Delhi airport project: PAC questions Govt on user fee, land deals

New Delhi: The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has unanimously adopted its draft report on the implementation of Public Private Partnership-Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
The PAC draft, as reported by Business Line on Thursday, deplored the Government for allowing the private partner to garner post contractual benefits in contravention of the provisions of the Operation Management Development Agreement.
Sources in the panel said majority of the members supported the demand for a thorough probe into the drafting of the OMDA and its implementation.
The panel, which examined the subject in depth, heard the representatives of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India, DIAL and GMR during its sittings that took almost two years.
30/01/14 Business Line

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Politicians enjoying VIP treatment at airports even after demitting office

New Delhi: After the DGCA notification leaked in media where they demanded private airlines to provide VIP treatment to MPs, now the ministry sources have claimed that politicians and bureaucrats continue to enjoy the VIP benefits even after their retirements.
India Today has accessed documents from the Civil Aviation ministry which shows how former aviation ministers and aviation secretaries continue to enjoy benefits even after demitting the offices.
The letter issued by civil aviation ministry in February, 2009 to several airport operators, AAI, BCAS and Air India directed all the agencies to provide VIP treatment to all the former aviation ministers, minister for state for civil aviation, deputy ministers. The letter shows how political leaders even after losing their chairs have managed to enjoy VIP privileges on national carrier and airport across India.
31/01/14 Vikash Mishra/India Today

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Chandy to lay foundation of Rs.8 bn new Cochin airport

Kochi: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will lay the foundation stone for the construction of a brand new Rs.8 billion terminal of the Cochin International Airport Sunday.
The 1.5 million square-foot terminal is expected to be ready in 30 months, and would be three times bigger than the existing one. It will have the capacity to handle 4,000 passengers in an hour, according to the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).
"The new terminal, with an elevation that would remind one of Kerala temple architecture, will have international standards," CIAL managing director V.J. Kurian told reporters here Friday.
The construction is being done by Larsen & Toubro, and the two-level terminal will have provision for 112 check-in counters, in-line baggage screening facilities, 100 immigration counters, duty free shops of 30,000 square feet at departure and arrival lounges, 19 boarding gates, 15 aero bridges, six baggage conveyer belts and fully covered alighting and boarding areas.
31/01/14 IANS/News Track India

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Navi Mumbai airport: Cidco starts ground levelling

Mumbai: Notwithstanding the opposition of a few project-affected persons (PAPs) to the acquisition of land for the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport in Panvel, Cidco has quietly started ground levelling work at the site.
A source said, “We don’t want to wait for those who are adamant in spite being offered the best compensation.” The package offers PAPs 22.5% of the developed land, with an FSI of 2. Affected villagers will get pakka houses and their unemployed youth will be given vocational training.
Joint MD of Cidco V Radha said Cidco has tied up with the ICICI Bank, TCS, NIFD and Taj catering, among others, for the training programme. Cidco has identified 3,500 unemployed youth.
31/01/14 Sudhir Suryawanshi/Daily News & Analysis

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Drukair to launch flights on Paro-Mumbai route on May 1

Mumbai: Drukair, the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bhutan, is set to launch flights from Paro to Mumbai on May 1, 2014. An official announcement in this regard will be made at the Tourism Council of Bhutan’s (TCB) roadshow to be held at Vivanta by Taj President in Mumbai on February 5. TCB and Drukair, Taj Tashi Bhutan along with few other local tour operators will conduct roadshows in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata next week to promote Bhutan as an up-market destination and also network with travel trade members.
Mumbai will be the sixth destination on Drukair’s network in India. The three-hour flight between Paro International Airport and Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport will operate twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays. Flight number KB206 will depart from Paro at 0730hrs to reach Mumbai at 1010hrs while flight number KB207 will leave Mumbai at 1110hrs to reach Paro at 1440hrs. The aircraft will offer 16 seats in business class and 102 seats in economy class.
31/01/14 TravelBizMonitor

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Easy commute for domestic airport passengers

Mumbai: The automated system installed at the prepaid taxi counter of the domestic airport will soon be installed at the international airport as well, thanks to its success. Taking a prepaid cab from Mumbai’s domestic airport in Santa Cruz was one of the most difficult tasks that air passengers had to deal with as soon as they landed in the Maximum City till the automated system began.
Frequent flyers were the most affected, as they not only had a tough time getting a cab, but had to regularly cough up unreasonable amounts to pay rogue taxi drivers.
Launched by the Mumbai International Airport Limited with the joint effort of the Andheri RTO, the airport police and the airport traffic police, the system has helped solve this problem to a large extent. In the new system, on booking a cab, passengers are given a slip notifying them of the taxi’s registration number.
31/01/14 Amrita Nayak Dutta/Daily News & Analysis

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MNS makes Mumbai Airport halve entry fee for vehicles

Mumbai: Buckling under pressure by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the Mumbai airport authorities on Thursday halved the entry charges for vehicles which come to pick up or drop passengers at the airport.
MNS activists on Friday had threatened airport operator Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) with ‘MNS-style’ action if it did not scrap the entry charges for vehicles. The party activists also demanded lowering the parking charges for vehicle which are the highest in the country.  
“MIAL has accepted our demand to some extent and halved the entry charge for vehicles,” said Abhishek Sapre, divisional president of MNS.
31/01/14 Daily News & Analysis

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Standoff on Jet flight after failed take-offs

Mumbai: Sixty passengers on board a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai, most of them bound to Australia and New Zealand via Singapore, refused to deplane for hours after the aircraft failed to take off despite several attempts because of a technical snag.
Passengers with connecting flights were allegedly asked to stay in Singapore for three days before onward tickets could be arranged, but they refused to budge.
Flight 9W010, carrying over 100 passengers, first attempted to take off at 9.50 am from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. When it failed, the aircraft returned to the parking bay and again attempted a take-off around 12 pm.
The second attempt too proved unsuccessful and the aircraft was forced to return to the bay. Passengers claimed they sat inside the aircraft all this while without much knowledge of what the delays were for, and without food and water.
31/01/14 Indian Express

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DGCA action on pvt airlines strands Kerala CM Chandy in Kochi

Mumbai: Kerala Chief Minister Ooomen Chandy, who was on his way to Delhi from Thiruananthapuram on an IndiGo flight this evening, was forced to take an Air India flight from Kochi as the private airline did not have the permission to land at the Delhi airport.
The development came after the government earlier in the day took off six landing slots of three private carriers -- Jet Airways, IndiGo and GoAir -- for "violating" flight operation norms.
"The chief minister was on the IndiGo flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi via Kochi. The flight took off from the state capital at 1830 hrs and landed in Kochi on schedule. However, he had to change the flight at the Kochi airport as it was informed that IndiGo did not have the required permissions to land in Delhi," an official from the chief minister's office told PTI.
Chandy later boarded an Air India flight scheduled for 2000 hrs to reach Delhi, the official added.
30/01/14 PTI/Business Standard

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Businesswoman smuggled in Rs 30cr jewellery in 2 years

Mumbai: Businesswoman Vihari Sheth, arrested last August for trying to smuggle in diamond-studded gold jewellery in her innerwear and a high-end wristwatch collectively valued Rs 2.05 crore, had formed a syndicate with her uncle Jiten Seth, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's show-cause notice said.
Vihari, partner of Singapore-based Vihari Jewels Pte Ltd, was arrested on her arrival at the Mumbai airport. She apparently indulged in smuggling of diamonds and diamond-studded gold jewellery worth Rs 30 crore in the past, the notice said. Vihari has made 32 visits to Mumbai in 28 months, beginning March 2011, and evidence show that she was "in the habit of smuggling gold jewellery or diamonds from Singapore". Vihari has been employed as a conduit by her family in India and Singapore to smuggle in jewellery and sell them through their family showroom in Mumbai, the notice said.
30/01/14 C Unnikrishnan/Times of India

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600 grams gold ingots seized at Coimbatore airport

Coimbatore: Gold ingots, weighing 600 grams and valued at Rs 20 lakh, were today seized from a passenger at the city airport, police said. During a routine check, customs department officials grew suspicious about the movement of a passenger, Mohammed Abdullah and on searching him, they found six biscuits concealed in his underwear, police said.
30/01/14 The Hindu

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Gold hidden in decorative piece seized

Mangalore: The Customs officials seized 11 pieces of gold weighing 195.60 grams from a passenger at the Mangalore International Airport here on Wednesday.
The seizure was valued at Rs 5.86 lakh. Customs Commissioner stated in a release that the gold was concealed in a decorative piece by passenger Haneefa Bedira Sulaiman, a resident of Vidyanagar, Kasaragod.
30/01/14 Stanley Pinto/Times of India

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DGCA Penalises Three Airlines, Landing Slots Withdrawn

New Delhi: Acting tough, aviation regulator DGCA today took penal action against three airlines by taking away six landing slots at the Delhi airport for not using pilots trained to land in foggy conditions and not equipping aircraft with mandatory devices to negate the effect of fog, resulting in diversion of flights.
The six slots - two each of IndiGo, GoAir and Jet Airways - were withdrawn after an equal number of flights of these airlines were diverted due to fog since last evening till the wee hours today, DGCA sources told PTI, adding that the withdrawal of slots has been done with "immediate effect".
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had earlier this month issued a stern warning to airlines to deploy pilots trained to fly under foggy conditions and aircraft fitted with devices to match CAT-III Instrument Landing System (ILS) in Delhi or face severe action.
DGCA's meeting with the airlines and airport operators was held on January 7, two days after 53 flights were diverted out of fog-hit Delhi to nearby destinations.
30/01/14 Outlook

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India biggest destination country for Dubai airport

Dubai: India continued to be the biggest destination for the Dubai International Airport, the world's second busiest international airport hub, in 2013, according to a report.
India retained its top spot with 8,401,253 passengers, a year on year growth of 14.3 percent compared to 7,347,270 in 2012, according to the annual traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports Tuesday.
Britain came second with 5,099,843 passengers (+19 per cent) followed by Saudi Arabia at 4,825,114 (+34.2 per cent).
"It was truly a historic year for Dubai's aviation sector highlighted by the successful opening of Concourse A, the world's largest and only facility built for the Airbus A380," Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, said in a statement.
The airport registered another banner year with annual passenger traffic reaching 66,431,533 in 2013, up 15.2 per cent compared to 57,684,550 recorded during 2012.
30/01/14 IANS/Business Standard

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Passengers refuse to leave plane after flight is cancelled

Mumbai:  At least 60 upset passengers in Mumbai have refused to get off a Jet Airways plane in protest after a technical snag forced the airline to cancel the flight to Singapore.
The flight was to have taken off from Mumbai at 9.50 this morning. Passengers complained that after waiting for three hours on the plane, they were asked to get off.
They also alleged that the private airline has refused to put them on other flights to Singapore.
30/01/14  Deepshikha Ghosh/NDTV

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Chennai airport privatisation: HC grants interim injunction

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted an interim injunction till February 5, restraining the Centre from proceeding any further with regard to Request for Qualification (RFQ) from private parties for the management of Chennai airport.
Justice R. Subbiah passed the order on a writ petition by the Airports Authority Employees Union questioning the validity of the decision of the department of civil aviation and the Airports Authority of India to privatise the Chennai airport. The challenge was on the grounds of violation of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Act and also as being ultra-vires of the Constitution.
The petition said, on June 3 last year, the AAI issued an order under the subject ‘infrastructure development’ purportedly to implement the report of the Planning Commission for development, operation and maintenance of identified airports through public, private participation (PPP) and created the Key Infrastructure Development Cell”
30/01/14 The Hindu

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Navi Mumbai airport RFQ to be issued on February 5

Mumbai: The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has set the ball rolling for the development of much delayed Navi Mumbai international airport.
CIDCO, which is the nodal agency for the project, will issue request for qualification (RFQ) on February 5. The issue of RFQ was deferred for over one and half years in view of lack of agreement with the project affected persons (PAPs).
 CIDCO vice chairman and managing director Sanjay Bhatia said, "We have decided to go ahead with the RFQ process and simultaneously negotiations are on with PAPs of six of the total 18 villages who have yet to give their consent for the land acquisition.
The bid process takes up to a year for the finalization and we did not wish to delay it." he however, clarified that the request for proposal (RFP) will be called only after all the PAPs have given their consent. CIDCO has yet to acquire 260 hectare from these villages.
29/01/14 Sanjay Jog & Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Global tender for new airport set for kick-off

Mumbai:  The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), the nodal agency for the Navi Mumbai airport project, will initiate the 'request for qualification (RFQ)' process next Wednesday upon which multinational developers are expected to approach it to participate in the bidding. The RFQ issue was hanging fire for over 18 months since an agreement had not been reached with the PAPs.
The civil aviation ministry and the Prime Minister's office have cleared the tender documents, said Cidco vice-chairman and managing director Sanjay Bhatia. "The process will take a year's time. We have decided to go ahead with the RFQ process and simultaneously, negotiations are on with PAPs of six of the total 18 villages who are expected to give their consent for the land acquisition within a year's time."
However, Bhatia clarified that the final request for proposal (RFP) would be issued only after all the PAPs give their consent. Cidco is yet to acquire 260 hectares from these villages. Bhatia also clarified that the rehabilitation package cleared by the state government and PAPs won't be changed further as it is one of the best offered in the country.
30/01/14 Chittaranjan Tembhekar/Times of India

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Antony to inaugurate Kannur airport work Sunday

Thiruvananthapuram: Defence Minister A.K. Antony will inaugurate the work on Kerala's fourth international airport at Kannur Sunday, a state minister said Wednesday.
State Excise and Fisheries Minister K. Babu, who is in charge of the airport project, said the work that begins Sunday is for construction of runway and related civil works.
"The airport near Kannur is coming up on 2,000 acres and the tender process for the next phase, which consists of the terminal building and related infrastructure, would be finalised in May this year," Babu said.
The agreement between the state government and Larsen and Toubro, Mumbai, who will undertake the first phase work, was completed in November.
The Kerala government Wednesday decided to increase its stake in the airport from 26 percent to 35 percent.
29/01/14 IANS/Business Standard

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Aranmula airport: HC refuses to interfere in NGT proceedings

Kochi: Kerala High Court today made it clear that it will not interfere with the proceedings relating to the Rs 2000 crore Aranmula airport project that is pending before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The order was issued by a division bench comprising Justice T R Ramachandran Nair and Justice Abraham Mathew on suo motu proceedings launched by the court on the basis of Devaswom ombudsman's report on the harm that would be caused to the Sri Parthasarthy temple when the airport comes up.
The bench declined to interfere with the Tribunal's proceedings pointing that it was exercising its jurisdiction only in respect of the matters relating to the temple.
When the matter came up before the bench today, Advocate General K P Dandapani sought stay of proceedings before the Tribunal complaining that simultaneous proceedings regarding the same issue was illegal.
29/01/14 PTI/Business Standard

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Direct Delhi-Maldives chartered flight shortly

New Delhi: Eyeing the increasing number of outbound Indian tourists, the national air carrier of Maldives will begin chartered flights from here shortly to the island country in the Indian Ocean.
"The national carrier Island Aviation will be shortly operating chartered flights from here to our country. This is being done to provide direct flight service from here to Maldives to attract more tourists," Deputy Tourism Minister of Maldives Hussain Lirar said on Wednesday.
Currently the direct flight from India to Maldives is operational only from Thiruvanathapuram and there is no direct flight from Delhi and Mumbai to the island country.
Admitting the absence of direct flight from Delhi and Mumbai, Lirar said, "Chartered flights will be available from Delhi shortly and depending upon the volume of traffic we will consider launching a regular scheduled flight from here."
29/01/14 Jagran Post

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Move to build Haj House near RGIA scrapped

Hyderabad: After announcing plans to construct a new Haj House spread over 10 acres in Pahadi Shareef near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), the government has now scrapped it after deeming the location unfeasible.
Sources from the minorities welfare department (MWD) said that the government is now scouting for better options closer to the city. The move comes after MWD officials realised that pilgrims would have to travel around 30 kilometres from the city to the proposed Haj House to make simple enquiries, sources added.
It was last year that the minister for minorities welfare, Mohammed Ahmadullah, declared that Rs 12 crore would be earmarked for the construction of the new Haj House, which would have ground-plus-one blocks spread across the land parcel. Elderly pilgrims would be housed on the ground floor and younger pilgrims on the first. The government had even sanctioned Rs 3 crore.
30/01/14 Times of India

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Airport authorities slammed for not providing facilities for cargo handlers

Trichy:  The Airport Authority of India (AAI) came in for sharp criticism by all stakeholders in overseas cargo handling business at a meeting here on Wednesday. Trade representatives from Trichy region complained that the authorities, instead of improving the infrastructure facilities at the airport here, were only paying lip service to the cause.
B K Mehrotra, AAI general manager (cargo), who attended the bimonthly meeting for the first time, was the target of cargo handlers' ire over inadequate facilities. S A Seyyed, the managing director of ABS Xpress, blamed the AAI for not delivering on promised facilities, though 12 bimonthly meetings were held with trade representatives.
What infuriated the customs house agents (CHAs) most was the fact that the even cargo trolleys were in bad condition. Most of them would not move literally.
30/01/14 Dennis Selvan/Times of India

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OP Singh takes charge as ADG airport security in CISF

New Delhi:  IPS officer of 1983 batch O P Singh on Wednesday took over the charge of additional director general, CISF Airport Sector at CISF headquarters in New Delhi. Earlier, Singh was functioning as ADG (Security and Telecom) in UP Police at Lucknow. A post graduate in political science from Delhi University and an MBA in disaster management, Singh belongs to the Uttar Pradesh cadre. During his career spanning about 30 years, Singh has held many important and sensitive positions in UP addressing issues of law and order, crime prevention, crime detection, traffic management, managing mega events, community Policing, VIP security etc.
29/01/14 Deeptiman Tiwary/Times of India

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Thick early morning fog engulfs Delhi, 28 flights affected

New Delhi: A thick blanket of fog engulfed the national capital early on Thursday morning, affecting 28 flights.The runway visibility at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport was about 280 metres, which affected several take-offs and landings. Fourteen international flights and five domestic flights were delayed. Nine domestic flights were cancelled.
30/01/14 Amit Chaturvedi/NDTV

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New flyover to Navi Mumbai airport will skirt nodes

Navi Mumbai:  Thane guardian minister Ganesh Naik has proposed a flyover that would connect Mumbai and Pune to the upcoming international airport, but bypass the satellite city nodes. Anticipating that the existing traffic would only increase once the new airport is functional, the Thane guardian minister thinks the flyover will be a viable way to avoid the city rush and head for the airport.
"Once the second airport is functional, there will be more vehicles plying to and from the airport. So a flyover bypassing the city to lead to the airport will be a feasible solution," Naik told TOI.
"I will take up the proposal with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who can discuss it with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco)," added the state excise minister in the ruling DF government.
30/01/14 Sanjeev Shivadekar/Times of India

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Hebbal to Kempegowda International Airport in 20 minutes

Bangalore: The expressway to KIA is finally done and dusted. Well, almost. Commuters can now zip from Hebbal to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in about 20 minutes. But some bottlenecks underneath the elevated road are here to stay.National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials said all flyovers after Hebbal have been opened for public use. The Hebbal flyover, where a lane was added to the left, towards the airport, will also be readied soon.NHAI officials said service roads along the stretch will be asphalted in a week's time, and upgradation will be complete by the second week of February.
30/01/14 Times of India

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Gold smuggler lands in DRI net at Ahmedabad airport

Ahmedabad:  The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted a racket in which a businessman was smuggling gold into the country by mixing it with other metals and passing it off as gold ore concentrate. While concentrate can be freely imported, gold invites a hefty 10% duty.
Acting on a tip-off, DRI on Wednesday seized a consignment of 16 kg gold ore concentrate which contained 5 kg gold of 995 purity. Sleuths arrested Sanjay Patel, 49, a resident of Khambat, who is believed to be to the mastermind.
The consignment arrived from Dubai at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport's air cargo terminal on January 23 and belonged to the Patel-owned firm, Mulchand M Zaveri.
Natural gold ore concentrate is a mix of silver, zinc, copper and gold mined in African countries. Only about 2.5 grams of pure gold can be extracted from 1,000 kg of the concentrate.
30/01/14 Times of India

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2kg gold seized from 6 flyers

Mumbai:  Mumbai airport Customs officials on Wednesday intercepted 2 kg gold worth Rs 52 lakh in six smuggling cases.
In the first case, a flyer, Mansoor Ali B M Kunhi, had concealed 332gm jewellery in fluorescent tubes. In another case, one Mohammed Hanif Habib Shah had concealed a gold bar worth Rs 4.4 lakh in the battery cavity of a cellphone. In the third case, a 116 gm gold bar worth Rs 2.9 lakh was found in the pocket of a passenger, Mohammed Iqbal. Another passenger, Ismail Deshmukh, had hid a 500 gm gold bar in his pant pocket. One Abdul Hameed Jahir Hussain had concealed six gold bars, weighing 600 gm and worth Rs 15 lakh in his rectum. A flyer, Mohammed Aliyar Jinna, had concealed four gold bars, 100 gm each and worth a total of Rs 10 lakh in his footwear.
30/01/14 Times of India

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2 gold carriers held at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: The arrest of two gold carriers at Kolkata airport on Wednesday has led central intelligence agencies to believe that smugglers have changed the modus operandi of sneaking gold into India. Customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) say the ringleaders are getting "lowly-paid" Indians in southeast and Arabian countries to agree to carry gold in to India. "Instead of depending on an expert carrier, these persons are asked to carry small amounts of gold to various destinations in India. While gold from Dubai enters airports like Mumbai and Kozhikode, carriers from Southeast Asia, especially Bangkok, target airports in Kolkata and Chennai. The entire smuggled booty is then assembled through 'contacts'," said a top source.
30/01/14 Dwaipayan Ghosh/Times of India

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Two held with one kg gold at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: Two people were Wednesday detained and one kg of gold worth Rs.30 lakh seized from them at the airport here, an official said.
Another person was arrested at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport for carrying 50,000 euros, the official added.
"We have detained two people for illegally carrying gold. Nearly 500 grams of gold from each of them has been seized. The duo, hailing from south India, had boarded a flight from Bangkok.
29/01/14 IANS/Business Standard

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A380 landing may not impact airline industry

Mumbai: The move by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Monday of lifitng the ban on Airbus A380s may not have a major impact on the Indian airline industry.
The A380s would now be allowed at airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, which are currently equipped to handle them and have the required infrastructure, while Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) will be the first to benefit out of this decision as the services of jumbo aircraft is expected to start from here first; probably in over a month.
Kingfisher Airlines was the only domestic airline that placed an order for jumbo A-380s. Experts said that the domestic carriers will slowly take a decision on deploying the same, depending on the profitability of the route.
"The cost of acquisition of the aircraft (A380) is higher and also the airlines will have to spend an additional cost on training the staff on the same. Hence deploying an aircraft like this will require lot of analysis, on whether it will be profitable to introduce, replacing the existing ones," said an aviation expert who refused to quoted.
Major international airlines like Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Lufthansa are likely to introduce these aircraft in the Indian skies.
29/01/14 Daily News & Analysis

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Entry of A-380s puts Indian carriers in a spot

Mumbai: The decision of the Civil Aviation Ministry to allow A-380 aircraft to fly into India is expected to benefit Indian tourism, but the move will hurt the interest of Indian carriers such as Air India and Jet Airways, according to analysts.
The fares to be offered by foreign airlines having A-380 aircraft in their fleet, including Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Lufthansa, would be much cheaper than the fares of Indian carriers who have B-737s, A-320s and B-787 aircraft in the fleet and flying to Singapore and Dubai, to name some destinations.
A-380 called the Superjumbo has capacity to accommodate over 850 passengers in an all-economy class configuration and 555 passengers in three-class configuration. The capacity offered by the Indian carriers is no match to them.
“Of course, the entry to A-380 will affect Indian airlines like Air India, Jet Airways and Indigo. They cannot match the fares to be offered by airlines operating A-380s. But they should have worked out their strategy well in advance as they knew that A-380s would be allowed. In a global environment, one cannot prevent A-380 from entering India for long time. For the time being, Indian carriers will be affected,” said Iqbal Mulla, President, Travel Agents’ Association of India.
28/01/14 Lalatendu Mishra/The Hindu

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Pune artist sculpts Shivaji's statue for Mumbai's new airport terminal

Pune: Apart from being a part of the state’s first museum dedicated to the Maratha warrior king along the newly constructed Sahar elevated road, the six-metre-tall, bronze statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji would also be acting as a tourist attraction. The open-air museum where the statue would be installed is at a walking distance from the Terminal 2 (T2) of the international airport.
Pune-based artist Sharad Kapuskar is sculpting the statue. When contacted, Kapuskar refused to comment stating his contract with the Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (MIAL) does not allow him to disclose details of the statue to the media. An MIAL official requesting anonymity said, “Though the management wants to get the statue at the earliest, it will take at least three months for the sculpture to get ready.
29/01/14 Neha LM Tripathi/MiD DAY

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Domestic Help Delivers Baby Boy on Flight from Kuwait, With Doc On Board

Chennai: Fifteen minutes before a Kuwait Airways flight could land at the Chennai airport, Radha (37), who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant delivered a male child in the plane. Luckily for her, there was a doctor flying on the same aircraft and was able to help her undergo a normal delivery in the plane, without complications.
She was flying home on Kuwait Airways flight KU 343 to give birth to this child in her native village. Scheduled to land at 4.20 am, she went into labour at around 3.45 am and gave birth by 4.16 am. The plane circled for a few minutes before landing at 4.30 am, so that passengers and crew could strap in for landing.  Radha and her husband Subramani, from Pulapatharu Rajampet village near Cudappah, had gone to Kuwait to seek work last year.
An official from AAI said that the pilot asked passengers if anyone had medical experience on board and the doctor volunteered, "The doctor took the woman to the rear of the plane and tried to stave off the contractions till they landed but Radha's labour was advanced and they managed the delivery with limited instruments on board," he said. The doctor even severed the umblical cord and had the child secured in a warm blanket before the plane touched down.
Surprisingly, the pilot opted not to make an 'emergency' call to Air Traffic Control, opting to inform the Kuwait Airways ground staff in Chennai to have a medical team and ambulance ready, said an Air Traffic Controller on duty.
The child and mother were checked and then they were transferred to the Apollo Paediatric Hospital," said a doctor at the airport.
29/01/14 Daniel Thimmayya/New Indian Express

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Bangladesh Biman to Fly Twice a Week to Guwahati From Dhaka

Shillong: To increase air connectivity between the North East states and Bangladesh, the government of the neighbouring country has approved the proposal of its national air carrier, Bangladesh Biman to fly twice a week from Dhaka to Guwahati starting from July 1 this year.          
"I am happy to say that Bangladesh Biman Airlines officers called on me last week and informed that they will start twice weekly flights from Dhaka to Guwahati from July 1," Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Tariq A Karim told reporters here.        
Karim who called on Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma expressed his country's keen interest in creating a connection with India's North East and Meghalaya in particular in view of their close proximity.  
29/01/14 New Indian Express

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UT Woos Aviation Firms to Put Puducherry on Air Map

Puducherry: Citing additional facilities on the anvil at the airport here, the government has approached at least four airlines to operate their flights from the Union Territory. In addition, Spice Jet is being pursued to continue the lone flight from Puducherry which the airline was planning to wind up by the end of this month.
“Night landing facilities and the Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) station would come up shortly at the airport,” said Tourism Minister P Rajavelu. The government has also brought down the VAT on ATF to one per cent as compared to five per cent in other States to lure flight operators to refill their aircraft in Puducherry during flight operation, he said.
Land has also been identified for establishing the fuel station and the Airport Authority of India (AAI)  would invite petroleum companies to set up their stations, Director of Tourism K K Singh said. The airport runway has also been certified for ATR and Bombadier aircraft to operate to full and 80 per cent capacity respectively, said Rajavelu. There is no runway restriction on passenger load now, he added.
Keeping the additions in mind, airline operators Jet Airways, Air India, Indigo and Go Air have been approached for flight operation from Puducherry, he said.
29/01/14 Debjani Dutta/New Indian Express

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Got a handwritten passport? Renew it this year

Bangalore: Come November 2015, and your handwritten passport won't take you on a foreign holiday. Neither can you fly out if your little blue book has 20-year validity. This is in keeping with the norms of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which has decided to do away with non-machine readable (handwritten) passports globally. India is part of the ICAO. This rule will come into effect from November 25, 2015. Countries under the ICAO will not issue visas to persons holding passports which are handwritten or valid for 20 years.
29/01/14 Aparajita Ray/Times of India 

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Air Cargo Handlers at Chennai Airport turn Animal Custodians

Chennai: Given the spurt in consignments of live animals that have been flown in and out of the city in the last three years, most of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) workers have become adept at ensuring that animals are comfortable and safe before being loaded on their flights.
Despite cargo movement having dipped in the last two years due to an international downturn, storage and handling charges haven’t been hiked drastically from 2010 onward. “In the last three months alone, we have handled live consignments of more than 10 racehorses and all the handlers have been happy with the way that we have worked with the animals,” said an officer who handles cargo operations at the Meenambakkam Cargo Complex.
He added that there was a definite increase in the number of live animal consignments that Chennai has been seeing, especially in 2013. As proof of how confident they were in the airline and cargo staff, the owners of seven thoroughbreds actually flew the horses in on a Lufthansa cargo plane from Frankfurt on January 9 and appreciated the staff for getting the animals ‘cleared’, sans red tape and delay.
29/01/14 New Indian Express

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Tata Elxsi associates with GVK group for Mumbai airport's terminal 2

Tata Elxsi, India's leading design company, today announced its association with GVK group for Mumbai airport's new integrated terminal, Terminal 2 (T2), at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
Tata Elxsi was responsible for designing the experiential services for the various consumer touch points at T2 which aims to redefine the passenger experience while enhancing efficiencies and productivity for the airport staff at T2.
Speaking on the development, Nick Talbot - global design head, Tata Elxsi said, ''We are pleased to have worked with the GVK led consortium for the T2 terminal. Tata Elxsi focused on reinventing the passenger experience through innovation, personalization and connectivity. Our work at T2 terminal, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) reflects how seamless design and technology come together to make travel efficient and enhance overall consumer experience.''
29/01/14 my iris

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Bangladeshi nationals arrested at Lucknow airport, fake passports seized

Lucknow:  Four Bangladeshi nationals were arrested from Chowdhury Charan Singh Airport in Lucknow while they were allegedly trying to fly to Saudi Arabia on fake passports, police said today.
The arrests were made yesterday when Mintu, Zainul Ali Khan, Lakhu Miyan and Mukhtar entered the airport to board a Saudi Arabia bound flight.
29/01/14 PTI/NDTV.com

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Airbus superjumbo will be a boon for limited capacity Mumbai airport: Experts

Mumbai: Aviation specialists say the A380 can bring respite to the congested, land-starved Mumbai airport.
On Monday, the ministry of civil aviation allowed foreign airlines to launch commercial A380 flight operations in India. Aviation sources said Mumbai airport is likely to be the first to handle the aircraft. A foreign airline has had a meeting with the airport's operators in this regard.
Capt G R Gopinath, founder of the now-defunct Air Deccan, India's first low-cost airline, said, "If an airline puts only economy seats all throughout the A380, it can ferry 853 passengers. The Rajdhani Express, on the other hand, carries only 750."
Amber Dubey of global consultancy KPMG said, "The only way Mumbai can improve capacity is by encouraging large aircraft like the A380."
The problem with Mumbai airport is that unlike other major airports that service metro cities the world over, it cannot have parallel runways because of land constraints. With its cross runways, it can at best handle only 50 landings or take-offs per hour. Thus, A380s can increase Mumbai airport's efficiency.
29/01/14 Manju V/Times of India

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Lucknow airport fails to attract bidders once again

Lucknow: The proposed privatisation of Amausi airport in Lucknow failed to attract private investment yet again on Tuesday with the ministry of civil aviation deferring the date for submission of request for proposal (RFP) by bidders for the ambitious project till February 17. This is the third time that the ministry has failed to attract private parties to take up the Lucknow airport even as its employees threaten of going on a strike on February 10 against the proposed move.
Informed sources said that the ministry may consider amending some of the clauses to woo private parties in taking up the airport. One of the most important clause is the investment bracket of Rs 500 crore within a set period. Initially, at the time of proposing privatization of Lucknow airport, the ministry had set the limit of investment of Rs 500 crore within a year. This was later relaxed to three years. A senior airport official said that the ministry may now consider easing the clause even further.
29/01/14 Times of India

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3 new flights from Visakhapatnam from summer

Visakhapatnam: Air India, Air Costa and Indigo are likely to operate new services to the city from the first week of March, according to Air Travellers Association's schedule. In addition to these flights, AirAsia India is reportedly planning flights in a few domestic sectors such as Vizag, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Chennai. According to ATA, AirAsia is also planning to run a Vizag-Kuala Lumpur-Vizag service, which is likely to be finalized by the end of February as the airline's representatives are expected to attend a programme 'Vizag 24/7' to be conducted by ATA in February 23.
29/01/14 Times of India

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Better lights for smooth flight

Patna: Frequent fliers can expect respite from fog or heavy rain at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport with a new system being installed to enhance aircraft operations.
The state government has agreed to a proposal of Airports Authority of India (AAI) for installation of approach lighting system (ALS) on Pir Ali Path (commonly known as airport road) and inside the zoo. The installation of the new ALS would allow operations at the airport even at visibility of 800 metres with human eyes.
At present, operations of flights are allowed only if visibility is 1,200 metres or more.
In a meeting held between government officials and the AAI on January 2, chief secretary Ashok Kumar Sinha gave an in-principle approval to the latter’s proposal to install the ALS.
Confirming the approval, Dipak Kumar Singh, principal secretary, environment and forest department, said: “The AAI has been allowed to install the approach lights on airport road and inside the zoo premises. The installation of the lights inside the zoo premises would be subject to necessary clearance.”
29/01/14 Piyush Kumar Tripathi/Telegraph 

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New ATC tower draws paparazzi, security on alert

Mumbai: Many travellers and curious individuals, who are fascinated by the new Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the city airport, often end up facing some difficult times from security agencies over the last one month.
The reason that the Central Industrial Security Force, a paramilitary force tasked with security at the airport, remains cautious over any suspicious movement in and around the vicinity of the airport. Hence, people taking photographs or videos have raised the suspicion of the security agencies although the area is not a 'prohibited' zone.
An airport official said that the latest such questioning happened last week when the security personnel came across a man with images of the new ATC tower and parking zone around the terminal. "He was handed over to the local police after questioning," said the official.
However, his interrogation by the local police revealed that the man was awed by the new air traffic control tower and was taking photographs on his cell phone," said a source from the local police. Subsequently, the police released him.
29/01/14 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

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Hoax bomb threat at KIA, police suspect insider job

Bangalore: An email threatening to blow up the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) sent police into a tizzy on Tuesday morning. However, the threat turned out to be a hoax. Police suspect it to be the handiwork of an insider.The airport manager had received the email on the night of January 24.
"We are trying to identify the sender using the tracking system and IP address from where the message was dispatched," said DCP (northeast) TR Suresh. Another police officer said the message came to the airport's feedback service, which is an intranet facility.
29/01/14 Times of India

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In India, 2,500kg of gold is being flown in every month

New Delhi: High customs duty on gold has skewed the jewellery market in such a way that not only is the yellow metal being smuggled in huge quantities, a fact admitted by finance minister P Chidambaram, but there has been an unprecedented rise in legal import of gold through air passengers.
December saw 2,500kg of gold brought in this way. Sources said gold brought in legally by passengers flying into India never crossed 30-40kg a month. Financial agencies said this reflected that there was huge premium in the market on gold due to high demand and short supply.
Air passengers, living abroad, are allowed to carry 1kg gold into India after paying duty. Many jewellers, instead of risking smuggling, are tapping such frequent flyers, paying for their ticket and making them carry gold legally.
29/01/14 Deeptiman Tiwary/Times of India

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9kg of gold seized in airport over 6 days

New Delhi: The biggest gold haul at Delhi airport so far this year—of 6.23kg—was intercepted last Thursday. This came five days before another seizure on Tuesday of 2.9kg of gold. This brings the combined gold intercepted in last six days to nearly 9kg and the estimated worth of seized gold to Rs 2.3 crore.
Officials at the airport who oversaw the seizure of 6.23kg gold said it was for the first time they saw such a sophisticated level of coordination between the smugglers. In the first case, smugglers, landing from different flights to Delhi, divided up the gold between themselves. In the second, gold was being smuggled by a woman.
"Four passengers were found coming from four different airports.
29/01/14 Times of India

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Four held with gold worth over Rs 1.50 crore at airport

New Delhi:  Four people have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold bars valuing over Rs 1.50 crore at the airport here, customs officials said.
The accused were intercepted by customs officials upon their arrival on January 23 from different international and domestic flights-- one from Bangkok and three from Hyderabad, Mumbai and Amritsar respectively.
One of the accused had hidden 600 gms of gold in his mobile while another passenger wad hidden it in his innerwear. Rest were hiding gold in their baggage being carried out by them, the officials said.
The accused were carrying ten gold bars collectively weighing about 6.2 kgs worth Rs 1.57 crore, they said.
28/01/14 Times of India

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Five held with gold worth over Rs 2.3 crore at airport

New Delhi: Five persons, including a woman, have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing over Rs 2.30 crore in separate incidents at the airport here.
The seizure, made during the last one week, is a result of heightened vigil at the airport, customs officials said.
In the first incident, a woman was intercepted after her arrival here yesterday from Bangkok. On her detailed examination, eight enamelled gold bangles weighing about 3 kgs were recovered which she was wearing in her hands, customs officials said.
The accused, who is in her late twenties and hails from Punjab, was arrested and the recovered gold was seized. The value of the gold is Rs 75.58 lakh, they said.
In another incident, four accused were intercepted by customs officials upon their arrival on January 23 from different international and domestic flights-- one from Bangkok and three from Hyderabad, Mumbai and Amritsar respectively.
28/01/14 PTI/Business Standard

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21 Kg Gold Worth 6.5 crore Hidden in Phone Packs Seized

Chennai: In a major setback for a gold smuggling cartel, DRI officials intercepted and busted an operation that involved smuggling the precious metal inside sealed mobile phone cartons.
Acting on a tip, sleuths with the enforcement agency arrived at the cargo clearance area of the Chennai Airport on Monday morning and swooped down on a small crate that contained 7 packed cases of high-end smartphones.
On opening the warranty-sealed cartons, they found that each of them contained three 1 kg gold biscuits, concealed behind the mobile phone itself. This is not the first time that phone pouches and boxes have been used to smuggle gold but this is one of the rare times when such a large consignment has been moved using a cargo plane.
Airport sources said in all, 21 kg of gold biscuits, worth about `6.5 crore was recovered in the raid.
There are also suspicions that the smuggling chain has some links with contract cargo bay workers and loaders. “We suspect that they have been pilfering these phone packets, removing the gold and slipping it out,” said an official with the AAI cargo section.
28/01/14 New Indian Express

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Airport privatisation delayed

Chennai: Chennai airport’s privatisation process was expected to get over by June 2014, but it has now missed the schedule with a lot of procedural delays from the government side.
As per schedule, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was supposed to award the bid to a company by this month, but the project has got delayed by four months. The AAI had lagged behind in the queries-response stage that was to happen in October last year.
On Monday, AAI extended the application due date for submitting RFQ to operate, manage and develop Chennai airport at an indicative cost of Rs 1,200 crore to February 17. “The last date for filing of application was January 28, but due to some issues, we have postponed it to February 17,” said Anuj Aggarwal, who heads the key infrastructure development cell of AAI, which is instrumental in executing the PPP process in identified airports.
The AAI would utilise the period to finalise the concession agreement that will contain the actual scope and cost of the project. The project includes construction of new domestic terminal, a parallel taxi track and re-carpeting of the main runway, modification of old international terminal building, connectivity of metro rail, construction of common user cargo terminal and construction of multi-level car park.
28/01/14 S. Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle

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Air Costa plans to start operations from three more cities

Visakhapatnam: Vijayawada-based regional airline carrier Air Costa plans to start operations from Visakhapatnam, Madurai and Coimbatore.
Sources said that Air Costa is awaiting air operating permits and schedule operating permits from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the routes and timings of flights from these three cities.
Air Costa, which operates Embraer E-170 and E-190 between the six cities of Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Bangalore, has also followed major airline carriers such as Air India, Indigo and SpiceJet in offering concessions to passengers.
28/01/14 Manish/Times of India

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With land yet to be acquired, Cidco pitches internationally for NMIA

Belapur: Despite there being no clarity on the state governments plans to deal with the six villages against its rehabilitation package, the Maharashtra government went ahead and made a presentation about Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) and Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) at the recently-concluded World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland.
According to official sources, Cidco managing director Sanjay Bhatia, who is part of the chief minister's team visiting Davos, apprised officials of Zurich airport management about various aspects of the venture, including land acquisition. Bhatia said that all necessary clearances like coastal, forest and environment required for the project had been acquired.
The state government and Cidco are moving ahead with the project regardless of opposition from six villages in the region. Land to be acquired from this villages is 457 hectares and this villages are important since they form core operational area of the airport.
The villagers have opposed relief and rehabilitation package of the state government and have floated a new organisation - Navi Mumbai Antarrashtriya Vimantal Sangharash Samiti - comprising educated persons from their villages to fight for their rights.
29/01/14 Rahul M Tawade/Daily News & Analysis

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India Removes A380 Restrictions but Obstacles Persist

India has lifted restrictions on the Airbus A380 airliner to land at four Code F compliant airports, the country’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) announced Monday. But while the industry has applauded the move, the government has not made it an effortless exercise, as major carriers wanting to fly their A380s to India run short on service entitlements.
“Bilateral air service agreements (ASAs) that prohibit operation of A380s to India will need to be amended before permission is granted,” the MoCA said in a statement.
“Rationalization of traffic rights from services per week to seats per week shall be done through mutual negotiations through memoranda of understanding.” Airports will require Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) certification and “make adequate preparation in terms of various services required,” the statement added.
“In India everything takes time; ASAs are not easy to arrange overnight,” a senior airline official told AIN. “This looks like an attempt by the government to show it is moving things. In reality, national carrier Air India will get more breathing space.”
27/01/14 Neelam Mathews/AINonline

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Airbus A380: Passengers to benefit

New Delhi: More travel options and lower fares await air passengers after the government Monday allowed Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, to fly into the country.
The civil aviation ministry lifted the ban imposed in 2008 on the ground that operation of A380s could work against the interest of Indian carriers.
Industry insiders said not just passengers, but airport operators also are expected to benefit from the revocation of the ban on Airbus A380s' operations in India.
It is expected that A380s operations will increase airport revenues and help in decongestion during the peak travel season.
"A380s will help bring down fares and improve the cost competitiveness of the Indian tourism sector. They will improve the efficiency and capacity utilisation at Indian airports," Amber Dubey, partner and head - aerospace and defence, KPMG, told IANS.
The super jumbo which can accommodate up to 853 in a single-class configuration is expected to increase the parking, housing and landing (PHL) component of airport's operators' revenues.
27/01/14 IANS/Business Standard

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Air India Express set to reinstate two Salalah-Kerala flights

Muscat: The Indian expatriates from Kerala residing in Oman can heave a sigh of relief as Air India Express, the budget airline of Air India, is going to reinstate the two flights from Salalah to Kerala that were suspended, and will also add two more flights from Muscat to Thiruvananthapuram from March, a senior official from the airline's office in Muscat said.
"The airline had cancelled its two services, Salalah-Thiruvananthapuram (IX541) and Salalah-Cochin-Thiruvananthapuram (IX544), in January this year. Now, we are going to reinstate them from March-end as part of the summer schedule. It will ease the woes of those travelling to south Indian destinations," Amresh Choudhary, Air India's Oman country manager, told Times of Oman.
"The two main reasons behind the cancellation were that there was not much load from Salalah at that time and there was also unavailability of aircraft," airline's country manager said.
Keralites in Oman were up in arms after the airline suspended two flights from Salalah to Kerala.
28/01/14 Rejimon K/Times of Oman

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Malaysian student complains of sexual harassment during flight

Mangalore: A 21-year-old Malaysian student has alleged sexual harassment from a co-passenger during a flight from Bangalore to Mangalore on Tuesday morning.
According to the Bajpe police, the woman, who is a final-year dental sciences student in the city, complained of “undue advances” from Ankit Agarwal Kumar (36), during the 7 a.m. Jetconnect flight from Bangalore. On landing around 8 a.m. in the city, she informed the Airport security staff, who called the Bajpe police. Kumar, who had taken a cab, while the complaint was being heard, was asked to return, and after questioning, has been arrested.
28/01/14 The Hindu

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ARE a Shot in the Arm for Cochin Airport

Nedumbassery: Cochin International Airport Ltd has enhanced its operational facilities with the acquisition of a comprehensive aircraft recovery equipment(ARE).
According to the airport Director A C K Nair, who introduced the equipment, CIAL is the first airport in the country to own a complete state-of-the-art aircraft recovery equipment.
ARE is listed in the stipulations of the International Air Transport Association (the governing body of all airlines and airports), as well as International Civil Aviation Organisation. But Nair said, it was after the two-day closure of the runway due to an accident by a Gulf Air flight last year that  the necessity of an ARE arose.
CIAL’s newly-introduced ARE is transportable by air and capable of recovering all conventional aircraft in the range of single aisle aircraft, including Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 from an accident site.
But bigger aircraft such as wide-body aircraft have not been anticipated in the recovery target, he said.
28/01/14 Joseph Mampilli/New Indian Express

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E-mail threat to blow up Bangalore International Airport

Bangalore: An anonymous e-mail threatening to blow up the Kempegowda International Airport Limited (KIAL) here prompted authorities to step up security.
"We have received a bomb threat here yesterday," KIAL said in a statement here. An FIR has been lodged with Bangalore Police, it said adding all airlines and partners have been put on alert. The airport has been on high alert since January 26 and would continue to be so till the month end, KIAL said, adding that security has been strengthened in the facility by intensifying checking and patrolling.
28/01/14 PTI/Times of India

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Custom, immigration check facility at Bhopal airport soon

Bhopal: Raja Bhoj Airport will soon have permanent facility for immigration and custom clearances. Sources said the airport authorities are in talks with the Sri Lankan government for operating direct flights connecting Bhopal and Colombo.
When contacted, director of Raja Bhoj airport, Vivek Upadhyay confirmed that he has received the nod for setting up custom check arrangement at the airport. "The process is on. I can't disclose beyond this," he said.
He added that presently custom checking is irregular as there are no international flights from the city. Customs and immigration checks are carried out temporarily during operation of Haj flights, he said.
A large number of tourists from Sri Lanka regularly visit the Buddhist Stupas at Sanchi. They either arrive here on chartered flights or via train from New Delhi and Mumbai. With the establishment of Buddhist University at Sanchi, more tourists, academicians and visitors are visiting Sanchi, about 60 kms from Bhopal.
28/01/14 Times of India

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Foreign trips to get cheaper, as A380s allowed to land

Mumbai: The civil aviation ministry has lifted a prohibition on the Airbus A380s to land in India. This may lead to a drop in international airfares, possibly at the cost of Indian carriers flying abroad.
These planes have been cleared for landing at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad airports, the only ones equipped to handle the A380. The ban stemmed from concerns that foreign airlines operating A380s will grab a larger share of international traffic, thereby hurting Indian players, especially Air India.
Earlier this month civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said his government was considering removing the restriction. A statement from his ministry on Monday and quoted by Reuters said, “Flights of the A380 to India will be allowed to airports equipped to handle them… The operations of the A380 will be subject to overall traffic entitlements within bilateral air service agreements with different countries.”
27/01/14 Soumonty Kanungo/mydigitalfc.com

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Lufthansa, Emirates, cautious about flying A380 in Indian skies

No major global airline seems to be keen to immediately fly the Airbus 380 into India, despite the country lifting a ban on this aircraft today. German flag carrier Lufthansa welcomed the Indian Government's move but said it had no immediate plans to bring in this aircraft. Lufthansa is among the few global airlines which operate A380 in other markets such as USA, China and Japan and had been lobbying the Indian Government for permission to bring in this aircraft for years.
Singapore Airlines, another carrier, which has A380 in its fleet and was earlier keen to deploy it on flights to India, also played it safe. General Manager India for the airline, David Lau, said,"Singapore Airlines will evaluate the commercial viability of this recent development based on available traffic rights and resources."
Emirates, the Dubai based airline which already carries the largest number of outbound passengers from India and has a little over 54,000 weekly seats, also gave a tepid response to the A380 largesse. "We welcome the decision of the Indian aviation authorities to allow A380 operations. Any decision to deploy an A380 on our network is dependent on passenger demand on that particular route as well as the ability of airports to handle the aircraft...We will be reviewing our existing operations, and look forward to serving Indian travellers with our flagship aircraft in the near future."
27/01/14 Sindhu Bhattacharya/First Post

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India Lifts A380 Ban Paving Way for Emirates Jumbo Jets

India lifted a ban on Airbus Group NV (AIR) A380s from flying into the country, a move that will allow Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) and Emirates to send the double-decker plane to the world’s second-most populous nation.
Airlines will be allowed to fly the world’s biggest passenger jet to four Indian airports, including New Delhi and Mumbai, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement today. A380 services will be subject to traffic entitlements within bilateral agreements, it said.
Singapore Airlines Ltd. (SIA) is also interested in operating the plane to India, the ministry said. Under previous rules, carriers were banned from operating aircraft bigger than the Boeing Co. (BA) 747 because of concerns that passengers may desert state-run Air India and local operators already struggling with the region’s highest fuel charges and cut-throat competition.
Emirates, the biggest customer for the A380, Lufthansa, and Singapore Air, the superjumbo’s first operator, all welcomed India’s decision. Emirates said it will be reviewing its existing operations and “look forward to serving Indian travelers with our flagship aircraft in the near future.”
27/01/14 Anurag Kotoky/Bloomberg.com

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Govt waves in the Airbus A-380, but with riders

New Delhi: The Government lifted its ban on allowing the world’s largest commercial aircraft, the A-380, to operate scheduled flights here on Monday.
To protect the interest of Indian carriers, the Government has stipulated that A-380 flights will be allowed from countries with which India has exchanged bilateral air services agreements (ASAs) based on seats and the number of flights a week. Where the ASA is based on flights, this will be changed to seats before the airlines are allowed to the A-380.
Monday’s move is likely to benefit Singapore and Dubai, the two countries with which India has exchanged bilaterals based on the number of seats.
It could be some time before, say Russian airlines, can operate the A-380 to India as the India-Russia bilateral is based on the number of weekly flights, not on seats.
At the moment, airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore can accommodate the double-decker aircraft.
27/01/14 Business Line

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KIA all set to welcome A380

Bangalore: For the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), the approval by the Centre to allow operations of Airbus A380 has come at time when the airport has just upgraded its infrastructure.
On Monday, the Ministry removed the restrictions on A380 operations at four airports across the country. The other three being Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, and the A380 operations are subject to the overall traffic entitlements within the bilateral Air Service Agreements (ASAs) with different countries.
The airport operator, Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL), has completed the expansion of terminal T1 at a cost of Rs. 1,500 crore, involving upgradation of facilities to host A380. Though the infrastructure was inaugurated in the second week of December, the airport is awaiting approval of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security to operate the facilities at the new terminal.
28/01/14 The Hindu

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Odisha a step closer to gaining international flights

Kolkata: The Odisha government is inviting more airlines to fly into capital city Bhubaneswar, which is presently not serviced by any international carriers.
 GoAir is scheduled to begin flights from Bengaluru and Mumbai to Bhubaneswar in May, while AirAsia will fly from Kuala Lumpur from March pending approval, according to Sharad Kumar, director of Biju Patnaik International Airport, which met with representatives of 20 international airlines last week.
The Odisha government also recently reduced aviation fuel taxes from 20 per cent to five per cent. “The response of airlines was positive. We expect more airlines to be interested in running operations here by February,” said Kumar.
 Carriers such as Qatar Airways, SilkAir, Air Arabia and Flydubai are reportedly keen to start services to Bhubaneswar.
27/01/14 Shekhar Niyogi/TTG Asia

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Any high rise near Jakkur needs to take one more permission now

Bangalore: After Airport Authority of India, Indian Air Force, Kempe Gowda International Airport and HAL, the Government Flying Training School (GFTS) in Jakkur has come out with a dictum to builders not to construct buildings within a 20 km radius of Jakkur Aerodrome without its permission.
The institution, run by the state government, warned of action against errant builders if they violate rules under Section 9(a) of Aircraft Act 1934. A public notice issued by the institution states that all builders who have already got NOC from any agency for a height of 40 meters or above, for any site within 5 km of Jakkur Aerodrome, are also required to apply and get an NOC from them.
Director of the flying school Naveen Raj Singh said, "A public notice has been issued by the institution after it was found that some of the high-rise buildings were obstructing the operations when students fly choppers. A letter has been written to BDA and BBMP about the provisions of the Act and they have been asked not to sanction permission to high-rise buildings, if they are against the rules stipulated in the Act."
28/01/14 Suchith Kidiyoor/Bangalore Mirror

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Immigration bureau's claim opposed in Kerala high court

Kochi:  The Kerala manpower exporters association has opposed Bureau of Immigration's (BoI) claim at the Kerala high court that human trafficking through the Nedumbassery airport is continuing, with rackets now operating with commercial visit visas.
BoI had told the court earlier that a large number of passengers had been found travelling on commercial visit visas for short-term employment.
BoI was responding to a petition filed by four persons from Pathanamthitta alleging that BoI is not permitting them to attend job interviews abroad for working as carpenters in a Kuwait defence-related project.
Opposing BoI's claim, the association has now filed a counter affidavit. The affidavit stated, "The wild allegation that travel agents are circumventing the existing rules for illegal migration and human trafficking are without any basis and most unfortunate."
28/01/14 Times of India

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Afghan man misses flight, assaults CISF staff at IGI Airport

New Delhi: A 25-year-old Afghan national was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The man allegedly tore the uniform of a CISF constable before attempting to snatch the gun of a CISF Inspector and attempting to run to the air side.
According to airport officials, the incident was reported a week ago when the Afghan man, identified as Ashmatullah Hashmi, was due to fly to Kabul. Sources said Hashmi, a student, was scheduled to board an Air India flight to Kabul which was scheduled to depart at 12.35 pm. However, due to technical reasons, the flight was delayed and rescheduled.
Sources said Hashmi, who was allegedly inebriated, fell asleep in the security hold area and missed the rescheduled flight. His check-in baggage had been offloaded by the airline by then.
28/01/14 Shalini Narayan/Indian Express

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Gold bars seized in Madurai airport

Madurai: In yet another gold seizure in Madurai international airport, gold bars weighing 1,100g were recovered from three people, including two from Chennai, on Sunday evening. Customs officials who recovered the gold bars estimated that the worth of the gold around Rs 30 lakh.
Sources from customs department said that this is the first time they have seized gold bars exceeding one kg in a single day. The recovery was made after the officials sensed something wrong with the air passengers during their regular check-up.
Two of the three people detained were from Chennai and the rest is from Pudukkottai. The detained were identified as Mohammed Ismail and Abdul Rahman of Chennai and Saligu of Pudukkottai.
28/01/14 Times of India

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Ban on Airbus A380 superjumbos lifted

New Delhi: India will lift ban and allow Airbus A380 planes to land at the country's four main airports, the civil aviation ministry said on Monday, lifting restrictions on the superjumbos flying into the country, which may end up hurting domestic carrier Air India.
The four airports equipped to handle the A380s are in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, the ministry said.
The ban on A380s was mainly due to concerns that foreign carriers may further hurt state-run Air India by grabbing a larger share of international traffic.
The rule change will benefit carriers like Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Lufthansa and British Airways that operate the super-jumbo and fly to India, as well A380 customers like Etihad and Qatar Airways who have yet to take delivery of the aircraft.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said earlier this month the government was considering removing the restrictions.
"Now, flights of A380 to India will be allowed to airports which are equipped to handle them," the civil aviation ministry statement said.
"The operations of A380 aircraft would be subject to overall traffic entitlements within the bilateral Air Service Agreements (ASAs) with different countries," it said.
24/01/14 Reuters/Financial Express

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Airbus A380 superjumbos can now land at 4 airports

New Delhi: India lifted a landing ban on Airbus A380s on Monday, enabling carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Emirates to fly their superjumbos into the world's second-most populous nation.
A380s will be allowed to land at the country's four main airports - New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad - which are equipped to handle the planes, a decision welcomed by foreign carriers looking to tap India's fast growing air travel sector.
"The operation of A380s will help airports to generate more revenue, give more comfortable and luxurious travel to passengers, (and will) liberalise the civil aviation milieu in India," the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.
The ban on A380s was imposed due to concerns that foreign airlines could grab a high share of international traffic, hurting state-run Air India.
27/01/14 Reuters/NDTV

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Jet Airways to launch flights from Bangalore, Hyderabad to Abu Dhabi

Bangalore: Jet Airways has launched two new international flights - Bangalore to Abu Dhabi and Hyderabad to Abu Dhabi, effective March 1.
According to Gaurang Shetty, Senior Vice President – Commercial, Jet Airways, these two new routes will be serviced by Boeing 737 – 800 aircraft and also enhances flight connectivity beyond Abu Dhabi to destinations in West Asia, North America, Europe and Africa.
Jet Airways operates a daily flight each from Delhi, Kochi and Chennai and 11 flights a week from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi.
The new route from Bangalore will be Jet Airways’ first international flight from Bangalore to the Gulf. Flight 9W 504 will depart from Bangalore at 8.30 p.m., and arrive at Abu Dhabi at 11.30 p.m. (local time).
On the return journey, the flight 9W 503 will depart Abu Dhabi at 10.30 a.m. (local time) and arrive in Bangalore at 4.20 p.m.
27/01/14 Business Line

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Case against GMR strong, insists Maldives

The Maldives' case in the arbitration row with India's GMR over Male airport is strong, newly appointed Attorney General (AG) Mohamed Anil said Sunday.
In an exclusive interview with Haveeru, Anil said arbitration is going on in Singapore at a fast pace, and that if things move as they are scheduled now, hearings will be ready by April or May. The arbitration shall be over this year, he added.
Anil noted that discussions are going on with GMR outside the arbitration in order to go for an out of court settlement. He said these discussions are held to prepare for the upcoming formal meeting to decide on specific terms of the settlement.
"The first thing is to decide on an amount. At the same time, to contemplate what shall be given along with it. For example, if the financial amount should be paid at once or in instalments; if something else can be arranged for the company in Maldives in relation to the restoration compensation and assess the options, -all non relative to the airport", Anil said, in his first interview since assuming office in November.
27/01/14 Azhar Abdul Azeez/Haveeru Online

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Odisha: Airport Advisory Committee Meeting held on Today

Bhubaneswar:  Airport Advisory Committee Meeting was held on 27.01.2014 @ 1100 hrs, in the Conference Hall of International Terminal Building T2, B.P.I. Airport Bhubaneswar. Dr.Prasanna Patsani, Hon'ble MP chaired the meeting and Sh. Sharad Kumar, Airport Director was the Convener.  The main agenda points of the meeting included issues related to passenger facilitation aimed at making a user-friendly airport, handling of congestion at airport, cargo operations, and points related to airport functioning, likely to affect directly/indirectly the interest of the airport users and suggestions to enhance the airport image in terms of services and pasenger facilitation.
27/01/14 Odisha Diary

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Tata Docomo partners MIAL

Mumbai/ Kolkata: Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Limited, the fully owned subsidiary of Tata Teleservices Limited, on Monday announced that it has entered into an exclusive partnership with GVK led Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) which spreads to 4.3 million square feet, to offer end-to-end voice and data services at the recently inaugurated T2 terminal at CSIA.
Tata Docomo will provide fixed voice and data services for its captive use as well as for concessionaires at the airport, which will be one of the country’s busiest airports serving over 40 million passengers and handling nearly 6.5 lakh tonnes of cargo annually.
Tata Docomo will provide voice and data telecommunication services including internet leased line, ISDN PRI, ADSL, MPLS, broadband connection.
The broad scope of collaboration will also entail supplying, installing, commissioning, operating, managing and maintaining the related telecommunications infrastructure and equipment at the airport for a seven year period.
27/01/14 India Blooms

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Aerocity security: Worried police tell DIAL to act fast

Four months after the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued directions to the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) — the operator of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) — to prepare a comprehensive security plan for Aerocity, the Delhi Police has issued a reminder to DIAL, saying no progress has been made on the issue.
The Delhi Police said since three hotels on the 43-acre project had received clearance to start dining and lodging services, DIAL needs to make security arrangements to ensure nothing untoward happens at the site, which was red-flagged by security agencies in 2011. Security agencies then called it a potential launchpad for militant attacks.
DIAL said in a statement, “... The construction of perimeter defence has already been planned and likely to be in place soon. A private security agency has been deployed and a final review is being carried out to rationalise and augment the number…”
27/01/14 Shalini Narayan/Indian Express

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Panel demands more flights from Udaipur

Jaipur: The advisory committee to Maharana Paratap Airport in Udaipur has asked the union civil aviation ministry to increase the air connectivity from here. Girja Vyas, MP of Chittorgarh and head of committee said that his is highly unfortunate that even after Udaipur is listed on the world tourism map it is not connected with major cities.
The committee also recommended that Udaipur which is also known as city of lakes must have a flight between Udaipur and Jaipur. "The feasibility report prepared by the committee has favoured flights to Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Chennai," said a committee member.
26/01/14 Shoeb Khan/Times of India

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Soft skills training for CISF personnel at IGI Airport

New Delhi: Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deployed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport are being trained in ‘soft skills’ so that they can be more passenger-friendly. The CISF is responsible for all-round security on the airport premises.
While in-house training programmes are already there, the new venture is aimed at providing training on a larger scale. The project, sources said, is being financed by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).
CISF officials said the training will help the personnel deal with situations where there is a public interface. Sources said the new training programme caters to personnel of all ranks, be it a constable, an Inspector or a Commandant.
27/01/14 Shalini Narayan/Indian Express

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Customs gold seizure run at MIA continues on Sunday

Mangalore: Officers of Customs at Mangalore International Airport at Kenjar near here on Sunday in two separate cases seized gold weighing 821.57 grams valued at Rs 24,81,142. During the last one week, the customs officers at MIA have totally detected four cases of concealment of gold in different modus operandi and the total gold seized in these cases is Rs 58,09,336 weighing 1,929.59 grams, D Purushottam, commissioner of customs stated.
In the first case, officers seized seven gold objects, comprising three gold strips, one silver colour painted key made of gold, one silver colour nail cutter made of gold, one square block of gold and a silver colour painted elected shaver head piece made of gold, weighing 558.590 grams valued at Rs 16.86 lakh. This was recovered from carton box in the possession of passenger Mohammed Azharuddeen, a resident of Fashitha Manzil, Kunnil in Kasargod district.
26/01/14 Jaideep Shenoy/Times of India

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Gold Seized at Airport

Kochi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday seized 1 kg of gold from a passenger at Kochi international airport.
The gold was seized from a passenger from Dubai. DRI officials seized the gold from P Mohammad Salim, a native of Kasargod. Officials said Salim had cut a gold bar into pieces and concealed it in the batteries of a LED light in his baggage.
26/01/14 New Indian Express

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Flyer hides 1kg of gold in rectum, held

Trichy:  Trichy airport custom officials arrested a 58-year-old man for smuggling 1kg of gold which was found hidden in his rectum.
He was arrested on Saturday. A Dubai national was also arrested for carrying gold of similar quantity.
The person has been identified as Muthukumar S.
27/01/14 Times of India

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Airports Authority of India employees to conduct ballot to take call on general strike

Mumbai: With the government still going ahead on privatisation of six more airports despite general elections around the corner, state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) employees will conduct a "strike ballot" on February 10 to decide on a general strike against the move.
A strike ballot is a secret ballot conducted among members of a union to decide whether to go on a strike or not.
"The government is pushing the privatisation of airports in a great hurry despite the general elections scheduled in April-May this year.
"Political ethics demand that government should not move on this (policy) issue but it appears that political bosses are in a hurry to make the hay while the sun shines," Airports Authority Employees Union said in a release. Stating that the government has persistently ignored various protests including relay hunger strike by the AAI employees over "throwing away national assets to corporates", the Union said, "We have no option but to go for a serious industrial action".The union has, therefore, decided to conduct a strike ballot for going on general strike on February 10 across country's airports, the release said.
26/01/14 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Training blues at Leh make pilots see red

New Delhi: For pilots flying commercial jets into the Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport in Leh, the toughest experience is not the landings and takeoffs but the training. The training mandated in order to certify pilots as qualified to operate on this airfield is several times tougher. Every pilot operating in and out of this airfield has to go through a training exercise that requires them to operate with only one of two engines operational. The training exercise is carried out at the Leh airport, making it the only airport in the country where such a training is required.
While the Leh airport is one of the highest airports in the world at an altitude of 3,256 metres (10,682 feet) above sea level, the altitude is just one of the problems. Added to that the complexity of the flight path, which is between the mountains, making it the most difficult civilian airport in the country.
A senior pilot with Jet Airways, who has operated to Leh and is involved in training currently, explains the training regimen: “With only one engine, a pilot has to fly the plane over an escape flight path that flies over a river and smaller hills.”
An escape flight path is to be used for landing at the airport in case of any problem is reported with the aircraft.
26/01/14 Mihir Mishra/Indian Express

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MNS threatens action against Mumbai International Airport Limited for collecting vehicle entry charges

Mumbai: Raj Thackrey’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Friday threatened Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), with ‘MNS style’ action if the airport operator don’t do away with the entry charges for vehicles, which come to pick up or drop passengers. The party members also urged that the vehicle parking charges, which are the highest in the country should also be lowered.
In a letter to Rajiv Jain, CEO of MIAL, the party activists stated that the entry charges of vehicles should be withdrawn at both the domestic and international terminal.
MNS had last year vandalised toll booths as part of the agitations against collection of toll tax, mainly those at the outskirts of the city.
“The vehicle parking charges at the airport is the highest as compared to other airports in the country, which is causing a lot of inconvenience to the passengers and others who come to the airport” said Abhishek Sapre, divisional president of MNS.
26/01/14 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

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Honour for pilot who landed jet despite snags

New Delhi: Wing Commander Aditya Prakash Singh, a pilot with a MIG-21 Bison squadron, has been awarded Shaurya Chakra for safely landing his fighter plane on two occasions despite technical glitches. On one occasion, he held a torch light in his mouth to read the instruments to land the fighter. On April 30, 2013, he was flying a practice diversion sortie by night on a MiG-21 Bison aircraft to Halwara when the battery heavy discharge light came on along with the master blinker indicating a failure of the electrical system of the aircraft. All the cockpit lights slowly faded away, making it impossible for him to read the instruments which are required for safe operation of the aircraft. Singh lowered the undercarriage and flaps to take off position as that would not be possible once the electrical system failed completely. "At this stage, disregarding his personal safety, he took a decision to take off his mask and hold the torch in his mouth to illuminate the instruments," the air force said.
26/01/14 Times of India

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Gold worth Rs.98 lakh recovered from air passengers in 3 cases

Mumbai: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs on Saturday detected three cases of gold smuggling and recovered gold collectively worth Rs.98 lakh which were being taken out of the airport without paying the mandatory duty.
In the first case, the sleuths stopped Mohammed Rafeeq who came from Dubai and examination of his baggage led to the recovery of 696 grams gold worth Rs.17 lakh. According to AIU officials, he had concealed the yellow metal in a toy. In the second case, the Customs officials stopped two passengers, identified as Mohamed Rimsan and Mohamed Hanifa, and upon a thorough check, they recovered two kilograms of gold valued at around Rs.50 lakh from them.
25/01/14 PTI/India Today

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6kg gold worth Rs 1.8 crore found in AI plane, 4 held

Chennai:  In two parallel operations on Saturday, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials seized 1.8 crore worth of gold bars from an Air India flight at Chennai and Mumbai airports. A total of 6.1kg gold was seized from the Air India Boeing aircraft from Singapore to Mumbai via Chennai and four men taken into custody.
While 4.9kg of gold was seized from under a seat and three passengers held at Chennai around 9.45am, 1.2kg of gold was seized at Mumbai airport from a passenger on the same flight. All passengers were part of the same smuggling racket and the gold was to be delivered at Mumbai, an official said. "Seizures and arrests were on a clear tip."
While three of the gang flew in with the gold from Singapore, the fourth joined them at Chennai as only international passengers are checked thoroughly. A DRI official said the airline staff could not be blamed for the incident as the gold was concealed in passengers' hand baggage.
26/01/14 Times of India

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Customs officials seize six gold bars at Mangalore airport

Mangalore: Officials of customs at Mangalore International Airport (MIA) at Kenjar near here have seized six gold bars weighing 10 tolas from a passenger who arrived from Dubai on Saturday. The gold bars weighing 699.84 grams valued at Rs 21.13-lakh were concealed in a carton box that Mohammed Noufal Naimarmoola Hassainar, Kasargod, commissioner of customs D Purushottam stated.
25/01/14 Jaideep Shenoy/Times of India

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One more airline to fly you to Hubli

Hubli: In a couple of months, a domestic airline will be starting a daily flight between Bangalore and Hubli.
Bangalore-based Air Pegasus is aiming to start Bangalore-Hubli flight by March. The company’s director, Asswin, said they are planning to operate two flights between the two cities every day. He said they are looking at starting flights between Mangalore and Hubli too.
Asswin said the company is gearing up to serve commuters in tier-II and tier-III cities in South India. Besides the abovesaid cities, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Hyderabad and Chennai are on its radar. To start with, Air Pegasus will use 72-seater aircraft. By next year, it expects to acquire six wide-bodied aircraft.
Currently, Spice Jet is the only airline operating in Hubli, since September 2012. It operates two flights from Hubli—to Chennai via Bangalore, and to Delhi via Mumbai and Jabalpur.
25/01/14 Sangamesh Menasinakai/Daily News & Analysis

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GMR Infra looks to raise up to Rs 2.5k cr

Bangalore: Fresh from shedding some of its key global assets, including an airport in Turkey and a power project in Singapore, GMR Infrastructure is gearing to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore even as it is close to clinching an airport-modernisation project in the Philippines.
The board, which met late on Friday, said they had authorised the company to raise these resources through various options, including foreign currency convertible bonds, a follow-on offer, a further public offer and private placement, among others.
The company, under debt of Rs 40,000 crore and with a gearing of 3.5 times, has been shedding assets to generate cash and to meet its debt obligations. GMR Infra had during 2010 raised $350 million through the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route. Till now, the company has not used an FCCB route to raise funds.
25/01/14 Business Standard

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Flights delayed due to poor visibility at Jaipur

Jaipur: Poor visibility suspended flight operations at Jaipur airport till 10.30am on Saturday for the third consecutive day causing chaos at the airport. The operations resumed after 10.30am. "The visibility in the morning hours was 80 meters which is unfit for landing here. Only flights scheduled to arrive in the morning hours were allowed to land," said airport official.
The airport which has normal visibility mechanism instead of CAT-II/III which allows flight to land when visibility is around 120/250 meters. Passengers who arrived for early morning flights had to spend around 6 hours at the airport. Officials said that CAT-II was proposed at the airport but the project is delayed due to administrative hiccups.
25/01/14 Shoeb Khan/Times of India

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2 kg of gold seized at Tiruchi airport

Tiruchi: Three passengers from Kuala Lumpur were arrested when they tried to smuggle two kg of gold at the Tiruchi Airport on Thursday night. All the three passengers, who arrived here by an Air Asia flight at 11.45 p.m., had concealed the gold pieces in their rectum. Officials intercepted the passengers on suspicion based on their profile, Customs sources said.
Four cut and moulded pieces of gold, weighing 999.8 grams, were recovered from Mohamed Eliyas of Gopalapattinam near Meemisal. Two other passengers, Risuan Mohamed and Mohamed Ibrahim, also of Gopalapattinam, had concealed two gold pieces each in their body, said A.R.S.Kumar, Commissioner of Customs, Tiruchi, in a press release. The gold seized from the three persons was valued at Rs.59.72 lakh.
25/01/14 S. Ganesan/The Hindu

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Removal of V P Agrawal: Airport privatisation likely to get a boost

Chennai: The sudden removal of V P Agrawal as the Airports Authority of India chairman is expected to give a leg up to privatization of Chennai airport. Alok Sinha, a joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry, is now the AAI chief. The AAI chairman was called at home and told to hand over charge to the joint secretary.
The ministry has been pushing to privatise six public sector airports, including Chennai and Kolkata, which were recently modernised at huge cost.
The privatisation process is now expected to be quicker because the ministry can either ignore or bulldoze opposition from employees. Agrawal had initially suggested joint management of the airports with a private party before he fell in line with the ministry's decision for complete privatisation.
Despite knowing that the post of the AAI chairman would fall vacant on December 31, the ministry did not start the process for having regular incumbent in the position. Instead, it sent Alok Sinha's name to the cabinet committee on appointments headed by the Prime Minister.
An AAI official said it would now be easy to privatise the airport as the ministry could take decisions on behalf of AAI. "This may be a reason to place AAI under a joint secretary of the ministry."
25/01/14 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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Several flights delayed due to poor visibility in Jaipur

Jaipur: Poor visibility suspended flight operations at Jaipur airport till noon on Friday leading to chaos at the airport. Here over 300 passengers of six morning flights which resumed at noon were seen sitting on the floor as there were not so many chairs to accommodate them. "The visibility in the morning hours was 80 meters which is unfit for landing here. Only flights scheduled to arrive in the morning hours were allowed to land," said airport official.
Sources said that the situation at the Jaipur airport becomes bad if the visibility is even slightly not good. The airport which is called international airport has normal visibility mechanism instead of CAT-II/III which allows flight to land when visibility is around 120/250 meters. Passengers who arrived for early morning flights had to spend around 6 hours at the airport.
25/01/14 Times of India

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9 flights diverted to Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Nine flights heading to Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur were diverted to Ahmedabad on Friday due to dense fog in northern India. The dense foggy conditions coupled with lack of parking space at smaller airports forced the flights to be diverted to Sardar Vallabhbhai International airport.
Nine flights - six domestic, two international and one cargo aircraft - made stop at city airport. Uzbek Airlines 421 from Tashkent to Delhi was diverted to Ahmedabad at 4 am and flew back to its original destination at 9 am while Air Arabia 433 Sharjah to Jaipur was forced to land at city airport at 12.30 pm and flew back at 1.30 pm.
Jet 2023 (Mumbai to Udaipur), Jet 2627 (Delhi to Udaipur), Jet Konnect 4234 (Bangalore-Delhi), Indigo 207 (Mumbai to Jaipur) and Jet Konnect 4055 (Mumbai to Jaipur) arrived at city airport during the day and departed within an hour. Indigo 238 from Ahmedabad to Jaipur flew from Ahmedabad and due to bad weather had to return back at city airport and finally departed at 12.30 pm.
25/01/14 Times of India

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Customs seizes Rs 78 lakh gold from 5 passengers at airport

Mumbai: Gold worth Rs 78 lakh was seized on Friday from five different passengers who were trying to smuggle it into the city.
In the first case, a flyer, Ubaid Nelliyadukkam, was found carrying six gold bars weighing a total of 700gm and worth Rs 17.7 lakh. Another passenger, Assai Usman, had concealed gold wires worth 585gm worth Rs 14.80 lakh in the rods of his trolley bag. The third flyer, Mohammed Jammer, too had concealed gold wires weighing 620gm and worth Rs 48.22 lakh in a similar manner.
25/01/14 Times of India

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AAI chief VP Agarwal removed for opposing privatisation of airports

Mumbai: In a late night development, chairman of the state-run Airports Authority of India, VP Agarwal, was removed from his post apparently because of his "opposition" to privatisation of more airports in the country, sources said.
Alok Sinha, who is currently joint secretary in the Aviation Ministry and handling the airports, has been given additional charge of the post, according to government orders.
Agarwal was resisting the privatisation of six more airports, including Kolkata and Chennai. But the government is in a hurry and wants the process to be completed before going into elections. For this reason, Agarwal had to lose his post, sources said.
In September last year, the government had decided to allow private parties to pick up 100 per cent equity stake in operation and management of the six airports - Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow - through the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
Incidentally, Agarwal's five-year term as AAI chairman had expired last December but he was granted an extension.
24/01/14 PTI/India Today

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Dreamliner hit by bird in Kolkata, grounded

New Delhi:  An Air India Dreamliner was grounded in Kolkata on Thursday when the aircraft (VT-ANE) suffered a bird hit while landing there. The aircraft was flying from Delhi to Kolkata and was to return in just over an hour when it had bird hit.
"There is no serious issue with the aircraft. But as per procedure, it has to be grounded for checks after a bird hit. We hope to have this aircraft back in air very soon," said an AI spokesman.
Incidentally, this is the second trouble for the same Dreamliner (VT-ANE ) in five days. Last Sunday it had suffered a transponder failure while flying from London to Delhi. The aircraft, which was over Germany after flying for about two hours from UK, then had to return to Heathrow. It barely made it there in time for the night curfew to kick in at Heathrow.
24/01/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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GVK may sell stake in Indonesia airport projects: Sources

Hyderabad-based GVK Group is likely to sell its stake in Indonesia airport projects, reports CNBC-TV18, quoting sources. The private airport operator is looking to raise up to USD 500 million through the stake sale. Sources say  GVK may sell part stake in two of its Indonesia airport project. In January 2011, GVK had signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian government for developing two greenfield airports - one in Yogyakarta and another in North Bali. GVK has completed the feasibility analysis for both airports and is in the process of preparing a master plan. The company is in initial talks with projective bidders for the sale. Sources tell CNBC-TV18 that some local players have expressed interest. A consortium of private equity players is also eyeing the stake. The move is part of the company’s strategy to bring down its Rs 18,500 crore debt.
24/01/14 Kritika Saxena/CNBC-TV18/moneycontrol.com

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