airport which it will be leasing out to GMR after it takes over. Sources say MADC is following up the matter with AAI and the process is expected to be over any time. However, at the same time if AAI chooses to get the decision on leasing the land cleared from the central cabinet, the privatization process may have to wait till new government takes over after elections.

Sources said now it is up to the AAI to clear the case at its own level or put up the proposal before the incoming central cabinet.

GMR, which had emerged as the higher bidder as against GVK — the other participant in the tender, had earlier offered to share 5.73% of the revenue with MIL. As against it, the company has now agreed to part with over 14%. This happened in post-bid negotiations following which the deal was cleared. The announcement was made when the Metro rail was being flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through teleconferencing.

A source involved in the process said the final takeover by GMR may happen by September. This is because once AAI board finalizes the lease documents, the matter would be further put up before the central cabinet, to be formed only after the elections.

24/04/19 Times of India

AAI’s ambitious ‘Project Runway’ drags on

Tiruchi: The good news coming out of Tiruchi International Airport is that Airports Authority of India is making big investments in developing the facility despite a dip in international passenger traffic during 2018-19.

The bad news: tardy progress in land acquisition is stalling the runway extension, an important component of the expansion plans.

At the root of the problem lies the fact that while a new terminal is coming up adjacent to the existing building on AAI’s own land, expansion of the runway and other infrastructure at the airport involves land acquisition.

After the first phase of expansion of the runway from 6,000 to about 8,000 feet, carried out over a decade ago, AAI drew up plans to expand it further to 12,000 feet in phases to facilitate operation of bigger and wide-bodied aircrafts.
It sought about a total of 683.32 acres, which included about 337.70 acres of defence land. Last year, the State government accorded administrative sanction to acquire about 345.62 acres, including wetlands, located mostly at the rear of the airport, mainly for expansion of the runway.
A team of revenue officials, headed by a Special Tahsildhar, was formed to carry out the acquisition, but the task is yet to be completed. A section of land owners opposed acquisition of their properties, but district authorities said they had agreed to accept alternative residential sites.
23/04/19 R. Rajaram and S. Ganesan/The Hindu

Chennai has fewer flights this summer

Chennai: The crisis at Jet Airways and the grounding of B737 Max 8 planes by SpiceJet have hit Chennai airport during peak summer season.
A senior official said the number of flights handled by the airport has come down by 70 a day because of these crises.

“The total number of flights handled by the airport has come down from 500 to 430 a day. This reduction in capacity has hit summer travel. We usually see a lot of domestic passengers during the summer, forcing us to introduce arrangements to prevent congestion at the terminals. This time the crowd has shrunk,” he added.

Jet Airways has grounded seven planes — five ATR planes, one B-777 and one B737 — at Chennai after the company suspended operations. SpiceJet has grounded two of its B737 Max 8 planes in Chennai following an instruction from aviation regulator DGCA, due to a safety concern after the Ethiopian plane crash.
Peak hour travel is most affected by the cut in services. Jet Airways had early morning slots connecting Chennai with Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru — the popular metro routes for business travellers and also gateway airports to nearby tourist destinations. This is in addition to flights to small towns.

Withdrawal of services by the third largest airline in terms of routes flown in Chennai has affected availability of seats and has pushed up the air fare.
24/04/19 Times of India

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

AAI set to sue Dutch airline after Indian team misses Archery WC

The Archery Association of India (AAI) has said that it is considering legal action against Dutch airlines KLM, whose “failure to transport the Indian archery team to Colombia” for the World Cup Stage I in Medellin prevented the archers from competing in the major event.

After the selection trials in Bhubaneswar on March 18, the AAI said that it got the sanction of financial assistance from the Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for the tour and got the visa for all 23 members of the Indian side.
AAI said the travel agent, Balmer Lawrie and Co., booked ‘confirmed’ tickets on KLM airlines, which told the archers that they could not get the connecting flight from Amsterdam to Medellin due to the delay in an incoming flight and expressed its helplessness in making alternative arrangement.

“The AAI officials, senior SAI officers and the travel agents worked very hard during the weekend to book the team through some other route but could not succeed as the flights were full for Easter weekend…Hence the trip was abandoned informing World Archery and local organisers of World Cup in Columbia,” said AAI in a statement.
23/04/19 YB Sarangi/Sportstar

Friday, April 19, 2019

Kolkata airport’s growth hits air pocket after Jet pullout

Kolkata: Cash-strapped Jet Airways on Wednesday announced the suspension of all domestic and international flights. But in Kolkata, the withdrawal of flights began nearly a year ago with the carrier reducing the number of departures from 48 in 2017 to first 22 by mid-2018 to six and finally two before even these were pulled out last week. The impact of pulling of so many flights has sharply impacted Kolkata airport’s growth, a challenge that other airports in the country will face in 2019-20 if Jet Airways doesn’t take to the skies again.

According to statistics on Kolkata airport released by the Airports Authority of India in 2018-19, passenger traffic grew at 10% to hit nearly 22 million, 2 million more than 2017-18. But the growth slowed down from a racy 26% in 2017-18 to 10% in 2018-19 as Jet Airways pulled out flights through the year, impacting numbers. This is the lowest growth in the last three years. The airport had recorded a growth of 24% in 2016-17 and 14% in 2015-16.

Of the 22 million passengers who flew out of Kolkata airport in the year under review, 19.1 million were domestic and 2.8 million international. The busiest month was January when nearly 2 million passengers took flights out of Kolkata. August, in comparison, was the least busy with nearly 3,00,000 less passengers taking flights.

The impact of the Jet Airways pullout could have had a more adverse affect on growth had not IndiGo Airlines added over two dozen flights during the year. However, the impact will continue to be felt in 2019-20 as well given that Jet Airways operated over 11,000 flights and carried 1.5 million passengers through the year. Unless the airline resumes operations in May and reconnects Kolkata, the airport's growth estimates will go haywire.

Kolkata airport director Kaushik Bhattacharjee though expects a robust growth with other carriers — IndiGo, GoAir, AirAsia India and Vistara — expected to add flights to Kolkata. While IndiGo may turn Kolkata into an international hub for flights to South-East Asia and China, other airlines will increase their domestic network by connecting Kolkata to multiple cities.

“Given the growth projections, Kolkata airport will reach its capacity of 24 million passengers a year in 2019-20. The challenge will be to maintain the growth thereafter as any addition to the capacity by way of a second phase of expansion will take at least three years to execute. While that plan is on the drawing board, we are working on ways to increase ease of travel through Kolkata airport by ringng in several changes. Most of them will happen through the year,” said Bhattacharjee.
19/04/19 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

Tussle for Mumbai Airport: GVK to sell 49% stake in airport arm to keep Adani out of MIAL

Hyderabad-based power and infrastructure company GVK Power & Infrastructure, which operates the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), has offered to sell 49 per cent stake in its airport arm GVK Airport Holdings to sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). The company, did not disclose the value of the deal, but maintained that it will raise capital to refinance debt obligations of up to Rs 5,750 crore.

The stake sale is being seen as a strategy to stave off overtures from Gautam Adani, who had expressed interest to buy the flagship Mumbai airport. In January, Gautam Adani-led Adani Group had reportedly proposed to buy 23.5 per cent stake of two South African firms Bidvest and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) in the MIAL, according to a report on The Economic Times.

As on December 31, 2018, GVK Group held 50.5 per cent stake in MIAL, while South Africa's Bidvest Group and ACSA owned 13.5 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) owned the remaining 26 per cent.

In February this year, GVKAHL had acquired 10 per cent stake from ACSA along with the earlier acquisition of 13.5 per cent from Bidvest, increasing the equity shareholding of the GVK Group to 74 per cent from the existing 50.5 per cent of the total paid-up share capital of MIAL.
19/04/19 Business Today

New terminal at Chennai airport to be more disabled-friendly

Chennai: The new integrated terminal, which is under construction, at the city airport will be more disabled-friendly.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has begun training its engineers to create such inclusive facilities as part of an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) programme.
Work to construct the integrated terminal in the space between the domestic and international terminal began last July. The building, which can be used for both domestic and international flights, is scheduled to be completed in three years and will have the best of facilities including automation for passenger access, an official said.

Engineers were being trained to ensure that they are sensitive to the needs of disabled passengers when designing or approving designs of passenger amenities inside the new building, the official said.

The move is part the ICAO requirement to improve airports following complaints from passengers that terminal and boarding facilities are not disabled-friendly. The AAI has nominated engineers for the programme which will be conducted in Delhi.

The aim is to “prepare the engineers with knowledge and skills needed to create and maintain infrastructure at airports to help passengers with reduced mobility to pass through an airport in a safe and efficient manner”.

The training will help engineers identify the special needs of the disabled and introduce appropriate facilities at different locations.
“We have started to train our engineers as many airport terminals are being upgraded. This [training] will help with the work being carried out in the Chennai airport as well,” said an official.
19/04/19 Times of India

TruJet improves its punctuality record to emerge as the forerunner in KIA

Air India had the worst punctuality record when taking off from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) for March 2019 while TruJet had the best track record, reveals data made public on Wednesday. Cumulatively, airlines departing from the city had an 87% On-Time Performance rate. 

The data was released by the Bangalore centre of Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM), a joint venture between four international organisations, the Airports Council International of Europe, European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation.
Nine airlines running their operations from the City — Jet Airways, Air India, SpiceJet, Star Air, GoAir, IndiGo, Air Asia India, TruJet and Vistara — were taken into consideration for the analysis.

When it comes to landing at KIA too, the same trend has been sustained with TruJet maintaining a 100% punctuality record while Air India comes last with 70%.  The overall arrival punctuality rate for all airlines comes to 83%.  This marks a major improvement for TruJet which had a punctuality record of just 71% in the month of February and just 58% in January this year.

The chief reasons specified for the delay (over 90 per cent) has been billed as reactionary reasons. These reasons refer to awaiting of load or passengers from another flight, check-in error of passengers or baggage, late arrival of aircraft from another flight or previous sector, problems in cabin crew rotation or awaiting arrival of crew from another flight, rerouting or diversion or aircraft change for reasons other than technical are cited as the major reasons for the delay.

Technical and automated failure, passenger and baggage handling, operational issues figure among other minor issues that contributed for the delays. 
IndiGo continues to be the leader with the maximum number of flights arriving and departing from the airline at KIA. Both the overall departure punctuality timings for March is the best for the last 13 months while the arrival timing is second best.
19/04/19 S Lalitha/New Indian Express

Launch of Buddha Air’s Kolkata-Kathmandu flight delayed over LS polls

The ongoing Lok Sabha elections has delayed the launch of Nepal’s private airline Buddha Air’s proposed flight between Kolkata and Kathmandu by over a month.
The airline will now begin its operation from May 27 instead of its earlier plan to start from April 16, Buddha Air’s Marketing Director Rupesh Joshi said.
“We will operate three weekly flights between Kathmandu and Kolkata on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from May 27,” he said.
“Both the India government and all agencies involved with aviation business suggested to begin the service post election. So we decided to defer it,” he said.
Buddha Air would be the second Nepali Airline to connect Kolkata with Kathmandu after the Royal Nepal Airlines’ withdrawal from Kolkata two decades back, Joshi said.
The Royal Nepal Airlines now operates flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to Kathmandu, he said.
Joshi said grounding of Jet Airways will affect tourism in Nepal and a large number of booking for hotels and tour operators have been cancelled.
19/04/19 Prime Time

Thursday, April 18, 2019

What’s biting Birsa airport?

Ranchi/Jamshedpur: If you are going to board flights from the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi, don’t forget mosquito repellents, a frequent flier has advised.

Swarms of mosquitoes at Birsa Munda Airport in the capital’s Hinoo area, posing a threat to fliers and visitors, came to the fore after this frequent flier from Ranchi lodged a complaint online with Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Wednesday.

Manoj Kumar, 41, a resident of Sai Vihar Colony in Ratu Road, Ranchi, who owns an educational institution, said he complained because he was “horrified” at the number of mosquitoes everywhere.

“This morning (Wednesday) I had gone to board an Air India flight to Bhubaneswar and had to spend time in the terminal building as my flight timings were rescheduled from 7.40am to 8.05am,” Kumar said over phone. “I was greeted with a swarm of mosquitoes in the washroom. Interaction with other fliers revealed there were mosquitoes in the children’s play area and lounge. I learnt that the problem had become acute in the past one week,” he added.

He said he wanted to write a complaint at the airport itself but was not allowed to go to the complaint counter at entrance gate as his security check was done. “I had to board my flight and file a complaint online on www.aai.aero after reaching Bhubaneswar airport,” he said.

Ranchi airport joint general manager and ATC in-charge Gopal Krishnan refused to admit the seriousness of the airport mosquito menace. “We have recently given a tender to a private agency for fogging and spraying of larvicides at the airport. The exercise is done after flight hours late in the evening. I cannot say about the frequency of the exercise but it is done regularly to get rid of mosquitoes,” Krishnan said.

On Tuesday, The Telegraph carried a report (Ranchi vector menace now alarming) where RMC assistant medical officer Kiran Kumari insisted fogging in the capital was done according to a roster but at least three councillors refuted her claim.
18/04/19 Animesh Bisoee/Telegraph

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Bengaluru airport exclusive entry gate fro flyers with only hand baggage

To incentivise flyers who travel light, the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru has opened a new entry gate  - Gate No. 5 - exclusively for passengers with a printed boarding pass and only hand baggage. This gate will not be accessible to passenger trolleys and wheelchairs.

The airport, in a statement, said that this measure was in continuation of its innovative services and products to ensure a hassle-free and delightful travel experience for its passengers.

“The opening of a new gate exclusively for passengers travelling with hand baggage will further improve the overall operational efficiency of the Airport. Passengers will benefit from a quicker passage through the security checkpoints,” the airport said.
With nearly 55,000 passengers flying out from the city airport on a daily basis, this dedicated gate promises to improve throughput and reduce the wait time at the security checkpoint. Currently, the number of passengers travelling with only hand-baggage constitutes 23% of total departure traffic and the number has gradually increased.
17/04/19 News Minute

As cargo handling rises, Trichy airport gets more gear

Trichy: Following a steady growth in cargo consignments at the international airport, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has procured Ground Support Equipment (GSE) such as trolleys and reusable plastic pallets for facilitating export activity at the Trichy international airport.

A senior airport official said a total of 15 reusable plastic pallets and 20 cargo trolleys have been procured from Delhi. The pallet is a horizontal platform device used as a base for transporting, handling, storing and assembling both products and materials as a unit load. Pallets are designed to ensure that no damage occurs to the goods inside when another pallet is loaded on top of it, officials said.

The cargo terminal at the airport has recorded a growth of 8.74% compared to the previous year’s cargo consignments which has helped AAI realize Rs 1.55 crore as revenue during the 2018-19 financial year, airport officials said. As the terminal handled 71.77 lakh kilograms of (7177 tonnes) of cargo, total foreign remittance was expected to be not less than Rs 42 crore, observers say.
17/04/19 Times of India

Madurai airport records 16% growth in foreign passengers, 3% domestic

Madurai: The Madurai airport has clocked an increased passenger traffic for the financial year 2018-19, when compared to its previous financial year. While the increase is from the foreign passenger segment, a similar jump was not witnessed in the domestic segment.

The airport has handled 15,32,071 passengers in 2018-19, a healthy increase of 6.1% from the previous year. Of that, 11,78,738 were domestic passengers and 3,53,333 international. Percentage wise, international passenger segment grew by 16.29% whereas domestic segment grew by just 3.33%.

In 2017-18, there was a steep increase in the domestic passenger segment as the growth was 63.17% compared to its previous year. The increase in international passenger segment witnessed a growth of 13.13% during that financial year.

There are multiple reasons behind lesser growth in the domestic passengers sector in 2018-19 including grounding of flights by Jet Airways, increased flight ticket rates and absence of round-the-clock operations. Although the airport has grown busier over the years, 24-hours operation is still eluding it. Aviation enthusiasts say that for an airport that has already crossed the 15 lakh passengers a year mark, round-the-clock operation is pertinent for further growth.
17/04/19 Times of India

Air India to start Visakhapatnam-to-Mumbai flight services

Visakhapatnam: With the withdrawal of Jet Airways Visakhapatnam to Mumbai flight a few days ago, Air India has agreed to provide flight services between Visakhapatnam and Mumbai from May 15, 2019, according to sources.

From Monday to Friday, Air India flight, AI652 will depart at 07:00 pm from Mumbai and arrive in Visakhapatnam at 08:50 pm. Flight number AI653 will depart from Visakhapatnam at 09.30 pm and land in Mumbai at 11:20 pm. On Saturdays and Sundays, Air India flight, AI652 will leave Mumbai at 09.10 pm and arrive at Visakhapatnam at 11:00 pm. Flight number AI653 will depart from Visakhapatnam at 11.30 pm and reach Mumbai at 01.20 am.

The Andhra Pradesh Air Travelers Association (APATA) representatives had met Captain Amitab Singh, director commercial and board member, Air India Limited in Mumbai in January along with Daggubati Purandeswari, independent director, Air India Ltd and had requested them to operate a late night flight to Mumbai and Delhi from Visakhapatnam.
17/04/18 Times of India

Surat airport crosses 1.25 million passenger mark in 2018-19

Surat: Passenger traffic from Surat airport has for the first time crossed 1.25 million in 2018-19. In less than three years, the average monthly traffic has increased from 15,000 to 1.04 lakh.
According to figures published by Airports Authority of India (AAI), Surat airport has achieved exponential growth in terms of passenger traffic. In 2018-19, passenger traffic increased to 1.25 million and flight movements recorded were 15,426.

International air traffic movement was 28 for February and March and passenger traffic 2,884.

At present, Surat airport is served by about 27 flights for various domestic destinations by SpiceJet, Air India, AirAsia, IndiGo and Ventura AirConnect.

The growth story at Surat airport started after a few industrialists from textile industry offered bank guarantee of Rs3 crore to Air India for operating Airbus between Surat and New Delhi.

It was on October 1, 2015, AI commenced its inaugural Airbus between Delhi and Surat. After a few months of operations, AI provided an ATR aircraft on Delhi-Surat route to cater to increase in passenger traffic.
17/04/19 Times of India

Alliance Air to introduce daily morning flights between Chennai and Coimbatore

Coimbatore: Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, will introduce daily morning flights between Chennai and Coimbatore with effect from April 25.

Flight no. 9I-565 will depart from Chennai at 5.45 a.m. and reach Coimbatore at 7.10 a.m.

Flight No. 9I-566 will take off from Coimbatore at 7.35 a.m. and land in Chennai at 9 a.m. These flights will be available on all days of the week.

Girija Ramesh, Station Manager, Coimbatore Air India, told The Hindu that there was a demand from the people of Coimbatore for the flight. “The potential of Coimbatore has grown so much [that] it is a necessity. We asked the management to include one flight in the morning,” she said.

Highlighting that this is the first time that direct morning flights are being introduced between the two cities, Ms. Ramesh said Air India will now have three flight services to Chennai – one each in the morning, afternoon and evening.
17/04/19 The Hindu

Nepal citizen caught at KIA with Indian voter card

The Bureau of Immigration (BoI) officials have arrested a 44-year-old woman from Nepal for having an Indian voter card.
During the immigration clearance, the woman reportedly gave the voter ID card as the identity proof for the immigration clearance and was caught. Despite having the Nepalese passport, the woman is alleged to have obtained the Indian voter card by submitting forged documents.
A case against her has been registered at the BIAL police station. The police have identified the woman as Sapkota Tulasi Devi, from Chitwan in Nepal. She has been staying at Mudukku Street in Melapuliyur in Tamil Nadu. The immigration officials intercepted Devi as she presented her travel documents for clearance.
One of the travel documents included her voter identity card issued in India. The immigration officials found out that she had a valid Nepalese passport and was the citizen of Nepal.
 “During a detailed questioning, she is said to have confessed that she came to India in 1995 and married Devi Prasad Sharma alias Sapkota Govinda Prasad, a Nepalese working as an operator at a private firm in Tiruchendur of Tamil Nadu,” said an officer. The woman was caught a few days back at the Kempe Gowda International Airport from where she was travelling to Nepal. She is said to have studied up to eighth standard in Nepal and later come to India. The police officers are trying to find out how she managed to get the Indian voter identity card.
 17/04/19 Praveen Kumar/Bangalore Mirror

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

India struggles, logs 6% passenger growth; Mumbai airport rises by just 1.4%

Air passenger traffic across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East recorded growth in January at 5.6% and 1.7% respectively, reports ACI Asia-Pacific Monthly Traffic report for January 2019. The report further informs that China overtook India, generating the highest passenger traffic growth in the region with approximately 8.1% increase from last year. Both the domestic and international segments experienced strong growth, possibly due to the earlier timing of the Lunar New Year holidays. The top three airports with the most passenger volume increase were: Shanghai Pudong (PVG) 8.8%, Guangzhou (CAN) 8.6% and Beijing (PEK) 5.8%.

On the other hand, passenger growth in India increased approximately 6% from last year and continued to trend downward in both the domestic and international segments. Weather disruptions, slower upward capacity adjustment by airlines, and temporary airspace closure at Delhi were a few factors that negatively affected traffic growth during the month. Delhi (DEL), the largest airport in the country grew 1.7% in the month. Mixed results were observed among the major airports in the country: Mumbai (BOM) 1.4%, Bangalore (BLR) 18.4% and Chennai (MAA) 5.2%.
Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, a number of airports reported strong growth, likely due to the earlier timing of the Lunar New Year holidays: Tokyo Narita (NRT) 7.3%, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) 6.2% and Seoul Incheon (ICN) 4.3%.

In the Middle East, passenger growth continued to moderate. Dubai (DXB), the largest hub in the region, declined 1.2%.  Bahrain (BAH) 17.9% posted the highest growth rate in the region. Other high growth airports in January include: Sharjah (SHJ) 8.8% and Muscat (MCT) 8.0%.
16/04/19 ZeeBiz

There’s a helping hand at the airport for those who need it

Some airports in India are changing…for the better. If you are a first-time flier and travelling through Hyderabad, Delhi and Bengaluru airports, then help is at hand to guide you through the airport. These three airports account for a significant number of the passengers using airports in the country.

In Delhi, you have trained students standing at critical points to guide passengers through the airport and the various processes that need to be followed before boarding a flight.

In Hyderabad, there are Passenger Service Associates who focus on passengers in distress and elderly passengers, among others, and in Bengaluru airport, DigiBuddies help passengers who are overwhelmed by technology. All these helping hands are young, trained and enthusiastic.

The first off the block was Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which started the SEVA or Student Engagement as Volunteers for Assistance programme in 2016 to help fliers using the airport.

Students from various aviation academies and universities were trained to provide them real-time airport and customer experience. The 8-to-12 week programme helped students understand the real-time customer service experience and customer behaviour.
16/04/19 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

13-foot-tall sculpture comes up at entrance of Amritsar airport

Amritsar: In the process to add to the aesthetics to Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, a huge steel sculpture at the main entrance of the airport has been installed.

The 500 kg and 13-foot tall sculpture made is designed by local artist Sumeet Dua, whose works have earlier too been displayed at several key points inside the airport.

The sculpture titled Ball of Joy is placed at the centre of the main roundabout. It has two abstract human figures. “The sculpture has been designed in such a way that when we move on this round about, we can enjoy from each corner. The main idea behind this design is to greet the people, who have come to this airport. We have also tried to create best wishes feel to the passengers, who are going to other part of India and abroad,” said artist Sumeet Dua.
16/04/19 Tribune

Monday, April 15, 2019

Mumbai Airport: Know charges you will have to pay for travelling between terminal 1 and 2

Mumbai airport which is among the busiest airports in India has two points for arrivals and departure of flights. These are namely terminal 1 and terminal 2. It needs to be noted that, terminal 1  is generally based for domestic carriers and is home to airlines like GoAir, Trujet, Indigo, Air Deccan and SpiceJet. While terminal 2 is a host for all the international flights from Mumbai airport, and is home to airlines like Air India, Air India Express, Air India Regional, Jet Airways and Vistara.  Mumbai airport is always, however, there can be a situation where you might want to make a change from terminal 1 to terminal 2  and vice versa. Considering there is a vast distance between these two terminals, the airport also offers transport services, however, at a cost.

Mumbai Airport on its website says, “In order to transfer between terminals, it comes necessary to use any of the available means of transport since they are separated 5 kilometres from each other. Fixed rate inter-terminal services such as shuttle buses and taxis, connect both Mumbai Airport terminals.”

What is interesting to note is that transport between terminal 1 to 2 is slightly expensive compared to movement between terminal 2 to 1.
If you have taken a sedan for travelling between T1 to T2, then you will have to pay some Rs 245. However, if an SUV taken, then the amount will go up to Rs 750. On the other hand, from T2 to T1, a passenger will only have to pay Rs 230 for booking a sedan, while the amount for SUV remains the same Rs 750. Ticketing can be found at T1 Arrivals and at T2 on 2F, beside prepaid taxi booth.
15/04/19 ZeeBiz

Odisha expats work to improve air connectivity

Dubai: A group of non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the UAE lobbied hard for the revival of flights to a new airport in their home state Odisha and, recently, their petitions had borne fruit.

Flights from New Delhi to Odisha's Jharsuguda airport have been resumed.

Jharsuguda is the state's second airport that was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 22, 2018. However, as the home-grown operator Air Odisha suspended its services within two weeks after the inauguration, passengers couldn't avail of the flights to that part of the state.

Getting together under the banner of Global Odias for Odisha's Development (Good), these UAE-based professionals raised the issue with the authorities concerned and travelled to New Delhi and Odisha several times.
15/04/19 Saman Haziq
Dubai resident Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, CEO of a shipping company and mentor of Good, said: "There is massive demand for flights into the western part of Odisha, which is why we decided to take up the cause of our people and started our campaign to restart operations at Jharsuguda airport.

"We first met up with the Consul-General of India in Dubai, Vipul, and presented a memorandum to him. It was later followed by a meeting with the Chief Minister of Odisha, Navin Patnaik."

Three months later, the inaugural SpiceJet flight took off from Delhi to Jharsuguda. Although the Good group comprises six NRIs - Patnaik, Manas Panda, Priyadarshee Panigrahi, Rajesh Tripathy, Rajat Rath and Arvind Biswal - only two could be part of the historic occasion. They flew from Dubai to be part of the flight.
Panigrahi and Panda, both Dubai residents, lit the inaugural lamp at the Terminal 2 building of Delhi airport, where they also had the honour of flagging off the aircraft on the tarmac for the historic flight, along with the captain and a few other passengers.
15/04/19 Saman Haziq/Khaleej Times

Spicejet to operate new Dubai, Riyadh flights from Mumbai

Indian airline SpiceJet has announced new direct flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah from Mumbai, the commercial capital of India.

The flights from Mumbai to the Gulf destinations will start operations from the end of May this year, the airline said.

SpiceJet already operates a direct flight to Dubai from Mumbai, and the airline said it aims to enhance its operations between Mumbai and Dubai with two additional frequencies, it said.
SpiceJet will be first and only Indian budget carrier to launch daily direct flights between Mumbai and Riyadh.
The airline said it would deploy its Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft on the new routes.
15/04/19  James Mathew/Arabian Business

India’s NSCBI Airport to install in-line baggage X-ray machines

An in-line baggage screening system is scheduled to start functioning in both international and domestic terminals at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata, India.

The installation of the system is expected to be completed by the end of June this year, when various security agencies will test the system.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport director Kaushik Bhattacharya told The Telegraph: “Today we decided that the installation of the system in the international and domestic sections should be completed by June-end and the system will be ready for tests. The system will be functional by the end of August.”

Once the system becomes functional, passengers will deposit their registered luggage at the check-in portals of the respective airlines without getting it scanned by stand-alone X-ray machines.

Passengers currently have to stand in a queue to get their luggage scanned by the stand-alone machines.
15/04/19 Airport Technology

Now pay more to fly from Bengaluru! UDF revised at Kempegowda International Airport; details here

Prepare to shed extra if you are flying from Bengaluru Airport over the coming months! Based on an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) amendment, the User Development Fee (UDF) at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru (also known as KIAB or BLR Airport) has been revised. The AERA amendment was issued on 4 April 2019, following the interim relief given by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s (TDSAT) ruling of 14 March 2019. The move allowed Bengaluru Airport to collect revised charges for a limited period of four months. As per the new order, which will come into effect from 16 April 2019, the UDF for domestic departures will be revised from Rs 139 to Rs 306 and the UDF for international departures will be increased from Rs 558 to Rs 1,226.
The revised charges will be applicable for air tickets procured between the period 16 April 2019 to 15 August 2019. After this date, the UDF at Bengaluru Airport will revert to the earlier rates. The additional funds collected by this move will be used to meet the capital expenditure of the expansion projects, says BIAL. Also, it will provide BIAL (Bengaluru International Airport Limited), the required financial aid for the implementation of these projects.
According to Hari Marar, MD and CEO, BIAL, the revision of UDF would give BIAL the much need relief as the airport is in the midst of a massive expansion plan in order to cater to the growth of the aviation sector in the country. The entire expansion project is being carried out at a cost of Rs 13,000 crore. Marar further informed that as mandated by AERA, the amount collected from the incremental increase in UDF, during these four months, will be deposited in a separate bank account, which will be used only to fund the airport’s ongoing infrastructure expansion.
15/04/19 Devanjana Nag/Financial Express

Bengaluru airport hikes user fee by a massive 120% from Tuesday

Bengaluru: Flying out from the Bengaluru airport will be costlier by a massive 120 percent from Tuesday following the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Aera) allowing it to revise upwards the user development fee (UDF) for four months.
The nation's third busiest airport after New Delhi and Mumbai plans to use the additional fee to fund its expansion.
"With the Aera order coming into effect from April 16, the UDF for domestic departures will be revised to Rs 306 from Rs 139 while for international departures it will be Rs 1,226 from Rs 558 earlier," Bengaluru airport authority said in a statement on Monday.

The new charges for domestic and international travel translate into an increase of 120 per cent and 119 per cent, respectively, it added.

The revised fee is applicable for tickets procured between April 16 and August 15, it said adding the increased fee will be rolled back from August 16.

The Rs 13,000 crore second phase expansion entails construction of a new terminal, a second runway, access roads, and a multi-modal transport hub, company said, adding, these work is scheduled to be completed by March 2021.
"This incremental increase in charges will provide us with the much-needed relief as we are in the midst of a Rs 13,000-crore capacity expansion," said Hari Marar, managing director and chief executive, Bangalore International Airport Ltd.
15/04/19 PTI/Times of India

Vistara flight made an emergency landing at Jaipur International Airport

Jaipur: A Mumbai-bound Vistara flight made an emergency landing at the Jaipur International Airport Monday after an elderly passenger's health worsened mid-air, an official said. Vistara UK987 flying from New Delhi to Mumbai landed at the airport at 3.15 pm, Jaipur airport director J S Balhara said.

He said a medical team at the airport was apprised about the medical emergency to handle the situation. Raza Hussain, 70, was referred to a nearby private hospital in an ambulance with a doctor. He was accompanied by his family member. The flight had 136 passengers on board and two of them were disembarked at the airport here, including a relative of the patient. The flight departed at 4.58 pm for Mumbai, the airport director said.
15/04/19 Devdiscourse

High-rises around HAL airport under the scanner

Bengaluru: High-rise buildings close to HAL airport have come under the scanner after the HAL police received a complaint that several such structures had come up “illegally” within a 5-km radius of the airport.

A special police team from Whitefield Division has been formed to probe into the complaint by Bharath Yadav, a resident of Virgo Nagar, who said that high-rise buildings were a threat to VVIP movement and Indian Air Force flights from the airport.

Mr. Yadav told The Hindu that following the crash of a fighter jet near the airport in February in which two pilots were killed, he checked official guidelines for violations. “Guidelines state that buildings should not be more than 20 storeys. However, there are many buildings above this height. This is a gross violation of the rules,” he said.

Based on the complaint, the HAL police registered an FIR on Friday, charging unnamed builders and contractors under Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and Section 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others).

Following the FIR, the special team was formed to inspect the buildings to check for violations. Preliminary inquiry has revealed that there are violations of building bylaws, said a senior police official.
15/04/19 The Hindu

Collector's office to hit Mumbai airports urging citizens to cast vote

For the first time, the suburban collector's office, which also is the election office for the Mumbai suburbs, has decided to target the domestic and international airport to urge voters to exercise their ballot. Apart from the airports, the team also plans to cover railway stations, and bus depots in order to bring about awareness of elections and urge people to vote on April 29. Officials fear that people might take leave and go holidaying as the voting day falls in the middle of a long weekend.
The Mumbai suburban collectorate has four constituencies under it — Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai North and Mumbai North-East. Sonali Mule, deputy collector and nodal officer for Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) for Mumbai Suburban confirmed the details.
Mule said that they are targeting the airports as the idea is to increase voter turnout. "It's vacation period. The voting day falls between the fourth Saturday, Sunday, and May 1 (Maharashtra Day). There is fear that many people may go out on a vacation," said an official from the election office.
Mule, said that the collector has already spoken to various authorities including the BEST to let disseminate information on voting days on BEST buses. The authorities have asked Central Railways and Western Railways to make regular announcements regarding election phases and the dates.
"The information regarding election date will be displayed on the 188 flight schedule display boards at the international airport, urging people to vote. A private airline has already started in-flight announcements. We have received very good response from the authorities for the awareness programme," said Mule.
15/04/19 Varun Singh/DNA

Glitches in landing aid at Guindy end of runway

Chennai: Pilots preparing to land from the Guindy-end of the runway in the city airport are experiencing intermittent or weak signals from the Instrument Landing System (ILS) that aids pilots to land in case they are unable to establish visual contact on a runway. At least one aviation expert has blamed the Metro’s metal roofing at Alandur for the glitch.

"It is not a critical issue as far as safety is concerned but weak signals delay the landing process," said an airport official.

A notam (notice to airmen) has already been issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) informing pilots that there is a bend in the localiser, a machine used in the ILS, which provides information to guide planes to the runway.

Pilots look out for the runway aided by ILS signals as the plane descends towards the airport from a certain height called ‘minimum’. "We have decided to set the ‘minimum’ at 300 to 350feet instead of the usual 250feet because of the unreliable localiser. If there is no contact at that altitude, the next step is a go-around," said a pilot.

A go-around is when pilots rev up the engines and fly away instead of landing because of technical reasons. The pilot said that this becomes a problem during the rainy season when visibility is poor. The signals must be getting deflected probably because of obstacles, often by metallic objects, he added.
15/04/19 Times of India

Airport has no quarantine facility for animals

Chennai: When Customs officials at city airport rescued a one-month-old leopard cub which was smuggled from Thailand, they did not know how to protect it. With no quarantine facility at the airport, the cub had to be sent to the Vandalur zoo.
A few years ago, some space was provided by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in the air cargo complex in Meenambakkam. However, after the renovation of the complex, the quarantine facility was taken down, a senior AAI officer said.
Former regional quarantine officer (southern region) T K Sahu said, as the Chennai airport has the maximum import consignments of live animals, a quarantine facility, which is currently not available, is essential.
Airport director G Chandramouli said space is not a constraint at the cargo complex. A counter has been allocated in the cargo complex for the quarantine officials. This was only a referral counter when live animal consignments used to come occasionally. Since the number of assignments has come down, it was closed down, he said. However, the wildlife officials argued that animals that are being rescued at the airport have no place to be quarantined.
15/04/19 P Oppili/Times of India

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Calcutta Airport lacks information desk

Calcutta: 30 planes were hovering over the airport when a squall hit the city on Tuesday evening. Worried relatives of many of the passengers were desperately calling the “helpline” numbers mentioned on the airport’s website.

The relatives were eager to know the status of the storm-struck flights but the numbers were that of the airport manager’s office. Most callers were asked to call the respective airlines, sources said.

The government-run Calcutta airport — unlike privately run facilities such as the one in Mumbai — does not have a dedicated information desk.

“Several flights were hovering over the airport during the squall, unable to land because of strong winds and lightning. A couple of flights were diverted, too. Such situations trigger confusions and airport managers are flooded with calls from worried relatives of passengers. On Tuesday, there were people calling up several times to know the status of the affected flights,” an airport official said.

Though most anxious callers were asked to call up the airlines, the airline call centres do not have real-time updates when flights are disrupted because of bad weather, an official of a private airline said.

“The airport should have an information desk that will coordinate with the air traffic control,” he said.

Calcutta airport’s website contains two mobile numbers and as many landline numbers. Sources said all four numbers are of the airport manager’s office.
11/04/19  Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

IndiGo to operate from terminal 2 of Mumbai Airport: Here are the flight details

IndiGo will also be able to fly from terminal 2 of the Mumbai airport from April 15, 2019. Two of IndiGo's flight numbers - 6E 5300 and 6E 5399 - will be carrying passengers in and out from this terminal of the airport.  “We are thrilled to announce the below additional flights from Terminal 2, Mumbai starting 15 April 2019. We hope this will add more joy to this summer holiday season and entice you to travel more," the airline said on its website. It also highlighted the list of new flights that will operate from terminal 2. From Mumbai, IndiGo will carry new flights to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Nagpur, Patna, Vadodara, Varanasi and Kochi.  “All other domestic flights will continue to operate from Terminal 1 and International flights from Terminal 2, Mumbai," IndiGo said.

The airline has also benefited from the Jet Airways crisis. The latter is headed for debt restructuring plan prescribed by consortium of lenders led by SBI. Due to default in debt repayment, Jet has been grounding its flight in bulk since last year. Earlier this month Zee Business Online had reported that data compiled by ICICI Securities revealed total number of slots in summer this year is only 3% higher compared to that in 2018. While growth is mostly in line for all airlines, the big drop is led by Jet Airways.

Mumbai airport is among busiest airports in India, with two terminal points for flights to take off and land. The terminal 1 is exclusively kept for budget airlines like GoAir, IndiGo, SpiceJet and TrueJet. It has 11 terminal boarding bridges. The handling capacity is 10 million passengers per year.  On the other hand, terminal 2 is extensively used for international flights and some selective domestic flights. It has an area of 210,000 sq. meters. It has 192 check-in counters and 60 immigration counters at departure, and 14 baggage carousels and 76 immigration counters at arrival.
With extra slot in hands. IndiGo could increase in the airline’s passenger growth and market share.  Ansuman Deb analysts at ICICI Securities said, “Such a sharp fall in Jet’s capacity will likely be accompanied with some moderation of capacity by MAX operators (SJet) and gradual lease retirals of old A320ceo fleet of IndiGo and Go Air.”
11/04/19 ZeeBiz

24x7 cheer for Mohali airport

Mohali: In a big leap after getting the international airport tag four years ago, the airport became operational 24x7 from today.
This led to an increase in the number of flights from 27 to 34 at the airport today.

Deepesh Joshi, a spokesperson for the airport, said the number of flights would touch the 50 mark within two months.
He said the first flight arrived at 6.30 am today, while the arrival timing of the last flight was 8.30 pm. “Earlier, the flight operations were between 7.30 am and 6.30 pm. Today, the first flight from Delhi arrived here at 6.30 am, while the last flight arrived from Delhi at 8.30 pm,” said Joshi.

From April 30, the last flight will start coming from Bengaluru at 11.35 pm.

Now onwards, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) would remain functional 24x7, said Joshi. Earlier, the ATC timings were from 5 am to 7 pm.

The 24X7 operations are expected to bring more international flights to the airport.
11/04/19 Akash Ghai &Kaveesha Kohli/Tribune

DDB Mudra Group Bags Delhi International Airport‘s Social Media Mandate

The DDB Mudra Group recently bagged the social media mandate of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). The brand will be managed by the agency’s digital solutions arm- 22feet Tribal Worldwide and will be led by Vishal Mehra, Business Head- North, 22feet Tribal Worldwide.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is a joint venture, formed as a consortium between GMR Group, Airports Authority of India, and Fraport AG & Eraman Malaysia. In 2006, DIAL took over the management of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), New Delhi, to become India’s fastest growing airport hub. It is a Global 4-Star Airport and has been recently recognized as the ‘Best Airport in India / Central Asia 2019’ by Skytrax World Airport Awards.
11/04/19 AdAge India

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Upgradation of Jammu Airport

Jammu Airport has long been craving for the need to be upgraded though certain innovative changes have been made here and there but they appear just cosmetic in nature but widening the runway by means of an airport of bigger size to make it stand on the pedestal of modern airports is long overdue. In this connection a public interest litigation has been filed in the State High Court. The Division Bench has recently passed several directions to the State in this regard.
The State is required to provide enough land for construction of new green field airport as the Airport Authority of India is committed in this regard. Agreed ,the State cannot provide the land free of cost to the AAI , the DB has directed the State to take necessary steps expeditiously and discuss the matter with the AAI to see if sharing of cost involved could be arranged. However, it is learnt that the disbursement of compensation is already made to the owners and if there is a dispute between Government departments and Defence Estate Officer, why the same is not resolved even after 11 long years.
10/04/19 Daily Excelsior.com

Jewar Airport work to begin soon as Allahabad High Court gives go ahead

New Delhi: Work on Noida international greenfield airport commonly known as Jewar airport in Jewar, Greater Noida can officially begin now as the Allahabad airport on Monday dismissed petitions filed by the farmers. It may be noted that eight farmers had filed a petition in Allahabad High court seeking to cancel the notification for land acquisition for the airport.

In their petition, the farmers wanted the notification to be quashed on the grounds of the administration violating norms. However, the petition was dismissed by the court. The work on the airport will start after the Lok Sabha elections. UP state government on October 30 last year notified acquisition off 1,239 hectares of land for the project under Section 11 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The Prime Minister was expected to lay the foundation stone for the project in March this year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. However, the farmers moved court seeking four times the current circle rates which is why the foundation stone could not be laid down.

The cost of this airport project is estimated to be up to USD 3.1 billion. This will be the largest airport in India by surface area. The plan for the airport was approved by the Aviation Ministry on June 25, 2015, and was given in-principle government approval in June 2017. It will be implemented as a public-private partnership.
09/04/19 ETNowNews.com

Cramped airport lounge gets breathing space

Kolkata: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has chalked out a plan to increase the lounge space, which occupies barely 20% of the security hold area (SHA) at the integrated terminal, and add 100 more seats by November. With only 200 seats available and 12,000-odd flyers using the facility located at the ground level, passengers booked on flights parked in remote bays need to stand for up to an hour to board airline coaches that transport them to the aircraft.

Of the 186 domestic flights that take off from Kolkata daily, around 108 get to use aerobridges. The remaining 78 flights are parked in remote bays and have to be accessed through airline coaches.
With 14 aerobridges at the domestic wing already choc-o-bloc, the bus lounge with boarding gates 23 A, B, C, D, E and F is set to get more crowded as new flights are allotted to remote parking bays. Frequent flyers say the lounge already has more passengers than it should accommodate and brims over during morning, afternoon and evening rush hours.

“We are going in for the second phase of expansion at Kolkata airport to increase the number of aerobridges so that more passengers can board the flights directly from the terminal. But that will take at least four years. Till then, we have to do something to keep the airport’s growth momentum going. Since most of the new flights will be parked in remote parking bay and passengers will be transferred by airline coaches, the pressure on the ground floor bus lounge will increase. We are, therefore, taking some area from the arrival baggage reclaim area to not just add more seating space but also add four new gates to take the number of gates in the facility to 10 so that it can cater to more flights,” said airport director Kaushik Bhattacharjee.
11/04/19 Subhro Niyogi, Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India