Fog diverts, delays flights to Odisha capital

Bhubaneswar: Dense flog disrupted flight movements at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Odisha capital leading to diversion of a flight today.
“Since last three days, the visibility at the airport here is very low. Landing of aircrafts at BPIA is getting delayed as visibility at BPIA was around 50 metres (minimum level required for landing in low visibility conditions) in the morning which later improved to 100 metres. The approach necessary for landing is 750 metres. Around two-three aircrafts could not land this morning and hovered in the sky for quite a while. A New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Go Air flight was diverted to Kolkata. Air India flights have landed and the visibility is improving gradually following which the flight services would resume as normal,” BPIA Director, Sharad Kumar informed.
According to airport sources, a Go Air flight from New Delhi was unable to land due to low visibility following which it was diverted to Kolkata. Similarly, two other Air India flights were delayed due to thick envelop of fog in the Bhubaneswar sky.
02/01/16 Odisha Sun Times

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ATC and Customs officials worried

New Delhi: The job of an air traffic controller, who manages air traffic and keep the skies safe, is considered one of the most stressful in the world. What has become an added cause of stress for many air traffic controllers at the Delhi airport is the odd-even car rationing scheme. The Air Traffic Services complex at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport is situated at a distance form the Delhi Metro’s Airport Express Line station, which has no other public transport system available either. Almost all air traffic controllers reach their workplace in their personal vehicles due to the odd hours they work. With the odd-even scheme coming in, they are worried about coming to work or going back home. “Our work goes on 24x7 and we all work in shifts that change at odd hours. We can’t bring our cars on alternate days due to the odd-even scheme. Also, if we bring our car on one day, we go back home the next day due to the hours of work,” said a senior ATC official who didn’t wish to be named.

“People like us who provide such essential services and work at odd hours should have been exempted. We do get travel allowance from office but not any pick and drop facility. We are dependent on our personal vehicles,” he said. “Also, most of us live at different places and chances of carpooling are limited,” he added. Like ATC officials, Customs officials too work round the clock and in shifts that pose the same problems.
02/01/16 Sidhartha Roy/The Hindu

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Wi-Fi now available at Tiruchi airport

Tiruchi: Tiruchi joined the other international airports in the country in providing modern communication facilities to travellers with the launch of the Wi-Fi internet service at the airport.

The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has installed the Wi-Fi network free of cost to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as part of an understanding between them.

The AAI has provided the space with the BSNL providing the facility for the benefit of domestic and international travellers arriving and departing from the airport.

The BSNL has partnered with the Quadgen Wireless Solution for providing the facility which was inaugurated by Tiruchi Member of Parliament P. Kumar on Friday in the presence of the Airport Director B.C.H. Negi, and BSNL Principal General Manager Raju.
02/01/16 The Hindu

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Dog on runway delays Dubai-bound flight at Amritsar airport

Amritsar: An Air India Express flight to Dubai was halted seconds before take-off as the flight crew spotted a stray dog on the runway on Wednesday, officials said.
The aircraft had lined up for take-off on the runway at the Guru Ram Dass Jee international airport here when a crew member in the cockpit saw the dog moving near the plane.
The pilots immediately took the aircraft back to its parking area and all 171 passengers were asked to disembark.
The flight finally took off after a delay of three hours.
31/12/15 IANS/Times of India

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NRI Woman Mistakenly Arrested By Indian Authorities Wins Compensation

Fourteen months after Sarah Thomas, a multinational company employee from Dubai, was mistaken for a fugitive wanted by the CBI and arrested by immigration officials and police at Chennai airport, the Madras high court recently awarded Rs 2 lakh compensation to her.
CHENNAI – Fourteen months after Sarah Thomas, a multinational company employee from Dubai, was mistaken for a fugitive wanted by the CBI and arrested by immigration officials and police at Chennai airport, the Madras high court recently awarded Rs 2 lakh compensation to her.
However, since the unsuspecting victim of the faux pas told the court that she was not interested in the compensation amount, state and central government must pay Rs 1 lakh each to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Flood Relief Fund, said a bench comprising Justice S Tamilvanan and Justice C T Selvam on Tuesday.
On October 29, 2014, Sarah Thomas landed at Chennai airport from Dubai to attend a colleague’s wedding scheduled the next day in Madurai.
She was detained by immigration officials and placed under arrest on the ground that she was Sara Williams Saramma Thomas alias Saramma Thomas who was facing a CBI case and against whom a lookout circular (LOC) was pending.
She was lodged in Central Prison at Puzhal and taken to Kerala by a team from the state. It was only on November 2, 2014 that the mistake dawned on the Kerala police.
Her son, Kevin John Sajith, an engineering student in Chennai, filed the present habeas corpus petition in the high court.
On Tuesday, the bench said: “We are of the view that it is a harassment, causing grave mental agony to an innocent person. The reasons assigned by officials that the mistaken identity was on account of bona fide reasons could not be accepted. There is a gross negligence on the part of authorities in sending Sarah Thomas to Central Prison, Puzhal, and then taking her to Kerala.
The judges said while Rs 1 lakh would be paid by the external affairs ministry, another Rs 1 lakh would be paid by the government of Tamil Nadu.
31/12/15 Link

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Team from Changi to visit Ahmedabad, Jaipur next month

New Delhi: A Changi Airport team, which has been nominated by Singapore Government to carry out the operations and management of Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports, is likely to visit the two airports next month.

The visit would follow discussions with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the modalities of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between AAI and Singapore Co-operation Enterprise (SEC).

The AAI had signed an MoU with SEC, during Prime Minister Narender Modi's visit to that country, to co-operate in planning and development of Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports besides, other aspects including design, planning, traffic and commercial development, service quality and operations and management.

The operations of the airports, however, will remain with AAI.
30/12/15 PTI

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Civil Aviation Ministry gives site clearance for Bhogapuram airport

Hyderabad: The stage is all set for the commencement of works on the proposed international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram District. The airport, according to senior officials, received the Union Civil Aviation Ministry’s site clearance at a meeting held at New Delhi on Monday.

The airport, which is being fiercely opposed by the locals, has already received necessary clearances from the Defence Ministry.

“The project received in principle nod from the Union Government. We will receive a written order in a week,” a senior official who made a power-point presentation on the benefits of the project to the Union Ministry said.

The Government had initially proposed the Bhogapuram aerotropolis comprising the international airport, maintenance, repair and overhaul facility and aviation academy in a sprawling 15,000 acre site. Bhogapuram international airport is one among the three Greenfield airports proposed in the State while similar projects are proposed at Kuppam and Dagadurthi.
30/12/15 M. Rajeev/The Hindu

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Two Keonjhar airstrips cry for development

Keonjhar: While the state government is making an effort to develop airstrips across the state, two airstrips in Keonjhar are in dire need of attention. One of the airstrips is located at Raisuan, about 7km from here under Sadar block and the other at Tanto, about 70km from here under Joda block of the district.
While the government is signing MoUs with several companies for the development of airstrips across the state, the ones in the district remain neglected. Both of them are allegedly unsafe for use and security and proper deployment trained employee. According to sources, the government has taken steps for renovation and expansion of Rangeilunda, Jeypur, Padmapur and Baripada airstrips and also to increase the length of Raourkela, Jharsuguda, Lanjigarh and Angul airstrips.
31/12/15 Times of India

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Mumbai Customs arrests French couple for gold smuggling at international airport

The Air Intelligence Unit of Mumbai Customs on Wednesday apprehended a French couple at the Mumbai international airport and recovered 2.6 kg of gold valued at around Rs 60.88 lakhs, from them.
On the basis of profiling, the cops intercepted Mohamed Hassain and his wife Djany Mohamed Safraby, both of whom have who has a French passports. The couple had arrived in Mumbai from Dubai via Bahrain by Gulf Air flight GF-56. The AIU recovered one gold bar of 1kg, five gold bars of 100gms each, two crude gold chain weighing 700gms, 5 crude gold bangles weighing 300 gms, one necklace 94gms and gold chain and two rings 12gms.
30/12/15 Mid Day

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AI offloads 9 flyers at Mumbai airport

Ahmedabad: Nine passengers — four men, three women and two children — were offloaded from an Ahmedabad- London flight at Mumbai airport early on Wednesday after they were found travelling without proper documents. All the nine passengers belonged to Delhi or Punjab and were travelling to El Salvador for New Year holidays.
Sardarnagar police, who are investigating the matter, said all the passengers had boarded Air India's AI-131 flight to London from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. When the flight landed in Mumbai for a brief halt, the security staff of Air India found that the passengers did not have transit visa for London where they would be changing flights for El Salvador, the central American country which offers Visa on Arrival (VoA). All the offloaded passengers intended to avail of the facility at El Salvador.
31/12/15 Times of India

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Aviation ministry on backfoot after Opposition questions Changi contract

New Delhi: So is it wrong to say that the Indian government has agreed to let Singapore's Changi airport operate and manage Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports? Under intense Opposition fire for bypassing the tender route to award O&M contract for these two airports directly to a Singapore entity through a government-to-government (G2G) agreement, the Ministry of Civil Aviation was on fire fighting mode today.
Secretary RN Choubey said "it is possible that Changi decides that the procurement of some services at the two airports should be done via a tender. Let the team come and more details will emerge".
The Congress and the Left parties have created an uproar over an initial MoU between India and Singapore which allows that country to nominate an agency for taking the O&M contract for the two Indian airports for a fee. Till now, any private participation in airport modernisation has always been done through a global tender where the Airports Authority of India invites bids.
Despite the disclaimer by Choubey, it is possible that the O&M contract for these two airports sees no bidding at all. Changi has demonstrable expertise in airport management and the two Indian airports it will Associate with were earlier going to be privatised through the PPP mode. This would have meant private parties could pick up equity stakes in the Airports and taken them on long lease, working out some sort of revenue sharing arrangement with AAI.
30/12/15 Sindhu Bhattacharya/F.Business

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New NOC system for constructions around airports launched

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) The central government on Wednesday launched a new online regulatory clearance system to process no objection certificate (NOC) applications for development of structures around airports.

The "NOC Application System" (NOCAS) version 2.0 which has been developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju during a function held here.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the new NOCAS is an automated online system for granting of NOC for height clearance of structures being developed around airports.

Speaking on the occasion the Civil Aviation Minister Raju said that flight safety and security cannot be compromised at any cost, while calling for creation of new regulatory systems that do not hinders economic development.
30/12/15 sifynews

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Air traffic controllers to earn more for extra duty

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has raised overtime allowance to encourage air traffic controllers to work extra hours.

The move comes in the wake of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)'s inspection of airports in India. During its inspection last month, ICAO had raised concerns about the shortage of air traffic controllers in India. While there is a requirement of 3,500 controllers, there are only about 2,300 controllers supervising air traffic movement in Indian skies.

Because of the shortage, controllers are made to do extra shifts. Till now, they were paid Rs 400-500 for extra duty. The allowance has now been revised and controllers would get an additional amount of Rs 270-1,800 for an extra shift. The additional amount would be equivalent to the pro-rata payment of allowances, which are part of the regular salary package.
30/12/15 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Navi Mumbai airport moves closer to reality as govt okays bids

The Centre today gave an in-principle approval for financial bids or request for proposals (RPF) for the much-delayed Rs 15,000-crore Navi Mumbai International airport.

At a meeting held with the authorities of the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) in New Delhi, the aviation ministry gave its in-principle approval for the RFPs which will be soon shared with the four bidders shortlisted for the project, according to official sources.

CIDCO had invited the global tenders for request for qualification (RFQ) on February 5, 2014. It received nine bids out of which four have been shortlisted.
30/12/15 PTI/Business Standard

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'Turbulence' over security at Dabolim

Central agencies spent over Rs 350 crore to create new infrastructure facilities at Dabolim International Airport. Their aim was to improve the handling capacity of loads from the international and domestic sector. Meanwhile, the idea of ensuring foolproof security has somewhere gone missing.
Today, a terrorist or hijacker can gain easy access right up to the second floor of the terminal building with any airline ticket in hand; one need not have to go through security screenings until the second floor, where the hand luggage gets checked only at a security check in area before one boards into the aircraft. This is a grave security lapse.
Even police officials endorse that having luggage checked on the second floor is pointless.  “What is the point of checking the passenger or his luggage on the second floor? This appears to be a formality to safeguard only the aircraft, but what about the aerodrome? From the threat point of view, anyone can easily gain access and can cause destruction in the aerodrome and also to the aircraft,” said Dabolim airport Police Inspector Brutano Peixeto.
All these loopholes can lead to a disaster because the Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials are yet to install a Door Frame Metal Detector machine (DFMD) at both departure gates of the terminal building. The proposal made by the CISF for the same is yet to see the light of day.
“It is really serious; this shows that the security at the airport is not foolproof, but has several loopholes. Moreover, the security at the old airport was much better than the security at the new airport” said a senior police official who did not want to be named.
31/12/15 Navin Jha Navin/Herald

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Civil Aviation Ministry gives site clearance for Bhogapuram airport

The stage is all set for the commencement of works on the proposed international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram District. The airport, according to senior officials, received the Union Civil Aviation Ministry’s site clearance at a meeting held at New Delhi on Monday.

The airport, which is being fiercely opposed by the locals, has already received necessary clearances from the Defence Ministry.

“The project received in principle nod from the Union Government. We will receive a written order in a week,” a senior official who made a power-point presentation on the benefits of the project to the Union Ministry said.

The Government had initially proposed the Bhogapuram aerotropolis comprising the international airport, maintenance, repair and overhaul facility and aviation academy in a sprawling 15,000 acre site. Bhogapuram international airport is one among the three Greenfield airports proposed in the State while similar projects are proposed at Kuppam and Dagadurthi.

There was, however, strong opposition from the locals who received support from the CPI (Marxist) and the YSR Congress Party. The CPI (M) has said that the proposed project would ruin the lives of the locals and that there was no truth in the Government’s claims that the proposed airport would generate huge number of jobs.
30/12/15 M.Rajeev/The Hindu

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It’s official: No airport at Chakan

Pune’s search for a new international airport seems to have hit a blind spot with the proposed site at Chakan being officially dropped from the list of probables by the state government. A recent notification by the state government has renotified the over 700 hectares of land, previously identified as one of the proposed sites for the airport, for industrial usage.
The notification has asked the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to start the land acquisition for it. The site for the proposed international airport, spread over six villages in Khed taluka of Pune district, has seen no progress in the last 10 years in terms of land acquisition.
Although the official notification of the land for the project was issued a decade ago, MIDC has failed to acquire any land in the region due to opposition from the villagers, who were also supported by Shiv Sena MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil. The erstwhile Congress-NCP government had accused the MP of playing politics with development.
31/12/15 Partha Sarathi Biswas/The Indian Express

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Gold rush at airport: Yellow metal worth Rs 6.5 cr seized

New Delhi: In a major seizure, gold worth about Rs 6.5 crore has been seized from five persons, including two Kazakh nationals, who were allegedly trying to smuggle it into the country at Indira Gandhi International Airport here.

The seizure of over 25 kgs of gold was done in the past one week by the customs officials.

In first incident, two Kazakh nationals, in early twenties, were intercepted by the customs officials after their arrival here from Almaty.

"Both of them were carrying five kgs of gold each, which was seized and the duo was arrested," said Vinayak Azaad, Additional Commissioner of customs at the IGIA.

Three other persons were also arrested for smuggling gold. Besides, gold was seized from some of the passengers who had come from Dubai, Bahrain, Doha and Hong Kong.
31/12/15 Business Standard

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More fly out of Chennai airport

The city airport has posted a 7.9% growth in combined domestic and international passenger traffic from April to October when compared to the corresponding period last year. However, aviation experts say that there is nothing to rejoice as Bengaluru airport has recorded a 24% growth in passenger movement. The city airport's record may not improve much in the coming months as rain and floods have eroded a lot of traffic in December, a peak season. Chennai handles more passenger volume but growth rate is sluggish when compared to the neighboring airport of Bengaluru. International travelers grew by 6.3% and domestic travelers increased by 8.8% in Chennai from April to October.
A senior official of Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said that this was a good sign of reviving business in the city. "With the development activities and investment planned in the coming years, the number of travelers will increase further. We are making progress but slowly," he added. However, airlines do not seem to share the same enthusiasm as Bengaluru has registered double digit growth in percentage for domestic and international passenger traffic.
An airline official said, "The experience of international carriers was bad during the floods that many refused to resume flights though airport officials declared that the runways are open earlier than the appointed date. Airlines are expected to move to Bengaluru. Amaravati airport, when it opens, will be another competition to Chennai because Andhra Pradesh is aggressive in marketing the state to investors." Growth of international passengers is slowing down in Chennai because European carriers prefer to fly out of Begnaluru. Air France was the first to move out. Lufthansa has added frequency from Bengaluru. "It will not be surprising if European carriers would want to operate more services from Bengaluru because they suffer losses flying into Chennai because of poor ground handling, lack of parking stands, poor safety practices, bad terminals and other facilities which hamper a quick turnaround," he added.
30/12/15 The Times Of India

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Singapore nominates Changi to manage Jaipur, Ahmedabad airports

NEW DELHI: Singapore has nominated Changi Airports to carry out operations and management at Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports.

"Singapore has nominated Changi Airports to come and talk to us on carrying out operations and management at Jaipur and Ahmedabad. Changi representatives will visit both these airports now before we start discussions with them," said a senior AAI official, who did not want to be identified.

During PM Modi's trip to Singapore, India and Singapore had signed an agreement, where Singapore would cooperate India in providing operations at Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports.
30/12/15 Mihir Mishra/The Economic Times

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No objection to Bhagat Singh's name for Chandigarh airport: Khattar

"When the matter was discussed with us, the name (of Bhagat Singh) had not been finalised. Since no name was finalised, we proposed the name of Dr Mangal Sein through a letter. Even if they keep the name (of the Chandigarh airport) after Bhagat Singh, we have no objection to  it," Khattar, who was on the defensive over the controversy, told media here.

"It (airport's name) can be kept on Bhagat Singh's name. But they (central government) must ensure that the airport contains the name 'Chandigarh' and nothing else. Our only objection was only on the use of the name Chandigarh," he said.

The 'Civil Air Terminal Chandigarh' was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 11.

It was proposed, and earlier agreed upon by the Punjab and Haryana governments, that it should be named after Bhagat Singh, a national icon of the country's freedom struggle.

But the BJP government led by Khattar wrote a letter to the union civil aviation ministry proposing the name of once RSS leader Mangal Sein for the airport.

His Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal last week wrote an angry letter to Prime Minister Modi, clearly upset over Khattar's move, terming it as "distasteful".

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma recently told parliament that naming the airport was delayed as the Punjab and Haryana government had not agreed to one name.
29/12/15 Deccan Herald

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Modi approves exchange of Airports Authority of India's land

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the exchange of Airports Authority of India's (AAI) land measuring 11.45 acres at Visakhapatnam Airport with an equivalent area of land offered by Visakhapatnam Port Trust for setting up of Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) by M/s Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) at Visakhapatnam.

The exchange of land measuring will be beneficial to both AAI and VPT. The land offered for exchange by VPT is in continuation to existing AAI land and will be useful for AAI, in view of future developmental plans for Visakhapatnam Airport. The setting up of Multi Modal Logistics Park and other customer related facilities by M/s CONCOR will also help in substantial development of Andhra Pradesh by enhancing the cargo handling capacity and development of an integrated rail-road logistics hub, thereby facilitating a boost in the economy and trade of the State.
30/12/15 Business Standard

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Faulty machines slow down security checks at Ahmedabad airport

AHMEDABAD: If you are planning to fly by an early morning flight from Ahmedabad airport then do reach airport much before scheduled time or else you might miss flight. In last few weeks, it has become an ordeal for passengers to board flights during peak hours at the airport. Lack of manned x-ray machines or scanners turns the usual security check routine of 5-10 minutes into 2025 minutes and sometimes up to an hour.
On Tuesday morning, passengers created ruckus after they were made to wait for almost an hour while going through security check in security hold area (SHA). According to passengers, this happened due to two reasons instead of available four x-ray machines in SHA, only two were operating and conveyor belt to pass the check-in luggage from airline counter to loaders stopped operating following technical snag.
When contacted, airport director A K Sharma said that he had no information regarding this issue. "I was on leave in morning and came to office in afternoon and since then I am in meetings. I do not know about this. I will find out and get back to you." In the morning between 6 am to 9 am, around 810 flights take-off from city airport to destinations such as Mumbai and Delhi. During these hours, more than 1,500 people travel from city airport.
The airlines' officials say that despite repeated requests, only two manned scanners are operational even in peak hours and sometimes it has also led to delay in boarding of flights.
30/12/15 The Times Of India

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India needs four new modern airports: Ashok Gajapathi Raju

Hyderabad: Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Monday said India requires four more modern airports, two on the West coast and the two on the East coast, keeping in line with the country's size.
"At present we only have three modern airports- the airports that have parallel runways- at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. With the size of a country like India, we need more modern airports, at least two on the West coast and the two on the East coast. Things are moving... (in that direction)," the minister said while interacting with the media after formally launching the E-Boarding system at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport(RGIA) here.

The minister responded on the need for new airports when a reporter asked about the new international airport being proposed at Bhogapuram, just about 28 nautical miles away from the existing Visakhapatnam Airport in Andhra Pradesh.

Gajapathi Raju said his ministry would consider the new airport proposals where ever the state governments come forward to provide land to set up such facilities as land was a state subject. As Hyderabad was an important city for the country, Visakhaptnam too was an important city to have one more airport facility like the RGIA which was being operated by GMR-led consortium.

This airport is coming up in the Minister's home district of Vizianagarm in a 5,311-acre site similar to the size of RGIA. The state government had tentatively decided to complete the process of selection of the developer of this project by April, 2016.
28/12/15 Business Standard

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Kelkar report seeks greater PPP push in airport development

Airport infrastructure development has been jinxed under the Modi government. When it came to power last year, there were plans to give out six airports to private parties for modernisation and development. All these are currently being run by state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI), but need upgradations due to increased traffic and future growth projections. After much back and forth, the list of airports where works will begin has been pruned to two from six. Here also, no tender has been floated for private parties to come forward and the government is now willing to instead award only operation and management of the two identified airports to a private developer. Two major airports outside this process - Kolkata and Chennai - will be developed by AAI itself. The proposed O&M process is now mired in a controversy since this is being done without a global tender. But now, a committee set up by the Finance Minister on private public partnership (PPP) model of infrastructure development under V kelkar has made a sharp recommendation about the need for PPP model to grow airport infrastructure. Convention models of growth - in this case relying on AAI for virtually all airport infrastructure development - are obviously not enough.
29/12/15 Sindhu Bhattacharya/CNBC-TV18/moneycontrol.com

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Subsidy scheme to woo airlines

Puducherry:  Hyderabad-based TruJet and Bengaluru-centered Air Pegasus are reported to be strongly bidding for operating flight services through Puducherry.

The Puducherry Government had launched a rejigged subsidy scheme to woo airline operators after Air India's budget arm, Alliance Air, abruptly suspended its flights to Bengaluru after six months of operations, following a dispute over payments under the Viability Gap Funding scheme.
"We're processing the proposals submitted by the operators and are negotiating with them over some changes in their offers," Chief Secretary Manoj Parida said.

What the Government is anxious about is entering into any sort of arrangement where an assured subsidy turns out to be a disincentive to the operator for aggressively pushing for ticket sales.

The Government is offering a subsidy of Rs. 2,500 per unsold seat with an annual cap of about Rs. 2 crore.

Sources say that one of the core aspects of a new deal would involve charting out a viable circuit that is attuned to tourist demand. Given the domestic tourist trends, a triangular circuit that involves Puducherry, Chennai and Bengaluru, is what the Government is looking at.
29/12/15 M. Dinesh Varma/S. Prasad/The Hindu

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Maharashtra pulls up 63 ‘idle investors’ in cargo hub, airport project

Nagpur:  At least 63 out of 81 companies, which were allotted land in the international cargo hub and airport project (MIHAN) here, have failed to commence operations even after several years, prompting the Maharashtra government to take a stern view on these “idle investors”.

A meeting of the high-power task force with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari as the Chairman had marathon discussions on Sunday .

It was decided to convene a meeting of all the 81 companies, including the “idle investors” who are lagging behind in the ongoing project, to take stock of the situation.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with District Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) Managing Director Vishwas Patil and other officials were present at the meeting.
28/12/15 Business Line

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Runway re-carpeting at Indore airport from February

Indore: Runway re-carpeting at Devi Ahilya Holkar Airport, Indore, which was expected to start in October 2015, will now commence from February.
The airport will, however, be shut during morning hours, affecting the movement of at least 15 flights. The work is expected to continue till May.
Airport director Manoj Chansoria said, "Runway re-carpeting has been on the cards. The tender has been awarded to the company and work would begin soon." Pits and craters that have developed due to continuous take-offs and landings need urgent repair work. The flights which commission to and fro from Indore airport would be Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Pune, Raipur and Nagpur and would be affected, he said,a dding that airline companies have been told to schedule the morning flights around mid-night.
The construction company would install a small plant for the repair work. "The re-carpeting of the runway is a regular process which has to be done on a regular basis," he said. Re-carpeting would cost around Rs 700 crore. Runway was last carpeted seven-years-ago. Along with this, Indore airport would replace old Instrumental Landing System (ILS) with a new one, said official. "It is an important instrument as it helps aircrafts during landing. Its key features tell whether the aircraft is aligned and maintaining a proper slope," Chansoria added.
29/12/15 Times of India

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Aerobridges at city airport remain idle

Madurai: Two aerobridges in the new terminal of the International Airport remain unused due to various reasons. The aerobridges were pressed into service from December 1.
At present, passengers are taken to their respective flights by the airport buses like in the past.
The new terminal was inaugurated in September 2012. The state-of-the-art building houses 16 check-in-counters, 12 immigration counters, one security counter and five customs' counters.
On an average, 11 flights operate from the airport, including international flights to Colombo and Dubai on a daily basis. The number of domestic and international passengers arriving and departing daily from the airport is about 2,200 on an average. After Chennai, Coimbatore and Trichy, is the latest to get such aerobridges.
29/12/15 J Arockiaraj/Times of India

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Naming Chandigarh New Airport: Bhagat Singh vs Mangal Sein

Nearly three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the interntational airport in Chandigarh, no flight has departed for foreign shores from there. Yet, a controversy has raged between Punjab and Haryana over naming it.
Naming the airport has been a bone of contention between the two neighbouring states from the time it was conceived to be upgraded to an international one, six years ago. It is now called the Chandigarh International Airport.
Last week, when BJP-ruled Haryana suggested that it be named after an RSS ideologue and Deputy Chief Minister Mangal Sein, instead of an earlier proposal to name it after Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, the conflict garnered public attention.
The location of the new terminal building in Mohali is at the root of the christening controversy. The airstrip, under the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) charge, is located in Chandigarh – the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. While the domestic terminal was located in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the international terminal was constructed nearby Mohali.
As soon as Punjab initiated the plan to construct the new terminal, once the Centre approved of it in 2009, Haryana too staked claim over it. The then Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda was of the view that since the airport was located in the joint capital, and would be used by residents of both states, Haryana should be a partner in the construction.
29/12/15 Vipin Pubby/The Quint

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Mock drill conducted at Jaipur airport

Jaipur: Panic gripped flyers at Terminal-2 of Jaipur airport when officials organised a mock drill on Monday morning. The drill started with a phone call stating that a bomb is found near the exit gate of the Jaipur airport at 10.45 am.
Thereafter, a team from bomb disposal squad of Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and of nearby police stations, including Jawahar Circle and Sanganer rushed to the spot.
"It was a mock drill to check the response time of our various units and coordination with city police. It started at 11.05 am and it went successful at 11.47 am when we achieved the target," said B K Tailang, director, Airport Authority of India, Jaipur.
He said that during the process, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) could locate the baggage that was told to be having bomb and send it to Baggage Containment Vehicle.
29/12/15 Times of India

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Two deaths in two days at Mumbai airport

There were two deaths due to cardiac arrest reported from the Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) in the last two days.
Yesterday in the morning, Munnilal Gupta (50), a Patna-bound passenger, was scheduled to fly by IndiGo Airlines when he suddenly collapsed during security check.
The MIAL doctor who rushed to the spot declared him dead. Though Gupta, who had come to see his son studying in IIT-B had minor heart issues, he was apparently fit to fly.
He was to fly to Patna by IndiGo’s 6E 178 (Mumbai to Patna via Delhi) that takes off at 9.25 am and lands in Patna at around 1.55 pm. Airport officials revealed that at around 8.15 am, Gupta collapsed in the Security Hold Area (SHA). The airport staff called for the on-duty MIAL doctor. As part of the attempts to revive the passenger, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was continuously given to Gupta. It was when all attempts to revive the passenger failed, that the MIAL doctor declared him dead due to cardiac arrest at around 8.50 am.
In another case, a 57-year-old passenger Tarini Roy, who was to depart to Bagdogra on Sunday, fell unconscious in the check-in area of terminal 1B. Roy, also an IndiGo passenger, was accompanied by his wife.
The MIAL doctors who rushed to the spot referred Roy to Nanavati Hospital, after giving first aid. The passenger was taken to the hospital in a GVK ambulance.
29/12/15 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day

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US fraudster held at international airport

A 50-year-old American national wanted by the US authorities in an alleged USD 50 million fraud case was arrested by Sahar police on December 26 from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The US national of Indian origin, identified as Karimi Salim, was detained by the immigration authorities at the airport following a red corner notice issued against him by the US authorities.

According to the police, Salim was later handed over to Sahar police. "Charges against Salim is that he and others operated an over billing scheme that defrauded local municipalities and financial institutions of over USD 50 million. It's also alleged that Karimi operated Advanced Development Investment Corporation, a low income group housing developer. They siphoned money to Indian banks for personal benefit," said an officer from Sahar police station.
29/12/15 Daily News & Analysis

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10 kg gold seized at IGIA

New Delhi: Customs officials have recovered more than 10 kg gold recently from two passengers at the Delhi airport who were trying to smuggle in the precious metal concealed in their clothing.

Both the passengers are Kazakh nationals and were travelling from Almaty in Kazakhstan to Delhi in Air Astana flights. Customs officials arrested one passenger on December 23 and the other on December 25 at Delhi's IGIA.
29/12/15 The Hindu

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Cops bust gang that duped foreign tourists

New Delhi: Three members of a gang that duped foreign tourists by posing as government-approved agents from the ‘Incredible India’ campaign have been arrested, police said on Monday.

The Crime Branch had been on the lookout for the gang after Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi received two complaints of a similar nature in quick succession from foreign tourists.

Among the complainants was a French national who had been duped outside the airport, while the other was a Belgian tourist who was cheated at the New Delhi railway station.

French national Martin Leivasseur said he was approached by members of the gang, who told him that all roads to his hotel were choked.
29/12/15 Anthony S Rozario/The Hindu

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2 AI officials assault staff at IGI, held

New Delhi: Two Air India officials were arrested for allegedly assaulting one of their catering staff after the man had supplied two Air India water bottles to an international flight. The incident took place on Sunday evening at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The victim was identified as Vikas, an AISATS employee. AISATS is a joint venture between Air India Limited, and Singapore Airport Terminal Services Limited which also provides for catering service to the air carrier.
"We got a call around 6pm, that two men have assaulted another at the airport. When a police team reached the spot it was revealed that the complainant had supplied a water bottle of Air India to some other international flight. A case under relevant sections was registered and the duo was arrested," said a senior police official.
29/12/15 Times of India

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Civil Aviation Ministry gives clearance for four greenfield airports

The Civil Aviation Ministry has given clearance for four greenfield airports including the Rs 1,378 crore international airport at Dholera in Gujarat, which is expected to reduce air traffic load at the existing Ahmedabad airport.
The three other greenfield airports are proposed to be set up in Andhra Pradesh, with two of them likely to be no-frills ones.

The Environment Ministry has already given environmental clearance to Rs 1,378 crore airport project at Dholera in Ahmedabad last year.”

The site clearance, which is the first clearance, was given on Monday for the Bhogapuram airport in Andhra Pradesh which is about 40 km from Vizag,” Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey said today.

The Ministry has also given its go ahead for development of a greenfield airport in Nellore and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh under a public-private partnership, he said.

A greenfield airport is a new airport which is constructed on an undeveloped site.

The GMR-run Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamsabad near Hyderabad and GVK-Group run Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru are greenfield airports.
29/12/15 PTI/NITI Central

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City Airport Awaits Land Acquisition to Start Overhaul Unit

CHENNAI: Chennai Airport is on the verge of acquiring 50 acres of land adjoining the international airport at Meenambakkam to be used for   maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) of aircraft. The acquisition of land is part of a larger goal to develop India into an MRO hub in Asia.

Chennai Airport Authority of India (AAI)director Deepak Shastri told Express that Airport Authority of India’s proposed acquisition of the land is necessary as MRO business of Indian carriers alone is estimated to be around ` 5,000 crore of which 90 per cent is currently spent outside India.

Shastri said that once the MRO facility has been developed, it will become self-sufficient.

AAI has sent its recommendations pertaining to the Draft National Civil Aviation Policy which is likely to be unveiled in 2016.

“We have sent in our suggestions,” said Shastri while refusing to divulge anything further.

The policy suggests a set of measures to make India a MRO hub. These include the waiver of service tax on output services of MRO, aircraft maintenace tools and tool-kits to be exempt from customs duty besides allowing foreign aircraft to stay in India for the maximum period. The state government is also coming up with its own aviation policy. It is learnt that the state is planning to create an amenable investment climate and is consulting with the Union government to frame regulatory measures and a taxation regime conducive for the growth of aviation industry that will cover MRO service and defence supplies.
29/12/15 C Shivakumar/The New Indian Express

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Now Check-in to RGIA with e-Boarding Pass

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad has become the first airport in India to introduce e-boarding pass for all domestic passengers. Taking forward the Prime Minister’s Digital India initiative, the Union minister for civil aviation on Monday formally launched the e-boarding facility and dedicated it to the nation.

The e-boarding pass replaces the traditional paper boarding pass. Once a traveller receives and downloads the e-boarding pass, he or she may directly proceed to the security and need not check in again at the airport. A domestic passenger flying from the Hyderabad airport will only need a mobile e-boarding card and  Aadhaar card number to gain entry into the airport or to board the aircraft.

Speaking at the inauguration, he said, “A few years ago, when we wanted to conduct a trial run on this facility, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports came on board. Things have worked in the right direction and I am happy that the Hyderabad airport has gone live first. Both these places are our aeronautical strengths. Through this initiative, we want to keep nefarious- thinking people away and, at the same time, want to make it convenient for other people. It is a continuous process and will be a mix of human effort and technology. “The idea is that this facility should be available at all the airports. Hyderabad and Bangalore have made us more comfortable to start with as these are better administered airports in the country. We want to apply this experience and go forward. We have not really set timelines but we would like to have it at the earliest in the airports that have high footfall,” he added.
29/12/15 The New Indian Express

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Kannur airport aims for a September opening

North Malabar is going to get an Onam gift in the form of Kannur international airport (Kial) in 2016. Though the project that began in 2010 faced numerous delays, authorities are all set to start trial landings in January and begin commercial operations in the second-half of 2016.
"Our target is to complete 2,400m of the runway, get the green signal from civil aviation authorities and begin trial landings using aircraft in Code-B ATR-42 category without pas sengers in January . After successful trial landings, our aim is to begin commercial operations by September, an Onam gift to Keralites," said Kial MD G Chandramauli, adding that all documents have been given to the director general of civil aviation and a date can be finalized only after getting clearance.
29/12/15 P Sudhakaran/The Times Of India

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Partner yet to be chosen for airport project

The spanking new Smart City plan with over Rs 40,000-crore projects of both Cidco and NMMC will soon be on the international radar. Currently, the wait is on for the selection of a reputed strategic partner in the New Year to develop the phase-wise Rs 16,000 crore Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).
A meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, of the Union civil aviation ministry to evaluate the RFP (request for proposal) documents and certify the concession and shareholders' agreement, among other formalities.
The Union home ministry's security clearance to the four big players, who have pre-qualified for the project, will be obtained and communicated to the parties soon.
29/12/15 Sanjay Banerjee/The Times Of India

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Exclusive – Govt mulls four more airports in PPP mode

The skies are clear for two more international airports and two more no-frills airports in PPP mode.

Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey told Bloomberg TV India that the Aviation Ministry has given in-principle approval for Dholera International Airport in Gujarat. Choubey said Dholera is an important site as it falls in the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor.

Andhra Pradesh is also set to get an international airport. Bhogampura has been identified as the site for this airport. This airport will also be developed in the PPP mode.
28/12/15 Veena Mani/Bloomberg TV 

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Bring Tiruchi airport under BASA: travel body

The Air, Rail and Road Travellers Federation has urged the Civil Aviation Minister to bring the airport here under the BASA (Bilateral Air Services Agreement) which would enable newer foreign airlines to start flight services from here to more destinations.
29/12/15 The Hindu

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Jet Airways flying closer to IndiGo in travellers’ choice: TripAdvisor survey

Mumbai: Jet Airways has shown signs of revival in not just its financial books but also in travellers’ choice. The airline, which was far behind industry leader IndiGo, is now neck-to-neck with it as per the latest TripAdvisor annual India Air Travel Survey.

While 37.74 per cent of the passengers voted IndiGo as their most preferred domestic airline, as many as 37.33 per cent preferred Jet Airways. IndiGo last year had a lead of 8 per cent over Jet.

National carrier Air India, which was voted as the least preferred airline for four years in a row, upped its ante and became the third. Jet Airways also came out as the third most preferred airline for international travel, trumping Lufthansa. Emirates remained the most preferred, fifth year in a row, followed by Singapore Airlines. Jet seems to be doing very well on many parameters — food and beverage, in-flight entertainment, both cabin crew appearance and cabin crew service quality, check-in process at the airport, seat comfort/leg room, in-flight shopping, customer service and even on ‘overall experience’, Jet was preferred over Indigo.

However, the ‘favourite’ airline i.e., IndiGo, does win with a high margin on the following parameters — time taken to deliver baggage and in-cabin maintenance.
27/12/15 Varun Aggarwal/Business Line

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Kolkata: Air India aircraft and Jet Airways bus separated after 100 hours

Nearly five days after a Jet Airways bus rammed into an Air India ATR aircraft at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, Air India's recovery team finally managed to separate the two on Sunday morning.
In a joint operation which was initiated on Saturday evening, Air India's recovery team from the Mumbai Engineering division and the Engineering team of Kolkata used a balloon type equipment to pull the bus from the aircraft engine it had rammed into. The operation lasted overnight and was completed this morning.
The development came after a major disaster was averted at the Kolkata airport last week, when the shuttle bus rammed into the Air India ATR aircraft. According to airport officials, the aircraft was parked at Bay no. 32 in the airport and was preparing to leave for Silchar. It was then that the driver of the Jet Airways lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the aircraft close to its left wing, causing crores of rupees worth of damage to the National Carrier.
"The aircraft sustained extensive damage on the right engine, right landing gear and also some other parts because of which the flight operations to Silchar and Shillong had to be cancelled. AAI, Police, CISF and other authorities have taken serious note of this gross act of negligence and are investigating the incident," Air India official said.
Though no casualties were reported in the collision, the aircraft's engine suffered severe damage due to the impact. The collision could have led to a major blast had the plane's engine been active. The Air India spokesperson said that the plane is approximately worth Rs 400 crore.
27/12/15 Manogyal Loiwal/India Today

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How One Air India Pilot Taught the Kerala Governor That Arriving Late Is a Bad Habit

When Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam reached the Cochin International Airport just 10 minutes before his flight was scheduled to depart, he saw that the plane was being pushed back, and the stepladder had been removed.
When his officials tried to communicate about his presence on the tarmac, the Air India pilot allegedly refused to wait for him as the boarding time was already over.
The Delhi-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram Air India flight that was bound for Thiruvananthapuram from Cochin International Airport was scheduled to take off at 11:40 pm on December 22, after an initial delay of about an hour. But the dignitary reached the airport at around 11:28 pm.
According to reports, the flight captain allegedly shut the door after he was informed that the Governor had crossed the bridge on the Airport road, and was about a kilometre away. The flight had already been pushed back when his car reached the tarmac.
Finally, the Governor had to go to Thiruvananthapuram by road on Wednesday morning.
While the Governor has lodged a complaint with the Civil Aviation Ministry seeking an inquiry into this incident, it is quite clear that the pilot did the right thing as the push back had already begun, and opening the gate would only make sense if there was some kind of medical or technical emergency.
28/12/15 Tanaya Singh/Better India

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MIHAN: Firms sitting idle to be heard by govt, might have land allotments terminated

Nagpur: Companies that have taken land in Multimodal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project area, but are potential non-starters might get an extension and their problems might be redressed by the government. However, despite all support from the government, if they fail to start operations, allotment of their land might be terminated.
This was decided at a meeting of the MIHAN Task Force here on Sunday. The meeting was chaired by Union Surface Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Out of over 90 companies that have purchased land in MIHAN, only about 30 have started operations.
“It was decided that meetings with non-starter companies would be held in Mumbai and Delhi and their problems would be heard. The government would do everything to push them to start operations. Those companies that would not initiate any activity would be given termination orders after a three-year window,” sources told The Indian Express.
28/12/15 Vivek Deshpande/Indian Express

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3 terror suspects on jihad mission arrested at Nagpur airport

Hyderabad: Three youngsters from the city, who were nabbed at the Nagpur airport on Saturday while they were on their way to Srinagar to take up jihad, were arrested by the Hyderabad police on Sunday evening under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly trying to join the Islamic State (IS).
They were planning to meet controversial Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi or Hizbul Mujahidden chief Syed Salauddin as they wanted to establish 'Darul Islam' (land of Islam) under the leadership of IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Police recovered a Dell tab and an Asus mobile phone from the trio_Majid Hasan alias Maaz Hasan, Abdullah Basith and Syed Omar Farooqi Hussain. The investigators claim the two gadgets might be crucial evidence to nail the trio.
The three youngsters were brought to the city from Nagpur by Telangana Counter Intelligence Cell (CIC) investigators on Sunday and later they were handed over to the sleuths of Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Central Crime Station (CCS) for further investigation.
28/12/15 Srinath Vudali/Times of India

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Private airlines training pilots at HAL airport

Bengaluru: Incurring huge loss after being restricted to chartered VIP flights and testing of military aircraft since the inception of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), HAL Airport has now opened its gates to private airlines to train their pilots.
It has been a month-and-a-half since private airlines got on to the runway at the HAL airport, which was once the mainstay of Karnataka. "AirAsia, Jet Airways and IndiGo are using our facilities to train their new pilots," a senior official told TOI.
He said the move was a well-thought one and all necessary approvals have been sought before opening up the airport to private airlines. "As some defence activity are also happening within the same compound, precautions have to be taken and now we are ready to go," another source said.
28/12/15 Chethan Kumar/Times of India

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Government for level playing field for domestic and Gulf carriers

NEW DELHI: With Gulf carriers garnering a significant chunk of outbound passenger traffic from India, the government is mulling ways to put in place mechanisms to prevent overseas airlines from virtually making local airports their regional hubs.

The basic idea is to ensure that domestic airlines have a competitive as well as level playing field with their foreign counterparts, especially since Indian aviation market has a huge growth potential, according to a senior Civil Aviation Ministry official.

Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air Arabia, and Flydubai are among the major Gulf carries having operations in India. Of these, while Doha-based Qatar Airways flies to 13 Indian cities, Emirates flies to 10 key airports via its Abu Dubai hub.

Etihad, which holds 24 per cent stake in domestic carrier Jet Airways, also connects its Abu Dhabi hub with 10 cities here including Delhi and Mumbai.

With the revised draft civil aviation policy in advanced stages of finalisation, the Ministry is also looking at ways to address various issues pertaining to the local carriers.
27/12/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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AVM organizes Seminar on Amritsar Int'l Airport as a potential booster for State Economy

Amritsar: Amritsar Vikas Manch yesterday organized a seminar for the development of Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Aiprort as a potential booster for the whole state of Punjab at RITZ Hotel, Mall Road. Shri V. Venkateswara Rao, Director Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport was honored for his distinguished and sincere efforts for the promotion of Amritsar Airport. Representatives of various airlines including Air India, Uzbekistan, Airport and Commercial manager also participated in the seminar. Shri Gagan Malik, former Director & General Manager Airport projects, Shri Naveen Kumar Commercial Manager were presented with Guest of Honor award by AVM. Shri Dinesh Kumar Airport Manager and Shri Randhir Singh from Air India were also honored.
Hardeep Singh Chahal, General Secretary AVM and President Er. Daljit Singh Kohli introduced and welcomes the guests. Dr. Balwinder Singh Professor Shri Guru Ram Das School of Planning GNDU gave a presentation on the Amritsar Heritage and how it can be used for tourism. Er. Sameep Singh Gumtala, Director Global Connections Amritsar Vikas Manch from USA gave a presentation on the past, present and future of Amritsar Airport, overview of various flights and connections and about the role and achievements of AVM. Dr. Sukhdev Singh, President INTACh Punjab requested airlines to start direct flights to Birmingham. Er. Harjap Singh Aujla, Patron AVM USA requested various airlines including Air India and Jet Airways to provide better connectivity for international passengers especially late evening to midnight from Delhi to Amritsar.
27/12/15 Punjab News

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E-boarding facility launched at Hyderabad airport

E-boarding facility for passengers has gone live at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport-Hyderabad.

With this facility, Hyderabad airport becomes the first airport to go live with e-boarding facility for all domestic passengers.
28/12/15 The Hindu Business Line

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Flood relief material from Malaysia held up at airport

TRICHY: A total of 1.5 tonnes of relief material sent from Malaysia for the flood victims of Cuddalore is held up at the Trichy International Airport as the customs authorities have not yet cleared it. Malindo Airlines authorities cleared the 97 boxes in Malaysia and they arrived on Saturday evening.
Prakash of People's Trust, a non-governmental organisation that is providing flood relief material to those affected in Cuddalore, who is to take charge of the consignment, told TOI that "clearance was provided from the Malaysian side with Malindo Airlines shipping it free of cost.
However, the customs authorities here are holding it saying no relevant documents are available."
28/12/15 The Times Of India

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Close gaps in aviation security, says House panel

Security at airports across the country may soon be under the scanner and all the operational airports may get Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) cover if the Union Government acts on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

The 31-member committee headed by Kanwar Deep Singh, which examined the ‘Issues related to Airport Security’ across the country, submitted its report recently in Parliament. It noted with concern that eight hyper-sensitive airports and 19 sensitive airports have no CISF cover, which has now become the only specialised force for aviation security.

After its extensive interaction with officials of the Home Ministry, Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, CISF and Intelligence Bureau in July this year followed by study visits to Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi and other airports, the committee said gaps in aviation security needed to be closed in proportion to the threat perception.

While hijacking, hostage taking on board aircraft, aerodromes, sabotage of airport and aircraft and terrorist attacks are the common major threats, the possibilities have been widened in the wake of increasing sophistication in the modus operandi of the terrorists.

The report noted some of the threats as surgically implanted explosives, improvised explosive devices hidden in printer ink and toner cartridge and terrorists using trained pilots to hijack aircraft.
27/12/15 M.L.Melly Maitreyi/The Hindu

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Three carry liquor bottle, drink on board Mumbai flight

New Delhi: In a serious security breach, three people flying on a Delhi-Mumbai flight on Friday night reportedly carried a bottle of liquor and drank on board.
"A passenger complained to the cabin crew after which the pilot informed the CISF. On landing in Mumbai, police apprehended the passengers," a GoAir spokesman said.
However, sources said the passenger, who complained against the three on the aircraft, reportedly did not give in writing to Mumbai Police. "The three were let off with a warning and a minor fine," said a source.
The GoAir spokesman said the three passengers had flown into Delhi on an international flight and then took the connecting flight to Mumbai from IGI airport's terminal 1D. "Our airline took an apology letter from them for drinking on board," he said. However, how they got a liquor bottle in the flight was yet to be known.
According to aviation security rules globally, liquor bottles cannot be carried on board aircraft. The only exception is international passengers across the world are allowed to buy up to two litres of liquor from duty-free shops in the post-security hold area and then take them on aircraft.
27/12/15 Saurabh Sinha/The Times Of India

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AERONAUTICAL STUDY ORDERED AROUND HAL

In an ongoing dispute between a high-rise apartment and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) over an alleged discrepancy regarding the height of the building, the High Court of Karnataka has called for an aeronautical study. The idea is to ascertain if the property is within the notified parameters of law.

What is seemingly unprecedented is that the study would mean that for a single building the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will have a relook into the parameters issued by the ministry of civil Aviation for this defence airport about height restrictions and regulating developments within 5-km radius.
The property in question is Raheja Vivarea in Koramangala which is an under-construction 17-storey residential building on an eight-acre plot located within 4.5 km from the HAL airport.
As per AAI guidelines, a mandatory NoC is required from HAL for such constructions with a cap of the height, keeping in view the airport operations safety. An NoC was issued but subsequently cancelled alleging discrepancy in the height with the developer challenging it in the court.
After arguments and counter-arguments, the HC directed that an aeronautical study of HAL aerodrome has to be carried out to ascertain whether or not the building scaling a height of 62 m above the ground level of property is in accordance with the notified parameters and if it would affect safety of the Airport operations (read box). The report has to be submitted to the court on January 4, 2016.
27/12/15 Kushala S/Bangalore Mirror

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Air passengers warned of fog delays

Taking the first flight out of the city early in the morning over the coming days may not be a wise option with fog expected to envelop most parts of the country . In case you have to be on a morning flight, airlines say it is better to check the flight status before setting out.
Flight schedules are often affected in Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Amritsar and a few other airports in the north because of poor visibility during the last week of December and first week of January every year.The delays have a trickle down effect on other airports if an aircraft is stuck in Delhi.
In Chennai, fog caused by low temperature and cold winds hits visibility at the airport in the first two weeks of January .
Last year, six aircraft were diverted and a few others were delayed after visibility dropped to less than 100m.
Anticipating delays, airline services like Indigo and SpiceJet have issued adviso ries to passengers. Indigo's advisory asks passengers to provide correct mobile numbers at the time of booking, check flight status and reach the airport early to reduce inconvenience.
SpiceJet has altered its flight schedule for fog-prone areas like Varanasi, Chandigarh and Amritsar, enabling early departures for night flights and day time departures for morning flights until January 31.
It has also hired 75 addi tional staff to inform passengers about changes in timing and has upgraded technology to take more calls from the flyers.
SpiceJet chief administrative officer G P Gupta said, "We are looking forward to implement a well-secured plan. Managing morning departures and arrivals and handling passengers in case of disruptions pose a big challenge. We have rolled out measures to moderate the impact." Airline services like Indigo, SpiceJet, Air India, Jet Airways and a few others have trained pilots and are deploying aircraft equipped to fly in poor visibility. But flights get delayed and diverted because all airports are not equipped to handle congestion.
27/12/15 The Times Of India

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Durgapur airport draws traffic with flight to Delhi

Things are looking up for the private airport at Durgapur after the flight from Kolkata, which went three-fourths empty for six months, was extended to New Delhi.

Air India's 42-seat ATR that flew between Kolkata and Durgapur made way for an 144-seat Airbus A-319 on Monday, which flew with only one in 10 seats empty.

Flights to Durgapur, which has several public sector undertakings and power-intensive industries, began in May. Executives of these companies were expected to take the 45-minute flight from Kolkata. According to travel agents, mainly government officials flew between the two cities in West Bengal earlier.

"It takes about three hours to reach Durgapur by road or rail. Considering an airtime of 45 minutes, check-in and check-out formalities, and baggage clearance procedures, people did not opt for the flight," a travel agent said.

Partha Ghosh, managing director of Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL), promoter of the airport, however, said, "The flight occupancy has been picking up by around 20 per cent, month on month. The ATR flight used to operate on a trial basis."

Ghosh said the first Airbus flight on the Kolkata-Durgapur-New Delhi route on December 21 had 90 per cent occupancy. "The Kolkata-Durgapur route being serviced by Air India was just the beginning," he said.
26/12/15 Avishek Rakshit/Business Standard

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IMPLEMENTATION OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGE POLICY

The Airports Authority of India Thiruvananthapuram international airport has bagged the award for best implementation of the official language policy instituted by Town Language Implementation committee (TOLIC) for Central Government undertakings in the capital.

In the house e-magazine section, Airports Authority of India Thiruvananthapuram international airport’s Deepthi bagged the second prize of TOLIC, which has 23 members.
27/12/15 The Hindu

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Aptech Aviation and Hospitality organises Panorama - seminars, workshops

Aptech Aviation and Hospitality recently organised the second edition of its national event, ‘Panorama’ with an aim to create opportunities for its students using seminars, industry interactions, workshops, peer connect and so on.

The three-day event was inaugurated by Ninad Karpe, CEO and MD, Aptech Ltd; along with Manish Sinha, COO, GMR - Rajiv Gandhi International Airport; Andy Dias, head of operations, CelebiNAS Airport Services India Pvt. Ltd; S K Mohanka, senior commandant, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF); Dr Jagdish Kumar, manager, HRD, and in-charge of the regional training of Western Region, Air India Ltd; Desiree Fernandes, regional HR and admin coordinator for Asia region, Oman Air; and Samiha Saif Al Busaidi, security network & compliance, group security, Oman Air, Muscat International Airport, Sultanate of Oman.

The fun-with-learning event helped students connect and network with top industry people, exposed them to latest trends in the aviation, hospitality & tourism sectors, and took them on an actual flight to prepare them for a high-flying career in the field. It also encompassed practical grooming sessions conducted by elite brand experts. The sessions gave the students insights into the functioning of the industry.
26/12/15 FNB News

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AAI Gears Up to Sketch New Regional Connectivity Plan

In an attempt to enhance air connectivity in the remote and regional sectors in the country, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is gearing up to appoint a consultant to assess the demand from various sectors for services.

R K Srivastava, chairman, Airport Authority of India (AAI) said, “We are working to augment air connectivity in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. By mid of January we will be appointing the consultant who will assess the various sectors,” he added without divulging any details.

The Aviation Ministry has entrusted AAI with the responsibility of providing low-cost airports in the country. At present, India has about 450 airports and airstrips out of which only around 125 airports are operational.

Srivastava said, “Our plan is to at least take this number to 200 operational airports in years to come. For that, we would require investment capital of around $12 billion.”
The Draft Civil Aviation policy proposes to connect the unserved air routes through the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) with an all-inclusive airfare not exceeding `2,500 per passenger for a one-hour flight on RCS routes.
26/12/15 Prashant Mukherjee/The New Indian Express

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IB writes to BCAS, AAI, DGCA about height of minaret

Despite Mumbai International Airport authorities identifying the minaret of a mosque near Milan Subway as a “hazard” to flight operations two years ago, the height of the minaret was further increased. Now, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of the Ministry of Home Affairs has expressed concern over the minaret’s height. The IB has written to Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Airport Authority of India (AAI), and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), asking them about the minaret’s height.
The IB letter reads, “A minaret of a mosque, run by the Anjuman-Khadim-ul-Musalmin Trust, Hyderabad, may pose risk to flight operations at Mumbai airport. The height of the minaret was found to be 33.7 metre in 2013 and now, the mosque authorities have installed a spire about 4 metre higher than the prescribed limit of 26.12 metre.”
The IB letter stated that according to the bureau’s inquiry, mosque authorities have not obtained a “no objection certificate” from AAI for any construction. But aviation safety rules warrant obtaining a no objection certificate from AAI for construction in 4km vicinity of such a big airport. The letter says that the minaret poses an obstacle to runway 09 of the international airport and runway 34 of the Juhu airport.
Commenting on this, an official from the AAI safety department said, “The minaret now stands at least 37 metre tall — it was already 7.6 metre higher than the prescribed limit of 26.12 metre in 2013.”
26/12/15 Ashita Dadheech/The Asian Age

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House Panel Dismisses Idea of Aviation Force, Bats for CISF Cover for All Airports

NEW DELHI: A proposal for a dedicated civil aviation security force to look after security affairs of the airports has been dismissed by a Parliamentary Standing Committee, but it has strongly suggested an aviation security policy for ensuring fool-proof security at airports.

Arguing against a dedicated security force, it said multiple agencies were already engaged in airport security and were playing a substantial role in this respect. But it stressed the urgent need for having an aviation security policy as there are “several gaps” in the absence of a unified command and control among the multiple agencies involved.

It observed that aviation security has not received the attention and importance that it deserved. The Standing Committee on Transport has strongly suggested bringing all the 70 airports in the country under the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

Dismissing the special security force proposal, the committee also felt that airport security should continue to be managed by the CISF, the IB, NSG and other police forces. The commissioner’s post of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, lying vacant for the last two-and-a-half years, should be filled up on a priority basis, it recommended.
26/12/15 The New Indian Express

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AP Sanctions Rs 50 cr to Buy Lands for Airport

HYDERABAD: The state government has sanctioned an additional amount of `50 crore for acquiring land for the Bhogapuram International Airport, in addition to the already sanctioned amount of `110 crore for paying compensation to the land owners whose lands are being acquired for  construction of the proposed airport.

Bhogapuram International Airport is a part of Bhogapuram Aerotropolis Project comprising International Airport, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility and an Aviation Academy.

According to a GO issued here, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) named Bhogapuram International Airport Company Limited (BIACL) was already formed  for the implementation of the project.
26/12/15 The New Indian Express

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Flight diverted to Kochi due to poor visibility

COIMBATORE: A private airlines, scheduled to land here at around 7.20 AM, was today diverted to Kochi due to heavy fog in the airport area.

The Indigo plane, carrying 180 passengers from Chennai, could not land because of poor visibility due to fog and the pilot was directed to divert it to Kochi, airport authorities said.
25/12/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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Trichy airport to get third aerobridge soon

TRICHY: The Trichy International airport is all set to get its third aerobridge in the coming months. The bridge that will be constructed at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore is awaiting approval from the Central Headquarters. AAI has planned to upgrade airports in tier-2 cities across the country and floated a tender. Following this, a foreign-based agency was chosen to install aerobridges.
With increase in passenger inflow since January this year, the authorities have taken up steps to upgrade facilities in the airport. The airport operates a total of 85 international and 28 domestic services every week, but only Air India Express operates a direct flight to Dubai.
As part of the initiative, the Trichy airport authorities have planned to install the third aerobridge in the terminal. A senior AAI official from the airport said, "There were plans to develop airports across the country. Trichy airport was one among them and AAI has proposed to construct a third aerobridge at the airport. This made AAI to call for a tender and finalized a bidder to construct aerobridges in selected airports."
26/12/15 The Times Of India

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Boarding a flight to become easier next year

Come 2016 and you are going to have a much better experience while boarding a flight from 10 major airports across the country, right from finding a parking slot and swifter check-ins to faster baggage clearance on arrival.

The government has initiated the process to address the difficulties that people face at the airports. State-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI), which operates 125 airports in the country, will hire a consultant tasked to improve the operational efficiency and customer service at 10 major airports.

The airports identified are: Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Pune, Trivandrum, Calicut, Lucknow, Guwahati, Srinagar and Bhubaneshwar. Together these airports handled 4.8 crore passengers last year, with Chennai and Kolkata airports accounting for half of the total traffic.

Some of the key issues that will be addressed include queuing time at check-in points, baggage transfer time, easy assess to passengers through navigation and signboards, availability of cheap parking space and adequate seating area at the airport. The consultant will also be mandated to ensure cleanliness and smooth movement of arriving, departing and transit passengers by making necessary changes including providing additional infrastructure if required.
25/12/15 Somesh Jha/The Hindu

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GMR Infrastructure to restructure holdings in GMR Airports

Diversified group GMR Infrastructure on Friday said agreements have been executed for the proposed restructuring of holdings in GMR Airports Ltd. As per the pacts, GMR Infrastructure would be entitled to purchase the "equity securities" held by the private equity investors in GAL before June 5, 2017.

The agreements in this regard have been executed following the group exercising its call option rights on the convertible securities held by the private equity investors in GAL -- which manages the diversified group's airport business.

GMR Infrastructure, which has interests in airports, power and other sectors, is looking to consolidate its holdings in GAL. In April, the diversified group had exercised its call option right on the Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) held by the private equity investors of GAL.
25/12/15 PTI/dna

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Foreign carriers may not get landing rights on demand, says Civil Aviation Ministry

Signalling a major shift in granting air traffic rights, the government is looking at restricting the number of landing points for overseas airlines irrespective of their seat entitlements.

The thinking on these lines comes against the backdrop of Gulf carriers cornering a large chunk of international air traffic from India because of having landing rights across a number of airports in the country.

A senior Civil Aviation Ministry official said it was looking at restricting the ports of call given to foreign airlines under bilateral rights, while remaining flexible on seat entitlements.

Some foreign carriers pitch for more landing points as well as higher number of seats but at times allowing such requests could hurt domestic carriers, the official said.
26/12/15 PTI/dna

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Indian aviation in 2015 sees 3 new airlines, top safety ranking

Many highs and lows marked the 2015 trajectory of domestic aviation space with three airlines taking off, one coming back after a near-collapse, a no-frills carrier getting listed and India again securing top safety ranking even as the draft aviation policy remained in limbo.
All said and done, fliers might have to shell out more from next year with the government proposing two per cent levy on all tickets to fund regional connectivity plans even as the draft policy promises various tax sops for the sector.
At the same time, Civil Aviation Ministry saw a change of Secretary while the two ministers — Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Mahesh Sharma — found themselves at different ends on various policy issues including on the idea of regulating airfares. Besides, M Sathiyavathy took over as the first woman head of regulatory body DGCA.
Towards the end of the year, a freak accident that saw a service engineer being sucked by an Air India aircraft engine at Mumbai airport, once again brought to the fore safety and security issues at airports.
In another unprecedented development, Chennai airport was shut for five days following heavy floods in early December.
On the regulatory front, Competition Commission slapped a total penalty of Rs 258 crore on Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet for alleged cartelisation in fixing fuel surcharge on air cargo. The order is likely to be challenged by them.
The disappointment of the year, however, is government’s failure in finalising the re-drafted aviation policy, which will also decide the fate of existing norm for international operations by Indian carriers.
23/12/15 PTI/The Financial Express

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Parliamentary panel wants CISF to continue at airport

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, after going through the issues related to security at airports in India following the violent incident at the Calicut international airport in June, has recommended that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) continue maintaining security at airports in the country.

However, the committee, chaired by Kanwar Deep Singh, feels that the violent incident involving employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the CISF “raises a question mark over the effectiveness of the existing coordination mechanism between various agencies providing security at Indian airports.”

Observing that civil aviation security is an internal element of national security, it recommends that the CISF handle the security of 70-odd airports having normal scheduled operations.

To begin with, all 26 airports rated hypersensitive, including the Calicut airport, be handed over to the CISF. Likewise, the CISF should subsequently take over the security of other sensitive airports.

In view of the shortage of manpower and logistics available with the CISF, security of normal airports can continue with the State police for the time being.
24/12/15 Biju Govind/The Hindu

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DGCA suspends Jabalpur airport licence

BHOPAL: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended licence of Jabalpur's Dumna airport following an incident on December 4 in which a herd of wild boars marched onto the runway during the taxiing of a SpiceJet flight with 53 on board, causing the pilot to lose control of the aircraft due to which it swing off the runway.
All flight operations have been halted. There were regular flights for Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad from the airport.
In a related development, Airports Authority of India (AAI), which runs Jabalpur Airport, has suspended three Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) in connection with the incident, sources said.
"After investigation into the incident, Director General of Civil Aviation M Sathiyavathy has ordered suspending the airport's licence," DGCA sources said. While DGCA spokesperson could not be contacted, travel agents in Jabalpur said that all bookings have been cancelled.
Decision to cancel the licence was taken following a report submitted by a joint team of SpiceJet and DGCA officials who inspected the Jabalpur airport two days after the incident. Inspectors were taken aback after Dumna airport officials informed that leopards and pythons often stray onto the runway and surrounding areas, said sources.
24/12/15 The Times Of India

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Chennai Airport suffers loss of Rs 66.56 crore owing to rains

CHENNAI: Chennai Airport which had suspended operations early this month following torrential rains and floods had suffered loss of Rs 66.56 crore in terms of damage and revenues, a top official said today.

Airport Authority of India had to shut the airport for five days from December 1 due to severe rains and floods that left the facility unusable.

"Due to unprecedented rain and inundation, the Chennai Airport was closed and flight operations suspended. The assets damaged due to the floods have been assessed," Airport Director Deepak Shastri said.
23/12/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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AAI OFFICIAL SUSPENDED FOR APPEARING BEFORE HC

A senior official from Airports Authority of India (AAI), who was suspended and transferred for appearing before the Bombay High Court 'without authorisation' during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding alleged safety violations by AAI, has sought relief from being forced out of his post at Juhu airport, citing threats by another AAI official to his wife and child.

AAI had on December 17 suspended KSL Narsimhan, joint general manager (air traffic control), for not seeking approval from its headquarters in Delhi before making an appearance in court. The order has raised eyebrows as the suspended official's wife, also an AAI official, happens to be the whistle blower whose investigations led to the filing of the petition in which AAI is one of the respondents. The PIL was filed after Narsimhan's wife Mangala Narasimhan, AAI deputy general manager (aviation safety), exposed violations in building height clearances granted by AAI to high rises that came up along the flight paths for Juhu and Mumbai airports.

Officials in the know told Mumbai Mirror that the suspension order was passed without a preliminary enquiry. It also includes an order to transfer Narasimhan from Mumbai to Kolkata. As per the suspension order, Narasimhan has been accused of "alleged misconduct on his part in connection with making appearance before the Honourable High Court of Bombay on September 30, without any authorisation from AAI." The order, signed by AAI chairman R K Srivastava, states that during the suspension period, Narsimhan, who lives in Mumbai with his wife and daughter, will be moved to the Kolkata AAI office and he "shall not leave the (Kolkata) headquarter without obtaining prior permission."
24/12/15 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror

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HP MPs meet aviation min, demand regular flights to Shimla

Shimla: Led by Union health minister J P Nadda, BJP MPs from Himachal Pradesh have demanded start of regular flights to Shimla airport, passenger helicopter service between Chandigarh and Shimla, besides starting of heli taxi service in the state. Nadda said that improved air connectivity is must for Himachal in view of the large number of inflow of tourists as well as for putting it on the development map.
This is for the second time in a fortnight that the BJP leaders from the state have raised the issue of air connectivity with the Centre. Earlier, on December 10, former chief minister and leader of opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to inform him about the poor air network of state. Dhumal had also demanded expansion of Shimla, Kangra and Kullu airports, besides ensuring regular flights at these airports.
24/12/15 The Times Of India

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Fuel farm work begins at Kannur airport site

As the construction work for the Kannur international airport is progressing at a hectic phase, work is also under way for the construction of the fuel farm of the airport by a joint venture company floated by Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), which has a stake in the project.

The work for constructing the fuel field began on December 22.

The work is being carried out by the joint venture BPCL-KIAL Fuel Farm Private Ltd. The 28,000-sq.m fuel farm will have underground tanks for aviation fuel storage. The Rs.17-crore fuel farm project will be completed by June next year, KIAL officials said. BPCL has Rs.170-crore stake in KIAL.

The KIAL officials said that the construction work at the airport project site is progressing at a hectic pace in view of the scheduled trial landing at the airport in January. Minister for Airports, Ports and Excise K. Babu has already announced that the trial landings will commence in January.
24/12/15 The Hindu

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Sharma: Haryana fine with Bhagat Singh airport name

On a day when Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal wrote to the Prime Minister to name the international airport in Mohali after Shaheed-e Azam Bhagat Singh, state BJP chief Kamal Sharma claimed that Haryana’s BJP government had no problem with the proposal, provided “Mohali” was not added to the name.
He told The Tribune that he supported Badal’s demand and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar agreed with it, but the issue was regarding using the name of the city.
Haryana was demanding that the airport be named after RSS ideologue Mangal Sen.
Kamal Sharma said Haryana now wanted “Chandigarh” instead of “Mohali” mentioned as the airport’s base station. “They argue that using Mohali gives a clear impression that the airport is in Punjab whereas Haryana and Punjab have jointly shared 49 per cent cost of the Rs 452-crore project. The Airports Authority of India has funded 51 per cent of the cost.”
Haryana argues that the Special Purpose Vehicle created via a tripartite agreement between Haryana, Punjab and the AAI was called Chandigarh International Airport Limited. Hence, there was no room to use Mohali in the name.
23/12/15 Jupinderjit Singh/The Tribune

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GHIAL Bags Best Airport in India Award

HYDERABAD: GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) at Shamshabad has won the ‘Best Airport in India’ award for the year 2015 for excellence in service & operational delivery in the category of 5-15 million passengers per annum.
23/12/15 The New Indian Express

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AAI incurs 1.2kcrloss in 96 airports

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has incurred losses of over Rs 1,200 crore on 96 of its airports, including six in the state, in 2014-15.
According to the statistics furnished recently in the Rajya Sabha by the ministry of civil aviation, the six airports in Maharashtra incurred losses of over Rs 70 crore. The highest losses were incurred on the Aurangabad airport, followed by Gondia, Solapur, Kolhapur, Akola and Nanded. The Safdarjung Airport in Delhi ran into a loss of Rs 37 crore, the data revealed.
A senior AAI official told TOI that the loss-making airports generated less revenue primarily because they had little connectivity to major cities and less passenger traffic.
"The landing and parking charges at these airports are high and only few flights operate there. Despite the high landing and parking charges, smaller aircraft are exempted from paying them. It also takes a lot of money to maintain these airports despite fewer passengers frequenting them. No major flights operate from these small airports, resulting in less revenue," the AAI official said.
He said these airports have little connectivity to metros. "A comparison between the airports in metros and those making losses says a great deal about why they are bleeding. Flights operate every hour at major airports in the country, while those incurring loss have a few flights in a day," the official said.
23/12/15 Neha Madaan/The Times Of India

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Draft civil aviation policy set to be finalised today

The Union government will hold a meeting on Wednesday to finalise the draft civil aviation policy.

Sources said Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Minister of State Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma, Union Civil Aviation secretary R.N. Choubey and other senior ministry officials will meet on Wednesday morning to finalise the policy.

The ministry is expected to take decisions on key issues including the much-talked about ?5/20 rule’ which sets the norms for airlines to fly abroad.

The Union government had released the draft civil aviation policy for public comments in October this year. After receiving comments from the public and the stakeholders including airlines, airport operators, ground handling agencies etc, the civil aviation ministry had held several rounds of internal discussion on the draft policy.

According to sources, all the airlines including incumbents such as IndiGo and Jet Airways and new airlines AirAsia India and Vistara had opposed the government's proposal on replacing the 5/20 rule with a credit based system.
23/12/15 Somesh Jha/The Hindu

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Steep rise in passenger traffic gives further boost to AP's new airport plans

A steep rise in passenger traffic across the five operational airports in Andhra Pradesh in the current year comes as a shot in the arm for the state government as it has stepped up efforts to implement its ambitious plans to have one airport in each district besides the upgradation of the existing facilities.
A meeting held by the government with the potential bidders for the new airport projects last month was attended by companies such as L&T Construction, Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited, GMR Airports, Shapoorji Pallonji, Essel Infrastructure, indicating a strong interest for these green field projects.

The state will have six new airports, including a large green-field international airport project at Bhogapuram in Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju's home district Vizianagaram bordering Odisha, if the government takes its plans to their logical conclusion.

Out of the six new airports the government plans to develop four airports, including the greenfield international airport project in private sector while it had requested the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to develop the remaining two no-frills airport facilities-one at Nagarjunasagar in Guntur district and the other one at Donakonda in Prakasham district.
22/12/15 B Dasarath Reddy/Business Standard

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Aviation ministry orders probe into BSF aircraft crash, role of ATC to be examined

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has ordered an inquiry into the Border Security Force (BSF) crash that occurred Monday morning near Dwarka in Delhi.
A small aircraft of the BSF crashed at Shahbad Muhammadpur village in Dwarka near the Delhi airport shortly after it took off. All ten personnel on board including three officials and seven technical staff members were killed in the accident.
“Authorities are in the process of setting up a Board of Inquiry,” said civil aviation secretary RN Choubey.
While BSF sources claimed that the condition of the 21-year-old aircraft Beech Super King Air B-200 was flight worthy, the aviation experts opined that there are several factors involved in the maintenance of an aircraft and the violation of any one of them could have led to the fatal accident.
Ironically, the doomed aircraft was flying technicians to get a chopper repaired in Ranchi.
Former Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Kanu Gohain told Firstpost, “It’s too premature to draw any probable conclusion or the factor that might have led to the accident. But, there are a couple of important factors on which the investigators must look into.”
According to the sources, the accident occurred during reciprocal landing of the twin-engine Super King aircraft, when it hit a tree, then crashed with a boundary wall and landed in a sewage treatment plant near T3 Terminal of the Indira Gandhi International airport.
22/12/15 Debobrat Ghose/F.India

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Air Odisha gets DGCA nod for inter-State flight service from Jan next

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation regulator, has given its nod to Air Odisha for inter-state flight service in Odisha. With the DGCA giving its approval, the flier would now run regular flights.

Air Odisha had started the trial run of its flight last Sunday. A three-member team from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) headed by Subodh Gangwani, a senior flight operations inspector, was on board during the airworthiness test.

According to the proposed schedule, the nine-seat small aircraft would fly to five destinations from Biju Patnaik International Airport here in a day. It would go to Jharsuguda en route Sambalpur in the morning.
23/12/15 Prameya News 7

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Kannur airport trial landing in January

Minister for Airports, Ports and Excise K. Babu on Tuesday said that trial landings at the Kannur international airport will commence in January.

Speaking to journalists here, he said that incessant rain had impeded tarmac surfacing causing the delay. The State government has approached the Union Civil Aviation Ministry for early trial runs. It had completed the airport in a record two years.

The local panchayat had thrown the spanner in the works by denying sanction to blast a granite formation in the runway area. The government surmounted the obstacle by using the executive authority of the district Collector.

The Fisheries Department will start an institution to train children from the fisherfolk community to effectively compete in civil service, UPSC, PSC and bank examinations. The proposed Rajiv Gandhi Knowledge Centre for Higher Studies and Research will come up at Maradu in Ernakulam. Fisheries University Vice Chancellor Victor George will head the institution.
23/12/15 The Hindu

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