Showing posts with label Airports Feb 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Feb 2010. Show all posts

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Airport security personnel to undergo special training

New Delhi: With the emergence of new kinds of threats to aviation security, all personnel involved in ensuring safety of aircraft and airports across the country will undergo special training from next month.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) would impart training in batches on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and bomb threat contingency plan to security personnel deployed by airport operators, airlines, air traffic controllers and forces like the CISF, official sources said here.
28/02/10 Press Trust of India

Yeddyurappa to discuss flight services from Mysore with Praful

Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today said he would soon discuss with Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel about starting flight services from Mysore airport.
Speaking to newspersons at Suttur village near here, he said even though the facilities were upgraded at the airport, the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Airport Authority of India have to complete the formalities and accord permission for flight operation. Stating that works in the airport were expected to be completed in six months, the Chief Minister said appropriate steps for making the airport operational would be taken up after holding a detailed discussion with the Civil Aviation Minister.
28/02/10 Mangalorean.com

Raytheon bags contract to automate ATC for Chennai airport

New Delhi: US communication and aviation company Raytheon has won a contract to automate air traffic control services at the Chennai International Airport.
The company will install its next-generation air traffic management system AutoTrac III which is expected to help reduce delays in aircraft arrival and departure, a company release said here.
The new system will also have real-time meteorological information to assist air traffic controllers in adjusting to changing weather conditions, it said.In addition to the Chennai International Airport, Raytheon is also upgrading air traffic management systems at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai and at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
28/02/10 PTI/Deccan Herald

Air China lands at BIA

Bangalore is now connected directly to China by air. The first flight of Air China, China’s national carrier, landed at the Bengaluru International Airport here late Saturday night. The Boeing 757 aircraft had taken off from the Chinese IT hub of Chengdu.
The first flight from Bangalore to Shanghai via Chengdu will take off from BIA on Sunday.
The Air China service will fly twice a week; on every Thursday and Sunday from Bangalore to Shanghai via Chengdu.
The airline is offering exclusive promotional fares starting from Rs 20,625 for a return ticket for a booking period from February 28 to May 31.
27/02/10 Deccan Herald

Zambian national held with cocaine worth Rs 2 crore

Mumbai: City airport officials today handed over a Zambian national to the Customs authorities after a baggage scanner detected cocaine worth Rs 2 crore concealed in her baggage, an official said.
"Security personnel today detected a passenger carrying cocaine worth Rs 2 crore," a Mumbai International Airport Limited spokesperson said.
The matter was immediately reported to the Air Intelligence Unit and customs authorities, the spokesperson said
According to MIAL, the Zambian national, Matapo Ajar Twambo, was flying to Lusaka via Addis Ababa by Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 611.
27/02/10 Press Trust of India

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Drugs seized at Agartala Airport

Agartala: Bottles of Phensydril are being smuggled from Delhi to Agartala Airport. The smuggling, which has been taking place over the years, came to light Thursday after recovery of 4,000 bottles of the banned cough syrup at the Airport.
Following a tip-off, the OC of Airport police station Siddhartha Sankar Kar along with staff on Tuesday rushed to the Airport around 2 pm. As the Agartala-bound Indigo flight touched down around 2.15 pm, the police intensified vigil at the Cargo Base. Around 2.30 pm, they found eight trunks were lying at the Cargo Base.
On suspicion, the police wanted to know what were inside the eight trunks but did not get any satisfactory answer from the authority concerned. Later, the trunks were opened and eighty cartons of Phensydril were found inside. However, no arrest was made because there was no claimant of the cartons.
The big question now is how the consignment of the banned cough syrup, treated as narcotics got the security clearance from the Delhi Airport where passengers as well as cargo have to go through a series of security checks.
26/02/10 Assam Tribune

Nude man gets on IGI runway, forces plane to abort landing

Delhi: In a major security lapse that caused a scare at the high security Indira Gandhi International Airport, a man — reportedly drunk — scaled the airport’s wall and entered the airside around 8 pm on Friday.
As a result, the air traffic control (ATC) forced a domestic flight arriving from Hyderabad to abort landing at the last moment on runway 29.
The ATC also asked the planes lined up for landing to change their position and land on the main runway 28 instead.
The man was spotted roaming around at taxiway Z, near runway 29, by an airport jeep.
“The man, identified as Arun Rai, a resident of Begusarai in Bihar, was spotted by a ‘follow me’ jeep. He has been detained and we are investigating the case,” said a CISF spokesman.
27/02/10 Hindustan Times

Sriperumbudur airport may not take off

Chennai: The much-expected second airport at Sriperumbudur may not take off as both the Centre and the state government are preparing to shelve the project.
Even as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has undertaken a techno-economic feasibility study of the project, a senior official in the Union civil aviation ministry said that the government is convinced that there is no urgent need for a second airport in the city, as the existing airport at Meenambakkam is being expanded.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is spending Rs 3,800 crore on the expansion works including construction of a new terminal and laying of a secondary runway, which are expected to be completed by April 2011. Confirming the development, sources in the state government pointed out that many major cities across the world were operating with one airport and the present air traffic in the city could not justify a second airport.
As per the condition for setting up the second airport, the state government has to acquire about 5,000 acres of land and hand it over to the AAI free of cost. "It may entail expenditure between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000 crore which the state government may not be ready to shell out," the sources added. The officials also argued that if private operators had to be brought in, the existing airport should be closed down as in the case of Bangalore and Hyderabad.
27/02/10 Ajitha Karthikeyan/Times of India

Rs.120.50 crore estimated for airports in north-east

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday earmarked Rs.120.50 crore for airports development in Northeastern India.
Delivering Budget address in the Lok Sabha, Mukherjee said: "The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been provided with a budgetary support of Rs.600.50 crore out of which Rs.120.50 crore has been earmarked for development of airports in North-Eastern States."
"The remaining Rs.480 crore is for the development of airports in other crucial areas like Leh, Ajmer, Agatti, Port Blair, Tirupati, Pudducherry etc. and the satellite based navigation project (GAGAN)," he added.
A provision of Rs.40 crore has been made for development of a helipad at Rohini in the National Capital Region of Delhi and for helicopter training institute and heliport in Pune by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd.
26/02/10 ANI/Sify.com

9 loaders of Mumbai airport arrested for mobile, cash theft

Mumbai: In two separate cases, nine loaders were arrested for allegedly stealing mobile phones from a consignment at cargo terminal and Rs 2 lakh cash from a passenger at Mumbai International Airport premises, police said here today.The seven accused stole 50 mobile phones from a consignment put up in the cargo warehouse to be exported to London in the first week of December.However, when the consignment of 200 Samsung marine mobiles by Chirag Corporation landed at its destination, 50 mobiles collectively worth Rs two lakh were discovered missing. Based on International Mobile Equipment Identification numbers of the stolen mobiles, police traced some of the mobiles in use, which led to the arrest of the accused. In another case, proprietor of travel agency Akbar Travels K V Abdul boarded an Air India flight to Cochin from the airport on February 15. On reaching Cochin, he found Rs two lakh cash missing from his bag. "During the probe, we recently nailed Jagdish Keer and Ganesh Khedekar, who admitted to have stolen the cash while loading Abdul's luggage," the DCP said.
26/02/10 Times of India

Trader held at Airport

Srinagar: The recently established Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Income Tax department Friday arrested a trader Rajeev Arora of Amritsar for carrying unaccounted money worth Rs 55 lakhs.
The IT officials said Arora was detained while he was to board a flight. “From his possession we recovered cheques and cash worth Rs 55 lakhs,” they said.
Arora told IT officials that he had collected it from the green tea traders here.
Income tax Officer Satbir Singh told Rising Kashmir that the trader could not give details about the amount and cheques seized from his possession.
“He was carrying 13 lakhs in cash and cheques worth 42 lakhs without any proper billing or receipts. Besides, he was carrying the bearer cheques, which could be cashed by any person,” he said.
26/02/10 Rising Kashmir

Friday, February 26, 2010

Call to bring CIAL under RTI Act

Aluva: The office-bearers of Shareholders’ Organisation of Cochin International Airport Limited have condemned the attitude of the airport management in preventing the public, including shareholders, from getting details of appointments, award of contracts and issuance of shares at the CIAL through the Right To Information (RTI) Act.
The office-bearers of the Shareholders’ Organisation said there was large-scale corruption at the CIAL. The land for the airport was acquired from poor farmers by paying marginal compensation. The State Government and the Airport Society (present CIAL) had promised that those who surrendered their lands and houses for the construction of the airport, would be given jobs according to their qualification.
The CIAL management reportedly refused to appoint deserving persons who surrendered their land for the airport. Meanwhile, many persons are being appointed through the backdoor, said association vice-president A K Nazeer.Contract works are being awarded to binamis and those close to directors and officers.
The shareholders’ organisation will resort to legal measures to bring the CIAL under the purview of the RTI Act so that the details of corruption could be exposed and prevented, said Nishad Ali, executive committee member of the association.
26/02/10 ExpressBuzz

'Mentally unstable' passenger refuses to deplane in Mumbai

Mumbai: The Delhi-Mumbai Kingfisher flight landed at the Mumbai airport at about 7.30pm. After all the passengers alighted, the crew noticed that one man, Gurpreet Singh, 35, was still in the aircraft.
When the crew requested him to vacate the plane, Singh didn’t utter a word and refused to budge from his seat. The crew then called the duty manager, who realised that the man was mentally unstable. When the manger touched Singh’s hand, he realised that he (Singh) was also running a fever.
After much coaxing, Singh finally agreed to leave the aircraft. Suddenly he turned around and slapped the manager and tried to jump from the aerobridge. The manager with the help of other crew members managed to overpower him and handed him over to the CISF.
While the CISF personnel were escorting Singh to the Santa Cruz airport police station, he fainted. However, sources at the police station claim that he was only pretending. The drama lasted for about half an hour.
26/02/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

Army officers came to recevie Captain's body turned away by CISF at IGI

New Delhi: A group of army officers in uniform were turned away by the CISF at the Delhi airport when they arrived to receive the body of one of their personnel killed in a gun battle with terrorists in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir.
Citing security issues, the CISF did not allow a major general, a brigadier on wheelchair and six colonels to proceed when they came to receive the body of Captain Devender Singh Jass. Captain Jass of the elite 1 Para Special Forces was one of the personnel killed in the Sopore gunbattle.
The officers were heard pleading with the assistant commandant in charge of security, saying: "All of us are in uniform and you can see our two identity cards - of the army and defence ministry. We request you to let us in even after frisking."
But the CISF personnel refused. The wheelchair-bound brigadier then pointed to his Kirti Chakra, India's second-highest gallantry award, and requested the CISF personnel to let them inside. But even that didn't work.
Civil aviation ministry officials were approached but they too refused to help. After over an hour, the officers handed the flowers they had brought to the relatives of Captain Jass and left.
25/02/10 Sandeep Unnithan/India Today

Fog delays over 50 flights at IGI

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi International Airport suffered two hours of CAT-III dense fog on Thursday morning, affecting flight schedules that forced at least eight diversions and delayed over 50 flights.
“The airport suffered CAT-III dense fog on both runways from 7.30 am till 9.30 am on Thursday. The runway visibility during the period remained below 200 m,” Director-in-charge of IGI Met Department, R K Jenamani, said, adding that the fog could be attributed to the slight rainfall early this week.
Low visibility procedures had to be implemented at the IGI Airport around 7.30 am and nearly 56 flights operated under Category III conditions, airport officials said.
26/02/10 Indian Express

Radar system at CIAL soon

Nedumbassery: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will sign an MoU on Thursday to sort out various issues, including installation of a radar at the airport.
CIAL MD C G Krishnadas Nair and Chhatwal, Member (Finance), AAI, are expected to sign the agreement in this regard.
The AAI and the CIAL were engaged in discussions on settling issues regarding sharing of terminal and route navigational fee and infrastructure charges for the past ten years. The navigational fee was collected by CIAL till 2006 and then the AAI started collecting it. The CIAL demanded rent for the building used by AAI in connection with its operational activities at the Kochi Airport, it is learnt. The issue of rent has been preventing the AAI from installing radar facility at the airport. Once the MoU is signed, the scope for installation of radar at the airport will brighten. The AAI is expected to spend around Rs 25 crore for installation of the radar, which will enhance the accuracy of aircraft movements and operational efficacy of AAI.
25/02/10 ExpressBuzz

Gavin Mckechnie to leave Delhi International Airport; Romy Juneja steps into commercial role

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) Chief Commercial Officer Gavin Mckechnie is leaving the company to explore other opportunities.
The Scot, who joined the GMR-led company in 2008, has been a key figure in the development of the new Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport, which is due to open in July. He is understood to be intent on staying in the airports business.
Mckechnie will be replaced as Chief Commercial Officer by Romy Juneja, formerly Head – Commercial Retail. Juneja has over 22 years of leadership experience in high-growth retail, mobile and FMCG companies. He founded MobileNXT, a chain of retail stores for mobile phones and telecom solutions, later selling it to Gitanjali Lifestyle in March 2009.
25/02/10 Martin Moodie/The Moodie Report

Qatar Airways launches flights to Bangalore in 2010 expansion plan

Dubai: Qatar Airways on Wednesday embarked on its 2010 global expansion programme with the launch of scheduled flights to the southern Indian city of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore).
Flight QR226 arrived in the country's IT capital city — dubbed India's Silicon Valley — in the early hours of Tuesday morning following its maiden non-stop overnight journey from the airline's hub of Doha, capital of Qatar.
Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, becomes the first of several new route launches planned by Qatar Airways this year.
Scheduled flights are set to be introduced to Copenhagen on March 30; Ankara on April 5; Tokyo on April 26; Barcelona on June 7 and Sydney at a date to be confirmed, together with a raft of capacity increases on many other routes worldwide.
The launch of daily flights to Bengaluru takes Qatar Airways' Indian capacity up to 71 services a week to 11 key cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Cochin, Kozhikode, Goa and Amritsar.
26/02/10 Gulf News.com, UAE

IGI The ‘Best Improved Airport’ Of Asia-Pacific Region: ACI

New Delhi: India’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport has been adjudged the ‘best improved airport’ in terms of quality of services in the Asia-Pacific region by an international body.
The airport, which handles around 24 million passengers per year, was also ranked fourth in the category of airports witnessing 15 to 25 million footfalls by Switzerland-based Airport Council International (ACI) for the year 2009.
The ACI every year conducts survey of the airport service quality (ASQ) of 1,633 airports in 179 countries.
“The airport’s ASQ rating has improved from 3.02 in 2006 to 4.16 in 2009 on a scale of 5,” a spokesperson of DIAL, a GMR-led consortium that operates the airport, said.
The ACI has identified various factors essential for high customer service ratings including ambiance, cleanliness of terminals, comfort of the waiting areas, availability of washrooms, cleanliness of washrooms, helpfulness of the airport staff, passport or identity inspection experience and good shopping facilities.
25/02/10 India Journal

Mumbai International Airport receives Emirates' first luxury lounge in India

Dubai: Passengers from Mumbai can now enjoy Emirates trademark service on the ground, as well as in the air, following the airline's inauguration of its first dedicated passenger lounge on the Indian Subcontinent at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
The Emirates Lounge in Mumbai is the first to be opened by an international carrier in India.
Offering passengers the latest in convenience, comfort and luxury whilst on the move, the lounge will play host to all Emirates First and Business Class passengers as well as Skywards Gold members.
25/02/10 Zawya

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Promise of plot raises MIAL’s integrated terminal hopes

Mumbai: The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) can now look forward to complete the construction of the integrated terminal-II of the Mumbai airport after Air India (AI) agreed to hand over 40 acres of land to it, said MIAL sources.
According to AI sources, though AI and MIAL are yet to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the airlines’ board on Saturday agreed to hand over the land to MIAL.
Air India officials categorically denied that they had yielded to any pressure to give up a portion of the land without accepting appropriate compensation. Air India owns over 200 acres of land in Sahar, Kalina and Santa Cruz areas of the airport.
“We have given the land as central government has approved the construction of the terminal II. The infrastructure of Air India is situated next to the proposed terminal,” said Arvind Jadhav, CMD, Air India.
25/02/10 Indian Express

Suriya to don Commando's role in 'Kandahar'

After Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, Tamil star Suriya has given his nod to act in the Malayalam film 'Kandahar', based on the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight to Afghanistan in 1999, along with Mohanlal.
Suriya will don a commando's role in the film, its director Major Ravi told us.
"It would take another 3-4 months for the shooting to begin. I am still in the process of getting permission from the Army and selection of locations etc. The spade work is going on," he said.
Bachchan, who will be playing the role of the father of a hijack victim, will be making his appearance in the second half of the film. Major Ravi denied that Bachchan's role was only a guest appearance. The story line was narrated to the Big B during his visit to Kerala earlier this month and he liked it and readily gave his nod.
Resul Pookutty, who won the Oscar in 'Slumdog Millionaire', is likely to mix the sound for the film. The female lead has not yet been decided, Ravi said.
25/02/10 PTI/MSN.com

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A mixture of 'physics and romance' for plane-spotters

For most of us an aeroplane is a mere means of transportation, a prosaic and functional method by which we can travel around the world in a matter of hours.
But for some, planes are a source of magic and wonder, a fascinating beast conveniently supplied with serial numbers and a traceable history just dying to be logged and discussed among like-minded folk.
And so there is a breed of aeroplane enthusiast, who stands out for long hours in all weathers at the edge of airports and in line with screaming flight paths, hoping that a certain type of aircraft will thunder overhead, allowing another mechanical beast to be added to their collection of visual contacts.
People have been looking up planes for a long time, of course, but plane spotters are once again back in the news after Stephen Hampton and Steven Ayres, from Bristol, were charged with intercepting communications in India.
They have been released on bail and have had their court case adjourned until 3 March.
And 12 plane-spotters from the UK were among a group of 14 who were arrested in Greece in 2002 and charged with spying, but were later acquitted.
Troy Kaser is a 34-year-old plane-spotter who gives extensive mention on his personal blog about a day spent at Heathrow Airport looking at aircraft coming in to land.
Originally from Florida, he has been living in Ealing, London, for more than three years, and said his interest in spotting planes stemmed from his previous job.
"I used to work for the Expedia travel company and so I used to travel a great deal.
"You get to see the minute adjustments a pilot makes as he's coming into land. And there's a mystery of the physics of aircraft, combined with the romance of travel.
Peter Field, 33, is a pilot with the bmibaby airline, who flies around the UK and on flights across Europe.
He is in the enviable position of having combined his passion for plane-spotting with his job.
"It's the same as people collecting stamps - I just collect tail numbers.
"The equipment I carry is getting heavier. I've got a telescope - which raises eyebrows when you get it out in the middle of Chicago airport. I also have binoculars, a laptop for the tailfin database, a book and pen and a camera with lenses.
Levent Bergkotte is a 33-year-old Dutchman who lives in Geneva but is on a day trip to Toulouse in France when he agrees to be interviewed, spelling his name using the phonetic alphabet in the manner of any good plane enthusiast.
"There are different types of spotters," he said. "Some are into military aircraft but my interest is civil aviation.
24/02/10 Mario Cacciottolo/BBC News

Hotel room recommended by friend to Brits for view

New Delhi: The two British plane spotters, arrested in Delhi last week, were asked by one of their friends from Bristol to hire a particular room at Radisson Hotel because it gave them a better view for aircraft spotting. The friend, Kevin Stokes, along with another person, Alastair James Huggins, had stayed in the same room (No 464) for three days in January from where the two —Steven Martin Ayres (55) and Stephen Hampston (46) — were held.
Speaking to TOI over phone, Hampston refused to comment on the case. ‘‘I do not want to make any comment till the court case is over,’’ he said. Police said he had called up his home and broke down while narrating his ordeal.
He and Ayres had been booked under the Indian Telegraph Act and were on Tuesday granted bail by a Delhi court. They were charged with carrying an SBS 1ER, popularly known as S BOX, which monitors and records the movement of aircraft. After recording the details of the aircraft like altitude, call sign etc., they used to decode the information on their laptop with the help of a software called Base Station, which can be easily downloaded from the internet.
The court asked the accused not to leave India without prior permission from it. Their passports have been returned to them.
Both are employed with First Great Western Railways Limited in Bristol. Hampston belongs to Keynsham in Bristol and works as a railway conductor while Ayres works at St Philip’s Marsh. Police said Ayres was not carrying any mobile phone and had only a pair of binoculars and a notepad.
24/02/10 Rahul Tripathi/Times of India

Cargo plane lands with AK-47 rifles from Dubai

Chennai: A mysterious consignment of 10 AK-47 rifles along with telescopes landed here in a cargo plane three days ago and now security agencies are hot on trail of a man from Uttar Pradesh.
Yusuf, a resident of Varanasi and a Customs Clearing agent here, is on the run and the police are looking for him after a person to whom the cargo was addressed claimed he had nothing to do with it. The cargo plane from Dubai landed at Anna International Airport on February 20 and the consignment including 10 rifle scope was marked for a person identified as Vijayan, official sources said here today.
23/02/10 Press Trust of India

New ground handling policy yet to take off

Mumbai: After being deferred thrice last year, the new ground handling policy, which was due in January 2010, will now take at least six months to come into effect, say sources in the civil aviation ministry. Till then, private carriers can carry on with their individual ground handling at major airports. The ground handling market is pegged at Rs 2,000 crore annually. Under the new policy, only flag carrier Air India, the airport operator and a third private operator will be allowed to provide ground handling services.
Ground handling includes general administration, baggage, freight and mail handling, loading and unloading of aircraft and transport of crew, passengers and baggage, fuel and oil handling and catering services.
The new policy has already been approved by the Parliament in 2007 but has been deferred time and again due to opposition from airline operators who currently manage their own services. Airlines feel outsourcing the services will render thousands working with them unemployed and would also increase their cost by atleast 30%.
At a time when cost saving is considered a saving grace for airlines, outsourcing ground handling is unacceptable. Even airport operators like the Airports Authority of India see ground handling as an additional revenue source. The combined annual revenue from ground handling services at the six metro airports like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad etc is estimated at Rs 500-600 crore.
24/02/10 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

Uttar Pradesh for international airport in Greater Noida only

Lucknow: A delegation of MPs from Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) met Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in New Delhi Tuesday to press the state’s demand for building a new international airport in Greater Noida, officials said here.
“A delegation of MPs gave a memorandum to the union civil aviation minister today in New Delhi, urging him to give due consideration to the state government’s proposal for creating an international airport at Jewar, where we have already identified sufficient land for the purpose,” state Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told IANS.
The MPs were stated to have impressed upon Patel that the proposed international airport could be the best alternative to the New Delhi airport, which was “completely saturated”, he added.
Meanwhile, Singh refuted a report appearing in a section of the media about the state’s decision to shift the site of the proposed international airport from Jewar to Meerut.
“What we propose to do in Meerut was expansion of the existing airstrip there into a full fledged domestic airport to cater to the increasing demand of the local population,” Singh sought to clarify.
23/02/10 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

DoNER planning study on roadmap for air connectivity in NE

New Delhi: The Minister DoNER is contemplating a study on roadmap for air connectivity in the Northeastern region in consultation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The study would include viability of air connectivity within the Northeastern region (NER) and linking airports within the region to other metros, said Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha un-starred question by Kumar Deepak Das.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) is taking up the upgradation and modernisation of infrastructure facilities at the airports in NER in a phased manner, said Patel.
The Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal and Dimapur airports are included in the list of 35 non-metro airports to be developed in the first phase, he said.
On making Guwahati airport an air-hub, the Minister said that AAI is making additional apron for parking of 11 aircraft, which could be used by airlines for night parking.
The Minister, however, claimed that all scheduled operators were complying with Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDGs). Directorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) is monitoring the compliance on monthly basis, the Civil Aviation Minister said.
23/02/10 Assam Tribune

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

British plane spotters granted bail

Two British plane spotters are facing up to three years in prison after pleading guilty to monitoring aircraft in India.
The two men, named by the Foreign Office as Steven Ayers, 55, and Stephen Hampton, 46, admitted breaching the Telegraph Act at Patiala house court in Delhi today.
The pair had been held at the New Delhi immigration centre, but have been granted bail and will appear in court again on 3 March.
Ayers and Hampton, both railway workers, were detained on 15 February after travelling to Delhi to monitor aircraft at the city's international airport.
New Delhi Television reported that they had been charged under Sections 4 and 20 of the Telegraph Act, which states that "only licensed persons may operate a telegraph on ships and aircraft".
Hampton's local MP, Dan Norris, said today the men could face anything from a fine to three years imprisonment. He said the judge's concern was that the pair could have used their receiver to interfere with communications between pilots and the control tower.
Hampton, from Keynsham, near Bristol, is understood to have been using a SBS-1eR receiver, described as "a secondary surveillance radar receiver, with a built-in airband radio", manufactured by a British aviation company, Kinetic Avionics.
The company's chief executive, David Goodman, said it would be capable of intercepting communication, but could not communicate with either pilots or air traffic control.
"It receives aircraft transponder signals which either a) identify the fact there is an aircraft within reception range; or b) with more modern aircraft, display the flight and progress of the aircraft," he said.
"The built-in radio allows the enthusiasts to listen to the conversation between aircraft to air and aircraft to ground, as do about 300 other makes of aircraft scanner currently made in the UK."
Bail, which was set at 10,000 rupees (£140) each, has been paid by Kinetic Avionics, in a move Goodman described as "simply a matter of goodwill".
He said the company would assist with the pair's legal costs.
23/02/10 Adam Gabbatt/Guardian.co.uk

British plane-spotters facing three years in an Indian prison

Two British plane spotters detained in Delhi could face up to three years in prison after they were charged with illegally intercepting communications between pilots and airport authorities.
Stephen Hampton, 46, and Steven Ayres, 56, were detained last Monday at the Radisson hotel, near Delhi’s international airport, after staff grew suspicious and contacted police.
The two railway workers from Bristol had requested a room overlooking the terminal and police found them in possession of a map of the airport, a radio scanner, cameras and binoculars, according to local media reports.
The Radisson is mentioned as one of the best places in the Indian capital to watch planes on the website plane-spotting-hotels.com.
The pair were questioned in the hotel by the Intelligence Bureau, Delhi police and the National Investigation Agency for two days, then sent to the Lampur detention centre just outside Delhi. The British High Commission told The Times they had been charged under the Indian Telegraph Act, which regulates the use of telecommunications equipment, and were being provided with consular assistance.
They are not suspected of involvement with terrorist groups and are set to be bailed in the next few days, but they could still face up to three years in prison if they are convicted.
It is not the first time British plane spotters have broken the law overseas: in 2000, 12 were arrested in Greece for monitoring planes at an Air Force Day function. They were charged with espionage and faced 20-year prison terms but after six weeks the charges were reduced and they were released pending appeals.
23/02/10 Times Online, UK

Wife Of Bristol Plane Spotter Held In India 'Anxious and Devastated'

The wife of one of the Bristol plane spotters being held in India says she's anxious and devastated that her husband still hasn't been released.
Dorothy Ayres has also criticised the authorities over the lack of information she and her family have been given about what's going on.
Stephen Hampton from Keynsham and Steven Ayres from St George were arrested last week and charged under the Telegraph Act with illegally intercepting communications between pilots and airport authorities.
The pair, who regularly go on plane spotting trips, apparently raised suspicions amongst staff at their hotel in New Delhi after asking for a room overlooking the nearby airport.
They're due to appear in court today and are thought to be being kept at a deportation centre at the moment.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office yesterday said that the British Consulate was in contact with the two men and also said their families were being kept up to date with developments.
23/02/10 Jack FM, Bristol, UK

AAI rejects Kingfisher's plea to lower interest rate

Mumbai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has rejected Vijay Mallaya-owned Kingfisher Airlines' request to lower interest rate on dues amounting to Rs 140 crore, a senior official today said.
"Kingfisher Airlines owes us around Rs 140 crore. The airline had requested us to lower the interest rate which has been turned down," AAI Chairman V P Agarwal told PTI here.
The Vijay Mallya-owned private air carrier had asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to lower the interest rate, charged by the Authority on the principal amount.The dues are for a period of up to January, Agarwal said.
22/02/10 Press Trust of India

IGI runway tunnel waits for funds

New Delhi: Passengers looking forward to flying in and out of a world-class terminal (T3) at IGI Airport from July may have to bear with a long and tortuous crawl to the new facility. The government's ambitious plan to build a link road to T3 from near the domestic airport under IGI's main runway in time for the October Commonwealth Games is now seriously threatened by a delay in release of funds.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had in mid-January asked the Delhi government to immediately release half the cost of the Rs 70-crore project so that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) could begin preparatory work for the first of its kind under-runway tunnel road in India. While more than a month has passed, the money for this extremely critical connectivity link to T3 is nowhere on the radar. Now a worried AAI chairman V P Agrawal has written to Delhi's chief secretary Rakesh Mehta to expedite the release of funds so that the six-lane, toll-free tunnel road does not get delayed.
Mehta says that the fund has to come from the Union ministry of surface transport's central road fund and not the Delhi government's kitty. "We have written to the ministry to release the funds and give them to AAI. We'll remind them again to do it," Mehta said. Top AAI officials say they will not be able to ask DMRC to begin work till the money comes.
22/02/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Indian National Arrested With 7kg of Ketamine Drug

Jakarta: An Indian national was arrested at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport on Monday for carrying seven kilograms of ketamine hidden in 10 wooden frames and in the sides of six leather briefcases.
The airport’s head of custom investigations told Kompas.com on Tuesday that the suspect had arrived from Singapore at 2 p.m. on Monday afternon on a Singapore Airlines flight.
Gatot said that under the 2009 Health Law, the suspect could be sentenced for up to 15 years imprisonment.
23/02/10 Jakarta Globe, Indonesia

Monday, February 22, 2010

Police book Britishers detained for recording pilots' conversation

New Delhi: Police today booked two British "plane spotters" who were detained for allegedly recording conversations between pilots and Air Traffic Control, a week after they were detained in the capital.
Stephen Hampston (46) and Steve Martin (55) were detained on February 15 night at Radisson Hotel after its staff reported to police that they were found indulging in "suspicious activities".
"We have registered a case against them. They have been charged under Telegraph Act under Section 20 (read with Section 4)," Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Ajay Kashyap told PTI.
If convicted, the duo will have to serve a prison term of up to three years, or with fine extending to up to Rs1,000, or with both. However, the offence which they committed comes under bailable and non-cognisable offences.
According to Section 20 of Telegraph Act, if any person establishes, maintains or works a telegraph within the country in contravention of the provisions of Section 4 which allows only licenced ones to establish, maintain or work a telegraph, be it on ships and aircraft, he shall be punished.
The Britons, who are employed with the UK Railways, were confined to Radisson Hotel near the international airport here from Monday night and were shifted to Lampur Detention Centre on February 17 after detention orders.
The Union home ministry had asked Delhi Police to find out the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act violated by the Britishers and if so directed them to book the duo.
21/02/10 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

German union strike hits fliers

Calcutta: Hundreds of fliers to Europe from Calcutta will be grounded or forced to rejig their travel schedules this week, thanks to a strike called by a German pilots’ union — not known to owe allegiance to either the CPM or the Trinamul Congress — starting Monday.
The four-day walkout by Lufthansa pilots to participate in a strike for pay hike called by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has sent schedules haywire, denying Calcutta its sole direct air link with Europe.
Lufthansa operates three flights in a week from Calcutta — on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
“The Frankfurt-Calcutta flight and the one out of Calcutta on Tuesday have been cancelled. The status of Thursday’s flight is uncertain,” a Lufthansa official said on Sunday.
“Passengers booked on a Lufthansa flight between February 22 and 25 can rebook free of charge on another Lufthansa flight if they wish to change their travel plans, provided their ticket was issued before February 18, the new travel date is before March 31 and no change is made in their departure and arrival destination,” said an official statement issued by Lufthansa.
“Should the purpose of a journey become null and void because of a flight cancellation, passengers can annul their flight booking free of charge,” the statement added.
22/02/10 The Telegraph

Star Aviation looks at GMR for sale

Chennai: Star Aviation, the country's first regional airline to get a licence in 2007 but yet to launch service, has initiated sale talks with the GMR group of Hyderabad. The Dubai-based ETA-owned airline, promoted by NRI Syed M Salahuddin, is also in talks with Kalanithi Maran of Sun Network but sources say it has come a cropper.
Sources said that Maran could pick up a stake in SpiceJet from domestic mutual funds which bought 13% in the airline when Istitmar exited on February 5. However, Sun officials maintain that the deal with Star Aviation has not been called off, as yet.
Meanwhile, Star Aviation officials have started talks with the GMR group, which manages the IGI Airport in Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul.
"ETA (Star Aviation's promoter) itself will do it (talk to GMR Group). We plan to start the first flight sometime in June this year. We have the necessary permissions from the civil aviation ministry and have recently renewed our licences. We will be plying on the regional routes,"Star Aviation CEO T V Durairaj said.
21/02/10 Rajesh Chandramouli & T K Rohit/Times of India

Layout plan of Chandigarh International Airport ready

Chandigarh: A month after construction work of the Chandigarh International Airport in Mohali started, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has come up with the layout plan of the international airport.
According to the layout plan, the airport will have a single 10,000 feet runway, with provision of extending it if required. This runway will be used both by the existing Chandigarh airport and the upcoming airport in Mohali — the Chandigarh airport will be integrated with the Chandigarh International Airport.
At present, the Chandigarh airport is being upgraded; work is likely to complete by June this year.
According to the plan, the airport in Mohali will have a taxi track parallel to the runway and leading to the apron from three different places. The apron will have parking capacity of 20 wide-bodied Boeing aircraft, which will be parked parallel to the runway.
The taxi track will also lead to two aprons for two category ‘C’ type aircraft (smaller aircraft), along with a link taxi way to the cargo terminal.
22/02/10 RituSharma/Indian Express

SriLankan Air to fly to Kochi

SriLankan Airlines, the emerald isle’s flag carrier, plans to increase its flights to India this year.
The carrier will add a flight to Kochi from Colombo, and is evaluating flights to Hyderabad andother destinations in the south, said Mohamed Fazeel, head of worldwide sales. It plans to start eight more flights from India this year. The carrier has ordered two Airbus A320s, which will be delivered this year.
SriLankan currently flies to four Indian cities — Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore. Passenger load factor for flights from India stood at 85% for December and January, Fazeel said, while global load factor was 78%.
The breakeven load factor was 74%. FY10 load factor numbers were unavailable as the airline is readying for the close of its financial year on March 31. The airline reported a loss of 9.3 billion Sri Lankan rupees (approx Rs 375 crore) for FY09, on the back of a 72.85% load factor.
The airline operates an all-Airbus fleet of 12 aircraft — five A340s, four A330s and three A320s. It plans to refurbish its widebody aircraft later this year. Among the planned refurbishment is the introduction of sleeper beds in premium class cabins.
22/02/10 Mandar Bakre/Daily News & Analysis

Sunday, February 21, 2010

BAPL may begin work on India's first aerotropolis in March

New Delhi: Work on the first-ever aerotropolis project in the country is likely to begin in April with the Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) awaiting the lease of additional land near Durgapur in West Bengal by March.
Besides an airport complex, the aerotropolis or an airport city would have residential areas, related facilities and industrial parks, including a 'Solar Valley' which would be a solar power equipment manufacturing hub.
The BAPL, which has received a total of 1,049 acres of land including the requisite 650 acres for the airport, is awaiting another tranche of 777 acres of land from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) that is also associated with the mega project.
The land is being given to BAPL through a 99-year lease agreement signed between BAPL and WBIDC.
"We will start construction as soon as we get this additional land, hopefully by mid-March. We hope to sign the lease agreement (for 777 acres) by the month end," BAPL CEO Subrata Paul said.
Singapore's Changi Airport International, which holds a 26 per cent stake in BAPL, has prepared the concept design and the master-plan of the airport complex and has prepared the Request for Proposal (RFP) document for engineering, design and building the project on a turnkey basis, he said.
The global bids on the RFP were floated on December 14 and the deadline for submission is March 9. The selected bidder would have to plan, design and construct the entire airport complex, including the terminal, tarmac, ATC tower and fire stations, Paul said.
21/02/10 PTI/Times of India

India police release plane spotters

Two plane spotters questioned by Indian police about monitoring communications between pilots and air traffic controllers have been released without charge, the Foreign Office said.
Stephen Hampton and Steven Ayres were arrested on suspicion of monitoring flights at Delhi International Airport last Monday.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokeswoman said it was informed of their release and added: "We can confirm that both British nationals, Stephen Hampton and Steven Ayres, have been cleared and the case is now closed.
Mr Hampton, a railway worker, and Mr Ayres, both from Bristol, aroused suspicion after asking a Delhi hotel for a room overlooking a runway.
20/02/10 Belfast Telegraph, UK

Close shave for passengers as JetLite tyre bursts

Nagpur: All the 120 passengers on JetLite's Mumbai-Nagpur S2 112 flight had a providential escape on Saturday morning after one of the tyres on the nose-wheel deflated upon landing safely at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport.
"All the passengers are safe as the incident happened while the plane was taxiing towards the bay," said a JetLite spokesperson.
"The plane landed at its usual time at 8.25am but the return flight had to be rescheduled for 3.15pm." Since a spare tyre was not available at Nagpur, JetLite had to procure it from Bengaluru. "Due to this there was a six-hour delay on the return leg," added the spokesperson.
One of the passengers, requesting anonymity, told TOI that though the landing was safe it didn't seem "normal". "While on the bus to the terminus, I saw a pilot indicating to the technical staff to look at one of the nose-wheel tyres," he said.
"That's when I realised there was some problem." Airport sources confirmed that the commander of the plane noticed the deflated tyre only after landing.
21/02/10 Times of India

Navy to begin expansion at Dabolim

Panaji: The Indian Navy has decided to go ahead with its expansion plans at the Dabolim airport. Preparations are under way to build a Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) which will be used by its Light Combat Aircrafts (LCAs) and MiG 29K fighter jets.
The SBTF, which is being set up at the naval station INS Hansa, is meant to train fighter pilots before they attempt take-off and landing on aircraft carriers.
Giving mediapersons a brief synopsis a day before the MiG 29Ks were inducted into the naval air arm, Commanding Officer (CO) of the INS Hansa, captain Surendra Ahuja, said that the SBTF in India will be only the second of its kind in the world, with Russia being the only other country to have this facility.
Ahuja also outlined the Navy's expansion plans for several new facilities at the airport, where three additional hangars and two simulators will be built.
Work on constructing a 1,255 m strip is also underway for the SBTF facility he added. A feature of the project will be the ski-jump facing the seafront. This ski jump will be a replica of the same facility available on board the mother ship for the MiG 29Ks — the INS Vikramaditya — which is being refitted and which will only sail by December 2012.
21/02/10 Times of India

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Airlines rush to encash increased demand

Chandigarh: In response to the increase in air traffic from the city, GoAir is expected to introduce another flight in the Chandigarh-Delhi-Mumbai sector in another month or so.
Jet Airways, meanwhile, plans to upgrade the existing aircraft for the Chandigarh-Delhi route to Boeing.
It has also changed the departure time of the flight from Chandigarh. The changes would be implemented from March 28.
The change in aircraft by Jet Airways would create an additional 106 seats. The present aircraft carries only 62 passengers. The Boeing would, however, accommodate 168 passengers.
20/02/10 Indian Express

Sudir Raheja takes over as AAI's Member planning

New Delhi: Sudhir Raheja has taken over as Member (Planning) of the Airports Authority of India board.
Raheja, who was earlier serving the AAI as Executive Director (Engineering), took over yesterday, an official statement said.
A civil engineering graduate from Delhi College of Engineering, Raheja was instrumental in development and upgradation of infrastructure projects at the airports in northern, north east and eastern India, including construction of new greenfield airport at Gangtok in Sikkim.
19/02/10 Press Trust of India

Suriya with Amitabh Bachchan and Mohanlal?

Actor Suriya will also play a prominent character in the film Kandahar (Malayalam) directed by Major Ravi, which revolves around a plane hijacking. Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan will play a meaty role.
Sources say that Suriya was impressed by the commando story and immediately accepted the role. The movie will be a bilingual made simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam.
There are also news that Naadodigal girl Ananya has bagged a role in this film. She will begin shooting for this film after completing her current commitments, including Dhanush's upcoming Seedan.
Amitabh will be seen as the father of a passenger on the ill-fated plane that was hijacked and Mohanlal will play a commando. The film is inspired by the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999 by five Pakistani militants while on its way from Kathmandu to New Delhi on Christmas eve.
19/02/10 Ambili/Galatta Cinema

Work on BIA rail link from July

Bangalore: Running some seven metres above the many magic boxes along the Bellary Road and going underground to duck the electronic systems of the Air Force Station at Yelahanka, it promises a smart chug to the Bengaluru International Air port (BIA). The work on the 34-km High Speed Rail Link (HSRL) to BIA is set to start in July.
According to the Principal Secretary (Infrastructure) V Madhu, the state government on Thursday received the revised draft of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) on HSRL from the the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
Madhu said the government has shortlisted five bidders — consortia led by Tatas, Reliance, L&T, ICM and Lanco.
Taking into account the three months time required for the tender process upon the call for request for qualification (RFQ) and the issue of the work order, the project can be expected to start in July, Madhu said. Quoting DMRC chairperson E Sreedharan, he also said that the project could be operationalised in 32 months after the start of construction.
As per the revised estimate, the HSRL linking MG Road in the city and the BIA will cost Rs 6,000 crore; an earlier estimate had pegged it to be at Rs 5,767 crore.
The underground segment near the Yelahanka Airforce Station is one of the issues leading to the increase in project cost, Madhu said.
The pending finalisation of BIAL’s plans for its second terminal is also an issue that has been delaying HSRL, Madhu added.
20/02/10 ExpressBuzz

Friday, February 19, 2010

7 HC benches heard HAL Airport case

Bangalore: As many as seven division benches of the High Court have so far heard the writ petition challenging the closure of the HAL Airport, but a judgment seems far-fetched.
On Thursday, the final hearing of the writ petition challenging the closure of HAL Airport took an interesting turn, when a division bench refused to hear the case further, after the petitioner’s advocate accused it of being biased against trade unions.
While hearing a petition by the employees’ union of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and others, a division bench comprising Justice VG Sabhahith and Justice SN Satyanarayana refused to hear the case and directed the registry to post the matter before another bench. However, the bench did not cite any reasons for recusing from hearing the case.
The bench orally observed that the employees union was not doing its job properly.
These remarks of the bench was objected to by the petitioner’s advocate, who said, “The AAI and the union government, at no point during the hearing of the writ petition, made such statements against the petitioner. So, how can the court come to a conclusion against the petitioner? It indicates that the bench is biased against the unions,” the counsel said.
19/02/10 ExpressBuzz

Airport clean-up sparks inferno

Dibrugarh: A massive fire feeding on dry bushes raged at Lilabari airport today, damaging a police camp and nearby villages in Lakhimpur district. There was no report of any casualty.
The airport, 10km from Kimin in Arunachal Pradesh that shares its border with China, is important for its strategic location. Villagers alleged the airport authorities had set dry bushes on fire along the runway to clear the area.
“Strong winds blowing since last evening helped the fire to spread and engulf several parts of the airport campus around noon before the panic-stricken airport authorities called in the fire brigade,” a source said.
The fire damaged portions of the camp of the 13 Assam Police Battalion adjacent to the airport and spread to some nearby villages.
Lilabari civil airport, under the Airports Authority of India (AAI), is nearly 6km from Lakhimpur town. Besides providing air connectivity to the people of the two north bank districts of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji, the airport also serves Arunachal Pradesh.
Airport sources said the authorities had ordered clearing of dry bushes — a routine procedure— as it is mandatory to keep the runway and its adjacent areas clean.
19/02/10 The Telegraph

Thursday, February 18, 2010

UK ‘plane-spotters’ moved to Lampur centre, no case yet

New Delhi: Two days after two British ‘plane-spotters’ were detained for “suspicious activities”, the police on Wednesday sent them to the Lampur detention centre for foreigners.
According to sources, the police have been unable to book them under any section of either the Indian Wireless Act or Aircraft Act since no agency has lodged a complaint.
Sources said the police now plan to book Stephen Hampston and Steve Martin under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which allows an officer with magisterial powers to arrest a person for “potential to cause unrest or danger to peace and tranquility”.
Under this, a person can be jailed for up to six months.
Officials said nothing suspicious has so far emerged in their call details, or in their movement in India.
An officer said they could have been booked under Wireless Act only if they had transmitted information collected on aircraft. “But they only received it, or we can say they collected it for their own use,” the officer said. “The activity also does not fall in the ambit of Aircraft Act.
Sources said the British authorities have given a clearance to Hampston and Martin on their antecedents in London, where they live — the duo has told police they are employed with London railways and are plane-spotting enthusiasts who travel to various countries to pursue this hobby.
18/02/10 Indian Express

DIAL to project Terminal 3 as premium shopping destination

New Delhi: A massive marketing campaign will precede the July opening of New Delhi airport’s third terminal, inviting travellers to its sprawling shopping and food sections.
The retail area at Terminal 3 (T3) is nearly the size of three football fields and will be pitched through television and print advertisements as a shopping destination, rivalling the spread at the Dubai and Singapore airports.
“We have to excite the consumers that T3 is an alternative choice for retail,” said Suredj Autar, chief of commercial and strategic development at Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd (DIAL). “You don’t have to fly to Dubai or go to Bangkok or Singapore.”
Spread over 5 million sq. ft, T3 is one of the world’s largest terminals, and is expected to provide the much-needed boost to India’s lagging airport retail business.
DIAL, which runs Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), has forged four retail joint ventures, including one with Dublin-based duty-free operator Aer Rianta International.
Branded Explore, the retail space at T3 will stock some 20,000 kinds of products and nearly 1,000 brands. It will have stores by fashion and jewellery companies such as Versace Group, Marks and Spencer Group Plc, WH Smith Plc and Swarovski Group.
17/02/10 Rasul Bailay/Live Mint

SpiceJet takes off from Delhi, without using the runway

New Delhi Low cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet, in association with its outdoor agency MOMS, has put up a 40-feet-long replica of Boeing 737-900ER, one of the latest additions to the company's fleet, on a green patch en route to Terminal 1D of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The structure, put together over a period of two months, is made out of iron and covered with fibre glass to provide the desired finish. In order to achieve a better view, the agency has also carried out landscaping on the site.
Though a similar idea was executed by Kingfisher in 2008, where a 35-feet replica of the Airbus A340 was displayed at the Bangalore International Airport (BIA), the SpiceJet innovation is the first of its kind in Delhi.
Speaking on the innovation, Anish Srikrishna, senior vice-president and head of marketing, SpiceJet, says, "Considering the fact that we target the urban upper-middle class, outdoor works best for us; more so, when the innovation is as disruptive as this. A brand is an outcome of the product, the services offered and the way it speaks to its audience. Confidence in our brand is the key element of our communication."
The outdoor campaign is being rolled out in 18 cities where SpiceJet provides services, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Goa. Outdoor formats such as hoardings, neon signages, bus shelters and kiosks will be used for the campaign.
18/02/10 Rohit Nautiyal/afaqs!

Hyderabad takes India to world's top 5 list

According to the annual ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger survey, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) ranks fifth amongst world's airports in terms of airport service quality on Tuesday. Also, RGIA ranks second in terms of traffic size for well-handling 5-15 million passengers annually.
"We are happy to announce this," RGIA, CEO, P Sripathy said in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
"Under the terms of the concession agreement with the government, GMR-operated RGIA was mandated to achieve a minimum rating of 3.5 on a 5 point scale within three years of operation," Sripathy added.
ACI or Airports Council International is the association of the world's airports. It works in close quarters with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), pursuing the airport interests across the globe. Also, ACI along with ICAO decides on the international standards for air transport.
18/02/10 MSN News

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Britons found intercepting ATC-pilot conversation

New Delhi: Taking serious views of two British nationals found tracking the Indira Gandhi International Airport runway from the nearby Radisson Hotel and intercepting conversations between ATC and pilots with the help of sophisticated gadgets, the home ministry has asked the Delhi Police to initiate action them for possible violation of the Indian Telegraph Act.
“The ministry has asked them to look at provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act that the British nationals may have violated,” sources here said adding that the two detained foreigners had not only erred by gaining unauthorised access to ATC conversations but also endangered aviation safety by using gadgets that could interfere with flight instructions.
The British nationals, identified as Stephen Hampston and Steven Martin, were detained after they were found surveying the tarmac with the help of binoculars and other sophisticated gadgets, besides carrying maps. They were detained by the Intelligence Bureau and Delhi Police and interrogated for suspicious activity.
17/02/10 Economic Times

Taping pilot-ATC conversations a hobby, says detained Britons

A hobby has proved costly for two British nationals detained at a posh hotel near the airport in New Delhi for allegedly recording conversations between aircraft pilots and the Air Traffic Control (ATC). The two British -- Stephen Hampston (46) and Steve Martin (55) -- were detained by security officials along with hi-tech gadgets from a room at Radisson hotel located in the periphery of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Official sources said the two British nationals had called up the hotel from London before their trip to India specifically demanding a room overlooking the airport. "The investigators were shocked to find that they were recording the conversation between pilots and the ATC which is totally illegal," a senior Home Ministry official said. The duo has checked in four days ago and was now being questioned now by officials of security agencies.
16/02/10 Times Now

AAI counters BIAL report

Bangalore: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) on Tuesday filed a detailed counter in the High Court alleging that the Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) has cooked up figures regarding airport capacity assessment.
In its counter filed by DP Singh, General Manager (CP and MS), AAI stated that BIAL’s assessed peak hour passenger capacity (PHP) of 6,304 is a figure that is neither consistent with the concession agreement nor in tune with the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
During the past 14 months, demand was less than the capacity and, therefore, it cannot be considered as a ground for BIAL’s claim of higher capacity. BIAL is attempting to mislead and confuse all by providing incorrect figures of capacity, AAI alleged.
BIAL has provided the minimum area per million passengers, even when compared to other Indian airports, AAI alleged.
Besides, airports such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Dubai and Heathrow have provided 60 to 85 sq m area per PHP against BIAL’s per PHP area of 26 sq m, AAI stated in its rejoinder.
“The BIAL has been making contradictory statements at different points of time.
Earlier it had accepted in the concession agreement the peak hour capacity of 2,733 whereas BIAL conveyed to AAI its peak hour capacity is 3,606. Now, BIAL is claiming a peak hour capacity of 6,304. All these indicate that BIAL is trying to create a smokescreen to twist true facts,” AAI remarked.
17/02/10 ExpressBuzz

BIA like ‘jatka’ stand: HC

Bangalore: On Tuesday, a Karnataka High Court judge felt that BIA was no better than a ‘jatka (tonga) stand’.
The judge did not stop at that and, rubbing salt into the BIA’s injured pride, described the airport building resembling a matchbox. The judge’s comment, which also included an observation that BIA did not have a second runway or Category 3 Instrument Landing System, came in the midst of a hearing related to a matter on the closure of the HAL airport, which was being heard by a division bench of Justices V S Sabahit and S N Satyanarayana.
According to a report filed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on this matter, which is in stark contrast with BIAL, it was not consulted for the study on airport capacity assessment.
The report states that BIAL had conveniently misrepresented the concept of capacity assessment and could not be relied upon by the High Court. Hitting out at BIAL, the report goes on to state that peak hour capacity provided by BIAL was incorrect.
17/02/10 Deccan Herald

Searidge Strengthens Executive Team and Deepens European Market Support

Gatineau, Quebec: Searidge Technologies, provider of intelligent video solutions to air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and airports, announced the appointment two new board members, Steve Nicolle as Chairman and Chris Burke as European Director.

"Steve and Chris offer a wealth of business knowledge and global expansion experience to our Board and will provide Searidge with invaluable guidance as it continues to develop, and bring to market the latest advancements in intelligent video solutions for the aviation industry worldwide," explains Moodie Cheikh, CEO, Searidge Technologies.
Steve Nicolle is a venture, technology and executive advisor with more than 24 years of industry experience, the last ten of which have been in CxO roles, including: COO at March Networks, a digital video surveillance company; CEO at venture-backed Tatara Systems; CEO at Sigma Systems Group; and President of Nortel's OSS software business unit. Steve has been
involved with Searidge for almost a year, and was named Chairman in October of 2009.
"Searidge is a very dynamic team with incredible vision and ability to execute. I am excited to be working with them as they grow their business domestically and abroad," says Steve Nicolle.

Based in the UK, Chris Burke has spent over 27 years in the telecommunications industry in a career spanning Europe and North America. He most recently held the position of Managing Director for Research in Motion (RIM) in Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Chris founded an Investment Fund and Advisory business in 2004 and has significant merger, acquisition and public offering experience including: Ubiquity Software, Oz Communications, and Dialog Semiconductor. Chris also worked at Vodafone UK Ltd. where he was the Chief Technology Officer responsible for all Vodafone UK's technology and product architecture, design, procurement, development, support and operations.
"I believe there is tremendous opportunity in the European market for Searidge solutions and I am glad to involved and support them locally as they continue to secure business with leading ANSPs and airports here,"explains Chris Burke.
17/02/10 PRESS RELEASE/Searidge Technologies

Hyderabad airport best in its class

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad international airport has been adjudged as the best airport among the 5 to 15 million passenger capacity airports in the world.
The Airports Council International (ACI), the definitive authority of the world's airports, made the announcement today based on the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey.
Apart from securing first rank in the 5 to 15 million passenger capacity airports, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here stood fifth among all categories of airports in the world.
The unique achievement comes less than two years of the green field airport, developed by GMR Group, commencing the operations.
The awards will be formally presented on May 13 at the ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Conference and Exhibition to be held in Hainan, China, the chairman of GMR Group GM Rao told reporters here.
16/02/10 Suresh Dharur/The Tribune

Fog, 'ILS failure' hit Nagpur air traffic

Nagpur: Air passengers were put to inconvenience as flights scheduled to arrive at Nagpur on Tuesday morning were either diverted to Hyderabad or cancelled due to fog and poor visibility, according to official accounts. However, airport sources said there had also been a failure of Instrument Landing System (ILS) that led to the disruptions.
Among those forced to make alternate plans was Bharatiya Janata Party national president Nitin Gadkari, who was to travel to Indore for the party’s national executive meet. Though airport officials claimed that flights were diverted owing to poor visibility due to fog that had developed following heavy rains on Monday night, sources at the airport attributed the reason to the failure of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) which went out of order on Tuesday morning. Air India’s flights from Mumbai and Delhi, JetLite from Mumbai and Kingfisher’s Hyderabad-Nagpur-Indore flight were among those affected. Gadkari later flew to Indore in a special chartered flight of the Madhya Pradesh government.
The worst hit was Air India’s IC-129 flight from Mumbai which had 144 passengers on board. Though it departed at its scheduled time from Mumbai, the plane hovered over Nagpur airport for almost 25 minutes as it did not get landing permission due to poor visibility. The pilot was then asked to take the flight to Hyderabad, where it landed at 11am.
17/02/10 Sachin Dravekar/Times of India

Ambulift introduced at Kochi airport

Nedumbassery: Passengers using stretcher and wheelchair and geriatric patients will enjoy more comfort and safety at the international airport here with the Air India launching a state-of-the-art devise, Ambulift in its Ground Handling Division on Tuesday.
The Ambulift will be used to embark and disembark passengers on stretchers and wheelchairs. It will be highly helpful for the geriatric patients who cannot climb the step ladder.
The passenger-cabin in Ambulift is fully air conditioned with a first aid kit and oxygen cylinder. It has a fully-automatic transmission system for a jerk -free movement. Ambulift can be operated on all types of aircraft, said Air India deputy Manager (CC) Aby George.
17/02/10 ExpressBuzz

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Vascon interested in developing non-major airports

Mumbai: Vascon Engineers, an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services and real estate development company, plans to develop non-major airports in India with foreign joint venture partners, a top company official said.
"We plan to develop upcoming airports in the country with foreign JV partners. This will add value to our propositions," Vascon Engineers chairman and managing director, R Vasudevan, told PTI here today.
The company is also interested in various government and low-cost housing projects, including slum area development in the country, he said.
Vascon is an engineering, procurement and construction services and real estate development company with operations across states. It provides EPC services for its own projects as well as to third-parties and its third-party EPC clients include well-known companies such as Cipla, Kirloskar Brothers and Symbiosis, among others.
15/02/10 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Juhu airport may be extended into the sea: AAI

New Delhi: With air traffic congestion reaching an unacceptable threshold in Mumbai, the government has been forced to put on fast track its age-old plan of reviving the Juhu airport to ease some pressure off Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has appointed consulting major KPMG to draw up a development plan for Juhu airport.
The plan to extend the runway in phases could ultimately see the airstrip jutting into the sea with reclaimed parts of the famous Juhu beach and seafront — after an environmental nod for the proposal. Presently, the Juhu runway is about 4,000 feet long.
In the first phase, it will be extended to 5,500 feet to be able to accommodate ATRs.
The eventual development plan is to extend it to 7,500 feet to allow it to be fit for slightly bigger planes.
16/02/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Britons arrested near Delhi airport as India remains on high alert

Indian police have briefly detained two British citizens at a hotel near Delhi's international airport on suspicion of monitoring flights using high-technology surveillance equipment, according to Indian police and media reports.
India is on high alert for terrorist activity following a weekend bombing in the western city of Poona, which killed 10 people, including two foreigners, in the first such assault since the devastating Mumbai attack in November 2008.
Stephen Hampston and Steven Martin were arrested on Monday night at the Radisson Hotel after staff there grew suspicious of their behaviour and informed Indian intelligence agencies, according to the reports.
They were picked up on the basis of suspicion but nothing incriminating has been found," Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for Delhi Police, told The Times.
"We are satisfied with the interrogation and have released them," he said, while declining to comment on the reports that the two men possessed sophisticated tracking equipment.
The NDTV news channel said police found the two men in possession of a map of the airport as well as "radar-like equipment", which could be capable of tracking aircraft.
But it also said that there was no evidence of terrorist activity yet and the men had told police the equipment was meant for plane-spotting.
16/02/10 Jeremy Page/Times Online, UK

Operators, airlines spar over airport charges

Mumbai: Airports and airlines in the country are battling over what model the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, or Aera, should adopt for fixing airport charges that airlines must pay.
Airport operators prefer the so-called double-till model, in which aeronautical and commercial revenue, such as shopping at the airport, are lumped together, while airlines say the single-till model, in which purely aeronautical, or flying-related, activities are considered, should be adopted.
Airlines say airport charges based on the single-till model are likely to be lower and will result in cheaper tickets for fliers. Airport operators, and investors in airports, insist that the double-till will enhance return on investment.
The decision on a pricing model is critical because it will decide how much passengers will have to pay, said a consultant with a global consulting firm, who did not want to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media. Currently, passengers pay user development and airport development fees; the latter is a levy for future facilities being built at airports.
“If airports are allowed to levy dual-till, flying will be more costly and footfall at airports will be impacted,” added this person.
The two schools of thought are evident in comments sought to a white paper that audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd (PwC) has prepared, on behalf of the government, to formalize the structuring and operational procedures at Aera.
15/02/10 PR Sanjai/Live Mint

Now, liquor permit on arrival at Ahmedabad airport

Gandhinagar: The state government in its bid to make flow of liquor easier for visitors has started issuing permits at the Ahmedabad airport itself.
According to Gujarat tourism department officials, the process of issuing the permits will start from Tuesday from the department’s counter at the airport. Any visitor coming to the city can approach the counter at the domestic arrival terminal and seek the permit.
“We have taken the initiative to ensure liquor is not an impediment in the growth of tourism sector in the state,” Gujarat tourism secretary Vipul Mitra told TOI. This is another step from the forward-looking government to simplify the process of obtaining liquor for visitors, he added.
The permits to buy and consume liquor are issued from various places in Gujarat, including hotels, that have the permission to sell it. The process of obtaining the permit would be the same at the airport. “The visitor will need to show his residence proof, signifying that he lives outside the state and pay nominal charges to obtain the permit,” an official said. Information about the location of liquor shops would also be provided with the permit.
16/02/10 Amit Arora/Times of India

AAI approves plan for ICICI Bank building in Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar: The decision of the Airport Authority of India (AAI), New Delhi, to give AAI, Ahmedabad, officials the authority to approve proposals for construction of buildings near the city airport is finally fetching good results.
The AAI, Ahmedabad, has so far approved more than 90 proposals for construction of buildings within 20 km from the city airport. Among the structures for which it has given approval is the proposed ICICI Bank building in Gandhinagar which, when ready, will be one the tallest structures in the state.
According to the rules, prior approval of the AAI is a must to construct a building within 20km of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. In the case of high-rise buildings, an NOC is required even for building
Till August 2008, obtaining a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) for the construction of a building within 20 km from the Ahmedabad airport used to take a minimum of one year. Earlier, NOC seekers had to apply first to Ahmedabad airport. Then their applications were sent to Mumbai and then to New Delhi.
"In August 2008, AAI, New Delhi, gave us the permission to approve NOCs," said an AAI source at the city airport.
15/02/10 Daily News & Analysis

Air travel from Sanganer posts 13% growth in ’09

Jaipur: The demand for air travel (domestic and international) has registered a growth of 13% in 2009, compared to an annual national growth of 8%. December has broken all the previous records and registered an all-time high of 1.43 lakh passengers amid swine flu scare.
The last six months (July-December) were very promising for Sanganer Airport which witnessed an average growth of 43%, compared to the corresponding period last year. According to AAI, Jaipur, total passengers flown in and out of Sanganer Airport were 14.19 lakh in 2009, compared with 12.53 lakh in 2008.
“Since operations started at new terminal building (July 2009), the passenger traffic witnessed a phenomenal rise. The travellers from both long and short haul (750 km and below 750 km distance from the city) had increased significantly,” said Anuj Agarwal.
Experts say that the gradual recovery from economic meltdown along with special offers by the airlines is responsible for the shining of aviation sector. Enthused by the rising numbers, the airport authority, Jaipur, has confirmed to have received proposals from some domestic and international airlines ahead of a Commonwealth Games.
16/02/10 Shoeb Khan/Times of India

Monday, February 15, 2010

Knife scare on Kingfisher flight

Chennai: In a security scare, a knife was found in a toilet of a Colombo-bound Kingfisher Airlines plane shortly before take-off today during a security check at the airport here.
The five-inch long kitchen knife was found by the cleaning staff in a dustbin of the toilet located on the rear side of the plane at around 1200 hrs, official sources said tonight. The Flight IT-232 had earlier arrived from New Delhi.
The staff informed the airport authorities who did a thorough anti-sabotage check of the aircraft. The airplane was later allowed to took off for Colombo, the sources said.
The security agencies were still trying to ascertain how the knife found is way into the aircraft.
14/02/10 Press Trust of India

Bomb scare leads to cancellation of Spice Jet flight

Kolkata: A Spice Jet flight from Chennai to Bagdogra via Kolkata had to undergo a thorough search after landing at NSC Bose Airport this afternoon following the discovery of a note warning of a bomb on board the aircraft.
As a result, the flight to Bagdogra could not be operated today.
Shortly before the flight from Chennai, carrying 147 passengers, including 37 bound for Bagdogra, was due to land in Kolkata, a member of the crew found a tissue paper in the toilet on which there was writing that a bomb was on board and would explode.
The crew immediately informed the pilot, who informed Air Traffic Control officials at Kolkata of the matter and asked for proper security and safety arrangements to be made. The flight landed at NSC Bose Airport at about 12.55 p.m.
Meanwhile, officials of bomb detection and disposal squad, CISF, Airport Authorities of India had taken position, along with fire brigade and ambulance. Police were also kept in readiness.
The plane was taken to an isolation bay. The passengers were brought out and searched. A thorough check of their luggage was also run to ensure that no suspicions object was present.
The luggage were also X-ray checked. However, nothing was found. Passengers were made to identify their luggage and let go at about 3.15 p.m.
15/02/10 The Statesman/Asia One

Indian Man Busted at Bali Airport For Smuggling Club Drug Ketamine

Customs officials at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali on Friday arrested an Indian man identified as Rangaswamy Mohammed Umar for allegedly trying to smuggle 9.8 kilograms of ketamine into the country.
Bambang Wahyudi, head of the airport’s customs office estimated that the ketamine, an anaesthetic used illicitly as a hallucinogen, was worth about Rp 9.8 billion ($1 million).
“It has a price of about Rp 1 million to 1.2 million per gram on the street,” he said.
Umar arrived in Bali on a Thai Airways flight from New Delhi via Bangkok, arriving in Denpasar on Friday afternoon. Customs officials’ suspicions were aroused when they spotted a suspicious-looking item when carrying out an X-ray examination of Umar’s luggage.
Officials said Umar told them the item was only a water heater that he planned to donate to a local orphanage, but on closer examination the officials found that it contained white crystal powder which was later identified as ketamine.
14/02/10 Jakarta Globe

Security beefed up at Pune airport

Pune: The Indian Air Force Governed Lohegaon International Airport has reinforced security in and around the airport premises in the wake of the German bakery blast.
“We have reinforced security around the airport and nakabandis have been placed along the approach routes towards the airport,” Airport Authority of India (AAI), Pune, Director, Captain Deepak Shastri to Sakaal Times here on Sunday.
Shastri said that surveillance part has been increased particularly on all the three exit gates of the airport. But at the same time efforts are also being made that passengers are not inconvenienced due to the enhanced security measures.
“No new measures have been introduced on this aspect. However, the existing parameters of examining passenger cargo have been tightened,” replied the AAI Director, when quizzed if the airport has also increased surveillance of commuters’ baggages.
Central Industry Security Force (CISF), Airport Security Group (ASG), Unit, Assistant Commandant, M S Sahi said that the CISF has deployed extra personnel to police the external premises and airport corridors.
15/02/10 Sakaal Times

Vadodara mayor demands restart of Air India flights

Vadodara: BJP MP and city Mayor Balkrishna Shukla today demanded civil aviation minister Praful Patel that suspended flights to Delhi and Mumbai from the city be resumed.
Air India has suspended its daily morning and evening flights on Mumbai-Vadodara and Delhi-Vadodara route since the
advent of private players.
The government air carrier now operates only evening flight on Delhi-Vadodara route on six days of the week, excluding Sunday.
"If the private airliners can operate on both these routes then what prevents Air India Management to do so on such lucrative and profitable routes?" asked Shukla.
"Vadodara is engineering hub and fertiliser producing centre with the presence of multi national companies," he said.
He also demanded retaining Air India office premises located in Fatehgunj locality in the city from where air India has been functioning since 1970. "It is most convenient for every body to visit this office," he added.
14/02/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Separate corridors for choppers in Mumbai, Delhi

New Delhi: Delhi and Mumbai airports will soon have dedicated air corridors for operating helicopters in the congested airspace of these airports.
“Separate air corridors in Mumbai and Delhi airports were notified last week,” Director General Civil Aviation SNA Zaidi said at a conference organised by Rotary Wing Society of India.
These corridors, where no fixed wing aircraft would be allowed to fly, would not only ensure safety but also enhance capacity and efficiency of helicopter operations. Mumbai and Delhi have the highest density of chopper operations.
The civil helicopter industry has long been demanding segregation of helicopter and aircraft traffic to deal with congestion.
Earlier speaking at the conference, AAI Chairman VP Agarwal said the authority might abolish the helicopters charges.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath supported the suggestion from Pawan Hans Helicopter Ltd Chairman RK Tyagi to have helipads along national highways, particularly in accident-prone ones.
Tyagi made several recommendations to enhance the role of helicopters in India, saying they could be used for services ranging from emergency medical services, search and rescue and disaster management to maintenance of law and order.
14/02/10 Business Standard

Nepal to asses India´s offer to supply machine readable passports

Kathmandu: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an UN agency, has officially informed the government that it cannot extend the April 1 deadline for introducing the high-tech machine readable passports (MRP) without obtaining mutual permission from its member countries.
This means that Nepal has to introduce the MRPs in the next 46 days at any cost as any traditional non-machine readable passports to be issued after the deadline will be invalid for international travel.
Meanwhile, a six-member delegation led by Chief of Protocol Mohan Krishna Shrestha is flying to India on Sunday to prepare an assessment report on India´s offer to supply MRPs to Nepal. India has offered to provide the high-tech passport at the cost of US$ 4 each.
But Shrestha and another official will fly to Indian only on Monday as Shrestha is facing a confirmation hearing in parliament Sunday as ambassador-nominee to France. Four members are leaving for Delhi on Sunday.
The team will be in India for five days to study the Indian offer and Nepal also will submit its requirement position before Indian officials, said a MoFA source.
14/02/10 Kiran Chapagain/Republica, Nepal

Nagarjuna gets a backset

Two days before the release of his stylish Kedi, Akkineni Nagarjuna has received a backset. The Airport Authority of India has put a spanner in his idea to build a mega entertainment complex in the premises of Annapurna Studios.
The reason cited by the AAI is that Nag cannot build structures that are 30 metres in height, which is not permitted in Banjara Hills, where the Studios is located. In fact, structures only of half the height are allowed in Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills areas.
As Nag wanted to build structures of 30 metres height, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation sought AAI's clearance, which the latter rejected on the grounds that buildings belonging to high-rise category cannot be allowed in the area.
13/02/10 IndiaGlitz

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Runway repairs damaged cables; it can happen again

Mumbai: Runway lights at the Mumbai airport went off for 20 minutes on Thursday evening because workers repairing the secondary runway accidentally dug out and disconnected some of the underground cables. With repairs expected to continue for another month, airport officials feel there could be a repeat of the incident.
“Cables near the area where both the runways intersect were dug out, resulting in the power blip,” said an official at the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), requesting anonymity as he not authorised to speak to the media. A spokesperson of the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) confirmed this.
On Friday, MIAL submitted a report to the DGCA, which is conducting an inquiry into the lapse.
“Nobody has a blueprint of the underground cable network that was laid five decades ago. As a result, workers dig up crucial power-supplying points,” explained a senior airport official.
The lack of a blueprint is one of main reasons why the repairs have missed their January 31 deadline.
13/02/10 Sarthak Gupta/TopNews.in

Agencies say detained US national is 'undesirable'

New Delhi: Enough material to hold him “undesirable” in India, not enough to dub him a terror suspect. That’s how far the case of detained US national Winston Marshal Carmichael has progressed.
US agencies have informed India that New York resident Carmichael has criminal cases related to drugs and robbery registered against him. However, Indian authorities have not found a terror link even after sustained questioning.
Sources told DNA once Carmichael is deported to the US after verifying all details about him, Indian agencies might issue a look out circular (LOC). After the issuance of LOC, Carmichael would not be allowed to enter India again. Details of his passport will be provided at all entry points.
Sources said he was “undesirable” in India, even though they have not found any terror link so far.
Indian authorities have yet to find out whether the passport (number 422836049) used by Carmichael is original. They are trying to find out where else he went in India apart from Delhi. So far, agencies know he came to India twice — once on October 7, 2009, and then on January 27. On the first visit, he stayed in Delhi for five days before leaving for Pakistan via Attari on October 12. He stayed in Pakistan for two months and left the country on January 7 for Bangladesh capital Dhaka on a flight from Karachi.
He returned to India on January 27. A convert from Christianity to Islam, he had been preaching at various madrassas and introduced himself as a theologist. He has accepted being a member of the tabligi jamaat.
Carmichael was detained in the early hours of February 10 when he was about to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha after CISF recovered a 4.3-by-1.5-inch knife concealed in a herbal plant, shilajit, from his handbag.
13/02/10 Josy Joseph/Daily News & Analysis

Cops await FBI report on US national's credentials

New Delhi: Two days after an American national was detained for carrying a knife concealed inside a herbal plant, Shilajit, Delhi Police said they have sent the plant for chemical analysis and the report is awaited. The US national, Winston Marshal Carmichael (61), spend the third day at the Lampur detention centre as the security agencies were checking his statements besides awaiting clearance from the FBI.
Carmichael was detained in the wee hours of February 10 when he was to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. The CISF personnel who spotted a suspicious object during the screening of his hand baggage alerted the officials and he was detained. Since then he has been questioned extensivly by various agencies.
Carmichael has told his interrogators that he has been on a religious package tour during which he wanted to visit Indian mosques. He also told police that he used to own a farmhouse and shifted to New York from Jamaica five years ago. "Born to American parents and father of 19 children from three wives, he has a son who is an athlete and carried the Olympic torch for the country last year while his other children are also doing well in their fields. He also claimed to be teaching students at a school,'' said a police officer.
The US Mission here was informed about the arrest after which a team of FBI officials is coordinating with Indian agencies. Carmichael, a resident of New York, worked as a carpenter. He was carrying a knife (4.3 by 1.5 inches) which he reportedly bought from Paksitan.
12/02/10 Times of India

Flier loses euros at Delhi X-ray

A Spanish woman, now in Calcutta, has alleged that Euro 500 went missing from her bag at Delhi airport while she was going through the security check on Thursday.
The bag contained Euro 2,000 which Beartiz Gomez wanted to donate to a school.
“Officers at Delhi airport refused to register a complaint, saying it would lead to my harassment. I lodged a complaint today with the foreigners’ regional registration office in Calcutta,” said Gomez, who works for a travel agency in Spain.
Gomez had arrived in Delhi from Madrid on February 9 but missed her connecting flight to Calcutta. She then booked a ticket on Thursday evening’s Jet Airways flight to the city.
“After arriving at the airport, I put my hand baggage containing Euro 2,000 at the X-ray counter. When I went back to collect my bag, it was not there,” recalled Gomez.
“The bag was traced after 10 minutes but Euro 500 was missing from it. I wanted to donate the money to a school for underprivileged children in Calcutta.”
13/02/10 The Telegraph