One-way pain for Pune air travellers

Pune: Demanding improved road network leading to the airport, Airport Advisory Committee (AAC) has asked the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to widen the Airport Road underpass to two-way to avoid airport-bound traffic congestion.

"Airport road is the first impression of the city. Considering that, the civic body should give priority to various roads approaching the airport. Everyday, thousands of passengers, mostly from IT or corporate sector, visiting the city face inconvenience while passing the Nagar Road. In other cities, people have a direct access to the city through flyovers or underpass from the airports. We had raised this issue in the meeting of AAC and complained to the PMC that they should make the vehicular underpass two-way," said Dhairyashil Vandekar, member of AAC.

Aimed to facilitate dedicated connectivity to the air travellers coming from Kalyani Nagar and taking the Nagar Road, the Airport Road underpass was started two months ago. But since the underpass is one-way, it has proved to be ineffective to control traffic congestion, as people coming from the airport don't get an access to the underpass. To get into the underpass, motorists have to take a slight diversion and make a U-turn from Weikfield Chowk, which is around 100 metres away.
31/12/14 Sukirt Gumaste/Pune Mirror

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Govt selects site in Mandi for international airport

Shimla: With the Airports Authority of India (AAI) rejecting the proposed site for setting up of an international airport near Kandaghat, the state government has selected Gungardhar near Mandi as the new site which would offer hindrance-free landing of bigger aircraft.
The proposal was placed before the Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority India (AAI) by Vijai Singh Mankotia, Chairman of the State Tourism Development Board, in New Delhi yesterday. He pleaded the case of Himachal in restoring flights from Shimla and Kullu and also setting up of an international airport in the state at the All India Conference of Tourism Ministers in New Delhi, yesterday.
“I have offered a proposal from the side of the state government that a vast expanse of land was available near Gungardhar, on the outskirts of Mandi, for the setting up of the international airport in case Kandaghat site has been rejected,” said Mankotia.
He said the Chief Minister had suggested the site which was a flat plateau and the officials had been directed to get all the papers ready.
The issue of setting up of an international airport in Himachal has been hanging fire for the past 15 years. Initially, a site near Sundernagar had been selected but finally 224 acres of land near Kandaghat was selected. A technical team from the AAI also visited the site in June this year. The AAI team had initially said that about 500 acres of more land would be required for the airport.
Now, with the AAI rejecting the site, the state government has come up with an alternate site. “The absence of an international airport in the state, regular flights from three airports at Shimla, Kullu and Dharamsala is the biggest impediment to promoting Himachal as an international destination,” said Mankotia.
31/12/14 Pratibha Chauhan/Tribune 

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23 flights delayed by fog, 10k affected in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: More than 10,000 passengers were affected as 23 flights including 11 on Ahmedabad- Delhi and six on Middle-east route were delayed due to dense fog and congestion in air traffic from city on Tuesday while six trains were running late.

The flights on Ahmedabad- Delhi route delayed included three flights of Jet Airways, Air India and Indigo each and two of SpiceJet by 1.5 hours to 4.5 hours. Several fliers from the city missed connecting flights as flights to and from Delhi kept getting delayed.

Indigo's Pune-Ahmedabad, Jaipur-Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad-Goa along with SpiceJet's Hyderabad-Ahmedabad flights were also affected during the day. Three flights on Ahmedabad-Mumbai route were also delayed. Also due to congestion in traffic, six flights to and from Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi were delayed by 1 hour to 2 hours.
31/12/14 Times of India

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AAI tells SpiceJet to pay Rs 200 crore

New Delhi: A  question mark is hanging on whether SpiceJet will be able to fly in New Year or not.

A senior official said state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) has asked the low cost carrier (LCC) to clear its dues of Rs 200 crore by Wednesday, failing it could be put on cash-and-carry mode, which means it would not be given credit and be required to pay upfront for operating flights.

The ministry, which had asked AAI not to put SpiceJet on cash-and-carry by the year-end will take a final call on this issue on Wednesday. Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati also sounded a cautionary note for the airline on Tuesday. "The government is here to be helpful and it can be helpful but the SpiceJet's problem is its finances which it will have to sort out," he told reporters. The LCC has extended flight cancellations till next month, affecting at least 3,450 flights in Janauary (115 flights daily), which include mostly domestic flights and a few international ones to Nepal and Afghanistan. It had cancelled about 1,800 flights till December 31.
31/12/14 Times of India

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Delhiites get respite from cold, no flights delayed

New Delhi: Delhiites on Wednesday got some respite from the biting cold with the minimum temperature settling at 8.6 degrees Celsius, witnessing a rise of 4 degrees, even as 103 trains were affected.
However, flight operations were smooth.

"The minimum temperature recorded this morning was 8.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal. Moderate fog was witnessed in the morning," a MeT official said. The visibility recorded at 8.30 AM was 1500 metres while the humidity was 81 per cent, he added.

According to a Northern Railway official, operations of 103 North-bound trains were affected due to fog. "While 93 trains were running behind their schedule, 2 were cancelled and 8 rescheduled," he said.
31/12/14 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Arunachal urges Centre to develop airports

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh has urged the Centre to develop airports and other ancillaries in the State.
The matter was raised by the Arunachal Civil Aviation Minister Thangwang Wangham in a meeting for consultation of the Draft Civil Aviation Policy, convened by the Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju in New Delhi yesterday.

Wangham proposed the Union Ministry to include a provision for construction of new airports of “short take-off and landing” type in the prospective locations of the State, an official communique said here today.

He further said that the new policy should provide for a regional cargo hub in the Northeastern region which would widen the scope of various region-specific trade and commerce activities.

“Arunachal with its potential in sectors such as food processing, floriculture and agriculture will stand to benefit considerably from such a hub. I propose establishment of a regional cargo hub, preferably in Guwahati which is the hub and gateway to all the Northeastern States,” he said.

He also requested the Ministry to rationalise the cost of air turbine fuel. Stating that there is a need to include a provision of employing people from the region in the civil aviation sector, Wangham said the policy should give adequate weightage to capacity building, training and assistance for manpower at all levels.
31/12/14 Assam Tribune

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BIAL handled 14 m passengers in 2014

Bengaluru: Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has handled over 14.38 million passengers in 2014. A resurgent domestic aviation market saw new airlines and routes, resulting in a 14 per cent increase in air traffic movements (ATMs), with an average of 359 ATMs per day.

Domestic ATMs increased by 15.4 per cent to 110,773 in 2014, while international ATMs rose to 20,330. The airport handled 12.5 per cent more passengers than last year’s, making it the third busiest airport in the country.

The domestic traffic recorded an annual growth of 13.5 per cent to 11.55 million passengers at the end of the year. International passenger traffic grew at 9 per cent.

This year also marked the opening of the extended terminal with enhanced facilities, along with new commercial offering and the capacity to handle 20 million passengers annually.

“A focused approach centred around the passenger experience has paid rich dividends, making the KIA (Kempegowda International Airport), Bengaluru, a strategic aviation hub in seven years of operations,” said GV Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, BIAL.
30/12/14 Business Line

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DGCA wants to bring down diversions to zero at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Rising number of delays, cancellations and diversions due to bad weather at the Delhi airport is making Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) jittery, compelling it to swing into action to avoid "Mayday" call from flights like last year.

"On Sunday, there were 30 diversions, which was really bad. On Monday, the operators (airlines) were called and asked for explanation. We looking to making it zero this year to prevent Mayday call, like it happened last year," said a senior DGCA official, who did not want to be named.

Last year, during the peak of winter, an aircraft that was diverted had to make an emergency landing for refuelling.
31/12/14 Daily News & Analysis

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Airlines cancel flights over untrained pilots and crew tantrums.. and blame it on Delhi fog

Foggy weather in Delhi is not the only reason airlines are keeping passengers stranded at the city airports during the year-end.
In reality, incapable pilots, non-compliant aircraft, and tantrums by crew members have hampered nearly 70 per cent of the total flight operations in the Capital over the past six days.
On December 24, Jet Airways diverted Delhi-bound flight S2 4315 as the pilots were not trained to operate it under poor weather conditions. Similarly, Air India diverted a flight on Christmas Day as the plane was not CATIIIB compliant.
Airlines are also giving bizarre reasons for cancellation of flights. On December 26 and 28, Lufthansa cancelled international flights LH 761 and LH 736 due to Christmas celebrations.
“Due to last-minute cancellations, almost 500 passengers headed for Frankfurt and Munich suffered losses. The airline gave a strange reason for these cancellations - Christmas celebrations,” a senior airport official told Mail Today.
Apart from incapable pilots and ill-equipped aircraft, passengers are also reportedly facing problems due to moods of the crew.
On December 26, Air India delayed flight AI 213 following late reporting by the crew.
According to the officials, passengers were stuck at terminal-3 for hours due to non-availability of crew members.
“Bad weather in Delhi is not the actual reason for almost 70 per cent of the delayed flights. Most of the time, flights are delayed, cancelled or diverted due to airlines’ own reasons. But, airlines escape easily by blaming bad weather in Delhi,” a senior airport official said.
30/12/14 Ankur Sharma/Daily Mail

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Incapable pilots, non-compliant aircraft add to fog flight woes

New Delhi: Foggy weather in Delhi is not the only reason behind airlines keeping passengers stranded at the city airports during the yearend. In reality, incapable pilots, non-compliant aircraft, tantrums of crew members, etc, have hampered nearly 70 per cent of the total flight operations in the Capital over the past six days.

On December 24, Jet Airways diverted Delhi-bound flight S2 4315 that was supposed to land in Delhi as the pilots were untrained to operate the same under poor weather conditions. Similarly, Air India diverted a flight on Christmas Day as the plane was not CAT III B compliant (see box 'Different Shades of Visibility').

Airlines are also giving bizarre reasons for cancellation of flights. On December 26 and 28, Lufthansa cancelled international flights LH 761 and LH 736 due to Christmas celebrations.
"Due to last-minute cancellations, almost 500 passengers headed for Frankfurt and Munich suffered losses. The airline gave a strange reason for these cancellations-Christmas celebrations," a senior airport official told MAIL TODAY.

Apart from incapable pilots and ill-equipped aircraft, passengers are also reportedly facing problems due to moods of the crew. On December 26, Air India delayed flight AI 213 following late reporting by the crew. According to the officials, passengers were stuck at terminal-3 for hours due to nonavailability of crew members.
30/12/14 Ankur Sharma/Mail Today

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Elusive Flier forces Plane to Return from Runway

Chennai: There are a great many reasons why planes on the cusp of taking off, abort and return to the parking bay. Trying to find an extra passenger, whose name was manifest, but couldn’t be located by the cabin crew - isn’t one of the regular reasons.

That’s precisely the reason that surprised passengers on a Jet Airways plane from Chennai to Hyderabad were given, when their plane which was set to take off at 7.05 am, did a quick turnaround.

“The crew were getting done with their head count and checks and the pilot had reached the taxiway. The engines were revved like they would be before take-off, but suddenly there was some activity up front and the plane began to move off the track,” said R Seshan, one of the passengers on 9W 2409.

Rolling back to the bay, the pilot announced that the number of passengers on the commercial manifest and the number of passengers on board did not match - raising a security concern. “They had apparently given out 159 boarding passes and the ground crew at the gate had signed off on the passenger manifest, despite the flight only having a capacity of 158,” said an airport source. He added that the ‘excess’ passenger was stopped and persuaded to take their next flight which was scheduled to leave 30 minutes later, but his name remained on the manifest that was attested and handed over to the crew.
30/12/14 Daniel Thimmayya/New Indian Express

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Woman, son mistaken for Ravi Pujari’s family given air tickets by Mumbai cops

Mumbai: Five days after this newspaper reported the detention of a Borivali woman and her child at the international airport, mistaking them for gangster Ravi Pujari's family, the Mumbai police have arranged for their flight tickets. The woman, Shridevi Pujari, and her 15-year-old son Aryan, were detained at the airport for more than 30 hours, resulting in them missing their flight to Dubai.

On Monday afternoon, the family met with Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria. "He was apologetic about the incident and told us that though alternative travel arrangements should have been the initiative of the Mangalore police, the same will made by Mumbai police in the course of the day," Shridevi Pujari said.

The detention took place on December 22, when the Pujari family was about to embark on its first foreign trip. Santosh Pujari, 43, a businessman dealing in AC ventilation, and his school teacher wife Shridevi, were at the international airport with their children Aryan and Ananya, 12. They were about to board a flight to Dubai when Shridevi and Aryan were detained.
30/12/14 Mumbai Mirror

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Flyers made to wait 7 hours inside plane

Kolkata: Passengers booked on a Jet Airways flight to Kolkata from Delhi on Sunday evening had to remain cooped up in the aircraft for seven hours as fluctuating fog conditions repeatedly thwarted takeoff.

The flight, scheduled to depart at 8.50pm, finally took off around 4am when the fog lifted for a while and visibility improved.

The all-night wait, sitting in conditions meant for short-haul flights, put flyers' nerves on edge. Actress and filmmaker Churni Ganguly, who was on the plane, said the nightmare seemed unending as they could not get off or stretch their legs. "A two-hour flight became a nine-hour ordeal, long enough for one to reach Europe. True, the fog was so dense that the pilot's takeoff attempts were foiled. But the airline should have taken an early call and cancelled the flight rather than keep passengers and crew up all night," said Churni, who was returning with the best film award at Delhi International Film Festival for her directorial debut 'Nirbashito'.
30/12/14 Times of India

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States left out of airports plan to complain today

New Delhi: Several states, including Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, have hit out at the proposal in the draft civil aviation policy to develop only six international airports as travel hubs, citing significant international traffic — both in terms of aircraft and passenger movement — at their airports.
While some states have written to the Civil Aviation Ministry about their reservations, others are expected to take it up with minister in charge P A Gajapati Raju on Tuesday at a review meeting called by him to discuss the draft policy with all stakeholders in Delhi. The draft policy was released by Raju on November 10.
The policy has proposed developing six metropolitan airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad — as major international hubs. In the future, these airports would serve as the main access points for international travel, to and from India, the draft policy states.
Kerala, with Kochi being a major hub for traffic to Gulf countries, is one of the most concerned states. In 2013-14, Cochin International Airport Ltd carried 3.27 million passengers, or 7 per cent of the country’s total traffic, higher than Bangalore and Hyderabad put together. In fact, if passengers from Kerala’s three international airports — Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram — are clubbed, the state’s traffic at 7.38 million is substantially higher than even Chennai (4.53 million), which is third in the pecking order.
30/12/14 Anil Sasi/P Vaidyanathan Iyer/Indian Express

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Aeronautical areas shrinking, alleges BJP MLA

Mumbai: Aeronautical areas (meant for public infrastructure development) at the city airport have allegedly decreased, while non-aeronautical areas (meant mainly for commercial exploitation) have increased, BJP MLA from Vile Parle Parag Alavani has alleged. Alavani has urged the new government to review the development plan of CSIA.

However, a spokesperson from the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) countered the allegations, saying, "The perception is incorrect. On the contrary, aeronautical area has increased." MIAL did not provide any further details about the size of the areas used for aeronautical and non-aeronautical purposes.

As per rules, a part of the aviation area is meant for infrastructure development like runways, taxi-ways, terminal building, air control tower, etc. These are called aeronautical areas. On the other hand, development of hotels, eateries, convention centers, etc., which are not directly related to infrastructure development but used by the airport operator for commercial exploitation come under non-aeronautical areas.

Airports are allowed to charge aeronautical as well as non-aeronautical charges from airlines, passengers and others for its development as per charges approved by aviation financial regulator, Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).
30/12/14 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

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Fog hits travel plans of 9,000 passengers

Ahmedabad: Dense fog and bad weather in northern parts of country affected travel plans of over 9,000 passengers from city on Monday. As many as 18 flights were delayed by 50 mins to 4 hours while seven trains were running late by 1.5 to 7 hours.

Around 11 flights on Ahmedabad-Delhi route - four flightsa each of Jet Airways and Air India, two of Indigo and one of SpiceJet - were delayed due to fog and low visibility in capital.

The delays at Delhi airport led to congestion in air traffic, causing delays on other routes as well. Four flights on Ahmedabad-Mumbai route, including three of Air India, were delayed by 50 mins to 1.5 hours. SpiceJet's and Air India's flight on Hyderabad-Ahmedabad route were delayed by 50 mins each. tnn

The trains running late included Gorakhpur-Ahmedabad (3 hours), Haridwar-Ahmedabad (1.5 hours), Jammu Tawi-Ahmedabad (6 hours), Varanasi-Ahmedabad (5 hours), Varanasi-Okha (7 hours) and Bandra-Ahmedabad-Chandigarh (2 hours) among others.
30/12/14 Times of India

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Rourkela Airstrip Set to Get Refuelling Facility in 2 Months

Rourkela: The Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to equip the Rourkela airstrip with refuelling facility through bowser (tanker) in two months raising hopes of restoration of commercial flight services.

Speaking to a delegation of Rourkela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan stated about his recent meeting with Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju who agreed to send a team of Airport Authority of India (AAI) to explore the  possibilities to resume commercial flights and takeover of the air-strip from Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL.

Various groups, over the past seven years, have been making efforts to resume flight operations from here.

In September 2007, a three-member AAI team visited the RSP air-strip at the initiative of former MP Dilip Ray. After a survey the team recommended immediate resumption of ATR type aircraft operations with minor modifications in the air-strip.

After becoming Rourkela legislator, Ray again took up the issue and urged Pradhan to provide a DGCA-approved bowser of 12,000-litre capacity with arrangement of Aviation Turbine Fuel supply by IOCL.
30/12/14 New Indian Express

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Flight services affected in Chennai due to fog in Delhi

Chennai:  Several flights from Delhi to Chennai were delayed by two to three hours due to fog in the national capital.

In Delhi, 13 flights were cancelled and 80 flights were delayed. Visibility dipped in Lucknow, Patna and Chandigarh airports too. The entire northern region was enveloped in dense or mild fog in the morning. Fog also affected movement of trains.

Passengers who booked tickets on the morning flights started to reach Chennai only in the afternoon. The flights were scheduled to arrive between 9.20am and 12noon.

A SpiceJet flight, scheduled to reach here at 9.25am, arrived at around noon. A Jet Airways flight, scheduled to arrive at 9.30am, reached only at 1pm, and an Indigo airlines flight, scheduled at 9.35am, arrived at 1.30pm.
30/12/14 Times of India

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Bangalore airport posts 14% growth in passenger traffic

Bangalore: Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has handled over 14.38 million passengers in calendar year 2014.

A resurgent domestic aviation market saw new airlines and routes, resulting in a 14 per cent increase in air traffic movements with an average of 359 per day.

Domestic air traffic movements increased by 15.4 per cent to 110,773, while international movements rose to 20,330.
30/12/14 Business Line

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Fog continues to disrupt air traffic

Lucknow: Thick fog continued to disrupt air traffic at Amausi airport on Monday. According to airport authorities, two evening flights to Delhi remained cancelled while eight got delayed following foggy conditions in Delhi and Lucknow airport.

A Jet airways flight 9W 2635 and Jet Konnect flight S2 3635 to Delhi, which to arrive from Delhi at 8.10pm and fly back at 8.40pm were cancelled by the airlines as visibility conditions plunged drastically.
30/12/14 Times of India

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Cochin Airport Reaping Profits Year After Year

Aluva: Armed with its new brand identity and a slew of development projects, CIAL will be aiming for the stars in 2015 as one of the most successful PPP ventures in the state. The profit for the first half of the financial year 2014-2015 clocked at `69 crore, as compared to `63 crore for the same period the previous year. The new international terminal is all set to be completed by December 2015. However, the construction of 8 Small Hydro Electric Power Plants (SHEP) is proceeding ahead of schedule and will enable the airport to become power neutral, officials noted.

Passenger safety was a slogan of paramount importance in 2014-2015, with the introduction of almost `12 crore worth of Canadian robotic equipments such as Threat Containment vessels and Remote Mobile Investigator (RMI-9WT) robots. Commonly used in the West and American Police force, the robots are capable of remotely handling the Improvised Explosive Devices(IED), hazardous chemicals, radioactive materials, fire fighting, hostage and other  situations. Apart from these, the airport has also adapted bomb inhibitors, real time X-ray viewing systems, deep search metal detectors and non-linear junction detectors which are able to discover and disarm an entire spectrum of explosive devices, into its safety repertoire. “Rather than merely purchasing the new security devices, we were able to integrate it with the existing safety measures flawlessly. In the few instances of hoax threats in the year, the airport security ran flawlessly without causing discomfort to the passengers in any way,” airport officials noted.
30/12/14 Vaisakh E Hari/New Indian Express

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Man held at airport for smuggling gold worth Rs 24 lakh

New Delhi: A man has been arrested for allegedly smuggling into the country gold worth nearly Rs 24 lakh at the international airport here, the customs department today said.

The accused, who had arrived here from Dubai, was intercepted by customs officials on Saturday.

"On detailed examination of his baggage and personal search, eight pieces of gold bars total weighing 933.12 gms were recovered," a release issued today by the customs said.
30/12/14 PTI/Business Standard

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HC notices to state, Centre on poor air connectivity

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh High Court today issued notices to the state and Central governments on the issue of poor air connectivity in the state.
While issuing notices, a Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, directed the Principal Secretary, Tourism and Civil Aviation of the state; Union Secretary, Civil Aviation; and Airport Authority of India to file their replies by January 5.
The Bench passed this order on a petition filed by Paras Daulta alleging that since September 2012, no flight was operating to and from Shimla airport.
It further alleged that at present, the state has three airports — Kullu, Kangra and Shimla — but poor air connectivity forces a majority of tourists to travel by road.
The petition stated that the fastest mode of reaching New Delhi from Shimla was by air, but due to the non-availability of flights, the local people as well as the tourists were facing problems.
The petitioner has urged that directions be given to the respondents to take effective steps to ensure regular flights at the earliest from Shimla airport to other destinations within the state as well as outside.
29/12/14 Vijay Arora/Tribune India

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Promoters hope to restart Aranmula airport works

Thiruvananthapuram: The KGS Aranmula International Airport Ltd (KAIAL) hopes to restart construction of India’s first private international airport soon.

The federal ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) has listed the Rs20bn project for “finalisation of terms of reference for development of the international airport” extending to Aranmula, Mazhuppassery and Kidangannoor villages for January 6.

This is despite the resistance from opposition politicians, environmental activists and religious fundamentalists in Kerala who had made a representation to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government calling for dropping the project.

They allege the project would lead to large-scale destruction of the environment and defile the nearby temple.

Supporters for project, including the local MP and MLA, argue that the sites of the corporate airport at Kochi and the upcoming one at Kannur were also ecologically fragile but no objections had been raised.

The airport coming up in the central Kerala district of Pathanamthitta, home to a large number of expatriates, is also expected to wean away a major chunk of passengers from the Kochi as well as the state-run Thiruvananthapuram airports.

The company has assigned consultants SGS, which offers inspection, verification, testing and certification services, to prepare the environmental impact assessment (EIA).
29/12/14 Ashraf Padanna/Gulf Times

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Fog affects trains, flights in Delhi, no relief Tuesday

New Delhi: Dense fog and chilly conditions continued to make life miserable for people and affect the movement of flights and trains in the national capital Monday. The Met Office has said no respite is to be expected Tuesday.

According to an official of the Northern Railway, 66 trains coming to the capital were running late due to heavy fog while the departure timings of 40 were rescheduled. Ten trains were cancelled.

The situation was similar at the Indira Gandhi International airport where over 50 flights were affected.

A statement by the airport authorities said 30 flights were delayed due to fog in Delhi while the arrival of 12 flights and departure of five other flights were cancelled. Five flights coming to the city were diverted.

The visibility dropped to less than 100 metres Monday morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, adding that no respite was likely Tuesday.

"There will be dense fog tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and in the evening. The day would be sunny," the IMD official said.
29/12/14 Web India123

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Agencies review security at city airport ahead of Vibrant Gujarat

Ahmedabad: With less than 10 days left for the two mega events — Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) and Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit (VGGIS) — CRPF and city police officials on Sunday reviewed Anti-Terrorist Contingency Plan (ATCP) at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
According to airport officials, CISF and police inspected both domestic and international terminals and also the areas near the airport. "It was not a security drill. CISF and police officials were checking if the measures related to ATCP are in place and readiness of the security officials deployed," said an airport official.
29/12/14 Piyush Mishra/Times of India

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2015 to bring in slew of facilities at airport

Indore: Come 2015 and Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport, Indore would be providing various facilities to cater to the growing demands of passengers at the airport. The airport would soon have a medical inspection centre at the new terminal to render medical services to the passengers whenever needed. According to airport director, Manoj Chansoria, airport will soon have a medical inspection room so that the passenger whenever in need can avail medical facilities on the spot.

"We have sent our expression of interest to major city hospitals such as CHL, Bombay Hospital, Vedanta Hospital and Aurobindo Hospital and hopefully we will start the services by January 2015." He added that in the medical inspection centre will have one doctor and one attendant along with an ambulance at the airport. Director added that Wi-Fi facility would also be provided to the passengers.
"I had received various suggestions from passengers to have a Wi-Fi zone at the airport and we have started with the tendering process. Telecom operators are also surveying the need for Wi-Fi at the airport and we have planned to start this facility in the coming year," said Chansoria, adding the Wi-Fi facility would be accessible free for limited hours and for excess usage, users will be charged for the service.
29/12/14 Nyooz

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Chaos at Raipur airport as Delhi flight cancelled at midnight

Raipur: Chaos prevailed at the Swami Vivekanand Airport here on Sunday night as authorities were forced to cancel the Raipur-Delhi bound flight of Indigo Airways (6E 454) due to inordinate delay of over six hours in its arrival from Bangalore.

The flight (Lucknow-Delhi-Banglore-Raipur-Delhi), scheduled to depart for Raipur 6.55 PM landed only past midnight due to series of late departures from Lucknow and Delhi owing to dense fog over the two cities. Since the flight was not cleared for take off to Delhi due to fog there, the authorities were forced to cancel it.

The cancellation led to a chaotic situation as over 100 harried passengers had heated arguments with the airline staff and the airport authorities over lack of information being provided to them and the delay in arranging for their accommodations for the night. The passengers were eventually shifted to private hotels in the city and provided meals.
29/12/14 Anuja Jaiswal/Times of India

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Hisar set for global takeoff; upgraded airport on the anvil

Hisar: Hisar is set to connect to the world with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announcing upgrade of the local airstrip as an international airport.
Talking to mediapersons this evening, Khattar said the state government had decided to upgrade the airport to connect to international destinations.
“Under the international norms, the minimum distance required between two airports should be 100-150 km. Hisar is 165 km from the nearest airport in Delhi. All requirements will be met in a time-bound manner by removing the hurdles.”
The Chief Minister said they were awaiting a clearance from the environment and civil aviation ministries at the Centre.
“The state government will not delay the project on its part,” he said.
Sources said government officials had conducted an aerial survey of the airstrip a few days ago and details of the land available and other requirements were being looked into to speed up the project in consonance with the civil aviation ministry.
The previous Congress regime in the state had revived the hopes of the local people by announcing a domestic airport in Hisar.
29/12/14 Tribune India

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Corporator seeks opening of alternative route to KIA

Bengaluru: The alternative road to Kempegowda International Airport via Bagaluru has remained useless despite spending Rs 413 crore on its construction, according to BJP?corporator, Padmanabha Reddy.

“The road has been laid from Hennur Ring Road to the KIA through Bagaluru to minimise pressure on Ballari Road. To make the road operational, the only requirement is to instal a gate by demolishing a portion of the wall at the KIA, which has not been done,” Reddy told reporters here on Monday.

He alleged that the alternative route was not opened as it would cause huge loss to an infrastructure development company collecting toll on Ballari Road for building the road.

“The BBMP has developed the alternative route at a cost of Rs 413 crore. It has spent Rs 83 crore for laying road and issued Transferable Development Rights worth Rs 320 crore to landlosers. The government should probe the misuse of funds,” Reddy said.
29/12/14 Deccan Herald

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Flights from Delhi, Mumbai delayed again

Chennai: Heavy fog and poor visibility continued to affect the movement of flights in the city on Monday, airport sources said.

Around 15 flights that were scheduled to arrive in the city from New Delhi were delayed due to heavy fog. Flights, including those of Air India, IndiGo and Jet Airways, had been delayed by half an hour to two hours due to the adverse weather conditions.
30/12/14 The Hindu

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Cabinet approves proposals of Airports Authority of India (AAI) for leasing of land

Leasing of the requisite land at proposed airports will facilitate Indian Coast Guard/Indian Navy to establish various facilities for better surveillance of coast line

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the leasing of Airports Authority of India's (AAI) land to Indian Coast Guard (ICG)/Indian Navy (Ministry of Defence) at various airports as under:
i. Leasing of land measuring 6200 Sqm. which includes 4800 Sqm. of land for 2 Hangars with apron and 1400 Sqm. of land for Link Taxi Track to the Hangar to ICG at Juhu Airport

ii. Leasing of 5 acres of AAI land to Indian Coast Guard at Vizag Airport

iii. Leasing of 0.9 acres of AAI land to Indian Coast Guard to facilitate them to construct taxi track at Tuticorin Airport.

iv. Leasing of triangular piece of AAI land measuring 7326 Sqm. to Indian Coast Guard at Porbandar Airport.

v. Leasing of 4.62 acres of AAI land to Indian Navy at Porbandar Airport.
29/12/14 Business Standard

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US Airport Staff Convicted of Stealing Money From Indian-Origin Passengers

New York:   A security officer at John F Kennedy International Airport here has been convicted of stealing thousands of dollars from two Indian-origin passengers before they boarded a plane to India and faces up to 14 years in prison.

Alexandra Schmid, 34, who worked as a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer assigned to the city's busiest international airport, has been convicted of grand larceny and other charges for stealing $ 10,000 dollars cash from the two passengers travelling in December 2011 and January 2012.

Mr Schmid was convicted last week following a nearly month-long bench trial before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Joel Blumenfeld, who found her guilty of third degree grand larceny, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and official misconduct.

She would be sentenced in March next year and faces up to 14 years in prison.

"It is particularly troubling that someone hired to ensure the safety and security of our nation's airlines and to protect all of us from terrorism would stoop to stealing from those she is supposed to protect. The defendant's actions tarnish the reputation of the many TSA agents who faithfully carry out their duties with integrity and pride," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.
27/12/14 PTI/NDTV

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Maharashtra government may complete land buy for Navi Mumbai Airport by January 15

Mumbai: The much-delayed Navi Mumbai International Airport is finally set to takeoff in 2015 as land acquisition -that proved to be a big challenge for the project-is expected to be completed by January 15, 2015. City & Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) will launch the pre-construction development work in less than a month from now and tenders for the project are expected to be floated in the first half of 2015.
"Total 2,268 hectares of land was to be acquired for this new airport. Though the process took time, it is now almost over. 90% of the land required has been taken over and compensation in the form of 22.5% developed land is being handed over to the project affected people. We expect the pre-construction development work to start as early as January 2015. The work includes reclamation of marsh land, increasing the level of land above sea level, flattening of one or two hills, diversion of the Ulwe river and relocation of some power lines." said a senior bureaucrat posted in Maharashtra Chief Minister's office.
CM Devendra Fadnavis announced in the state assembly just a few days ago that state's target is to make Navi Mumbai International Airport operational by 2019. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Santa Cruz in Mumbai currently handles close to 700 landings and take offs every day and it is expected to reach saturation by 2017.
27/12/14 Rohit Chandavarkar/Economic Times

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Airport Staff's Shocker to Nayantara

South stunner Nayantara has got a shocker in form of Airport staff as they spoiled her Christmas plan. Nayan, who was busy with back-to-back films, planned to celebrate Christmas in her home grandly and she even bought few gifts for her family.

On Wednesday (Dec 24) when she had reached Chennai airport to go to Kochi in Kerala, she was late and carrying heavy luggage of 5 bags. According to eye-witnesses, Nayan arrived to Chennai airport at 10 AM when her flight was at 10.30 AM which was too short to go through. More over, she was carrying heavy luggage. With this security sleuths asked her to leave her luggage and go alone to which Nayan didn't agree.

Although Nayan requested a lot, airport authorities didn't heed to her gentle requests. But finally agreed to leave with only one bag.
26/12/14 Gulte.com

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KIAL awaits Rs 260 crore AAI investment

Kochi: The Kannur International Airport Limited is keeping its fingers crossed on whether or not the Central government will meet its earlier commitment to invest Rs 260 crore through Airports Authority of India (AAI) in the project. If the government reneges on its promise, the company will sell its stake to the public, its managing director has said.

“The Central government has intimated us that it will limit its participation in the project to Rs 100 crore against Rs 260 crore it had promised earlier for 26 per cent stake,” Mr G Chanmdramouli told DC.

“The Chief Minister and the Minister in charge of airports have taken up the matter with the Centre. We expect a favourable decision soon.” The AAI stake in two other greenfield airports are Rs 50 crore each, he said.

At present, the public holding in the company is about 12 per cent, against a target of 16 per cent. KIAL had initially expected public participation to 49 per cent but the response was not very encouraging.

Mr Chadramouli said the public interest in the project has rekindled after work has started in full swing. “Last month we sold shares for Rs 4 crore,” he said.
27/12/14 K.J. Jacob/Deccan Chronicle

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State to lease airport terminal to HAL for Re 1 a month

Nashik: The state government has decided to transfer the airport terminal building at Ozar (about 20 km from Nashik city) to Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) at a lease rate of Re 1 a month on a long-term basis and the proposal has been sent to the defence ministry for approval.

Speaking to the media during his visit to Nashik on Friday, chief minister Devendra Fadanvis said, "We just had a meeting with defence minister Manohar Parrikar over the transfer of the airport terminal building at Ozar to HAL at a nominal lease of Re 1 a month on a long-term basis. He agreed to our decision and asked us to send a proposal. Accordingly, we have sent the proposal for leasing out the airport terminal building to HAL at a nominal cost of Re 1 a month."
27/12/14 Tushar Pawar/Times of India

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State team to meet civil aviation minister

Bengaluru: A delegation led by Infrastructure Development minister R?Roshan Baig will meet the Union Civil Aviation Minister, P A Gajapathi Raju, to discuss developing various airports in the State.

Baig said airports in Mysuru, Hubballi, Shivamogga, Ballari, Bidar and Vijayapura were being planned to be developed. “One of our aims is to extend the runway of the Mangaluru airport. We intend to fill the deep gorge at the end of the runway with mud. The expansion of Hubbali airport is nearing completion and it only requires certain clearances from the Centre. We will also discuss the Bidar airport issue,” he said.
27/12/14 Deccan Chronicle

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Centre to issue guidelines asking airlines and airports to maintain hygiene

New Delhi: Taking A cue from recent outbreak of diseases like swine flu and Ebola, the Union health ministry has placed Indian airports and airlines on radar for sanitisation and quality of food and drinks they serve.

The ministry has come up with the Indian Aircraft (Public Health) Rules 2015 that would soon be notified in the Indian Gazette. The rules will be forwarded to all the airlines and airports.

The central government will designate a National International Health Regulation (IHR) focal point for the implementation of these stringent health measures. A task force to deal with public health emergency of international magnitude or any other infectious disease would also be constituted.

The ministry has brought airports within the fold of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The move would ensure that the airport health officer would not only carry out health screening of travellers, but also supervise hygiene levels in the premises.
27/12/14 Neetu Chandra Sharma/Mail Today/India Today

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Airport Authority of India cancels NOC of Andheri SRA project

Mumbai: In what could well be another Campa Cola in the making, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has cancelled the no objection certificate of a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building project at Andheri for constructing floors beyond the permissible height. It has been found that the developer has constructed 14 floors instead of 12 by violating the height limit prescribed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
In a letter written to the civic chief, opposition leader Devendra Amberkar has demanded action against M/s Sunsine Builders and Developers for providing false information and building an illegal construction.
The SRA had asked the developer to build nine buildings for slum dwellers at the site of Mahakali Darshan Co-operative Society, Gundavali, Andheri East. However, by flouting norms regarding height, the developer has so far constructed three buildings of 14 floors each while construction of the remaining buildings is still on. About 200 families are living in these buildings.
Taking a serious view of height violations, the AAI has cancelled the NOC given to M/s Sunsine Builders and Developers (a copy of which is with The Asian Age) for procuring permission by submitting false information.
27/12/14 Asian Age

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Mock drills held at prominent spots in Vadodara

Vadodara: Mock drills were carried out by city police and other security agencies at various parts of the city on Thursday. An hour-long mock drill was conducted at the railway station, a Fatehgunj-based mall and at the airport in the morning.

"Various security agencies came together to conduct the mock drill. The mock drill at the railway station was held to prepare security forces for crisis situations like casualty caused due to accidents and terror strikes," said deputy superintendent of police of railway police, S S Baranda.

Baranda added that the mock drill was carried out to evaluate the preparedness of security forces, considering the forthcoming high profile events in the city.

Various agencies like Railway Protection Force, fire brigade, 108 ambulance service, and team of doctors from SSG Hospital (SSGH) came together to be a part of the mock drill held at the railway station. The mock drill conducted at Fatehgunj-based mall was an exercise carried out to counter terror strikes.
27/12/14 Times of India

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Two women held with Rs 4 crore narcotics at airport

Chennai: Two women from Chennai, allegedly carrying Rs 4 crore worth narcotics substances and scheduled to travel to Kuala Lumpur via Colombo, were nabbed at Chennai airport by officials from the narcotics control bureau on Thursday night. Airport sources identified the arrested as Mallika Kumar, 50, of Avadi and Rajeshwari Palani, 64, from Washermenpet.

The two were carrying a total of 20 kg ephedrine, a synthetic party drug constituent, popular in nightclubs in south Asian countries.The women were scheduled to travel by tourist visa to Malaysia and were found carrying 20 tins of ‘milk’ powder. They were nabbed by the NCB officials just as they were getting ready to board the 9 pm flight to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. The two were carrying the drugs in their baggage.
27/12/14 Deccan Chronicle

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Caught at Airport, Man Swallows Gold

Hyderabad: Customs officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport catch smugglers often — most of them try to smuggle in gold in different ways. But they had, perhaps, never encountered as desperate a man as Abdul Kareem.

He landed at the airport from Kuala Lumpur on Dec 24. According to sources, the customs officials detected that he was carrying gold coins illegally. When they asked him to show them the gold, Kareem was at his wits’ end. The prospect of losing his precious coins seemed unbearable.
27/12/14 New Indian Express

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Deploy CAT-3 complaint plane, crew during fog: DGCA to airlines

New Delhi:  The civil aviation regulator has ordered all the airlines to deploy CAT-III complaint plane and crew trained to fly under low visibility conditions while operating in and out of IGI airport here in the morning to ensure smooth flow of air traffic during fog which led to cancellation of five flights and delay of 70 others today.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA), which held a meeting today to review the measures taken at the airport here to deal with the fog, also ordered the airlines to reschedule flights with non-CAT-III compliant aircraft in case the visibility conditions are not favourable, officials said.

The airlines have also been told to inform the passengers much in advance about any change in operations to avoid any inconvenience to them, they said.

The fog forecast issued by Indian Met Department in the evening every day is analysed, they said, adding this year there were nine diversions during the low visibility procedure (LVP) enforcement period at the IGI Airport as against 16 in the same period last year.

All the diversions during December 1 to December 23 occurred when the visibility conditions at IGI airport were below (CAT-IIIB parametres) 75 metres, they said.
24/12/14 PTI/Economic Times

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Pondy, Salem, Vellore airports grounded

Chennai/Salem: SpiceJet flights SG 3597 and SG 1083 were cancelled along with their pairing flights on December 17 and 18, leaving the southern port city of Tuticorin bereft of the sole air link that connected it to Chennai and ruining several passengers’ travel plans. Tuticorin had become SpiceJet’s 31st destination in its nationwide network in 2011 when it was announced that the Pearl City would be connected to Chennai by a daily flight. Later, the airline increased the frequency to two services per day.
 “We hope and pray that they will not discontinue their service. The Chennai flight is the only one flying out of Tuticorin. More importantly, their operations are profitable and consistently enjoy a load factor of nearly 90 per cent,” said D. Jayakumar, assistant general manager (communications), Tuticorin airport. Tuticorin airport came about in 1991 to facilitate Vayudoot’s operations, this being a state-owned carrier that ceased operations in 1997. It was subsequently refurbished by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to reactivate the long dormant airport, located 15 km away from the city centre.
Mr Jayakumar said that their future plans included moving into a new terminal besides extending the runway length to 3,000 m from 1,300 m. “Tuticorin is a emerging port city with a diversified economic base. There is a huge potential for export-oriented activities that airlines should not ignore,” he added.  While Tuticorin is currently pinning its hopes on SpiceJet for continued air connectivity, other airports in the state have not been as lucky.
25/12/14 Venkatesan Parthasarathy/Zakeer Hussain/Deccan Chronicle

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70 flights and 50 trains hit due to fog in Delhi

New Delhi: Flight operations were severely affected due to dense fog at IGI Airport on Wednesday. Hundreds of passengers were inconvenienced because of cancellations, diversions and delays in flight movements.

According to the spokesperson of DIAL, the airport operator, fog at Delhi caused delays to 70 flights. "A total of 70 flights were delayed, five flights were cancelled, which includes four departing and one incoming flight. No flight to Delhi was diverted," said the spokesperson. However, sources claim that over 300 flights, including domestic and international flights scheduled to take off or land at IGI, were running behind schedule. Over 20 flights were cancelled and five flights reportedly diverted to other cities.

Railway traffic was also affected by fog. A total of 100 trains to the capital were running slow, over 50 trains had been rescheduled and nine were reported to have been cancelled.
Sources further said zero visibility forced the authorities to almost shut the runways for two hours— between 7.30am and 9.30am. Zero visibility was reported from runway 29/11 and part of runway 28/10. Only flights with CAT IIIB facilities were allowed to land on the runways during this time.
25/12/14 Times of India

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Fog in Delhi and Hyderabad hits operation at Raipur

Raipur: Dense fog in Delhi and Hyderabad delayed inbound and outgoing flights from Raipur by nearly four hours on Wednesday morning. Resultantly, even flights departing from the city later in the evening were also delayed.

According to Raipur Airport Authority officials, the Indigo flight (6E 384) scheduled to arrive from Hyderabad reached Raipur at 11.40 am due to delayed take off owing to fog. Since the same flight leaves from Raipur to Delhi (6E 486) it departed at 12.20 PM, three hours behind its scheduled departure of 9.30 am.

Another Indigo flight 6E 453 from Delhi to Raipur arrived at 12:10 pm instead of its scheduled arrival of 8:30 am. It took off for Hyderabad at 12:45 pm, 4 hours behind schedule.
24/12/14 Anuja Jaiswal/Times of India

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Fog in Delhi grounds Shimla airport's dream to fly

Shimla: The plan to start air service to Shimla in December has been grounded once again, this time due to fog in Delhi. Now, it is expected to start in February.

A five-member expert team from IIT Roorkee recently conducted a survey of Jubberhatti airport in Shimla to consider its expansion as there is a proposal to spend around Rs 300 crore to expand the runaway by 200-300 meter. Current length of the table top runaway is 1,189 meter, which makes it suitable only for a 40-seater plane.

According to sources, Kingfisher Airlines had stopped its operation in 2012 and after that no serious efforts were made to restart flight to Shimla, which severely affected tourism business as high-end tourists avoided visiting Shimla. Air route is most preferred by foreign tourists, with the UK, USA and France being top contributors, followed by Australia.
25/12/14 Anand Bodh/Times of India

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Airport goof-up exposes security flaws, vulnerability to ‘real crime’

Mumbai: The detention of a Borivili teacher at the international airport on Monday night that turned out to be a fiasco for the police has depicted the security agencies in poor light. The woman shared the same name as fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari's wife, Padama. Reason for the mess up; using the old medieval investigative method and not being well informed about the changing scenario. However, senior police officials maintain that they cannot take a chance when a woman and her son's name is similar to that of a gangster's. "We did our job," said a senior police official.

The teacher, Padma, along with her 19-year-old son reached the airport to take a flight for for Abu Dhabi. As soon as she along with her son stepped into the immigration counter, she was stopped. The immigiration authorities found a look out circular (LOC) issued against her name. The LOC was issued to all the airports in the country by the Mangalore police who termed the woman as gangster Ravi Pujari's wife, wanted in an extortion case.
In fact, Ravi Pujari's wife Padam was arrested in Mumbai in 2005 for tring to get a fake passport. Her fingerprint was also taken. However, an LOC does not contain a column for fingerprint information. "Who will corroborate the fingerprint and verify it at the airport unless there is a trained staff?" asked a security staff.
25/12/14 Mateen Hafeez/Times of India

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24-hr ordeal for US-bound passengers, as airline dumps them in Iceland

A family from the city spent eight agonising hours not knowing what had become of their relatives, after a Chicago-bound Turkish Airlines flight they had boarded took an unexpected detour to Iceland and the passengers were unreachable. The incident occurred with Pankaj Shah, whose brother-in-law Nimesh Mehta (54), a businessman based in Chicago, was on his way back home after attending a family function in Mumbai. Mehta, along with his 70-year-old aunt Sarojben Shah, was onboard flight TK 721, which took off for Istanbul at 7 am Indian Standard Time (IST) on December 23. The duo was supposed to board TK 5 of the same airline at 5 pm (IST), which was scheduled to land in Chicago the next day at 6 am IST.Instead, the flight ended up in Reykjavik, Iceland. Mehta later told mid-day from Iceland, “After landing, we were told that the aircraft had to land in Iceland due to a medical emergency and technical snag. We were made to sit in the aircraft itself for three hours.” He added, “We were all clueless and didn’t know how to react. We had to reach Chicago, but only when we got out of the aircraft were we told we had reached Iceland instead of Chicago.”
25/12/14 Neha LM Tripathi & Nimesh Dave/Mid Day

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Flying to Chennai costlier now, fares touch Rupees 30 thousand

Chennai:  Flying into Chennai has become expensive for last-minute travellers. One-way fares from Delhi, Mumbai and a few other cities have crossed the 20,000 cap being considered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

This has particularly hit travellers to Coimbatore and Madurai as they have to travel via Chennai.

Flights to the city are costlier than those out of it on domestic routes. A one-way ticket from Delhi to Chennai on Friday is in the 20,000 - 31,000 range while a ticket to Delhi costs just 4,500. One-way spot fares on Mumbai-Chennai route are in the 8,000 - 16,000 range. Fares are higher if there is a stopover.

One-way fare from Mumbai to Madurai via Bangalore is 27,000 and 11,000 - 14,000 to Coimbatore, while Delhi-Coimbatore fare is 12,000 to 15,000.

Travel agents say tickets to Chennai are in high demand as most travellers are those coming to spend holidays with relatives and friends while travel out of the city is mostly for business.
26/12/14 Times of India

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To the airport !

To help travellers save commuting time and also find the most cost-efficient transportation to and from airports, hotels.com has compiled a list which compares taxi, private transport and mass transit options within the most popular international and domestic destinations.

Bangkok offers affordable taxis for travellers from the airport to the city centre, covering 17 miles for ?491 (Approximately $8 at an average of $0.45 per mile).

Not far behind are Beijing, Mexico City, Singapore and Rio de Janeiro, these cities offer transportation from the airport to the city centre at a price below ?1,200 ($20).

In Mumbai, the distance from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to the city centre (Dadar) is approximately 11 km. The best way to get to the city centre here is prepaid black and yellow taxis available in a/c and non a/c options without the need for prior booking. They are the most affordable taxis for ?350 and it takes approximately 20 minutes to reach Dadar. AC cabs such as the Ola, Meru or Tab cabs services are available at a higher price. Buses ply between CSIA and nearby railway stations, Vile Parle and Andheri. Autorickshaws are only licensed to operate in the western suburbs beyond Bandra, and in the central suburbs past Sion. Travellers looking for mass transit can travel through Mumbai local train at the cost of ?10 and reach Dadar (city centre) in around 25 minutes. In Bengaluru, the airport is 34 km (21.00 miles) from the city centre – Koramangala. The best ways to get to the city centre are as follows. Travellers will have to pay ?1,050 with the average time of one hour 20 minutes by cab. Buses are broadly categorised as air-conditioned or regular, which have separate fee structures. Major stations include Kempegowda Bus Station, Shivajinagar and KR Market.
25/12/14 Business Line

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Air traffic controllers get simulator to hone skills

Chennai: Air traffic controllers in Chennai will now be able to use a simulator to sharpen their skills to handle flights. Until now, they had been learning on the job after training at an Airports Authority of India (AAI) institute in Allahabad.

An integrated simulator, with preloaded navigation procedures, flight routes and approach paths of airports in southern region, was installed a few months ago.

"The machine has been installed and calibrated. It is being used to train and assess air traffic controllers in the region. Similar simulators have been installed at Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata too. Training has begun but it will take six more months for it to become full fledged," said a senior AAI official.
It has a radar screen where flights appear as blips and crisscross at different altitudes. Controllers can create and recreate every-day situations on the machine to hone their skills.
25/12/14 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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AISATS receives ‘Good Distribution Practices’ certification

The Bengaluru (BLR) Airfreight Terminal facility of Air India SATS Airport Services (AISATS), one of India’s premier airport services companies, received its Good Distribution Practices (GDP) certification, making AISATS the first service provider in India to get such a certification.

Maintaining product safety and quality is of utmost importance in the pharmaceutical industry and Good Distribution Practices (GDP) is a quality system that ensures that the quality of a pharmaceutical product is maintained throughout the distribution process. AISATS’ customers can be assured of strict compliance with the GDP requirements set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) when it is handling pharmaceutical products.

Willy Ko, CEO, AISATS said, “AISATS has always been aligned towards establishing itself as a world-class service provider. We firmly believe in setting the benchmark for Distribution Practices and this GDP certification is a sure-footed step in the right direction. AISATS plans to continue to enhance its facilities and will look to invest in more multi- temperature control facilities to cater to the increasing demand of temperature-controlled cargo.”
24/12/14 Financial Express

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Delhi Fog Delays Flights at KIA

Bengaluru: The arrival of several early morning flights at the Kempegowda International Airport was delayed on Wednesday due to dense fog in New Delhi. The delays affected the entire day’s schedule for some airlines as several flights, which were supposed to land in the evening, were also delayed.

 According to a spokesperson for the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), there were six departure and seven arrival delays because of fog in various destinations, including New Delhi.

Air Indigo, in its weather update for Thursday morning, predicted dense fog conditions for Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Agartala and Guwahati. The airline also faced delays in flights taking off from Bengaluru because of late arrivals from other destinations.
25/12/14 New Indian Express

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Man tries to scale airport security wall, nabbed

Mumbai: With the Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (PIDS) still a month away from being operational at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Central Industry Security Force (CISF) officials posted along the perimeter had a major alarm when they caught a man trying to scale the perimeter wall twice on Tuesday evening. This intrusion is the first such attempt to breach the wall this year, according to CISF officials, who are on edge after receiving around 17 or 18 alert messages in December.
CISF personnel spotted a person trying to scale the perimeter wall while patrolling the area in rapid-response team vehicle around 6.30pm on Tuesday.  The man was trying to breach the wall from the Gaondevi hutment area in Kurla and when QRT personnel ‘challenged’ him, he jumped out.
“Around seven minutes later, the man climbed the wall and despite being ‘challenged’ by us repeatedly, he jumped into the airport operational area by breaching the airport perimeter wall and PIDS fencing. He was nabbed by CISF officials but tried to run away again and was overpowered,” said an official from CISF.
25/12/14 Indian Express

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Passenger mistaken for don’s wife

In a case of mistaken identity, immigration authorities at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport detained a woman and her teenaged son as the former’s name matched that in a Look Out Notice (LON) issued by the Karnataka police against gangster Ravi Pujari’s wife. However, before the Karnataka police reached the city on Tuesday afternoon to verify her identity, the Mumbai police verified it independently, ultimately concluding in the negative.
Senior officers said that the Mangalore police had issued a LON in 2012 against the fugitive gangster’s wife in connection with an extortion case registered at the North Canara police station.
In the Mangalore police records, her name figured as Sridevi Santosh Pujari. Coincidentally, the detainee, Sridevi Santosh Pujari, is a resident of Borivali (west) and her 14-year-old son Aryan too shares his name with Ravi Pujari’s son. They reached the airport on Monday morning to board a flight to Abu Dhabi.
“Her name matched with the name mentioned in the LON and we had to take her and her son aside before getting in touch with the Mangalore police. The Mangalore police told us she probably might be Ravi Pujari’s wife who is wanted in their case and said they would be coming her to question her, because of which she had to be detained,” an officer said. “Since 24 hours had elapsed, beyond which a person cannot be detained, we produced her in the Andheri magistrate court under section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows us to hold a person’s custody when there is a ‘reasonable suspicion’. This was done until the Mangalore police team reached Mumbai,” said joint CP (crime) Sadanand Date.
The woman and her son were then transferred to the Sahar police station where they were accommodated in a separate room with “all facilities” being provided to them, according to crime branch officers. However, in the meantime, the Mumbai police conducted a parallel verification where a serving crime branch officer —who had previously interrogated Ravi Pujari’s wife and a retired cop who lives in the same building as the detainee confirmed she was not the gangster’s wife, whose real name is Padma.
24/12/14 Asian Age

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Sharing last name with Ravi Pujari ruins woman's family trip to Dubai

A lot’s in a name, especially when you share it with the kin of a wanted gangster. Sridevi Pujari (42) learned this the rough way, after she was detained for well over 24 hours by the police who thought she was fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari’s wife. To escalate the confusion, her son is called Aryan, just like the gangster’s son, and their roots are in Udupi, just like the gangster. Worse, cops said their passport photos matched with the wife and son of the gangster.
On Monday, acting on a lookout notice against Ravi Pujari and his wife, immigration authorities at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport detained Sridevi, who was to travel with her husband Santosh, 16-year-old son Aryan and 13-year-old daughter to Dubai for the Christmas vacation. After detaining her, the authorities informed Sahar police, who took her into custody and sent her son to a remand home in Dongri, then proceeded to inform the Mangalore police who had issued the lookout notice in an extortion case that names the gangster as the main accused and his wife the second accused. The situation became fuzzy when some senior police officers, who had arrested Ravi Pujari’s wife Padma Pujari in a fake passport case in 2005, arrived on the scene: they knew the gangster’s spouse by face. “When our officers saw the detainee, they told us she was not the same woman they had arrested in 2005. But in any case, we have informed the Mangalore police who had sent out the lookout notice and will let them take a call,” said DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni, Mumbai police spokesperson. Mangalore Police Commissioner R Hitendra told mid-day, “We have sent our team to Sahar police station in Mumbai and are trying to verify the case. We are also trying to see if anybody has a voice recording of the gangster’s wife so we can match it with the detainee’s.” Sources said that the woman, a teacher in a Kandivli school and a resident of Borivli’s Ekta Nagar, was likely to be let off pending the go-ahead from Mangalore police.
24/12/14 Vinay Dalvi/Mid Day

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Court wants appraisal counter at airport for declared jewellery, gold

Delhi: The Delhi High Court has given the Finance ministry and the Central Board of Excise and Customs six months to consider putting up an appraisal counter at Delhi airport for jewellery and gold declared by passengers.
The court observed that it was “unfortunate” that “governmental agencies having dealings with the public are not awakening to the present-day need, requirements and realities, and seem to be satisfied in following systems and procedures in vogue for decades”.
The observation came on a plea seeking creation of an appraisal counter on grounds that it was causing inconvenience to passengers of international flights to get their declared items appraised for an export certificate.
The court noted that appraisal and export certificate counters in other countries were in or near the airport. “Internationalisation of airports in the country has to be not only for looks, but also in terms of convenience and amenities, facilities and following the practices in vogue at airports of other countries,” the court said, adding that the government had specifically stated that the purpose of privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports was to get “world-class development”.
24/12/14 Indian Express

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Rentals down at airstrip, but pvt operators still unhappy

Bangalore: Heeding the long standing demand of private aviation operators, the state government has revised usage charges for the Jakkur airstrip.

The tourism and infrastructure department, which is in charge of the Government Flying Training School (GFTS) at Jakkur, has significantly re duced rentals and parking charges. However, landing charges considered to be "through the roof" remain the same, much to the chagrin of operators.

"The government has ra tionalised the fees following operators' request. While the parking charges and rentals have been revised, there is no change in the landing charg es," Aerodrome operations manager A N Vishwanatha told Bangalore Mirror.

According to the flying school's authorities, the gov ernment has maintained the landing charges at Rs 3,000 per landing for single engine non microlite aircraft, and Rs 200 per landing for microlites, much higher than the two other airports in the city.
24/12/14  Kushala S/Bangalore Mirror

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DGCA working with Met department to avert delays due to fog

New Delhi: Fliers can expect minimum inconvenience during this fog season as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is monitoring the situation with its officials on the ground. The regulator has also ordered all airlines to fly only CAT-IIIequipped aircraft in morning hours with crew trained in handling the instrument landing system. DGCA officials are monitoring the treatment being given to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled, an airline executive said. "There have not been any instance of the DGCA officials intervening anywhere yet, but they are monitoring the situation closely." The regulator is also monitoring the coordination among airlines, airport operators and air traffic control, the executive said. "The meteorological department's prediction is being updated every hour and they have been exact till today. Since the operations in the mornings are run by CAT-III-equipped planes and trained pilots, the chances of delay or diversion can only come if there is zero visibility at the airport," he said.

The DGCA, after a huge list of diversions and delays last year, had asked the met department to update predictions every hour so that airlines and aviation authorities get time to prepare. The DGCA had formed a technical committee last year to suggest ways to improve operations during fog, after the Delhi airport saw about 60 diversions in a day taking the total number of diversions for the fog season in 2013 to 143, compared with 89 in 2012 and 57 in 2011.
24/12/14 Economic Times

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UP now plans an airport between Sikri, Bharatpur

Lucknow:  After the defence ministry refused to give a no-objection certificate for the proposed international airport at Etmadpur near Agra, the UP government has now zeroed in on a new site for the ambitious project somewhere between Fatehpur Sikri and Bharatpur situated on the UP-Rajasthan border.

A team of officials from the state civil aviation department is soon likely to conduct the survey of the site, about 40 km from Agra. Sources said that a high powered committee headed by UP chief secretary is expected to take a decision once the site is surveyed and report submitted.

The Agra international airport proposed earlier by the SP government was to be taken up by the industry department. However, in November, the defence ministry refused to issue a no-objection certificate to the said project. "The chief minister has written letters to the ministry. It is now up to them to allow us to come up with the project,'' said principal secretary, industry, Sanjiv Saran.
24/12/14 Pankaj Shah/Times of India

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Cabinet approves Maha govt proposal for land to IAF

New Delhi/Nagpur: The government today approved a Maharashtra government proposal to provide land to the Indian Air Force for relocation of its assets to allow the development of the Nagpur airport.

The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the “transfer/exchange of 278 hectares of IAF land comprising of 288.74 acres of Airports Authority of India land in possession of IAF, in lieu of 400 hectares of land offered by the Government of Maharashtra for the development of the Nagpur airport project.”

It also decided to simultaneously restore ownership of 288.74 acres of the airport land currently in possession of IAF at the airport to AAI, an official release said.

The state government had offered 400 hectares of land to IAF at one site in lieu of 278 hectares, taking into account the cost of relocation of the existing assets of IAF, the release said, adding that the 278 hectares were located at five different pockets “thereby restricting IAF to develop the GAJRAJ project in an integrated manner”.
24/12/14 Nagpur Today

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Airport Officials Earmark VIP Lane, Leaving Fliers In Lurch

Bhopal:  When city's civic-body run taxi service 'MyCab' was introduced in August, Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) promised a better travel experience. However, instead of reducing the woes of commuters, MyCab is adding to chaos at Raja Bhoj International airport.

Frequent flyers have learnt it the hard way that getting in and out of security check at Raja Bhoj airport is far less complicated than manoeuvring through parking mess.

Nearly the entire four-lane way is blocked by the radio-cab service, with airport officials looking the other way. Apparently, some months ago there was a move to shift the taxi service away from the parking lot. However, the taxi drivers did not oblige.
24/12/14 Jamal Ayub/Times of India

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At airport, fly into Biju's Dakota era

Bhubaneswar: A visit to Biju Patnaik International Airport here will take you on a journey down the memory lane, involving the former chief minister and pilot-patriot. A model of Dakota aircraft, used by Biju, has been put up in front of Dakota, a food court and lounge, developed and dedicated to the memory of the aircraft of Kalinga Airlines. The facility was inaugurated on Tuesday.

"When we thought of opening a food court at the airport, Biju's name and his legacy came to our mind. The Kalinga Airlines, founded by Biju, had 15 Dakotas," said director of the food court Debasish Patnaik. The 20ft X 12ft model of Dakota aircraft was made of reinforced aluminium foil and is suspended from the roof, giving an impression of flying.
24/12/14 Times of India

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Barapullah phase IV will link airport

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for Barapullah phase III, which will connect East and South Delhi. The corridor is expected to be extended till the Indira Gandhi International Airport as part of phase IV.
Although Singh claimed that tenders for the project had been issued, BJP MP Maheish Girri clarified that the process was under way and that it was a mere “procedural matter”. PWD officials later said that the tendering process will begin within a week. While the deadline for completion of phase III has been fixed at December 2017, Singh announced that the project will be completed six months earlier.
“There is need to minimise traffic congestion on roads and we want to build such infrastructure across India to decongest roads. The third phase of Barapullah will be useful for the people of East and South Delhi. This project will be completed by June 2017,” Singh said.
24/12/14 Indian Express

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Last three raids this year at Dabolim airport

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the AIU arrested a Mumbai-bound passenger with gold bars worth approximately Rs 17.33 lakh. The passenger, originally from Chennai, had arrived via Mumbai by AI-984 flight.
September 8: Three domestic passengers – Sakerde Ahmad and Mohammad Madani Shariff and lady passenger Riyana – had concealed 2.916 kg of gold on themselves. They were arrested by the AIU at Dabolim airport.
November 9: Three members of a Mumbai-based family – Ashok Pala, his wife Latta Bahen and son Bavik Pala – were caught smuggling 12 gold bars at Dabolim airport.
24/12/14 Herald

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Kochi airport a transit point for drug mafia

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery has become a transit point for the drug mafia smuggling narcotics to foreign countries. The Narcotics Control Bureau here this week seized massive quantities of heroin and ephedrine from passengers at the airport. One of the seizures helped the bureau bust a racket which operated by buying drugs from Delhi and smuggling them to Kuwait or Qatar using carriers.

“These drugs were not meant for consumption in Kochi. But they were bought in Delhi and channelled through Kochi to avoid the attention of law enforcement agencies. These drugs are also available cheap in Delhi,” said an official of the NCB. Officials suspect that the racket is operated by a gang based in Kuwait with associates in Kochi and Delhi. They allegedly hire people without criminal backgrounds from Kerala to act as carriers for the drugs.
24/12/14 The Hindu

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Airport to come up at Bheemunipatnam

Hyderabad: In view of the security concerns raised by the Naval authorities to the proposal to develop an airport at Atchuthapuram in Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu on Monday said an alternative location at Bheemunipatnam has been identified to develop the Greenfield project.
Speaking to newsmen in the Assembly lobbies, he said government identified more than 1,000 acres of land for the proposed airport at Bheemunipatnam after the defence authorities objected to the earlier location. The Civil Aviation authorities already visited the new location and responded positively, he informed.
The Minister added government would take up land acquisition once the Union government approves the proposal. Agricultural lands were also included in the place for which the government would have to pay compensation to the affected farmers. Ayyanna Patrudu said following huge demand from domestic and international investors community, the government speed up the process to set up the airport on the fast pace.
23/12/14 Hans India

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PIL, feasibility still hurdles in Akola airport project

Nagpur: While the state government is bent upon extension of the Shioni airport in Akola and has warned the Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) to hand over land for the purpose within a month, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) continues to see it is an unviable project as the airport is suitable only for ATR category of aircraft (small carriers).

Moreover, on April 24 this year, the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court had ordered a status quo on the airport extension despite a Government Resolution (GR) dated March 4 giving official clearance for the project and Rs5.64 crore compensation for the 60.68 hectare land of the university. The PIL (No 22/14) was filed by former VC Balwant Bhatkal, who is president of Vidarbha Association for Research, Technology and Development.
23/12/14 Times of India

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Cops push Madhya Pradesh CM's plane to make way for Kamal Nath's aircraft

Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh: Around eight policemen and some officials had to push the parked plane of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for about 15-20 feet at an airstrip here today to give way to an incoming aircraft of Congress leader Kamal Nath.
Nath's plane was supposed to land at Imlikheda airstrip, large enough to accommodate a plane, but it got delayed and the chief minister's aircraft made the landing at around 12.30 pm.
Policemen were made to push MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan's plane to clear the airstrip for landing of former Union minister Kamal Nath's aircraft, in Chhindwara on Monday. PTI Policemen were made to push MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan's plane to clear the airstrip for landing of former Union minister Kamal Nath's aircraft, in Chhindwara on Monday. PTI
"As per the schedule, Nath's plane was supposed to land earlier but he got late and in the meantime, Chauhan's flight landed at the airstrip around 12.30 pm.
"After half-an-hour, Nath's plane also arrived and to make way for it to land, policemen and other staff pushed it for about 15-20 feet towards the helipad which is being used as a temporary parking bay in case two planes arrive at the airstrip," Inspector General (IG) Jabalpur Range, D Sriniwas Rao told PTI. Rao was present at the airstrip, situated about three km away from Chhindwara.
He denied reports that there was any emergency situation or Chouhan's plane was on the runway when Nath's plane was scheduled to land at the airstrip.
22/12/14 First Post

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Airports Improve in Service Quality

Delhi: The Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma informed the Lok Sabha today that eleven AAI airports have improved in service quality from 4.14 in Quarter-I (Jan-Mar, 2014) to 4.24 in Quarter-II (April-June, 2014) and 4.32 in Quarter-III (July-Sept, 2014) on a 5- point scale against world average of 4.04, 4.06 and 4.07 respectively. Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey is carried out by Airport Council International (ACI) on quarterly basis. Kolkata Airport improved its Airport Service Quality score from 4.42 (41st rank) in Quarter-II to 4.66 (27th rank) in Quarter-III and was top amongst the AAI Airports. Kolkata Airport also received ASQ Award in best improvement category in Asia Pacific Region by ACI for the year 2013.
22/12/14 Business Standard

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Internationalisation of airports needs amenities: HC

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has said internationalisation of airports in the country needs to be done not only for looks but also in terms of convenience and amenities.

The High Court's observation came on a plea filed by Abhinav Kumar which had raised the issue of non-availability of an 'Appraisal Counter for issuance of Export Certificate' at the IGI airport here forcing passengers to travel to Custom House, Jhandewalan, which is about 30 kms away from the airport causing undue hardship to the commuters.
23/12/14 PTI/Economic Times

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SCR plans airport specials

Hyderabad: South Central Railways is considering the introduction of airport specials from Lingampalli and Secunderabad to Umdanagar, the nearest rail head to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad.

This proposal was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting convened by General Manager, SCR, P.K. Srivastava, with operational department heads. The objective is to cater to the airport-bound passenger traffic and make available a convenient, cost-effective public transportation to help people reach the airport through the suburban rail corridor.

Initially it is being planned to run Airport Special in the form of DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Units) on a pilot basis after discussing it threadbare with the concerned State Government officials. Slightly over 6 km away, Umdanagar is the nearest rail connection for Shamshabad. While facilitating passengers boarding flights out of Hyderabad or those flying in to the city, these Specials will also help other local commuters, a majority of them working in several companies in an area that is increasingly becoming an industrial hub.
23/12/14 The Hindu

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State proposes nominal rent for Ozar airport

Nashik:  The state government has decided to rent airport terminal to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at nominal rent.

The move comes against the backdrop of HAL opposing the demand to pay rent of Rs 1 lakh per month to the government since the company stated that the terminal has been built on its land.

"The state government has told the HAL that it was willing to give the terminal to HAL at nominal rent to allow it to operate the terminal in association with private players. The issue has been conveyed to HAL and its board," said Vilas Patil, Nashik collector.
23/12/14 Abhilash Botekar/Times of India

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Nedumbassery airport should be named after K Karunakaran: Sudheeran

Thiruvananthapuram: KPCC president V M Sudheeran has called for naming the Nedumbassery airport after late Congress leader K Karunakaran.

He was speaking at a Karunakaran memorial function on Tuesday.

“Though nobody is opposed to this suggestion , the naming has not materialised. It may be because of some technical issues. Now, it should not be delayed. People are eagerly waiting for it,” he said.  
23/12/14 Kaumudi Online

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For Tripura residents, its via Bangladesh to the rest of India

Agartala: Hurdles in travelling to other parts of the country by road, rail and air are increasingly prompting the people of Tripura to go to other parts of India via Bangladesh.

Before the partition of the country in 1947, the routes of the then East Bengal (now Bangladesh) had been used to ferry men and materials to and from northeast India.

“For the people of Tripura, the Bangladeshi route is the only and secured option to go to Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of India as road, rail and air journeys from this hilly state now become impossible,” Tarun Chakraborty, an executive of a Kolkata-based private company posted here, told IANS.

“If you are keen to visit Tripura, then the Bangladeshi route is the solitary and secure alternative. I, along with my family, were stranded in Kolkata for three days. My leave has exhausted but I was unable to rejoin my office in Agartala as no air tickets were available . I returned to Tripura from Kolkata via Bangladesh,” he added.
22/12/14 IANS/Vancouverdesi.com

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Fog fight misses flight

Chandigarh: The failure of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to install a superior instrument landing system (ILS), a navigation aid for safe landing of aircraft in poor visibility, has almost grounded the airport as fog has forced the cancellation of a majority of flights since the last week.

The Airport Authorities of India (AAI) had installed category I (CAT I) ILS in 2011 that allowed flights to land if the visibility dropped to 1,200 metres. But as a curtain of fog envelopes the city from December-mid to January-end, flying becomes a mission impossible. Losing hundreds of flight hours becomes an annual feature. Only a category III (CAT III) ILS can rescue the airport. It allows planes to land even if the visibility plummets to 50 to 100 metres.
23/12/14 Ajay Sura/Times of India

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Revolver, gold biscuit seized at Imphal airport

Imphal: Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel Monday detected a small arm loaded with ammunition from the hand baggage of a passenger during security check at Imphal Airport.
The arm (.32 revolver containing five rounds of ammunition) was seized when the hand baggage belonging to one passenger identified as K Shyamsunder Singh, a resident of Wangkhei Yonglan Leirak of Imphal East district was checked at the X-ray point.
The revolver and ammunition were seized and handed over to the Singjamei police station. However, the passenger who was about to travel to Delhi was allowed to broad the flight with reasons known to the police and CISF authority only.
22/12/14 Nagaland Post

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6 kg gold found in AI toilet

Panaji: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Goa Customs has thwarted a major attempt of gold smuggling at Dabolim International Airport on Tuesday by seizing six kilo grams of gold valued over Rs 1.51 crore on Tuesday.

The gold was found in the rear toilet of the Air India Flight which flies on Dubai-Mumbai-Goa route.
23/121/4 Murari Shetye/Times of India

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Fog disrupts trains, flights in Delhi

New Delhi: The national capital experienced a chilly, cloudy Monday morning while dense fog affected flights and trains.

According to reports, a total of about 70 trains have been delayed due to dense fog, causing inconvenience to passengers.

While the Rajdhani trains coming from Bhubaneswar, Sealdah and Ranchi were running late by about three to four hours, service of other Delhi-bound trains are also being severely affected due to adverse weather, said a senior Northern Railway official, PTI reported.

Magadh Express is running 18 hours late while Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express is behind schedule by 18 hours. Northeast Express and Mahananda Express are running 12 hours late.

"We have made arrangements for informing passengers about the train position on regular basis besides setting up helplines for public," said the official, adding "departures of affected trains have been rescheduled."
22/12/14 Times of India

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Fog grounds all flights at Chandigarh, yet again

Chandigarh: For the second consecutive day, dense fog today resulted in the cancellation of all incoming and outgoing flights from the Chandigarh airport, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport.
The maximum temperature in the city on the shortest day of the year today was 13.1°C, 4°C more than yesterday. The minimum temperature was 7.4°C.
Due to fog, there was poor visibility (it was less than 200 metres), affecting air and rail traffic. The bad weather affected the arrival of two trains. While the Unchahar Express was running late by 15 hours, the morning Shatabdi was running late by one and a half hours.
There was no relief for city residents from the cold wave and dense fog, which threw life out of gear. The city was colder than Shimla and Dharamsala, which recorded 14°C and 14.2°C, respectively.
21/12/14 Tribune 

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Navi Mumbai International Airport to be operational by 2019: Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport will be operational by 2019.

"As all the environmental-related permissions are cleared for the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport, this project will be operational by 2019," Fadnavis posted on Twitter this morning.

The project will be built on public-private partnership (PPP) on a land of around 1,160 hectares, out of which 592 hectares have been acquired and all clearances will be done by January 2015, he said.
21/12/14 PTI/Economic Times

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Fog in northern India disrupts flights, leads to chaos at city airport

While the past week saw Spicejet passengers creating a ruckus over mass cancellations, the weekend at the airport was no less noisy with flight schedules on sectors such as Mumbai to Chandigarh, Indore and Jaipur changed, if not cancelled altogether, due to a thick blanket of fog over parts of north India.

Between Friday and Saturday seven schedules were affected, leading to chaos at Mumbai, which itself was not affected by the fog. According to Indian Meteorological (Met) Department officials, there may be temporary respite after the weekend, but dense fog will return before Christmas. "Now that the fog system has been put in place, there have been no diversions, though delays will occur as aircraft movement slows down during low visibility. The real test on how well airlines are prepared will be after Christmas," an Air India official said.

On Sunday, Jet Airways announced cancellation of flights from Mumbai to Chandigarh and vice versa upto Tuesday. For Sunday, the airline rescheduled flights from Mumbai to Indore and back, Bhavnagar, Bhopal and Delhi-Mumbai-Bhuj. Flights were rescheduled by 10 minutes to over 2 hours.
22/12/14 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror

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GMR's Philippines JV raises USD 750 million for Cebu airport

India-based GMR Infrastructure's joint venture GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) Monday said it has signed agreements for financing 70 percent of the Mactan Cebu International Airport project in Cebu in the Philippines worth nearly USD 750 million.
GMCAC is a joint venture of GMR Infrastructure with 40 percent share holding and the Philippines-based Megawide Construction Corporation with a 60 percent stake.
The loan for the project is being financed by six Philippines-based banks - BDO Unibank Inc, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines and Metrobank and Philippine National Bank.
The total equity contribution of GMR to GMCAC will be nearly USD 90 million, of which the Indian construction company has already invested USD 48 million.
22/12/14 IANS/India Gazette

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Pune Inc gets own airport terminal

Pune: With the Pune airport expansion plans being fasttracked, the corporate sector is all set to get its own independent terminal at the airport to operate nonscheduled flights. The work is in its final stages and the new terminal will be operational once the security audits are complete.

There are many businessmen and industrialists, who use the Pune airport for their own private aircraft. The new terminal will cater to these people and will be located near the existing departure terminal along with a specialised lounge for commercially important persons (CIP). The system will be decentralised and entry, exit and security checks will be conducted separately for these nonscheduled flights. "All required systems like X-ray machines, CCTV cameras and other infrastructure will be provided and operated by the Pune Airport Authority. Once these systems are installed, a security audit will be conducted," said a senior AAI official on condition of anonymity.

SK Jain, president of the Airport Committee of the Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industries, said, "It will be beneficial for private aircraft as well as regular flyers. The system of arrival and departure will be decentralised. The new terminal will be located at the extreme left side of the existing airport terminal."
22/12/14  Sukirt Gumaste/Pune Mirror

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Passenger from Dubai goes missing from Mangaluru airport

Mangaluru: A person who arrived in the city from Dubai has reportedly gone missing from Mangalore International Airport since Friday December 19.
As per a complaint filed in the Bajpe police station, Abdul Jaleel Baruva Mehmood (35), son of Baruva Mehmood arrived from Dubai at the Mangaluru airport by Air India Express flight on Friday at 7.30 am.
A resident of Kumble in Kasargod, Abdul did not go home after arriving here.
21/12/14 daijiworld.com

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Mumbai Crime: 4 held at airport for trying to smuggle wood worth Rs 10L

A record 1 tonne of smuggle gold has been seized from the Mumbai airport this year, but the precious metal is not the only thing smugglers have been trying to sneak past Customs officials. In the second instance of wood smugglers being caught this month, three passengers and one ground staff member were caught by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) yesterday. The three men, who were supposed to fly to Bangkok aboard 9W 70 at 7.50 am yesterday, were trying to smuggle out 135 kg of Agarwood, valued at Rs 10 lakh. Tameem Hussain Shaikh, Rehan Abdul Karim Nakade, Sudarshan Vittal Kotian (a former ground staff member) and Parvati Waghmare, a current ground staff member who wasn’t on duty at the time, were caught by the CISF while they were wrapping their bags for checking them in. The three had stuffed the Agarwood in five bags and were wrapping them up before checking them in (wrapping the luggage is not mandatory and is done to keep the bags safe). Waghmare was helping the passengers with the bags.
22/12/14 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day

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30cr worth narcotics seized in Kochi

Kochi: Customs officials at Cochin International Airport on Saturday seized 20 kgs of ephedrine, a narcotic substance, from a woman passenger.

Cellia Dhomingo (36) was detained while trying to board a Qatar Airways flight from Kochi to Harare via Doha. According to the customs commissioner K N Raghavan, the contraband was recovered from secret cavities in her checked-in baggage.

The ephedrine seizure valued at about Rs 30 crore in the international market comes on the heels of a heroin haul worth Rs 10 cr on Friday. Ephedrine is not commonly used in Kerala but is a sought-after substance in the international drug market.
21/12/14 T Ramavarman/Times of India

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