Government sticks to UPA's plan; will privatise 4 airports despite protests

Mumbai: Ignoring protests against rampant privatization of airports, the civil aviation ministry on Wednesday decided to go ahead with a plan formulated by the previous UPA government and called for financial transaction consultants to scout for private parties to invest in Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports.

In September 2012, the UPA government had decided to allow private parties to pick up stakes in the operation and management of six airports through the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Certain sections of airport staff, trade unions and even a few airlines have been dead against privatization through PPP ever since. Airports Authority of India (AAI) staffers in Mumbai and other parts of the country form a chunk of this group.
Last month, the AAI top rung had invited Request For Qualification (RFQ) from domestic and overseas private firms to hand over the management, operation and development of the four airports.
26/02/15 Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Air India Plane From Delhi Suffers Tyre Burst While Landing

Kochi:  In a narrow escape for over 170 people on board an Air India flight from Delhi, a rear tyre of the aircraft burst as it landed at the Nedumbassery airport here today. 

All the 161 passengers and 12 crew members of flight AI467 have safely disembarked, airport sources said.  

As the plance landed at 9.10 AM, smoke was noticed and further examination revealed that the rear inner tyre had burst, the sources told PTI.
26/02/15 PTI/New Indian Express

Read More

Interested bidders to take part a tour of airport today

Four to five firms interested in bidding for privatisation programme of Ahmedabad airport will take a tour of the airport today, sources said. Proposals and necessary documents will be sent to the Airports Authority of India for the bidding process after their visit, said highly placed sources. However, the airport staff fears that once the private operator takes the charge of the airport, the rates of all services will be hiked.

Confirming the visit by the bidders, Airport Director R K Singh said, "The bidders will visit our office on Thursday.

We are expecting GMR, GVK, Tata, Adani and one more firm. We will be taking them on a tour of the airport. The representatives will be here from 11 am to 3 pm.
26/02/15 Hemington James/Ahmedabad Mirror

Read More

Malaysian co in talks for MRO at Mihan

Nagpur: Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has received an inquiry from a Malaysia-based aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) depot for acquiring land in the
Mihan-SEZ.

The inquiry came from a government agency in the country, but the offer is still in a very initial stage, with formal negotiations yet to begin, said Tanaji Satre, vice-chairman of MADC.

The MRO needs around 50 acres of land. If the deal materializes, the facility may be as big as the one built by
Boeing, said a source involved in the case.

With this, there are chances that the SEZ in Mihan may emerge as a hub of MROs. Boeing has already finished construction work and handed over the MRO to Air India for running it. Air India
itself is planning a separate set up for landing gear next to the MRO.
26/02/15 Shishir Arya/Times of India

Read More

5 airports in Maharashtra unprepared for security emergencies

From a layperson’s point of view, our airports seem to be under a heavy cloak of security, but a closer look will reveal that five of Maharashtra’s most sensitive airports, including Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), are at risk because of an alarmingly lax approach to security.
A mid-day investigation of highly censored documents from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suggests these five airports – namely CSIA, Juhu Airport in Mumbai, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport (BAIA) in Nagpur, Birsi Airport in Gondia and Chikalthana Airport in Aurangabad – are vulnerable to external and internal threats as a result of a lack of alertness in intelligence agencies, poor contract management of vital security projects, inadequate equipment for security forces, and a whole host of other reasons. Such lapses are particularly worrying in these five airports because of two major reasons. One, all five are considered sensitive – CSIA and Juhu Airport are located in the state capital, while the remaining three are vulnerable due to the proximity of Naxal presence. The second factor is that in 2013, an alert was raised when security agencies received intelligence about terrorist plans to attack any one of 24 airports in Maharashtra (that are either inactive or less active), hijack and load a light aircraft with explosives and use it to launch an air strike.
26/02/15 Sharad Vyas/Mid Day

Read More

US team to clear Hyderabad airport security check

Hyderabad: The Centre has okayed the visit of a team from the US Department of Transportation to carry out safety checks at the GMR-run Hyderabad airport, said sources. The schedule of the security audit is still being worked out.

Air India is the only carrier which operates to the US from Hyderabad via Delhi, and its passengers have to undergo security check at both airports before flying to the US. If the US team clears the security mechanism at the Hyderabad airport, passengers will not have to undergo a second check at the Delhi airport. Air India had launched its Hyderabad-Delhi-Chicago flight in 2010.
26/02/15 Deccan Chronicle

Read More

US woman of Indian origin held at Amritsar airport with 25 live cartridges

Amritsar:  The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) arrested a US national with live cartridges at Amritsar's Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport on Wednesday.

CISF commandant Suman Kumar told TOI that they found 25 live cartridges and one empty shell from the handbag of Manjita Dhillon, who was to fly to Delhi on a Jet Airways flight, while carrying out a routine check. She was to board a flight to Pune at 2.55 pm and then take one to Los Angeles from Mumbai on Thursday, the officer said.

Manjita, 52, resides in Los Angeles with her husband Nirmal Singh, who is a building contractor. Manjita said she had arrived in India with an Indonesian group and had gone to attend a marriage function at Nawanshahr. According to Commandant Suman, Manjita, who was born in Indonesia, claimed that she had strained relations with some of her relatives who had put cartridges in her handbag.
Dhillon has been handed over to the police. Amritsar assistant deputy commissioner of police (city II) Ketan Bali Ram Patil said police had booked Manjita under sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. He said the cartridges were of .223 bore rifle.
Manjita told police that she had no knowledge about the cartridges recovered from her bag.
26/02/15 Yudhvir Rana/Times of India

Read More

Agencies seize 65 kg gold worth Rs 17.84 crore at city airport

Ahmedabad: In two separate incidents, the city crime branch and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized about 65kg gold worth Rs 17.84 crore and arrested seven persons in two cases.

The Special Operation Group (SOG) of the city crime branch arrested six people in connection with gold smuggling and seized 60kg of gold including 60 gold biscuits worth Rs 16.50 crore along with Rs 27,000 in cash from Sardar Patel International Airport here, a crime branch statement said.

The gold was allegedly smuggled from Dubai by a Mumbai -based person Clifford Anthony Fostine D'Costa along with a Haryana-based person Virendrasingh Karamveersingh Sultan and a lady Sapna Dipakbhai from Mumbai, the statement said.
In another case, DRI nabbed one Yusuf Lookman Mohammed for allegedly smuggling substantial amount of gold into the country.
24/02/15 Siasat Daily

Read More

SOG wants to probe airport officials nexus angle

Ahmedabad:  The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the city crime branch submitted before the court on Wednesday that they were obtaining call details of the airport staff, Customs officials and CISF personnel at Ahmedabad airport to find more about the smuggling of 60 kg gold worth Rs 16.5 crore.

The investigating agency maintained that call details are being gathered to find whether there is a nexus between authorities and the accused persons caught at the airport.

While seeking 14-day remand of five persons arrested with gold on Tuesday - Clifford D'Costa, Virendrasingh Jaglan, Sapna Dipakbhai, Jaivirsingh Shamshersingh, Kapil Jagdevsingh and driver Dinesh Desai, prosecutor Y K Vyas submitted that custodial interrogation was required to find information related to the alleged crime. All six have been booked under Sections 406, 411, 420 and 120B of IPC.
26/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Co-pilot panicked, caused AI flight to scrape runway

Mumbai: A Directorate General of Civil Aviation investigation to determine the cause of a tail-strike involving an Air India flight from Mangalore has revealed that the co-pilot of the aircraft was responsible for the incident. The airman has not furnished satisfactory evidence that he was cleared to carry out landing manoeuvres, sources in the DGCA said. The aircraft, which sustained a tail-strike on February 15, carried 194 passengers, including seven crew members.

Co-pilots are permitted to land an aircraft if certified to do so by the DGCA - they are required to obtain what is known in aviation parlance as an Assisted Takeoff and Landing Clearance document. The AI crew member who was in the cockpit of the flight from Mangalore is yet to produce this certificate, DGCA officials said.
The belly of the long-tail section of the Airbus A-321 was scraped against the runway as the aircraft landed, indicating that the co-pilot lowered the rear end of the plane a few seconds before the nose wheel was deployed.

On analysing the Digital Flight Data Recorder, DGCA found that the co-pilot failed to engage the 'power to idle' function, causing the aircraft to 'float' longer than required, leading to it 'bounce hard' before coming to a halt on the runway in Mumbai. A DGCA official said the DFDR readout showed the pilot had to intervene to steady the craft. It then "rolled out without further incident". There were no injuries reported, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage and remains grounded.
24/02/15 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror

Read More

Sick Baby Dies Just Before Landing at Medical Hub

Chennai: A 17-day-old infant, Murali Basak, from Assam, with a life threatening nerve disorder, stopped breathing and was declared dead as soon as the parents with the baby stepped off the flight.

In a bid to try and save the child, the parents had sent the scans and reports to the neurology team at a private multispecialty hospital here.

The Chennai neurology team agreed to a life-saving surgery on the baby.

“The parents immediately took a flight on Sunday from Guwahati to Kolkata and then to Chennai and were en route here, hoping for the best,” said an airport source.

The baby was stable for almost the entire two and a half hour journey, but 10 minutes before landing in Chennai, the little one’s breath became laboured.
24/02/15 New Indian Express

Read More

Juhu airport to get armed security men soon

After much delay, the issue of manning Juhu airport by armed security personnel seems to be inching closer to realisation. The airport authorities and the state government are in the final stage of getting an approval for 130 personnel from Maharashtra Security Force.

At present, the airport is manned by about 30 policemen in different shifts on a temporary basis. Talks in the past with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) failed due to the high fees the para-military force demands for security.

"Things are moving in the right direction at the moment and we hope to soon see personnel from Maharashtra Security Force guarding the airport," said a senior official from the airport.

Airport and intelligence agencies sources reveal that the porus and unmanned boundary wall surrounding Juhu airport has been a cause of concern for a long time. Hooligans from nearby slums of Indira and Nehru Nagar often trespass airport.

Started in the 1920s, Juhu airport is the oldest civilian airport in the country. It has constantly been under the terrorist radar, as per the claims made by central and state intelligence agencies.
24/02/15 Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Renuka Chowdary delays Air India’s Hyderabad-bound flight

New Delhi: A former Union minister from Hyderabad delayed an Air India flight from Delhi to Hyderabad after checking in, because she reported late for boarding.

Ms Renuka Chowdary was apparently strolling through the shopping section at the Delhi airport and reported at 7.04 pm for the flight which was supposed to leave at 7 pm, civil aviation ministry sources said.

Flight AI-126 had arrived from Chicago and was to depart for the final leg of its journey to Hyderabad. As many as 276 passengers boarded the flight at Delhi. Furious passengers protested the delay, sources said.

Sources said the politician had checked in three pieces of baggage which had been duly loaded on the aircraft. When she reported late, the airline decided to allow her to board since identifying and removing the baggage would have delayed the flight further.
24/02/15 Deccan Chronicle

Read More

Didn't Delay Flight with Retail Therapy, Fumes Congress' Renuka Chowdhury

New Delhi: Parliamentarian Renuka Chowdhury has denied reports that her shopping spree at the Delhi airport forced a 45-minute delay for the Air India flight she was meant to board on Friday to Hyderabad. She told NDTV today that she will meet Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapthy Raju to protest the Air India version of events, and if the airline cannot prove its allegation, she will demand action against the official who said her retail therapy inconvenienced many other passengers.
Air India sources said yesterday that Ms Chowdhury,  who is a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha, showed up late to board the flight on Friday despite repeated announcements by the airline's staff.  By the time she arrived at the gate, the pilot had reportedly missed his place in the line for departures on the runway.
Ms Choudhury told NDTV today that she was not shopping and did not hear herself being paged. She said she was late to the gate because she had requested a buggy to drive her because she has a knee problem.
24/02/15 NDTV.com

Read More

No proposal to privatise airports, says govt

New Delhi: The government today said it has initiated the process of developing four airports through public private partnership mode but there was no move to privatise them as of now.

"There is no such proposal of privatisation of airports at present," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

He was responding to a query on whether the government is considering a proposal to privatise Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports.

However, he said the government has initiated the process for developing these four airports through PPPs.

For the same, Request for Qualification (RfQ) documents were issued on December 30, 2014.
24/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Consultants give inputs on airport expansion

Vijayawada: With the Airports Authority of India (AAI) working on upgrading Gannavaram airport to international standards, top consultants, including GVK, have submitted designs for the project.

A three-member team from GVK gave a presentation during a review meeting chaired by Union Minister of Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapati Raju at the airport recently. “The team members gave inputs on the airport development project. Besides GVK representatives, consultants from other companies, too, gave suggestions,” a senior airport official said.

He added that the inputs provided by the consultants on developing the terminal building had been forwarded to the AAI headquarters in New Delhi. The official said the inputs from the consultants had been accepted as part of the strategic planning. The AAI is likely to consider designs that are economically viable and ensure quality services to passengers, he added.
25/02/15 M Srinivas/The Hindu

Read More

Telangana offers to deploy anti-terror unit at airport

Hyderabad: With the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) a probable terrorist target, Telangana police have sent a proposal to the Union ministry of civil aviation offering to deploy anti-terror unit Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (Octopus) on the airport premises besides assigning it 'preferential' roles during a crisis.

The issue of Octopus deployment cropped up during a recent meeting between the police, CISF, civil aviation and airport management. Telangana police reportedly suggested that with the changing security scenario and regular terror alerts, permanent deployment of Octopus personnel is necessary. The heightened alert comes especially after some Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) sympathisers were caught in the city, besides threats from local terror groups.
25/02/15 Srinath Vudali/Times of India

Read More

False Ceiling Panel Crashes at Chennai Airport

Chennai: With barely a month left to go before private firms make their bids to take control of the Chennai Airport, a portion of the false ceiling came crashing down.

The incident occurred at 5.30 am, fortunately in the domestic arrival terminal, where influx of passengers is low at that time. "Traffic for departing passengers is huge and the crowds are really massive between 4 am and 8 am, if it had happened during that time, people could have got injured,” an airline employee said.

According to sources in the airport, the gypsum board based ceiling section fell right next to the CCTV monitoring centre - which is close to the baggage carousels (conveyor belts), where passengers flock. There is no official count for how many times this problem has occurred since the airport opened its doors in 2013, but sources said it has happened at least eight times. ?The ceiling section came crashing down and was first noticed by security and cleaning crew who were in the vicinity.
25/02/15 New Indian Express

Read More

To prevent bird hits, Bombay High Court to order closure of illegal slaughterhouses near airport

The Bombay high court on Tuesday said it would pass a comprehensive order directing the Brihanmumbai municipal corporation (BMC) and the Directorate of Civil Aviation to close down illegal slaughterhouses and to properly regulate the ones having licenses within the 10-kilometre radius of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The court's move is meant to tackle the instances of airplanes hitting birds near the airport.

A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice A K Menon said "This is a serious issue and needs final hearing but the interim reliefs sought in the petition of regulating the slaughter houses should be granted."

The counsel for BMC told the court that a meeting with all the authorities concerned was held on February 15, and the BMC was regularly taking action. The BMC counsel argued that the DGCA should take action as it has powers under Rule 91 of the Indian Aircrafts Act.
25/02/15 Daily News & Analysis

Read More

International flights still a far cry for Odisha’s Biju Patnaik Airport

Bhubaneswar: A year and half after receiving international airport status, international flight operations are yet to commence at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, the lone full-fledged airport in Odisha.
The state government has almost given up after repeated trials at many levels. While letters written by Odisha Chief Secretary Gokul Chandra Pati to Union Civil Aviation Ministry did not even draw a response, Tourism Minister Ashok Panda’s plea to the Union Civil Aviation minister at a recent conference in Delhi did not fare any better.

“I had raised this issue at a conference conducted by Civil Aviation Ministry in Delhi recently. However, nothing happened. It is not in our hands. We are doing everything we can, but the Union government doesn’t pay heed,” complained Tourism Minister Ashok Panda.
25/02/15 Odisha Sun Times

Read More

Man held at Delhi airport for smuggling gold worth Rs 24 lakh

New Delhi:  A man has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing about Rs 24 lakh by hiding it in slippers at Indira Gandhi International Airport here.
The passenger was intercepted by customs officials after his arrival here from Bangkok yesterday.
25/02/15 ZeeNews

Read More

Gold bars seized from Spicejet aircraft

 Kolkatta: Customs officials today seized around 600 grams of gold bars, valued at Rs 16.2 lakh, from a Spice jet aircraft when it arrived at the Netaji Shubash Chandra International airport here from Bangkok.

The gold bars were concealed in a life jacket under a seat in the aircraft, airport Customs officials said.
25/02/15 PTI/Financial Express

Read More

Man held for smuggling gold worth Rs 24.43 lakh at airport

New Delhi: A man has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold bars valuing about Rs 24 lakh at international airport here.

The passenger was intercepted after his arrival here from Sharjah. On detailed examination of his baggage and personal search resulted into recovery of 26 cut pieces of gold total weighing 980 gms valued at Rs 24.43 lakh which were concealed in the hair trimmers and measuring tapes, a press release issued by the customs said.
24/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Firms grow wary of govt's airport plan

New Delhi: The response to the pre-application conference on airport privatisation on February 11 was muted. "There were only 12 players, and only six companies were serious," says a senior executive of a leading airport company. "In 2013," he contrasts, "there were over two dozen aspirants for six airports, including international players. The interest in airports is clearly waning."

The executive was talking about yet another attempt, this time by the National Democratic Alliance government, to offer the management, operation and development of four airports run by the state-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) to the private sector on a revenue sharing model. The prize on offer: the airports in Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

Airport privatisation has always been mired in controversy. In 2010, when the United Progressive Alliance government opted for the privatisation of the country's two main airports of Delhi and Mumbai and followed it up by inviting private sector participation in building two new airports for Bengaluru and Hyderabad, there were allegations of political interference and accusation by the Comptroller and Auditor General of losses to the government because of improper structuring of privatisation.
23/02/15 Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard

Read More

Reduction in Airport Charges at IGI Airport

Delhi: Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has issued a consultation paper number 16/2014-15dated January 28, 2015 for determination of Aeronautical Tariffs in respect of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), Delhi for the Second Control Period (01.04.2014-31.03.2019). AERA has proposed to consider the X factor in respect of the aeronautical tariffs for the second Control Period (01.04.2014 - 31.03.2019) for the IGI Airport, Delhi at (+78.24%).

The current document issued by AERA is only a consultation paper and the final outcome as regards aeronautical tariff for IGIA, Delhi will be known only after completion of tariff consultation process by AERA as per mandate given to it under AERA Act, 2008. This information was given by Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
24/02/15 Business Standard

Read More

AAI to get airport staff absorbed

New Delhi: Faced with the prospect of a looming strike on March 11 called by the unions at airports across the country operated by the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI), the government seems to have swung into damage-control mode by considering amending the proposed Request for Proposal (RFP) for privatisation of operation and management of the AAI-run Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports.

The amendement will see to it that 100 per cent of AAI staffers working at these four airports are absorbed by the future private operators if the staffers so desire.

The civil aviation ministry sources said the government was earlier considering insisting that only 60 per cent of AAI staffers at these four airports be absorbed at the same airports by the future private operators there.
24/02/15 Asian Age

Read More

NAC postpones New Delhi flight

Kathmandu: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has postponed its plan of resuming New Delhi flights with its new Airbus A320-200 aircraft until further notice.

The national flag carrier had unveiled plans to resume New Delhi flights from Wednesday. It had stopped flying to the Indian capital three years ago, citing shortage of aircraft.

NAC Spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma said they decided to postpone resumption of New Delhi flights as Indian authorities were not ´satisfied´ by the documents submitted by them.

 "Most probably, we will resume flight to New Delhi from Friday," he added. 
NAC has unveiled plan to operate four flights a week -- on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays -- to New Delhi. It has already unveiled promotional fares for the flight. NAC will charge passengers Rs 7,084 (including taxes) for one-way flight and Rs 15,177 for round trip flight. Foreign passengers will need to pay an additional Rs 1,130 as tourism service fee.
24/02/15 my Republica

Read More

Bangladesh Customs seizes Indian currencies worth Tk69,57,000 at Dhaka Airport

Dhaka: Bangladesh Customs has seized a huge amount of Indian currency worth Tk 69,57,000 at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. A person named Md Akram, has arrested.

Arrestee hailed from Munshiganj, landed in Dhaka by a flight no PK-0266 from Pakistan.

Assistant Director of Customs Intelligence, Ayesha Akhter, told the media at a press briefing at the airport that “On suspicion, customs officials held him while he was in the green channel of the airport.”
23/02/15 Customs Today

Read More

Swimming coach makes hoax bomb call after missing flight

Ranchi: Air security went into a tizzy on Monday at Ranchi airport after getting a call that there was a bomb in a Delhi-bound flight, which was later found to be a hoax call.

A passenger, who had missed the Ranchi-New Delhi flight and made the call, was arrested from the airport later.

According to sources, the passenger, a swimming coach, had missed the fight by a few minutes, and called up Mumbai call centre of the national carrier at 1505 hrs claiming that there was a bomb on the flight.

The flight which had taken off five minutes back at 1500 hours was called back to Ranchi and taken to isolation bay, the sources said.
24/02/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Man swallows gold coins, hospitalised

Kochi: A Sri Lanka national who landed in Kochi airport was admitted to the Government Medical College, Ernakulam, on Monday after he attempted to smuggle gold into the country by swallowing it.
Official sources said that the person, identified as Muhammad Suwair, landed here by a SriLankan Airlines flight from Colombo on Saturday and was intercepted at the exit gate of the arrival hall while attempting to escape through the green channel. He showed signs of discomfort, which raised suspicion among officials.
He was shifted to the hospital after he complained of weakness.
Officials said one gold coin was removed from his stomach at the hospital. Hospital sources said the person had swallowed 13 gold coins, wrapped in condoms.
“We put him through X-ray and ultrasound scans and spotted the coins. His condition is stable but it can turn worse if the remaining coins get stuck in the stomach,” they said.
24/02/15 The Hindu

Read More

Agencies seize 65 kg gold worth Rs 17.84 crore at city airport

Ahmedabad: In two separate incidents, the city crime branch and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized about 65kg gold worth Rs 17.84 crore and arrested seven persons in two cases.

The Special Operation Group (SOG) of the city crime branch arrested six people in connection with gold smuggling and seized 60kg of gold including 60 gold biscuits worth Rs 16.50 crore along with Rs 27,000 in cash from Sardar Patel International Airport here, a crime branch statement said.

The gold was allegedly smuggled from Dubai by a Mumbai -based person Clifford Anthony Fostine D'Costa along with a Haryana-based person Virendrasingh Karamveersingh Sultan and a lady Sapna Dipakbhai from Mumbai, the statement said.
24/02/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

The highs and lows of gold smuggling

The World Gold Council estimated that 200 tonnes of gold was smuggled in 2014 to India, which closely competes with China for being the title of the largest consumer of the metal in the world.
But experts believe that gold smuggling is beginning to wane since the Government in November abolished a rule that required importers to keep apart 20 per cent of their purchase for re-export. Now the 10 per cent import duty – which the Government had increased in a series of steps from 2 per cent in March 2012 – is the only other major control in the trade of the gold metal.
Already, the commission for carrying smuggled gold has fallen. An official from the Kerala’s Customs office said that the rate for carriers has come down to about ?20,000 per kg of gold from about ?30,000 a year ago.Carriers have used all kinds of methods to conceal gold; from hiding it inside laptops or under wigs to ‘installing’ it inside a mobile phone and mixing gold dust with coffee powder. The most effective method, for decades, has been to put it up the rectum.
“We often work on tip-offs. We also keep a tab on frequent flyers or those who make quick return journeys,” says the official from Kerala. Of late, there has been increasing involvement of airline crew and ground-handling staff. Further, as the Customs check is limited to international flights, often the gold is left behind in the aircraft and collected only once the flight operates on the domestic route.
From the aircraft, a ground staff then collects it, putting the gold bar or biscuit in a waste bag. The consignment often changes hands in toilets, which unlike other parts of the airport have no security cameras.
24/02/15 Prince Mathew Thomas/Business Line

Read More

Man held for smuggling gold worth Rs 24.43 lakh at airport

New Delhi: A man has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold bars valuing about Rs 24 lakh at international airport here.

The passenger was intercepted after his arrival here from Sharjah. On detailed examination of his baggage and personal search resulted into recovery of 26 cut pieces of gold total weighing 980 gms valued at Rs 24.43 lakh which were concealed in the hair trimmers and measuring tapes, a press release issued by the customs said.
24/02/15 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

Read More

Maharashtra to secure Juhu airport

Mumbai: Worried about repeated security threats to Juhu airport, the state government has stepped in to provide security cover to it. The airport authority was unable to pay the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the airport has been functioning with inadequate security. The state government, therefore, offered them its own security forces at a very reasonable cost. VIPs and the corporate sector mostly use the airport. It houses most of the helicopters that come to the city and also supports the oil industry.

“We have offered the airport Maharashtra State Security Corporation’s personnel at a reasonable cost. The airport is important as it has helicopters, private take-offs and oil operations too. Our security is on par with CISF and we are confident that it will soon be deployed at the airport,” additional chief secretary of the home department, K.P. Bakshi told The Asian Age.

The Maharashtra State Security Corporation has over 3,000 trained personnel and will provide 50 of them for airport security. It will charge `22,000 per personnel per month and the cost of which comes around `11 lakh, while CISF has been demanding in crores for the security, sources in the home department said. Also, the Maharashtra State Security Corporation has deployed its personnel at JNPT, BPT, state government establishments and semi-government institutions. They have been specially trained to handle situations at important establishments like the airport, sources added.
23/02/15 Shruti Ganapatye/Asian Age

Read More

Works on Jharsuguda Airport Set to Gain Pace

Jharsuguda: Work on the second airport of the State at Jharsuguda is set to gain momentum as the Airport Authority of India (AAI) will float tender for first phase of the project next month.

Located about five kms from Jharsuguda town along State Highway-10, the airport is expected to boost industrialisation in western part of the State.

As per an MoU signed with the AAI, the State Government will hand over 296.5 acres of land in two phases for development of the airport spread over 909.22 acres. Currently, only the air traffic control tower is functional and chartered aircraft are being operated.

Reports said the State Government has already handed over 106 acres of land out of 118.75 acres scheduled in the first phase.

Since rest of the land is forest land and needs to be de-alienated, it is pending clearance with Ministry of Environment and Forest.
23/02/15 New Indian Express

Read More

Air India starts direct flight from Rajkot to Delhi

Rajkot: Ending years of wait, the city finally got direct air connectivity with Delhi as an Air India flight landed on Rajkot airport early on Monday morning. The maiden direct flight of Air India from Delhi landed in the city at 8:15 am.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Mohan Kundariya cut the ceremonial ribbon to mark the beginning of the service. He was flanked by Naran Kacchadia, BJP MP from Amreli and a number of businessmen from the city.

The Minister and the MP were among 25 passenger from Rajkot who travelled to the Delhi through the inaugural return flight. Among the 35 passengers who took the first flight from Delhi to Rajkot was Gunwant Delawala, president of Sargam Club, a city-based NGO.

“The flight will take off from Delhi at 5:50 am and will land in Rajkot at 8:15 am. The return flight will take off from Rajkot at 8:45 am and land in Delhi at 11:15 am. We shall operate the flight six-days-a-week. There will be no flight on Wednesday,” station manager of Air India in Rajkot, Ramakant Khavalia told The Indian Express.
23/02/15 Indian Express

Read More

Job racket accused held at Mumbai airport

Coimbatore: After intensive search for a couple of years, District Crime Branch nabbed Sanjay Kumar (31), of Mettupalayam, for cheating many job aspirants to the tune of Rs. 22.43 lakh by promising them jobs in London. The police said that he was arrested at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, when he returned from London two days ago.

According to the police, Santhana Krishnan of Mettupalayam lodged a complaint with them a couple of years ago alleging that Sanjay Kumar and his parents Rajkumar (55) and Pushpalatha (47) of Mettupalayam and two others got Rs. six lakh from him and cheated him by not getting a job and refusing to return his money.

More complaints were received by the police that the said persons had cheated them in a similar manner from 2009 to 2011. The DCB police registered a case against the accused under sections 420 (cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy, 506(ii) (criminal intimidation) and 294B (using abusive language) of the IPC.
23/02/15 The Hindu

Read More

Partial Closure to Hit Functioning of Calicut Airport Hard

Kozhikode: The decision to partially close the Calicut International Airport at Karipur and to impose a total ban on wide-body aircraft on account of the recarpeting of the runway will adversely affect the functioning of the airport, causing trouble to fliers and disrupting the cargo movement.

According to sources, the airport will be partially closed from May 1 to October 31. However, this coincides with the commencement of the busy ‘Gulf season’. Industry experts warn that banning large aircraft from operating from Calicut would result in shortage of seats, leading to skyrocketing of ticket fares during the busiest season of the year from mid-June to September end.

“Runway recarpeting is a process that all airports across the world undertake every now and then. However, the work is usually carried out after careful planning and at regular intervals so as to avoid traffic disruptions. It appears that the authorities have not given any thoughts to these aspects nor conducted any study on how the runway work can be carried out with minimum impact on the functioning of the airport,” said C E Chakkunny, president, Malabar Development Society.
23/02/15 New Indian Express

Read More

AISATS gets ISAGO certification by IATA

Hyderabad: Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd (AISATS) today said it has received the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) certification for adhering to high safety standards at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and at its headquarters in Mumbai.

ISAGO audit is conducted in a standardised and consistent manner using internationally recognised quality auditing principles, according to an AISATS statement.

"The certification ensures safer ground operations, fewer accidents and injuries, uniform audit processes, eliminates redundant audits and effectively improves quality standards," it said.
23/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Mumbai's International Airport ranked among World's Best 5 Airports by Size

GVK-managed Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) has emerged as one of the top performing airports in the annual ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards for 2014, as announced by Airports Council International (ACI). This is the fourth consecutive year that CSIA has been rated among the top five airports worldwide in the 25-40 million passengers per annum category. CSIA had also won the award in the year 2010 in the 15-25 million passengers per year category.

These awards, which are regarded highly in the aviation industry, are testimony to CSIA's continued excellence in customer service. The award is the latest feather in CSIA's cap, which already boasts of some very prestigious awards including the Golden Peacock Award for its Pranaam GVK Guest Services.

Commenting on this achievement, Rajeev Jain, Chief Executive Officer, Mumbai International Airport Private Limited, said, "We started off with a vision to be among the best airports in the world, and this award is validation of the fact that our efforts towards establishing world-class service quality are headed in the right direction. We would like to thank all our passengers and everyone who toasts us as the pride of Mumbai. We will continue to serve you better and delight you always."
22/02/15 EquityBulls

Read More

Airport scam exposé: RTI activist alleges death threats

RTI activist Vishwas Bhamburkar, who recently filed a case against the Airports Authority of India-MIAL combine, for the alleged Rs 5,887 crore infrastructure scam, as well as two cases against the police for failing to follow the law, has now complained of receiving death threats.

In a written complaint to the police in Ahmedabad, where he resides, Bhamburkar has said that three men speaking a mix of English and Hindi threatened him after accosting him near his home on Saturday evening, a day after he visited the Sahar police station and recorded statements in a fourth case he is in the process of filing.

"I was walking home after running an errand when three men approached me. They asked if I was the Vishwas who had filed cases in the Mumbai airport matter. When I replied positively, they told me to back off. They asked me why I was doing this, and claimed they had managed to change the dates of hearing from February 23 to March 27. They warned me that if I did not pull back, I might not be around a month later," Bhamburkar told Mirror.
23/02/15 Mumbai Mirror

Read More

Passengers to be screened for swine flu at Mizoram's airport

Aizawl: Passengers at Mizoram's lone Lengpui Airport near here will be screened to ensure detection of people infected with swine flu.

The state Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme's Nodal Officer Pachuau Lalmalsawma said the screening was being conducted after obtaining permission from the Aviation department.

The lone case of swine flu infection was detected on February 13 in a woman arriving from Delhi but she is now completely cured, Lalmalsawma said, adding that samples of four people have been tested so far and only one person was found to be positive till date.
23/02/15 ZeeNews

Read More

Accused attempts to fly to Saudi Arabia, arrested

Ramanathapuram: The district police have arrested an accused who was absconding after the police booked him for taking out a ‘padayatra’ to Muthuramalinga Thevar memorial violating police orders, at Madurai Airport on Sunday when he tried to flee the country.

S. Boominathan (45) was one of the 53 people from Seyyamangalam village in Kamudhi block booked by the police for taking out a ‘padayatra’ from Abiramam to Muthuramalinga Thevar memorial at Pasumpon on January 5, violating police orders.

After the police registered the case against him and others under sections 143, 149, 153 (A) 1 (b), read with 188 of the Indian Penal Code, Boominathan had absconded. As he and three other accused in the case were passport holders, the police had issued a lookout circular to all the airports in the country.
23/02/15 The Hindu

Read More

Two women held for smuggling gold worth about Rs one crore

New Delhi: Two women have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing about Rs one crore at international airport here in separate incidents.

"A woman was intercepted by customs officials after her arrival from Hongkong here yesterday. On personal search, eight pieces of gold bar weighing 2.7 kgs were recovered," a press release issued today by the customs said.

The value of the gold seized from the woman, who hails from neighbouring Ghaziabad, is assessed to be Rs 68.51 lakh, it said.
23/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Srilankan hospitalised after swallowing 700 gms gold

Nedumbassery: A native of Srilanka was arrested at the Nedumbassery Airport for swallowing 700 grams of gold. He was admitted at the Ernakulam Cooperative Medical College Hospital Monday morning after his condition turned worse when efforts were taken to take out the gold bars.

The arrested has been identified as Muhammed Suvine. He landed here Saturday evening in the Srilankan Airways. The authorities decided to conduct an inspection after a big chain weighing 50 gms was found on his neck.  On examination, a bill of 700 grms was found in his pocket.
23/02/15 Kaumudi Online

Read More

Airports take Robert Vadra off no-frisking list

Goa/New Delhi:  Some airports have begun blanking out the name of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, Robert Vadra, from the list of those exempt from frisking before flying.

This comes as the Union home ministry is sitting on civil aviation ministry's demand for removing Vadra's name from the list of dignitaries.

The Goa airport, for instance, has boards with names of people exempt from frisking. Vadra's name — number 31 on the list - is the only one blanked out with white tape.

"Several passengers used to ask us what Vadra's credentials were to be on that list. So we plastered it out. Now, many express happiness at not seeing his name," said a security official at the Goa airport.
Sources said Goa is not an exception. Many airports have started blanking out Vadra's name from the list displayed at security check areas.

 A senior aviation ministry official confirmed the home ministry was yet to take a call on removing Vadra's name from the list.
22/02/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Airport infra, Mumbai Metro projects will add Rs1,450 crore to national GDP: Study

Mumbai: The state and Centre have every reason to expedite work on airport-related infrastructure and Metro projects in the city, if the outcome of recent economic impact audit of Mumbai airport is anything to go by.

Additional investment into these big-ticket projects in Mumbai will directly contribute Rs1,450 crore in income to country's gross domestic product during the entire construction phase (2014–15 to 2018–19), reveals the audit by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), a leading economic impact research institute.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), which is considered among the busiest airports in Asia, is being developed under a public-private partnership (PPP).

According to NCAER, in terms of indirect contribution, airport-related construction activities will contribute Rs2,340 crore in income to the GDP during the entire construction phase (2014–15 to 2018–19). It says passenger traffic at CSIA is likely to touch 49 million by 2022–23.
22/02/15 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

HC Notice to CIAL

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has issued a notice to the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) on a petition against the proposal to set up a solar plant on the ground adjacent to the runway, which is a clearance space at the airport.

The court issued the notice on the petition filed by Kochi Development Society president Sunil Kumar M, seeking a directive to implement the project only after obtaining approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

According to the petitioner, glare from the solar modules would cause serious safety issues to aircraft.
22/02/15 New Indian Express

Read More

Meat shops to lose licence if they don't dispose waste properly

Mumbai: In order to control the increasing number of bird hit cases, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's markets department will inspect meat shops in the vicinity of the international airport in Santacruz, to ensure they are dumping their garbage properly in closed bins.

"We had already served notices to several meat shops around the airport, following a series of meetings with airport authorities. Most of them are located in H-East and L wards (covering Santacruz and Kurla)," a senior markets department official said. Most of the shops are located within 10-km of the airport.

"We will carry out inspections to check if these shops are dumping waste properly. If not, we would cancel their licences," the official said.

The Bombay high court had recently directed the BMC to come up with a way to keep a check on the garbage dumped in a 10-km radius around the airport.
22/02/15 Amrita Nayak Dutta/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Minister seeks more Mangaluru-Gulf flights

Mangaluru:  Karnataka Health Minister UT Khader has urged the Union Government to increase the number of aircraft operations from Mangalore International Airport to Gulf countries.

Khader, who met the Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in New Delhi, told him that there is good demand for flights between Mangaluru and Gulf countries.

He requested the Minister to operate direct flights from Mangaluru to Saudi Arabia and Jeddah. More private airlines should operate flights from Mangaluru to Gulf countries, he said.
22/02/15 Business Line

Read More

CM entourage member held at airport after return from Dhaka

Kolkata: Film producer Shibaji Panja, who was part of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's entourage to Dhaka, was detained at the airport here by Delhi Police after the team landed here last night.

A senior official of the Bidhan Nagar Commissionerate said a look out notice had been issued against Panja by Delhi Police in connection with a case.

However, details of the case were not immediately available.
22/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Indian anti-terror authorities stop man from boarding Dubai flight

Indian anti-terror authorities stopped a graduate from boarding a flight to the UAE, where he was due to take up a job with a company in Dubai, because of his previous links with the terrorist group ISIL.

A spokesperson for India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) told 7Days newspaper that the mechanical engineering graduate had previously planned to join up with ISIL along with four others last year, but had decided against it, and wanted to take up a job with a company in the UAE.

However, as he attempted to leave Mumbai last week, Indian authorities stopped him from boarding the flight to Dubai.

“He was stopped because he is on our watch list for suspicious activity,” the NIA official told 7Days.
The official said that the youth, from Kalyan, is not accused of any crime and is not in custody.

“He was not caught in a manner where he was trying to escape. But he is not allowed to leave the country without informing police and getting their permission. His activities and associations are under suspicion, therefore he is required to be in the country and be available for inquiry whenever required,” the official said.
22/02/15 ArabianBusiness.com

Read More

Saifai airport gears up for VVIP line-up at Tej’s tilak

Lucknow: The airspace over Saifai, the native village of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, may well turn out to be the busiest in domestic circuit on Saturday when a host of political top guns, industrialists and B-town celebrities fly down to attend the 'tilak' ceremony of Mulayam's grandnephew Tej Pratap Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's youngest daughter, Raj Laxmi.

According to well-informed sources in the state government, around a dozen aircraft and choppers are expected to fly into Saifai with VVIPs on board. While flight movement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be taken care of by the Indian Air Force, the other dignitaries, including ministers in Akhilesh Yadav cabinet are expected to come by state plane and choppers. Various cine artistes like Amitabh Bachchan and industrialists like Anil Ambani too are likely to take an aerial route to reach Saifai.

District administration officials in Saifai confirmed that already half a dozen permissions for landing of choppers and aircraft have been received. More flight plans are likely to reach the air traffic control (ATC) at Saifai by Saturday.
21/02/15 Pankaj Shah/Times of India

Read More

“Will not permit operation of even a single flight on 11 March”

Ahmedabad: Airport Authority Employees Union has declared one day strike of all staff members of Airport Authority of India(AAI) on 11 March. In this connection, the General Secretary of Airport Authority Employees Union Balraj Singh Ahlawat was in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Ahlawat discussed protest programmes with AAI employees in Ahmedabad. Later while speaking to media persons he said that on 11 March, all employees of AAI will gather outside the departure gate of airport with their family members. They will not allow operation of even a single flight across the nation.

When asked why AAI employees union is protesting the privatization of airports, Ahlawat said number of AAI employees will lose their job if airports are privatized. Moreover, most of the employees will come under probation. If government gives assurance of safety of jobs of existing AAI employees, then only the union will drop its agitation.

Ahlawat said Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses twitter and therefore AAI employees will post daily 1,000 tweets opposing privatization of airports.
20/02/15 DeshGujarat

Read More

Non-availability of land slowing down IAF pojects: Official

Jodhpur: Non-availability of land to the Indian Air Force and delay within the course of of handing over of the recognized land have emerged as main slowdowns within the enlargement tasks, a senior official stated.

Be it enlargement of the prevailing Air Force stations or establishing middleman coaching subject, each have been hit on account of the shortage of enough land.

In the South West Air Command (SWAC), the matter of land for the enlargement of the Air Force stations of Jodhpur and Pune is but to be resolved. Similarly, the method of land identification for setting of the Intermediary Training Field at Deesa air base is dragging its ft, the official stated.
21/02/15 BharatPress

Read More

GVK mulls listing of airport arm

Hyderabad:  GVK Power & Infrastructure plans to list its airport vertical business. The diversified Hyderabad-based infrastructure company is in the process of preparing the documentation and has appointed consultants and bankers to facilitate the filing of the draft prospectus with the regulators within a month. They are looking at bringing down debt by about ?3,000 crore.

Faced with a consolidated debt commitment of over ?24,000 crore on its books, the company has been seeking to bring down its debt at the holding company level by roping in a strategic partner, equity infusion and even a qualified institutional placement (QIP) offer.

While it has been in talks with some of the private equity players, the equity infusion has so far not materialised due to various extraneous factors.

Meanwhile, the airport vertical, which operates and manages Mumbai International Airport Ltd and Bangalore International Airport, and working on modernisation of Bali airport in Indonesia, has also been feeling the burden of the debt.
19/02/15 Business Line

Read More

Ethiopian Airlines to Increase Flights to Mumbai

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest airline in Africa, is pleased to announce that it has finalized preparations to start double daily flights to Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport starting March 2015. Ethiopian has been providing reliable air service to Mumbai for over 43 years with the launch of its first flight in December 1971. The airline currently has daily flights to Mumbai and New Delhi.

Both daily flights to Mumbai will be operated with the ultra-modern B787 Dreamliner aircraft, which offers passengers unparalleled on-board comfort with the largest windows in the sky, higher level of cabin air humidity greatly reducing fatigue, high ceiling, the latest in-flight entertainment system and much reduced noise. With the double daily flights to Mumbai, Ethiopian aims to provide optimal connectivity options for passengers traveling between India and its 49 destinations in Africa.

Africa-India traffic is witnessing a significant rise owing to the economic growth of the two regions and their increasing trade, investment and tourism ties in addition to the travel demand of the large Indian community in various African countries.
20/02/15 Ibe Uwaleke/The Guardian

Read More

Officials detain wrong man again

Chennai: In an embarrassing second case of mistaken identity during the ‘execution’ of look-out circulars (LOCs) in the last four months, immigration officials at the Chennai airport detained Kuber Saravanan, instead of Kuber Venkatesh, a suspect wanted in a case of group clash. In the earlier case, immigration authorities had jailed a wrong woman from Kerala in November last year, based on an LOC, and she had to go to court to prove her identity. In the latest case, the mistaken identity was detected before the ‘suspect’ was sent to jail.

The immigration team picked up Kuber, 35, when he reached the airport to fly by the 9.45 pm flight to Dubai on Thursday as per the LOC. After the ‘suspect’ was detained, immigration officials informed the Kancheepuram police who had issued the LOC. On Friday morning, after the details were handed over to the police, the investigators noticed that immigration officials had detained the wrong man.
21/02/15 Deccan Chronicle

Read More

Advisory Committee meeting organised by AAI, Bhubaneswar Airport

Bhubaneswar: The Advisory Committee meeting was organised by AAI, Bhubaneswar Airport, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patasani, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (BBSR).

The agenda of the meeting included issues related to passenger facilitation aimed at making Bhubaneswar Airport user-friendly, handling of congestion at the airport, cleanliness, transport including taxi services, international operations, cargo operations, points/issues related to airport functioning affecting directly/indirectly the interest of the airport users and suggestions to enhance the airport image in terms of services & passenger facilities.
20/02/15 Odisha Diary

Read More

Evening flights likely at Srinagar Airport

Srinagar: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is likely to extend flight schedules at Srinagar Airport up to 10 pm as the Indian Air Force has approved operation of evening flights.
The evening flights at Srinagar Airport has been a long pending demand of stakeholders particularly tourism players who have time and again reiterated their demand for late evening flights to Kashmir in order to boost tourism.
Sources informed Greater Kashmir that Indian Air Force has already approved the operation of evening flights and after BJP-led government took over the government at Centre, the Defence Ministry officials have asked the officials of IAF and AAI to work out modalities to install lighting facilities and prepare runways to host night flights.
“It is highly likely that soon evening flights will start operating from Srinagar Airport,” said a senior officer of AAI here.
J&K has four airfields – one each in Jammu and Leh, and two in Kashmir including the Srinagar Airport. But all the airports are controlled by Indian Air Force.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Commissioner Secretary Tourism, Shailendra Kumar said they have already taken up the issue with AAI of extending flight timing and are hopeful that soon they would consider the plea.
20/02/15 Mukeet Akmali/Greater Kashmir

Read More

Pegasus Asia launches flights to Delhi

Continuing to expand its network, Pegasus Asia has launched scheduled flights to India’s capital Delhi. Guests can fly between Bishkek and Delhi on Mondays and Fridays with fares starting at just £104.
Pegasus Asia, born out of Pegasus Airlines’ partnership with the Kyrgyz airline Air Manas, continues its growth with the launch of new routes and increased flight frequencies. The Bishkek-based airline now includes scheduled flights to Delhi as the latest addition to its growing network.
Guests can fly from Bishkek to Delhi on Mondays at 08:30 and Fridays at 21:55 and return from Delhi to Bishkek on Mondays at 12:15 and Saturdays at 01:40, with fares starting at just £104. 
20/02/15 ITCM

Read More

Shiv Sena wing vandalises airport’s new cargo section

Mumbai: Activists of the Maharashtra Maal Vahtuk Sena affiliated to the Shiv Sena vandalised the newly-inaugurated extension of the perishable cargo section at the Mumbai International Airport Limited at Andheri on Thursday to protest the exclusion of the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji on the signage and banners put up to announce the new addition to the cargo complex. While activists claimed responsibility for the damage, the police denied the same. The activists have given the management of the cargo complex a day’s time to rectify the mistake and make the required addition to the name of the new extension.

Vijay Chitre, president of the MMVS, said that they were shocked to see that the management of the cargo complex had conveniently left out the name of Shivaji from the newly-inaugurated extension that will be used to store perishable goods while in transit.

“Our activists confronted the management, but when they did not receive any favourable response they tore down the banners and signage at the cargo complex. Around 50-100 activists were present at the spot and would have wreaked more damage had it not been for the intervention of the police,” said Chitre.
21/02/15 Asian Age

Read More

Smugglers leave behind gold in toilets of aeroplane

Mumbai:  Smugglers recently left behind 6 kg of gold worth Rs 1.5 crore concealed in the toilets of an aeroplane after having arrived in the city from Dubai.

From the city, the flight and the gold travelled to Kozhikode and then on to Delhi, from where it was back to Kozhikode and then the city, where Customs officers finally searched the aircraft on specific information and recovered the contraband.

From the city, the flight was supposed to again fly out of the country.
 Customs officials suspect the involvement of insiders and questioned airline employees. Commissioner of Customs at the airport A P S Suri said it was after many years that a recovery of gold had been made from a departing aircraft. "We suspect that the gold was concealed in Dubai," he said.
20/02/15 Vijay V Singh/Times of India

Read More

Customs seizes gold hidden in man's rectum

Mangaluru: Customs officers at Mangalore International Airport seized six 10 thola gold bars totally weighing 700 gm, valued at Rs 18,90,000, brought by a passenger who arrived from Dubai by Jet Airways, on February 19.

According to Assistant Commissioner of Customs (Airport) N Udayashan- karan, the passenger, Mohammed Shroon (22), a resident of Kandathpalli in Mangaluru had brought the six gold bars by concealing them in his rectum.
20/02/15 SahilOnline

Read More

Four kg gold, hidden in plane's toilet seized at Vizag

Hyderabad: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday said it had seized about 4 kg of gold worth about Rs 1.2 crore from an aircraft after it landed at the Visakhapatnam airport.

Based on a tip-off, DRI officers in Hyderabad intercepted a passenger who arrived from Dubai at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport yesterday.

The passenger confessed that 40 gold bars had been concealed in the toilet of the aircraft, a DRI release said.
21/02/15 ZeeNews

Read More

Gold seized at Mangalore airport

Mangaluru: The officials of the Customs Department seized gold worth ?18.9 lakh at Mangalore International Airport on Thursday. A press release by the department said here that the officials seized six gold bars, weighing 700 grams and valued at ?18.9 lakh, from a passenger who came from Dubai.
20/02/15 Business Line

Read More

Bulls flown in from Frankfurt to Kolkata to beat milk production blues

Kolkata: On Valentine's Day, a Saudia Cargo chartered freighter landed at Kolkata airport with a unique consignment. In its cavernous belly were 36 thoroughbred young German bulls, ready to inseminate cows that will then deliver high genetic merit bulls and cows with higher milk productivity.

The 36 Holstein Friesian bulls that arrived in Kolkata were among the 76 bulls that were loaded in the plane at Frankfurt. Of them, 40 were offloaded in Chennai while the rest made their way to Kolkata. The bulls were imported by National Dairy Development Board for a national breeding programme to improve the genetic potential of Indian cows under the National Dairy Plan.

"This is the largest consignment of live animals handled at Kolkata airport in recent years" Airports Authority of India joint general manager (cargo operations) Girish Sharma said.

The bulls, between six months and a year old and weighing around 300 kg each, are being quarantined and will be under observation for 30 days.

"The bulls have been kept in air-conditioned sheds so that they do not feel any discomfort," an official at the airport quarantine section said. Regional quarantine officer D Biswas had flown to Germany on February 7 to be briefed on how to take care of bulls.
19/02/15 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

Read More

Cargo services at Gannavaram soon

Vijayawada: The recent announcement of Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapati Raju that the Ministry was devising strategies to improve cargo services across the country has given the much needed impetus to the officials to introduce similar services at Gannavaram airport.

The officials included the launch of cargo services at Gannavaram in the master plan prepared for expansion of the airport.

“We initially want to include transportation of newspapers, food products and etc in the cargo services. Based on the response, it will be extended to other products,” a senior official said. Plans have also been chalked out to provide necessary infrastructure for commencing these services soon.
19/02/15 M. Srinivas/The Hindu

Read More

Modern shops for aircraft safety

Bhubaneswar: To ensure better environment around the airport and reduce bird-hit cases, the municipal corporation will develop 18 modern shops to sell non-vegetarian food items at Unit IV market and 12 near Ghatikia.

On the other hand, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) will relocate the makeshift non-vegetarian market from Sundarpada to an adjacent facility, which is owned by it and lying defunct.

Sources in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation said the Union ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises has a scheme through which modern non-vegetarian food selling shops can get a subsidy of 50 per cent of the detailed project report or Rs 5 lakh per shop (whichever is less) so that hygienic facilities would come up in cities across the country.
Airport director Sharad Kumar said: "Several shops selling meat and chicken products are seen near the approach path of the airport along the NH-5 in Baramunda and Khandagiri. Once modern shops for non-vegetarian items are ready at Ghatikia, open slaughter can be controlled. Open slaughter near the Bhubaneswar Development Authority market at Sundarpada is also causing problem for the airport.''
19/02/15 Telegraph

Read More

Crackers start fire at airport

Chennai: There was a minor blaze at the Chennai airport on Wednesday when a grass patch caught fire from crackers thrown near the runway to scare away birds.

Two flights were affected due to the incident, airport sources said.

Officials at Airports Authority of India (AAI) said fire crackers are routinely used to scare away birds to avoid accidents caused by them. “Around 11 a.m., crackers thrown near the runway set the grass patch on fire. One fire tender was immediately pressed into service and the fire was put out. No one was injured in the incident. Also, flight movements were delayed only by a few minutes,” an official said.

Birds hitting aircraft or flying in their path are a constant source of trouble at the airport. Though the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued a circular last year to avoid the usage of crackers to scare away birds, it is very much in practice. “What other options do we have to keep away the birds? We have to either use bird scare guns or crackers,” he said.

In September last year, an IndiGo flight was hit by a bird after it landed, according to AAI officials.
19/02/15 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

Read More

Surge in flights out of Mumbai airport

Mumbai:  It was a busy day at the airport on Tuesday with a rise in number of charter flights as politicians thronged Anjani village to attend former deputy chief minister R R Patil's funeral.

Other than the charter flights to interior Maharashtra, several unscheduled flights were bound for the air show in Bangalore. The airport, which handles about 780 flights a day on average, managed 840 take-offs and landings on Tuesday.

"Most of the unscheduled flights were bound for interior Maharashtra and then there were some for Bangalore," an aviation source said. On a couple of occasions earlier (because of cricket matches) the airport handled about 840-850 flights a day.
18/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Cathay Pacific adds Kolkata to its cargo map

Cathay Pacific Airways has expanded its freight network to Kolkata. The airline is now the only carrier providing direct cargo services between Kolkata and Hong Kong.

The scheduled service will operate twice a week on a Hong Kong-New Delhi-Kolkata-Hong Kong route.

It will strengthen the airline’s airfreight presence within the subcontinent, offering customers greater choice and flexibility when moving goods between South Asia and other parts of the world, top officials of Cathay Pacific said.

At present, Cathay Pacific operates cargo services to 46 freighter destinations around the world, including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai in India. It also carries freight in the bellies of its 140-plus passenger aircraft that serve a growing global network.
18/02/15 Ritwik Mukherjee/mydigitalfc.com

Read More

Revealed! The world's best airport for customer service

The Airports Council International (ACI) has just announced its 2014 Airport Service Quality Awards - and in the largest category, over 40 million passengers per year, the Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, has been named the best for customer service.

 According to CNN, the ACI, a nonprofit organisation based in Montreal with 591 members operating 1,861 airports in 177 countries - surveyed 550,000 passengers prior to boarding their flights and asked them to rate their satisfaction with the airport that day.

 Seoul also came top in the 15 to 25 million passengers per year size, with the Gimpo International Airport, Seoul, South Korea, being named first.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, was best in the 25 to 40 million passengers per year size, while the two to five million passengers top spot was taken by the Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
18/02/15 Ruth Doherty/AOL

Read More

Aranmula in focus

Thiruvananthapuram: The temple town of Aranmula was recently making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The move to set up an international airport, which was allegedly given an environmental clearance flouting all norms, was the beginning. Though the National Green Tribunal set aside the clearance which was later upheld by the Supreme Court, the dust has not yet settled on the controversy. Aaranmula: Aaranmula at Crossroads, a documentary by P.R. Sreekumar takes up the issue, and explores the rich heritage of the land, unscientific development initiatives and massive people’s movement against the airport project.

The 57-minute documentary captures the legacy of the land on the banks of Pamba, which is famous for its Parthasarathy Temple, boat race, Vallasadya, the Aranmula mirror, ritualistic art form of Padayani, and sacred groves.

The film was first screened at the third Delhi International Film Festival 2014, under Green Film category. Sreekumar’s earlier works are Neelakurinji, Pambattam, Parameswaravijayam: Oru Chuttikatha, Vallithai, Naalam Pookkaalam, Chavara Parukutty: Kathakaliyile Sthree Parvam, and Vaalkkannadi.
19/02/15 Athira M/The Hindu

Read More

Gold bars worth Rs 1.49 crore retrieved from aircraft toilet in Mumbai

Mumbai: An Indigo flight departing to Muscat was detained by the Mumbai Customs Wednesday evening after 6 kg gold worth Rs 1.49 crore was found in its toilets. While no arrests were made and the aircraft remains detained till Thursday afternoon, this is the first time gold was recovered from a departing aircraft, said customs officials.
Based on specific inputs, customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) intercepted the ‘scheduled to depart’ Indigo flight 6E 81. “Twenty seconds inside the aircraft’s toilets and we took out six bars of gold worth Rs 4.9 crore,” said an official with the Air Intelligence Unit. “The gold was found concealed ‘ingeniously’ behind the wash basin in the three toilets of the aircraft.”
19/02/15 Anjali Lukose/Indian Express

Read More

Maha govt suspends 4 PWD staffers over party at Ojhar airport

Mumbai: Maharashtra government has suspended four PWD employees in connection with a farewell party organised on the premises of the airport building at Ojhar in Nashik district, which comprised free flowing liquor, dance and loud music.

"We have suspended four PWD staffers," Public Works Department minister Chandrakant Patil told PTI.

Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works Department (PWD), Anand Kulkarni said that action over the airport party issue was taken as per rules.

The party had been organised in the last week of January by Vilas Birari, director of Harsh Construction and president of Builders' Association of India, Nashik branch, to bid farewell to the PWD superintendent engineer on his retirement, for which officials of the PWD and members of the builders' fraternity were invited.
18/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Gold smuggling gang busted at Karipur

Kozhikode: Air Customs Intelligence and DRI officials at Karipur airport on Wednesday busted a gang that resorted to an ingenious mode of gold smuggling and recovered 6 kg of gold.

The gold was concealed inside the toilet of a private airline that came from Dubai. But departing from the earlier practice, the person who brought the gold did not take it out when the flight reached Karipur.

"After the international service, the flight goes for domestic services. Another person in the same gang was waiting at Karipur for boarding in the same fight. The plan was that he will take out the gold when the flight reaches Mumbai as there will not be any checking for smuggling for domestic flights," said Francis Kodankandath, superintendent, (Intelligence) Air Customs.
The information about the new modus operandi was revealed when the officials detained two persons - Abdul Adil who arrived from Dubai and Abdul Jalaludheen Sheikh who was about to board for domestic service.
19/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Three held for smuggling gold worth Rs 50 lakh at airport

New Delhi: Three persons, including an Afghan national, have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold bars valuing over Rs 50 lakh at international airport in two separate incidents.

Acting on intelligence, a passenger was intercepted by customs officials after his arrival from Dubai here on Monday. He has handed over gold bar weighing a kilogram to an employee working as customer service agent for a firm engaged in ground handling work at the airport, a customs official said.

On personal search of the customer service agent, the gold bar weighing a kilogram and valuing about Rs 24.79 lakh was recovered. Both the persons in this case were arrested, he said.
18/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

AI pilots grounded after tail strike

Mumbai: An Air India aircraft with 194 people on board had a narrow escape after suffering a tail strike while landing at Mumbai airport on Sunday afternoon. The Airbus A-321 (VT-PPD) was operating as AI 680 from Mangalore to Mumbai. During touchdown, the plane's long tail portion scraped the runway at very high speed for some seconds before the nose wheel was lowered down and the aircraft brought to its correct position.MUMBAI:

Luckily for the 187 passengers and seven crew members on board, the aircraft came to a halt safely. But a crew member reportedly suffered bruises due to the impact of what was possibly a hard landing that may have led to the tail strike.

"Both the pilots have been grounded. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing this incident. We are cooperating with them," said an AI spokesperson. Given the seriousness of the case, the head of DGCA's safety wing, joint DG Lalit Gupta, is handling the case from Delhi as both the AI pilots are based in the capital. The safety regulator's Mumbai unit is also doing a probe since the incident happened there.
17/02/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Air India aircraft's tail damaged in faulty landing, passengers unhurt

New Delhi:  An Air India aircraft with 194 people on board had a narrow escape after suffering a tail strike while landing at Mumbai airport on Sunday (February 15) afternoon. The Airbus A-321 (VT-PPD) was operating as AI 680 from Mangalore to Mumbai. During touchdown, the plane's long tail portion scraped the runway at very high speed for some seconds before the nose wheel was lowered down and the aircraft brought to its correct position.

Luckily for the 187 passengers and seven crew members on board, the aircraft came to a halt safely. However, a crew member reportedly suffered bruises due to the impact of what was possibly a hard landing that may have led to the tail strike.

"Both the pilots have been grounded. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing this incident. We are cooperating with them," said an AI spokesman. Given the seriousness of the case, the head of DGCA's safety wing, joint DG Lalit Gupta, is handling the case from Delhi as both the AI pilots are based in the capital. The safety regulator's Mumbai unit is also doing a probe since the incident happened there.
17/02/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Govt may give nod for airport in Bareilly soon

Bareilly: City's demand for a civilian airport may soon become a reality. The district authorities have claimed that the work for acquisition of land from farmers will begin from March for setting up a civilian airport in the city. The authorities at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are learned to have assured senior officials of the district administration that state government will give clearance to the project this month.

The project has been in the pipeline for more than 10 years now. According to the plan, the airport is proposed to come up in Bareilly near Ahmednagar village at Pilibhit bypass, next to Indian Air Force's Trishul airport. The land earmarked for the airport will be registered under the Airport Authority of India's (AAI) name.

"In a recent meeting which took place in Lucknow to discuss the project, officials of DGCA have assured us that the government order regarding setting up of an airport would be released within this month," said Manish Kumar Nahar, sub divisional magistrate of Sadar and special land acquisition officer. He added, "Once we receive the government order in connection with airport, we will chalk out a policy and take appropriate action from March."
16/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Privatisation: Airports Authority of India employees to strike work on March 11

New Delhi:  Employees union of state-run airports on Monday called an all-India strike on March 11 to protest against the government's move to hand over airports, in which it has already invested Rs 5,000 crore public money, to private operators.

The decision to strike work was taken at a meeting of the joint forum of Airports Authority of India (AAI) associations and unions held on last Friday, Airports Authority Employees Union general secretary and Joint Form member Balraj Singh Ahlawat said in a letter to the civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Monday.
16/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Ethiopian Airlines to increase flight frequency to Mumbai

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest airline in Africa, has finalised preparations to start double daily flights to Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport starting March 2015. Ethiopian has been providing air service to Mumbai for over 43 years with the launch of its first flight in December 1971. The airline currently has daily flights to Mumbai and New Delhi.

Both daily flights to Mumbai will be operated with the ultra-modern B787 Dreamliner aircraft, which offers passengers with the largest windows in the sky, higher level of cabin air humidity reducing fatigue, high ceiling, the latest in-flight entertainment system and much reduced noise.

With the double daily flights to Mumbai, Ethiopian aims to provide optimal connectivity options for passengers traveling between India and its 49 destinations in Africa. Africa-India traffic is witnessing a significant rise owing to the economic growth of the two regions and their increasing trade, investment and tourism ties in addition to the travel demand of the large Indian community in various African countries.
16/02/15 Financial Express

Read More

Norwegian Air plans flights from Europe to Brazil, India, South Africa

Oslo: Budget carrier Norwegian Air plans to launch direct flights from London, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm to Brazil, India and South Africa by the end of 2016, the company said on Monday.

"These destinations are definitely in our pipeline," spokeswoman Anne-Sissel Skaanvik said, adding that, depending on aircraft availability, the company aims to open the routes by the end of next year.

"It would be natural for these routes to be flown from the Scandinavian capitals and from London Gatwick where we are already seeing unprecedented growth."
17/02/15 Reuters/The Hindu

Read More

Mangaluru-Kuwait flights: NRI forum demands better service, timings

Mangaluru: Gulf NRI Forum of Kuwait on Monday February 16 urged improvement in the services of Air India Express flights between Mangaluru and Kuwait.

Addressing a press meet here, Gulf NRI Forum of Kuwait president Pascal Pinto said, "We thank DGCA Kuwait, DGCA India and Air India for restarting the direct flight between Mangaluru-Kuwait. This is very useful for the growth of tourism in the coastal region and for patients who travel to the coastal region for the cheaper medical treatment."
Urging for more convenient flight timings, he said, "We request the authorities to implement old timings. Earlier the departure from Kuwait was at 12 am IST and arrival was 7.15 am IST which was very convenient for all of us and it saved time. But now the departure from Kuwait is at 12 pm IST and arrival at 7.15 pm IST which is causing inconvenience to many, especially if the flight is delayed."

He also urged for more facilitiees in the flight, saying, "The authorities need to provide more facilities to mothers with infants and aged persons. They should provide fresh refreshments and not sandwiches, and also provide some drinks against payment.
16/02/15 Daijiworld

Read More

Protest stalls survey for airports

Thiruvananthapuram: A proposal to set up airports in the hilly districts of Idukki and Wayanad is unlikely to materialise in the near future with the government “foreclosing” feasibility studies entrusted to the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) three years ago.

Inability to take forward the survey has been cited by the government to foreclose the studies for the proposed airports at Anakkara in Idukki and at Chakkalloor, near Panamaram, in Wayanad. Environmentalists and other organisations are up in arms against the projects. The Kerala State Biodiversity Board had opposed the project in Wayanad citing ecological consequences.

The KSIDC was entrusted to carry out the Techno Economic Feasibility Study and Environment Impact Assessment through a suitable agency in 2012. A sum for Rs.37.97 lakh was sanctioned for the study in Idukki and Rs.22.57 lakh for Wayanad.
17/02/15 S Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

Read More

Delhi airport ranked first globally for service quality

Mumbai:  GMR group-run Delhi airport has been ranked the best airport for service quality among airports handling 25-40 million passengers annually.

The award was announced on Monday  by Airport Council International based on passenger survey at 300 airports around the world.

Along with Delhi, Kolkata airport has won the award for best improvement amongst airports in the Asia-Pacific region.

These awards represent passengers' views on 34 key service indicators and are an objective and accurate indicator of the top worldwide performing airports with regard to passenger service.

"Airports are more than simply points of departure and arrival," said Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World. "They are complex businesses in their own right. As such, a focus on serving the passenger has become increasingly important to ensuring success. In the fast-changing landscape of worldwide aviation, Airport Service Quality  is the key to understanding how to increase passenger satisfaction and improve business performance," she added.
17/02/15 Business Standard

Read More

NSG commandos carry out mock drill at Kolkata airport

Kolkata:  With the threat of terror strikes looming large on Kolkata and other important locations in the eastern part of the country, National Security Guard (NSG) commandos have started a series of drills. While a special team from New Delhi started a three-day counter-hijack drill at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata on Monday, Black Cat commandos from the regional hub at Badu near the city departed for a series of such exercises in Gaya and Bodh Gaya.

"There are certain threats against which we need to be prepared. Ever since its modernisation, more carriers are operating from NSCBI Airport. Intelligence inputs have claimed that a hijack may be planned in an aircraft operating in this sector. Services between Kolkata, Bangladesh, Nepal, South East Asia and West Asia are at greater risk. The special drill by the team from New Delhi will help in better understanding of the area of operations and the situation on ground. Commandos from the regional hub at Badu will also be part of the operations," a source in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.
17/02/15 Jayanta Gupta/Times of India

Read More

Demands for better connectivity

Mysuru: A few other demands for the long-term growth of Mysuru pertain to enhancing 0connectivity. The government has been urged to expedite land acquisition etc. to develop Belagola as the second railway terminal. This is said to be important as the existing station is choked and there is no land for expansion.

Underlying the importance of an airport for the city, the wish list urges the State government to take up extension of the runway and initiate other measures to make the Mysuru airport commercially viable.
17/02/15 The Hindu

Read More

Tiruchirapalli airport receives hoax bomb call

Tiruchirapalli: An unidentified person called up a top airport official here informing a bomb would go off on its premises on Tuesday, police said.

Police and bomb detection squad with sniffer dog conducted a thorough checking after the caller told the air port Terminal Manager at 4.25 am that a bomb had been planted in the airport premises and it would explode at 8 am.

However, the call turned out to be hoax, police said.

Police noted that the call had come from Tirukattupalli in Thanjavur district.
17/02/15 PTI/The Hindu

Read More

Faulty position of airport gate poses danger

Thiruvananthapuram:  The position of the second gate of the international terminal of Thiruvananthapuram airport is increasingly becoming a matter of concern for motorists. TRDCL, the implementing agency of City Roads Improvement Project ( Crip), has already raised objection over the gate's position.

Although vehicles exiting through the gate that opens to the Chackai-Shanghumugham road should take the one-way to the left so that it can take a U-turn a few metres ahead, most drivers prefer going right which poses high risk for collisions.
 Local residents said drivers ignore the one-way to gain easy access to main road when they should actually be taking the turn near KSEB Junction. TRDCL has sent a letter to the airport authorities citing that the gate has been positioned incorrectly.
17/02/15 Arya UR/Times of India

Read More

Terror threat prompts NSG drill at airport

Kolkata: With the threat of terror strikes looming large on Kolkata and other important locations in the eastern part of the country, National Security Guard ( NSG) commandos have started a series of drills. While a special team from New Delhi arrived in Kolkata for a three-day counter-hijack drill at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Monday, Black Cat commandos from the regional hub at Badu near the city will soon leave for a series of such exercises in Gaya and Bodh Gaya.
17/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Government neglects police station in Aerocity, no toilets in 2 years

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and the Airport Metro Express Line may boast of international infrastructure but the nearby Airport Express Line police station is in a pathetic state.

Over the past two years, the police station lacks basic amenities like toilets and changing room for women constables.

The police station is being run from two small rooms. Moreover, at least 20 policemen are forced to sit in a single room.

Senior officials of the Delhi Police have submitted various letters to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and GMR seeking basic facilities but the agencies have just been passing the buck.

Due to acute shortage of space, the guarantee and warranty of the computers have already expired while still in sealed packs. Further, FIRs are still being registered through old method of pen and paper as police cannot make use of electronic FIR system with the computers becoming mere showpieces.

"Agencies boast that Airport Express Line and Delhi International Airport are of world class but the agencies are unable to provide basic services to operate the police station since the past two years. Subsequently, the police are running one of the most prominent police stations in the national Capital from just two small rooms," a senior police official told MAIL TODAY.
17/02/15 Ankur Sharma/Mail Today

Read More

Mumbai airport facilities decent for most fliers, reveals audit

An audit commissioned by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) through an external agency has brought to light some startlingly facts — what passengers think about the airport in city.

Facilities, convenience and cleanliness always remain the main parameters on which any airport is judged by passengers and others alike.
Of the 4,637 passengers surveyed by the National Council of Applied Economics Research (NCAER), 3,246 (70.1%) were domestic and 1,391 (29.9%) were international.

About 62.2% passengers surveyed said the check-in facility at city airport is 'good', while only 13.2% felt that it was 'excellent', and 2.7% thought it was 'poor'. In terms of cleanliness and sanitation on the premises, 55.6% said it was 'good', 14.5% rated it 'excellent', and 4.4% felt that these services were 'poor'.
Similarly, 67.2% passengers felt that the boarding facilities were 'good', but a mere 8.2% found them to be 'excellent'. About 2.5% felt that the boarding facilities were 'poor'.

According to the NCAER report, of the total number of survey participants, 37.6% were in the age group of 25–34 and 26.4% in the age group of 35–44, indicating that a maximum number, ie 64%, were aged between 25 and 44, the age group known for its high level of spending.
17/02/15 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Over 4 kg gold seized from women passengers at Hyd airport

Hyderabad: Customs officials today seized over 4 kg gold worth Rs 1.10 crore from four women passengers in two separate cases at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here as they allegedly tried to smuggle the precious metal.

In the first case, officials seized 3.32 kg gold bars worth Rs 92 lakh from three women passengers who arrived at the airport from a flight from Dubai, while 800 gram gold bars worth Rs 22 lakh was seized from another woman passenger who arrived by a flight from Bangkok, a Customs official said.
17/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

540g gold seized from flier at airport

Trichy: Immigration authorities arrested four passengers, who arrived at the Trichy International Airport in different flights, for allegedly trying to smuggle gold by hiding it in their rectums on Monday.

The arrested have been admitted at the government hospital here to undergo 'banana treatment'. According to immigration authorities, they expect to recover around 1,000g of gold from the arrested passengers. Authorities seized 540g of gold from Kethiswari, 48, one of the arrested passengers. She was scanned completely and sent to hospital to recover the gold. The recovered gold was estimated to be worth Rs 16 lakh.
17/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Pune's courier firm driver held for stealing 80 cellphones

Pune: The Airport police have solved a theft case involving a box of 80 cellphones worth Rs 1 lakhafter the arrest of a courier company driver on February 10. Police have recovered 35 cellphones worth Rs 43,750 from the suspect.

The arrested has been identified as David D'souza (26) of Somwar Peth. His accomplice Sitaram Arenor is yet to be arrested.

The incident came to light after Taranath Pokhrel (29) of Tingrenagar, an official of the Om Logistics Limited, registered a complaint with the Airport police earlier this month. In his complaint, he stated that one box containing 80 cellphones worth Rs 1 lakh had gone missing from the airport on September 9, 2014.

In a statement issued on Monday, senior inspector Sanjay Kurundkar, in-charge of the Airport police station, said Pokhrel had transported 70 boxes containing 5,580 cellphones from Noida to Pune on September 3, 2014. "However, one of the boxes containing 80 phones went missing from the airport after six days," Kurundkar added.

A police team led by sub inspector Rajendra Wagh, Santosh Jagtap and others laid a trap and took D'souza into custody on the basis of technical analysis of missing cellphones around 7pm on February 10 at 509 Chowk on Lohegaon Road.
17/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Excessive fuel burning forces Air India jet to do U-turn

New Delhi: On Sunday morning, its longhaul Delhi-Chicago flight had to return to Delhi from Central Asia as the Boeing 777 was "burning too much fuel". The aircraft took off from Delhi around 4.30am with 184 passengers on board. "The pilot saw that the aircraft was losing fuel fast and at 7.30am (after flying for almost three hours), he decided to return to Delhi. The aircraft landed here safely at 10.30 am," said an AI official.

The airline and safety regulator are yet to determine why the aircraft was burning fuel so fast. A source said: "Either it may have been a case of fuel leak or the aircraft may have been overloaded due to which the plane was burning so much fuel. This is being investigated," said an official. In the past few weeks, AI has seen a number of technical issues due to which its aircraft have even been grounded overseas.
16/02/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Bag on plane without flyer made him wait 6 hours at IGI

New Delhi:  A passenger had to cool his heels at Delhi Airport for over six hours this Valentine's Day after missing an international flight on which his checked-bag took off without him. He was allowed to leave the airport only after the aircraft landed at its destination abroad and the bag cleared customs and security checks there.

This situation arose here on Saturday when a passenger missed his Air India flight (AI 348) to Shanghai. Last month also, AI had faced a similar situation and it had to call its Birmingham-bound aircraft back to Delhi to offload the bag of the passenger who had missed that flight.

As per international aviation security norms, no airline can carry a bag abroad without its owner accompanying the same on the aircraft.  "On Saturday, AI was faced with a similar situation of calling the flight back to Delhi. But the passenger was at the boarding gate. To avoid calling the aircraft back, the airline security requested the passenger to remain in their 'custody' — remain with them inside the airport and not under detention — till the aircraft lands in China and his bag clears all checks there. He agreed to this request and the aircraft flew to its destination without being required to return to Delhi," said a source.
16/02/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Mangalore-Mumbai AI flight sustains tail strike

Mumbai: A Mangalore-Mumbai Air India flight (AI 680) carrying around 100 passengers sustained a tail strike while landing on MIAL's main runway on Sunday afternoon, indicating that the pilot raised the nose of the aircraft hurriedly.

The incident occurred at 2:39 pm. Directorate General of Civil Aviation officials said the pilot has been grounded following the accident. Meanwhile, the airline de-rostered both pilots on board the aircraft and has launched an investigation.

Vivek Gautam, a passenger who was on the flight, tweeted, "15th February is my new birthday. AI 680 gave all the experience of a crash while landing and even the pilot lost control for a few seconds."
16/02/15 Mumbai Mirror

Read More

Malindo Air starts fifth Indian route from Kuala Lumpur

Malindo Air has made Visakhapatnam (VTZ), also known as Vizag, its latest destination in India, with the introduction on 15 February of thrice-weekly (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) flights from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) using its 737-900ERs. The 2,612-kilometre route is not flown by any other carrier. CEO of Malindo Air, Mr Chandran Rama Muthy, said, “Our new routes in the past year have received very warm reception from the public, and hence we are introducing more to our current network. With Vizag, we aim to capture a bigger market for India where it will become our fifth destination in India and seventh in South Asia.”.
16/02/15 Anna.aero

Read More

GMR, GVK urge govt to scrap 5/20 rule entirely

New Delhi: Contrary to the stand taken by airline majors such as Jet Airways and IndiGo over the proposal to replace the present 5/20 rule for overseas flying with a credit-based scheme, private airport operators GMR and GVK have urged the government to abolish the rule in its entirety.

The strong views of airport companies gives the much-needed support to start-up ventures Vistara and Air Asia India, in which the Tatas have substantial stakes. They have been lobbying for scrapping the restriction besides providing a basis for policy change to the government.

As per the present regulation, a domestic airline is eligible to launch international operation only after completing five years of operation locally and reaching a minimum fleet size of 20. The Centre wants to dilute this rule and allow a new airline to fly international routes in its very first year of operation by earning 200 crore domestic flying credits (DFCs).
16/02/15  Nirbhay Kumar/mydigitalfc.com

Read More