Showing posts with label Airports Aug 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Aug 2007. Show all posts

Friday, August 31, 2007

Navi Mumbai airport the cynosure of India Inc

Mumbai: The Rs 4,765-crore Navi Mumbai airport slated to come up by 2012 is critical - not just to land sharks who have invested in the region and to leading politicians who have bought up large tracts of land but also to many large industrial houses in Mumbai.
Tenders are expected to be issued by City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) in mid-September inviting global bids from consultants who will conduct the detailed feasibility study.
The Mukesh-Ambani-led Reliance group is one of the interested parties since bagging the airport would ensure a virtual monopoly in the Navi Mumbai area.
It is precisely that fear that has ensured the Anil Ambani-led ADAG group sees this project as a high-priority venture.
But the project is also critical for GVK, the company that's involved in modernising the existing Mumbai airport - a task far less enviable than one would have imagined.
According to top civil aviation ministry sources, the consortium (MIAL) has made far less progress than it ought to have despite land constraints (it has only 2,000 acres available to it compared to 5000 acres available to Delhi airport).
31/08/07 Anjuli Bhargava/Business Standard

Theft key to Calcutta runway light snag

Calcutta: Pilferage of cables of runway visual range (RVR) equipment at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is the reason behind frequent snags in the system, airport authorities said on Thursday.
“We had suspected that the cables of the RVR equipment were being stolen resulting in glitches in the equipment,” an official said.
The thieves escaped detection by cutting small lengths of the cables. The authorities thought the damage was caused by the gadgets used for construction or repair works.
Emboldened, the thieves tried to sneak out larger lengths and were caught on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, four contract labourers — Sristi Sardar, Ajay Sarkar, Gopal Mondal and Ranjit Oraon — were arrested for stealing about 30 metres of cables of the RVR equipment, worth Rs 10,000.
According to Airports Authority of India officials, the accused evaded detection with the help of a section of drivers engaged by the contractor.
The drivers helped them ferry the stolen cables for a share of the booty.
31/08/07 The Telegraph

Nod for two greenfield airports

New Delhi: An approval has been given for setting up international greenfield airports in Goa and Maharashtra through public-private partnership (PPP), government told the Lok Sabha yesterday.
The airports, for which 'in-principle' approval has been given, will be constructed at Mopa in Goa and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in reply to questions.
These are in addition to two greenfield airports being constructed at Shamashabad near Hyderabad and Devanhalli near Bangalore, he said adding these will be operational by April next year.
The government also intends to give approval to construction of such an airport at Cunnoor in Kerala and the process is underway, he said.
Patel said the government was encouraging greenfield projects usually through public-private route.
Such projects can be undertaken by private sector cent per cent as also state governments, the minister said.
31/08/07 PTI/The Hindu

Another flight to Mumbai from Mangalore soon

Mangalore: A prominent private airliner has proposed to introduce a domestic daily flight service from Kochi to Mumbai via Mangalore from September 14, according to official sources.
The sources told The Hindu that as per the proposal, the flight would depart from Kochi at 9 a.m. and arrive in Mangalore (Bajpe airport) at 9.45 a.m.
It would depart from here at 10.15 a.m. and reach Mumbai at 11.30 a.m.
On its return journey the flight would leave Mumbai at 5 p.m. and land here at 6.15 p.m. It would depart from Bajpe airport at 6.45 p.m. and reach Kochi at 7.30 p.m.
This proposal had been awaiting the green signal from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the sources said. At present, the Bajpe airport of the AAI is handling five domestic daily flight services (10 movements - landing and take off) between Mumbai and Mangalore. If the new proposal is through, then there will be six daily flight services (12 movements) between Mangalore and Mumbai.
31/08/07 The Hindu

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Jamshedpur, Vijaynagar, Mundra airports get nod to go commercial

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has approved proposals for expansion of three private corporate airports, in Jamshedpur, Vijaynagar and Mundra, for use by commercial airlines, signalling the restarting of private airports.
Tata Steel Ltd’s airport at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, JSW Steel Ltd’s Vijaynagar airstrip in Karnataka and an airport in Mundra run by the Adani Group in Gujarat will now join Cochin International Airport Ltd, which, for over a decade, has been India’s only wholly owned private airport.
Other private-led consortia lead airport managements at New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, but these airports are on long-term leases with a minority participation of Union state governments. The move for new airports comes some weeks ahead of the government’s announcement of a new merchant, or private-owned, airport policy that will allow private developers with their own land to construct and operate airports with no government funding or support.
30/08/07 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

Indian plane has narrow escape

Kathmandu: Dozens of lives were saved from an impending accident when the right landing gear of an Indian Airlines Airbus 320 caught fire but landed safely at the Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu Wednesday afternoon.
The Airbus, which was carrying some five dozen passengers, was on a routine Kolkata-Kathmandu flight, and had landed at the TIA at 15:08 hours.
The cause of the fire is still not clear, the airport officials said.
After the landing gear caught fire, the fire trucks based at the airport were immediately pushed into action. Other parts of the Airbus were not damaged after the fire was put out quickly.
29/08/07 Kantipur Online, Nepal

Unclaimed packet causes panic in Kochi airport

Nedumbassery: An alert given by the pilot of Jet Airways’ flight 9W 401 while approaching Kochi International Airport on Monday, about an unclaimed electronic equipment on board, caused panic in the airport.
The officials noticed the unattended electronic kit after the flight, with 39 passengers on board, left Mumbai.
The Air Traffic Control in Kochi Airport was immediately alerted. The officials of various departments in Kochi airport swung into action.
Fire and rescue services, ambulance units, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and Dog Squad were kept ready in the airport.
The officials found that the kit was an electronic gaming equipment.However, the kit was immersed in the bomb cooling pit, for observation.
29/08/07 Newindpress

Stay out, aviation ministry tells HC

Nagpur: In an affidavit filed before the high court, the civil aviation ministry on Wednesday said the high court had no jurisdiction on the matter regarding the city airport’s transfer to the joint venture that is to execute the international cargo hub project. It is purely a policy matter and the court can’t interfere in such matters, it said. The court has fixed September 18 for final hearing in the writ petition.
The writ petition filed by Vidarbha Economic Development Council and Vidarbha Jan Kalyan Vilas Samiti had sought to question the ministry’s delay in handing over the airport after agreeing to do so in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Airport of Authority of India and the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) in New Delhi last December.
After noting the affidavit’s contents, a visibly upset Justice Joshi remarked: "If this is your approach, we don’t like it. We can understand your view but can’t appreciate the spirit behind it."
He also pointed out that it was a public project .
30/08/07 Times of India

GMR undergoes organisational restructuring

Bangalore: Infrastructure developer GMR Group on Wednesday announced a major organisational restructuring with an aim to tap growth opportunities in India and abroad.
Under the new structure, the current chairman and managing director G M Rao will assume the role of Group Chairman, while the group will have four chairmen to lead individual businesses. Besides, it will have professional CEOs to head various individual businesses, the group said in a statement. The restructuring will be effective from October 1.
B Srinivas, presently the Managing Director of Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), will become chairman of urban infrastructure and highways, including the SEZ business. Similarly, B V N Rao, presently Group Director, will be chairman of energy and agriculture (the sugar manufacturing business) of the Group.
The present Group Chief Financial Officer G B S Raju will assume the role of chairman corporate, responsible for human resources, finance, corporate strategic planning and corporate communications. He would also be responsible for International Business Division such as Sabiha Gocken Airport project in Istanbul, Turkey.
29/08/07 PTI/Economic Times

Human trafficking: Cops sniff out ‘inside’ links

New Delhi: The human trafficking web has widened operations to net employees working for foreign airlines at the Capital’s international airport.
This came to light after three men — Joginder Singh, working for Finnair, Dhirendra Dhuria, a boarding executive with Indian and Vishwas Anand of EuroAir — were arrested by the Delhi Police recently. They have been charged with helping passengers board planes without having to go through the mandatory checks inside the airport.
Last Wednesday, Indian airlines officials got suspicious of a passenger Kulwant Singh, who was about to board a Frankfurt-bound (AI-137) flight. The immigration stamps on Singh’s boarding pass did not look original and neither did the Schengen visa on his passport. The man was handed over to the police and thus emerged these fresh links that spawn an elaborate trafficking racket involving travel agents, touts and airlines officials.
30/08/07 Amandeep Shukla/Delhi Newsline

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Sikh Community Feels Targeted At Airports

America's Sikh community wants another meeting with the Justice Department over a controversial new airport search policy. The Sikhs say they're being targeted for intrusive searches because they wear turbans.
Sikh protestors call a new airport security rule that allows pat-downs of their turbans "racial profiling." The Transportation Security Administration says it's simply trying to search for weapons and explosives and cannot rely only on wands and metal detectors.
On August 4th, the Department of Homeland Security started a new no-hat policy, where airport screeners can ask to search passengers wearing everything from a cowboy hat to a turban even if the metal detector doesn't sound off.
Men of the Sikh religion who wear turbans feel singled out. The United Sikh Coalition has written in protest to Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff - nearly 2,000 people have signed petitions requesting an end to what they call racial profiling.
The Sikhs say having to remove their turban is like being strip-searched -- it's an article of faith, typically only removed in private.
28/08/07 Teresa Garcia/abc7news.com, USA

Chennai Airport to be India’s Greenest

The Airports Authority of India has chosen plans by a team of architects including Frederic Schwartz Architects, Hargreaves Associates, Gensler, and New Delhi-based Creative Group to expand the Chennai International Airport’s domestic and international terminals. When completed in 2010, the $300 million project will transform Chenai, located in the city formerly known as Madras, into India’s greenest airport.
The Kamraj Domestic Terminal, in particular, will showcase sustainable technologies. The 23-year-old building currently measures 139,931 square feet and handles 4.74 million passengers a year. Its revamped design will allow it to accommodate twice as many passengers in a three-story structure 984 feet long, encompassing some 781,460 square feet.
The organization of security and circulation forms the basis of the plan, which centers around two lush, ecologically sustainable gardens measuring nearly an acre apiece.
The revamped Kamraj Domestic Terminal will feature what designers describe as a “green gate”: a parking garage with a green roof and rainwater capture systems.
28/08/07 Neelam Mathews/Architectural Record

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

SC refuses to vacate stay on levy of tax on airport services

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to move the Madras High Court for obtaining vacation of stay on levy of service tax on airport services.
Levy of sales tax by AAI has been challenged by licencees in the high courts of Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh. The high courts had stayed the recovery notices issued by the authority.
AAI has also sought transfer of a bunch of petitions in this regard to the Delhi High Court.
A bench headed by Justice BN Agrawal refused to transfer the petitions saying AAI should move the high court for vacation of stay.
Earlier, it had issued notice to various parties, including Jet Airways, Flemigo Duty Free Shops, Thomas Cook India, Siddhi Vinayak Enterprises, PK Hospitality Services, Karnataka Commercial and Industrial Corporation, asking them to explain why the petitions should not be transferred to the Delhi High Court.
While seeking transfer of petitions, AAI had contended that there was a likelihood that the high courts might give different interpretations on the same issue which would lead to "judicial disharmony."
27/08/07 PTI/Economic Times

Navi Mumbai airport: CIDCO moves quick on ‘star project’

Mumbai: On September 3, newspapers across the globe will carry tender advertisements seeking a consultant for the Greenfield airport to be built at Navi Mumbai. “Within eight to 10 weeks, we should have a consultant with international expertise on board,” said G S Gill, vice-chairman and managing director of the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO), which is developing the Rs 10,000-crore airport, to sprawl over 2,000 hectares of land.
While Gill called the proposed airport CIDCO’s “star” project, other officials said the consultant will prepare the Detailed Project Report by early next year, to meet the target of beginning at least partial operations by 2012. Gill even admitted that the airport should have already been in existence by now.
“After getting in-principle approval from the Government of India and the CIDCO board, it has now gone to the Government of Maharashtra,” he said, adding that focused work on three areas continues in the meantime: Appointing the consultant, obtaining the environmental clearances “expeditiously” and acquiring the balance land, about 500 hectares, spread across seven or eight villages.
27/08/07 Kavitha Iyer/Expressindia.com

Nagpur airport transfer deferred again

Mumbai: Modernisation of Nagpur airport seems stuck on the runway. The civil aviation ministry has once again put off handing over the airport assets to the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), which is developing a multi-modal international hub in Nagpur (MIHAN).
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel is believed to have told the state government that the assets would be transferred only after the Union Cabinet gives its approval to the special purpose vehicle formed between the MADC and the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
In the meantime, the ministry first wants the MADC and the state government to complete the land acquisition process for MIHAN and a special economic zone being developed as part of the project, sources said.
The civil aviation ministry’s stand comes as a kind of anti-climax to the Maharashtra government’s much-spirited effort to get the AAI to hand over the assets. In fact, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was keen on settling the issue.
28/08/07 Economic Times

Monday, August 27, 2007

Mysore airport by 2008

Mysore: As the upgradation of the Mysore Airport in Mandakalli is in full swing, senior officials of the State Government and Airport Authority of India (AAI) are hoping to have the airport operational by next Dasara. The short haul ATR 72 flights will take off in Mysore by October- November, 2008.
‘‘We hope that the ATR 72 flights will land at Mysore airport by 2008,’’ said V.P. Baligar, Principal Secretary to the Department of Infrastructure, Government of Karnataka. He was speaking to presspersons after inspecting work on the Mandakalli airport project here on Sunday.
K N Srivatsava, Joint Secretary to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation also expressed optimism that the first phase of the project will be complete by November 2008, before the December deadline. The ATR 72 flights will have a seating capacity of 60 to 70 passengers.
Deputy General Manager of Airport Authority of India, M N N Rao, who is supervising work on the project said that it was going on at a brisk pace.
27/08/07 Newindpress

Tatas to build airport in Jamshedpur

Jamshedpur: Tata’s are planning to build a world class airport in Jamshedpur to provide the steel city with a better connectivity.
Speaking at a Press conference, Mr B Muthuraman , managing director, Tata Steel said, “We have already identified the land near Adityapur. However everything is not in our hands. We need to take up the issue with the government and a lot needs to be done before the project actually kicks off.”
He was speaking on the occasion of inaugural Kolkata- Jamshedpur flight of Air Deccan at Sonari aerodrome today, marking the centenary celebrations of first private steel plant of the country, Tata Steel.
Asked why Tata Steel was not interested in upgrading the existing aerodrome, Mr Muthuraman said there were restrictions in doing that as not much land is available around it. The present airport in the city has a small runway and is not suitable for landing big aircraft. However, the way commercial activities are growing in the steel city more flights are expected to come, he added. The new airport will have a runway of 7000 feet.
26/08/07 Saket Sundria/The Statesman

Flight grounded at Varanasi after tyre burst

Varanasi: A Patna-Delhi Jetite aircraft carrying 68 passengers had a close shave today when one of its front tyres burst while landing at the Lal Bahadur Shastri airport near here.
All the passengers were evacuated safely, an airport official said.
He said a front wheel of the carrier of the Jet Airways subsidiary had a tyre burst while landing at 3:55 pm due to a "hydraulic system failure".
A team of engineers were carrying out repair works and the passengers were waiting for alternative arrangements to be made by the airline and airport authorities.
26/08/07 PTI/The Hindu

UAE's top air carriers express keen interest in new airport in Kerala

Dubai: A new airport in Kerala is drawing the interest of local air carriers, as heavy demand on existing routes has led them to schedule additional frequencies.
The Kerala government is in the process of acquiring 1,200 acres of land for the upcoming new airport at Kannur, located in the uppermost portion of the state north of Calicut.
Construction of the airport will take roughly three months once the land has been acquired, local media reported.
Already, Emirates, Etihad and Air Arabia said they harbour hopes of flying there once necessary governmental approvals have been made.
Currently travel between Kerala and the UAE is at all all-time high, due to the large numbers of Indian labourers and professionals working in the UAE as well as leisure travellers. Just three months after launching flights to Kerala, Etihad said it would add more flights there.
According to the Kerala government, inbound tourism is expected to grow by 10 per cent once the airport is in operation.
Emirates airline has been a beneficiary of this rise in air travel, experiencing 85 per cent load factors on its Kerala flights.
26/07/08 Ivan Gale/Gulf News, United Arab Emirates

Bomb scare at airport

Security was boosted across Calcutta and there were three bomb scares at the airport the day after the Hyderabad blasts.
“Plainclothesmen are on the lookout for anything suspicious at vital installations, including malls and multiplexes. The entry and exit points of the city are being monitored,” said Gyanwant Singh, the deputy commissioner of police (headquarters).
The first bomb scare on Sunday occurred around 11am when the CISF was alerted about a bag lying near the checking counter of the domestic terminal. Security personnel cordoned off the area and sent for the bomb disposal squad.
While the experts were at work, M. Madini, a passenger on an Indian flight to Aizawl at 11.30am, claimed the bag. She said she had left the bag behind and gone to her car to fetch her ticket. Madini was fined Rs 100.
The second hoax occurred around 12.45pm, when CISF personnel spotted another unattended bag near the domestic terminal lounge. Again, the area was cordoned off and the bomb disposal squad called in. Samir Deb, who was to fly to Agartala, claimed the bag. He told the officers that he had gone to the washroom. He, too, was fined Rs 100.
27/08/07 The Telegraph

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Ministry tightens screws on delayed flights

New Delhi: Strict vigil by the civil aviation ministry on domestic airlines over delayed flight schedule seems to be showing results. After Delhi airport last month reported an improved 16% delay by all airlines on all flights taking off between 6 am and 8 am, now Mumbai has shown better results this month at 10.5%. Leading the pack for delayed flights is Indian with 23.7%, followed by Air Deccan at 16.7% and Kingfisher Airlines at 15%. Jet Lite reported 12.5% delays in its flights, while Jet Airways scored better at 2.6%. Go Air had a 5.9% delay, while Spicejet and IndiGo reported no delays in their flights.
The monitoring team from the ministry conducted the study at the Mumbai airport between 6 am and 8 am from August 7 to 12. The schedules of altogether 224 flights were surveyed, of which only 219 operated. There were 23 flight delays during this time, which translates to 10.5%.
Interestingly, following its tiff with the airlines on levying a congestion surcharge, the aviation ministry recently started a daily monitoring of actual flight movements in major metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The ministry has only now realised what the fliers have been complaining about for long — most flights don’t stick to schedules.
26/08/07 Raja Awasthi/Economic Times

Govt may operationalise over 150 airstrips

New Delhi: The government wants private and state players to invest in over 150 airstrips that are lying unused since World War II for meeting the growing demand of air travel in the country.
Though no policy has yet been formulated on the matter, the Civil Aviation Ministry is carrying out consultations with other ministries to prepare guidelines, including conditions for licensing of airports, primarily in the hinterland.
The concept of 'merchant' or private greenfield airports is also being evolved by the ministry in consultation with various other agencies like the Defence Ministry, Airports Authority of India and Directorate General of Civil Aviation, official sources said.
Broadly, a merchant airport will mean that a private investor acquires land on his own and constructs an airport, subject to technical clearances and licensing.
Development of these unutilised airstrips could be carried out on the basis of merchant airport concept, but the government is yet to take a decision, the sources said.
Airstrips that are on government's priority are those located at Pantnagar, Kamalpur, Kailashahar, Passighat, Tezu, Along, Daparizo, Tura and Zero, they said.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has also received as many as 25 proposals from various states for development of new airports.
26/08/07 PTI/Economic Times

Speedy Patel nod for Noida airport

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has approved the setting up of a new airport at Jewar near Delhi, seven weeks after the Uttar Pradesh government sent in a proposal for the same. Jewar, a two-hour drive east from Delhi, will see a spanking new international airport come up by 2010, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said on Friday. The project is called the Taj International Airport Hub by the Uttar Pradesh government.
The ministry is seeking the Union cabinet’s approval for the project by late September.
The idea for the Jewar airport was first floated in 2001 by the Uttar Pradesh government.
It will require an acquisition of 1,500 hectares of land and an investment of Rs3,505 crore (excluding the cost of land) has been estimated for the project, split over several phases. The state government will select a private partner, who will lead construction and management of the proposed airport with a 74% equity stake, with the balance 26% equally split between airport regulator Airports Authority of India (AAI), under the civil aviation ministry, and Uttar Pradesh government-owned Taj Expressway Authority.
The private partner will be selected through a bidding process which will include multiple stages of seeking an expression of interest followed by pre-qualification and financial bids. The Jewar site first received a technical feasibility approval from the AAI in 2003. The project, however, did not move further with a change of government when an earlier Mayawati-led government fell in August the same year.
25/08/07 Tarun Shukla/Ashish Sharma/Livemint

Kanpur-Delhi air services from Sept 20

Kanpur: Air services between here and Delhi, which were scheduled to start from august 15, will be made operational by September 20, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal said here today.
He said Indian's flight will take off from Delhi at 7 am on September 20 and will land at 7:50 am at Kanpur. Similarly, the flights will take off from Kanpur at 8:40 am and will land Delhi at 9:30 am.
The Air Deccan, which started its services in this sector, had closed down the operation in august last year. Hence people from Kanpur have to travel 70 kms to the Amousi Airport in Lucknow to take a flight to the national capital.
Jaiswal attributed the delay in the services to a late arrival of the 62 seater Indian aircraft from a foreign country.
25/08/07 Zee News

Praful raps govt on airports

Mumbai: Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has pulled up the state government for the delay in execution of work on the international airports at Navi Mumbai and Pune.
Patel’s strong words came at a meeting attended by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief secretary Johny Joseph and senior Mantralaya officials on Saturday.
Confirming that he came down hard on the Maharashtra government, the Union minister told TOI that the Navi Mumbai project was a year
behind schedule.
He continued, "I cannot understand why there is a delay when open space is available in Navi Mumbai. How will one cater to the demands of the growing international traffic if the project is not completed soon?"
On the proposed Pune international airport, Patel said while the land was available, the project was yet to take off owing to the absence of some technical reports.
26/08/07 Yogesh Naik/Times of India

Cabinet approval on transfer of Nagpur airport to MADC soon: Patel

Mumbai : Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel expressed hope that the Union Cabinet will soon give its approval regarding the transfer of the Nagpur airport to the Maharashtra Airport Development Authority (MADC) for the Multi-Modal International Air Passenger and Cargo Hub at Nagpur (MIHAN).
''A cabinet note in this regard has already been circulated, and I hope the Union Government will soon give its approval,'' Patel told UNI after attending a high-level meeting, which was held here today to review the progress on the Navi Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune airport projects.
Mr Patel further said that there is a need to hasten up the progress as the existing Mumbai airport would not be able to cope up with the ever-increasing air traffic beyond 2011-12.
Besides Mr Patel, the meeting was also attended by Chief Minister Vialsrao Deshmukh, top officials from MADC, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) as well as senior officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Meanwhile, in a related development, Maharashtra government today 'in principle' agreed to provide 12.5 per cent land to the affected persons, whose land will be acquired for the development of the Nagpur Airport.
25/08/07 UNI/NewKerala.com

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Speedy Patel nod for Noida airport

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has approved the setting up of a new airport at Jewar near Delhi, seven weeks after the Uttar Pradesh government sent in a proposal for the same. Jewar, a two-hour drive east from Delhi, will see a spanking new international airport come up by 2010, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said on Friday. The project is called the Taj International Airport Hub by the Uttar Pradesh government.
The ministry is seeking the Union cabinet’s approval for the project by late September.
The idea for the Jewar airport was first floated in 2001 by the Uttar Pradesh government.
It will require an acquisition of 1,500 hectares of land and an investment of Rs3,505 crore (excluding the cost of land) has been estimated for the project, split over several phases. The state government will select a private partner, who will lead construction and management of the proposed airport with a 74% equity stake, with the balance 26% equally split between airport regulator Airports Authority of India (AAI), under the civil aviation ministry, and Uttar Pradesh government-owned Taj Expressway Authority.
The private partner will be selected through a bidding process which will include multiple stages of seeking an expression of interest followed by pre-qualification and financial bids. The Jewar site first received a technical feasibility approval from the AAI in 2003. The project, however, did not move further with a change of government when an earlier Mayawati-led government fell in August the same year.
25/08/07 Tarun Shukla/Ashish Sharma/Livemint

Land acquisition hits Mohanbari runway work

Dibrugarh: The work of extension of the runway of Mohanbari Airport, Dibrugarh, including upgradation works is under way. However, the progress of work has been hampered as the district administration has failed to get clearance from the Defence Ministry regarding handing over of the portion of Defence land falling on the proposed extension site, sources informed.
The process of land acquisition for the said extension of runway was started by the Dibrugarh district administration and an area of about 290 bighas (96 acres) of land has already been acquired and handed over to the Airport authorities. But problem arose for not getting clearance from Defence Ministry for handing over of 6 acres land.
Although several rounds of discussions were held among the Deputy Commissioner, Dibrugarh, Station Commander of 42 Wing Air Force Station, Mohanbari, Commanding Officer of 764 ASC Battalion and representatives from the Airport Authority of India, Mohanbari, were held to sort out the problem, but without any fruitful outcome.
24/08/07 Assam Tribune

Stir hits airport cargo clearance

Kolkata: Clearance of import cargo from NSC Bose airport was stopped today as clearing agents struck work in protest against the delay, increased expenditure and harassment.
Some agents said that a new system to check cargo at the final exit gate even after it was delivered to them on completion of all the formalities was causing problem. The system not only delayed their work but also involved increased expenditure. They also wanted a smooth system for quick delivery of their goods.
A senior official of the Airports Authority of India said that some representatives of the association of the clearing agents had discussion in the morning with the officials following which the agents agreed to clear consignments.
24/08/07 The Statesman

Friday, August 24, 2007

Smart cards and biometric devices for metro airports

New Delhi: Now smart cards and biometrics-based devices would guard metro airports. The government is planning to invest Rs 346 crore in making airport security foolproof to avoid any attempt of hijacking and terror attacks. It is also proposed to have close-circuit televisions (CCTVs) at all airports.
“It’s easy for terrorists to target an aircraft particularly when they have access to new technologies and devices. To avoid any unwanted and unwarranted incidents we are planning to equip airports in the country with all security devices such as explosive detectors, integrated X-ray baggage systems and bomb disposal equipment,” said a civil aviation ministry official.
Airports Authority of India is planning to introduce integrated X-ray baggage inspection system at all operating airports in the next couple of years. Installing the system would cost about Rs 140 crore. It is spending Rs 70 crore for putting in CCTVs.
24/08/07 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

GMR to start Istanbul airport work by Dec

Mumbai: A GMR Infrastructure Ltd led consortium is expected to take operational control and begin work on the Sabiha Gokcen International airport in Istanbul, Turkey by early December this year, according to a senior company official.
Speaking to Thomson Financial News from the Southern Indian state of Hyderabad, the official said the signing process for the airport project was delayed because of the elections in Turkey.
The official said the new government will set up an empowered committee of ministers to formally ratify the project once they sort out the ministry formation process.
GMR Infrastructure expects the Turkish project to add to its revenues this financial year itself as the Sabiha airport is an existing profit making brown-field airport. The official clarified that the GMR consortium will manage only the Asian side of the airport.
23/08/07 Thomson Financial/AFX/Forbes, US

Tourists to get fast clearance at airports

New Delhi: Faster clearance at the immigration counters, being pursued hotly by the tourism and hospitality industry to facilitate quick and trouble free arrival of foreign travellers, may well be on the cards soon.
Coaxed continuously by the Tourism Ministry, the key ministries of External Affairs, Home Affairs and the Dept of Information Technology (DIT) are now working together to put in place a new IT-driven mechanism that will allow fast clearance to foreign passengers at the immigration counters, thus cutting the waiting time from 90 minutes to barely 10 minutes.
Earlier, the initiatives of the Tourism Ministry to get clearance for visa on arrival for 16 favoured countries were scuttled by the Union Home Ministry on the adverse comments by the Intelligence Bureau.
According to top official sources, concerns of both the Tourism and the Home Ministries can now be taken care by installing a revolutionary mechanism called the Adverse Person Information System (APIS) that would not only take care of the worries of the Intelligence Bureau but would also allow faster clearance to foreign tourists at the airports.
24/08/07 Newindpress

AAI upgrading 28 unprofitable airports

New Delhi: The government said that the Airports Authority of India is upgrading 28 unprofitable airports in various states by constructing new terminal buildings and strengthening the runways among other things.
The airports where such works were in progress include Chandigarh, Amritsar, Dehradun, Lucknow, Varanasi, Tirupati, Guwahati, Silchar, Surat, Vadodara, Mangalore, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Shillong, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Udaipur.
The scope of work include construction of new terminals, resurfacing and strengthening of runways, drainage and rain water harvesting system and allied works, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said during Question Hour.
To another query, he said government was not considering any proposal to frame guidelines for airlines to make them accountable in cases of long delays, sudden cancellations of flights.
23/08/07 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com

Kasaragod Expatriates urge direct flight to Mangalore

Kuwait: Kasaragod Expatriates Association(KEA) along with the conglomerate of NRIs from Mangalore submitted the memorandum to Air India requesting flight connectivity between Kuwait and Mangalore, the prominent coastal town in southern part of Karnataka which is adjoining to Kasaragod District in northern part of Kerala. The delegation was lead by KEA's president Engr. Abu Backer who briefed the need to have flight service In Mangalore - Kuwait sector to Air India?s country Manager Mr. Krishan Bhar.
Mangalore airport is traditionally being used by people from Malabar region specifically from Kannur and Kasaragod apart from people from Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts in Karanataka. Kuwait has large expat population from this belt spread over two states who are currently depending Mumbai, Calicut and Bangalore airports for their overseas travel. Obviously the choice of airlines are determined by availability, rates and timings which results in using different airlines like Kuwait airways, Air Lanka, Air India, Emirates airlines, etc. Once Mangalore is linked with Kuwait by Air India, the entire expatriate community from this region travelling to Kuwait will avail the services of India's national airlines.
23/08/07 Mangalorean.com

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Amritsar to NY flight from Sept

Jalandhar: Air India would be starting four flights in a week from Amritsar to New York via London from September 11, while the AI management is also contemplating to start a direct flight between New Delhi and San Francisco in January.
Announcing this, Air India northern region general manager Rohita Zaidka said the national carrier was also studying the Delhi-Vancouver tour. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Zaidka said the fare for the Amritsar-New York flight would be the same as that from Delhi. While stating that Air India would be the first Indian carrier to directly connect Punjab with USA via London, she said the days of operation would be Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. A bus service from Jalandhar to Amritsar would be started for the convenience of passengers of Amritsar-New York flight, and there would be no extra charges for the bus, she announced.
Zaidka said the Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, was also planning to strengthen its operations from Amritsar to Dubai by operating six flights a week from November 1 as on this route.
23/08/07 Times of India

Ahmedabad airport: An ugly blot on its facade

Ahmedabad: Despite being the first access point for international travellers, the International Airport at Ahmedabad makes no effort to hide its ugly face. And, until the new airport building comes up in 2009, there will be no respite.
The airport, inaugurated in 1991, was designed to accommodate 250 passengers — enough for the two Air India flights operating weekly at that time. Sixteen years and many flights later, not only is there an acute shortage of space but the infrastructure is visibly crumbling under an ever-increasing load of more aircraft and more passengers.
With there being passengers of at least two to three airlines at the airport during the night, the security staff are hard-pressed for time during the passenger screening process.
The arrival lounge is chock-a-block with passengers waiting for their luggage. Since the baggage screening X-ray machine behind the conveyor belt is mostly unmanned, each suitcase, airbag and package has to be manually placed on the belt, which consumes time and increases the harassment of passengers clamouring for space in the small arrival enclosure.
Emirates, which will start a flight to Dubai in October, and Qatar Airways, which will start a flight to Doha in December, will only compound the problems.
22/08/07 Pulkit Vasudha/Ahmedabad Newsline

Businessman goes Missing from Airport

Mumbai: Saji Abraham (34), a Dubai-based businessman has been reported missing from airport terminal 2C since Monday August 20th night despite being escorted by his cousin Jayan Tangachan (36) all the way from Dubai. Abraham was waiting in the transit lounge to board a flight to his hometown Kochi.
On Sunday August 19, Abraham landed in the city by a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight (SV 750) at 6 pm. “Being short-tempered, Abraham got into a brawl with the Dubai police in June and landed up in jail,” said his cousin, who also works as a merchandiser in Dubai.
Following three months in jail, Abraham’s condition deteriorated and the local authorities asked him to go back to India. “He was acting weird after being jailed for two months,” Tangachan said.
They were to catch a Jet Airways flight to Kochi at 5.50 am.
“Abraham hardly seemed disturbed during the journey,” said Tangachan. Both sat on the chairs and fell asleep. “When I got up at around 11.45 pm, I noticed that he was missing,” he informed.
22/08/07 Mid Day/Daijiworld.com

Aircraft, passenger traffic soaring at Coimbatore

Coimbatore: Passenger and aircraft movements at the Coimbatore Airport have soared thanks to economic boom and entry of low cost airlines. Airport Director K. Hemalatha said SilkAir was planning to operate a weekly thrice service from Coimbatore to Singapore (to and fro flight) from October 28.
The Coimbatore–Singapore flight service becomes the second international connectivity for Coimbatore next to the Coimbatore– Sharjah weekly thrice service by Indian. Airport sources said Sri Lankan Airlines had evinced interest in operating a service from Coimbatore to Colombo and was even planning to have five services a week.
Sources said there had been enquiries for the feasibility of a Coimbatore–Dubai connectivity and one of the Gulf-based airlines was likely to grab it. Spice Jet Airways is planning to operate services from Coimbatore with Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai likely to be the destinations.
23/08/07 V.S. Palaniappan/The Hindu

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

AAI-air force pilot plan for traffic management

New Delhi: In what could be the first concrete step towards joint management of the country’s airspace by civilian and defence authorities, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have agreed to launch a pilot project to see if they can manage air traffic together.
The two authorities will, within a month, start jointly controlling all aircraft flying over the southern peninsula by bringing their air traffic controllers together under one roof. The move comes after several rounds of discussions over many years between the civil aviation and defence ministries and could result in opening up of more of currently restricted airspace, leading to more civilian flights.
Currently, 35% Indian airspace is reserved for the defence forces and designated under three heads—prohibited, restricted and dangerous.
The civil aviation sector, which is growing at 40% annually, has pressed for opening up of more such restricted areas.
If more restricted space is opened up, it could result in commercial airlines shortening their routes, which translates into fuel saving and a higher turnaround of planes. The reduced time could also allow airlines to have more flights.
“We have finally been able to unveil a plan of flexi-use of airspace,” confirmed a senior civil aviation ministry official familiar with the process, who did not want to be named. According to the plan, AAI and IAF air traffic controllers will co-locate in the same premises, sharing information, for starters, on the Chennai flight information region (FIR), which includes most of the southern states and the oceanic airspace around it.
22/08/07 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

Hyderabad's new generation airport ready by year-end

Hyderabad: Hyderabad's new international airport, which incorporates the best of facilities in Oslo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore airports and promises to take Indian airports to a new era, will be ready by year-end and become operational in March 2008. The Rs.24.78 billion ($601 million) Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, which hopes to spur growth of this booming tech hub, is coming up in Shamshabad, about 25 km from the city on the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway.
Flight trials are likely to begin in January and the first commercial flight is scheduled to take off in March, a month before the opening of the new international airport in Bangalore, its competitor.
Hundreds of workers are working round the clock to give final shape to the futuristic airport, which is expected to make Hyderabad a transit hub between Europe and Southeast Asia.
The initial phase of the airport will be capable of handling 12 million passengers per annum (mppa) as against 5.95 mppa handled by existing airport and more than 100,000 tonnes of cargo per annum against 45,000 tonnes handled by existing facility. The ultimate capacity of the new airport is over 40 mppa and one million tonnes of cargo per annum.
22/08/07 IANS/Hindustan Times

Legal hurdles block new Bangalore airport

Bangalore: The new Bangalore international airport will probably be ready before time (scheduled for completion in April next year), but the modern access road to it will not, recreating the image of a journey done partly by bullock cart and partly by jet aircraft.
As things stand, travellers will take around two hours to reach the airport, which is 35 km away from the city centre, for at least a year after it starts functioning.
This is because of legal hurdles the government is facing in acquiring land for a 21-km dedicated expressway to the airport.
The government is fighting at least 40 different cases related to land acquisition.
To cut the journey time and derive full benefit from the state-of-the-art airport, the government decided to build six-lane toll expressway. The optimum alignment was worked out with the help of satellite imagery and a preliminary notification was issued on March 3 for land acquisition.
Residents of Bagalur, Bhairathi, Chikka Gubbi, Dodda Gubbi, private residential township developers and farmers filed cases in various courts seeking a change in the expressway alignment or denotification of their lands from acquisition.
Government sources said many powerful politicians also owned land along the alignment of the road and wanted it changed.
22/08/07 Aravind Gowda/Business Standard

Maharashtra CM, Patel to meet on airport transfer

Nagpur: Next Saturday could be an important day for the proposed international cargo hub. For, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is also chairman of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company, is scheduled to meet civil aviation minister Praful Patel in Mumbai to discuss the crucial issue of handing over Nagpur airport to MADC.
On the same day, a relief package to be offered to those displaced by the project will be fianlised by the committee headed by additional chief secretary Ramandand Tiwari, according to MADC managing director R C Sinha.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday after reviewing progress of the ambitious multimodal air cargo hub (Mihan) and SEZ projects here, he said real estate major DLF would be launching construction work of its IT park on Wednesday. City MP and Union minister of state for non-conventional energy Vilas Muttemwar and top officials of the state and the aviation ministry will be present at the meeting.
The issue of handing of airport from the Airports Authority of India to the joint venture company of MADC and AAI has been hanging fire for the past six months. The aviation ministry has been procrastinating on the handover. On August 6, the aviation ministry told the high court that it would take at least six months to complete the formalities like getting cabinet clearance and only then would it consider handing over the airport.
22/08/07 Times of India

An airport with two directors

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad airport has two directors at present; the newly appointed P B Bhagat and outgoing director, S D Awasthi. Bhagat reported to duty at his new posting at Ahmedabad on August 17, while Awasthi is yet to hand over the charge.
The issue came to light after the Airport Authority of India (AAI) transferred Awasthi to Lucknow and brought Bhagat from Guwahati in his place. However, though Bhagat has reported for duty, Awasthi seems reluctant to hand over charge.
Sources said: “Awasthi’s transfer letter reached on August 11, but he is taking his time to hand over charge. This, despite the fact that Bhagat is senior to Awasthi.”
However, Awasthi when contacted said that “Bhagat is yet to take charge. I have been transferred but I have not handed over charge.” He, however, refused to comment further on why there is a delay in allowing the incumbent to take over.
Meanwhile, Bhagat who is operating from the office of director general (communications) at the airport said, “I have been given directives to join the new posting on or before August 31. By this time, Awasthi has to complete his pending work and report to Lucknow.”
22/08/07 Shoeb Khan/Times of India

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Airlines may have to pay for take-off delay

Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is planning to implement “slotting” of flights by January 2008. This means any flight that fails to take off on time will be grounded for several hours.
"A delay of 10-15 minutes is permissible but any flight delayed beyond that will be allowed to fly only in the subsequent lean period," said AK Chopra, joint deputy general, DGCA. “For instance, if a flight scheduled to take off at 8 am gets delayed by an hour, it will be allowed to fly only after the peak hour. The idea is to improve on-time performance and lessen air congestion."
What happens to passengers who are stuck in a punished flight? “Passengers will begin to avoid such carriers. That would simply force airlines to improve their on-time performance,” said Chopra.
According to directorate records, national carriers Air India and Indian and low-cost carrier Air Deccan have the most worst on-time performance. In the last year, the three managed to take off on time only on 40-50 per cent of occasions. Other domestic carriers like Kingfisher, Jet Airways, GoAir, SpiceJet and Indigo did much better with 80 per cent on-time performance.
21/08/07 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

Navi Mumbai airport revamp gains pace

New Delhi: The bidding for Navi Mumbai airport is set to begin in few months. Aviation secretary Ashok Chawla has laid out a firm timeframe for having the much-required Navi Mumbai airport ready just in time when the existing CSIA Airport there peaks out by end of 2012.
He recently asked the steering committee of the planned airport to invite proposals for appointing a consultant for the Rs 9,970-crore project.
"The chosen consultant will prepare the bid document in the next three to four months. The bid will be issued by March and after evaluation, finalised by next October," the official said. "Then the chosen party will have to complete the new airport by end of 2012, just when the CSIA airport will peak out as traffic will be more than its annual capacity of 40 million after that," the official added.
Thirty-five km from CSIA, this airport will be built at Panvel in four phases up to 2028 in an area of 1,140 hectares. Almost 70% of the required land is already in government possession and Cidco is acquiring the rest.
21/08/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Ansal in talks with US operator for joint bid to develop airports

Real estate developer Ansal API Ltd is joining the fray of developers bidding for airport management and modernization projects and is in talks with a US-based airport operator to jointly bid for projects in India.
While Ansal would manage the real estate, the airport operator would bring in its expertise in airport design and development. “We are working out a structure. It will be a marriage of that sort,” Ansal said.
Like other major real estate players, Ansal is also eyeing the proposed Greater Noida International airport project near Delhi in Uttar Pradesh.
The Greater Noida airport project has been revived recently after Mayawati came to power in Uttar Pradesh.
Apart from the Greater Noida project, Ansal will also look at other airport modernization and upgradation projects.
The other big projects that are likley to be opened up for bidding are the Navi Mumbai airport project and Chennai’s second airport project.
20/08/07 Shabana Hussain/Livemint

3,000 hotel rooms near IGI by 2010

New Delhi: The GMR-backed Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has invited proposals from hospitality sector majors for building over 3,000 rooms in the hotels of all categories near the upcoming airport before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
The consortium was allowed to commercially develop 5% of the total 5,000-acre area earmarked for Delhi Airport. In the first phase, 45 acres of the 250 acres allowed for commercial use will be used to develop a hospitality district.
‘‘About 50 players have sent expression of interest and 45 of them have been asked to send proposals by this month-end. The idea is to have over 3,000 rooms in the entire segment of hotels — from budget to five-star deluxe. The financial model will be finalised next month based on the kind of proposals we get,’’ said a DIAL official.
This hotel district will be linked by both the Metro and a six-lane road. DIAL has formed a full-owned subsidiary, Delhi Aerotropolis Pvt Ltd, for its hospitality arm.
21/08/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Monday, August 20, 2007

Smaller aircraft can continue to enjoy free run

New Delhi: Private airport operators like GMR-led Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and GVK-led Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) may need to alter their plans. The civil aviation ministry is set to oppose their proposal to restrict entry of smaller aircraft at Delhi and Mumbai airports.
Smaller aircraft are exempted from paying any landing charge leading to huge revenue loss to airport operators. It is believed that this was one of the triggers for the move by the new airport companies to restrict these aircraft. However, this move is likely to be thwarted by the government. While this segment constitutes almost 10% of Delhi airport’s entire traffic volume, at Mumbai it’s less than 10%.
“Private operators can not stop entry of smaller aircraft at metro airports merely on the grounds of congestion and unavailability of slots. Their unilateral decisions are not accepted,” an official in the civil aviation ministry said. Experts say that the real reason behind such demand by private operators is the revenue loss. As per the existing guidelines, aircraft with a take-off mass of less than 40,000 kg are not required to pay landing charges to the airports.
20/08/07 Nirbhay Kumar/Times of India

Delay in resumption of air services: Traders mull Cooch Behar bandh

Cooch Behar: Local traders are planning to call a general bandh in Cooch Behar to protest against delay in resumption of air services from the Cooch Behar airport. It may be recalled that the resumption of air services from the Cooch Behar airport, scheduled for the Independence Day, was postponed at the last moment, much to the chagrin of the trader community and others.
Angry traders have demanded intervention of the Union civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel and chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in the matter. “We are not ready to accept mere promises any more,” said a local trader. He threatened that if the authorities concerned fail to resume the air service by 15 September, they will call a 24-hour bandh in Cooch Behar district as a mark of protest.
District Trinamul Congress president Mr Rabindra Nath Ghosh said that the authorities had promised several times about resumption of air services but nothing has been done so far.
19/08/07 The Statesman

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Mumbai’s runway to run into the sea

Mumbai: An extended runway at Juhu that goes into the Arabian Sea - this is what the aviation think tank is currently mulling over to deal with congestion and saturation issues at the space-starved Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
Currently with the AAI, the Juhu runway system has two runways - a main runway with a length of 1,143 metres (of which only about 600 metres is actually available) and a cross runway with a length of about 752 metres.
MIAL’s Aviation Advisor Pamidi Prasad Rao said, “The runway can extend into the Arabian Sea because the continental shelf, which is the slope between the earth and the inside of the sea, is less. This is an advantage. Also, if considering such a proposal, there has to be a runway correction at Juhu so that it can be used as a parallel runway.”
According to SRR Rao, regional executive director of AAI (western region), the entire feasibility study was done keeping in mind what will happen to the structures, roads and buildings in the vicinity.
In fact, the Juhu Airport, if allowed to extend the runway into the sea, will also be able to serve bigger aircraft.
The MIAL also said that it is possible to have a taxi-track between Santa Cruz and Juhu airports and allow them to function independently.
18/08/07 Manisha Singhal/Daily News & Analysis

Bricks in airport cellphone box

Calcutta: Cellphone boxes that arrived here from Bangkok early this morning had brickbats packed in them when they were taken for clearance tonight.
Nine cartons, each supposed to contain 90 mobile phones, reached the Calcutta airport at 4 this morning by a Thai Airways plane.
Air India personnel, who do ground handling for Thai Airways, took two cartons for the mandatory clearances from the cargo hold area around 8.30pm and found that their seals had been broken.
A peep into the boxes revealed the actual contents.
A senior airport official said a probe has been started. Several airport employees were being questioned as it was likely that the seals on the cardboard boxes were tampered with here.
Officials, who could not recall any incident of the sort earlier, said the other cartons would be opened on Monday.
19/08/07 The Telegraph

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Foundation stone soon for Hassan airport

Bangalore: The Government will soon lay the foundation stone to establish a “Greenfield Airport” at Hassan on a public-private partnership.
The Government has decided to acquire 2,500 acres of land for the project. The project has been awarded to Jupiter Aviation and Logistics Limited, on Design Build Operate and Transfer (DBOT) basis, officials in the Public Works Department told The Hindu on Thursday.
The Government conceived the airport project at Hassan in 1957.
The Revenue Department had acquired lands for it in 1966, 1972, 1997 and 1998. So far, around 400 acres of land have been acquired for the project.
Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa announced the establishment of the airport at Hassan in the State budget for 2007-08.
The Government issued an order on July 12 to take up survey work of 2,500 acres of land for the project and gave the administrative approval for Rs. 22.10 crore for land acquisition and other purposes.
The Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy would hold another round of meeting with the Public Works Department officials to finalise Viability Gap Funding, concession agreement with the developer, and detailed project report.
18/08/07 Nagesh Prabhu/The Hindu

Lucknow airport paints a dismal picture

Lucknow: A handful of fans at the visitors’ lounge, no proper ventilation, garbage littered around the whole area with stray dogs resting on the chairs. Public toilets in a shambles. Most of them are locked. Those open are not cleaned for days.
Welcome to the passengers’ lounge of the state capital’s only airport, Amausi Airport.
“I have never seen an airport with such poor facilities. You would sense these problems as soon as you enter the airport area. The road leading to the airport is not a smooth ride and the administration is doing nothing,” said a restless Akhtar Hussain, while waiting for his flight to Hyderbad on Friday afternoon.
Many passengers said that the parking on the premises is one of the major problems.
Denying the allegations, officials at the parking lot said the passengers generally don’t want to pay the fee.
The only restaurant at the airport is also in a mess. The food outlet, Pradhan Sweets, looks more like a roadside dhaba. Amausi Airport Director, Ravi Prakash was not available for comment. S Pant, AGM of Terminal Management, said the facilities at the terminal will be upgraded very soon.
17/08/07 Lucknow Newsline

Friday, August 17, 2007

Cargo dwell time at airports to be reducued to 3 days

The Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shri Ashok Chawla, yesterday announced that the free time given to exporters and importers as “dwell time” for their cargo at the airports would be reduced to 3 days from the existing 5 days. This policy would be implemented from 1st October 2007. In case of exports this would mean two days for the airlines and one day for the exporter.
This announcement was made during the fourth meeting of the ‘Civil Aviation Core Group’ (CACG), which is headed by the Secretary, Civil Aviation and has representatives from the various stakeholders of the Air Cargo Industry as well as representatives from Airports Authority of India, BCAS, Customs and the Ministry of Commerce. The CACG was formed to suggest ways to remove the bottlenecks for the growth of cargo industry.
An Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation too has been constituted specifically to consider issues relating to dwell time at airports and the IMG has been meeting to consider issues relating policies, procedures and infrastructure to make recommendations on these issues.
17/08/07 Press Information Bureau (press release)

L&T, Aussie co shortlisted for new terminal at Mumbai airport

New Delhi: Engineering heavyweight Larsen & Toubro, Australia’s construction major Leighton and Thailand-based Italian-Thai Development Public Company have been shortlisted from among 17 companies that had bid for construction of a new passenger terminal building, a dedicated cargo terminal as well as air-side and city-side infrastructure in the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. The contract is expected to be worth anywhere between Rs 5,000 crore and Rs 5,500 crore.
When contacted, a spokesperson of Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), the private airport operator, said that a final decision in this matter is expected over the next three weeks. Several Indian construction companies were in the fray for the prestigious airport project including Gammon India, Punj Llyod and Shapoorji Pallonji along with an international partner.
Interestingly, one of the shortlisted candidates, L&T, is already involved in construction of two metro airports in the country. The construction major bagged the design and construction rights of Delhi international airport for Rs 5,400 crore in December last year, while it is involved in developing the airside and landside of new Hyderabad International Airport, a deal valued at Rs 495 crore. Thailand-based Italian-Thai Development Public Company has been involved with construction of Suvarnabhumi Airport at Bangkok.
17/08/07 Sudipto Dey/Economic Times

Airports Company wants to have its own courtrooms

The Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) has made an application to the Justice Department for permission to set up its own in-house court at the airports.
MD of Acsa, Monhla Hlahla, said that they company was exploring the idea of having its own court to deal with criminal matters that take place at the airports.
"We've got unique issues here and you find sometimes that if you take the matter to the bigger courts they just seem really petty when compared to cases like murder. You find that an issue like somebody stealing somebody's purse gets thrown out of court," she said.
Having an in-house court would enable criminal matters to be dealt with quicker and easier, Hlahla said.
She said that the move is likely as the airports already have police stations.
"We could maybe get one of the main courts that are closest to the airport to have a smaller office at the airports," she said.
Acsa has also embarked on a project outside of South Africa's borders operating an airport in India. The Airports Company invested R27m and together with Bidvest, Old Mutual and an Indian construction company, GVK are operating a development airport in Mumbai. Acsa own 10% of the airport and have a 25year concession agreement.
Hlahla was speaking at Acsa's results presentation where the company presented results for the year ended 31 March 2007. Revenue is up 18% to R2,6bn including non-aeronautical revenue (NAR), which accounts for 43% of total revenue at R1,4bn.
17/08/07 Dikatso Mametse/Moneyweb, South Africa

Airport project hangs in balance

The Multimodal International Hub Airport At Nagpur (MIHAN) is facing problems in the acquisition of required land as villagers are opposing the rehabilitation plan.
In a meeting held at Mantralaya on Thursday, the government decided to accelerate the process of land acquisition by resolving contentious issues with the villagers.
“Nearly 200 families from Khapa village have been opposing the rehabilitation plan as their houses are not registered with the land record department. A deputy secretary has been asked to hold meetings with parties concerned to resolve the problem,” said an official from the Chief Minister Office.
The State-promoted Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation is developing a modern airport, a captive power plant, a health city, road and rail terminals, an international school and a residential area of 3600 hectares. The project requires 10,652 acre whereas only 52 acre has been acquired so far. Moreover, the Centre is yet to decide on the transfer of assets of Nagpur Airport under the Airport Authority of India to the state.
17/08/07 Surendra Gangan/Daily News & Analysis

Even as Minister, Churchill to Oppose Mopa Airport

Margao: Navelim MLA and now a minister in Congress-led government Churchill Alemao has reiterated that he would never give a chance for the commissioning of a second Airport in Goa. He would always oppose it and would fight for making Dabolim airport fully commercial.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had recently said that his ministry would not only improve the existing Dabolim airport and build the proposed Mopa airport in Pernem. He also said that the state could even have a third airport in South Goa if the need arises with time.
Reacting to this statement Alemao said that he would not only oppose a second Airport in Goa, let alone a third one which could just be useless.
As per aviation rules and regulations, there cannot be two airport within 100 kms of aerial distance from each other. So there was no question of a second airport, Mopa at Pernem, said Alemao further.
Alemao said he would oppose Mopa airport on this technical point.
17/08/07 Sanjay Borkar/Daijiworld.com

Proposed NE airports

New Delhi: Airport Authority of India (AAI) has initiated move to appoint consultants to carry out feasibility study of proposed airports at Kokrajhar and Tawang, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in Lok Sabha. Patel confirmed that the Government has received proposals to construct Greenfield airports at Itanagar, Tawang, Pekyong, Cheithu and Kokrajhar. Action has been initiated for preparation of Detailed Project Reports for Greenfield airports in Itanagar and Nagaland, the Minister said in reply to a question by Khiren Rijiju.
In a separate reply to a question by Dr Arun Kumar Sarma, the Minister said work on new international terminal building at Guwahati Airport is at planning stage. However, work on new apron and taxiway has been awarded and is in progress.
16/08/07 Assam Tribune

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Bag of clothes lost on flight turns up inside Sahar terminal

Mumbai: Airport officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International terminal are intrigued by the way a bag that went missing from a London-Mumbai flight turned up the next day in the terminal building.
On August 13, at 8.30 pm, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel raised an alarm when they saw a black suitcase lying near a pillar at gate number two of terminal 2A.
“The suitcase was lying unattended for half an hour and nobody saw anyone come to pick it up, which made the CISF guards suspicious,” says an airport official. The guards informed airport officials, who found a Jet Airways tag and the mobile number of a certain D Parekh on it. It contained clothes.
The officials called up Parekh, who turned out to be Deepak Parekh — the chairman of HDFC Bank. He said the bag belonged to his daughter-in-law, Alice who had returned from London on Sunday by Jet Airways. Alice is married to Parekh’s son, Aditya.
“After she landed in Mumbai,” he says, adding, “she did not found one of her bags and complained to the airline who told her they would find the bag and deliver it.”
What puzzles them is how the bag came to the terminal.
“If some passenger took the bag by mistake, he or she could have returned it to the airline or informed them on the same day,” says the official, adding, “How can they come inside and leave the bag in the terminal just like that?”
16/08/07 Naveeta Singh/Mumbai Mirror

Unclaimed Suitcase Causes Scare at Bajpe Airport

Mangalore: An unattended and unclaimed suitcase which was found in the visitors' lounge at Bajpe airport here on Tuesday August 14 night caused panic for sometime. The situation remained grim until sniffer dogs were brougnt in and the chances of the suitcase having any explosives were ruled out.
As a precautionary measure, sand bags were stacked around the suitcase pending arrival of the sniffer dogs and bomb detection on the spot. Even Dakshina Kannada SP Satheesh Kumar too rushed to the spot immediately.
However, when the suitcase was opened, only a few clothes and pens were found in it. The suitcase was then handed over to Bajpe police.
Later it came to light that the suitcase belonged to Ibrahim Kunhi Malakad of M M House, Atimila of Manikoth in Kanhagad. He has been working in Egypt Flower Textiles in Abu Dhabi for the last few years and had come down on holidays on Tuesday by the Air India Express flight. He had 3 bags and a suitcase with him.
He was sent to Bajpe police who returned the suitcase after proper identification and verification.
16/08/07 Daijiworld.com

GMR arm to develop airport land

In a move that could significantly dampen the revenue flow to the government, GMR Infrastructure group company’s Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has passed on the licence to develop the land it received as part of the privatisation deal to a newly formed subsidiary.
DIAL had received 250 acres of land around the airport area to be developed commercially, with 46 per cent of the revenues accruing from it flowing back to the government (Airport Authority of India), and the rest to be utilised by the company for airport development.
In May this year, DIAL licensed the land to its newly formed 100 per cent subsidiary called Delhi Aerotropolis Private Limited (DAPL) which is responsible for developing the entire infrastructure. Currently, the company is in the process of selling the land rights to potential developers through a competitive bidding process.
“Since the sale consideration would be recognised in a “separate entity” (DAPL), the government would not be entitled to any share in this revenue,” GMR officials said.
To give a ballpark estimate, the income potential (present value of the life-time lease rentals) from one acre of land would be in the range of Rs 100 crore.
This would mean potential revenues in excess of Rs 25,000 crore for the 250 acres of land. Even after deducting certain expenses, the government should ideally be entitled to revenues of over Rs 10,000 crore.
16/08/07 N Mahalakshmi/Business Standard

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Air India ground staff call off strike

New Delhi: Air India ground staff called off their flash strike after a couple of rounds of talks with the management, airlines source said.
About 8,000 employees affiliated to the Aviation Industry Employees Guild (AIEG) went on an indefinite strike today demanding amongst other things, payment of HRA and CCA arrears even as the company warned of appropriate action if they did not withdraw their indefinite strike resorted to without giving prior notice, the sources said.
The Guild's demands include payment of arrears of HRA and CCA from January 1997 as well as acceptance of the recommendations of a high-powered committee on productivity-linked incentives (PLI).
15/08/07 PTI/The Hindu

No English? Don’t fly to London

Calcutta: As India celebrates the 60th anniversary of Independence, a citizen smarts under the insult meted out to her at Calcutta airport for not speaking English.
Saleha Iqbal, 55, was “harassed and detained” by immigration officials for over half an hour on July 7 as she could not reply to their queries in English. The central Calcutta resident, travelling alone, was on her way to London to join her sister, who had lost her husband two weeks before.
“Strangely, her inability to speak English did not land her in trouble at Heathrow airport, in London,” said Saleha’s son Mohammed Asif Iqbal.
Asif has written to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the airport authorities, seeking action against the “guilty” officials.
“The immigration officials asked her whether she could speak English, as she was conversing with them in Hindi. When she said she could not, one of them yelled at her, saying she had no business travelling to London if she could not speak the language,” said Asif, an executive in a software company.
The official asked her to wait and took away her passport and ticket. “Others then started interrogating her...... They had suddenly become suspicious of an innocent woman simply because she was not speaking English,” said Asif.
Nervous and humiliated, Saleha called her husband from her cellphone. “My father wanted to talk to the immigration officials, but they refused to speak to him,” Asif recalled. When Asif was informed about the situation by his father, he called Air-India officials, who “sorted out the matter”.
15/08/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

Man held with cartridges at Bagdogra airport

A passenger bound for New Delhi was caught with nine live cartridges in his baggage at Bagdogra airport in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, police said on Tuesday.
The man was carrying the cartridges in his bag apparently for his grandfather who lives in Rajasthan's Pilani town and supposedly has a licensed gun, Inspector General of Police (North Bengal) RJS Nalwa told IANS.
The man, identified as NS Sekhawat, was scheduled to fly to New Delhi on Monday by an Air Deccan flight (DN 169) that was later cancelled due to inclement weather.
The cartridges were detected during luggage checking at Bagdogra airport, about 650 kms from Kolkata. The man was handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is entrusted with the security of the airports. The police arrested him.
14/08/07 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

Work on Kannur airport to start soon

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has decided to speed up work on its fourth international airport in the northern Kannur district, nearly a year after it received the federal government’s green signal.
The government will recruit workers to help acquire 2,000 acres of land for the project at Moorkanparamba, 30km from the Kannur city, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said.
“We will complete the land acquisition within six months so that work on the airport can start without delay,” he told reporters.
Last week federal Aviation Minister Praful Patel promised the state that the final clearance for the project would be give as soon as the land acquisition is complete.
Kerala wants the Kannur airport to be built by private entrepreneurs without any financial help from the Airports Authority of India under a build-operate-transfer model. The Left Democratic Party (LDF) has ruled out a public-private-partnership model on the lines of the successful Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) saying it would delay the project.
Hotel baron Krishnan Nair of the Leela Group has proposed to build the airport in collaboration with Singapore’s Changi airport, a major aviation hub in Asia. The state government is yet to respond to the proposal.
15/08/07 Ashraf Padanna/Gulf Times, Qatar

Cooch Behar's air service dream shattered

Cooch Behar: Resumption of air services from the Cooch Behar airport, scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed. No aircraft will land at the Cooch Behar airport or take off from there tomorrow. The officials concerned, it may be recalled, had promised to resume air services here from tomorrow, the Independence Day.
As per schedule, a trial flight was planned for 10 August. However, it did not happen as no aircraft reached here for the purpose. If the sources are to be believed, the resumption of air services here would be delayed by a month. The Cooch Behar district magistrate, Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha said that the Cooch Behar airport is ready for the air operation.
“There is no infrastructure problem at the airport,” he added.
The AAI officials said that efforts are on to operate flights from the airport within the next three weeks.
14/08/07 The Statesman

Forgotten baggage leads to scare

Mumbai: Two forgotten pieces of luggage at terminal 1A of the Mumbai airport led to tension on the eve of the 60th Independence Day. Since both incidents took place during peak hours and led to the area being cordoned off, passenger movement was affected for a while.
According to airport sources, the two pieces were spotted within an hour of each other. "The bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) was called in and the area was cordoned off. The bags contained a mobile phone charger and clothes," said Sanjay Prakash, senior commandant of the Central Industrial Security Force, which guard the facility. Since the bags contained harmless articles, no significance was attached to the incident, Prakash added.
15/08/07 Times of India

Modi dedicates Mehsana airport for civil aviation training

Mehsana: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today dedicated the Mehsana Airport for civil aviation training. Read On >>

Steps being taken to meet shortage of Air Traffic Controllers

New Delhi: A number of steps are being taken to meet the requirement of additional trained Air Traffic Controllers. Read On >>

Congestion-free airports within a year: Minister

New Delhi: Domestic airport in the national capital will be congestion-free in a year`s time after a second runway is constructed, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
"The second runway (at Delhi airport) will be constructed by June-July 2008 after which congestion will disappear," he said replying to supplementaries during question hour.
He said only Mumbai airport will have air-traffic congestion and that too would be eliminated over the next few years after a new airport is built in the city.
The government has taken up on a war-footing infrastructure upgradation at all major airports and 35 non-metro airports, he said adding newer destinations were provided air connectivity.
14/08/07 Zee News

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Delhi airport slams doors on small planes

Mumbai: Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), now controlled by the GMR Group as a part of the government’s airport modernisation programme, has expressed its inability to accommodate additional smaller aircraft, which are widely used for regional connectivity.
Delhi Airport will not allow additional smaller planes from the winter of 2007-08. Small aircraft used for regional connections include ATRs, Bombardiers, Embraers and the Sukhoi Superjet 100.
DIAL’s decision might be followed by GVK group-controlled Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), the country’s busiest airport.
Confirming the development, a DIAL spokesperson said small aircraft movements (take-offs and landings) account for 10 per cent of the 650 aircraft movements a day. The industry estimates that with the regional airlines policy, at least 150 movements of small aircraft will be added in the next 12 months.
The decision is being taken to enhance revenues. As part of the government’s policy to encourage regional connectivity, most of these aircraft (below 40,000 kg) do not pay landing charges to the airports.
The move is expected to act as a dampener for the government’s recently announced policy to encourage regional airlines. That apart, even scheduled carriers, especially low-cost operators, have been adding in capacity to connect smaller cities with the major ones.
14/08/07 PR Sanjai/Business Standard

‘No deterrent for Cooch Behar airport’

Kolkata: The collapse of the cold storage will not be a deterrent for upgradation and restoration of the Cooch Behar airport because the cold storage was outside the airport area and with its demolition the approach path of flights to the airport has been cleared, a senior official of Airports Authority of India (national airports division) said from Cooch Behar today.
He said that the airport was now complete for flight operation. The safety aspects, according to the stipulations of the directorate general of civil aviation, have been completed.
A team from New Delhi will reach Cooch Behar tomorrow and carry out a safety audit to ensure that all stipulations were maintained. After the audit team confirms that the safety standards were in keeping with the DGCA stipulations, Notice to Airmen (Notam) will be issued to airlines to operate flights.
After airlines conduct trial runs of flights, the DGCA will notify that the aerodrome was opened for commercial and other flights, the official added.
13/08/07 The Statesman

Two held with bullets at airport

Siliguri: Two Delhi-bound air passengers were arrested at the Bagdogra Airport today and 12 rounds of live bullets were seized from their possession. The father-son duo were scheduled to board an Air Deccan flight at 3.15 pm. The flight was finally cancelled. One of the arrested persons has been identified as Narendra Singh Shekhawat, a resident of Rajasthan. The CISF personnel detected the ammunition during security scanning of the registered luggage around 3 pm today.
13/08/07 The Statesman

Travellers want to spend at Indian Airports

In India, nearly half of all travellers expressed a willingness to spend at airports according to a new survey by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. 44% of Full Service Carrier (FSC) passengers, and nearly 40% of Low Cost Carrier (LCC) passengers would like to buy goods either at their departure or arrival airport.
In regard to retail behaviour, the findings reveal that there are only minor – near insignificant – differences between FSC and LCC buying sentiments. Furthermore, in each case, the propensity to buy appears strong across a range of products.
* 56% of FSC passengers and 52% of LCC passengers are attracted by the opportunity to buy chocolates at airports.
* 49% of LCC passengers would buy books, as compared to 44% for FSC.
* 47% of FSC passengers would be interested in purchasing luxury goods, as compared to 42% of LCS.
At present, India’s airports are still relatively under-developed in retail activity. These findings should be attractive to would-be retail operators, as the figures suggest that a real growth potential may exist in this sector.
13/08/07 Travel Daily News International, Greece

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Dwell-time at airports may be reduced

New Delhi: A group of senior government officials will meet on August 16 to discuss how to prevent airports from becoming waiting halls for passengers and cargo.
The Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), comprising officials from the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Home, Commerce and Finance, Customs and Immigration departments, Planning Commission and Airports Authority of India, has already recommended reduction in check-in time for international flights from three to two hours.
On the passenger side, the IMG has suggested increase in the number of counters for check-in, immigration, security and baggage conveyor belts, besides the use of Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE), official sources said.
The second meeting on August 16 is likely to take stock of security aspects of the entire gamut of issues and seek the industry views, the sources said.
As per standards set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the dwell-time for passengers is 90 minutes for departure and 45 minutes for arrival.
12/08/07 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com

More flights to Gulf from Mangalore Airport

Mangalore: The Airports Authority of India in Mangalore is on the way to earn a profit of Rs. 6 Crore in FY 2007-08.
Airport director at Mangalore Airport at Bajpe during the a casual talk to the press persons M.R.Vasudeva said, the airport earned a profit of Rs. 83 lakh during 2006-07. The passenger traffic is expected to go up to 6 lakh in 2007-08 in comparison 4.58 lakh passengers in 2006-07. The Airport which is growing in passenger traffic will include various new facilities for passengers when the expansion of the airport is complete. He said the Authority had allowed the Manipal University to set up a health booth on rental basis. It will be manned by a doctor and a nurse.
Mr.Vasudeva said the number of flights to the Gulf countries, would see a tremendous increase to 14 a week from October 25, 2007, as against 10 presently. Air India Express will introduce new service between Sharjah and Mangalore from October, he said.
Various other outlets including a foreign exchange counter, cafeteria and snacks bar and sweets stall will also be opened in the airport.
11/08/07 Mangalorean.com

Cargo handling to give new boost to Amritsar airport

Amritsar: International trading through this Sikh holy city promises to hold a good future, with cargo handling starting from the Rajasansi international airport here.
The cargo terminal at the airport is expected to handle up to 1,500 tonnes of cargo from the first month itself. So far, cargo handling through this airport - the fastest growing international airport in India - is a mere 200 tonnes.
The Airports Authority of India has leased the cargo terminal to a private entrepreneur - JAC Air Services - to handle all cargo-related activities here.
Till now, cargo in huge volumes was not being handled from the airport even though the facility has existed for over five years. The cargo terminal even had a cold store for keeping perishables but was never used.
'We are looking at big business growth from Amritsar in the coming years. From the first month itself (August), we have orders in place. This airport can cater to all north Indian states. Goods need not be taken to Delhi's cargo terminal to be exported to other countries,' JAC air services managing director Lalit Jobanputra told IANS.
12/08/07 IANS/Monsters and Critics.com, UK

Thiruvananthapuram airport gets fire fighting and rescue vehicles

Thiruvananthapuram: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has procured two Airfield Fire Fighting and Rescue Vehicles from Austria as part of modernising its fire station functioning on the premises of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
The two modern vehicles that were shipped from Rosenbauer in Austria, was brought to the AAI’s fire station on a trailer by road from Mumbai.
Costing over Rs.1.5 crore each, the vehicles are equipped to tackle all types of aircraft crashes efficiently. The vehicles will be formally inducted on Monday.
The vehicles are among the 15 being imported from Austria by the AAI to handle any exigencies in the airport. The premier airport of the State will be getting two more vehicles being imported from Austria before the close of the current financial year.
12/08/07 S. Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

Technology upgrade to make Mumbai ATC national gateway

Mumbai: In a move that will catapult Mumbai—and India—in the league of aviation biggies, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has roped in German Air Traffic Control (ATC) specialists COMSOFT to undertake the installation of an aeronautical message handling system (AMHS) at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
The AMHS—used to relay flight plans, meteorological data, emergency messages, etc as a flight is transferred from one ATC centre to another—will be a dedicated data network connecting air traffic control centres across the globe. It is a new, refined and superior technology over the currently used aeronautical fixed telecommunication network (AFTN).
While the functionality of the AFTN—implemented in the ’70s—is so limited that it can at the most carry text with a maximum of 1,800 characters, the AMHS can carry any kind of digital information including text, graphics, images, files, databases, audio and video.
The move to replace the obsolete AFTN has been underway since March 2005 when AMHS service was established between Japan and USA.
11/08/07 Lekha Agarwal/Mumbai Newsline

Saturday, August 11, 2007

AAI to invest Rs4000cr in Kolkata, Chennai

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started modernisation work on the Kolkata and Chennai airports, K Ramalingam, chairman, AAI, said at a seminar on air route development today.
The development work will include construction of new terminals, additional runways and taxiways in both the airports. The AAI will spend Rs 2000 crore each for upgradation of the airports. The target year for completion of this project is 2010.
"We have drawn up plans to modernise both the airports. Designs of terminal buildings and expansion of existing ones have already been approved," said Ramalingam. He also said that the airport infrastructure at Chennai and Kolkata would be upgraded to make landing of aircraft like the Airbus A-380 possible.
AAI has already appointed consultants for the modernisation project, sources said. The consultant for Kolkata airport modernization is a consortium which Indian firms partnering with Hong Kong's RMJM and a Paris-based firm ADPI, while for Chennai the consultants are Creative Group with Frederic Schwartz and Genslers of the US.
10/08/07 Business Standard

Friday, August 10, 2007

Ministry gets 3 merchant airport proposals

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry is considering three proposals to set up privately-owned, or merchant, airports in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Durgapur (West Bengal) and Jhhajjar (Haryana).
The proposal for the Gwalior airport comes from sugar baron Vikram Shrivastava, managing director of Gwalior Sugar Corporation Ltd, for a cargo airport at an investment of Rs 300 crore.
The Durgapur proposal is for a passenger airport and has been submitted by a joint venture between Pragati 47, a Kolkata-based real estate and infrastructure developer, and Haryana Urban Development Corporation (Hudco).
The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and the Asansol-Durgapur Development Authority are financial partners in the project.
In Jhhajjar, the proposal for an international cargo airport has been submitted by Reliance Industries and will be part of its special economic zone (SEZ).
This interest from private players comes in response to a new policy expected to be ready in a couple of months to allow privately-owned airports.
10/08/07 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Airlines’ raise pitch for safer runways

Mumbai: It is official - airlines in India are finding it difficult to operate under inclement weather conditions on Indian runways and also at the airports in most of the cities and feel that steps need to be taken for greater passenger and operational safety.
And if as a passenger you want to believe, some of the recommendations are as basic as a cleaning of the runway of rubber deposits for better friction.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), apex industry body comprising all scheduled carriers, submitted to the civil aviation ministry a collation of airline suggestions on safe- runway operations last week.
“These recommendations are from airlines’ point of view. Other agencies can also put in their recommendations. The ministry is indeed surprised that airlines can do something like this,” said an FIA representative.
There is an alarming tone to the recommendations and the FIA states the July incident involving the Brazilian passenger plane in Sao Paulo under the wet runway conditions bear close resemblance to conditions at Indian runways during the monsoon period.
09/08/07 Manisha Singhal/Daily News & Analysis

CIAL to embark on multi-pronged diversification plans: MD

Kochi : The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), the first Indian venture in the Civil Aviation Sector with private participation, has decided to embark on diversification activities, including construction of airports in various parts of the country, using its expertise in the field.
The eight-year-old CIAL, which earned global acclaim for commissioning the Kochi international airport in record time with lowest gestation period, was in a position to quote the lowest tender rates for such projects and was confident of commissioning such projects in the shortest possible time, Dr Bharat asserted.
Setting up of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that could attract Central financial assistance, a golf course of international standards, construction of a Rs 100 crore warehousing facilities for handling export cargo, especially perishable goods, using CIAL's huge surplus land at its disposal within the airport complex, were in various stages of implementation.
Starting an airline service either independently or on joint venture basis to exploit the growing traffic on the Gulf sector was another major project taking final shape.
This would be a highly profitable proposition in the light of the Centre's proposal to go in for an early open skies policy with a view to tap the fast growing international tourist traffic, he said.
08/08/07 UNI/NewKerala.com