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

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Passengers protest over delay in departure of flight

Kochi: Irate passengers, including Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, protested to Air India officials in Kochi when the Sharjah-bound Air India Express flight was delayed at the international airport.
Tempers ran high as the Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram-Sharjah flight, which was scheduled to leave at 10.45 am on Tuesday, could not take off on time as it arrived in Kochi late, airport sources said.
Though the 85 passengers, including the minister, were allowed to board the flight, the crew hesitated to operate the service due to Crew Duty Time limitation guidelines of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
After spending over an hour in the plane, the Minister disembarked and complained to the Air India Airport manager, Muthukoya.
The flight left in the evening via Thiruvananthapuram after a six hour delay.
02/01/08 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

Monday, December 31, 2007

Drink & fly: Aircrew face strict checks

Delhi: All pilots and flight crew will be tested for alcohol consumption at all the airports in the country by the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) on December 31, January 1 and 2.
Random checks are the usual practice but the DGCA decided to crackdown following complaints that airlines were not following the mandatory pre-flight medical examination.
"We want to bring some discipline. Our proactive role will make sure that the airlines abide by the rules during this festive season," said DGCA senior director general Kanu Gohain. The DGCA teams, in the safety week between December 10 and 15, had conducted random tests in which three crew members, two from Mumbai and one from Delhi, tested positive for alcohol consumption.
31/12/07 Yogesh Kumar/DNA Money/Sify

Salem airport remains inactive

Salem: Despite being witness to a flurry of development activities for a staggering Rs. 3,000 crore, Salem airport remains inactive. It is wearing the look of a deserted war-time strip with no connectivity. A private airliner, which evinced keen interest to fly from here, not in the distant past, also backed out citing lack of ‘discernible enthusiasm’ as the reason.
The operators claimed that the cream of the city’s society and in the adjoining districts of Namakkal and Dharmapuri had refused to ensure a win-win situation for both the operator and flier. In fact the deal to fly in and out of Salem Airport at that time appeared a reality when a Joint Inspection Committee of the Airport Authority of India (AAI), including officials from the Regional Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Directorate of Civil Aviation inspected the airport to ascertain the feasibility of reviving the domestic operations. But the initiative withered away.
31/12/07 R.Ilangovan/The Hindu

MIAL to become first Indian airport to implement CUSS

Mumbai: Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Limited (MIAL) is all set to become the Indian airport to implement the Common Use Self Service (CUSS) in 2008. MIAL is scheduled to install CUSS kiosks onsite, and plans are also afoot to install 20 offsite CUSS kiosks, predominantly at hotels. The CUSS kiosks, on and offsite will allow passengers to perform an automatic check-in, cutting down on check-in time by more than half for passengers with check-in luggage and offering an even quicker option for those without any check-in luggage. Additionally, there is also an impetus on implementation of paperless boarding using two-dimensional boarding codes, which the airline can beam directly to the passenger's mobile phone. IATA has set a 2010 deadline for the implementation of the Bar Coded Boarding Pass (BCBP) project.
According to sources, MIAL is keen on the CUSS implementation, mainly for easing passenger congestion.
31/12/07 Bhisham Mansukhani/TravelBizMonitor

Mum hunts for 'lost' baggage

A Bharaini mother is trying to locate an Indian man, who she believes will be able to lead her to baggage she lost while travelling from India to Bahrain.
Salma Mohammed Khan claims she handed over a cardboard box at Santa Cruz Airport, Mumbai, to the man because she had excess luggage.
The 54-year-old says they both travelled on the same Gulf Air flight on December 1 but doesn't know his name because she didn't ask.
She planned to get the box from him, containing clothes and gifts, on reaching Bahrain, but failed to find it at the luggage collection area.
Her efforts to trace the man in Bahrain have proved futile because he could have possibly travelled to Dehran, Afghanistan, the flight's final destination.
"I had gone to India during the second week of November to visit my sick aunt," said the woman, who didn't want to be named
"After staying for nearly 20 days, I was returning to Bahrain via the Santa Cruz Airport, Mumbai, on December 1.
"I had extra luggage, for which I would have been asked to pay money.
"That's when I spotted a young man, in his early 20s, and he didn't have much luggage.
"I asked him where he was going and he said Bahrain, or at least that's what it sounded like, and so I gave the carton to him.
"When I reached Bahrain International Airport, I saw him a few metres away from me and he gestured to me that his work was over.
"I hadn't checked at the luggage collection area till then, from where I hoped to collect my carton, and told him he could leave.
"But when I went to get the box, everybody's luggage arrived except mine.
"The problem is that I don't know his name and he doesn't know mine."
Mrs Khan was told by airport authorities that the man could have been travelling to Dehran because that was the flight's final destination.
They need to have the passenger reference number attached to the luggage to trace it, she was told.
31/12/07 Begena Geroge/Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

Nigerian woman's fettish for footwear

Mumbai: A Nigerian woman with 3 kgs of morphine was arrested by customs authorities at the international airport on Friday.
Olayiwola Olayinka Funmi was arrested while she was trying to board an Ethopian Airline flight ET-611 for Lagos from Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport in the morning.
The Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs were suspicious and checked her baggage and found 15 packets of women's footwear. On checking them they found morphine powder concealed in the heels of all the footwear. The footwear had false heels to hide the drug.
Funmi was arrested after her statement was recorded and she will be produced in a local metropolitan court on December 29.
This is the fifth case of drug seizure at the airport in the last five months.
29/12/07 Little Yadav/Gunaah

Indians demand Tamil public announcements at Kuala Lumpur airport

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Tamils have urged the airport authority of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to make announcements in Tamil, as it would help the passengers coming from India, majority of them being Tamils.
Datin Seri Indrani Samy Vellu of Sri Sruthi Mandram has expressed hope that the KLIA authorities would work in this direction.
She also demanded setting up of a special information centre where Tamil passengers would be advised about flight schedules and other important information in their mother tongue.
Officers who are well versed in Tamil must man information centres, and they must be able to give advice to those stranded at the airport and job seekers, The Star quoted her, as saying.
31/12/07 ANI/Thaindian.com, Thailand

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Jaisalmer to get a civil airport

Jodhpur: With civil air services being launched in the Indian Air Force (IAF) airstrip in Jaisalmer, Airport Authority of India (AAI) has decided to build a airport terminal 20 kilometres from the golden city by 2010.
AAI has decided to start construction work of the new airport in Khudi village of the Jaisalmer.
"We are going to kick-off the construction of Rs 60 crore project very soon at Jailsamer," AAI Executive Director A Murugson said here.
He said the construction of the airport terminal would be completed in next two years.
"Every foreign tourist visiting India wants to visit Jaisalmer and the expansion of air services will definitely attract more number of tourists." Murugson said.
The terminal would have the capacity to park three aircrafts at a time, he added.
Rajasthan government has already given around 60 acre land to AAI for the purpose.
29/12/07 PTI/Economic Times

Fog grounds seven flights

Calcutta: Seven flights were hit by fog at the Calcutta airport this morning.
Airport officials said flights could not take off between 6.35am and 7.25am as dense fog formed over the city. When the sky cleared, the clogged runway caused further delays.
This is the second time this week that flights in Calcutta have been hit by fog.
According to an airport official, 12 flights had taken off on schedule before the fog set in. They included the Jet Airways Calcutta-Port Blair flight, which left around 5am.
But those booked on SpiceJet’s flight to Port Blair were not so lucky. The passengers were ready to board when fog played spoiler. The aircraft had to be held back at the parking bay and the passengers had to wait at the airport.
SpiceJet’s Port Blair flight was the first to depart after the fog cleared. But several others queued on the tarmac for up to half an hour.
Deccan’s Calcutta-Jamshedpur flight was cancelled.
The postal department’s cargo flight, which has been taken on lease from Air India for ferrying letters and cargo to the Northeast, was also delayed.
29/12/07 The Telegraph

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Mohali to go international

New Delhi: Punjab will soon have its second international airport at Mohali, adjoining Chandigarh. Till recently, the Punjab government was opposed to the idea as it believed that since Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh would also benefit from the airport, it would be unwise to bear the land cost alone. The Mohali airport project covers more than 300 acres and its estimated cost is more than Rs 450 crore.
The airport logjam was cleared when Punjab chief minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal called on the Union civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, here yesterday evening. Senior civil aviation ministry officials said an agreement has been worked out where all the adjoining states, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh, would contribute to procure the airport land. A senior official at the Resident Commissioner’s Office of the Punjab government here said the Centre, too, has assured financial help for the land procurement. The Punjab government and the Airport Authorities of India will sign a memorandum of understanding in Chandigarh on 4 January for the Mohali airport. Mr Patel and Mr Badal will jointly lay the foundation stone. While the fund-sharing arrangement between the states is yet to be worked out, the Punjab government has reportedly begun acquiring land.
28/12/07 Sanjay Singh/The Statesman

Foggy conditions also hit AAI coffers

Patna: Reports of flights getting delayed or cancelled due to fog during winter causing problems to passengers generally hogs the headlines. But not many know that cancelled and delayed flights also inflict huge losses to the Airports Authority of India as well.
In fact, foggy weather makes a huge dent in AAI's revenue every year.
Take the example of Tuesday (December 25) foggy weather this year which did not not allow a single flight to land at the city's Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport. As per official figures, on any normal day the airport receives eight flights out of which six planes are of large size for which the AAI gets Rs 40,000 from each one and Rs 13,000 each from the two smaller planes. Going by these figures, the loss incurred by the AAI Patna on a single day was more than Rs 2.5 lakh.
Add this to the losses incurred due to frequent cancellation of flights during the winter due to fog.
"It has become a perennial problem as we cannot introduce the CAT-III landing system which provides landing facility even in zero visibility in Patna airport due to its short runway," said AAI Patna director Atul Dikshit.
29/12/07 Sanjeev Kumar Verma/Times of India

MIAL gets ISO certification

Mumbai: The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), the joint venture consortium led by GVK that is currently upgrading the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), has been certified under the ISO 10002:2004 international standard for Passenger Complaint Handling Systems. CSIA becomes the first airport in India to receive this certification for a standard that specifically addresses customer satisfaction guidelines for the handling of complaints. The audit was completed by United Registrar of Systems, UK.
A software called the ‘mTracker’ application, implemented by Moveo Systems, offers immediate response at CSIA to passenger feedback through both SMS and e-mail; immediate action notification of such feedback to MIAL service providers and department heads as well as instant search and tracking capability of all feedback received and their follow-up actions. MIAL underwent assessment under nine guiding principles before receiving the certification.
29/12/07 Mumbai Newsline

Minister vows to end woes of air travellers

Trivandrum: Federal Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel yesterday promised an end to the miseries of passengers at the Karipur international airport in north Kerala.
He made the promise in a letter to Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan after the latter informed about the difficulties faced by the passengers, especially the expatriates working in the Middle East, to his notice.
Patel has assured Achuthanandan that he would personally intervene in the issue. Air India chairman Thulsidas later rang up the chief minister and assured that he would take steps to improve the services of the national carrier.
Achuthanandan blamed the indifferent attitude of Air India towards the passenger as the root cause for the problems faced by the passengers in the airport. He accused the national carrier of neglecting the passengers.
Gulf passengers believe that their woes would end only if the airport is opened to foreign airlines. They say that Air India and Indian have been exploiting passengers as they enjoy near monopoly.
29/12/07 Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates

Drugs worth Rs 32.50 mn seized at Mumbai Airport

Mumbai: In a major swoop at the year-end, authorities have seized drugs worth nearly Rs. 32 million ($800,000) in two different cases at Mumbai airport Friday.
In the first instance, a Nigerian woman, Olaywola Olayinka Sunmi, was caught attempting to smuggle out morphine concealed in 15 packets of women's shoes.
She was cleared to board Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-611 when she was detained and her luggage searched. She holds a Nigerian passport (No. A-2643017), customs sources told IANS.
Customs and Narcotics Control Bureau sleuths found 2,935 gm of the drug worth nearly Rs. 30 million in the international market.
In the second case, an unidentified Indian national was caught while attempting to sneak out with 25 kg of catamine drug worth Rs. 2.50 million in the world market.
28/12/07 Earthtimes, UK

Flights delayed at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Even though Delhi airport did not have to deal with fog and low visibility procedures on Thursday, there was little relief for passengers with nearly 40 flights running behind schedule.
Around 8-30 p.m., at least 25 arrival flights at the domestic terminal were delayed while seven flights were made to wait beyond their schedule departure time. The situation at the international terminal was slightly better with only five delayed arrivals and three delayed departures.
According to the Air Traffic Control sources, while there was no fog, visibility on the runway was poor in the morning.
28/12/07 The Hindu

Fog has fliers tweak travel plans

More than 30 flights were delayed at Calcutta airport by four to five hours on an average on Thursday.
With fog-related delays feared to continue throughout winter, a lot of passengers — especially those scheduled to take connecting international flights from Delhi and Mumbai — are altering travel plans. “The fog fright has prompted at least 10 per cent of the passengers who had booked tickets on morning flights to opt for day or evening flights,” said Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India.
An Air India official confirmed that there was a sudden surge in demand for evening flights.
“Fog delays cannot be averted during winter. Altering travel plans can only reduce the hardship,” said a Jet Airways official. “The ripple effect of morning delays can be felt till the afternoon or even evening.”
This, despite the technological intervention to fight fog. The Category II Instrumental Landing System was installed at the airport this year to help planes operate in fog, but it cannot function when the minimum visibility drops below 350 metre.
29/12/07 The Telegraph

Flights cancelled; passengers stranded

Thiruvananthapuram: Several Gulf-bound passengers were stranded at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on Friday following the cancellation of two Air India flights. Two flights bound to Doha and Riyadh were cancelled owing to technical snag.
According to sources, the Doha-bound flight was grounded soon after take off owing to technical snag. Over 400 passengers have been stranded and it is learnt that they have been accommodated in various hotels in the city.
29/12/07 Newindpress

GMR Infra`s DIAL starts E-payment facility

GMR Infrastructure announced on Friday (Dec. 28) that, Delhi International Airport (DIAL), the subsidiary of the company, in a significant step to speed up transactions at the International Cargo Terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport, has set up an E-payment facility for the benefit of user. DIAL has tied up with Punjab National Bank (PNB) to provide this unique facility.
The new e-payment facility significantly speeds up transactions as the present arrangement provided for `Export Terminal Charges Slip` called TC, which is generated on internet. The payment for the same was carried out through a PDA (pre-deposit account). Under the new facility, DIAL would be able to provide its trade partners (cargo clearing agencies) the facility to pay DIAL`s charges directly through their PNB bank account. The transaction is online and instantaneous via PNB`s net-banking site.
The provision of this facility was a major actionable point under the EC / EDI (electronic commerce / electronic data interchange) in air cargo sector, a national program on e-trade (electronic trade) being monitored by the prime minister`s office.
28/12/07 Myiris.com

Friday, December 28, 2007

Cos line up for Kolkata, Chennai airports

New Delhi: Global construction majors have lined up for the Rs 3,700-crore airport modernisation plans in Kolkata and Chennai. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received 11 applications for the Rs 1,900-cr Kolkata project and 14 for the Rs 1,800-crore Chennai expansion programme.
Apart from Indian majors like L&T (which is building both the Delhi and Mumbai airports), the global names include Greece's AEGEK General Construction; Malaysia's Muhibbah Engineering and Britain's largest privately-owned construction firm Laing O'Rourke.
The AAI is also going to appoint a project management consultant who would oversee the implementation of these two projects on a turnkey basis. Firms like US-based Louis Berger have applied for becoming the consultants.
AAI has taken up Chennai and Kolkata airports as a sort of challenge, mainly to prove a point that it can also build good airports, especially when private majors like GMR and GVK already implementing projects in Delhi and Mumbai airports.
28/12/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Finnair Holiday Flight Delayed by 18 Hours

A flight returning from Phuket in Thailand was delayed by a full 18 hours, arriving in Helsinki after seven on Thursday evening.
The flight was delayed during a stop-over in Ahmedabad airport in India, when a problem with the second engine was detected. Local technicians were unable to solve the problem, forcing authorities to fly in a mechanic from Helsinki.
The 173 passengers on board the flight were accommodated at a hotel in Ahmedabad.
27/12/07 YLE News, Finland

Fog turns airports into virtual battlegrounds

Bangalore: Though airlines and airport authorities claim to have taken steps to overcome fog situations, incidents of passengers getting into tiffs with airline staff are on the rise across the country. At least one incident is witnessed every day at airports in north India, say airport authorities.
“Airlines know fog problems, but are not willing to invest in modern instruments,” says Sudhakar Reddy, founder and president of Air Passengers’ Association of India.
Airlines claim fog delays are inevitable. A Central Industrial Security Force officer said: “Airlines do not inform passengers in advance. All they do is restrict them to the check-in area. When a flight is delayed, its staff disappears. Airlines have instructions not to inform passengers because they do not want to lose money to cancellations.”
28/12/07 Bhargavi Kerur/Daily News & Analysis

Tata Tele to manage fixed line services at GMR-HIAL for 5 yrs

GMR Infrastructure announced today that GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), the developer of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, has awarded the fixed line services management contract to Tata Teleservices (TTSL), the leading and fastest growing telecom service provider in India. The contract is valid for a period of five years.
TTSL has emerged as the preferred bidder from among several reputed players in a highly transparent and competitive bidding process. The company has been selected based on its technical and financial criteria, including its experience, expertise, capability and know-how in the telecommunication business.
As per the agreement, TTSL shall provide fixed line (voice and data) services at the new international airport in accordance with good industry practices and specifications of GHIAL.
28/12/07 Myiris.com

Radio taxis set to storm airports, cities in south

New Delhi: As a part of its ambitious expansion, Carzonrent India Private Limited plans to tap the market in south Indian cities by launching its popular radio taxi services.
"Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are the immediate focus market for the company," said Rajiv K Vij, Managing Director Carzonrent India (P) Ltd, talking about the firm's foray into the Southern market.
The firm has bid for tenders floated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd and Bangalore International Airport to operate radio taxis. Both these airports will be operational in the first quarter of 2008.
Carzonrent, which is the sole licensee for Hertz International in India, had launched the Easy Cab services with 350 radio taxis in the national Capital in December 2006.
"We are planning to hit the road with a fleet of 1000 easy cabs each at both these airports," Vij said adding that firm had earmarked Rs 100 crore to buy these cabs that are fitted state-of-the-art technology like GPRS technology, digital fare meters and thermal printers for issuing bill.
28/12/07 K S Narayanan/Newindpress

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Pune airport to close for 15 days in February

Mumbai/Pune: In an unusual move, the Pune airport will be closed for two weeks, starting 12 February.
The decision is raising protests from both airlines and CEOs, such as Rahul Bajaj.
Thirty-five flights, both domestic and international, take off from Pune airport, which is run by the Indian Air Force, every week. The airport is also a base for private jets of several companies based in the city.
The air force, in a letter to the Airports Authority of India, a copy of which was reviewed by Mint, said the airfield will close due to resurfacing and other associated work in progress, including digging work on runway edge and building a rapid taxi way. Even now, there have been continuous disruptions in flights at the airport because of maintenance work.
Capt. Deepak Shastri, director of Pune airport, said the airport has to be closed for technical and safety reasons. “We thought about all aspects before deciding on a complete closure of airport. Keeping it open during renovation was not an option, considering the criticality of the nature of the work. It is better to lose revenue for 15 days rather than having long repercussions,” Shastri said.
27/12/07 P.R. Sanjai and Sudha Menon/Livemint

DIAL working on alternative revenue model

New Delhi: The GMR-backed Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd's (DIAL) is learnt to be working out alternate revenue model for its proposed 45-acre hospitality district. The earlier plan of creating a subsidiary and making it charge hefty advance from successful bidders for building hotels was frowned at by the aviation ministry as there were fears that it may have affected the revenue share model with the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Later, the plan was referred to the Attorney General and was upheld there.
"The airport has to be completed in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Delhi will host. Although the AG cleared our plan, we are looking at alternate revenue models," said a senior DIAL official, while refusing to divulge what shape the new model will take.
DIAL had initially planned to take a security fee of Rs 50 crore per acre from successful bidders. A subsidiary formed to provide infrastructure in hospitality district, Delhi Aerotropolis Private Limited, was to have charged about Rs 13 crore per acre for the job. Both these charges would have led to a revenue generation of Rs 2,835 crore for the consortia.
27/12/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Farmers refuse to part with land for Pune airport, threaten agitation

Pune: Stop at Shiroli-Chandoos villages in Khed taluka of Pune district and the fear and uncertainty over the likely loss of inherited farm land and their known way of living comes across loud and clear.
Bhivraj Dhavale (48), a farmer in Shiroli who along with his brothers own 15 acres, is a disturbed man. These days, he has another job. Along with other villagers, he keeps vigil at the local barber shop, on the look out for any government officer who might come down to begin the land acquisition (for the proposed new international airport at Chakan) process.
“We do not want to give up our lands and we do not want money for it,” says Dhavale while other villagers nod in agreement.
Their decision not to vacate the land has been conveyed to the tehsil office and they have threatened to agitate if the authorities proceed regardless. With 2,351 hectares to be acquired from seven villages in Chakan for the proposed airport, the villagers are an aggrieved lot and are already in protest mode. They know about Nandigram and know what farmers can achieve. Meanwhile, the countdown has started for these farmers as the MIDC, on behalf of the state government, has issued a notice to begin the land acquisition procedure.
When contacted, MIDC CEO Rajiv Jalota said that although MIDC has notified the land for acquisition, cultivable land will not be acquired. “It’s up to the district officers now to do the talking,” he said. According to Khed SDO, Gajanan Patil, the staff is yet to meet the people and talk to them.
26/12/07 Nisha Nambiar & Vinod Mathew /Indian Express

Non-metro airports next hotspots for car rental firms

Chandigarh: Upcoming non-metro airports in Bangalore, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Chandigarh are the next hotspots for the burgeoning car rental market and more so, the self-drive category of the industry. Players in the Rs 9,000-crore organised car rental industry are targeting nonmetro centres, which the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had decided to develop last year, to expand the self-drive mode offered by car rental companies like Hertz, Avis, SIXT, Mega Cabs et al.
Hertz, which would launch its selfdrive mode in Chandigarh this week, would also open ‘Hertz Everywhere’ outlets dedicated to self-drive (also chauffeur drive and Hertz Limousine services) in Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Dehradoon, while adding another one in Bangalore.
According to industry analysts, the self-drive component, that comprises barely 5% of the car rental industry, is poised to go up to 20% in the next two to three years. Sources in the AAI also say that the authority has in-principle agreed to have branded car rental outlets at present and upcoming airports to facilitate the business and foreign traveler.
26/12/07 Gulveen Aulakh/Economic Times

113 AI passengers stranded

Kolkata: At least 113 passengers of an Air India flight to London from here are stranded at the N.S.C. Bose International Airport since Tuesday due to non arrival of the plane, airline sources said on Wednesday.
The plane could not come back to Kolkata from London due to foggy weather condition in London, the sources said.
The flight was supposed to land in London and then return to Kolkata but it could not land in the capital of Britain due to foggy condition and was diverted to some other place, they said.
26/12/07 The Asian Age

Dense fog delays flight operations at Kolkata

Kolkata: The flight operations to and fro from Kolkata was adversely affected for over two hours this morning due to dense fog around Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Till 8.30 am, the departure of about 25 flights and arrival of another 10 flights belonging to different domestic and international airlines were delayed because of poor visibility, which came down to about 50 metres at one time.
An Indigo flight from Delhi had to skip Kolkata and flew to Guwahati.
As weather improved, Jet Airways' flight to Port Blair left at 8.30 am and a Druk Air plane from Paro was the first one to touch down at the airport at around 8.40 am.
27/12/07 PTI/The Hindu

Punjab CM persuades Union aviation minister for airport clearance

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Wednesday called on Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to expedite the pending clearances with the Centre relating to Mohali International Airport to enable the state government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Disclosing this here the Media Advisor to Chief Minister Harcharan Bains said that Mr.Badal also asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to take up the matter with Ministry of Defence to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the two civil airports coming up in Punjab at Sahnewal (Ludhiana ) and Bhisiana (Bathinda) besides International Airport at Mohali.
Badal said that the up-gradation and extension of the existing airports at Mohali and Sahnewal would further boost the process of modernizing infrastructure in the state .
Badal informed the Civil Aviation Minister that Ludhiana which was an industrial hub of Punjab and carrying big business all over the world required an airport be used for domestic landing and small business aircraft.
26/12/07 PunjabNewsline.com

AAI studies feasibility of Mangalore runway expansion

Mangalore: Will Bajpe (Mangalore) airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) be able to accommodate larger aircraft such as the Airbus 300 and the Boeing 747SP in the near future? Presently it is not possible as the existing main runway has to be expanded if those aircraft are to be operated. But it is not a Herculean task, provided the State Government takes immediate measures to fill up a 75-ft valley on the eastern and western sides of the main runway and hands over the land to the AAI.
The AAI is keen on expanding the runway, and a team of senior AAI officials, headed by Asha Ram, Executive Director, Aviation Safety, AAI, Delhi, arrived here on Wednesday to study the proposal and make an analysis of the risks involved. The team members discussed the aspects related to it with M.R. Vasudeva, director of the airport, pilots and other section heads at the airport. Though the AAI has taken the initiative to expand the runway, the State Government has to ensure that the valley is filled up and the land handed over the AAI.
Sources in the AAI said that at present the length of the main runway is 2,450 metres. Its length had to be extended at least by 350 metres to take the total length to 2,800 metres and more. The portion on the eastern side of the runway had to be extended by 250 metres and the one on the western side by 100 metres.
27/12/07 The Hindu/Bellevision

Decks clear for AI engineering at Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: And finally work on the proposed engineering base of Air India at Chakka is all set to take off.
Salem-based Mukesh and Associates, which is the consultant of the project, has invited tenders for the construction of the hangars and allied works at an estimated cost of Rs 39 crore.
The expected completion period of the work is 10 months. The State Government had handed over 15 acres of land adjacent to the airport, near Chakka, to Air India free of cost in September 2006 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation-stone for the project on November 1 the same year.
But Air India got actual possession of the land only a couple of weeks ago.
It was the delay in evicting the Trivandrum Rubber Works (TRW) from the land allotted to Air India, which caused the impasse.
The Government had distributed compensation to employees of TRW a couple of weeks ago, following which the firm, defunct over the last many years, moved out of the land.
A Government quarters and the labour camp of the Punj Lloyd located on the 15 acres allotted to Air India were evicted earlier. The last date for submitting the tender is January 23 and the tenders would be opened on the same day.
27/12/07 Newindpress

Immigration scam: Cops crack down

Mumbai: In one of Mumbai's biggest immigration rackets, the Mumbai Police have now begun cracking down on the Regional Passport office employees.
These are the men behind one of Mumbai's biggest human trafficking rackets along with crooked agents and a sacked airhostess who helped them smuggle illegal immigrants to foreign shores.
The scene of crime is none other than the Regional Passport Office in Mumbai, where critical evidence in the case has been destroyed, documents, which were used to make at least 43 dubious passports.
His back to the wall, the man in charge has little choice but to make a candid admission.
''There are a few files missing and the lower rung officer in the passport office are involved,'' said Hemant Kotalwar, Regional Passport Officer, Mumbai.
But despite the strong charges, the passport authorities are trying to pass the buck. The police, however, say that the finger of accusation rests on the passport authorities.
''The police has a different job and the passport officer has a different job,'' said Deven Bharati, DCP (Crime), Mumbai.
This is all the police have for the time being, but with 72-airline crew on their radar and some big fish under the scanner, there could be more arrests in the New Year.
26/12/07 Rashmi Rajput/NDTV.com

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Govt to sell 'sick' airport

Hyderabad: Contrary to its earlier plans to convert the Begumpet airport into a training centre or a remote check-in point for travellers once the Shamshabad airport becomes functional, the state government is now toying with the idea of developing, leasing or even selling it after the airport shuts shop in mid-March.
According to sources, the state government is figuring out the total land that comes under the airport and is determining ownership details of this land. The land is worth thousands of crores in the present market situation.
About 2,000 acres of land comes under the Begumpet airport and the government has sought "full details" about this land from the Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy district collectors. While a major chunk of this airport land falls in Hyderabad, an estimated 700 acres is in RR district. Part of Begumpet airport stretches to RR district (from Bowenpally side) and comes under village called Begumpet in Balanagar mandal.
Sources say the government wants to determine "the nature of the ownership of the land" and whether it was initially government land that was given to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and if so what were the conditions laid at that point of time.
26/12/07 Roli Srivastava/Times of India

Lanco in tie-up talks with global operator for non-metro airports

Hyderabad: Integrated infrastructure developer Lanco Infratech Ltd, a company with interests in power and construction, is in talks with an international airport operator to be a partner as it bids for new airport contracts in small Indian towns.
Lanco group chairman L. Madhusudhan Rao declined to name the global airport operator. Lanco, with Rs1,647 crore in revenues last fiscal year, had in the past held talks with Houston Airport Systems, the fourth largest airport operator in the US, to be a partner, but did not conclude a deal, said Sanjay Diwakar Joshi, executive director at Lanco.
In August, Lanco, based in Hyderabad, won a Rs83 crore bid to modernize the airport at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
Lanco has submitted pre-qualification bids for a Maharashtra tender to convert airstrips in six smaller cities into airports. These airstrips include Nanded, Osmanabad, Latur, Yavatmal, Baramati and Jalgaon. Once the firms are selected, a request for proposal tender would be floated in January, and contracts expected to be awarded by June.
These airports would be initially used as a maintenance and parking facility to run aviation academies and eventually be turned into commercial airports.
26/12/07 C.R. Sukumar/Livemint

Fog grounds Delhi airport

New Delhi: With more than 200 flights delayed, 12 flights diverted and around 25 cancelled, it was a harrowing Christmas for several passengers at the Delhi airport on the first day of exclusive runway use. The condition was worsened by fog, which covered Delhi airport for nearly four hours.
The chaos began at around 6 am when a thick blanket of fog suddenly enveloped the Delhi airport, airport officials said. The exclusive runway use — the primary runway (28/10) being used only for take-offs while the secondary (29/07) being used only landings - was also stopped due to fog.
According to DIAL, the company that runs the airport, low visibility procedures were put in place by 7.16 am when the runway visibility dipped below 1,200 metres. "The fog came up quiet suddenly when the flights had lined up on the taxiway to primary runway for take off. But when fog came up quickly, there was some delay before the taxiways leading to runway were cleared. Along with this, non-CAT compliant flights blocked the way further," an airline official said.
The planes were lined up on the taxiway for nearly three hours. During this time, only 63 flights could take off or land. Landing was further delayed as ATC and authorities struggled to clear the primary runway.
26/12/07 K Sobhana/Delhi Newsline

Stranded dad flying home to cancer boy

A worker, who is stranded in at Bahrain International Airport after returning from India to earn money to treat his cancer-stricken son, is scheduled to leave soon.
K P Pavithran has been stranded since Sunday when his sponsor blocked his return to Bahrain by cancelling his visa.
The carpenter, who first arrived in Bahrain three years ago as a free visa worker, says he was in desperate need of more money for his son's treatment.
His Bahraini sponsor yesterday provided him with an open air ticket home and he is waiting for the next available flight, said Vadakara Association president Ramath Haridas. His visa was valid until June and he claims that his sponsor had not warned him earlier.
Mr Pavithran, who is his family's only breadwinner, was not able to save enough money during his stay in Bahrain.
He flew home to India in March with 265,000 Indian rupees (BD2,533) raised in Bahrain to save his seven-year-old son Sarang, who is suffering from leukaemia. Sarang is currently undergoing treatment at the Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences in Calicut, Kerala. He needs two more years of treatment. The money raised here was enough for only nine months.
26/12/07 Begena P Pradeep/Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Small airport project fails to take off as GVK pulls out

Bangalore/Hyderabad: A plan to build low-cost airports in small Indian towns through a consortium led by Deccan Aviation Ltd, which runs budget carrier Deccan, has collapsed after one partner, the GVK Group, pulled out.
GVK’s action stems from UB Group, a conglomerate that also owns Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, agreeing to merge both airlines into one company.
The Deccan-led consortium had also included the private equity arm of Infrastructure Development Finance Co. Ltd (IDFC) and K Raheja Corp., a Mumbai construction firm. All four were equal partners in the venture.
The Deccan-led consortium had also included the private equity arm of Infrastructure Development Finance Co. Ltd (IDFC) and K Raheja Corp., a Mumbai construction firm. All four were equal partners in the venture.
GVK, which operates the international airport in Mumbai, was to build and operate the airport; the Rahejas were to build shopping malls and industrial parks; and Deccan would operate dedicated flights to the airport from other cities, according to an initial agreement of the partners. IDFC’s private equity arm was to fund the venture.
The consortium was to bid for new airport projects in small towns in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra on ‘build, operate and transfer’ or BOT models.
An official from the Hyderabad-based GVK, who requested anonymity, said the partners never found a “great opportunity” in building airports in smaller towns.
25/12/07 C.R. Sukumar and K. Raghu/Livemint

PPP model for Sikkim Airport may be scrapped

Sikkim: Plans for developing a Greenfield Airport at Sikkim through the Public-Private Partnership route may fall through. A Sikkim government official, on condition of anonymity, said that the airport may now be developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Although the Sikkim government is in discussions with the Centre to pursue the PPP model, according to the official source, there are practically no chances of matters going Sikkim's way.
In June, 2007, Sikkim had planned to develop the Greenfield Pakyang Airport in East Sikkim district on PPP basis, making it the state's first ever airport. About 15 entities, including Gammon India and GMR Group, had submitted their EOIs. The state had planned to adopt the PPP route, on the lines of the new airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad, at a time when the PPP model was seen failing in the case of the Chennai and Kolkata airport modernisation and privatisation projects.
The Pakyang Airport was to be developed by a public-private consortium, with the private developer holding 74 per cent equity and the state government and AAI holding the remaining 26 per cent.
25/12/07 Venugopal Pillai/TravelBizMonitor

Congestions, near misses endanger air space

New Delhi: Last month, two planes were given take off clearance at the Delhi airport. There are no parallel runways at the airport, they converge after a mile. Both pilots had one mile — a few minutes of flying time — to take evasive action.
This happened not once, but twice in the last two months and aviation experts say both instances were more than dangerous. However, the Director General of Civil Aviation, Kanu Gohain thinks otherwise.
An aircraft takes off or lands every minute at Delhi airport, but infrastructure hasn't kept up.
There is a shortage of trained and experienced controllers. The Government hastily hired 300 Air Traffic Controllers three years ago, but they are still to cut their teeth.
According to an Airport Authority study, Delhi is still short by over 150 experienced officers. Sources at the Airports Authority say high stress is forcing errors.
Frighteningly, errors are sometimes caused by bad communication. Commands have to be repeated due to poor reception on some VHF radio frequencies and crucial time is lost.
Airport employees say standard operation procedures are often complicated and difficult to follow.
25/12/07 Karma Paljor/CNN-IBN

On-flight dharna after fog delay

Mumbai: Passengers virtually staged a sit-in on a Mumbai-Delhi Air India flight today, refusing to get off after it was diverted to Ahmedabad because of fog.
A second Delhi-bound AI flight, carrying Haj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia, was also delayed by fog. Passengers alleged that an airline official told them to “shut up” when they protested the 10-hour wait at Jeddah airport.
IC-806 from Mumbai was to land in Delhi at 9am but was diverted after circling the airport for some time. It landed in Ahmedabad at 10.30am. Told their flight would take off only at 8pm as the pilots had gone off duty, the passengers got angry.
“All the 100 passengers refused to get off the plane. Bowing to our pressure, the flight took off for Delhi at 4pm (after AI flew in an alternative crew),” said B.L. Sarda, 56, a chartered accountant from Mumbai.
The Haj pilgrims booked on AI-890 said they got no information about their flight.
25/12/07 Samyabrata Ray Goswami/The Telegraph

Passengers protest as AI reschedules flight

Kozhikode : Passengers of a Gulf-bound flight went on a sit-in protest at the Karipur International Airport here on Tuesday after Air India rescheduled the flight.
Air India Express flight to Jeddah,originally scheduled to leave at 11 AM,could not take off owing to "technical reasons" airport sources said.
Irked by the "last minute" announcement, the passengers initially refused accommodation in nearby hotels and raised slogans against the National carrier, they said.
However,the passengers soon dispersed from the scene after they were assured by the Airline officials that the flight would depart at 2 Pm,the sources added.
25/12/07 PTI/The Hindu

CAT-II to the flier’s rescue

Calcutta: The Category (CAT)-II instrumental landing system (ILS) was used at Calcutta airport for the first time on Monday morning. There were, however, delays as the visibility fell below the CAT-II level, but the flight schedules did not go haywire, despite a thick blanket of fog.
CAT-II ILS can help flights to take off and land with visibility as low as 350 metres. If the visibility is more than 550 metres, CAT-I ILS is enough for planes to operate. The upgraded landing system was commissioned at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in July this year. It did not have to be put to use till Monday.
According to the airport Met department officials, visibility started dropping since dawn. Around 5am, visibility was below 550 metres but flights were taking off with the help of CAT-II. Around 6.45am, the visibility dropped to 300 metres, below the CAT-II level. It took about half an hour for the visibility to reach 350 metres, allowing CAT-II to be used again.
Flights could not take off in between, causing runway congestion. “There were delays in take-off because of planes being stranded on the runway. The delays would have been much longer if CAT-II was not operational,” said an airport official.
25/12/07 The Telegraph

JV firms awarded Gondia, Lucknow airport projects

Lucknow: The Airports Authority of India has awarded expansion projects at Lucknow and Gondia airports to two joint venture companies. The construction of a new integrated passenger terminal building at Lucknow Airport in Uttar Pradesh has been awarded to a joint venture called IPL Brahmaputra Infrastructure Ltd., formed by Indu Projects Ltd, Hyderabad, and Brahmaputra Consortium Ltd., New Delhi. The contract, valued at Rs 80 crore, is expected to be completed in 18 months. Airports Authority of India received seven bids out of which IPL Brahmaputra was selected for the work, said Anupam Verma, Senior Manager, AAI. Civil work on the project commenced in November this year.
The work for the construction of a new passenger lounge at Gondia Airport in Maharashtra has also been awarded to a joint venture called Parnika Vishal Consortium Ltd. formed by Parnika Constructions Pvt. Ltd. of Hyderabad and Vishal Constructions of Belgaum, Karnataka, an AAI spokesperson said.
25/12/07 Lalitha Rao/TravelBizMonitor

Monday, December 24, 2007

Navy plane crashes at Dabolim airport

Vasco: A single-seater Sea Harrier fighter aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed at Dabolim airport on Monday morning, moments after the pilot bailed out to safety.
This is the second Sea Harrier to have crashed this year and the fifth mishap – four involving Sea Harriers — to have hit the Navy at Vasco within two years.
Speaking to Herald, Indian Navy PRO Cmdr N Kesari stated the pilot of the ill-fated Sea Harrier Com Bevli was approaching the runway after a routine sortie, when the plane reportedly developed a technical snag.
Com Bevli ejected to safety and the plane crashed near the runway, bursting into flames at about 11.15 am.
Sources at Airport Authority of India said the crash did not disrupt civilian air traffic at Dabolim airport, since the incident took place during the time allotted to the Navy to conduct its operations from 8 am to 1 pm.
Naval fire tenders based at the runway rushed to the site and extinguished the flames. The runway was cleared within two hours.
24/12/07 Herald Publications

Flying somewhere? Best of luck

Flying into and out of the capital has seldom been anything but a dodgy proposition for passengers. And now, with the holiday rush on, air congestion and flight delays seem to be plaguing them even more as problems of weather, infrastructure and airport management increasingly affect flight movements.
If the last weekend was any indication — more than 60 per cent of domestic flights were disrupted, as were several international flights — passengers and airlines alike are in for a bad time.
Things could only get worse, given the blinding fog that religiously descends on Delhi in the first week of every new year.
That Delhi’s air traffic controllers (ATCs) are facing the heat for incidents of ‘near misses’ and their changing stance on the simultaneous use of both runways hardly help matters. The problem with Delhi is that both the primary and secondary runways lie at an angle, so aircraft taking off from one will have its path intersecting the other about a mile out.
With a third runway still a year away, deft management of aircraft movement is imperative. Unfortunately, while air traffic has increased exponentially at all major airports, very few ATCs seem to be available to handle this.
In crisis situations like, say, traffic overload or ATC disruptions, managing the passenger flow would become chaotic, which could lead to potentially dangerous situations.
24/12/07 Hindustan Times

Sunday, December 23, 2007

ATC says work conditions are a recipe for disaster

New Delhi: AIR traffic controllers (ATCs) at IGI Airport, who are facing the heat for recent incidents of near-misses and their changing stance on simultaneous use of both runways, have let the Airport Authority of India (AAI) know in no uncertain terms that the current situation is a recipe for disaster.
At the same time they have suggested that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) let them accompany pilots on familiarisation flights so as to understand the problems that arise and help bridge the communication gap.
It is learnt that ATC officials have told the authoritiesthat they are faced with the "worst very high frequency coverage, worst working conditions, and unsafe simultaneous use of both runways, besides extra duties." They said the "negligence" on these issues had "resulted in more than 10 cases of unsafe incidents" of late, both on runways and en route and that the AAI seems to be "waiting for a disaster to take place."
"These issues have been raised several times with the AAI this year but no one seems to be listening. While air traffic has increased exponentially, there are very few ATC officials to handle it with just 50 or so from a total of 200 at Delhi. So even as these 50 or so are putting in extra hours and handling immense air traffic every day, the working conditions are terrible but AAI seems blissfully ignorant," said a senior ATC official.
He admitted, however, that there are human errors at times, owing to tremendous work load.
23/12/07 Anubhuti Vishnoi/Delhi Newsline

Rs 6.32/hr to park chopper!

Ahmedabad: Parking a chopper at the Ahmedabad airport is far cheaper than parking a car! This parking bonanza is all due to the benevolence of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) which, sources say, is aimed at facilitating high-flying politicians and industrialists.
Sources at Ahmedabad airport said, parking was free for light aircraft and rates depended on the weight. Parking for the first two hours is free. Thereafter, every hour of parking a chopper would cost just Rs 1.58 for every 1000 kg. A helicopter weighs up to 6000 kg.
A private airline operator, whose chopper was used extensively during elections, said: "All choppers are in the weight range of 4,000-6,000 kg. Going by the present charges, parking rate is between Rs 6.32-9.48 per hour."
This is far lower than parking a car at the airport parking slot. An airport official said: "Parking charges are calculated from the moment a car enters the parking slot and is Rs 60 for four hours. This charge remains the same whether you park the car for 15 minutes or four hours."
Officials say these rates were revised last year probably to favour 'frequent flying' politicians who are largely dependent on private choppers. Choppers being small aircraft, they did not have to pay landing costs.
23/12/07 Himanshu Kaushik & Shoeb Khan/Times of India

Can Indian airports handle rain?

Chennai: Runway safety is particularly important in conditions like heavy rain or fog that many Indian airports will have to deal with in the coming months. The poor state of Indian runways has led to an increasing number of overrun incidents in recent years, according to senior Chennai-based pilot Capt. A. Ranganathan, who has more than 19,000 hours’ flying experience and has worked extensively on wet runway accident studies as well as on the Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) project for the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “In some airports, braking action is extremely poor,” he says. “It is slippery and aircraft are very difficult to control, so as pilots we get annoyed when we see highly inflated figures [reflecting the state of the runway.”
Accidents can occur when pilots deviate from regular landing procedures as they try to compensate for a poor runway. This also leads to pilots developing irregular landing habits. “What happens is pilots start landing short or touching down early,” Capt. Ranganathan says. “People are trying to use the entire length of the runway, and it is easy to misjudge that in bad weather when visibility is poor.”
These dangers have been re-emphasised within the industry by a December 12 report in the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) in Canada investigating the 2005 crash of an Air France Airbus A340 in Toronto. The aircraft overran the runway as it landed in a heavy rain storm — and on a runway that was up to international standards. The investigation showed that the flight crew did not account for a “margin for error” when landing in a heavy rain storm. The report recommends that pilots need to be provided with information about landing distances in different conditions, which many are unaware of.
23/12/07 The Hindu

Mock hijack drama at Coimbatore airport

Coimbatore: Coimbatore Airport looked tense and, the Anti-Hijack Control Room (AHCR) therein was abuzz after a plane ready for take-off was hijacked on Saturday.
It was a North-North Airlines with 22 members - 18 passengers, two crews and two pilots - on board which was hijacked by a three-member gang belonging to naxals and Tamil Youth Rebel Army (TYRA), a Burmese outfit of Tamil origin.
The operation, `Kongu Plan,’ which left one passenger dead was carried out for release of two naxals imprisoned in Coimbatore Prison and a ransom of one lakh US dollars.
The hijacked plane was supposed to be airborne at 10.20 a.m. but was not showing any signals of take-off.
When the Air Traffic Control (ATC) contacted the pilots, the hijackers demanded top government officials for negotiation.
The ATC alerted the City Police, the CISF and the airport authorities. The Airport’s Anti-Hijack Committee started negotiations with the hijackers.
The City Police Commissioner C K Gandhirajan as chairman of the Anti-Hijack Committee took the responsibility as the chief negotiator.
Other top officials who reached the AHCR are Deputy Commissioner (law and order) P Sugumaran, Assistant Commissioner (security), Sambasivam, Airport Director, K Hemalatha and CISF Deputy Commandant Arun Singh.
While the negotiations were on, the hijackers grew impatient and killed a passenger and threw his body out.
Another passenger developed health complications. A doctor was summoned and the patient was subsequently released.
Later, all the women passengers and children were let off. Few Ayyappa devotees, who were on board were also released.
According to Gandhirajan, the government had refused to meet the demands of the hijackers despite giving them a four-wheeler number pretending to release the two Naxals with ransom.
By then, the security forces rounded up the plane and the hijackers were forced to surrender. The episode ended around 12.15 noon.
Now, it was not a real hijack incident but a mock drill conducted for the first time by the Airport Authorities.
23/12/07 S Sujatha/Newindpress

Saturday, December 22, 2007

AAI goes back to twin runway use

New Delhi: After massive delays crippled Delhi airport on Thursday evening, the AAI decided to go back to simultaneous use of runways till the directorate general of civil aviation’s (DGCA) order on dedicated use of runways is implemented on December 25.
After the recent scare of simultaneous take-offs from the two runways at Delhi’s IGI airport, air traffic control (ATC) had been instructed on Wednesday night to restrict the dual use of runways. Consequently, simultaneous operations had taken place only for two hours on Thursday, leading to massive delays and even a couple of diversions.
After witnessing the chaos that the decision caused, there was a sudden reversal of orders on Thursday night, according to which ATC was asked to re-start simultaneous use of runways. On Friday morning, since visibility was low, twin use could only be started by 10.45 am, as against the scheduled time of 6 am and went on till a little past 1 pm. In the evening, it started as per routine about 4 pm and continued till late at night.
ATC officials explained that the winter schedule was made keeping in mind the capacity of IGI during simultaneous operations. If this was suspended, there would have been a massive backlog, as was the case on Thursday. Nobody was prepared for slowing down of operations and the sudden backlog caught airlines and airport authorities off guard.
22/12/07 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

Airlines unhappy over new norms on runway use

The new government guideline against simultaneous take-off and landing of aircraft from the same runway (now one runway would be used for take-off and the other only for landing) will increase delays in flight movement by 40-50 per cent, say airlines.
According to authorities, the guideline has been issued after increasing incidents of near collisions, which were reported in the last few months and had led to a lot of panic amongst passengers.
Instead of being parallel, these runways actually converge after a point which makes it dangerous for two flights to take off simultaneously if they go beyond a certain point.
However, airlines say that with these new guidelines the number of flights that the airport can take on would not be more than 30.
At the moment the airport handles 35 flights per hour every day (landings and take-offs).
"Every flight will be delayed by at least 45 minutes to one hour," said an Air Deccan pilot. That is over and above the delay already being faced by passengers due to congestion and fog.
"These are makeshift methods and should be replaced by what is done internationally during simultaneous use of runways. Those flights which take off simultaneously just have to turn 10 degrees on either side and then take off. That way there is no chance of a collision," says the flight operations chief of a low-cost carrier. Air traffic control (ATC) officials agree to this suggestion.
22/12/07 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

Jam in the skies?

Highly placed sources in the Union Civil Aviation Ministry have warned against massive traffic snarls mid-air. According to the sources, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued orders for the exclusive use of the main runway for take offs and secondary runway for landings, a positive move to make our skies safer.
However, owing to the peak season rush, over two lakh people are expected to throng the Delhi Airport. All flights have been booked to capacity for the pre-Christmas weekend and the Delhi airport is expected to see the most number of footfalls on Dec 22 and 23.
And with the new order implying that one runway would be available for take offs, while the other one for landing, it may bring down flight movement sharply. Around 25-42 flights move on both the runways in one hour at a given point of time in a day, however, due to the new order, flight movement will be restricted to only 30 flights per hour.
And to add to customer's woes, the Met office has predicted of shallow fog, which has become a major cause of concern for officials as they are worried that any fog related delays could cause complete chaos at the airport.
21/12/07 Times Now.tv

No relief: Congestion, delays continue at Delhi airport

New Delhi: There seems to be no relief for passengers as air congestion and delays continued at the airport on Friday.
Around 55 per cent of domestic flights were delayed while the schedule of international flights was also affected.
After the recent incidents of near-misses, the Air Traffic Control had avoided simultaneous use of two runways on Thursday. Following directions from the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to avoid delays and after the runway visibility improved at 10.45 am from below 2,000 metres, the practice was resumed on Friday.
Both the primary and the secondary runways are usually used from 6 am to 1 pm and then again from 4 pm to 11 pm. In the afternoon, when the air traffic is less one of the runways remains shut for maintenance.
Though both the runways were in use on Friday, the ATC was careful in giving permission to aircraft to land or take off. After drawing a lot of flak due to the near-miss incidents, it is now keeping a decent time gap between each plane.
22/12/07 Delhi Newsline

Four new airports set to get nod

New Delhi: The Union civil aviation ministry has nearly completed looking into the Hassan, Shimoga, Gulbarga and Bijapur airport projects and has drafted a cabinet note which is now before Minister Praful Patel.
After his approval, the draft note will be taken up by an inter-ministerial committee consisting of the ministers of finance, defence, aviation and law and the deputy chairman of Planning Commission. After being vetted by this committee, the note will be taken up by the cabinet committee on economic affairs for approval which is the final authority to clear the projects.
An official of the civil aviation ministry told Deccan Herald: “It is easier for us to clear these projects since financial issues are not involved in them. Unlike the Bangalore international airport, the Centre is not picking equity in these projects.”
While the Hassan airport is being implemented by Jupiter Aviation and Logistics Limited, the seven-day government of BJP gave approval for the Gulbarga and Shimoga projects to be built by Maytas Infra Limited, a Hyderabad-based private infrastructure development and construction firm on private public partnership (PPP) model. The Bijapur airport will also be developed on PPP model and tenders will be called soon to select the project developer.
22/12/07 B S Arun/Deccan Herald

Mohali airport likely to take off fast

New Delhi/ Chandigarh: The civil aviation sector in Punjab seems ready to take off with the Centre today agreeing to expedite the clearances for Mohali International Airport, consider "positively" the state's plea for allowing civil terminals at Adampur and Bhisiana (Bathinda) airports and support the state's efforts for setting up flying clubs and pilot and cabin crew academies in the state.
The Centre and the Airport Authority of India have given their in-principle approval for the international airport.
While Bathinda air linkage assumes significance in the light of the work on the Guru Gobind Singh Bathinda Refinery gaining momentum and the setting up of a world-class cricket stadium there, the state government's renewed efforts to get a civilian terminal in the NRI heartland at Adampur in Doaba comes in the wake of the state's latest initiatives concerning Punjabis living abroad. Incidentally, a Punjabi NRI Sammelan is being held in Chandigarh and Jalandhar early next month.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today called on the Union Defence Minister A K Antony in this regard urged him to ensure an early issuance of a no objection certificate (NOC) to the international airport project.
22/12/07 Business Standard

Amritsar Vikas Manch demands to drop Mohali International Airport project

Amritsar: Amritsar Viksas Manch has demanded the dropping of the Mohali International Airport project protect economy of border areas.
In different letters written Friday to to Sonia Gandhi Chairperson UPA and President AICC Dr.Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India and Parkash Singh Badal Chief Minister of Punjab ,Manch patron Dr Charanjit Singh Gumtala said that the proposed international airport at Mohali will encourage the flight of Industry from Punjab to Badi and some nearby areas of Himachal and Haryana. Mohali airport will not of much benefit to Punjab as 12 out of 20 districts of Punjab are nearer to Amritsar than to chandigarh.
Among 8 districts, which are close to Chandigarh , Patiala , Ropar and Mohali constitute only 2% of the total passenger traffic to foreign countries as per the report of Consulting Engineering Services ( India ) private limited -- a Delhi based firm in association with ICRA Management Consulting Services. Moreover, all these districts have strength of only 23 legislative constituencies out of 117 of the whole Punjab . Thus these districts constitute less than 20% of the total Punjab .
22/12/07 PunjabNewsline.com/Harjit Kaur Matharoo

Flight cancelled due to traffic congestion

New Delhi: A Kathmandu-bound Indian Airlines flight IC-813 had to be cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday reportedly because of a delay in take-off due to traffic congestion at Delhi airport .
According to an airline official, the flight was to leave Delhi at 1-40 p.m. on Wednesday but because only one runway was operational it caused traffic congestion and the flight had to be rescheduled as flights cannot land in Kathmandu after sunset. “Of the 70 passengers that the flight was carrying, 35 were local and the rest were accommodated in a hotel,” he added.
However, when contacted, an official at Delhi International Airport (Private) Limited said: “Only the primary runway was closed between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. which is routine.”
A Goa-bound Indigo flight and a Doha-bound Qatar Airways flight reportedly came close to a “near miss” situation after they took off from Delhi airport 30 seconds after each other on Wednesday.
21/12/07 The Hindu

Friday, December 21, 2007

Passengers taken for a ride yet again

There was chaos in Chennai on the evening of Thursday (December 20) at the Kamraj domestic airport, after passengers staged a dharna on the runway after being stranded by a budget airline.
Eleven passengers of the Air Deccan DN 671 flight, bound from Chennai to Kolkata, who were issued boarding passes, were not allowed to board the flight.
At 4.00 pm, the airline refused to give boarding passes to 11 members from two famlies claiming they were late. But the irony of the situation is that two members each from both the families who were ahead front in the queue were given boarding cards.
At 4.40 pm, the protesting passengers were informed that the flight was delayed due to a technical snag and they could board the flight. Boarding passes were issued to all 11 passengers - but their relief was short lived. The passengers were taken near the aircraft on the airline bus - and as a video shot by one of the passengers on a mobile showed - they were not allowed to board the flight because the pilot refused to open the doors saying it was "against the policy"
The passengers were then told that they could not be accomodated even on the next flight.
At 6.00 pm, when their requests fell on deaf ears, for over three hours, the passengers staged a dharna on the side of the runway.
But even that was of no avail - the airline refused to provide them accomodation and issued them tickets for Friday evening flight to Kolkata, leaving them to wait for more than 24 hours.
21/12/07 Times Now.tv

Delayed flights: Airlines make arrangements for passengers

Lucknow: In an attempt to provide better services to passengers during flight delays owing to fog and bad weather, all major airlines have made alternate arrangements to handle the situation at Lucknow Airport .
While Jetlite has re-scheduled its flights between Lucknow and Delhi, Air India has also made back-up arrangements. “We held a meeting in Delhi to discuss this issue. The 9:30 pm flight to Delhi has been scheduled at 8 pm till January 15, so that fog and bad weather don’t affect our operations,” said Deepak Khare, Passenger Sales Manager (UP), Jetlite.
He said the emphasis is on establishing better communication with passengers so that they don’t face problems at the last minute. “Travel agents have been asked to place a stamp on tickets, requesting passengers to confirm their flights 24 hours ahead of their trip. We’ll send them necessary alerts through SMS,” he said. “We have also decided to send passengers by Jet Airways, if possible, in case of delays. Talks are also on with Indian Airlines,” he said.
Senior Sales Executive of Kingfisher Airlines Syed Asrarul Anwar said if any two Kingfisher flights, operating between Lucknow and Delhi, are delayed, passengers will be accommodated in the next available flight.
Meanwhile, Air India has also made similar arrangements but has not re-scheduled its flights.
20/12/07 Lucknow Newsline

Chaos after Delhi runway restriction

New Delhi: Get ready for massive traffic jams in Delhi’s airspace - it would mean long hovering time before landing besides waiting inside aircraft or outside for over an hour before taking off.
Rattled by Wednesday’s near-miss and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) order to stop simultaneous take-offs from IGI’s merging runways, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) started restricting the twin use of runways from the evening. This ‘unsafe practice’ had been started last April and saw the hourly aircraft movement capacity go up from 25 to 42. Restricting it has led to a sharp decrease in hourly movement.
On Thursday, simultaneous use was done for only two hours due to a mix of heightened scare, DGCA’s directive and low visibility. As a result, Delhi saw huge air traffic congestion. A couple of flights were even diverted as they were running out of fuel while hovering over Delhi and a delay of one to three hours was common. This on a day when there was no ‘fog’.
The worst part is that simultaneous use of runways cannot take place till atleast June now, when the new parallel runway is made operational. Then, the maximum number of flights per hour will go up to about 60.
21/12/07 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

Mid-air collision averted

Just two days after the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a directive to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to earmark one runway for landing and the another for take off, a collision between two aircrafts -- IndiGo flight to Goa and Qatar Airways flight to Doha was averted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi.
Both the aircrafts reportedly took off simultaneously in the same direction at the IGI Airport on Wednesday (Dec 19). The incident occurred at 5.30 pm when an IndiGo flight to Goa and a Qatar Airways flight to Doha took off from the two runways of the airport within 30 seconds of each other. However, after the Air Traffic Control (ATC) alerted the aircraft, the IndiGo plane turned left, leaving the Qatar aircraft free to fly straight, thereby averting a major collision.
20/12/07 Times Now.tv

Thursday, December 20, 2007

DGCA directive on runway use has airlines, aviation experts divided

New Delhi: There seems to be several hiccups before the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) decision to segregate landings and take-offs on the primary and secondary runways can be implemented on ground. The decision has evoked mixed reactions from the airlines and experts.
According to the directive, the primary runways will be used only for take-offs and the secondary ones for landings. Several airlines feel that this can cause further delays and that both runways “cannot be used optimally”. “From 5.30 am to 8.30 am, 99 per cent of the flight movement is exclusively take-offs. If the DGCA directive is implemented, it will not be decreasing load as only one runway will remain in use,” said a seniorJetlite official.
DIAL will also have to construct more taxiways and segregate the existing ones to ensure smooth movement of planes on the ground. “Also, more taxiways will mean even lesser parking bays,” said a senior Air India official. International aircraft, using the secondary runway, will be landing further away from their parking space near Terminal 2.
The maintenance time of the runways, which is done usually in the afternoon at present, will also be affected.
20/12/07 K Sobhana/Delhi Newsline

Foggy days ahead for Delhi airport

Delhi airport in the winter is a foggy mess, flights are delayed, passengers are stranded but one wonders what it is like for the pilot when visibility is nearly zero.
A cockpit view of landing at Delhi airport during the winter fog is revelationary to say the least.
What the pilot can see when visibility is 1000 metres or more is known as a CAT 1 condition. An aircraft landing when the fog is more dense, means a visibility limit of 350 metres or a CAT 2 condition.
Visibility level of 200 metresis known as a CAT 3 A situation.
And when visibility is about 100 metres, nothing can be seen almost till touch down. The Delhi airport has the technology to make planes land in this visibility, a CAT 3 B condition.
But there's a catch, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA says most airlines have not bothered to install the same technology on their aircraft or train their pilots.
In the past, the government has threatened to cancel the winter morning slots of those airlines whose aircraft are not equipped to land in extremely low visibility conditions but that threat has never materialized.
20/12/07 Alok Pandey/NDTV.com

Fog returns after 2-day hiatus

New Delhi: After two days of relief, the airport saw a few delays on Wednesday with shallow fog being reported early in the morning and during evening hours.
In the morning, the visibility dipped to 800 metres but no special procedures were put in place due to this. In the evening, visibility dropped further. Around 30 per cent of flights were delayed in the morning, while more than 50 per cent of flights were delayed in the evening. The delays ranged from about half an hour to an hour. In the evening, the secondary runway was closed for some time for renovation and this also added to the congestion.
Meanwhile, an Air India Sharjah-Amritsar-Delhi flight had to skip Amritsar airport because of fog. The flight was to land at Amritsar at 9:30 am. But it finally landed at Delhi airport at 10:15 am. There were 35 passengers for Amritsar, who waited till 1:30 pm with the hope of being flown back to their destination.
20/12/07 Delhi Newsline

Land acquisition for Pune airport gets going

Mumbai/Pune: International airport to initially focus on cargo exports.
Acting on the directives from the Civil Aviation ministry, the Maharashtra government has finally initiated the land acquisition process for the much-awaited international airport project near Pune.
Planned at Shiroli-Chandoos villages and located around 45 km north of Pune along the Pune-Nashik national highway, the greenfield international airport is expected to be operational by the year 2016.
The international airport will initially focus on cargo exports as the passenger needs would be extensively served by the upcoming international airport near Panvel in Navi Mumbai, which is just 90 minutes’ drive from Pune. The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has issued a notice to begin the land acquisition procedure.
The proposed international airport would come on 6,000 acres, which according to MIDC, is not under direct irrigation.
20/12/07 Business Standard

Govt should establish airport development strategy: ICAO

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that has undertaken a study on Goa dual airport has while stressing on the need for an airport development strategy in Goa has recommended that decision makers must first address the question of the second airport and traffic assignment within multi-dimensional framework.The study has also stated that decision makers must recognise that dual airport was the second best solution compared to a single airport and that in that context management of dual airport system must focus on the issue of limiting the potential loss to users and airport managers, as well as the competitive edge to other single airports.
The ICAO report also states that Goa government has to establish an airport development strategy that would lead to an optimal allocation of scarce resources for maximising the benefits, while at the same time minimising the cost of providing airport services while deciding on the issue of Mopa of Mopa airport project.
20/12/07 Abdul Rauf Beig/Navhind Times

Snag forces flight to land

Calcutta: An Air India flight made an emergency landing at Calcutta airport on Wednesday after a snag mid-air.
The flight from New Delhi to Guwahati (IC 889), with 136 passengers on board, touched down in the city around 1.45pm, said airport officials.
A representative of the airline, however, denied that it was an emergency landing. The pilot landed in Calcutta as a precautionary measure, claimed the Air India official.
The airline maintenance officials fixed the problem and the flight took off for Guwahati again around 4.45pm with all the passengers.
The pilot contacted Calcutta’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) around 1pm. “He told us that there was a problem with hydraulic pressure in the aircraft,” said an ATC official.
The flight had almost reached Guwahati when the pilot got in touch with the ATC. It landed in Calcutta with fire tenders ready on the runway. Other precautionary measures were also taken by the airport authorities.
The plane was unable to move out of the runway on its own, said an ATC official. “The aircraft was stranded on the main runway for 15 minutes. It had to be pushed out with a tow bar, which is normally used to shove aircraft out of the parking area before it taxies into the runway.” Other flights took off from the secondary runway during the period.
20/12/07 The Telegraph

Dedicated bus lane for new Bangalore airport

Bangalore: Travel from Hebbal flyover to Devanahalli airport in less than half-an-hour. No, you won't be travelling on the expressway or high-speed rail link. But soon, the BMTC's Volvo buses will use a dedicated bus lane to let passengers reach the airport in a jiffy.
Bangalore's first dedicated bus lane will be laid to exclusively ferry airport passengers and the BMTC is deploying 40 A/C buses for this purpose.
Lane marking will begin in January and trial runs will begin towards January-end and February. The plan is to ready the lane before the airport is inaugurated in March. The BMTC and transport department received the go-ahead to execute the project following the submission of a comprehensive report on the lane system by traffic expert M N Sreehari.
The dedicated bus lane is meant to ensure quick travel time on brand-new low-fare Volvos and also to avoid breakdowns.
The plan is to cover the distance between Hebbal flyover and airport in 25 minutes.
20/12/07 Times of India

Elevated road to Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Air passengers who are struggling to negotiate traffic congestion can hope to reach Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) from the Western Express Highway (WEH) within minutes by mid-2010. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Wednesday awarded the contract to Larsen & Toubro Ltd for the construction of an elevated access road to the airport from the Western Express Highway.
This “critical” project will provide an easy and quick access to and from the airport which is being given a makeover by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), said a release from L&T. The contract is valued at Rs 287.37 crore and the project is expected to be over in 30 months.
“L&T's construction division will be designing and constructing a 1.8-km long six-lane corridor, which will have pedestrian and vehicular subways,” said S R Nandargikar, Chief Engineer MMRDA. “The work also involves construction of a 1150 metres long, 6-lane elevated access road passing from Vile Parle, through Airport Authority of India colony to the airport along with a 165- metre tunnel,” he added.
20/12/07 Mumbai Newsline

Smile a bit to promote tourism, airport employees told

Chennai: While Tamil Nadu has everything to offer to a tourist, what is sometimes missing is friendliness, according to M. Rajaram, director of tourism and managing director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC).
To get airport employees to be more visitor-friendly, the TTDC, along with the Ananda Vikatan Group of Publications, organised a workshop at the Chennai airport on Tuesday. The message: smile, and you will be doing your bit for Tamil Nadu tourism.
“Tourism is not just about money; it is also about cultural exchange and projecting the image of a country,” Mr. Rajaram said. “It’s possible for officials and authorities to smile without compromising their work values.”
To spread this message, the TTDC, along with the Vikatan Group, has conducted workshops at Central Station in Chennai, and for the city’s traffic police. The staff members of the Koyambedu bus terminus and the Egmore station are the next targets.
20/12/07 The Hindu

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

New Bangalore airport to levy user fee

New Delhi: The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) wants to levy “user development fee” [UDF] on the passengers departing from Bangalore. The airport is slated for a March 28, 2008 opening.
As per the BIAL proposal, Rs 675 will be levied on every domestic passenger and Rs 955 on every international passenger leaving Bangalore. However, those arriving would not have to shell out any UDF. The proposal is currently before the civil aviation ministry.
The ministry, however, is of the view that the fee is on the higher side and though the BIAL is entitled to levy it as per the concession agreement, it should be a reasonable amount.
While no decision has been taken yet, the ministry has informed the BIAL authorities to reconsider the amount but the latter is understood to be reluctant to do so, informed sources told Deccan Herald on Tuesday.
Indian airports currently charge Rs 200 as service fee per passenger. Of this, Rs 70 goes to the operator and Rs 130 to the Central Industrial Security Force which takes care of the airport security. The Delhi and Mumbai airports, which have been privatised, do not charge any UDF at present.
19/12/07 B S Arun/Deccan Herald

Upgrade to CAT III or park at remote bays, DGCA tells airlines

New Delhi: Foggy Delhi winters have landed civil aviation authorities in a tug-of-war situation with private airlines. The airlines are complaining that they are being allocated remote parking bays at the airport just because they do not have CAT III compatible aircraft and crew, which is leading to delays.
The authorities, however, maintain that non-CAT III compliant airlines have to either upgrade or go to remote parking bays because the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued directions to prioritise CAT III compliant airlines over the non-compliant ones.
As a result, the airlines are complaining of additional delays since buses ferrying passengers to these bays also have to slow down because of fog.
DGCA officials, however, say if the airlines want to avoid delay they have to either upgrade or just admit to their passengers that they are not CAT III compliant and start boarding 30 minutes earlier. The airlines, however, are not too keen on the upgradation as that will push up costs and the fog is just a fortnight long affair.
19/12/07 Anubhuti Vishnoi/Delhi Newsline

‘Dead’ man walks out of flight from Kolkata

Mumbai: On December 6, a passenger named M Jha, 46, boarded a Jet Airways flight (9W 212) from Kolkata to Mumbai. The plane was scheduled to reach Mumbai airport at 11pm but was delayed by almost an hour. At about 11:30pm, Jha complained of uneasiness and collapsed.
“There was a doctor on board who attended to the ailing passenger,” said a source in the airline, who was also on the plane.
The doctor, however, declared Jha dead. By 11:45pm doctors at the airport had been informed of the emergency. “We were told that a passenger had collapsed and needed urgent attention,” said a doctor on duty at the airport.
The plane was cleared for landing on priority basis and parked at bay number 35. “Our doctors, who rushed to attend to the case as soon as the plane landed, found the passenger had walked out of the flight,” said an official of Mumbai International Airport Limited.
“It seems the passenger had only fainted,” he said.
19/12/07 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

MLA held with live cartridges

Vasco: Vasco Police on Tuesday arrested Tahir Hussain Siddiqui, a ruling BSP legislator from Uttar Pradesh for possessing live ammunition in his registered baggage before check-in for boarding a flight to Mumbai from Dabolim Airport.
Authorities of Air Deccan detected empty and live cartridges (10 rounds) during X-ray screening of Siddiqui’s luggage at the airport before check-in.
Siddiqui was immediately handed over to the
According to Vasco PI, Sammy Tavares the accused Siddiqui has a licence for .30mm pistol, but the cartridges found in his baggage were that of a .32mm pistol.
However, Siddiqui clarified that the cartridges were that of a .32mm pistol owned by his wife and that he was, by mistake, carrying them. His wife has valid licence for the .32mm pistol, he said.
Siddiqui was later released on posting a personal bail bond of Rs 35,000 and on surety of a local person. Meanwhile, Siddiqui’s relatives faxed the pistol licence of his wife from UP on Tuesday evening as proof of his claim.
19/12/07 Herald Publications

No all-clear for DIAL yet

New Delhi: The Delhi International Airport Limited?s (DIAL) ongoing tussle with the Airports Authority of India/Ministry of Civil Aviation (AAI/MoCA) isn?t likely to get resolved in a hurry, though things appeared settled when, a few weeks ago, Aviation Minister Praful Patel said at a press conference that the government would go by the Attorney General's (AG) opinion on the dispute.
This is because the agreements entered into by DIAL with various subsidiaries (DAPL and DCPL) do not conform to the pre-conditions mentioned in the AG's opinion.
An email to DIAL officials detailing the problem areas was sent on Thursday last week but remained unanswered. AAI, meanwhile, sent a letter to DIAL on December 13 saying that the ministry was examining the AG?s opinion with respect to whether DIAL could accept deposits for land sub-leased by it for commercial development and whether it could form various subsidiary companies to carry out business.
AAI has written that till there is another letter from it specifically giving DIAL the go ahead, it must not take any action in these areas.
19/12/07 Sunil Jain/Business Standard

Metro airports to let in private oil cos

Private firms, including Reliance Industries Ltd, Essar Oil Ltd and Royal Dutch Shell Plc., will soon be able to sell jet fuel at metro airports despite not having their own supply depots as several such airports are planning to set up their own common fuel supplying facilities.
Such a common facility could help reduce investments in fuel supply logistics at these airports and could potentially cut the cost of jet fuel as well. It will also see the beginning of the end of a near-monopoly in sales of jet fuel at major airports by three state-owned Indian oil marketing companies.
Jet fuel accounts for about 40% of the operating cost of India’s domestic carriers, all of whom have collectively reported a loss of $500 million (Rs2,300 crore then) in 2006-07. The estimated annual fuel bill for the domestic airline industry is around $1.9 billion, based on rates prevailing in November. Fuel prices for domestic operations in India are 70-90% higher than international benchmarks.
Airports in Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are in the process of building fuel “farms” that can be used by all firms that are licensed to sell jet fuel. Delhi International Airport Ltd, a joint venture promoted by GMR Group-led consortium, is also exploring a similar infrastructure option.
19/12/07 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Officials visit Balurghat airstrip

Balurghat: The Airports Authority of India officials along with South Dinajpur district administrative officials visited the site of the proposed Balurghat airstrip to solve land dispute which has erupted and thus made the future of the project uncertain.
Dispute arose after residents of four villages situated behind the airport claimed a connecting road with the town, which they feared would be blocked once the airport campus wall comes up. The district administration has succeeded in settling the issue with the villagers after promising to leave a 2 metre area for passage. However, evacuation would be necessary.
17/12/07 The Statesman

RIL to move on cargo airport plan in SEZ

New Delhi: More trouble could be brewing up for the GMR-led Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) that’s bitterly opposing Uttar Pradesh government’s proposal for building the Greater Noida airport 72 km away from IGI airport.
A team of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd recently met aviation ministry officials to kickstart the proposed cargo airport at their ambitious SEZ project in Jhajjar. The airport and a 2,000-MW power plant were the highlights of the Rs 40,000-crore project that will be spread over 25,000 acres in Gurgaon and Jhajjar when Ambani inked the deal with Haryana last June.
While the Greater Noida airport is 72 km away, the Reliance cargo one is so close to IGI that ATC services will have to be provided from there itself.
Saying in no uncertain terms that they would oppose this airport, a senior DIAL official said: "We are all for the growth of aviation sector but the issue is of timing of introducing more than one airport in Delhi. There has to be maturity in the market before one does that. Otherwise there will be two or three week airports instead of one strong hub." The group said its stand on greater Noida airport would hold true for the Ambani cargo plan also.
18/12/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Chaos at Bahrain airport as scores bumped off flights

Scores of passengers have been bumped off Gulf Air flights out of Bahrain over the last few days, leading to widespread disruption and accusations that the airline has been excessively overbooking during the busy holiday season.
The disruption began at the end of last week and continued on Sunday with passengers heading for the Indian subcontinent, UK and Europe facing continued delays, Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News reported on Monday.
The newspaper said Gulf Air was shuffling passengers on to alternative flights, laying on extra flights to some high-traffic destinations and even bringing in bigger aircraft in an effort to limit the problem.
However, the airline admitted it would be a few days before the situation was back to normal.
Al Fanar Travel general manager Suhaib Kidwai blamed Gulf Air for the chaos, claiming the airline had allowed excessive booking without checking to see how many people would actually be flying.
However, the airline has dismissed accusations, claiming that passengers being bumped off flights was not unusual.
"A glitch in the immigration computer systems at the King Fahad Causeway on Saturday had contributed significantly to the problem", Adnan Malek, Gulf Air’s acting head of corporate communications said, quoted Gulf Daily News.
17/12/07 James Bennett/ArabianBusiness.com, United Arab Emirates

E-mail threat to blow up Indian airports

New Delhi: An e-mail threatening to blow up Indian airports in January has been received at a call centre of the national carrier Air India in neighbouring Gurgaon, airline sources said on Monday. The call centre received the e-mail on Saturday which threatened explosions at the airports on January 12, they said.
An FIR was lodged by Assistant Manager (Security, Air India) Harish Masand stating that the airline received the threat mail on the e-mail address 'call.delhi@airindia.in' at around 11 a.m. on Saturday.The e-mail said there will be a blast in Indian airports on January 12, 2008, sources said.
The CISF, which is in charge of the security of all prominent airports in the country, has already increased the number of personnel, a senior CISF official said.
17/12/07 PTI/Times of India

‘Govt committed to develop Karipur’

Kozhikode: Revenue Minister K.P.Rajendran said that the government will soon hold a meeting with E.Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs, for the development of the Karipur Airport soon.
Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan will chair the meeting, he said addressing in the seventh NRI Global Meet at Malabar Palace, here on Monday.
“The government is concerned about the development of the Kozhikode airport. People from Thrissur to Kasargod mostly depend on this airport for travelling abroad. So government is keen to expedite the process of the development of the airport,” he said.The government has a clear vision for the rehabilitation of those who will be evicted for airport development.
18/12/07 Newindpress