Civil Aviation Ministry working on 4-pronged strategy to boost airports' capacity across India: Jayant Sinha

The Civil Aviation Ministry is working on a four-pronged strategy to enhance capacity of airports across India, union minister, Mr Jayant Sinha said at an ASSOCHAM event.

We have been spending a lot of time thinking and planning about what we should do about airport capacity, we are working on four different aspects, said Mr Sinha.

The Union Minister said that while the Aviation Ministry is simultaneously working on enhancing capacity at major airport hubs of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, it is also working on developing new green-field and brown-field airports and smaller airports in tier III and IV cities.

We are significantly adding green-field capacity, we are examining brown-field PPP (public private partnership) models for mid-sized airports and we are also looking at very cost effective ways of commissioning and operating smaller tier III and IV heliports, said Mr Sinha.

He also said that second edition of UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme will help India's civil aviation sector sustain the current 15-20 per cent growth along with various supportive policy measures.
Just like the way we have opened up the tier III and IV airports during UDAN round-1, our expectation is that we will open up all helipads, smaller air-strips in the hilly areas of states like Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and in the north-east, said Mr Sinha.
Adding that it is possible through a supportive set of policy measures to be able to open up more remote locations for air connectivity under second round of UDAN, the Minister said that government expects tremendous support from helicopter operators, NSOPs (non scheduled air operators) and others in this regard.
31/08/17 Capital Market/Business Standard

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CCTV cameras not working properly at airport

New Delhi: For the surveillance and security of the country’s busiest and most sensitive Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport Terminal-3. nearly 3,000 CCTV cameras are not working properly.
Most of them are old cameras which cannot  take clear video footage.
Viewing its seriousness, the security agencies have stressed upon putting the new high technique cameras.
But despite passing orders for a long time, no action has been initiated in this direction. According to senior officials at the airport, due to strict security arrangements at the airport there is a need of new and high resolution cameras for the better surveillance.
It is to be noted that IGI Airport has been awarded with the best airport of the world. Being the most sensitive area of the country it is always been on terrorists’ target.
Therefore, CCTV cameras are one of the most important tools to keep security check. But the cameras installed here are not capable to fulfil the requirement as these cameras were installed seven years ago.
According to the airport officials, in view of the security the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, along with security agencies, has conducted a survey about the cameras. After the survey it had been told to replace the old cameras. However, the decision is still pending.
31/08/17 Prateek Chauhan/Tribune 

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Conversion to green energy to save airport 20 crore

Chennai:The airport is set to become an energy conscious facility and saving nearly 20 crore in the process by switching to LED lights and installing more solar panels
The change expected to be complete by March next year, follows the Union ministry's green airports initiative.
Airside lighting - runway lights, taxiway lights and apron lights - were converted to LED, which has led to a savings of 4.92 crore per year.
The work was completed in May. Now, conventional lights inside the passenger and cargo terminals, administrative block, and the sodium vapour and fluorescent lights on the city-side of the airport campus will be changed into LED lights. This will help the airport save another 5crore.
A senior official of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said, "The work has already begun. The plan is to complete majority of the work by March, the rest will be completed by June. There is a plan to install solar
31/08/17 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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AAI plans facelift for Pune Airport

The face of Pune airport at Lohegaon has transitioned over years with an increase in the number of flights and consequent footfalls. Currently, around 11,000 passengers travel from this airport daily. However, the infrastructure and services are not enough to accommodate the rising number, an issue which has finally caught Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) attention.
The authority concerned is now planning various structural changes at the airport. On Wednesday, Pune Mirror along with the AAI Pune officials, took a survey of these upcoming changes for the passengers.

Currently, the airport has 160 arrivals and departures in all every day. Contrary to the high volume of the commute, the infrastructure for check-ins, waiting lounges and other facilities are lacking, which the AAI is looking forward to incorporate. “We have two spaces on the ground floor which was security hold area. Here, the passengers, after completing the check-in process, would wait for final boarding of the flight. We will be adding two more areas in the first two phases. The first spot will come up on the ground floor near the check-in counter and another security hold area will be made on the first floor. Both these spots will be able to seat 200 passengers and will be constructed over a couple of months,” said AAI Pune director Ajay Kumar.

To facilitate faster check-ins, seven new luggage checking X-Ray machines have been brought to the airport, which will be added to the existing fleet of eight machines. Additionally, the waiting lounge near the second departure gate inside the terminus, which currently accommodates 100 passengers, will be expanded. “The work of this new lounge has been started and within 15 days it will be completed.” added Kumar.
31/08/17 Dheeraj Bengurt/Pune Mirror

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Sabarimala airport at Cheruvally Estate: Govt move suspicious, KPCC ex-president Sudheeran tells HC

Kochi: State government's order for setting up Sabarimala airport at Cheruvally Estate without declaring that the land belongs to the government is intended to grant non-existing rights to encroachers, former KPCC president VM Sudheeran has alleged at the Kerala High Court.
The allegation was raised in a petition filed by Sudheeran seeking to join in the case filed by Harrisons Malayalam Ltd (HML) and others challenging the appointment of IAS officer MG Rajamanickam as special officer for resumption of government lands. Cheruvally Estate was allegedly sold by HML to Gospel for Asia.
"A reading of Ext.R4(e) (CM's reply to question in Assembly) would show that the Government, in the said order have not in clear term stated that it is a land belonging to the Government and not to any private person like Harrisons Malayalam/Gospel for Asia. Therefore, the genuineness and bona fide of the Government's approach reflected in the said executive order calls for reasonable suspicion.
Therefore, a reading (of) the Ext.R4(c) (cabinet decision) in the light of Exts.R4(d) and R4(e) (Question to CM in Assembly and its answer) would create a reasonable apprehension in any reasonable prudent citizen that the Government is extremely irresponsible in the matter and they find themselves unable to assert their right over the land in categorical terms," Sudheeran's petition said. This is a deliberate and calculated effort to create ambiguity with a view to weaken Government's contentions and it is against public interest, Sudheeran has alleged.
31/08/17 Mahir Haneef/Times of India

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Domestic flights from Sept 2

Ludhiana: The domestic flights from the Sahnewal airport here are going to start again from September 2. The first Air India flight from Delhi to Sahnewal will reach here at around 4 pm that day and the same flight will leave for Delhi at 5 pm. This would be a 70-seater plane. The DC, Pradeep Aggarwal, held a meeting with the officials concerned. He said the initiative had been taken by the Central Government. He said the best road to reach Sahnewal was through the Kohara bypass as it will save much of the time of passengers. He said that for making the destination easy, sign-boards had been put up for the convenience of public. The other arrangemts like repair of road and berms, plantation, pruning of weeds and trees etc will be completed by August 31.
31/08/17 Tribune

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Two-stream ATC rating system for air traffic controllers

New Delhi: In a move which is likely to ensure safer and more efficient aircraft operations in the Indian skies than ever before, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to implement two-stream rating process for air traffic controllers (ATCO). The authority has decided to switch over from the existing single-stream, multiple ratings for a controller to the proposed two-stream rating process.
"The proposed two-stream rating process envisages deploying Indian ATCOs in either en route stream or terminal stream. While controllers deployed in en route stream will be responsible for provision of air traffic services to the aircraft in Continental/Oceanic enroute phase, controllers in terminal stream will be providing air traffic services to those flights operating around 60 nautical miles from an airport wherein arriving flights from the enroute phase and departing flights to join their enroute phase operate," a statement by AAI said.
After completing the requisite ab-initio training and undergoing mandatory on-the-job training, ATCOs are assessed for their competency and skill in line with ICAO standards and DGCA regulations on the subject. "Controllers have a well-developed ability to keep calm under high pressure traffic situations or unusual occurrences, to receive and synthesize different kinds of information related to traffic handling and perform independent duties in the concerned ATC units.
31/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Tired passengers take shelter on conveyor belt at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: After the heavy rains and floods in Mumbai, the passengers who had just landed at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) sort refuge in its safe confines on Tuesday night. The huge crowds were in fact safer inside CSIA, though the seating arrangement was short. Mumbaikars that are used to a fourth seat in a train and can find safe spot sat on the conveyor belts to take some rest.

“The Mumbai International Airport Pvt Limited (MIAL) had arranged buses from terminal to main junctions of Mumbai like Andheri and Dadar. The passengers were not willing to move out of the airport the fear of being stranded on flooded roads,” said an eye-witness.

The visibly tired passengers which included women and children were seen taking rest on conveyor belt at international airport in Mumbai on Tuesday night. The scenes at the domestic airport too were no different. Mumbaikars returning from their holidays stayed put as many flights were cancelled.
“Stranded at Mumbai airport after an end to a wonderful vacation,” wrote Dr Anjali Kanitkar, who now heads the Directorate of Social Audit.

Several airlines cancelled their flights due to low visibility and strong wind amidst heavy downpour. Few flights were diverted to Ahmedabad.

The airlines have extended the waiver on penalties arising out of date or flight change.

In a bid to minimise the impact on network and hasten the recovery the Jet Airways has had to cancel a few scheduled flights of August 29 and August 30.
31/08/17 Diwakar Sharma/FreePressJournal

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Indian Air Force-owned Hindon Airport to become second airport in Delhi NCR

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force-owned Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad would become the second airport in the National Capital Region of Delhi albeit for regional commercial flights, the government said on Wednesday.

The government said that they have fetched approvals from the Indian Air Force to allow regional airlines to launch flights out of Hindon airbase instead of the existing Delhi airport, as it is not constrained.

“We will not be able to add any new regional flights out of Mumbai airport because there are no slots available. Not just that Delhi airport is also facing slot constraints. We will soon be offering Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad for regional flights,” said aviation secretary RN Choubey.
He added that the ministry will talk to Delhi airport for their approval for the usage of another airport within 150 km radius of the existing Delhi airport.

“We have started discussion with Delhi airport management on this and are hopeful that they would not have any problem in starting regional flights from Hindon,” Choubey added.
30/08/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Land still not available to start night landing at Srinagar airport

Srinagar: It is more than a year since clearance was given for the start of night landing at Srinagar International Airport, yet the facility remains uninstalled.
Director of Srinagar International Airport, Sharad Kumar, told Kashmir Reader that the airport lacks additional 600 metres of lighting for the start of the facility, the land required for which is yet to be procured.
“Otherwise, all other requirements are complete,” he said. “Once we are able to procure the land, which we have to get from the state government, the lighting will be put in place. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will give clearance and the facility will start.”
The Srinagar airport occupies a small corner of the massive IAF airbase which controls it. The airport land has actually been leased out to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) by the IAF and houses the terminal building where passengers check-in and depart. The AAI also controls the apron area (where an aircraft is parked) while the airspace and runway control is with the IAF.
Last year, the state government gave the green signal for night flights from May 2016. When that did not happen on schedule, a meeting was held between the officers manning the airport and the chairman of the airport advisory committee, who was at that time Tariq Hamid Karra, the PDP leader who has since joined the Congress. It was conveyed in the meeting that the lack of funnel guarding (required for flight operations during night), runway lighting according to international flight standards, and approach lights for night landing were the reasons for the delay in starting the service.
30/08/17 Junaid Nabi Bazaz/Kashmir Reader

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Policy push for local air hubs

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-government wants to transform the metro airports into global aviation hubs, like the ones in Dubai and Singapore, through a series of policies, including stalling bilateral deals that favour rival airports.

The move, officials feel, will also address the aviation sector's financial woes.

Both the finance and the civil aviation ministries feel there is a need to stop feeding rival airports in Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Istanbul while major domestic airports and airlines remain under-utilised on global routes.

A number of policies are being considered to make the metros more cost effective for airlines to fly internationally. These include lower parking fees, incentives to airlines to take up unused flying rights and changes in visa rules to allow easier transit to passengers travelling from neighbouring and Southeast Asian countries to Europe and the US.
"India can be a hub for neighbouring countries to fly to Europe and the US. We have to be imaginative. Singapore gives a three-day transit to anyone with a valid visa and ticket to Europe, the US or Australia as they know these travellers have been vetted by stringent checks. The result is funneling of passengers as well as spending in dollars in Singapore's hotels and duty-free stores," said aviation ministry officials.
Officials point out that besides Air India, whose huge losses have forced the government to put it on the block, at least two major airlines have negative net worth and huge borrowings.
27/08/17 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/Telegraph

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Hyderabad International Airport migrating to Ozone safe AC system

Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here, will migrate its entire conventional AC units to those with Ozone safe AC units across the offices of the airport.

This is in line with the Government of India’s ratification of Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer in 1992, and its commitment to phase out the Ozone-depleting HCFCs (Hydrochlorofluorocarbons) from India, SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, said, “GHIAL has been pro-actively utilizing newer and greener technologies available globally to keep its commitment towards environment sustenance. RGIA has 5MW solar power plant, which meets approx 15 percent of airport’s electricity demand.
28/08/17 Hans India

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Civil aviation director asks AAI to inspect Bareilly airport site

Bareilly: To expedite the construction of the proposed Nath Nagari airport, near the Indian Air Force’s Trishul airbase in Bareilly, director of civil aviation in UP government, Devendra Swaroop, has asked the chairman of Airport Authority of India (AAI) Guru Prasad Mohapatra to send a team to inspect the civil enclave perimeter as some stretches of the boundary are zigzag shaped. Swaroop insisted Mohapatra to send a senior official of AAI, along with the team, as any decision on the zigzag shaped boundary could be taken on the spot. According to the district administration, work at the proposed civil enclave site has slowed down as AAI is yet to inspect the boundary.
Civil aviation director asks AAI to inspect Bareilly airport site
In his letter to Mohapatra, Swaroop said, “Bareilly district magistrate told us that land, according to the master plan, for a civil enclave has been acquired but at some stretches, the boundary wall is zigzag shaped. Site inspection is necessary for this. Hence, it is advised that the executive director of AAI visit the site and resolve the matter.”
The director of civil aviation has asked the AAI chairman to inform him about the proposed visit of AAI officials as he could also reach the place to give submission on behalf of the state government.
27/08/17 Pankul Sharma/Times of India

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Rs 290 crore for civil airport in Allahabad before Ardh Kumbh

Lucknow: State government has sanctioned and released Rs 290 crore to upgrade the Bamrauli airstrip in Allahabad before the Ardh Kumbh in 2019. To be built adjacent to Bamrauli Airport, the new civil airport will have facility for landing and take-off of all, including Boeing 737 aircraft.
Since, Bamrauli Airport comes under the purview of the Air Force, the need for a civil airport in the Sangam City was long felt, said state health minister Allahabad (West) MLA Siddharthnath Singh, adding that though announcement for the airport was made much before Yogi government came to power, the process has now been expedited. Sangam City's airport will be at par with those at Lucknow and Gorakhpur, said Singh, adding that funds have reached the district magistrate.
To be ready within a year, the civil airport would be built on an extended land, acquisition of which would begin soon, Singh, who is also the UP government spokesperson, told TOI. State government's request to Railways to come up with a rail overbridge (ROB) and flyover connecting Begum Bazar locality with the airport has also been approved, he added.
28/08/17 Rajiv Srivastava/Times of India

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Gadkari hints at 10-year wait for Purandar airport to take off

Pune: The proposed airport at Purandar has got yet another tentative take-off date, this time from Nitin Gadkari.
The Union minister of road transport, highways and shipping on Sunday indicated that the new facility will take at least 10 years to become functional. Barely two months ago minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha had said the new facility will take off in 5-6 years.
"The existing airport in Lohegaon is a profit making facility. Additional land for its expansion of the airport has been given by the defence. If required, more land will be sought and one can have more features, such as an underground parking facility, at the airport through the public private partnership model," Gadkari said.
"The Lohegaon airport needs more space for more aircraft to land and take-off. All the new facilities will take care of the airport in terms of better facilities for at least 10 years. Simultaneously, the construction of the new Pune airport (at Purandar) will go on," he added.
28/08/17 Times of India

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Chandigarh Airport to reduce operations from October 3 for upgrade and repairs

New Delhi: Chandigarh airport will curtail daily flight operation timings starting October 3 for upgrade and repairs, a move opposed by airlines, which said they didn’t get adequate advance notice. The airport will stop functioning from 3 pm to 5 am daily, airline executives said.

The Federation of Indian Airlines opposed the plan and asked the Indian Air Force, which owns the airport, to shift renovation timings to night to minimise impact. Runway work will result in restricted operating hours, the federation said in a letter earlier this month. Airlines had planned to increase daily flights from 74 to 84 in the winter schedule and closure every afternoon will affect 28 flights, it said.

Reduction in operation timings will lead to a 35-40% drop in passengers and flights, the federation said. International and domestic passenger traffic at Chandigarh increased 42% to 216,694 in June, according to data on Airports Authority of India website.

The federation suggested Chandigarh follow the model adopted at Amritsar airport, where runway work was carried out between 8 pm and 5:30 am for a year, without affecting scheduled operations. Airlines sought at least six months advance notice regarding such closures and/or closure at Chandigarh from 10 pm to 5 am so as to minimise impact on operations, according to the letter.
28/08/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Razing buildings near airport that violate height norms not a solution: HC

Mumbai: Voicing concern over violation of height norms around city airport, the Bombay High Court has said authorities will have to make a choice between "saving lives of air passengers and life savings" of those living in such buildings.

However, it said that razing buildings violating height norms was not a solution.

A bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice N M Jamdar made the observation while hearing a PIL filed by activist Yashwant Shenoy, seeking action against structures around the airport that violate height rules.

The HC said authorities will have to make a choice between "saving lives of the thousands of air passengers, and the life savings of a few thousand people" who own such buildings or flats.

In the hearing earlier this week, CJ Chellur said the court could not pass orders directing demolition of such buildings and structures all at once.

"Demolishing everything is not the solution. What will happen to residential buildings that are occupied currently but violate height norms? Who will take the responsibility for the occupants, provide them alternate accommodation?" CJ Chellur asked.

"What does the DGCA propose to do on this?" she sought to know.

The bench said authorities must come up with a "better solution."

On previous hearings, another bench of the HC had directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to identify and issue notices to all such structures that were found to be contravening the height norms.
27/08/17 PTI

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High rises in Palam flag flight hazards

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi International Airport is operating on “borrowed time”, both on safety and security parameters. According to a petition filed in the Delhi High Court, the busiest airport of the country with over 1,100 flights operating daily is running on the basis of the obstruction survey that was carried out way back in 2007 and 2010.

Since then the situation in and around the airport has changed drastically. Hundreds of high-rises have come up in and around the airport complex. For instance, Aerocity comprising malls and hotels on the airport premises has also turned out to be the biggest safety as well as security threat, according to the petition.
The High Court has issued notices to all ministries and departments concerned seeking their immediate response. Mumbai-based advocate Yashwant Shenoy, who had blown the lid over the safety hazards around the Mumbai airport last year, has filed the PIL in the court of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Geeta Mittal. His petition in the Bombay High Court led to demolition order against 437 high-rises around the Mumbai airport.

Delhi has a foggy winter in addition to monsoon during which visibility becomes a serious issue for safe flying, particularly when the obstacle map of the airport is of the years 2007 and 2010. The air regulations mandate obstacle survey in every two years.

The petitioner accessed the website of Airport Authority of India and found that the obstacle map of Delhi is outdated. Delhi has three runways—obstacle survey for 10/28 runway was done in 2007 and for 9/27, it was conducted in March 2010. For the third runway 11/29—the longest runway in Asia with probably the world’s largest displaced threshold of almost 1.5 km caused by a large statue of Lord Shiva—the obstacle survey dates back to February 2010.

A petition in the Delhi High Court has claimed that the obstacles to the airport are also obstacles to Communication Navigation Surveillance. Radars and other instruments are critical when the systems in the aircraft fail.
27/08/17 Pradip R Sagar/New Indian Express

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Plane’s engine parts come off on takeoff run

New Delhi: In an unprecedented scare at the Delhi airport, engine parts of a Jumbo Jet fell off just as the plane was about to take off on Saturday. Luckily, the pilots were able to abort takeoff as they were on the airport's longest runway and stop the freighter Boeing 747-300 in time.
However, the runway had to be closed for over half an hour to check for strewn parts and reopened for operations only after removing the same.
This incident happened with the cargo aircraft of a Kabul-bound private Afghan carrier. "Around 4.30pm on Saturday, the plane was rolling for takeoff from runway 29 (the one closest to Gurgaon side). Another aircraft was on the taxiway and its crew, to their horror, saw engine parts of the Jumbo Jet fall off. It alerted the air traffic control (ATC), which in turn contacted the Afghan crew. Luckily, the four-engine B-747 was able to safely stop in time," said a senior ATC official.
An airport source said the "rear portion of an engine, called turbine, had fallen off during the takeoff." The plane was removed from the runway and the airstrip was closed for operations to look for strewn engine parts. Any metallic object lying on the runway can be dangerous for an aircraft if it hits them while they are moving at fast speed.
27/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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CIAL shareholders to get 25 per cent in dividend

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has posted a net profit of Rs 179.45 crore after tax in the last fiscal, up from Rs 176.02 crore in 2015-16 fiscal. The profit before tax increased from the previous year’s Rs 237.32 crore to Rs 256.32 crore last  fiscal. It is learnt that a dividend of 25 percent has been decided for the shareholders by the director board of the company for the fiscal which has to be endorsed by the AGM.

The total revenue earned by CIAL last fiscal was Rs 487.28 crore after detaching the revenue from the duty-free shop, which was formed into a separate company from June 1, 2016. The total revenue of CIAL in 2015-16 fiscal was Rs 530.79 crore which was inclusive of duty-free revenue.

The company has also recorded a sharp decline in the annual expenses. It came down from Rs 293.47 crore in 2015-16 fiscal to Rs 230.96 crore. This could be achieved after implementing certain austerity measures.
The CIAL has recorded quantum jump in duty- free shop revenue also in the last fiscal. It jumped from Rs 212.49 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 246.62 crore last fiscal. The first two months’ revenue  of the duty-free shop in the last fiscal of Rs 64.84 crore has only been added to CIAL’s revenue while the rest goes to the separate company CIAL Dutyfree and Retail Services Limited (CDRSL). The revenue of this company in the last fiscal is Rs 181.78 crore which takes the total revenue of CIAL to Rs 669.06 crore.
27/08/17 Deccan Chronicle

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Govt plans to upgrade security of unused airstrips

New Delhi: Security of 43 unused airports and 355 airstrips in the country is all set to be enhanced with the Home Ministry planning to review their vulnerability in view of constant threat from terror groups.
The move comes after security agencies carried out a nation-wide security audit of unused airports and airstrips considering the possibility of terrorists using remote airports to carry out terror attacks.
Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said he will review the security of unused airports and airstrips soon.
"I will take review soon," he told PTI.
Many of these airstrips are located in strategic areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan and North- Eastern states while others are located in little-known places like Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh, Belurghat in West Bengal, Nagda in Madhya Pradesh, Parsoli in Gujarat and Dhule in Maharashtra.
Besides, some of the abandoned or unused airstrips are owned by IIT Kanpur, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, the Banaras Hindu University and a few industrial houses.
Of the 355 airstrips, around 100 belong to the Indian Air Force while around 60 are private.
27/08/17 Achinta Borah/India Today

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Decode the airport look

Flying off to a fanciful destination is reason enough to play dress up. Airport trends can’t be given a miss as it is all about being minimalistic and simple. There is just something about the basics and how you put it together that speaks a lot of who you are as a person. Are you going to take the chic route or the casual I-woke-up-this-way one? Celebs love taking their looks for the airport from all day basics to ultra glam and of course there are some hits and misses in that arena! Since the lot of them gets clicked quite often at the airport, it has become quite the rage to follow high-fashion trends at the airport too.

There are some celebs who turn up decked to surprise you. Kangana Ranaut has been quite the daredevil even donning a sari once, for her plane journey. For fashionistas like Sonam and Deepika more often not, there seems to be something quite versatile when it comes to carrying off outfits that although quite normal are snazzy enough for wherever they would be flying off to. Here are some of the best in the city telling you how to jet off in style.

Comfort is all that you should really care for, as designer Prerana Sarkar says, “While travelling you need to dress accordingly, keeping in mind that you need to be comfortable for your journey. Regular Denim or ripped jeans that have a comfortable fit are in this season. Pair them with a polka dots or gingham print shirt as they are in vogue right now.”

The point here is to keep your focus on having one statement piece like your shoes or jackets that pretty much does all the talking. City-based designer Monali Ranka explains, “The airport fashion scene is quite an interesting space to experiment with regular clothing. Casual trenches in checks with a smart tapered pair of jeans with a simple Tee can get an upgrade with a cool pair of sneakers or boots. A lot of people care about the kind of foot wear or jackets they use when it comes to airport fashion as they are essentials. If you are travelling to a much colder place, you could thrown on a trench coat in khaki colour or else opt for a sweatshirt with a cool printed text.”
27/08/17 Remya Scaria/Deccan Chronicle

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Regulate fares for flights connecting Chandigarh, DGCA tells airlines

New Delhi: Civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday advised airlines to “keep a check on airfares” on the sectors with flights connecting cities like Chandigarh, Jammu and Jaipur. The DGCA’s advisory comes on the back of the recent violence that has hit cities in Haryana and Punjab in the wake of the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for rape by a CBI court in Panchkula. He is slated to be sentenced on Monday. “Airlines have been advised to keep a check on the airfares on these sectors,” a senior DGCA official said.
“DGCA has already cleared one additional flight on Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi of Vistara for today (Sunday) and one each additional flight on Delhi-Chandigarh-Delhi and Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi of Vistara for tomorrow (Monday),” he said. According to the official, national passenger carrier Air India has been requested to explore the possibility of operating a flight on the Delhi-Jammu-Delhi sector on Monday. “IndiGo has informed that they will mount an additional flight on Delhi-Jammu-Delhi sector on August 29,” the official added.
27/08/17 IANS/Financial Express

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Delhi flights: Airlines have a field day

Amritsar: Following the cancellation of trains and buses from the city for Delhi, the fare of domestic flights has gone up four times the normal fare. There are almost 12 domestic flights to Delhi from the city airport.
A flight to Delhi, which normally varies between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,000, now costs from Rs 12,000 to Rs 27,000.
Abhishek, a trip adviser from Holiday Dreamer, said, “Generally, a Delhi flight costs Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000. Now, with low availability of seats, the fare being charged by various airlines is about Rs 25,000. Such a situation had arose last year during Jat agitation.”
Due to high fare, a large number of tourists are stuck in the city. They are waiting for the restoration of rail and road traffic. “As the CBI court had announced the date of verdict a week before, traders had scheduled their meetings accordingly. But most of the tourists were unaware. Now, they have only one option to get expensive air tickets to reach Delhi,” said Ravi, another tour planner.
26/08/17 Charanjit Singh Teja/Tribune 

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This Is How It's Supposed To Work - Air Fare To Delhi Soars To RS 26k

The trains between Chandigarh and Delhi have been largely cancelled for today and there is concern that air fares are soaring as a result. Well, yes, this is how things are supposed to work in a market. If supply changes then prices change, if demand changes then prices change. It is the change in prices which then match changed supply with changed demand. This is not an error or mistake, this is the point of using the system itself:

With all 36 trains from the city cancelled, air fare to Delhi soared to Rs 26,000 on an Air India evening flight — almost 15 times the normal fare for the one-hour flight. The scenario will remain the same on Sunday as well with the cheapest air ticket to the capital selling at Rs 6,600 on the 7.55am IndiGo flight. On average, the Sunday price for a Chandigarh-Delhi ticket on Sunday will cost anywhere between Rs 17,000 and Rs 18,000.

There are five direct flights between Chandigarh and Delhi and there are fears that a ticket cost could zoom to between Rs 56,000 and Rs 57,000, if passengers book on the spot.

Ambala division railways manager Dinesh Kumar announced on Saturday that all trains playing from Chandigarh railway station or the Ambala railway station will remain cancelled till Monday (August 28), with service to resume only on Tuesday.

That was later revised to only a few trains will be running, not the full service roster. At which point we've got to ask, well, what are we going to do about this?

36 trains quite obviously carry rather more people than 5 airplanes. We simply cannot therefore fit everyone who wishes to travel between the two cities on the available transport (this is to assume that the trains run full but we've got to assume something). How do we decide among those who do get to go to Delhi and those who don't?

We need some form of rationing and the most obvious method is to ration by price. For the joy of that system is that that very variation of price changes the demand to be able to go to Delhi. Some might well have gone to Delhi at Rs 500. Or 1,000. But won't want to go at 10,000. Or 50,000, whatever the price becomes. Changing the price thus changes the decision to want the service--and those who still desire it at the higher price are clearly those who value the opportunity to go to Delhi the most.
27/08/17 Tim Worstall/Forbes

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Airport officials to extend apron area by next year

Pune:  The Pune airport authorities, in a bid to allow uninterrupted operations, have decided to increase the airport apron size to 15.86 acres. The extension is likely to be done by next year.
Airport apron is the area where aircraft operations like parking, loadedunloading, refuelling and boarding are carried out.
The decision comes as a relief to passengers who claimed to have had to wait for a long time or get wet in the rain while boarding the aircraft. Passengers blame airlines for not providing them with adequate facilities during rains, which resulted in them getting drenched during boarding.
However, the airlines, while stating that all facilities are provided to passengers, have said the lack of space in the apron area and limited number of aerobridges have posed problems for them too.
27/08/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Ground Handling in Airport Now Essential Service in Meghalaya

Following a direction by the Centre, Meghalaya Cabinet on Thursday approved the amendment of the Meghalaya Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1980 to include ground handling of the airports as part of essential services.

“We have approved amendment of the Act in order to include ground handling services of the airport under its purview,” Deputy Chief Minister Roytre C Laloo told reporters after the meeting held in Shillong.

The amendment was made in compliance with the recent direction of the Centre government to all the states, Laloo said. He said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has come up with the integrated civil aviation policy to make regional air connectivity a reality and the policy aims to take flying to the masses by making it affordable and convenient.
25/08/17 PTI/North East Today

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Srinagar Airport holds soft skill training prog for staff

Srinagar: Airports Authority of India, Srinagar Airport had organised a training program on ‘Soft Skill and Grooming’ from August 21 to 23 for the benefit of Airport Staff at Srinagar airport. The training was given by Institute of Hotel Management, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Rajbagh, Srinagar.
Addressing participants, Airport Director Shard Kumar focused on the efforts of management and college administration for providing state-of-the art facilities to participants by IHM, Srinagar. He stressed on the importance of such training programs and also assured that many more such quality programs will be introduced in the days to come for preparing Airport Staff to facilitate passengers. The future training programs can be designed and developed as per the need of the participants.
26/08/17 Kashmir Reader

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Jammu may get an alternative airport

Jammu: Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh today said that the state government has decided to submit a proposal to the Centre for developing an alternative airport in Jammu.
Chairing a high level meeting here today, Dr Nirmal Singh said the state government has decided to identify suitable land before approaching the Centre. He asked Deputy Commissioners of Jammu and Samba to start the process for land identification required for developing double runway airport.
The meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Dr. Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, Deputy Commissioner, Samba Sheetal Nanda, Director, Airport Authority of India, Jammu D K Goutam, Chief Engineer, Power Development Department Ashwini Gupta and other senior officers of concerned departments.
The Deputy CM said that arrangements should be made for aerial survey of sites ideal for the construction of the ambitious project.
The Director, AAI informed the meeting that 650 acre land is required for developing single runway and 1,100 acre is required for double strip airport.
26/08/17 Kashmir Monitor

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Airport expansion: AAI ropes in Singapore firm

Patna: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has roped in Singapore-based firm Meinhardt (Singapore) Pte Ltd as master consultant for expansion of terminal building at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport, Patna.
Senior officials at Patna airport said the firm has already completed preliminary survey of the airport and its officials are expected to visit the airport again on Monday.
"Executives of Meinhardt have made a preliminary survey of the airport, including the apron area, and they are now doing a civil survey of the terminal building and adjacent areas, over which it has to be expanded. Separate bidding process would be held for roping in firms for construction works," Patna airport director Rajendra Singh Lahauria told TOI.
Sources said the expansion work would commence with development of three additional aprons in front of the state hangar. AAI has already constructed temporary cabins adjacent to Bihar Flying Institute, in which maintenance equipment of state hangar would be kept. Two hangars are proposed to be developed adjacent to Bihar Flying Institute for operation of the aircraft of the civil aviation directorate.
26/08/17 Times of India

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Passengers make it early to catch flights

Mohali: Panic-stricken passengers started pouring in at International Airport in Mohali since early this morning.
“Even those, who have their flights, scheduled in the evening, started reaching the airport,” said an official at the airport adding that the airport witnessed great hustle and bustle throughout the day, which is unusual on any other normal days.
“Surely, most of the passengers were panic-stricken. A number of passengers started reaching here early this morning for obvious reasons. Many of them have flights in evening,” said Inspector HS Ball, Station House Officer of the Airport police station.
25/08/17 Akash Ghai/Tribune

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New boarding gate at airport

Thiruvananthapuram: A ₹1.5-crore remote boarding gate was recently opened at the international terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram airport for hassle-free boarding and alighting from the aircraft in the early hours of the day.

The facility set up by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is in addition to the existing three aerobridges and remote boarding gate in the terminal. Passengers coming through the ramp to the gate will be taken in the coaches of operating airlines to the aircraft parked in parking bays.

The international airport has 11 parking bays at the domestic terminal side and another nine bays at the international terminal on the city side.

Out of the nine parking bays in the international terminal, only three bays have aerobridges.

Aircraft parked in other six bays on the international terminal side can be accessed through coaches and boarding gate.
26/08/17 The Hindu

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KSBB to prepare eco-restoration report

Kannur: The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) will prepare a scientific report recommending eco-restoration activities in the upcoming Kannur International Airport project’s peripheral areas that have experienced environmental degradation.

The decision to submit the report and request both Larsen & Toubro, the builder of the airport project, and Kannur International Airport Ltd., the airport company, to earmark their corporation responsibility funds for sustaining the ecosystem in the area and the people living there was taken after KSBB chairman Oommen V. Oommen and member secretary Dinesan Cheruvat visited the peripheral areas of the project site along with the Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) of the Keezhallur grama panchayat here on August 25. The KSBB officials visited the area following a request of the BMC.

“We will impress upon the officials of L&T and KIAL with our scientific inputs and request them that they have a responsibility to sustain the ecosystem and people who conserve the ecosystem,” Mr. Ommmen told The Hindu when contacted over the phone on Saturday.

Mr. Oommen said agricultural land in the periphery of the airport project site was damaged due to soil erosion from the project site. There were some parts where the land under cultivation had experienced heavy flow of soil sediments, he said. In some areas, well water was polluted because of the soil erosion.
26/08/17 Mohamed Nazeer/The Hindu

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Pasighat to be soon on aviation map

Itanagar: Pasighat in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh is all set to be included in the aviation map of the country as the civilian terminal of the Advance Landing Ground (ALG) will be made operational next month.
State civil aviation secretary Vinod P Kalve made this announcement on Wednesday after a joint inspection of all aspects of the terminal, including safety measures, security and other operational matters, an official communique said. Kalve was accompanied by East Siang deputy commissioner Tamiyo Tatak, SP Pranav Tayal, civil aviation Director R Roniya and deputy director T Ratan, flying officer Akshay Sharma, zilla parishad chairperson Kaling Dai, Pasighat Municipal Council chief Kaling Doruk and other departmental heads.
Kavle said chief minister Pema Khandu and chief secretary Shakuntala D Gamlin have held a series of meetings to make Pasighat ALG operational for commercial flights by September this year. During his visit, the secretary expressed satisfaction over the progress and gave specific instructions modifying the existing facilities at the terminal.
24/08/17 Times of India

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Modalities for operation 24x7 flights from Srinagar airport reviewed

Srinagar—Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan Thursday convened a meeting to review the modalities for starting round the clock flights from Srinagar International Airport.
Additional Commissioner Kashmir, Additional Deputy Commissioner Budgam, Director Airport Authority of India, Chief Administrative Officer Air-force Station, Representative of ADG Headquarters, ASP Anti Hijack Srinagar Airport, Deputy Director Planning, Station Managers of Airline operators and other concerned officials were present in the meeting.
The meeting discussed operational feasibility and infra requirements to start operations of 24X7 flights like high mast lights for funnel area, approach lights, surveillance, watch towers at strategic locations, adequate lighting for proper visual profiling of vehicles, adequate security, land acquisition and other issues.
It was given out that the Airport Authority of India and Indian Air Force have already given its nod for operation of 24x7 flights from the Srinagar Airport. However, the clearance from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a regulatory body for civil aviation, is must for all airlines to start 24x7 flight operations.
The meeting was told that all Private airlines operating from and to Srinagar are ready to start the round the clock operations.
On the occasion, the Divisional Commissioner directed Chief Engineers R&B to provide survey data of 600 meters outside the Air Force station boundary wall to District Administration Budgam within two days so that requisite funnel would be constructed immediately.
He also directed Air-Force officials to provide alternate land at Buchroo village for construction of huts for additional security to funnel area.
He further asked Director Airports Authority to install the approach lights immediately within 300 meters at the Srinagar Airport for hassle free flight operations.
25/08/17 Kashmir Oberver

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Long way to go before Code E takes off from Calicut airport

Kozhikode: A joint team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) may have given the green signal to commence operations of Boeing 777-200 aircraft at the Calicut airport.

But it is easier said than done. “We will have to start from the very beginning with an initial safety assessment meeting, a review of all stakeholders including airline companies,” airport Director J.T. Radhakrishna told The Hindu on Friday.

He said that a report relating to pre-execution work should be submitted to the AAI which in turn had to be approved by the DGCA. Tenders have to be invited for major electrical works for shifting the runway lighting, and approach light systems. “Possibly, the exercise will take about four months. But we have no plans to partially shut down the airport as the work can be carried out daily between 2.30 p.m. and 8 p.m., a period when the flight schedules are one or two,” he said.

Nevertheless, senior AAI officials said that the time required to complete the task varied between six months and one year. “Several rounds of meeting will have to be held with stakeholders on runway closure and rescheduling of flights. Normally, companies operate flights based on summer and winter schedules,” he said.

The existing 2,850-metre runway is not adequate for the operation of most of the wide-bodied Code E aircraft. “The AAI has projected additional land requirement for the extension of the runway, runway strip and associated pavements to make it compatible for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft,” he said.

In fact, the runway has to be reduced to 2,700 m in compliance with the Court of Inquiry recommendations for providing of Runway End Safety Area (RESA). The existing RESA on either side is 90 m. Its length should to be increased to 240 m.

Besides, the existing runway strip, meant to reduce damage to the aircraft in the event of an unintentional excursion from the runway surface, is just 75 m on either side while the actual requirement is 150 m from the centreline of the runway on both sides. “Thus the airport is operating with several exemptions, ” the AAI official said.
25/08/17 The Hindu

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Why only Boeing 777-200 was given clearance

Based on the Aerodrome Reference Field Length (ARFL), the report of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) came to the conclusion that only Boeing 777-200 aircraft appeared compatible for Calicut airport.

ARFL refers to the minimum field length required for an aircraft to take off at sea level in still air and runway slope. For Boeing 777-200, the ARFL is 2,390 metres while for Airbus 330-300, it is 2,770.

Airport Director J.T. Radhakrishna said that AAI officials would now have to examine which all airline companies operated Boeing 777-200, and their interest in resuming services from the airport. “Both Saudi Airlines and Emirates had earlier operated flights from the airport,” he said.

Already, the DGCA and AAI have given directions to identify the hazards before allowing the operation of the specific type of Code E aircraft. “Saudia is likely to operate B 777-200, but we are unsure about Emirates,” Mr. Radhakrishna said.
25/08/17 The Hindu

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Karnataka wants DEMU from Yeshwantpur to Kempe Gowda International Airport for now

Bengaluru: he State government has asked the Railways to consider running Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) services from Yeshwantpur to the Kempe Gowda International Airport (KIA). The remarks were made during a high-level meet involving State government, Metro and Railway officials at Vidhana Soudha on Friday. Connectivity to airport and prioritisation of suburban services were among the issues discussed. Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia, who chaired the meet, told Express, “The Metro link to airport might take three to four years to be completed. The proposed rail link to airport from Yeshwantpur via Yelahanka requires electrification of the tracks. Until that happens, we have asked Railways to consider running DEMU services f from Yeshwantpur till Chikkaballapur.”
To cover the 3 kilometre distance from Yeshvantpur till the airport, we can have shuttle services, the Chief Secretary said. “Yeshwantpur has the rail capacity in place. What we need are more platforms. We can consider having an elevated platform here to facilitate services to the airport,” he said. This could be a bit costly, he added. “The possibility of a third and fourth railway line between Cantonment railway station and Whitefield were also discussed,” the CS said. Whitefield is heavily congested and it could help, he added.
25/08/17 New Indian Express

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Breeding of dengue mosquitoes at Chennai airport shocks Central team

Chennai: A high level medical team from Central public health department conducted a two-day inspection at the Chennai international airport looking out for mosquito larvae.

Irked about recent online complaints to Airports Authority of India by international passengers informing that Chennai airport and its premises were infested with mosquitoes, the 12-member medical team inspected runway, waiting hall and the cargo section of the airport.

According to Chennai airport sources, the team began its visit on Wednesday and expressed shock over seeing large number of aedes agypti mosquitoes that causes dengue within the airport area.

The team also pulled up airport health authorities for the substandard maintenance and instructed the staff to remove stagnant water and buses near runway and cargo areas.
25/08/17 PA Jebaraj/Deccan Chronicle

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Air Alliance Introduces New Service Between Patna-Lucknow

Patna: Those living in Patna with business or personal ties with Lucknow or those living in Lucknow with connection to Patna will appreciate the new Alliance Air direct daily service between the two historical cities with the introduction of Flights 9I-693/9I-694 on Thursday.
On its debut flight from Patna, the plane was rather empty with only 38 passengers leaving for Lucknow and 11 passengers for Bhopal. On its return flight from Lucknow, 35 passengers arrived at the Patna Airport, 30 from Lucknow and five from Bhopal.

The aircraft has a total capacity of 70 passengers.

According to Alliance Air officials, Flight Number 9I-694 will arrive at the Patna Airport from Lucknow daily at 1:20 pm. Thirty minutes later, this same flight, under Flight Number 9I-693, will leave for Lucknow at 1:50 pm arriving at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at 3:30 pm.

Passengers whose destination is Bhopal would remain inside the plane until 4:00 pm when the plane once again would take off under a new flight number arriving at Bhopal airport at 5:40 pm.

At 6:10 pm, it will leave Bhopal and return to Lucknow at 7:50 pm. After changing the flight number yet again, it would leave for Jaipur at 8:20 pm arriving there at 10:15 pm.
25/08/17 Patna Daily

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Uber Partners with AAI for rides from 4 Indian airports

Mumbai:  Uber on Thursday announced a partnership with Airports Authority of India to make it easier for riders to get a ride at the airports at the tap of a button. The service will be operational in the airports in Kolkata, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar and Pune in the next couple of weeks.
"Through this partnership, Uber aims to make it more convenient and reliable for riders to get an Uber at the airport, making travel seamless and hassle-free," said a company spokesperson. Uber will set up booking zones at the airports, where even those who do not have the app will be able to book a ride. There will be a dedicated pick up zone outside arrival terminals, on-ground assistance and clear signages to guide travelers to their car for pick up.
24/08/17 Somit Sen/Times of India

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India eyes remote air traffic control towers for regional airports

New Delhi: India is considering setting up remote air traffic control (ATC) towers to cut costs and overcome labour shortages, government sources told Reuters, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to open dozens of regional airports to boost air travel.

Remote monitoring allows traditional concrete control towers to be replaced with dozens of high resolution, infra-red cameras around runways that feed live images to screens in buildings far from the airport.

The technology, used in countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland and Sweden, enables flights at multiple airports to be monitored from one location, reducing the need for air traffic controllers and physical towers at every airport.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has initiated a study on remote monitoring of flights, with a recommendation expected in September, one of the sources said. A decision to proceed could be a boost to companies like Sweden's Saab and Canada-based Searidge Technologies that are in talks with the airport regulator to bring the technology to India.

"India is one of the biggest opportunities in terms of the business potential," said Varun Singh, marketing director at Saab India, adding that it has held several discussions with the airport regulator.
Searidge, which has set up remote digital towers in Hungary, Albania and Azerbaijan, said it has also presented its technology to the airport regulator.
The AAI is working with India's aviation safety watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on the study and has sought information from countries where remote towers are in use, one source said.
The plan hinges on DGCA's approval because remote tower technology is not standardised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which is still drawing up regulations. In the meantime, countries follow their own safety guidelines.
24/08/17 Reuters/Economic Times

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Air India to resume Ludhiana-Delhi flight from Sahnewal domestic airport

Air India is all set to resume its Ludhiana-New Delhi flight from September 2, announced MP Ravneet Singh Bittu on Wednesday. The first flight is scheduled to depart at 4.45 pm from Sahnewal domestic airport in Ludhiana and arrive in New Delhi at 5.55 pm. Half of the tickets of the 75-seater plane are priced at Rs 2070.
Bittu on Wednesday said the Ludhiana flight to Delhi will be resumed under the central government’s Udey Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme. The flights were previously discontinued by the airline in 2014 due to recurrent losses and lack of facilities at the Sahnewal airport.
Since 2014, the airport has been used only for private chartered planes and VIP landings. The plan to expand the airport was dropped by the previous SAD-BJP government due to lack of funds, despite a project plan by the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA).
Last year, private player JetSmart started chartered plane services from Ludhiana to Delhi but it was discontinued due to financial losses and a fall in bookings.
24/08/17 Indian Express

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Delhi airport set to revamp structure, bigger terminals, internal rail

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport is set for a new look with revamped terminal, new runway, elevated taxiway and an internal rail system.

From October 1, one third passengers of Indigo, GoAir and Spicejet will be shifted to flights which will be operated from Terminal 2. This translates into 8 million passengers going to T2 to catch their flights. Indigo and Spicjet also fly on international routes, so for the next three years they have to operate from T1, T2 and T3.

However, this may cause a major commotion for the passengers, as they would be required to locate terminals without much help and this is sure not going to be hassle free, for the reason that there is no Metro connectivity to T2 and autos will not be allowed.
24/08/17 New Delhi Times

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Shirdi international airport to be renamed after Saibaba

Mumbai: Maharashtra Cabinet today approved the renaming of Shirdi Greenfield International airport as Sri Saibaba International airport.
With the cabinet nod in place, the proposal will now be sent to Union Civil Aviation Ministry once both the Houses of state legislature approves the renaming.
"In October, it will be 100 years since Saibaba took samadhi. Keeping the large footfall of devotees in mind, preparations are on in full swing to ensure the airport starts operations at the earliest," the CMO (Chief Ministers Office) said in a communication.
The airport was built by the Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) to cater to the large number of devotees visiting the Saibaba shrine.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC) has decided to provide its security to the popular shrine, in view of the large number of devotees.
"In our security review meeting, we found that the Saibaba temple is in the need of higher security considering the large footfall of devotees there. We thus had a meeting with members of the Shirdi Sai Sansthan Trust to finalise the intricacies," a senior Home department official told PTI.
23/08/17 PTI/India Today

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AA plans evening stop in Tiruchi

Tiruchi: Having decided to start a new flight service from Chennai-Tiruchi-Chennai this month-end, Alliance Air is actively exploring the possibility of operating another service in the same sector.

A subsidiary of Air India, Alliance Air is considering the introduction of the second service by September if everything goes as per plan.

The airline authorities are keen to launch the second service — an evening flight — in the same sector, said official sources.

Alliance Air has already announced its decision to launch a morning service from Chennai-Tiruchi-Chennai from this month-end. The airline will operate a 70-seater ATR type aircraft, with the departure timing from Tiruchi connecting it with Air India’s Dreamliner flight from Chennai to Singapore in the morning.

The sources said the proposed second service in the evening will also be timed to provide connectivity to international flights from Chennai and to New Delhi.

The airline’s keenness to start the second service was taking into account the domestic potential, the sources said adding that an ATR 600 type aircraft with 70 seats will be introduced once the plan was through.
24/08/17 R Rajaram/The Hindu

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Airports Authority of India ties up with Ola, Uber

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has entered into strategic alliances with Ola and Uber that will provide passengers the option to hire these cabs at select aerodromes. As part of this strategic alliance, both Ola and Uber will fulfil commuting demand of passengers at the AAI-run Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar airports, a release said today. “This alliance with Ola and Uber shall also facilitate air passengers to book a cab through the booking kiosks located at the airport itself. This will reduce the hassle of waiting or moving out for such app-based cabs,” the AAI said in the release. AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said bringing in leading cab service aggregators like Ola and Uber is a move to ensure hassle-free commuting and offer better services to air travellers in the country. The AAI has always kept passengers’ convenience at the centre of its functioning and is committed to giving the best possible experience to users at airports, he added. An Ola spokesperson confirmed the development.
“We are encouraged by the collaborative step from the AAI… With a first of its kind partnership in India with mass air transit infrastructure, we expect to cater to (needs of) visitors from over 70 countries that use Uber in India,” Global Head of Business and Corporate Development at Uber David Richter said.
23/08/17 PTI/Financial Express

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Alliance Air to launch services to Madurai, Tiruchy, Kovai

Chennai: Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, will launch services to Madurai, Coimbatore and Vijayawada from August 30 using a single ATR 72-600 aircraft. Air India Regional Director Capt S Arulmani told reporters on Tuesday that the company will be using the new aircraft ATR 72-600 under the regional connectivity scheme to link the cities. The aircraft will also launch services to Tiruchy on August 31. Arulmani said plans are also on to operate services from Madurai to Colombo and it will be announced soon.

He said that Alliance Air will also connect Tuticorin with Chennai and Coimbatore with Hyderabad soon.
“We are considering having services to Salem also,” he said and added that there were plans to have three additional ATR 72-600 aircraft which could also be expanded later.
The aircraft is a 70-seater and has better seating arrangements, he said. The fares will be cheaper if booked earlier. It will continue to differ after 30 days.

On August 30, Alliance Air will commence its first operation from Chennai to Vijayawada at 10.55 am and will return to Chennai at 1.55 pm. The same aircraft will fly to Madurai. It will leave Chennai at 2.45 pm. It will return to the state capital at 6 pm. Later, it will operate to Coimbatore, leaving Chennai at 6.50 pm and return at 10.05 pm.

23/08/17 New Indian Express

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‘We don’t have enough trained pilots ’

We spoke to Capt Mohan Ranganathan, the former instructor pilot of Boeing 737 who specialises in wet runway operations training, on navigating a passenger aircraft during monsoon. Excerpts:
We spoke to Capt Mohan Ranganathan, the former instructor pilot of Boeing 737 who specialises in wet runway operations training, on navigating a passenger aircraft during monsoon. Excerpts:

Is there any thrill in flying into a typical monsoonal rainfall, like taking a car out to enjoy rain?

For some of us who were trained well and knew how to handle monsoon , it was thrilling. Every flight is challenging as the conditions are never the same. The sense of satisfaction you have when you have successfully landed in very heavy rain is unmatched. Having landed in Madras (as Chennai was called then) flying a Hindu DC-3 during a cyclone or a Boeing 737 during a squall in Singapore, were some of my most thrilling moments in flying.

Is there a particular sector/flight path that a pilot should be careful about ?

Mangaluru, Kozhikode or airfields in the North-East are sectors that one needs to be very careful while flying in. Apart from bouts of very heavy rain, almost all the runways are sub-standard and do not conform to minimum ICAO Standards.


What are the typical manoeuvres for a pilot while flying during monsoon?

The most important manoeuvre on approach to landing is a go-around. Every approach during heavy rain should be done with a “think Go Around” commitment. Accidents happen mainly because of what is called “Press-on-it is.” Once a bit of the runway is sighted, pilots lose focus on whether they are in a stabilised condition for a safe landing or not. There are SOPs but what is very important is proper training.

What poses the greatest challenge to a pilot?

Heavy rain combined with high crosswinds pose the maximum danger during take-off and landing.

Lightning is not a threat to modern aircraft and they occur more near the surface (below 6,000 ft) rather than at high altitude.
22/08/17 Business Line

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DIAL to raise capacity to 119 million passengers, add another runway

New Delhi: GMR Group-led Delhi International Airport (DIAL) on Tuesday announced plans to increase the capacity of the Delhi airport to handle up to 119 million passengers.

The expansion work, to start next year, will go on beyond 2026. Under the IGI Airport Master plan 2016, the airport will be expanded in three phases — phase 3A (2018-21), 3B (2021-25) and Phase 4 (2026 onwards).

"Under the Phase 3A, which will start in March next year, the existing terminal 1— used by low-cost carriers IndiGo, SpiceJetBSE -0.93 % and GoAir — will be brought down and upgraded in phases. This will lead to an increase in capacity of the terminal to 40 million from the existing 20 million annual passengers," said I Prabhakara Rao, CEO, DIAL.

The plan also includes building a fourth runway by 2021, increasing the capacity of the existing Terminal 3 to 45 million from 34 million, and setting up a new Terminal 4.

Rao, however, refused to divulge details on the expected investments in the proposed expansion plan. "We will submitted the cost analysis to Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) by September-end," he said.
22/08/17 Economic Times

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More flights to Madurai, Coimbatore and Trichy as Alliance Air to launch daily flights on August 30

Chennai: Travellers will now have more options to fly from Chennai to Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Vijayawada as Air India's subsidiary Alliance Air will operate daily flights using ATR-72 aircraft from the end of this month.
Madurai and Vijayawada seems to be high-demand routes. Seats have been sold out for Alliance Air's Chennai-Vijayawada flight on August 30. On the Chennai-Madurai flight, only six seats are available for Rs 2,975 and the fare has touched Rs 10,000 on August 30 while the fare has increased from Rs 4,440 to Rs 11,000 for August 31.
The airline has introduced the flights to tap the potential for regional connectivity in the wake of government's Udan scheme and is aimed at garnering passenger share on tier 2 and tier 3 cities before new small carriers begin their flights under Udan scheme. Indigo and Spicejet are also introducing flights between small cities to beat competition from new regional carriers.
Chennai-Madurai, Chennai-Coimbatore and Chennai-Trichy are popular routes but the number of flights do not match the demand.Air India regional director captain S Arulmani said "Alliance Air will commence its operation first to Vijayawada on August 30 and the daily service 9I-559 will leave Chennai for Vijayawada at 10.55am and will return at 1.55pm. The same aircraft will fly to Madurai and will leave Chennai at 2.45pm and will return at 6pm. Later in the evening, it will operate to Coimbatore, leaving Chennai at 6.50pm and return at 10.05pm."
23/08/17 Times of India

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AAI, Srinagar gives contract to Orango Solutions

Srinagar—Srinagar International Airport Wednesday launched Master Concessionaire contract for doing all kinds of advertising through single party M/S Orango Solutions.
Amritsar based company has now opened new office at the departure lounge of the Srinagar International Airport.
This advertising company is already working at multiple airports in North India like Amritsar, Varanasi, Jammu and Chandigarh.
Mr. Navneet Singh Dhingra, Director of the company said that the media creation for this airport will be no less than any airport globally. In-fact Srinagar Airport will have Digital Conveyor Belts with probably biggest T.V.’s of 8Ft by 4Ft ever installed at any Airport in India, also it will have video walls which will be installed on conveyor to give a global touch to this airport.
The new office was inaugurated by the Airport Director Sharad Kumar and Manzoor Dalal SSP Srinagar Airport.
23/08/17 Kashmir Oberver

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GMR Hyderabad airport migrates to ozone safe air conditioning

This is in line with India’s ratification of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone Layer in 1992 and its commitment to phase out ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL said, “Migration to inverter-based AC units has been a strategic decision taken in line with India’s mission to phase out ozone-depleting HCFCs. The airport has a 5MW solar power plant, which meets 15 per cent of the airport’s electricity demand. The airport is also striving towards 100 per cent LED lights.”

With over 300 AC units across office spaces within the terminal and ancillary buildings, the airport is moving from conventional AC units that use R22 gas, harmful for the ozone layer, to ozone safe R410 gas compliant AC units.

It has converted more than 240 split air-conditioners to inverter technology, known for energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gases.

The new ACs are intelligent and intuitive and adjust airflow based on occupancy direction.
23/08/17 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

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Vijayawada-Singapore flight services likely

Vijayawada: The Vijayawada Airport, which has recently joined the club of international airports, is most likely to have a direct flight service to Singapore.

According to sources, the State government is in talks with Singapore’s Scoot airlines which is operating from eight airports including Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. The service would help many locals who now have to go to Hyderabad or Chennai to fly to Singapore.

The State government is making efforts to bring in international services to city as it would help develop an ecosystem for the IT industry in the capital region. The AP Civil Aviation Policy, 2015 also facilitates the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of 20% of the project cost to the airline that operates in State in addition to the VGF by the Central government.

“The State government is of the view that an airline would start a service to Singapore and the airline is also mooting the proposal,” said a top official of the Central government.
However, the matter is still between the airline and the State government and the Airports Authority of India is yet to be approached, according to the official.
23/08/17 The Hindu

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Delhi Airport Drone Incident: Lack of clear policy widens security loopholes

New Delhi: On Sunday evening during peak flight hours, after pilots of an aircraft landing into Delhi spotted an object flying close to the aircraft, the Indira Gandhi International Airport here was brought to a grinding halt for 45 minutes with all three runways being shut as a “precautionary measure”. The result was that at least 35 flights were affected during the period as departures were stopped, and incoming aircraft were asked to hold or divert. Experts suggest that the incident comes as a wakeup call for the authorities, considering there are no policies or legal provisions in place to deal with unmanned aircraft systems, or drones.
Post the incident on Sunday, AirAsia India issued a statement saying its pilots spotted “an unidentified object flying close to the aircraft while landing into runway 11”. Mark D Martin, CEO of aviation consultancy firm Martin Consulting highlighted the concern of lack of any clarity on drones pointing out that the pilots had to report spotting of an “unidentified object” and not a drone, because of which red flags were raised, with enforcement agencies shutting down the airport as a precautionary measure.
“The incident was a wake-up call, and the government needs to take active steps to resolve this. Given the way things are right now, it is certainly alarming, but it’s not as catastrophic as other threats affecting the airspace. Do we shut down an airport when there’s a bird strike? At most, the airport being shut down was precautionary in nature so as to not allow things to get catastrophic,” Martin said.
India’s tryst with policies on drones started in 2014 when a Mumbai-based pizza restaurant used a small drone to make pizza deliveries. Following the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation imposed a blanket ban on use of drones by civilians, but in April 2016, it floated the draft ‘Guidelines for obtaining Unique Identification Number (UIN) & Operation of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)’. More than a year later, these rules are yet to be finalised. Flight operations suspended at Delhi airport after ‘drone-like object’ spotted on runway. Click here to read.
23/08/17 Pranav Mukul/Indian Express

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Burqa Clad Woman Trying To Elope With Boyfriend Caused Security Scare At IGI Airport On Aug 15

A young woman eloping with her boyfriend created a security scare at Delhi airport on August 15. The security agencies got alerted when the security officer saw a burqa clad woman but her boarding card had a non-Muslim name.
The drama raised an alarm at IGI Airport on Independence Day.  The Delhi Police took the woman to the nearby police station before CISF which guards the airport could ask her questions.
She was put on suspicious passenger category…. This happened at 6 pm. But before we could proceed, a police team took her and the male passenger travelling with her to the police station,” a CISF official told HT on Monday.
But police later found an interesting love story where a woman was eloping with her boyfriend because her mother is dead against their relationship.
22/08/17 India Times

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Industry bodies hail AAI proposal

Kozhikode: Industry bodies have welcomed the proposal of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to consider giving permission to operate wide-bodied aircraft from the Calicut International Airport subject to a compatibility study.

In a press release here on Tuesday, they said that it had given hopes to the development dreams of the Malabar region. The AAI and Directorate General of Civil Aviation had recommended the study to find out if Boeing B 777-200 aircraft could be operated from here. M. Nithyananda Kamath, honorary secretary, Malabar Chamber of Commerce, said that airline companies such as Emirates and Saudi Airlines too should start operating services from the airport. He urged the authorities to convene a meeting of stakeholders, and take steps to resume Hajj and Umrah services from the airport. Meanwhile, C.E. Chakkunni, president, Malabar Development Council, said that if the team conducting the compatibility study send a favourable report, it would help get permission for the operation of more aircraft. He said that would help increase passenger traffic and cargo traffic from the airport. Members of the council urged the authorities to resume operations of more wide-bodied aircraft as the runway had been renovated and recarpeting works had been completed. Both the organisations congratulated the State government, the Malabar Development Forum, and people’s representatives for pressuring the AAI to take a favourable decision.
23/08/17 The Hindu

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IGI airport to merge T-1D, T-1C, create new integrated terminal

New Delhi: National capital's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport will get a new integrated terminal like T3, under the facility's expansion plans.

The expansion plan for the airport was revealed by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the operator of IGI airport, here on Tuesday.


According to DIAL, the budget passenger carriers' departure terminal T1D and terminal T1C will be merged into one and expanded to accommodate 40 million passengers per annum.

"This (merged) terminal will be like another T3. We are going to repeat another T3," I. Prabhakara Rao, CEO, DIAL, said during a briefing on the expansion plans.

The expansion plan encompasses a new pier building which will be built as an extension of the merged terminals with 22 aerobridges and 15 bus gates.

However, for the plans to go forward the operator would need to shift some traffic catered by the current T1D to T2 terminal.

T1D terminal, which has a passenger handling capacity of 20 million per annum, saw 24 million passengers in 2016-17.

The terminal is being used by low-cost carriers -- IndiGo, GoAir and SpiceJet -- for operations.
22/08/17 IANS/Business Standard

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GMR-led DIAL set for Delhi airport expansion

Hyderabad: The GMR Group-led Delhi International Airport Ltd has announced its plans to start the process of Delhi Airport capacity expansion.

The expansion process, as per the IGI Airport Master Plan 2016, will encompass airport airside, terminal and landside.

In May 2016, DIAL had finalised the plan with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in consultation with all the stakeholders. The expansion is to cater to the future requirements.

The Master Plan will be implemented in three modular phases-phase 3A (2018-21), 3 B (2021-25) and Phase 4 (2026 onwards).

The departure Terminal, T1D and arriving Terminal, T1 C will be merged into one and expanded to accommodate 40 million passengers a year. This includes modification of Apron to meet future aircraft demand equipped with modern facilities like Bridge Mounted Equipment and Visual Docking Guidance System. The modified T1 will also have Aerobridge operations with 22 Aerobridges.

I Prabhakara Rao, CEO, DIAL, in a statement said, “We have planned to increase the capacity of T1 and T3 and build a fourth runway in due course of time. As per the Master Plan, capacity of T1 will be increased from 20 million to 40 million and the capacity of T3 will be increased from 34 million to 45 million. The expansion would enable us to handle the steep rise of the passenger inflow at the airport.”

He further added, “In view of the robust growth in passenger traffic and upcoming airport expansion works, DIAL is recommissioning T2. We have asked the airlines operating from T1 for part shifting of operations to T2 from October. T3 and T2 would cater to the growing traffic in the next three to four years by which time T1 expansion project would be completed.”
22/08/17 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

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Airports Authority of India to build new Andhra Pradesh airport

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has emerged successful in the bidding for the greenfield international airport proposed at Bhogapuram in north Andhra region. By submitting financial bids, which were opened on Monday, both AAI and GMR were in the race to bag the project.
After the bids were opened, it was found that while AAI offered 30.2 per cent of revenue share, GMR offered only 21.6 per cent. The swanky airport will come up at a cost of 2,800 crore.
22/08/17 Times of India

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Delhi airport brought to standstill by TINY drone – TWICE; check what cops are up to

In an unheard of incident, a tiny drone brought the massive Delhi airport (IGI) to a total standstill and the authorities are clueless! It transpires that as many as 20 teams of Delhi police are still hunting for the unmanned flying object/s which brought operations at one of the busiest airports in the country to a halt twice in a day, reports Hindustan Times. The drone-like object was first seen at runway 28/10, by a pilot of China Airlines flight on August 20th at around 11:00 am and was seen again in the evening by an Air Asia pilot at around 7 in the evening.
Sanjay Bhatia, deputy commissioner of police at the airport told Hindustan Times that the police have formed 20 teams of 3 members each to find the origin of the flying objects. He further said that there are banquet halls near the airports where drones are used for videography so the teams are also searching near the halls. Localities near the airport including Kapashera and Dwarka have so far been searched. However, nothing has been found as of now.
Use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for commercial purposes is banned by DGCA. According to a PTI report, Bhatia had earlier informed that a case under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.
22/08/17 Financial Express

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Vijayawada Airport: Baggage scanners halt for some time

Vijayawada: A technical glitch stalled the functioning of baggage scanners for half-an-hour at the Vijayawada airport on Monday, leading to inconvenience to the passengers bound to Hyderabad in the morning flight. The security personnel then told the passengers to get their baggage checked manually and this led to some embarassing moments to the women passengers.

“So the passengers have been asked to send the hand baggage directly through the luggage counters of the respective airlines,” said a women passenger, prior to her boarding the Hyderabad-bound flight. “The security angle has been completely ignored,” she said and added that the passengers are worried.

A senior officer of Vijayawada airport clarified that the fault has been rectified by the site engineer and technical manager in less than an hour. The airport has two hand baggage scanners and two luggage scanners. In fact, the Vijayawada airport has 34 flights operating from it everyday, both incoming and outgoing. At present, only three operators are operating their flights from Vijayawada airport.
22/08/17 Deccan Chronicle

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Export of vegetables to Singapore on the rise

Tiruchi: Vegetables grown in Tamil Nadu have become a favoured commodity in Singapore given the huge volume of export to the South-East Asian nation every month.

Among overseas nations having direct flight connectivity with Tiruchi, Singapore has emerged as the leading overseas market for shippers of the central region exporting vegetables to the country every day.

Nearly 400 tonnes of perishables – vegetables, fruits and flowers – were being exported to Singapore per month from Tiruchi international freight terminal through three overseas carriers.

Exports to Singapore alone constitute nearly 80% of the entire overseas freight dispatched from Tiruchi international airport every month. Of the nearly 20 tonnes of perishables dispatched overseas daily, nearly 13 tonnes to 14 tonnes were directed to Singapore, say airport sources.

The huge demand in Singapore for vegetables grown in Tamil Nadu; the competitive rates offered to shippers of the central region and the frequency of flights has led to this rising trend, say stakeholders.

Assorted vegetables including brinjal, ladies finger and beans besides lemon, coconut and chillies make for the bulk of exports to the South East Asian country. Vegetables are lifted to Singapore by Singapore-bound Scoot Airlines and the Kuala Lumpur –bound Air Asia and Malindo Air flights. The sources said Air Asia and Malindo Air which operates 28 flights and 13 flights to Kuala Lumpur respectively every week from Tiruchi lifts freight meant only for Singapore though they operate to the Malaysian capital.
22/08/17 R Rajaram/The Hindu

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Indore airport sees jump in passengers footfall

Indore: Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport has seen an increase of over 4 lakh flyers in the last three years. Traffic of domestic passengers grew by at least 24 percent to 17.8 lakh in 2016-17 as compared to 13.5 lakh in 2014-15 due to low fares on selected routes and increased numbers of aircraft.
Airport director Aryama Sanyal said this was the first time the airport crossed this figure since its inception. She said the footfall of domestic passengers crossed the 18 lakh figure. In 2015-16, passengers numbered 16.9 lakh. Theere has been a stead rise since 2013-14 as government support and airlines showing interest in operating flights from Indore grew.
The number of flights from the airport also increased between 2014 and 2017 because most airlines replaced ATR aircraft with bigger ones, thereby carrying more passengers.
Sanyal said, "With Indore turning into an IT hub, the city still needs more flights to cities like Bangalore and Chennai."
22/08/17 Ashok Kumar/Times of India

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PWD Fast Tracks Umroi Airport Work

Shillong: The construction of the boundary wall at Umroi airport is nearing completion as infrastructure development gains momentum here.
The State PWD (Buildings) said the wall would be ready by October paving the way for other renovations.
Air service connecting the North East is likely to be kicked off from the airport under the Centre’s UDAAN scheme.
The airport which is a must for the landlocked state was stuck in a legal battle and recently the Apex Court asked the government to go ahead with the airport’s expansion. The Airports Authority of India will require around Rs 180 crore for the expansion.
22/08/17 Shillong Times

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AAI likely to allow operation of Boeing 777-200 from Calicut airport

Kozhikode: There is some good news for air passengers from Malabar travelling to the Gulf nations via the Calicut International Airport as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is considering a proposal to operate Boeing 777-200 aircraft from the airport.

Boeing B-747 and B-777, Airbus A-330, and other wide-bodied aircraft under Code E, including Saudia and Emirates, have not been allowed to operate from here since May 1, 2015, leading to a drop in passenger traffic.

Airport director J.T. Radhakrishna told The Hindu on Monday that the process to give permission to operate Boeing 777-200 aircraft was on. Calicut airport can be connected to destinations such as Jeddah by Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which can accommodate around 250-300 passengers. It can also help increase handling of air cargo.

According to a report of a team of officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the AAI who had visited the airport on April 26, Boeing 777-200 seems to be compatible for operations here as its requirements were close to the length of the airport. The team has recommended carrying out a compatibility study to be “performed collaboratively between stakeholders such as aerodrome operator, airplane operator, ground handling agency, and air navigation provider”. The aerodrome operator would take a final decision based on the study report, which was under consideration of the AAI head office, he added.
22/08/17 The Hindu

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Hambantota: China has seaport in Sri Lanka, India may get an airport

New Delhi: After Bhutan, Sri Lanka is hedging its bet on China by creating a situation which might enable India to expand its presence in the island nation.
The Lankan government is planning to hand over to India running of the Hambantota airport near the deep-sea port to be operated by Beijing.
The loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa Int’l Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota built by China could now be handed over to India, allowing Colombo to pay back dues to China’s EXIM Bank.
The proposal to hand over MRIA to an India firm has been submitted to the Lankan Cabinet by the country’s civil aviation ministry. If India bags the order to turn around the “world’s emptiest airport”, it would signal Colombo’s intention to have a balanced approach towards Delhi and Beijing. Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka is key to China’s One Belt One Road initiative. There are reports that India could invest $205m into MRIA for a 70% share for 40 years. Sri Lanka is understood to have received eight proposals, including one from China, but India’s proposal is being reviewed separately.
MRIA, located, 250 km south from Colombo, was built for $209 m largely with Chinese assistance ($190 m). The airport located at a half-an-hour drive from the deep-sea port figured high in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s plan to develop his constituency Hambantota with assistance from China. There were apprehensions that the key infrastructure would also be used by China for purposes detrimental to India’s security interests.
22/08/17 Dipanjan Roy Choudhury/Economic Times

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Mohali worst hit, showpiece airport road goes under water

Mohali: The drainage system in Punjab-administered Mohali collapsed under the onslaught of downpour that lashed Tricity on Monday morning. All roads, including the showpiece six-lane airport road, were flooded throwing life out of gear for at least six hours on the first day of the week. Residential areas and parks turned into lakes. In some places, there was two and a half feet of water. Many residents watched helplessly as water entered their homes in almost all phases of Mohali, which was the worst hit in the Tricity.
Traffic came to a standstill on all major roads in the city. Uprooted trees and irregular power supply added to the woes of the residents, who blamed the Municipal Corporation for not taking enough precautions before the rainy season. According to the traffic police, around 500 vehicles developed snags after water entered their engines. Several cars, especially low-slung luxury cars, had stalled on the airport road. One car was floating near the Radha Swami light point.
Occupants of many vehicles had abandoned them on the roads in different areas of the city, adding to the jam. The traffic police struggled to arrange recovery vans and failed to clear the roads where people left their vehicles. Some people called the mechanics but they proved too few for the scale of the crisis that was unfolding on the roads.
22/08/17 Indian Express

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Bomb scare leads to Rs 5 crore gold haul in Chennai airport

Customs officials landed a major haul of smuggled gold— about 16.4 kgs worth Rs 4.6 crore in the airport tarmac area in the Chennai airport on Monday morning.

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) personnel noticed one of the baggage containers placed suspiciously near the domestic terminal after they monitored suspicious movement of a tow tractor ferrying baggage containers from flights.

Bomb squads rushed to the scene to check the unattended container and after it was confirmed that there were no explosive material inside, customs officials scanned through the baggage.

The baggage had come from an Indigo flight (6E 054) from Singapore. “On one of the baggage, the check-in tag from Singapore airport was missing,” a customs official said.

The gold was concealed inside a Central Processing Unit (CPU). “The seized gold consisted of 10 gold bars, each weighing 1 kg and 18 bars of 100 grams each. The rest of 4.6 kg were gold jewellery,” the official added.

Based on CCTV footages, officials zeroed in on the tow tractor driver, J Kumar and investigated him. The driver, a contract staff at the Airport was employed with  Visskan aviation, to whom Indigo Airlines had outsourced baggage handling.
Investigations revealed that he had placed the trolley on instructions from unknown persons and the baggage was supposed to be taken to Delhi from here.
22/08/17 Deccan Chronicle

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Green nod to Rs 2K crore Bhogapuram international airport project in Andhra Pradesh

The Centre has given environment clearance to a greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh, which is estimated to cost Rs 2,260.73 crore. The central government has also given the green nod for another proposal which aims to extend Runway 26 at Vijayawada airport, Krishna district, at a cost of Rs 144.93 crore. These two proposals were first vetted by an expert panel and based on their recommendations the Union Environment Ministry has given the final environment clearance (EC).
A separate EC letter has been issued to the Airport Authority of India and the Bhogapuram International Airport Corporation Ltd for these two projects. The EC to these two projects been given subject to compliance of certain conditions. With regard to the Bhogapuram international airport, the ministry said that the EC has been given for the development of the first phase to be constructed on a PPP mode.
In phase-I, an airstrip will be developed for operating Airbus-A380 type aircrafts and a new runway will be constructed with all allied facilities, as per the proposal. The cost of the proposed airport project is estimated to be around Rs 2,260.73 crore and the land for which has already been allotted by the Andhra Pradesh government. The proposed international airport is expected to reduce the air traffic load at the existing Vishakhapatnam airport.
21/08/17 Indian Express

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Airports Authority pips GMR for Bhogapuram project

Hyderabad: The Airports Authority of India has pipped GMR in bagging the mandate for developing the greenfield Bhogapuram airport in Andhra Pradesh.

“In the financial bids opened on Monday, AAI offered a revenue share of 30.2 per cent as against GMR’s 21.6 per cent, thereby managing to outbid GMR for development of the airport,” Ajay Jain, Principal Secretary Industries, Energy and Infrastructure, Andhra Pradesh Government told BusinessLine.

“The empowered group of secretaries will present the details of the financial bids and respective offers made by AAI and GMR. It is for the State Government and Cabinet to finalise the offer,” he said.

Only AAI and GMR were left in the fray where GVK Power & Infra and Essel Group were the other participants in the initial stages and in the pre-bid meetings. While AAI and GMR submitted their technical and financial bids, the GVK Group backed out.

The ₹2,260.73-crore Bhogapuram airport project will come up about 40 km from Visakhapatnam in the Vizianagaram district under the public-private partnership initiative.

The international airport project has secured environmental clearance and the land for the airport has been allotted by Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.
21/08/17 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

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IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir will fly from Delhi’s T2 starting October

If you’re travelling out of Delhi in October, you will have to go to Terminal 2 to board a flight, if you’re flying IndiGo, SpiceJet or GoAir.

Terminal 1, that these airlines currently operate out of, is already handling more than its operational capacity and T3 is congested due to the increase in number of flights by airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways, Air Asia and other international carriers.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has written a strong letter to the airlines asking them to shift 30% of their operations to T2 by October. The airlines will have to give details of the flights they want to operate out of T2 by the end of the month.
While T2 was renovated to accommodate domestic airlines operating out of T1, according to some reports, airlines have been reluctant to shift to the terminal, as that could result in higher operational costs. Come October though, they will be left with no choice.
21/08/17 Smitha Menon/Conde Nest Traveller

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