Showing posts with label Airports Apr 2021. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Apr 2021. Show all posts

Friday, April 30, 2021

IndiGo Extends Suspension Of Flights From Shillong Till May 15 Amid Covid

Shillong: Private carrier IndiGo has extended the suspension of its flight operations from the Shillong airport till May 15, an official said today.

The airline had earlier announced that it would suspend its operations from Shillong for eight days starting from April 23, he said.

"It is hereby informed that M/s Indigo Airlines @IndiGo6E has extended suspension of their #Shillong operations up to 15th May 2021," the airport authority here said on Twitter.

The reason for the extension of the suspension of operations by the airline was not cited but sources in the Shillong Airport authority said the decision was taken in view of the COVID-19 situation.

The authority also urged passengers to contact the airline for any query on the rescheduling of flights or refund for tickets.

IndiGo operates flights to Kolkata, Silchar and Agartala from Shillong.

30/04/21 PTI/NDTV


Hyderabad airport staff to act as special police officers to enforce Covid-19 protocols

Hyderabad: Beginning May 1, staff members of Hyderabad airport will act as special police officers (SPO) to enforce Covid-19 safety rules till July 31, 2021.

These trained SPOs will have powers to fine (e-challan) passengers, visitors and staff violating safety rules within the airport premises.

In view of the shortage of manpower in the police department in the face of challenges amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, director-general of police Telangana state Mahendar Reddy has authorised GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) officials to enforce the government orders to make sure passengers comply by wearing a mask at the airport at all times.

30/04/21 Preeti BiswasTimes of India


Madurai Airport to revert to regular operations

Madurai: A day after suspending airport operations in the morning hours on Friday, Madurai Airport will revert to regular operations between 7 a.m. and 10.30 p.m. from Saturday.

The authorities had to cancel the morning operations between 7 a.m. and 12 noon after 10 out of 15 technical staff of the airport had tested positive in the last one week.

However, the Airport Authorities of India, Regional Headquarters, Chennai, has deputed technical staff from other neighbouring airports — Tiruchi and Chennai — to augment the strength of technical staff in Madurai.

“We will resume our regular operation from Saturday,” said Madurai Airport Director, S. Senthil Valavan.

30/04/21 The Hindu


Thursday, April 29, 2021

Airfare for Delhi-Dubai flights start from Dh404 as airlines re-open bookings

Dubai: First, the good news - UAE’s ban on flights from India is about to come to an end next week and it looks like airlines have already re-opened the bookings. That’s not the only good favourable outcome – fares have come down to normal levels after shooting as high as Dh32,000.

A one-way flight from New Delhi to Dubai on Emirates will cost around Dh1,785 after the resumption of normal services. Air India is the cheapest at around Dh404, while Vistara is charging about Dh514.

To get a seat on Emirates to travel from Mumbai to Dubai, passengers have to shell out a little over Dh900. Budget carrier Indigo will cost Dh723. At Dh399 a seat, Air India Express is the cheapest option. The least costly flight from Kochi is going for around Dh415, but some airlines are seen quoting Dh700 and above.

The ban on Indian flights further pushed back prospects of an international air travel recovery. International air travel was down nearly 90 per cent as of February, compared to 2019 levels. However, there was a rebound in March (this was before suspension of services to and from India imposed by several countries), said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

“With new cases of the virus, we've actually seen a deterioration in key parts of the world, particularly in Europe, but also Latin America,” said Brian Pearce, IATA’s Chief Economist, during a virtual event on Tuesday.

“We've got India, where we've seen the new variants of the virus prove resistant to the control measures that had earlier been bringing cases down.”

Jordan has become the latest country to suspend passenger flights from India. The move bans the entry of travellers from India who have not spent at least two weeks outside the South Asian country.

29/04/21 Gulf News

Ventilators, other equipment worth Rs 4.18 crore cleared on priority at Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: Medical equipment — 74 high-end ventilators worth Rs 3.6 crore from Ireland and the US as well as 218 respiratory devices from Czech Republic worth Rs 58 lakh — reached the Kempegowda International Airport here on Wednesday and was cleared by Bangalore Customs within four hours.

Only 12% IGST was collected for the equipment after exemption of customs duty and health cess.

According to sources with the Cargo Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Customs, 66 high-end ventilators from Ireland and eight from the United States were received.

The ventilator consignments imported by private players were accorded top priority and were cleared by 6pm after exemption of customs duty and health cess as per the Indian government order.

29/04/21 Petlee Peter/Times of India

Tamil Nadu: Flights to metros cancelled, but small towns connected

Chennai: Flights to small towns are more popular than those to other metros from Chennai airport now. Services on major trunk routes — to Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi — have been cut because of poor patronage.

Fewer people are flying to these cities because of an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases and lockdown restrictions.

However, the airport has direct flights to Jodhpur, Andal in Bengal, Ranchi, Hubli, Lucknow and Varanasi. The demand for these flights continues to be high because trains are fewer and slow.

The air fare is in the range of 5,000 to 7,400 to many of these destinations in the north for travel this weekend and on weekdays next week, hinting that demand is high. Since the routes have only one or two flights a day, the airlines also get full load.

In contrast, airfare to Mumbai is less than 4,000 and to Bengaluru is at 2,700.

An airport official said there are passengers to small towns. "The airlines have not withdrawn flights to small towns in the north because people who need to travel on emergency prefer going by air. But that is not the case on metro routes. The number of passengers to Bengaluru fell after Karnataka announced shutdown," he added.

The number of flights to Bengaluru has been reduced from 10 to five while flights to Mumbai have come down from 10 to eight a day.

Sixty-seater aircraft are being used to fly to some of the smaller towns, which keeps the cost down and landing and parking fee are either low or have been waived to encourage connectivity.

29/04/21 Times of India


Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Help desk set up at LGBI Airport for Arunachal passengers

Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh government has set up a Help Deskcum-Covid-19 Facilitation Center at the Arunachal Tourist Information Counter in Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport in Guwahati for assisting Arunachali passengers travelling by air.

The eight-member help desk will help the air passengers of the state maintaining coordination with Covid-19 duty officials of the Assam government at the airport. They will make necessary arrangements for ambulance/transport on payment basis for state's Covid-19 patient for further transportation Covid care facilities/hospitals in Guwahati/to native district of the patient in Arunachal as per requirement and in accordance with the Covid-19 protocol of the Assam government.

27/04/21 UNI


11 flights cancelled on 5 sectors on April 25 at Nagpur airport

A large number of flights are being cancelled daily by airlines citing operational reasons at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport. On Sunday (April 25), two domestic airlines Indigo and Go Air had cancelled 11 flights on 5 sectors namely Ngp-Goa, Ngp-Bangaluru, Ngp-Kolkata, Ngp-Pune and Ngp-Chennai. On an daily average about 8 to 10 flights on different routes are being cancelled by the major airlines, said top officials of MIHAN India Limited (MIL).

 After imposition of second wave lockdowns and quarantine rules due to the surge of COVID-19 cases the number of flight cancellations has escalated at Nagpur airport. People are in a state of panic and temporarily avoiding air travel due to the rise of COVID cases, said sources in the market.

27/04/21 Hitavada

Covid surge forces cancellation of flights from Ranchi

Ranchi: The unprecedented surge of Covid-19 cases in Jharkhand is impacting air services with many flights connecting to big cities and metros from Ranchi’s Birsa Munda international airport getting cancelled because of low occupancy.

On Monday, at least four morning flights to Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi were suspended as there were no passengers. Two days ago, an Air India flight to Delhi reportedly flew back with no passengers because of the lockdown in the national capital.

Talking to TOI, Birsa Munda airport director Vinod Kumar Sharma said, “We got information that four flights -- two of Go Air to Bangalore and Delhi, one Air Asia flight to Delhi and Indigo’s flight to Kolkata -- had to be cancelled today. We don’t know the exact reason why the airlines have cancelled the flights in the morning, but understandably, the reasons are related to the pandemic and the surge in cases, which impacted the occupancy."

He also said of the 40-42 to and fro flights operating from the city, about 10 of them are cancelled. “On an average, 30-32 to and fro flights are currently operational. With the lockdown announced in Bangalore and places like Delhi and Mumbai battling the massive number of Covid cases, we anticipate a further dip in the number of outbound passengers. It’s only natural,” Sharma said.

27/04/21 ASRP Mukesh/Times of India

Ninety-nine ventilators arrive at Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: Ninety-nine ventilators from Singapore and Sweden have arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in the past three days. Customs officers cleared them on priority as hospitals desperately need the machines for Covid-19 patients.

The central government has exempted medical products imported for the Covid-19 fight from 7.5 per cent customs duty and 3 per cent health cess. According to a customs officer at KIA’s cargo wing, a consignment of 54 high-end ventilators worth Rs 3 crore arrived in Bengaluru from Singapore on Saturday. The consignment, imported by a private company, was cleared within 24 hours.

27/04/21 Times of India


Monday, April 26, 2021

‘Union cabinet nod needed to upgrade airport status ‘

Madurai: The Centre on Monday informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that approval from the Union Cabinet was required in order to upgrade or notify the status of the Madurai airport as an international airport.

A Division Bench of Justices T.S. Sivagnanam and S. Ananthi directed the Centre to submit a counter affidavit in the case. The court was hearing the public interest litigation petition filed by A. Satheesh Kumar, president of the Forum of Tour Organisers, Madurai.

Assistant Solicitor General L. Victoria Gowri also informed the court that there were other necessary parameters that had to be looked into, including infrastructure facilities, in order to notify an airport as an international airport.

In his PIL petition, Mr. Satheesh Kumar said that Madurai and other southern districts in the State were dependent on the airport in Madurai. Till 2012, it remained a domestic airport and then was declared a customs airport with limited international operations.

The petitioner said that the facilities at Madurai airport matched or were superior to those at some international airports in the country. But the airport was yet to be notified as an international airport. The case was adjourned for the filing of the counter affidavit.

26/04/21 The Hindu


AAI mulls to waive off charges for airlines carrying oxygen

Chennai: Following in the footsteps of the shipping ministry, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is also mulling a proposal to waive off charges for airlines carrying oxygen and oxygen-related equipment cargo, according to highly placed officials.

Most of the oxygen and oxygen-related equipment cargo-related cargo are likely to come by air. The waiver of terminal storage and processing charges could be around ?3.50 per kg plus GST of 18 per cent, they said.

After the shipping ministry announced the waiver, the air industry also wants a similar waiver.

Officials said that the process for paperwork has been started by AAI, and an announcement is expected any time now.

With oxygen in huge demand to treat Covid-19 patients, on April 24, the Finance Ministry exempted a range of goods, including oxygen concentrators such as flow meter, regulator, connectors and tubings; medical oxygen and oxygen generators from Customs duty.

A day later, the shipping ministry directed all major ports, including the Kamarajar Port Ltd, to waive-off all charges levied by major ports. This includes vessel-related charges and storage charges and accord highest priority in berthing sequence to the vessels carrying consignments like medical grade oxygen; oxygen tanks; oxygen bottles for three months or until further orders.

Industry associations like The Air Cargo Agents Association of India and industry chambers like the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry too wanted a similar waiver for speedy clearance of oxygen-related consignments, officials said.

26/04/21 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Give Raipur Airport Int’l status: Baghel

Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to upgrade the Swami Vivekananda Airport here as an international airport.

Demanding a cargo hub also, the Chief Minister said in a letter that this would enhance the growth potential of the state.

He said that despite a global recession due to Covid-19, Chhattisgarh has been among the fastest growing states in the country.

On the industrial front, after showing an outstanding performance, it is poised for better projections.

Baghel stated that only after a few years of the commissioning of new terminal at the Swami Vivekanand Airport in 2012, it was judged the Best Airport in the non-metro category twice.

"We strongly believe that the upgrading of Raipur airport to international status and availability of a Cargo Hub will provide further fillip to the growth potential of the state. It will allow us to better leverage the central location of the state."

25/04/21 Pioneer

Mumbai: Airport staff, though essential, barred from local trains

Mumbai: The state government has not included airport workers in its latest list of ‘essential services staff’ who can travel by suburban local trains.

From Thursday, hundreds of employees working at Mumbai airport for private airlines, airport operator and ground handling companies have been forced to rely on road transport for daily commute.

“The staff keep the airport running, and they fall under essential services. They have the central government’s ‘airport entry pass’ to enter the airport for jobs like aircraft-fuelling, cleaning and baggage loading, and without them no flights will operate from Mumbai airport,’’ said an airport staffer.

“Many reside in far-off places like Thane, Kalyan, Karjat, Kasara, Panvel, Pen, Vasai, Virar, Palghar and Dahanu. Since Thursday, they are not being allowed to enter railway stations. But Air India staff have been permitted to travel by local trains,’’ he added.

25/04/21 Manju V/Times of India

Saturday, April 24, 2021

Covid-19 delays Agartala airport terminal work

Agartala: The second wave of Covid-19 has hit the ongoing work of the new terminal of Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport here, delaying the formal operations in the new building at least for another three months, Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials said on Friday.

According to reports, infrastructure development work of the airport is almost complete. But since a large number of staff and workers got infected with coronavirus, authorities had to suspend the work. Moreover, it is assumed that the statutory inspection and auditing of the infrastructure after completion would be delayed due to the Covid situation.

“Last year, the work was delayed for six months due to Covid but even then the target was to make the new terminal operational by this month. The new variant of Covid-19 has infected a large number workers in the past 24 hours and as a result, we had to stop the work and send the infected persons for treatment and others for isolation,” said a senior official of AAI, adding that even if everything goes well at least for the next one month, work cannot start in full swing.

“Nobody knows the situation of the country in the next two months. The repeated rescheduling of works has increased the cost and slapped financial burden on us. We cannot blame anybody for the situation but only can wish for fast improvement of the situation,” the officer said.

He pointed out that MP Pratima Bhoumik has opened a most modern apron in the new terminal built at the cost of Rs 48 Cr. The apron has included pushback bays for parking for six Airbus 321-category aircraft with four aerobridges. Apart from that, all other auxiliary service facilities and customer amenities have already been put in place in the newly built terminal.

The AAI has installed two megawatt capacity solar power plants for energy requirements of the newly built terminal. The initial energy assessment of the new terminal was estimated little more than two megawatt daily for illumination, cooling, water supply and other electrical device operations at the airport.

24/04/21 Biswendu Bhattacharjee/Times of India

Friday, April 23, 2021

Double mutant strain detected in patients who tested COVID positive at Dibrugarh airport

Guwahati: The double mutant strain has been detected in some passengers who tested COVID-19 positive at Assam's Dibrugarh airport, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday.

Recent samples of passengers taken at the airport are "positive for B.1.617 strain or the Indian double mutant (L452R and E484Q) strain of SARS-COV-2," he tweeted.

The strain spreads "very fast and is extremely dangerous. I appeal to people to be very careful as there is no alternative to caution", Sarma told reporters after attending an all-party meeting called by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

"In India, the UK and Californian strains have combined to form the double mutant strain and its birthplace is Maharashtra, from where it is spreading to other states," he said.

There are speculations in certain sections that vaccines might not work in positive cases with these strains, but these are to be verified, Sarma said.

Earlier, the minister had claimed that the UK mutant strain has also been found in Assam.

Meanwhile, the state government issued another SOP, stating that in districts with over 100 active cases, coaching institutes will function with 50 per cent capacity, while pregnant teaching/non-teaching staff and those with children below five years shall be exempted from attending schools and coaching institutes.

Assam has reported 2,29,138 positive cases and 1,150 deaths so far.

23/04/21 PTI/New Indian Express

Chandigarh airport donates 5 ambulances to government hospitals

Mohali: Under its corporate social responsibility activity, Chandigarh International Airport has handed over five fully equipped ambulances worth about Rs65 lakh to government hospitals in Punjab and Haryana.

The airport spokesperson said five ambulances include three Force Trax Cruisers and two Force Travellers. These ambulances had been donated to government hospitals in Moga, Mohali, Ferozpur in Punjab, Nuh (Mewat) and Ambala in Haryana.

He said more than 200 people were vaccinated during a two-day vaccination camp organised at the airport on April 20 and 21 with the help of the District Health Department, Mohali. 

22/04/21 Tribune


Sikkim: Pakyong Airport starts RAT, positive cases in for paid quarantine

Gangtok:If a tourist tests positive in the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at Sikkim’s Pakyong Airport, they will need to proceed for paid quarantine at the Railway Guest House in Gangtok.

While a valid RT-PCR negative report has been a necessity for tourists visiting Sikkim since April 17, the government made mandatory testing facilities only at the Rangpo and Melli check-points into the state.

This left Pakyong Airport as a vulnerable entry point into the state, allowing passengers to cheat and enter Sikkim without following the mandatory COVID protocols.

Until April 19, 487 passengers entered Sikkim through the Pakyong Airport without RAT testing or screening for valid RT-PCR negative report. While many of the passengers were locals, there were also several domestic and foreign tourists who entered without a valid RT-PCR negative report, officials told EastMojo.

Concerns over this laxity among airport staff finally led to Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials to reach out to the Tourism Department of Sikkim, requesting to make RAT testing mandatory at the Pakyong Airport. The Pakyong Primary Health Centre, led by Chief Medical Officer (East), then initiated RAT testing for passengers without valid RT-PCR negative reports from Tuesday, April 20.

23/04/21 Pankaj Dhungel/EastMojo

AAI top official & ex-chairman Anuj Aggarwal succumbs to Covid

New Delhi: Airports Authority of India (AAI) member (HR) Anuj Aggarwal succumbed to Covid on Thursday. AAI’s senior most board member since December 2014, he was its officiating chairman twice for a few months in 2019 and this year.

Aggarwal put in over 32 years aviation sector in various capacities like regional executive director (northern region) and airport director of three major international airports of Goa, Jaipur and Ahmedabad.”

Aggarwal was a man of action, a leader par excellence who rose through the ranks at AAI and has left an indelible mark in the minds of all the people he had met. He will be missed dearly,” AAI said in a statement.

A number of senior officials from the aviation ministry, AAI, DGCA and other agencies are battling Covid.

22/04/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Thursday, April 22, 2021

IndiGo to temporarily suspend flights on Kolkata-Shillong route from Apr 23

Shillong: Private carrier IndiGo will suspend its daily flights between Kolkata and Shillong for eight days, starting from Friday, airport officials said.

The reason for the suspension of operations by the airline was not cited but sources in the Shillong Airport authority on Thursday said the decision was taken in view of the COVID-19 situation.

"All passengers are hereby informed that M/s Indigo Airlines @IndiGo6E has suspended their #Shillong operations from 23rd April to 30th April 2021," the airport authority here said on Twitter.

The authority also urged passengers to contact the airline for any query on the rescheduling of flights or refund for the tickets.

IndiGo officials could not be reached for comments on the suspension.

22/04/21 PTI/Outlook

300 air passengers skip Covid-19 test at Silchar airport

Around 300 air passengers fled from Assam’s Silchar airport on Wednesday without taking the mandatory Covid-19 test. According to district officials, strict actions will be taken against the air passengers to set example for others regarding Covid-19 containment protocols. 

The district administration has decided to lodge FIRs (first information reports) against all of them who skipped the mandatory Covid-19 testing under Section 180 of IPC and the disaster management act. 

The RT-PCR test for air passengers of Silchar airport is being conducted at nearby Tikol model hospital. Additional deputy commissioner of Cachar district Sumit Sattavan said that the passengers are taken to the hospital by buses run by the local administration. He also mentioned that tracing the passengers will be easy as they have submitted their contact details. 

The state has reported 1,665 cases in the last 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 2.68 per cent. 

22/04/21 India TV

American Airlines to start JFK-Delhi nonstop from October 31, Bengaluru-Seattle this winter

New Delhi: American Airlines (AA) — the only US major not to have a presence in the India market — will start a nonstop on New York (JFK)-Delhi route from October 31. The airline had earlier announced Bengaluru-Seattle which was to be launched last winter and had to be deferred due to the pandemic by a year. To be sure, these plans depend on how the pandemic situation pans out in the coming months.

“Beginning October 31, American will launch nonstop service from New York (JFK) to New Delhi on a Boeing 777-200 to meet the strong local demand. With its Qatar Airways partnership and previously announced Seattle to Bengaluru, American will offer customers more ways to fly between the US and India… Flights to Delhi will connect customers to India’s capital three times per week, and then daily during the holiday peak from November 17 to January 3,” AA said in a statement.

American’s chief revenue officer Vasu Raja said: “Our global partnerships are designed to grow our network to benefit our customers, team members, and investors. Since the inception of our partnership with JetBlue, we have committed to offering customers more flights, more destinations and a better experience when traveling.”

22/04/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

India’s first AI based Covid testing facility comes up at IGI Airport

New Delhi: India’s first Artificial Intelligence-enabled Covid-19 testing facility for international passengers has commenced operations at Terminal 3 of the IGI Airport here.

The facility under the Garuda brand name is owned by AI company Thalamus Irwine.

According to the company, the facility is run by an AI-system using computer vision technology and a paper-free backend for processing mass volumes of international passengers.

Presently, destination countries require an ‘Antigen Test’ negative report to allow the passengers inside their jurisdictions.

Industry players such as Lufthansa, KLM and Air France, among others, have had success using the facility.

After the test, passengers get their results in 10-15 minutes on their on mobile phones.

As per the company, the passengers of an entire international flight can be tested within a couple of minutes by using the ‘scalable node architecture’, ‘complete digital systems for patient entry’, ‘AI driven process improvement’ and ‘SoP management’.

Besides, IGI Airport’s HOI app allows for seamless management of patient flow to the facility.

20/04/21 IANS/Telangana Today

Passenger arrivals dip after Covid-19 tests get stricter at northeast airports

Guwahati: Stricter screening to save the northeastern states from a fresh Covid-19 surge has cut down on the number of air passengers coming to the region, whose numbers were higher than those exiting from the region.

Officials at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that a reversing trend has been noticed since April 14 at northeast airports and Guwahati airport in particular, which records the maximum footfall in the region.

As per figures furnished by AAI sources, 10,010 passengers arrived in the northeast on April 14, against 10,825 passengers exiting from various NE airports.

But since then, the gap between the arriving and departing passengers has been growing.

On April 15, the number of passengers arriving in NE further declined further to 8,640. The number of departing passengers also dipped but it was higher at 9,416.

The very next day (April 16), the number of arriving travellers stood at 9,066, whereas 10,233 departed.

The corresponding figures of arriving and departing passengers respectively on April 17 were 9,600 and 11,111, while the same on April 18 were 10,131 and 11,124.

On April 19, however, the gap reduced with 9,412 arriving and 9,623 departing passengers. AAI officials said that the trend will be significant for the next few days in the wake of stricter Covid guidelines being implemented outside of the northeast.

“The trend since April 14 is important because the number of arriving passengers has been lower than the departing passengers as this is unusual for the northeast. The gap is significant if we see the trend at Guwahati airport where the number of arriving passengers daily has gone down between 1,000-1,500, if compared to the number of departing passengers,” an AAI official told TOI on Tuesday.

“The number of incoming passengers may go up if the Covid situation does not improve in the country and the people of the northeast staying outside the region decide to return home in big numbers,” he added.

Data shows that from April 13 itself, arrival declined noticeably at Guwahati airport, as compared to departure.

20/04/21 Kangkan Kalita/Times of India

Flying out of Bengaluru? Here is a look at quarantine rules

Air passengers arriving and departing from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here are often at their wit’s end, figuring out Covid-19 mandated rules in Karnataka and the states they are heading to.

Here is a look at the rules (updated until April 16) on negative RT-PCR certificates, home quarantine and other requirements here and in other states, as indicated by an Air India circular.  

For travellers arriving in Karnataka, the government circulars issued on February 20 and March 22, 2021, stand: A negative RT-PCR report — not older than 72 hours — is mandatory for passengers arriving from Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra and Kerala.

The negative report will be verified by the airline staff at the time of boarding. However, children below two years are exempted from this rule.

In the case of an emergency such as death in the family or medical treatment, a 72-hour gap may not be possible.

On arrival, the swab of such passengers will be collected, and once the RT-PCR test report is available, further action will be taken as per the state protocol. Air India recently released a list of rules in all the states and union territories, updated until April 16.

However, since rules are likely to be updated frequently, the airline said it was passengers’ sole responsibility to ensure his or her eligibility to comply with the entry regulations of the respective state governments.

Those heading from Bengaluru and other Karnataka airports to the following states will have to carry a negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours at the time of landing: Assam, Nagaland, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Manipur and Meghalaya. For those without the report, Meghalaya insists on a test to be done at its airport. It would be chargeable.

The negative report was also mandated by the Andaman and Ladakh governments, but the test needs to be taken only 48 hours prior to the arrival time.

Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram have a stricter rule, with the test to be done 96 hours before landing at their airports. 

21/04/21 Rasheed Kappan/Deccan Herald

Horti dept notifies to avail Air Cargo Service in Dimapur Airport

Dimapur: The Department of Horticulture, Government of Nagaland has notified Naga entrepreneurs and traders to avail the Air Cargo facility at Dimapur Airport which was officially flagged off by Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio on March 2. 

Launching of Air Cargo Service in Dimapur Airport was the outcome of the persistent efforts put forward for more than a year by the officials of Airport Authority of India, Dimapur along with the Department of Horticulture, GoN it stated in a press release. 

As on March 31, a total of 4810 kg of perishable commodities have been dispatched through Air Cargo from Dimapur Airport. Both Air India and Indigo Airlines have agreed to carry 2000 kg each per day as cargo from Dimapur Airport to different destinations within the Country.

20/04/21 Morung Express

Number of incoming flyers up by 36%, outgoing down by 63% at Patna airport

Patna: With the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in Bihar, the number of flyers to other cities from Patna has dipped by 63% in the last two weeks. But the number of passengers flying to Patna has increased by 36.7%.

As per the data shared by Airports Authority of India-Patna, the city airport had 9,133 footfalls on Monday, of which 6,777 arrived and 2,356 departed to other states. Almost two weeks ago on April 5, 11,762 passengers travelled to and from Patna airport, including 6,451 departures and 5,311 arrivals.

Patna airport also witnessed a slight 12-15% decline in daily passenger footfall, which is around 9,000-10,000, as against 12,000-13,000 about a fortnight ago. The number of flights has also come down to 43 on Monday against 47 a couple of weeks ago.

Occupancy of seats has come down from earlier 90% to less than 45-50% in outgoing flights while incoming flights were almost full. The executives of different airlines claimed that only migrants are returning home amid lockdown and restrictions in different states, while business travelling has hit the bottom.

An IndiGo’s executive at Patna airport told this newspaper that people having some urgent work only were moving out of the city because of which the occupancy in outgoing flights has dropped by 50%. “People are more conscious and travelling only if it is necessary. No business travel and tours have taken place in the last one week. Only migrants who work in other states are returning to Bihar,” he said and added that the airline has temporarily withdrawn three flights owing to decline in passenger footfall.

21/04/21 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Footfall at Jaipur airport goes down

Jaipur: Ever since Covid-19 cases have risen in the state and curfew imposed, the Jaipur International Airport has seen a decrease in footfall, especially between Friday and Tuesday. On an average 5,000 passengers are arriving as well as departing from here with around 5-6 flights getting cancelled daily. The footfall had touched approximately 9,000 passengers last month.

On Friday, a total of 31 flights arrived at the airport in which there were 2,736 passengers while 30 flights departed the same day plying 1,772 passengers. Similarly, the total number of flights which arrived and departed on April 17 which was the first day of the weekend curfew was 62 plying 5,437 passengers. This number of passengers increased only marginally on the second day of the weekend curfew with a combined figure of 5,788 passengers arriving and departing from the airport. On Monday the passengers decreased to 4,796 which came down to 3,310 passengers on Tuesday.

J S Balhara, director, Jaipur International Airport, talking about the trend said, “In the first quarter of the year we had touched approximately 9,000 passengers which has now decreased owing to the Covid situation. Now most of the travellers are those who are probably residents of the state. There are few tourists, especially since curfew is in place.”

21/04/21 Times of India

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Kolkata airport opens RT-PCR swab collection facility for flyers

Kolkata: An RT-PCR swab collection facility that will provide the test results to the departing and arriving passengers within eight hours has been introduced at Kolkata airport. However, an onsite laboratory to carry out Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test that was to become operational at the airport last month is still awaiting statutory approvals.

Speaking to TOI, Kolkata airport director Kaushik Bhattacharjee said passengers travelling to states that require RT-PCR from passengers on arrival could come to the airport early, get themselves tested and wait for the report in the lounge or return home and come back and collect the report before taking the flight.

At present, travel to Port Blair, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Lucknow requires an RT-PCR test. For Port Blair, the test has to be done within 48 hours prior to departure while for the rest, it has to be done within 72 hours before leaving.

The facility provided by Suraksha Diagnostics is available only on a single shift between 10 am and 6pm. "We will extend the timing if the response is good," an official said. While the swab samples are being collected at the airport, the tests are being carried out at a centralised unit in New Town.

A state-of-the-art medical laboratory that has also been set up at the airport is still awaiting clearances. Once functional, it will offer three types of Covid tests: Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), TrueNat and Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).

"The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) has given its nod. It now requires the clearance of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation And Transparency) Act, 2017," an official explained.

20/04/21 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

Routine flight ops to resume from Tuesday at Jammu Airport

Jammu: The routine flight operations, which were suspended in view of runway expansions and other allied works, will resume from Tuesday at Jammu Airport. Airport official said that routine flight operations will resume as per earlier watch hours from April 20, unlike restricted flights for the last more than one month in view of runway resurfacing and other allied works, which have been completed. 
 "With effect from April 20, the Jammu Airport will be available for routine operations with last flight departure at 1620 hrs as flight schedule in this regard was issued today by the Airport Authority," Director Jammu Airport, P R Beuria said. 
 He added that from Tuesday, 25 flights of different airlines will land and take off every day with the arrival of the first flight at 0735 hours from Delhi and the last flight depart to Srinagar at 1620 hours.
19/04/21 UNI

Rajkot airport gets nod for air cargo service

Rajkot: In a major boost to trade and industry in Saurashtra region, Rajkot airport has got the nod to start air cargo service there on Monday. According to the Airport Authority of India (AAI), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has approved the application of AAI Rajkot to start cargo service. The passenger aircraft that don’t get sufficient passengers can fill the income gap by handling cargo.

Digant Borah, Rajkot airport director said, “Two airlines are ready to start air cargo service and third airline operating from Rajkot has also shown interest. This is going to boost trade and industry in the Saurashtra region.”

About 10 passenger flights currently operate from Rajkot airport. The destinations of these flights include Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangaluru. These passenger aircraft have permission to carry limited cargo. But if the number of passengers are less, the carrier is allowed to can carry more cargo to compensate for loss of income for lack of passengers.

Saurashtra is home of several key industries like Rajkot’s imitation jewellery and gold jewellery making, Morbi’s ceramic industry and brass industry of Jamnagar. The traders and manufacturers can now send samples to the customers using air cargo service. The courier services operators can also use the cargo service for faster delivery. According to sources, the airlines which started operation recently from Rajkot airport had surveyed about the cargo service and found a potential market in Saurashtra region.

20/04/21 Times of India

Goa flights cancelled as states impose curbs

Panaji:  With Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and several other states imposing lockdowns and night curfews, airlines have begun to feel the impact. According to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), 33 flights to Goa were cancelled on Sunday and at last count, 38 were cancelled on Monday.The restrictions imposed by several states has prompted many travellers, particularly families, to cancel their travel. Goa airport director Gagan Malik expects airlines to cut down the number of flights from metros to Goa in the coming days.

“On Sunday, 33 flights to the state were cancelled and the passenger inflow was 3,000 instead of 11,000 passengers that we receive on a weekend. On weekdays, at least 9,000 passengers arrive in Goa each day,” said Malik.

Sources in the airline industry said that most of the flights to Goa were from metros where the number of Covid-19 cases have surged. Even though the government has not put any restrictions on flights, many such fliers were hesitant to take flights at night in places where night curfews have been imposed.

The reduction in arrivals may provide the state government with some breathing space as it was under tremendous pressure to restrict the entry of tourists. “With so many states imposing curfews and flights being cancelled, there is nothing left for Goa to do,” said a government officer.

20/04/21 Newton Sequeira/Times of India

Sunday, April 18, 2021

E-pass must, but who’s checking?

Chennai: Officials quickly put in restrictions to curb the rapid spread of Covid-19, but on the ground level, rules are not properly enforced.

Though passengers arriving from other states are asked to quarantine, there is no mechanism to ensure that they stay indoors. No followup calls are made.

While government staff carry out temperature checks at the airport and at the major railway stations, they don’t check for e-passes. “No one asked for the e-pass. I did not get any calls from local authorities about quarantine. There is no point in making people go through the exercise of applying for an e-pass if it is not going to be checked,” said Lakshmi Subramanian, who arrived from Mumbai on Friday. An airline official said there is no instruction to check the e-pass of arriving passengers.

18/04/21 Times of India

Covid surge: CISF restricts leave for personnel at Delhi Airport to avoid getting infected during travel

New Delhi: Amid the unprecedented Covid surge, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has come out with new precautionary measures for its personnel deployed at Delhi Airport.

The leave of personnel has been restricted to avoid their getting infected during travel and those joining duty after a leave will be kept in quarantine and then tested before being allowed to resume work.

“We have created more isolation facilities in view of the surge. Except for urgent need, leave has been restricted so that personnel don't get infected while travelling. Those coming from leave to resume duties, will be isolated for 5-6 days and then undergo RT-PCR test (before being allowed to resume duty at the airport),” said a senior official.

18/04/21 Times of India

Normal flight operations at Jammu airport to resume from Tuesday

Jammu: Normal flight movement would resume at Jammu Airport from Tuesday after it witnessed restricted seven-hour operations daily since March 20 owing to resurfacing work of the runway being done by the Indian Air Force (IAF), officials said on Sunday.

Jammu Airport Director Pravat Ranjan Beuria issued a fresh flight schedule effective from April 20, marking the resumption of normal flight operations to and from the airport.

According to the schedule, 25 flights of different airlines would operate from various destinations.

"The airport will be available for operations under earlier normal watch hours with effect from April 20. The first flight from Delhi is expected to land at the airport at 7.35 am and the last flight to depart for Srinagar at 4.20 pm," Beuria told PTI.

However, night landing at the airport would take some more time, he said.

"The IAF is doing base work for runway lights to be fitted by the Airports Authority of India," he said.

Earlier, the IAF had proposed complete closure of the airport for 15 days from March 6 for laying of the final two top DAC-II layers on the runway surface.

18/04/21 PTI/Outlook

Bhopal: Bi-weekly AI flight to connect Khajuraho to Delhi, Varanasi

Bhopal: Air India will start operating a bi-weekly (Thursdays and Sundays) flight to connect Khajuraho with Delhi and Varanasi, says Sheo Shekhar Shukla. This will enable tourists from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site, Khajuraho Temple Complex, in the state, he adds.

Principal secretary, culture, and managing director of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board Shukla made the above statements on ‘Khajuraho—Temples of Architectural Splendour’ at a webinar themed on ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ on Saturday.

He further said that, in addition, the Jhansi-Khajuraho National Highway was being widened by the NHAI. That would provide better road connectivity to Khajuraho.

Shukla said that the Madhya Pradesh government was making every effort to make Khajuraho readily accessible to tourists and provide all facilities to them. He said that a ‘Heritage Circuit’ is being developed for tourists who chose to drive from Jhansi to Khajuraho by road. On the way, they would be able to visit the temples of Orchha and the fort and museum at Dhubela, the city of Raja Chhatrasal. He said that eco tourism, a heritage trail, village stay, adventure tourism, ‘Buffer Mein Safar’ and a night safari were being planned by the government for promoting tourism in the state.

17/04/21 FreePressJournal

Saturday, April 17, 2021

India-UAE one of the top busiest international routes in the world

Mumbai: New Delhi-Dubai and Mumbai-Dubai are currently the third and eight busiest international routes in the world respectively, according to traffic data for the month of April released by UK aviation data company OAG.

India-UAE country pair has been the second busiest international route in the world from January, but in April it’s likely to have taken the top slot, what with 2.6 lakh seats in total to be flown by airlines between these two Indian cities and Dubai. April's busiest international route, Orlando-San Juan (Puerto Rico) on the other hand has 1.6 lakh seats and there are no other routes between US cities and Puerto Rico in the top ten list.

The second busiest route is from Moscow Domodedovo airport to Simferopol in Ukraine with 1.56 lakh seats, showed OAG data. Dubai is the only destination in the top ten global list to feature thrice; Cairo-Dubai is the seventh busiest route.

The rankings aren’t an indicator of demand for travel on these routes. What they do point to is the extent of government restrictions certain routes are under due to the pandemic. Like for instance: pre-pandemic Mumbai-Delhi was the third busiest domestic route in the world after South Korea’s Jeju-Seoul Gimpo and Australia’s Melbourne-Sydney routes.

17/04/21 Manu V/Times of India


Civilian airport at Ambala Cantt: Ministry calls stakeholders’ meeting on April 28

Chandigarh: The defence ministry has finally called a meeting of all stakeholders to decide on establishing of civilian airport in Ambala Cantonment. There is a proposal to use the existing runway of local air force station in Ambala for civilian flights and a separate enclave for commercial operations at the airbase on land adjoining it. A meeting headed by the defence secretary to discuss the issue would be held on April 28.

A communication issued by the ministry on Thursday, has asked the airforce, Airport Authority of India (AAI), civil aviation department, Haryana, and the Ambala district administration “to depute officers well conversant with the issue to attend the meeting”. An intimation regarding the meeting has also been sent to state home minister Anil Vij.

Sources confirmed that the meeting has been called in pursuance to Vij’s meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh in February. As the airbase and the ATC in Panchkula is controlled by the IAF, Vij had requested the defence minister to grant necessary approvals for civilian flights under Udan 3.

Sources confirmed that the district administration, air force authorities and agencies concerned had agreed on the modalities to transfer around 15 acre land adjoining the airbase. The Haryana government has agreed to pay the land cost to the defence authorities.

While meeting Rajnath, Vij had requested a team of officers from central and state governments for site inspection. Vij has been claiming that an airline has already been allotted to Ambala and flights from Ambala to Lucknow and Srinagar have also been approved.

Experts skeptical about viability of proposed venture

17/04/21 Ajay Sura/Times of India

Hyderabad Airport introduces luxury drives from the airport

Hyderabad: The days of booking a cab from Airport to home are gone. If you are a fun-loving person with a dash of adrenaline rush an exciting driving option awaits you at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

In a first-of-its-kind in India, RGIA is offering the luxury of driving the ultra-modern, state-of-the art, cars right after your landing at the airport.

Helping you drive in style from the airport and going around the city of Nizams, 4 Wheel – located at the arrivals of GMR Hyderabad International Airport, offers you a range of luxury cars. You can choose your ride from a long list of cars that includes Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, Jaguar F Type, Lamborghini Gallardo, Lexus ES 300h, Audi A3 Cabriolet, Mercedes Benz E 250, BMW 3GT, BMW 7 Series, Ford Mustang, Volvo S 60, Maserati Ghibli, Toyota Fortuner, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz to name a few.

The options for rental include chauffeur drive and self-drive and what’s more, it can be booked well in advance before you land at the RGIA. Just a phone call/click away, all the cars available are sanitized after every trip to ensure the safety of the travellers, a press release said.

17/04/21 T Ivan Nischal/Telangana Today


Compound archers "left stranded" near Delhi on Friday night, AAI says due to COVID-19 case of coach

Kolkat: India''s compound archery team members were "left stranded" on Karnal Bypass till late at night on Friday while travelling to Delhi airport but the national federation said it might have happened in its bid to separate them from the recurve group after a coach tested positive for COVID-19.

The Sonepat-based compound archers were to join the Olympic-bound recurve team at Delhi airport to catch a 2.50am flight to Amsterdam en route Guatemala City for the April 19-25 World Cup Stage I.

But after hearing that compound team coach Gaurav Sharma had tested positive for COVID-19 at SAI, Sonepat on Thursday, the Archery Association of India decided not to allow them join the recurve team.

The compound archers have now been withdrawn from the tournament, the much-anticipated first event after the pandemic halted all events in March 2020.

"We cannot compromise on the safety of our recurve archers as they are slated to play in the Olympics in less than 100 days. As per the SOP, we had to isolate them (compound archers) who were in direct contact with the coach," AAI secretary general Pramod Chandurkar told PTI.

"Both the teams were to travel together and we did not want to take that one per cent chance. The American guidelines are very strict and if something happened then the full contingent would have suffered, putting the recurve archers Olympic preparation in jeopardy. We did not want to take any risk."

A compound team official, however, narrated the harrowing experience as they were left stranded on the Karnal Bypass for more than two hours on Friday evening, waiting for the decision.

The bus had the eight-member compound team, including seasoned campaigners Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and V Jyothi Surekha and three minors Pragati, Akshita and Sanchi Dhalla.

"It all happened around 7pm when we were approaching the Delhi border as they asked us to stop our journey and wait for the instruction," the official claimed.

The official said they had immediately isolated the coach (Gaurav Sharma) after his report came positive one day before their journey to the national capital.

"But the recurve archers put pressure on the federation via Zoom call and threatened not to board the flight if the compound archers joined them (at the airport). The discussions continued and finally they did not allow the compound archers," he claimed.

"Despite taking the full two doses of vaccine (in Pune), they (recurve archers) all got scared of contracting the virus. It also showed a lack of unity in the team."

17/04/21 PTI/Outlook

Friday, April 16, 2021

Mumbai Airport Will Move All Flights Into One Terminal

Barely a month after reopening both terminals, Mumbai Airport is moving all flights back to a single terminal. Starting April 21st, all flights will depart and arrive at Terminal 2, the newer international terminal. The move comes after India, and particularly Mumbai, has been heavily impacted by the second wave of cases, prompting falling passenger numbers.

According to a statement seen by NDTV, Mumbai Airport has decided to close Terminal 1 once again. T1 reopened on March 10th, as domestic traffic continued to rise and passenger demand seemed to be on track for a full recovery. However, the situation has significantly changed in just a few weeks.

Starting April 21st, all airlines will once again move their passenger operations back to Terminal 2. This applies to all domestic and international flights (which have always been in T2), so plan your travel accordingly.

The decision to close T1 again will impact operations for GoAir, Star Air, TruJet, AirAsia India, and select flights flown by IndiGo. IndiGo continued to operate a majority of its flights out of T2, making the shift relatively seamless. However, other airlines could be frustrated by the changing decisions.

The decision to close a terminal comes with its pros and cons. The closing of T1 will save costs for the airport operator and help streamline services. However, consolidating to T2 will also mean that passengers could face overcrowding and lack of social distancing in the near future.

As India crosses 200,000 daily COVID-19 cases and over 1,000 deaths, the aviation industry has started to take a beating. Passenger numbers have fallen for the last three weeks and will likely continue to do so until the second wave of cases has been contained. Along with this, airline load factors have also been hurt, pushing carriers deeper into the red.

16/04/21 Simple Flying

Govt approves DPR of Jewar International airport with some modification

Lucknow: Union civil aviation ministry has approved the detailed project report for the Jewar international airport at Greater NOIDA.

The Union government has however asked for some amendments in the project report.

A Swedish company Zurich Airport International AG (ZAIA) has won the contract to build and operate the airport for a period of 40 years in November 2019. ZAIA received the security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs in May 2020.

The state government has set up a special purpose vehicle NOIDA international airport Limited (NIAL) for the execution of the project.

The 9th board meeting of the NIAL was held on Friday presided by the chief secretary R K Tewari through video conferencing. Mr Tewari said the developer has been asked to prepare the project report as per the amendments suggested by the Union civil aviation ministry.

UP government in December 2020 had signed a concession agreement with representatives of Zurich Airport International for designing, building and operating the Noida International Airport at Jewar for a period of 40 years. The airport will be developed on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis and is scheduled to open in 2024. It will be located at a distance of 70 kms from Delhi, 40 kms from Noida and 130 kms from Agra.

16/04/21 UNI


GMR Group launches AeroCity spread over 1,500 acres around Hyderabad Airport

Hyderabad: The GMR Group on Friday announced the launch of GMR AeroCity in Hyderabad, spread over 1,500 acres in the city's suburbs in Shamshabad.

The AeroCity, with the Hyderabad international airport at its core, will include various establishments like Business Park, Retail Park, Aerospace and Industrial Park, Logistics Park, rental accommodations, hospitality, schools, healthcare, leisure and entertainment facilities.

This was announced in a press release by the GMR Group.

It further said that a lifestyle destination retail project 'GMR Interchange' is also envisaged at the GMR AeroCity Hyderabad campus. Various entertainment avenues are under proposal including a cinema and a family entertainment centre as part of the project. A hospitality district is also being planned to cater to the multitude of demands coming from various users of the AeroCity.

GMR Business Park housed in GMR AeroCity Hyderabad will offer varied office real-estate solutions like ready to move-in Grade-A offices and Built-to-Suit campuses for industries working in various sectors. It will have one million square feet leasable area, spread over four towers of which Tower 1 is already fully occupied and Tower 2 is ready for occupancy.

It will also have a dedicated power link-up with the state grid for reliable power supply, round the clock three-tier security system comprising of RAXA, state police and CISF and an express connectivity with the city.

A Notified Area Committee (NAC) will be the one-stop clearance window for all building plan approvals which will focus on sustainable development using green technologies and new generation smart digital infrastructure.

16/04/21 New Indian Express

4 international flights diverted to India as stormy weather affects services at TIA

Kathmandu: Stormy weather has affected flights at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu, on Friday.

Heavy rain with hailstorm hit the Kathmandu Valley this afternoon, bringing respite from the smog in the Valley, however, unfavorable weather has hampered domestic and international air services.

According to TIA office, four international flights bound to Kathmandu were diverted to India today.

Planes of Himalayan Airlines and Air India were instructed to head to Banaras, India.  Likewise, a Qatar Airways flight coming from Doha was diverted to Kolkata and one Air India flight was asked to return to New Delhi.

In the national skies, seven flights were diverted. Of the seven, six were of Buddha Air and one of Yeti Air.

16/04/21 Khbarhub

CM Biren inaugurates workshop building of Imphal airport

Imphal: Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Friday inaugurated a new Electrical and Mechanical Workshop Building at Imphal International Airport. 
Planning and Development Authority (PDA), Manipur was the implementing agency for the construction of the workshop building. N. Biren Singh appreciated the officials of PDA on completion of the building construction with maintenance in quality. 
Stating that upgradation of Imphal Airport into an International Airport was a long awaited project, he stressed on the need to develop the airport into a fully functional International Airport at the earliest. The Chief Minister urged every implementing agency to better prepare their man power, technical knowhow and other necessary infrastructures before taking any work contract and also stated that bearing knowledge of ground situation by concerned work agencies is very necessary for timely completion of any project.
Quality should always be maintained by every implementing agency while carrying out any project keeping in view the larger interest of the public and the State, he added. 
16/04/21 UNI

Thursday, April 15, 2021

IAF defers Pune airport’s closure for two weeks

Pune: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deferred the total runway closure of the Pune airport for recarpeting between April 26 and May 9. New dates will be announced soon, an airport official said.

“We received a communication from the IAF on Wednesday evening, which stated that the closure has been deferred. We don’t exactly know the reasons behind the decision. The IAF, in its communication, said fresh dates of the closure will be announced later. We have sent out the information to all the airlines operating from Pune,” a senior airport official told TOI.

The airport is a part of the IAF’s base at Lohegaon and controls the 2,530 metre runway. “We had been requesting the IAF to defer the total runway closure due to the rise in Covid-19 cases. Now, with the closure having been deferred, airlines can plan their flights. We are hoping for flight movements to increase after the decision. It will also come as a relief for many flyers who had booked tickets during the period and were in a fix,” another official said.

As of now, passenger flights are operating for 12 hours (8am to 8pm) ever since the runway recarpeting work started at the airport last year. “I had booked four tickets last month for travel on April 28 without knowing about the closure. This is a big relief for me as I spent almost Rs. 40,000 (both ways) on fare,” Shirish S, a flyer, told TOI.

15/04/21 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

DRDO decides to reopen Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel facility near IGI Airport

In Delhi, the DRDO decides to reopen Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Covid facility (hospital) near IGI Airport amid massive surge in cases. India recorded its biggest-ever single day spike with 184,372 fresh cases. Delhi witnessed 13,468 new Covid-19 cases, its highest single-day count so far. 

India's Covid tally has shot up to 13,873,825 cases, according to MoHFW. India is the 2nd worst-hit nation in terms of total Covid-19 cases and 3rd-worst hit country in terms of active cases. India also witnessed 1,027 fatalities due to covid-19 in a single day. The death toll from the deadly infection stands at 172,115.

14/04/21 Times of India

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

India’s Jewar Airport begins pre-qualification process for tenders

Noida International Airport has reportedly commenced the pre-qualification process for the development and construction of Jewar Airport through e-tender.

The entity is a special purpose vehicle launched by the Uttar Pradesh Government to build and operate the Jewar international airport, which will be built in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Moneycontrol reported that the e-tender is a two-stage international competitive process that includes engineering, procurement and construction of the terminal building and associated works as part of the first package of work.

It also includes airside, landside and associated works as part of the second package.

Zurich International Airport’s International (ZRH) subsidiary Yamuna International Airport secured the right to build, operate and maintain Noida International Airport.

It has also reportedly started the process of picking contractors for the engineering and construction of the terminal building.

An official was quoted as saying: “We expect that the project-affected people will start shifting to Jewar Bangar by mid-June. Post that, construction work can start.”

14/04/21 Airport Technology

Did you know? Ajay Devgn's 'MayDay' is inspired by the 2015 Doha-Kochi flight incident?

Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn has commenced work as a director and actor for one of most-awaited films MayDay. The film also features megastar Amitabh Bachchan and actor Rakul Preet Singh in lead roles.

The film is scheduled to hit the theatres in April 2022 and is likely to clash with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif's Tiger 3.

Now, according to a report in Bollywood Hungama, the Ajay Devgn-starrer is inspired by an astonishing but little-known true incident.

As per the report, MayDay is inspired by the 2015 episode of a Jet Airways Doha-Kochi flight that had a close shave due to poor visibility.

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Read also: The untold story of Jet Airways Flight 9W555: How an airline and its pilot nearly crashed a passenger plane with 150 people onboard

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After several failed attempts, the plane had landed at Trivandrum airport with only 250 kg of fuel left. Reportedly, the dangerous landing could have had disastrous consequences, the final investigation report that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation had submitted to the government had said.

The incident took place on in 2015 and the flight had nearly 150 passengers and crew members on board.

Directed and produced by Ajay, Mayday also stars Angira Dhar in a pivotal role. YouTuber Ajey Nagar, popularly known as CarryMinati, will make his acting debut with the film.

However, the details of their characters have been kept under wraps.

14/04/21 FreePressJournal

Ex-MLC blames airport authority, MPs for Mangaluru Airport's declining fortunes

Mangaluru: All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and former MLC Ivan D’Souza on Wednesday squarely blamed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the MPs from the region for the steady decline in fortunes of the Mangaluru International Airport.

D’Souza said that a `Save Airport' campaign would be launched if the laissez faire policy continues to affect the airport and the people of this region.

He told reporters that although 16 years had passed after international status was accorded to the Airport, barring Middle East, the AAI and MPs had failed to develop it as a hub for international tourist destinations like Sri Lanka and east Asian countries.

D’Souza's tirade came after an airline withdrew its Mangaluru-Delhi flight recently.

D’Souza said of the high volume flights to Mumbai, only two were operating now instead of nine.

``If the airlines have schedule time slots like 11.30pm for Bengaluru and Delhi, how can they expect patronage from passengers," D’Souza said.

He targeted MPs Shobha Karandlaje, Sadananda Gowda and Nalin Kumar Kateel for the declining fortunes of the airport alleging the MPs were only interested in using the airport for their travel and not for public benefit.

14/04/21 Stanely Pinto/Times of India

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Air India Express flight from Dubai diverted due to bad weather, no emergency landing

Dubai: An Air India Express flight from Dubai to Mangalore was diverted to Kochi on Tuesday morning because of bad weather.

“Air India flight from Dubai to Mangalore was diverted and landed at the Cochin International Airport due to bad weather conditions in Mangalore,” said ACK Nair, Director of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).

A senior Air India Express official told Khaleej Times: "The Air India Express flight from Dubai was diverted to Kochi due to poor weather conditions in Mangalore. It was a routine weather-related diversion and not an emergency landing."

The aircraft landed in Kochi at 3am. He added, "There were 180 passengers on board and they departed from Kochi on the same aircraft 7.30 am Tuesday morning."

"Emergency landings usually take place when the aircraft suffers a technical issue of some kind and they land at an airport that is closest to them. This was a purely weather -related issue which is purely beyond the control of airline or the aircraft," he stated.

There are reports of heavy rainfall in the Indian city of Mangalore, hence, the aircraft was diverted amidst low visibility considering the safety of the passengers.

13/04/21 Khaleej Times

No plan to resume Coimbatore flights now: SriLankan Airlines

Coimbatore: Though the civil aviation ministry inked a travel bubble with Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines don’t plan to resume Coimbatore-Colombo flights anytime soon.

While they plan to resume flights from Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Trivandrum and Trichy from April 19, Coimbatore is not on the list, officials from the airline’s Chennai office told TOI.

Disappointed travel agents here now pray for a travel bubble pact with Singapore, which contributes almost 70% of the city airport’s international passenger traffic.

While SriLankan Airlines used to operate three to and fro flights a week, flying 900 passengers a week during pre-Covid times, 10 flights to Singapore were flying 3,200 passengers in and out. “While Coimbatore is not on our plans as of today, things may change in a few weeks,” said Chennai station chief of SriLankan Airlines.

Though Covid-19 cases in the district are galloping ahead at an alarming rate, travel agents hope that SriLankan Airlines resumes operations of Coimbatore-Colombo flights soon. “Operation of flights and adding an international connection will create some activity in the travel industry and give some ticketing business, however miniscule,” said Ganesh of Express Tours and Holidays. “Until the second wave completely subsides, we don’t see a new international connection that can give us the same kind of business that Maldives did,” he told TOI.

13/04/21 Times of India

Goa: Airport parking charge under scanner again

Panaji: Allegations of malpractices and cheating by the parking contractor at Goa International Airport have once again surfaced and some frequent fliers have called for action to be taken against the contractor for fraudulently extracting money from hapless commuters.

Sangolda resident Karan Bhagat fell victim to one such attempt on March 17 when he arrived at Goa International Airport to drop off his mother. He was surprised to receive a slip which said commercial vehicle even though he arrived in his private car.

After dropping off his mother, Bhagat drove out of the terminal forecourt and was stopped by the parking attendant who asked him to fork out Rs 50.

“This slip had the time I entered the departure lane printed on it. The operative also told me verbally that I would have only five minutes to drop off my passenger, or I would be charged. This information was not written on the slip. The word ‘Commercial’ was written on the slip,” Bhagat said.

While exiting the airport, the parking operator said Bhagat had exceeded the time limit, and charged him Rs 50. Bhagat said that he had taken six minutes to exit the departure lane. He complained to Goa Airport Director Gagan Malik against the contractor MS Enterprises but is yet to get a reply.

“Eighteen days have now passed since I brought this to the notice of the airport director, but I am yet to hear back, even though he assured me that he would look into the matter and revert ASAP,” Bhagat said.

“Twelve of our staff were in isolation because of Covid-19 and three of my staff members had Covid-19 because of which we were unable to respond in time to Bhagat,” Malik said.

Rejecting Bhagat’s allegations, Malik said, “We will look into his specific complaint, but as per our initial inquiry, it appears that Bhagat exceeded the time limit and should have in fact been charged Rs 340.”

13/04/21 Times of India

Monday, April 12, 2021

Avoiding tabletop Kozhikode runway with tyre trouble, AI Express pilots land plane safely in Kochi

New Delhi: Presence of mind displayed by the pilots operating an Air India Express flight from Riyadh to Kozhikode Saturday night ensured that all the 188 people onboard reached home safely. Just before IX-1322 got airborne, Captain Yazad Bachaa and first officer Nishad Arawandakar experienced a “small jolt, a wobble” that indicated a possible trouble with the landing gear or tyre/s.

Since all flight parameters were normal, they decided to continue flying home but made one crucial change — diverting to safer Kochi to avoid landing with landing gear trouble at the tabletop runway of Kozhikode which last August had witnessed the crash-landing of an AI Express flight in which 19 passengers and both the pilots lost their lives. IX-1322 landed safely in Kochi early Sunday morning.

The Boeing 737-800 (VT-AXI) took off late on Saturday night from Riyadh. Just before getting airborne, sources say, it experienced a “vibration that showed something out of the ordinary.” The pilots repeatedly checked all flight parameters that were absolutely normal. After reaching cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, they contacted the Riyadh air traffic control (ATC) and asked them to check if tyre pieces were found on the runway after this flight took off. Riyadh ATC shortly afterwards confirmed that there were tyre pieces on the runway but they could not confirm if they were from the AI Express Boeing 737.

Making best use of “crew resource management”, the pilot-in-commmand (PIC) called the co-pliot and captain who had operated this aircraft from India to Saudi and were returning home as passengers, to the cockpit. The four pilots brainstormed and worked out likely scenarios with the tyre trouble. Then the highly experienced Captain Bachaa decided to divert to Kochi because of its longer runway and clear weather, choosing it over the airline’s maintenance base Trivandrum.

Kochi airport made all arrangements for handling an emergency situation. The aircraft had an uneventful landing early on Sunday morning and exited the runway to come to a halt on a taxiway. AI Express engineering and fire tenders checked the landing gear. Once it was confirmed there is no fire, all the 180 passengers, six cabin crew and the two pilots deplaned using stepladder. The runway had tyre pieces strewn along it and the right side tyre (rubber part) of the main landing gear had completely disintegrated.

AI Express arranged another aircraft some hours later to fly the passengers to their destination, Kozhikode. “We are very proud of the way the pilots handled the situation,” said airline sources.

12/04/21 Times of India

Forest dept sends notice to DIAL over removal of trees to build runway at Delhi airport

New Delhi:  The Delhi Forest Department on Monday issued a notice to Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), asking it to establish if it had permission to remove trees in around 10 acres of land to build a new runway at the city airport, officials said.

While the DIAL spokesperson did not offer any comments on the matter, company sources said they have complied with all the rules and will convey their position to the forest department.

"The trees were removed in around 10 acres of land near Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport in the last one year. We have registered an offence under the Delhi Tree Preservation Act,” an official said.

The company - a consortium led by the GMR group that operates the airport – has been asked to appear for a hearing next week to establish if it had permission for tree removal.

The official said around 10 stumps were found at the site during an inspection recently and that the department believes permission was not taken for felling these trees.

12/04/21 Outlook

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Nitish reviews Darbhanga airport development, assures more amenities soon

Patna: The number of flights from Darbhanga airport would be increased and more passenger amenities would be provided soon, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced on Saturday.

A presentation was made before the CM on the development of Darbhanga airport. Nitish said the airport would be named after the legendary Maithili poet Vidyapati and a resolution to this effect has been unanimously passed by the state assembly.

The CM said the airport whose foundation was laid in 2018 has come as a boon for the Mithilanchal region and other parts of Bihar neighbouring areas. He asked officials to hold talks with the officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) to develop the Darbhanga airport because it was important for the people of north Bihar and adjoining areas.

Nitish also stressed the need for raising the height of the boundary wall of the airport. Among those who attended the meeting included water resources development minister Sanjay Jha, CM’s principal secretaries Dipak Kumar and Chanchal Kumar, cabinet additional chief secretary Sanjay Kumar and other officials while Patna airport director Bhupesh CH Negi and Darbhanga DM Thiyagrajan SM joined through video conferencing.

Earlier in March, the ministry of civil aviation had urged the Bihar CM for his intervention in land acquisition for the development of the new and bigger civil enclave. The AAI asked the state government to provide 78-acres on the southern side of the runway, which was earmarked by them in February.

11/04/21 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Manipur: 11, including 3 more air passengers, test COVID positive

Imphal: Manipur reported 11 more persons, including three returnees, positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.

However, in the last 24 hours, no fatality related to COVID-19 was reported in the state as per the circular issued by the state health department.

The cumulative number of air passengers tested at Imphal Airport in the state since March 24 stands at 2,829, of which 50 returnees were found infected with the virus, said State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Somorjit Ningombam.

The majority of the air passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 are from the state of Maharashtra, it said.

With these new positive cases, the number of active cases in the state has surged to 101, while the total confirmed cases to date are 29,486. A total of 29,010 infected persons have recovered, and the cumulative number of deaths is 375 to date, as per the state health data.

In a statement, it further requested those air passengers who travelled to the state on April 8 by Air India flight AI-889 in rows 6-12, on April 9 by Indigo flight 6E-2251 in rows 1-7, and Indigo flight 6E-6181 seated in rows 1-7 to immediately inform the Common COVID Control Room 1800345318 or respective District Surveillance Officer (DSO).

10/04/21 Vangamla Salle K S/East Mojo

Friday, April 09, 2021

Kerala: Air India Express flight makes emergency landing in Kozhikode following fire warning

Kozhikode: An Air India Express flight to Kuwait, which took off from the nearby Karipur airport on Friday morning with 17 passengers and six crew made a "precautionary" landing shortly after take-off after a fire alarm went off in the cargo section, airport sources said.

Airport Director-in charge, Muhammed Sahid told P T I that all the passengers and crew on board the flight IX 393 are safe.

The flight had taken off at 08.38 AM and landed safely by 9.11 AM.

After the alarm went off, the pilot chose to return and the aircraft landed safely, AIE sources said, adding on investigation, it was found that it was a false alarm.

The aircraft is still under investigation and alternate arrangements are being made for the passengers, the sources added.

09/04/21 PTI/New Indian Express

Air Seychelles resumes flights on Seychelles-Mumbai route

New Delhi: Air Seychelles on Friday said it has resumed flights on the Seychelles-Mumbai route from April 8 in accordance with an air bubble arrangement formed between India and the island nation.

"Air Seychelles flights departing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai will operate on Thursdays and Sundays. Return flights from Seychelles International Airport are scheduled on Wednesdays and Saturdays," the airline said in a statement.

The scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under bilateral air bubble arrangements formed with around 27 countries since July last year.

All travellers to the Seychelles, regardless of their vaccination status, must present a negative RT-PCR test certificate from a sample taken not more than 72 hours prior to the journey, the airline''s statement said.

09/04/21 PTI/Outlook


Taxi services at airport not disrupted

Vasco: Taxi services at the Goa international airport remained uninterrupted on Thursday despite the taxi association extending support to the state-wide strike called by the taxi association.

Few members of the United Taximen Union (UTU) at the airport are likely to join the strike in Panaji, on Friday.

Former president of the UTU and member of its care-taker committee Sandeep Shetye said, “We are fully supporting the strike called by the taxi association across the state, but we cannot stop our services. Our permit defines our services as essential services, which cannot be brought to a halt. If at all we want to go on strike, we have to give prior notice to the authorities.”

Shetye said that initially the taximen were scared to get their taxis on road as they thought it may upset drivers in other parts of Goa. The association has 350 yellow-black taxis and operates at the airport.

09/04/21 Times of India

Pay Double Penalty For Parking Outside Toll Area At City Airport

Just when you had resigned about the high charge of Rs 90 for cars at city airport, here comes another sledgehammer measure that will send you reeling. The airport operator, Adani Airports, will charge you Rs 1,000 straight if you try to duck the minimum charge a park it outside toll area for a few short minutes.

The private operator’s men swoop down on any car parked outside the designated lots with certain glee. One passenger told Mirror that a security guard came to his car with a wheel lock in his hand and demanded Rs 1,000 for not parking inside. They make it look like a raid with a motorbike suddenly blocking the car’s path and another burly guard knocking on the window asking for penalty. They will somehow make you pay,” the passenger said.

Leave aside using strong-arm tactics, the airport operator is in on very shaky grounds about collecting Rs1,000 as ‘penalty’. For perspective, the Commissionerate of Transport has allowed a penalty of Rs 500 for violation of parking rules. The rules do not mention the airport operator to charge Rs 500 more on the prescribed penalty. 

So how did they arrive at the Rs1,000 penalty? The operator inserted ads in local papers to empower himself. A Mirror  correspondent tested out the scene on Sunday. The reporter parked his car just outside the toll-booth area. Within moments a motorbike-borne man reached the spot and parked his bike in front of the car. Another guard knocked on the car window and stuck his hand in to ask for Rs 1,000 penalty. A third guard followed with a car wheel lock. They then showed receipts of other people who were made to pay the money. When told that this car had just come out of the parking after the passenger walked out from there, they did not relent.

When told that there was no notice board indicating the increased Rs 1,000 penalty, one of the guards, Bhavesh, said, “You can read the advertisements in all newspapers. The charges have been published.” 

09/04/21 Ojas Mehta/Ahmedabad Mirror

Thursday, April 08, 2021

Panabaka Lakshmi assures to start international flight services from pilgrim city

Tirupati: TDP nominee contesting for Tirupati Lok Sabha byelection Panabaka Lakshmi said that she would do her best to see the much-awaited international flight services start from Tirupati airport, if she is elected in the byelection. Speaking at a 'Meet the press' event here on Wednesday, Lakshmi said that though the works for developing the Tirupati airport as an international airport was completed few years back, the commencement of international airport is being delayed for one reason or other and affirmed that she will take up the issue on priority basis for commencement of international flight services from Tirupati airport as early as possible. This would help to accelerate the growth of Tirupati due to direct air link, she said. The TDP leader said the completion of Garuda Varadhi, the 6 km long Rs 624 crore elevated Express way is getting delayed due to paucity of funds and assured to speed up the works to make the elevated express way ready to ease traffic congestion in the pilgrim city.

08/04/21 Hans India

Wednesday, April 07, 2021

Sanjeev Kumar takes over as AAI Chairman

Sanjeev Kumar, an IAS officer of 1993 batch from Maharashtra cadre, today took over as the Chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Prior to this, Kumar was the state commissioner for GST in Maharashtra. He has also worked in the departments of water supply, sanitation, energy and industries.

He has worked as Joint CEO of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and has also been MD of Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation. Kumar has also held the position of CMD at the largest electricity distributor company of India, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, for more than four years.

At the central level, Kumar has earlier worked in the ministries of power, housing and urban affairs. “During his tenure as the Mission director for Prime Minister Aawas Yojna (PMAY), he designed and launched the prestigious scheme in that capacity,” said a statement from AAI.

Kumar holds a degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from University of Roorkee (now known as IIT Roorkee) and M.Tech in Communication Engineering from IIT-Kanpur. He also holds a degree in Financial Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institution of Management Studies, Mumbai University.

07/04/21 CNBC TV18

Jharsuguda-Patna Daily Direct Flights From May 1

Jharsuguda: The administration of Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Airport, Jharsuguda has decided to introduce direct flight service from the airport to Patna in Bihar.

The flight service will be operated by budget carrier SpiceJet, informed VSS Airport Director Kishore Kumar Senapati today.

“We are adding one more flight- from and to Patna from 1st May. It will be a Q400 aircraft with 78 seats and will run daily. It will travel to Gauhati from Patna. So, Northeast will also get connected,” Senapati told OTV.

Sharing further details, Senapati said the flight will arrive at the airport at 4. 20 pm and depart at 4.50 pm.

Earlier, SpiceJet had commenced flight services between Jharsuguda and Chennai from March 28. Besides, the carrier also running flight services to Mumbai and Bengaluru.

06/04/21 Ramakanta Biswas/Odisha TV

HC wants optimum use of Umroi air strip

Shillong: Meghalaya High Court has directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to explore the possibility of utilising Umroi Airport optimally by making it unidirectional and constitute an inspection committee of experts to visit Port Blair and Bhutan and study the features of the runway there.

The High Court, in its order, stated, “The AAI, in terms of our earlier order dated 23rd March, 2021, shall explore the possibility of utilising Umroi Airport optimally by either making it unidirectional in the same manner as the Port Blair Airport operates and/or facilitating smaller jet aircraft operator(s) to use the airport in order to optimise its passenger flow”.

“Additionally, they will also constitute an inspection team comprising experts along with the learned amicus curiae as well as the Assistant Solicitor General to go to Port Blair and examine the unique features of the runway there and thereafter examine the unique features of the existing runway at Paro, Bhutan,” the order added.

The High Court further stated, “This may take some time for which we adjourn the matter for a period of six weeks from date. A note prepared by the Assistant Solicitor General with regard to possibility of utilising the Umroi airport optimally by making it unidirectional as Port Blair airport, which has been handed over, may be kept on record”.

07/04/21 Shillong Times

Tuesday, April 06, 2021

At Bengaluru airport, crowds and lack of masks make many uneasy

Bengaluru: Despite the circular issued by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) recently asking airport operators to ensure Covid-19 protocol is followed properly after the sudden rise in Coronavirus cases in India, the Bengaluru International Airport is a study in how this is easier said than done.

Many travelers have noted how social distancing norms are not followed on premises and many passengers are still not wearing masks.

Dr Pavan Patil from Gadag, a member of Karnataka Medical Council (KMC), who was travelling to Hubballi on Monday morning, said he was shocked to see how negligent the passengers were. He said there was no social distancing being followed at the airport and since eateries are open, people ended up removing masks within the closed environment.”

“The Bengaluru airport authority and officials have to increase awareness about Covid-19 protocols to the passengers. Though the airport authorities have put up markings to maintain social distancing and about wearing masks, no one is checking the passengers or asking them to wear masks properly and follow social distance,” he added.

Recently, the Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had found the compliance of Covid-19 protocols at the country’s airports to be “not satisfactory”, and consequently asked all airport operators to step up surveillance while exploring the possibility of imposing spot fines on violators.

06/04/21 Darshan Devaiah BP/Indian Express


Indira Gandhi Airport starts random testing amid surge in Covid-19 cases

Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) in India has started conducting random Covid-19 tests of passengers as the number of coronavirus cases is on the rise again in the country.

The tests will be conducted on passengers arriving at the airport by the District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA).

The passengers who test positive will be quarantined at their place of stay or at hospitals according to established protocols.

Quoting a source familiar with the matter, the Indian Express reported that nearly 1,000 random tests are being conducted daily, of which 2% test positive.

Currently, civil defence volunteers and lab technicians are deployed on both terminals for the testing programme.

The Indian Express report added that the DDMA has also started penalising the Covid-19 safety protocol violators inside the airport premises.

06/04/21 Airport Technology

Airport employee caught drunk near T2

Ahmedabad: An airport employee was caught in an inebriated state near the time office on terminal 2 of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Sunday.

The police identified him as Hardipsinh Chawda, a 33-year-old resident of Naroda, who works as an equipment operator at the airport.

A complaint has been registered by Afrin Mohammadali Shaikh, who works as a time office assistant at the airport, with the Airport police. She stated that she along with Dr Kiran Joshi was on duty when they realised that Hardipsinh was not behaving normally. They used a breath analyser on him and found he was allegedly under the influence of alcohol.

The complainant stated that when Hardipsinh was questioned, he could not speak properly, and was not even able to stand properly. They called the Airport police who registered a case under the prohibition act. The police is investigating if Hardipsinh is on rolls of the airport or any of the contractors working there.

06/04/21 Times of India

Monday, April 05, 2021

Mumbai, Bengaluru air passengers have to carry Covid negative reports to land in Assam

Guwahati: Air passengers from Mumbai or Bengaluru, disembarking at any airport in Assam, have been ordered to mandatorily carry a negative RT-PCR report, conducted within 72 hours prior to the journey. The order issued by the state health department, will come into effect from April 9. The test report should be verifiable using the QR code or otherwise, read the directive issued by the health department on Sunday in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in the country. The airlines, operating flights to Assam, have been directed to allow boarding of passengers at Mumbai and Bengaluru airports of only those who carry negative RT-PCR reports.

"Any passenger from Mumbai and Bengaluru who arrives without a satisfactory RT-PCR report will have to undergo a paid Covid-19 test at the airport and will wait at a designated spot inside the airport premises at his own expense till his test result is available," said the order issued by the principal secretary to the state health department. It further clarified that if the test report turns out to be positive, the passenger will be shifted to home isolation or hospital, as per the treatment protocol.

The health department, however, has taken a stricter stance for rail passengers coming through Maharashtra or Karnataka, who will have to undergo screening for symptoms on arrival at railway stations in the state with immediate effect. Besides, the health department order also stated that Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) has to be conducted randomly on asymptomatic patients. But, all symptomatic rail passengers from the two states will undergo Covid-19 test.

"Around 5,000 passengers arrive at Guwahati airport everyday. Considering the present situation in Karnataka and Maharashtra, where the scenario is worrisome, we are focusing more on passengers from these two states. But, passengers from other states may have to pass through stricter Covid screening, if the situation does not improve," Assam NHM director Lakshmanan S told TOI on Sunday.

Most air passengers come to Assam from Delhi and Kolkata, but from Mumbai and Bengaluru airports also there are daily direct flights and this has turned Assam once again vulnerable to Covid.

In a partial modification of the health department's previous order reiterating the necessity of thorough contact tracing of all individuals found to be Covid-19 positive, the health department wants contact tracing of at least 20-25 persons linked to the infected patient. "Apart from rapid test, the RT-PCR test should also be carried out for the identified contacts in case the rapid test is negative," the order added.

04/04/21 Kangkan Kalita/Times of India


Contemplating police action if fliers flout COVID protocols; Aviation Min tightens noose on airports

This time last year, all airports were shut and flights were grounded globally in view of COVID-19 pandemic. With airlines operating with strict curbs in place, fliers are seen flouting COVID protocols amid steady spike in the number of new cases in various states across the country. Several measures have been implemented to ensure safety of passengers in transit, failure of adherence to such norms makes it just as difficult for state and national authorities to contain the spread of the virus.

All Indian airports have been notified to strictly implement COVID protocols, but to what extent are they being followed is a whole another story. Aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) notified all airports last week to increase surveillance at airports and levy spot fines if fliers found violating COVID protocols. Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport started levying a fine of Rs 1,000 on passengers who flout mandatory safety norms such as wearing face masks, maintaining social distance at the airport.

Even so, instances of fliers flouting COVID protocols haven't come to a halt. In response to a concern about asking Indian airports to go beyond order notifications to ensure passengers follow COVID protocols, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said an advisory has been issued to airports to strictly implement COVID protocol.

In addition, Puri said the ministry is contemplating police action if fliers repeatedly fail to co-operate with airport and airline staff on the lines of COVID appropriate behavior.

"An advisory has been issued to airports to strictly implement COVID protocol. We also repeatedly request fliers to co-operate with airport & airlines staff; & are looking in the direction of police action. I am sure this tweet will be yet another reminder for compliance," Puri said in response to a tweet by Danish Manzoor, Editorial Director, International Business Times.

05/04/21 International Business Times


Neha Dhupia shares 'no concept of social distancing' at Delhi airport even as India hits record daily high of COVID-19 cases

Bollywood actress Neha Dhupia took to social media and shared a brow-raising picture of people violating COVID-19 protocols at Delhi airport.

Neha shared the picture which shows people flouting social distancing norms and not wearing masks properly amid the surge in cases across India.

Expressing her disappointment while traveling from the national capital to Mumbai, Neha wrote on Twitter, “morning at airport...people jumping queues, explanation - hum late ho rahe hai (We are getting late and we woke up early to stand in line, masks half worn (on chin) explanation – comfortable nahi hai (not comfortable), we wear our (masks) with utmost caution. Buck up people let’s be better for ourselves n everyone around us.”

“Also, no concept of #SocialDistancing!!!!!! Plssssss mask up ... sanitise and maintain #SocialDistancing .... how many more times do we have to repeat this!!!!!! For your sake, for “our” sake,” she added in a subsequent tweet.

05/04/21 FreePressJournal


Mangaluru: People opposed to airport name change may approach court

Mangaluru: Many activists have been objecting to the renaming of the Mangaluru international airport as Adani airport. Now they are mulling the option of going to court to get their demand met.

Many in coastal Karnataka had expressed opposition to handing over this airport to private operators and also about its name change. Among the activists, there were differences over what name this airport should bear.

Recently, the Airports Authority of India had issued notice to the Mangaluru airport on the chance of name, as the activists had written to them saying that changing the name of the airport is violation of rules.

Therefore, the chances of the issue of renaming the airport going to courts appear to be bright. The activists plan to collect opinions of legal experts and then file public interest litigation in the high court.

Social activist Dilraj Alva, said that brand value of Mangaluru should not be lost due to renaming of the airport. He said that the airport can be named after Koti Chennayya or other exemplary personalities who have brought laurels to Tulunadu.

05/04/21 Daijiworld


Flight operations between Chennai and Jaffna to resume

Authorities in Sri Lanka are planning to resume Chennai- Jaffna flights soon. Resumption of air connectivity between the southern Indian city and northern Sri Lanka - that have social and cultural links - will give a boost to the tourism industry of the island nation, reported Daily Mirror.

Sri Lankan Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said, “The flight operations connecting the Maldives with South Indian destinations via Sri Lanka would be launched.” Several airlines are in talks with Sri Lankan authorities, he claimed.

Initially, a civil terminal will be developed at Jaffna to handle 1000 passengers. Overall, the entire airport will be developed in three phases. The airport, commonly known as the Palali airport, has been used mostly for military purposes; first, by the British Royal Forces during the Second World War; secondly, by the Sri Lankan forces during the civil war.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, a few foreign airlines were operating flights from the airport but that stopped since the pandemic.

There are also plans to expand the runway so that it could handle wide-body aircraft.

05/04/21 India Blooms

GMR arm to drive future initiatives

Shamshabad : The GMR Group has launched a new business vertical dedicated to fostering and driving innovation - GMR Innovex to partner with startups, corporates, and other platforms. Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, along with Somesh Kumar, Chief Secretary, and Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT), launched the GMR Innovex.

The GMR Innovex will operate on an 'Open Innovation' model, acting as an 'Innovation Exchange' to partner with startups, corporates, innovation platforms, research institutions, and academia to bring innovative ideas and solutions to life and help to nurture and sustain a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

A dedicated new facility for innovation has also been established at the Hyderabad Airport campus to act as a platform for various innovation activities by various collaborating startups, industry partners and GMR employees.

05/04/21 Hans India


3 Passengers Test Positive for Covid-19 in Patna on Arrival from Mumbai, Home Quarantined

Three passengers who arrived at the Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport in Patna from Mumbai via an Air India flight on Sunday tested positive for coronavirus. All of them, belonging to one family, were home quarantined by the authorities.

The three passengers included a 70-year-old woman, a 42-year-old man, and a 40-year-old woman from Aashiana Nagar in Patna. Soon after they were found Covid-19 positive, a panic reaction among the co-passengers, who de-boarded from the same flight at Patna, led to a chaotic situation at the airport.

The authorities carried out the Covid-19 test for all passengers who had reached by the same Air India flight from Mumbai. It was a sigh of relief for the officials that no other passenger was found positive. The entire airport was sanitised following the tests.

A team of the Health Department also reached Patna airport and sent positive people for home quarantine under their supervision.

05/04/21 News18.com

Sunday, April 04, 2021

Civil enclave drainage system to be revamped

Prayagraj: The problem of reoccurrence of waterlogging at the civil terminal of Prayagraj at Bamrauli during the rainy season is set to be a thing of the past. To equip the Bamrauli Civil air terminal with a modern drainage system, the state government has sanctioned over Rs 1.48 crore which would be used to get rid of the problem that plagues the area every year during the monsoons.

The drainage system once in place would rid the airport of the annual problem of waterlogging during monsoons that often results in pools of water accumulating even in the apron area where the flights are parked, unloaded and reloaded causing trouble in their smooth operation during the rainy season.

Deputy secretary Satya Prakash Tiwari in his missive dated March 31 to the director, Civil Aviation, UP has conveyed administrative and financial sanction of Rs 1,42,42,000 for the construction of the drainage system for the Prayagraj airport for which a proposal was duly moved by the airport officials and the district administration. A copy of the missive has also been sent to the divisional commissioner and district magistrate of Prayagraj.

Regional Director, Airport Authority of India (AAI), Anchal Prakash expressed his happiness over the sanction of the funds. “The stormwater drainage was causing us problems for the past quite sometime now. The catchment area is higher as compared to the stormwater drain outlet of the airport and as a result, we often faced backflow of the water, especially during heavy rains. This led to waterlogging in the airport apron area, powerhouse and other vital parts causing great inconvenience and hurdles in smooth operations of the flights,” he explained.

04/04/21 Times of India