‘Navi Mumbai airport to come up in 4-5 years’

Mumbai: Navi Mumbai airport will come up in four to five years, minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha said on Wednesday. Mumbai, with its single runway and saturation of slots, remains the "single-most bottleneck for civil aviation in India", he added.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had claimed that the first flight from the new airport would take off in December 2019.
Sinha was addressing a summit of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a global aviation consultancy firm, through video-conference. He said given the robust demand for domestic travel two factors need to be considered: Airlines inducting aircraft to expand fleets and availability of slots at major airports like Mumbai and Delhi. Taking into consideration oil prices and airport capacity, the government has forecast a 15% growth in air passengers, which translates to one billion flights. The unprecedented growth of air passenger traffic demonstrates the demand for aviation despite many challenges, he said, adding that tier-2 and 3 cities show tremendous potential.
31/01/18 Times of India

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HC tells stakeholders to discuss upgrade of international airport

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed all stakeholders to put their heads together on February 12 for discuss the suggestions put forth by the contractor carrying the work to upgrade the runway at the Chandigarh international airport.
The direction came after the contractor told the court that his suggestions would help in reducing the time for carrying the work.  As the case came up for resumed hearing this afternoon, the Division Bench of Justice AK Mittal and Justice Amit Rawal asked senior advocate Manmohan Lal Sarin and the airport authorities to come out with a report on the February 12 meeting. The Bench also called for a status report on the next date of hearing.
The participants include senior advocate Sarin, representatives of Chandigarh International Airport Limited, the Airport Authority of India and airlines operating from Chandigarh, along with the contractor.
30/01/18 Tribune 

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CAPA India: India airports not prepared to accommodate increasing traffic

CAPA India CEO Indian Subcontinent & Middle East Kapil Kaul, speaking at the CAPA India Aviation Summit, opined (30-Jan-2018) that airport operators in India are not adequately prepared to accommodate significant expected increases in passenger traffic and aircraft deliveries in the next few years (Bloomberg Quint, 31-Jan-2018). According to CAPA India forecasting, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is expected to exceed its handling capacity by 2019, followed by Chennai International Airport, Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport and Kolkata Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport. A number of other Airports Authority of India operated airports are expected to exceed handling capacity by 2022. Capacity constraints and congestion at major airports is expected to inhibit domestic air traffic growth in India.
31/01/18 CAPA

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WWWAS blames AAI for delaying DGCA nod for runway

Surat: 'We Work For A Working Airport At Surat' (WWWAS) has blamed the callous attitude of officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the inordinate delay in getting the approval for operation of second phase of runway strengthening and granting of customs and immigration status for Surat airport.
Last week, directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), replying to an RTI query of WWWAS, stated that AAI is yet to submit documents related to the approval for operation of second phase of runway, the work for which was completed last month.
In the latest RTI reply to WWWAS, AAI has stated that there were no formalities pending at its end, which may be delaying the work for granting of customs and immigration status to Surat airport.
Sources said AAI had executed the work for extension and strengthening of the runway at Surat airport in two phases. AAI had submitted documents requesting commissioning approval for phase one work of the runway extension in April 2017 and that the same was granted on April 20, 2017. However, the AAI is yet to submit documents for commissioning of phase two of the project for strengthening of the runway for approval.
At present, the airlines are operating the flights on load penalty as they are unable to use the full-length runway of 2,905 metre. Against the aircraft capacity of 185 passengers, the airlines have to accommodate only 140 passengers due to load penalty.
31/01/18 Tuimes of India

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Nitin Gadkari pitches for early clearances to Pune airport

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has asked defence and civil aviation officials to expedite clearances to expansion of the Pune airport which is witnessing high traffic volumes.

The road transport and highways minister was chairing a Prime Minister-appointed infrastructure group meeting.

The expansion project includes construction of a new terminal building at a cost of Rs 500 crore, a multilevel car parking for Rs 120 crore and a new cargo complex at a cost of about Rs 300 crore.

"Air traffic from Pune has grown substantially and there is an urgent need to expand the airport. I have directed the concerned civil aviation and defence officials to immediately provide necessary clearances for its expansion," Gadkari said after the meeting held yesterday.

Traffic at Pune airport has doubled in the last three years to about 8.2 million passengers per annum.

The meeting was attended by Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan and Power Minister R K Singh, besides airport and defence officials.
31/01/18 PTI/Economic Times

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‘AAI incurring losses to maintain city airport’

Surat: Of all the airports in Gujarat, Airports Authority of India (AAI) is incurring heavy losses on the operations and maintenance of Surat airport.
As per the information made available under Right To Information Act, AAI stated that Ahmedabad airport is the only airport in Gujarat earning profits for it. During 2016-17, Ahmedabad airport earned revenue worth Rs 67.27 crore. However, AAI incurred heavy losses to the tune of Rs 40.82 crore in the operations and maintenance of Surat airport.
AAI incurred losses to the tune of Rs 118.95 crore in operating 10 airports in Gujarat during 2016-17. AAI had incurred loss to the tune of Rs 86.07 crore during 2015-16.
The other loss-making airports in the state during 2016-17 included Vadodara, which incurred loss to the tune of Rs 19.18 crore, Bhavnagar airport at Rs 13.20 crore, Rajkot airport at Rs 17.66 crore, Bhuj airport at Rs 4.43 crore, Porbandar airport at Rs 13.05 crore, Kandla at Rs 6.24 crore and Jamnagar at Rs 2.75 crore.
Airport activists crusading for increased air connectivity from Surat airport believe that the AAI can cover up the losses in operating the airports in the state provided air connectivity is increased in key centres like Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.
31/01/18 Times of India

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CEPT students' aerotropolismodel to upgrade Surat airport

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In a major academic project, a group of students of CEPT University has proposed aerotropolis model to transform Surat airport to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). As part of their semester 3 studio ‘Metropolitan Airport and Aerotropolis infrastructure project development’ outcomes, the students of infrastructure planning undertook a massive research on ‘Transformation of Surat airport infrastructure by aerotropolis model via land pooling method’.

While giving their presentation to the civil aviation secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey and AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra, the students also proposed improvements in the national policy and amendment in the AAI Act.

The principal objectives of the presentation were to highlight the need for integrating airports into the urban planning in a holistic manner and application of Aerotropolis model via land pooling method.

Taking Surat as a case, the outcomes included a master plan for the airport and aerotropolis considering maximum land utilisation, minimum displacements and complementing development with the dream city.

Speaking about the same, Juzer Kheraluwala, a second-year student of Masters in Urban and Regional Planning said, “We have proposed an aerotropolis near an airport. An aerotropolis is a metropolitan subregion where the layout, infrastructure, and economy are centred on an airport which serves as a multimodal airport city. It is similar in form to a traditional metropolis, which contains a central city commercial core and commuter-linked suburbs. Delhi has aero-city around the airport. So we have proposed to make it mandatory for new airports.
31/01/18 Tanushree Bhatia/DNA

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Airport makeover

Patna: The authorities have planned a major makeover for Patna airport, and the new facility when complete will have 11 aerobridges (that enable direct de-boarding onto the terminal building), an aesthetically designed terminal building, and will be able to cater to three million passengers every year, double of the present 1.5 million.

"Patna airport is all set to get a new look once the new terminal building gets readied," said Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport director Rajendra Singh Lahouria. "The swank, new, state-of-the-art integrated terminal, which will be developed under the airport modernisation plan, can cater to around 3 million passengers per annum. This will be done keeping in mind the increase in number of passengers till 2035."

The new terminal building - for which the blueprint is ready and the hunt is on for an architect - will be built in such a way that it looks pleasing both from the road as well as from the sky.

The city side will be aesthetically landscaped with green areas. One will be able to see the flights landing and taking off while sitting in the departure hall. There will also be a separate arrangement for the operation of international flights.
31/01/18 Nishant Sinha/Telegraph

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Wife detained for ruckus at IGIA after hubby denied entry

There was high drama at the Indira Gandhi International airport on Monday evening when a Sikh passenger who had arrived with his wife to board a flight to Mumbai, was denied entry as he was carrying a ‘kirpan’. The couple initially refused to leave the kirpan behind, leading to an argument, during which the woman misbehaved with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official and was handed over to the police.  Seeing his wife being detained, the man also got himself off loaded, police said.

According to senior police officers, the incident was reported around 4pm when the passenger arrived at the Security Hold Area to complete his security check in order to board an Air India flight to Mumbai. It was then that the security personnel of the (CISF)  deployed there told him that the kirpan is not allowed on flights coming from international destinations.

“On this, the man’s wife started arguing with the CISF’s SHA in charge. When another senior officer tried to intervene, the woman misbehaved and hurled abuses at the officer. The lady passenger was then requested to provide her travel details but she refused to provide the details and left for boarding,” said a senior officer.

Meanwhile her husband had gone to put the kirpan in check-in baggage, but since the check-in of baggage for the concerned flight was already over, the passenger was asked to hand it over to the immigration staff.

The officer said that when the passenger returned and cleared his security check, he realised that his wife had been off loaded and detained by the CISF, after which she was handed over to the police for further action.
31/01/18 DNA

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Gold worth Rs 13 lakh seized at Delhi airport

New Delhi: The customs department today seized gold worth Rs 13 lakh from a man at Delhi international airport, officials said.

The accused was intercepted after his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport from Italian capital Rome.

A search resulted in the recovery of 585 grams of gold concealed in his hand baggage, the officials said.
31/01/18 PTI/India Today

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India’s Congested Airports Slowing Down Air Traffic Growth

Congested airports at India’s top cities will hamper air traffic growth in the world’s third-largest aviation market even as carriers add more aircraft to their fleet and fly to smaller cities.

India’s domestic air traffic is expected to grow 18-20 and touch 150 million in the year ending March 2019, according to Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. CAPA reduced the forecast by at least 2 percentage points considering capacity constraints at large airports like Mumbai and Chennai.

The aviation think tank expects domestic traffic to reach 125 million in the year ending March. Airport operators are under-prepared for growth, CAPA India Chief Executive Officer Kapil Kaul said today in Mumbai.

That means most large airports are operating close to full capacity as at least 124 new aircraft would be inducted by March 2019—an increase of 25 percent. Mumbai will run out of space for new flyers by next year if the traffic grows at an annualised rate of 10 percent, according to CAPA’s Airport Saturation Capacity Index. Chennai, New Delhi and Kolkata would follow. At the same pace, other airports operated by the Airports Authority of India will exhaust capacity by 2022.

That’s when the government’s UDAN scheme is adding routes to connect smaller cities to the aviation grid. Of the new aircraft, around 22 will be used for UDAN that now aims to connect 60 smaller airports to the aviation grid.

“The number of aircraft in India is still minuscule,” SpiceJet Ltd.’s Chairman Ajay Singh said. “When the shift happens from trains to planes, people don't go back. Growth will remain strong despite oil prices going up.”
30/01/18 Purva Chitnis/Bloomberg Quint

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Airport bag relief by Puja

Dum Dum: The domestic section of Calcutta airport is set to have inline baggage scanning by Puja, more than two years after such a system was installed in the international wing.

Once the facility is introduced, passengers in the domestic section will no longer have to stand in a seperate queue to get their registered luggage scanned before checking in. During the morning and evening rush hours, a passenger often has to spend more than 10 minutes in a queue in front of an X-ray machine.

The machines for inline baggage X-ray will be installed by June and are set to be operational by the end of September or early October after several rounds of trial, officials at the airport said on Monday.

Inline baggage scanning was introduced in the international section in mid-2016, more than three years after the integrated terminal of the city airport was unveiled. "Along with installing the system in the domestic section, we will replace the scanning machines in the international wing," an Airports Authority of India official in Delhi said.

"The machines in the international section are old and need to be replaced. The new machines will produce better images."

Sources said the machines would be imported from Germany.
Calcutta and Chennai airports will be among the 23 airports across the country where the system will be installed in this phase.

Calcutta will have eight machines, five of them in the domestic section. Chennai will have four and at least two of them are likely to be installed by February.

"We have already issued work order for the 23 airports and the machines are in the process of being installed in phases," AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra told Metro on Monday.

Sources at the Calcutta airport said the domestic section needed inline baggage scanning more than the international section.

Around 27,000 passengers flew out of the domestic section on Monday, compared with the 4,000-odd who took international flights.
30/01/18 Sanjay Mandal/Telegrraph

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Bengaluru airport clocks 25.04 mn passengers in 2017, plans for 2nd runway

Bengaluru: Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the operator of the city's airport said that it handled over 25.04 million passengers in 2017, nearly a decade ahead of initial passenger traffic estimates when the work on the country's first private Greenfield airport began in 2005.
BIAL, now owned majority by Indian born Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa backed Fairfax, registered a traffic growth of 12.9 per cent over 2016, as airlines, both Indian and global, planned new routes to cities such as Amsterdam and Bahrain to connect Bengaluru. Air Traffic Movements grew by 4.3 per cent to 44 movements an hour this year. The city is connected to 62 destinations in India and globally by 43 airlines.
"We surpassed forecast numbers and continued on a positive growth trajectory. BLR Airport was rated as the fastest growing airport, globally, by FlightGlobal. This is a reflection of the status of Bengaluru as one of the fastest growing cities in India, and its growing economic might”, said Hari Marar, managing director & CEO, BIAL.
The operator has already finalised plans for a second runway that will be operational by 2019. By 2021, the second terminal which would open in two phases will be able to handle over 65 million passengers.
US architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has designed T2, while Turner International will be the PMC for this expansive project, Bial said.
Cargo continues to remain a key focus area for the business.

Besides seeing incremental growth in the overall business, 2017 saw the introduction of a bonded trucking service that connects Coimbatore and Tirupur to the airport via road. The year also saw BLR Airport’s cargo operations scaling new heights, with an overall growth of 8.1 per cent, handling 339,461 metric tonnes. International cargo handling increased by 10.4 per cent over the previous year while domestic cargo handling increased by 4.2 per cent, it said in a statement.
The cargo business at BLR Airport accounts for around 11 per cent of the state’s GDP, substantially higher than the global average of 2-3 per cent. BLR Airport also accounts for highest exports of roses and mangos in their peak season from South India.
30/01/18 Raghu Krishnan/Business Standard

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Jet flight from Mumbai delayed by two-and-half hours

Indore: A jet flight from Mumbai to Indore was delayed BY almost two-and-half hours in the city on Monday. The reason for the delaying is said to be heavy traffic in Mumbai.

Sources said the scheduled departure of the flight was at 6.55 pm, but the flight 9w2385 took off at 9.40 pm from Mumbai.

A passenger Mangal Mishra told Free Press over phone that we were told about a heavy traffic on Mumbai airport due to which flight could be delayed. After that the flight took more than two-and-half hours to take off.
30/01/18 Free Press Journal

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Jolly Grant airport up for expansion; to get new terminal, state-of-art facilities

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government has decided to expand Jolly Grant airport of Dehradun, where the number of passengers is expected to double in the next few years. The Trivendra Singh Rawat government will construct a new terminal building with state-of-the-art facility, parking lots for planes, longer air-strip and multi-level parking for cars.
The state authorities have started talks with Airports Authority of India (AAI) and civil aviation officers for the expansion project. The hill state’s government will also acquire forest and farm land adjoining to the airport.
Additional chief secretary Om Prakash told TOI, “Recently, 15 cities of Uttarakhand have been included under Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme. Besides, Uttarakhand is turning out to be a major centre for yoga, wellness, adventure sports and tourism. In the last few years, the number of passengers at the Dehradun airport has gone up to 10 lakh.” He also pointed out that the state authorities think that the number of footfall at the airport will double in the next three to four years.
The senior state official said that the aim of the government was to provide better facilities to the passengers. On being asked about the advantages of the airport expansion, Prakash said, “More flights would land at the airport, people will get late night or early morning flights and there will be facility to park five planes inside the airport premises. Better facilities and regular taxi service will make the trip a memorable one for the visitors.”
Prakash added that during the expansion work, the state civil aviation guest house, office and hangar may to be shifted to another location. He, however, ruled out the possibility of international flights landing at Dehradun even after the expansion. “International flights need a bigger runway, we will be eying that later,” said the ACS.
30/01/18 Kautilya Singh/Times of India

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Trichy airport rated best non-metro airport in South, dropys to 6th place in India

The Trichy International airport secured the first place among Southern non-metro airports in a national level survey conducted between January and June 2017, according to a TOI report

According to the report, although the airport continues to remain the best in the South, it dropped from the 5th place in the national level to the 6th recently.

The airport secured a score of 4.72 out of a 5-scale index in the Customer Satisfaction Index survey.

The survey listed 35 parameters including overall satisfaction with the airport by passengers, business passengers, leisure passengers. It also included satisfaction with regard to ambience of airport, cleanliness of terminal, washrooms, toilets, comfort of waiting areas, speed of baggage delivery service, customs inspection, courtesy and helpfulness of inspection staff, security staff, restaurant and eating facilities, parking facilities and ground transportation.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) makes continuous efforts to improve comfort, services and facilities in its airport and that is how Trichy airport secured the top place among the southern non-metro airports, said K Gunasekaran, airport director.

One of the key performance objectives of the AAI, customer satisfaction for airports, is evaluated through a survey conducted by an independent agency commissioner by the AAI, he said.

"Trichy airport has earned a total of Rs 31 crore as profit before tax, till the third quarter in 2017-18 approximately. The estimated profit in the year 2017-18 after tax may come around Rs 32 crore," he said.

He also expected to airport to achieved Rs 35 crore or more of profits in the year 2018-19.
30/01/18 News Minute

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Poor weather affects flight operations at Mohali

Mohali: Flight operations at the Chandigarh international airport continued to be disrupted as two flights were cancelled and 10 delayed on Monday. The SpiceJet flight (SG 2834) to Delhi, which arrives at the airport at 8.05 am, was grounded due to fog at Chandigarh. Another Srinagar-Chandigarh-Delhi SpiceJet was cancelled due to air traffic control (ATC) restrictions in Srinagar and runway closure.
IndiGo’s Delhi bound flight (6E 545/455), which arrives at the airport at 7.30 am, was delayed by five hours while Alliance Air’s Delhi flight (9I 832), which had temporarily been suspended due to winter,
 was late by 6 hours and 47 minutes.
Flight operations were mainly affected between Delhi and Chandigarh. Sources said that several flights were delayed at the Delhi airport due to fog and air traffic congestion.
30/01/18 Tribune

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Zero visibility at IGI delays 100 flights

New Delhi: Over 100 flights were delayed and three diverted on Monday morning after the visibility fell to near zero at IGI airport, resulting in a backlog. However, there were no cancellations, an airport official said. The flight operations were disrupted for nearly three hours from 6.30am after the runway visual range (RVR) fell below 100m, the officials added.
Airport met official said the runway visual range was hovering between 100m and 150m from 6.30am and the conditions returned to normal only around 9am. "CAT-IIIA and B procedures were initiated as visibility fell below 100m at one point. Flight operations were severely affected for 3 hours," said a met official.
Flights cannot take-off when the visibility is below 125m, while landings can take place even when it is around 50m. Flight operations have been affected for the past several days, owing to airspace restrictions till January 26 and dense fog. Forecast for Tuesday, however, shows improvement with 'shallow to moderate' fog, an official said.
30/01/18 Times of India

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SALS At Airport By July 27, AAI Informs HC

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Monday was informed that the work on installation of Simple Approach Lighting System (SALS) at Srinagar ‘International’ Airport has been allotted to a company and would be completed with six months.

The statement was made by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) through its counsel before a division bench of the court comprising Division Bench of Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey.

After the tendering process for the project, allotment order has been issued on January 27 and as per the statement by the counsel of AAI, the work would be completed by July 27 this year.

The Court had directed the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to proceed with the execution of works on International Airport Srinagar and do not wait for court orders so that visibility is improved for smooth air service.

The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation that it has initiated on its own motion, seeking to provide necessary facilities to passengers travelling to and from Kashmir by air.

The PIL, initiated suo-moto, has been posted for further consideration on January 29.

During one of the previous hearings, the AAI and the IAF said that they have taken up the issue of setting up of SALS to increasing the visibility.

“As a stop gap measure, it has been suggested by the Air Force and the Airports Authority of India that 300 metres of land, which is available within the boundary before runway 31, could be utilized for setting up a SALS. If this is done, the minimum visibility would be reduced from 1300 metres to 1000 metres. This arrangement be implemented immediately,” the court had said.

The PIL was initiated by Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and on December 14, Chief Justice had directed its registration as suo-moto PIL. In this petition, the judge noticed that the AAI has, prima facie, failed to take notice of hardships and difficulties being regularly faced by the people, who travel to and fro Kashmir by air.
30/01/18 Marouf Ali/Kashmir Observer

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Udaipur Airport ranked Second in AAI Customer Satisfaction Survey

Maharana Pratap Airport, Udaipur has secured second position amongst non-metro airports in a national consumer satisfaction survey conducted by Airport Authority of India (AAI).

Udaipur airport secured a rating of 4.75 out of 5. Its rating came in only behind Raipur airport which was rated at 4.84. AAI conducts a consumer satisfaction survey twice a year. These ratings came in from national level survey conducted during the period between January and June 2017 and included 49 airports in the country.
30/01/18 UdaipurTimes 

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Clear Kingfisher aircraft not auctioned from airport: HC

Mumbai: With efforts to auction an Airbus 319 owned by Kingfisher Airlines failing to find buyers for the fourth time, Bombay high court on Monday said the aircraft, parked at the airport here, should be removed at the earliest.
"The aircraft has been occupying space at the airport for five years. If it is not airworthy, remove it immediately from the airport," said a division bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Bharati Dangre.
The official liquidator of the Karnataka high court is in-charge of the assets and records of the airline.
The aircraft was seized by sales tax department over dues of Rs 1,000 crore, liable to be paid by the airline, owned by businessman Vijay Mallya. The aircraft price had been reduced from $22.5 million to $12.5 million at the auctions. Airport authorities had i
30/01/18 Times of India

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Night flights at LGBI from March

Guwahati: The Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International airport will be operational 24x7 from March 25, giving a boost to air travel in the Northeast.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Guruprasad Mahapatra told reporters here on Monday that this was decided keeping in mind the increase in passengers at the airport in the past few years.

"The LGBI airport is now a thriving airport and it witnessed 37.2 per cent growth of passengers in 2016-17. This was much above the national average growth rate of 17 per cent. Guwahati being the hub of the Northeast, it has been decided to make the airport operational 24x7 and upgrade its facilities," Mahapatra said.

City-based AAI regional executive director D.K. Kamra said three airlines have agreed to operate night flights.
30/01/18 Sumir Karmakar/Telegraph

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Three flights to resume operations from February 1

Patna: Three flights are to resume operations from Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport (JPNI) at Patna from February 1 following improvement in visibility conditions. Out of the three GoAir flights, two are scheduled on Delhi-Patna-Delhi route while the third will fly on Mumbai-Patna route.
JPNI airport officials said as many as 9 flights are likely to resume operations by February 16. Besides the three from February 1, SpiceJet will resume its Mumbai-bound flight from February 11 and IndiGo will operate five flights from February 16 to Kolkata, Delhi, Lucknow and Bengaluru.
Total 27 flights are operating from the city airport at present against the scheduled strength of 36. As flights are mostly not allowed to land at the city airport before 10am due to foggy conditions normally from November first week, most airlines had cancelled or rescheduled their morning flights and added in the afternoon under their winter schedule from December. Changes in timings were also made for the evening flights.
"Visibility conditions have improved in the past few days. The minimum 1200 metres visibility requirement for flight operations is being met at around 11:30am lately, which used to be not before 1pm during peak winter days. Accordingly, different airlines have communicated us their request to resume the flights they had suspended during peak winter season," a Patna airport official said.
30/01/18 Piyush Tripathi/Times of India

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UP govt seeks financial help for Jewar airport

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government has asked the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) to provide financial assistance to its proposed Jewar airport project. The bid document inviting concessionaires for the Jewar airport will be made public in August.

Sources in the ministry of housing and urban affairs said that the Yogi Adityanath government recently asked the NCRPB to provide financial assistance to its Jewar airport project.

It has been learnt, the board has made it clear that no funds would be provided for land acquisition.

“To get funds for the construction part or capital work, the state government will have to submit detailed project reports,” a senior officer told this newspaper.

The formalities pertaining to land acquisition are yet to be completed. The total cost of the project is estimated to be to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore.

The Jewar airport is billed to become the biggest airport in India in terms of area.
29/01/18 Sanjay Kaw/Asian Age

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Rs 3400 crore for airports in North East: AAI chairman Guruprasad Mahapatra

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has allocated around Rs 3400 crore for the upgradation of airports in the North East region, AAI chairman Guruprasad Mahapatra said today. The airports in the region recorded a total passenger movement of 68.04 lakh in 2016-17 and registered a growth of 27.02 per cent over the previous year, he said. The AAI has allocated Rs 1720 crore for Assam, Rs 525 crore for Tripura, Rs 800 crore for Manipur, Rs 42 crore for Nagaland, Rs 211 crore for Arunachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore for Mizoram, Mahapatra told reporters here. Stating that projects worth Rs 934 crore had already been completed, he said work on the rest would be over in the next two or three years. In Assam, the funds were for the construction of a new integrated terminal building, strengthening of the existing runway, refurbishment and a new Air Traffic Control cum technical block in Guwahati, he said.

In Dibrugarh an aircraft hangar and a new control tower cum technical block would be constructed, the runway extended and power infrastructure installed, he said. A new terminal building will be constructed at Silchar as well as in Jorhat, along with the modification and expansion of the existing buildings. Stating that re-carpeting of the runway would be done at Silchar and Lilabari airport where an aviation manpower training institute would also be set up, the AAI chairman said the Rupsi airport would be developed. A new integrated airport would be constructed with a hangar along with an engineering workshop at Agartala in Tripura, he said. The expansion and revamp of the existing terminal building, resurfacing of the runway, taxiway, apron and a new isolation bay were in progress at Dimapur in Nagaland, Mahapatra said.
29/01/18 PTI/Financial Express

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Kannur International Airport set to take flight; commercial operations may be launched in June

Taking the cake as far as aviation infrastructure in India is concerned, the small state of Kerala would get its fourth international airport once the Kannur International Airport (KIAL) gets operational later this year. Significantly, with a proposed runway of 4000 m, KIAL would be bigger than the Mangaluru airport in Karnataka and the Kozhikode airport in Kerala between which it lies sandwiched. Flight trial operations are going to commence in a few weeks and commercial operations could be launched as early as June, if things go as per plan, KIAL Managing Director P Bala Kiran tells FE. All works at the airport, which has come up on a sprawling 2,092 acres at Mattanur, are expected to be complete by February, 2018, he adds. Kerala’s second greenfield airport to come up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode after the Cochin International Airport, KIAL has multiple stakeholders: the Kerala government (35%), public sector undertakings (25%), Airports Authority of India (10%), and cooperatives, banks and individual shareholders (30%). The development of the airport has been planned in phases on a modular basis, to suit future requirements and minimise initial investment. Phase I was originally estimated to cost Rs 1,892 crore, of which Rs 1,000 crore was the equity capital and Rs 892 crore the debt component. To fund runway extension, the company’s authorised capital was recently increased from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,500 crore.

“We have finished work on a 3050-m runway and are extending its length to 4000 m. This will make it the fourth longest runway in India, capable of handling bigger aircraft. The airport terminal is also one of the biggest, with an annual capacity of 8 million passengers,” Bala Kiran points out. The airport is expected to witness annual traffic of more than 1 million international passengers and over 300,000 domestic passengers. To start with, the airport would operate 20 flights daily to 11 regional and seven international destinations, Bala Kiran says, adding that several airlines had evinced interest in operating from Kannur.

The airport would also benefit from the Centre’s UDAN scheme to encourage regional connectivity, with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) bridging the gap between the cost of operations and revenues. The state is expected to compensate for the revenue loss with VGF of about 20% and the rest would be borne by the Centre. Kerala, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the AAI recently signed a tripartite agreement to commence domestic flight services from Kannur under UDAN. The domestic destinations would be connected by private carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet, which won the bids for flying to Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Hubballi, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Solapur and Hindan (Ghaziabad).
29/01/18 Rajesh Ravi/Financial Express

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State Govt ayes Rs 700 cr for new airport: CM

What can be termed as a major boost to development of Nagpur, Maharashtra Government has sanctioned the development plan of New Nagpur Airport and also approved liberal financial aid. The government has given its nod for the expenditure of Rs 700 crore for the airport project and also cleared the expenditure of Rs 200 crore in the first phase. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made this major announcement while addressing a gathering at Besa-Beltarodi on Sunday evening.


Making another big announcement to boost the education scenario here, Fadnavis stated that the State government has given clearance to the development plan for the construction of Maharashtra National Law University Campus at Nagpur. The total plan of Rs 750 crore has been cleared in the meeting and Rs 200 crore have been sanctioned in the first phase for the construction work, he added.


Chief Minister launched four peri-urban water supply schemes at Besa-Beltarodi and performed bhoomipujan for construction of the flyover from Manish Nagar to Ujjawal Nagar.


Union Minister for Road, Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari presided over the function while Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Water Supply Minister Babanrao Lonikar, Ramtek MP Krupal Tumane, Rajya Sabha MP Dr Vikas Mahatme, MLA Sudhir Parve, Mayor Nanda Jichkar, ZP President Nisha Sawarkar, CEO Dr Kadambari Balkawde, Commissioner of Police Dr K Venkatesham, and Santosh Kumar were present on the dais.


Fadnavis and Gadkari also inaugurated Beltarodi Police Station on the occasion.
Recalling his continuous struggle of 10 years for the construction of Manish Nagar flyover, Chief Minister Fadnavis appreciated Union Minister Gadkari for the best design of the flyover and underpass, therefore, there is no need to demolish any house of the area. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is constructing flyover as well as underpass for this project. This will resolve the traffic problem of the city. The BJP government is implementing water supply schemes and all the schemes have been completed during its tenure.
29/01/18 Hitavada

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Monkey, hare and dead kites found on runway

Ahmedabad: A team of researchers from the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER) that surveyed the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport sighted not only a monkey but also two black kites that were knocked down on the runway by aircraft on the afternoon of June 1, 2017.
The same day, researchers photographed a kite feeding on rats on the runway. They also saw a Rufous-tailed hare running from the operations area towards the runway.
On another visit, the team found an injured kite in the operations area, near the forest station. These were some observations in the report submitted to the state government.
The GEER team also reported the presence of bitter apple plants in the operations area. "In 2011 there was a mass hatching of hairy caterpillars in the operations area, as this plant is a food source for them," stated the report. It was suggested that bitter apple plants be removed to avoid another hairy caterpillar mass hatching.
When the team visited the airport in August 2017, researchers again found bitter apple plants in the operations area. The August report also stated that bitter apple plants should be removed as they attract caterpillars which consequently attract birds.
29/01/18 Himanshu Kaushik/Times of India

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Starling fact about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport

Ahmedabad:  Following reports of a stray cow on the Ahmedabad airport runway causing two flights to be diverted to Mumbai and delaying many others, a study by the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER) revealed that the operations area of the airport is home to at least 36 species of birds, including migratory rosy starlings, apart from animals such as monkeys, Indian grey mongoose and Indian hare.
A recent report by the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER) revealed that the migratory rosy starlings, seem to have made the area home with more than 5,000 birds being found in the area, the highest number ever recorded. Rosy starlings are followed by black kites, of which 48 were found in the operations area.
The study recorded that the number of rosy starlings recorded was higher than in the 2015 and 2017 surveys. The report stated that in August 2017, some 5,199 birds of 36 species were found including 48 kites and more than 5,000 rosy starlings. In August 2015, the survey had found 788 birds of 55 species including 102 kites and just only 26 rosy starlings.
Apart from the birds, the study found that the presence of insect species which attract this birds was on the rise and this was probably because of the grass on the operations area.
The study also revealed an alarming rise in individual insects of different species at the airport. In a 5mx5m sample area, the study found 1,160 insects of 48 species in August 2017, against 690 individual insects of 32 species found in 2015. The survey also found that a large number of grasshoppers were observed in a section of the operations area and these were eaten by rosy starlings.
29/01/18 Himanshu Kaushik/Times of India

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Trivandrum, Jaipur, Patna and Bagdogra airports to get enhanced CISF security

New Delhi: Considering an increase in passengers and flight services at Trivandrum, Jaipur, Patna and Bagdogra airports, the Centre has decided to enhance security by deploying more CISF personnel at these airports.

Confirming the development, a senior CISF official told The New Indian Express, “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had written to us for augmentation of CISF strength at these airports because there was a significant increase in passenger and flights traffic. The Centre has issued an order sanctioning deployment of additional CISF personnel at these airports.” Though the official did not disclose the exact number, sources said around 100-300 additional personnel will be deployed at these airports.

The AAI is planning to invest crores of rupees on the expansion of around a dozen airports, which includes these three. The AAI is slated to create additional capacity at Jaipur, which is already in the list of airports operating beyond their design capacity. 

Patna, the 16th busiest and eighth fastest growing airport in India, is slated to become operational 24x7 by March. The number of flights operating from Patna is expected to go up to 49 by March.  As per the data released by AAI, the Patna airport handled 20,24,568 flyers between April and November in 2017 as against 13,36,691 flyers during the same period in 2016.
29/01/18 Sana Shakil/New Indian Express

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Airlines worried as expiry of contract shuts two passenger lounges at Pune airport

Pune:  The sudden closure of the two lounge-cum-restaurants at the Pune airport has stumped the airlines who say the move will hit them and the passengers hard.
The two lounges located in the departure area are mainly used by the business class passengers. PK Hospitality, a Mumbai-based group, had been operating the lounges along with some food outlets inside the terminal building. As the lounges have been shut down, even the food outlets are not working.
"One of the lounges is near the check-in area, while access to the other can be gained after clearing the security check. Some airlines serve refreshments to their passengers — in case of flight-delays — by getting food items from the lounge.If a flight gets delayed now, we will be in a fix," an airline official said.
29/01/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Hand grenade photo on film poster in passenger’s bag creates bomb scare at CSIA

Mumbai: A movie poster in a passenger’s bag created a mild bomb scare at the Mumbai Airport Saturday. “An American man was carrying the poster of a film, ‘Saving Private Ryan’, in his bag. During screening, the guard noticed a grenade on the poster and thought it to be a real one. On inspection, we found it to be just a poster,” said Anil Kumbhare, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone VIII. The bag was supposed to be sent on a Mumbai-Delhi IndiGo flight.

“Today, while screening a cargo consignment at Mumbai Cargo Terminal, an alert IndiGo screener staff detected some suspicious object similar to a hand grenade, which was declared as electronic goods under the airway bill. The CISF and BDDS were immediately informed about the object. BDDS examined the object and declared it to be a theatrical prop. No case has been registered with police. At IndiGo security and safety of the passengers, crew and aircraft is of utmost priority and cannot be compromised at any time,” read a statement from Indigo Airlines.
29/01/18 Indian Express

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Goa airport’s parking rules do not apply to taxi operators

Panaji: When Nishant Fernandes arrived at Goa International Airport to drop off his brother, instead of bidding a proper farewell, Fernandes hustled his brother out of the car and raced towards the exit, his mind more on the ticking clock. It was in vain. A haphazardly parked tourist taxi blocked his path and Fernandes had to fork out Rs 85 for exceeding the time allowed for passengers to alight from the car.
Not content with a virtual monopoly over the tourist taxi business in the state, taxi operators have also engineered a situation where they have cornered nearly all the space in the arrival and departure lanes at Goa International Airport.
So while the common man gets five measly minutes to bid his loved ones goodbye, taxi operators can park their cars for hours on end as they haggle with arriving tourists and passengers. And, yellow and black cabs and the tourist taxis do not pay a single rupee for occupying the precious parking space.
"At any point if you visit the airport, taxis are just parked there jamming all the access points," an official who did not wish to be named said. "They do not pay a single rupee to the contractor and they are not answerable to anybody and if this is not a mafia, then what is?"
Goa Traffic Police and the department of transport turn a blind eye to the rampant menace while Airports Authority of India (AAI) claims that the matter is out of its jurisdiction.
The problem has its roots in 2001 when AAI urged the government to allocate land for a taxi stand around the airport. As the new integrated terminal was being built, the existing black and yellow taxi stand was demolished with the expectation that a new taxi stand would come up. Though the state government did notify land for parking, the land was de-notifed in 2012.
29/01/18 Newton Sequeira/Times of India

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Nagpur airport development work to start in two months

Nagpur: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that tender for development of Nagpur airport through private participation had been floated and work on it would begin within two months. "Cargo operations would also start after development of the airport. Nagpur would soon become one of the best airports of the country," he told the gathering. Sources in Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) told TOI that the tender had been approved and would be floated next week.
Gadkari in his speech said that he had fulfilled all the promises made to people of Nagpur. "Work is going on on Outer Ring Road, flyovers, railway over bridges (RoBs) and railway underbridges (RuBs) that had been announced by the government. More would be constructed as per needs of the city," he added.
29/01/18 Ashish Roy/Times of India

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Fire at Srinagar airport, air traffic suspended briefly

A fire broke out at the Srinagar International Airport today in the area under the control of the Indian Air Force, disrupting the air traffic for sometime, officials said.

"There was a fire at the airport on Air Force side, which has now been put out," an official of the Airport Authority of India said.

He said while there was no damage done due to the fire, the air traffic had to be briefly suspended as a precautionary measure.

"Normal flight operations have now resumed," he added.
29/01/18 PTI/moneycontrol.com

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Pune airport gets Defence approval

The State government has received clearance from the Ministry of Defence for preparing a project report of the proposed international airport near Pune.

German company Dorsch is preparing the detailed project report (DPR), and will also develop the airport at Purandar, a revenue official said. “The work was slow as necessary permissions from the defence ministry were pending. The permissions were received a couple of days ago.”

“The primary estimated cost of the airport is Rs. 14,000 crore. Once the report is completed, we will know the actual cost,” he said.

The airport, which is expected to take around five years to complete, will be spread across 2,400 hectares. The acquisition of land will take place in seven villages of Purandar tehsil. According to Pune District Collector Saurabh Rao, the land acquisition cost will be Rs. 2,000 crore.
29/01/18 PTI/The Hindu

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Govt. talking to India on Mattala Int'l Airport

The government is discussing with the Indian Aviation Authority on forming a joint venture to develop the Mattala International Airport, Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama said.

In an interview with Daily Mirror, he said it would be a joint venture between the Indian authorities and Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka for the development of an international airport. The minister said the airport could be made economically viable if the Indian authorities came into the partership.

He said the agreement could be finalised by August this year.
29/01/18 Kelum Bandara/Daily Mirror

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Techie from Andhra Pradesh falls to death from ramp at Chennai airport

Chennai: Mystery shrouds the death of a 29-year old software engineer from Andhra Pradesh who fell from an elevated ramp at the domestic airport here on Monday. Chaitanya, hailing from Vijayawada, fell from the ramp near gate no.4 of the domestic departure terminal and rushed to a government hospital where he was declared brought dead, police said. The elevated ramp is used especially by vehicles to reach the departure lounge situated at the second floor level to the ground area.
The victim was said to have an e-booking for his travel to Bengaluru this morning and police were verifying it. The man was employed with a software company in Bengaluru and he had spoken to someone over phone before he fell from the ramp, they said. To a question whether suicide was suspected, a senior police officer told PTI “investigation is on,” adding the man sustained grievous injuries in the incident as he fell from an height of approximately 50 feet.

Asked if the CCTV footages gave any clue to the death and final moments of the man, he said,”I am yet to go through the footages completely. Only after the completion of probe a could comment.” A senior doctor at the Chrompet Government Hospital where the body was rushed immediately said: “Autopsy will be done tomorrow. The man was brought dead. We have been told that his kin are on the way to Chennai.” The incident shocked morning passengers and visitors to the airport which is under multi-layer security cover.
29/01/18 PTI/Indian Express

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Gold worth Rs 16 lakh seized at Kochi airport

Kochi: In continuing anti-smuggling operations, Air Intelligence officials of the Customs at the International airport in Kochi on Monday seized gold totally weighing over 500 grams, valued at around Rs 16 lakh in three separate cases.

All the three seizures were made from residents of Kozhikode, who arrived by a private airliner from Dubai. In all the three cases, the passengers had concealed rhodium-plated gold hooks in their hand bags which came to fore when Customs personnel intercepted them near the exit gate and searched them, a release said.

The total gold seized was 526.40 grams valued at Rs 16.21 lakh, the release added. This is the third consecutive day Customs officials here have seized gold being smuggled in by passengers coming from abroad.
29/01/18 PTI/Indian Express

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Soon, MNC restaurant at Bhopal airport for quality food

Bhopal: Now, passengers at Bhopal airport are all set to get delicious cuisines of international standard. A quality food outlet is likely to come up in the next two months as part of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) scheme of master concessionaire.
A team of architect and the Kanpur-based food company officials visited the airport recently to check what kind of outlets could be set up at the airport. At present, the airport has a small outlet constructed on 28 sqm area. This will be extended to 149sqm under the master concessionaire concept.
The director of Bhopal airport Flt Lft Akashdeep Mathur said the airport currently has a handful of vendors which bid separately to set up food stalls and retail outlets. "Now, there will be a single company under the master concessionaire which has won the bid. Under the agreement, it was clearly mentioned that there must be an international and a national brand associated with the bidder," said Mathur, adding, "The concessionaire will bear all capital expenditure regarding development, set-up, operation, maintenance and management of the F&B outlets."
For Bhopal airport, 8 parties had approached under the bidding process.
Under the scheme, 12 airports were selected for master concessionaire scheme. These were Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Lucknow, Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Srinagar, Guwahati and Goa. Asked about the multinational brand outlet to be set up, incharge commercial of Bhopal airport Sunil Bansod said the company will send the proposal in the next couple of days.
28/01/18 Ramendra Singh/Times of India

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Aircraft almost collide at airport, inquiry starts

A number of passengers had a narrow escape on Wednesday when two SpiceJet and Aeroflot aircraft, which had landed on adjacent runways at the Indira Gandhi International airport (IGI), stopped just meters short of colliding into each other. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered an immediate inquiry into the incident.

According to sources at Air Traffic Control (ATC), SpiceJet's Dubai-to-Delhi flight — SG 012 — landed on runway 29 and vacated the active runway by Taxiway Z6. It was instructed by the ATC to taxi via Taxiways CW2, S, R5 to its allocated parking stand A12L.

"While taxiing on CW2, the crew was asked to halt before Taxiway S to give way to a Jet Airways flight," says an officer who did not wish to be named.

"Meanwhile, an Aeroflot flight landed on Runway 28 and was instructed by ATC to move via Taxiway N, S and CW1; the flight erroneously entered CW2. The SpiceJet crew apprised ATC of the situation and ATC asked the Aeroflot craft to stop in time. It was then pushed back. When the coast was cleared, SpiceJet taxied to the allocated parking stand."

A SpiceJet spokesperson said that instructions from ATC were followed and that both aircraft stopped at a safe distance from each other. "At no point was safety was compromised," the airline said.
27/01/18 Anvit Srivastava/DNA

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Udan-2 service from Hubballi Airport to give boost to industry, tourism

Industrial and tourism activities in North Karnataka are set to get a much-needed boost in the days to come, as Hubbali is set to get air connectivity to Ahmedabad, Goa, Pune, Chennai, Kannur and Hindan air base in the next couple of months.
After Hubbali airport was developed up to international standards, hopes were riding high among people to see more industrial activities in the region. Now, it has got wings with the central government announcing the Udan 2 service from Hubbali airport.
In the next two-three months, people of North Karnataka can travel by air to various destinations at an affordable cost, by utilizing seats under the Udan quota. Flights will be operated to Ahmedabad, Cochin, Goa and Kannur by Indigo airlines; to Hindan air base by Ghodawat air lines and Spicejet; Alliance Air and Indigo will operate flights to Chennai from Hubballi. This apart, Koppal, a backward district, will also be connected to capital cities in the country via air. Turbo aviation will operate flights to Bengaluru, Goa, and Hyderabad from Koppal on a daily basis.
Speaking to TOI, Shivanand Benal, director, Hubballi Airport, said they have submitted 12 proposals seeking flight services to various destinations including Solapur, Pune, Chennai, Mangaluru, Jodhpur, and Hyderabad, of which 9 proposals have been approved by the Union aviation ministry. "As a result of it, we got flights to Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahemadabad, Goa, and Cochin," he said.
Indigo has already conducted a survey to operate its service from Hubbali. As far as Spicejet is concerned, it had earlier operated its flights from Hubballi. So it may take two or three months to start the flight service to various destinations by private airlines under the Udan 2 scheme. Some seats will be reserved for air passengers under the Udan scheme, which can be utilized by passengers by paying reasonable prices. Right now, Air India is operating a flight with a capacity of 120 seats, to Mumbai from Bengaluru via Hubballi, thrice a week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, which is getting a good response.
27/01/18 Basavaraj Kattimani/Times of India

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TN cities to get connected by air in UDAN scheme

Chennai: The government has awarded 90 routes to airlines as well as helicopter operators, enhancing air connectivity to 73 new airports and helipads in tier 2 and tier 3 cities to operate flight and chopper services to destinations like Kargil, Darbhanga, Pakyong (Gangtok), Cooch Behar, Jorhat and Almora.

Subsequently, airfare on these routes for one hour journey of 500 km on a fixed-wing aircraft flight or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter would be capped at Rs 2,500.

“Udan-II has addressed the problem of (air connectivity in the) difficult areas (which are) basically areas with hilly tracks, where road connectivity is low or probably has no train connectivity,” Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said. ” We will connect 29 unserved airports, 13 underserved airports to 36 served airports and 31 helipads. This is the first time that helicopter (services) are coming under Udan.”

In all 73 unserved or underserved airports and helipads located in 19 States will be connected to 36 served airports through the second phase. Eleven fixed-wing operators have been granted rights for 67 routes and four helicopter operators have been awarded 23 routes. Among the major domestic carriers, IndiGo has bagged 20 proposals, SpiceJet got 17 while Jet Airways won four proposals.  In the first phase, contracts to five companies were awarded to operate flight services on 128 routes to 70 airports.

People in Tamilnadu can soon use the UDAN to fly from Chennai to Vellore Thanjavur. Two airlines have bagged the rights to start services in a 70-80 seater plans under the phase 2 of the regional connectivity scheme. SpiceJet will start services on the Chennai-Thanjavur route, while Turbo Aviation will operate from Vellore to the city. It is noted that SpiceJet has already begun operations on the Hyderabad-Puducherry route under phase 1 of the project and is gearing up to launch flights to Hosur and Salem.
26/01/18 News Today

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Airport bids to get attractive as government decides to fix fees first

Developers of new airports will have certainty on the aircraft landing and parking fees they can levy, as the government has decided to fix the rates before inviting bids.

The decision will help attract foreign investment as it will eliminate a major regulatory uncertainty that discouraged investors to vie for airport projects in India, aviation industry experts said. Airline executives also welcomed it, saying they will have more visibility on a key recurring cost.
Currently, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) decides the fees at privately run airports. Airport operators and airlines often have complained about tariffs and at least in one instance the Supreme Court had to intervene to implement a rate revision.

"We have the approval from the Union Cabinet to amend the AERA Act, which will allow us to decide charges prior to the bidding of the airport project," said a senior aviation ministry official.
The ministry is still working on the procedures to fix the fees in the pre-bid stage, he said.

The proposed rule will be prospective in nature, and AERA will continue to decide tariffs at airports that are currently in operation or where the projects have already been awarded, the official said.
27/01/18 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Direct flight from Udaipur to Jaisalmer soon

Udaipur will soon be connected with a direct flight to Jaisalmer under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as UDAN. Indigo has won the bid for Hindon-Jaisalamer-Udaipur in the second round of bidding under the scheme.

UDAN (ude des ka aam nagrik) is a Government scheme to facilitate affordable regional connectivity by air. Aviation ministry recently awarded 325 routes under the scheme with participation from Jet Airways, Indigo, SpiceJet and Alliance Air.

Indigo won 20 sectors including Hindon-Jaisalamer-Udaipur. Similarly SpiceJet was awarded 20 sectors.
26/01/18 Udaipur Times

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2 airlines will fly to Vellore, Thanjavur

Chennai:  Travellers will soon be able to fly from Chennai to Vellore and Thanjavur on 70-80 seater planes as two airlines have bagged rights to start services on the routes under phase 2 of regional connectivity scheme, Udan. Union minister of civil aviation Ashok Gajapati Raju awarded the routes to the airlines which won bids at a function held in New Delhi on Wednesday.
SpiceJet will start services on the Chennai-Thanjavur route, while Turbo Aviation will operate from Vellore to the city. SpiceJet has already started operations on the Hyderabad-Puducherry route under phase 1 of the project and is gearing up to launch flights to Hosur and Salem.
Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet said in a statement, "We see tremendous potential on the routes that we have been awarded and look forward to beginning operations very soon." SpiceJet had placed an order for 50 Q400s last year, deliveries for which will begin later this year.
26/01/18 Times of India

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No Odisha airstrip finds place under UDAN 2, IndiGo to operate from Allahabad to Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Odisha received a huge disappointment after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Thursday announced results of second round of bidding under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as UDAN, as no airstrip was selected for new flight operations in the state.

In UDAN 2, 90 proposals awarded to 15 airlines and chopper operators for 325 routes, out of which 129 routes are new in the states include Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand, North East, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands.
There was no airstrip from Odisha found place in the bidding under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) 2 scheme.

The maximum numbers of routes were bagged by the Interglobe Aviation – the parent company of IndiGo Airlines – and SpiceJet. The airline company Jet Airways also won the bid for few routes. However, for the first time the chopper services were included under UDAN scheme. Pawan Hans won routes in the helicopter proposal category.

Odisha needs to be satisfied with only one flight under the scheme as IndiGo will operate flight services from Allahabad to Bhubaneswar. The airline has 20 routes — Kannur-Bangalore; Kannur-Trivandrum; Cochin-Hubli-Goa; Bangalore-Allahabad-Pune; Nagpur-Bhubaneswar-Allahabad; Mumbai-Allahabad; Hindon-Allahabad-Dehradun; Hindon-Gorakhpur-Allahabad and Hindon-Jaisalamer-Udaipur — in the second round of bidding under the scheme.

Total 19 states will be benefitted in UDAN 2. Among the states, 15 airports and helipads in Uttarakhand came under the scheme.
26/01/18 Odisha Sun Times
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Bathinda to get air connectivity to Jammu under UDAN 2

Bathinda: With Bathinda set to get the second air route to Jammu under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS), the devotees going towards Jammu and Kashmir for religious tourism have become a happy lot. Bathinda is the only city in Punjab having been selected under the 'Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN 2) scheme for second tier cities. So far, Bathinda has air connectivity to Delhi only.
The Bathinda airport, after hanging fire for over two years, started operations in December 2016, just ahead of the assembly elections. It was then that thrice-weekly flight to Delhi was started.
Now, the flight to Jammu has been approved which is expected to start within few months. The Alliance Air has been selected to start flying operations to Jammu from Bathinda airport, said an official of Union civil aviation ministry.
Earlier, Union food processing industry minister Harsimrat Badal had assured the residents of Bathinda to take up the matter with the Union civil aviation minister to start flight to other places apart from Delhi from Bathinda airport. She is an MP from Bathinda.
26/01/18 Times of India

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Pune Airport project gets Air Force NoC

Pune: The development of the Rs 10,000-crore greenfield international airport at Purandar in Pune received a boost with a no-objection certificate from the Indian Airforce. The proposed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje International Airport project in Pune was stuck for almost a year awaiting clearance from ministry of defence. The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), the agency executing the project, has got a conditional clearance, which said that all civil scheduled or non-scheduled flights will have to be shifted to new Purandar Aerodrome after its operationalisation. The Pune Civil Airport functions from the IAF airbase at Lohegaon which houses the Sukhoi fleet. This restricts flight movements and scope of expansion because of which a new airport was needed. After years of deliberations and change in suitable sites, the Airport Authority of India and the Maharashtra state government approved the Purandar location, which is around 20 kms from Pune.

The proposed airport would need around 2,400 acres of land and the Pune collectorate has started work on the land acquisition process. Maharasthra chief minister Devendra, Fadnavis had said that the Changi Group of Singapore has expressed interest in this airport. With this clearance from the IAF, the airport project will be back on track. The IAF had raised objections to the location and alignment of the runway of the proposed airport. They were concerned that it could affect functionality of IAF base at Lohegaon and wanted the new runway to be exactly parallel to the Lohegaon airport runway. The Air Force has laid down conditions that the air traffic service route W-28 to be relocated outside local flying area of Pune. Approach control service based on radar will be continued to be provided by IAF (Pune Air Traffic Control).
26/01/18 Geeta Nair/Financial Express

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Fog disrupts flight operations at Chennai airport

Chennai: Flight operations were disrupted at Chennai airport on Friday morning after visibility dipped due to fog.
Eight flights, including three international flights, were diverted to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Trichy, Coimbatore and Colombo while 11 arrivals and 19 departures were delayed by an hour to three hours, between 6am and 8.30am.
GoAir flights from Kochi and Mumbai and an IndiGo flight from Singapore were diverted to Bengaluru. IndiGo flights from Bengaluru and Pune were diverted to Hyderabad while a Batik Air flight from Kuala Lumpur was diverted to Colombo and an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur was diverted to Trichy. The diverted flights started landing after 10am.
26/01/18 Times of India

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Shashi Tharoor slams airport detenstion story

Jaipur: Hours after it emerged that Congress party leader and MP Shashi Tharoor was questioned at Jaipur Airport on Thursday because a passenger misheard him, the senior politician took to Twitter to slam the story.

Some reports had suggested that while Tharoor was waiting at the airport for his sister who was coming from Delhi, a passenger reportedly misheard Tharoor as saying he was waiting for a ‘pistol’. Panic-stricken, the passenger informed airport security, who ‘detained’ Tharoor and questioned him.

Denying the incident, the minister tweeted: “I have never owned a pistol or applied for a license, & I’ve certainly never carried one or been stopped for doing so. Our media’s talent for making up stories is literally unbelievable!”
26/01/18 Mumbai Mirror

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AAI eyes 1,500 acres of land at Madurantakam for 2nd airport

Chennai:  After a plan to set up the city's second airport at Sriperumbudur fell through, the Airports Authority of India has decided to speed up a preliminary survey of two other locations to evaluate their suitability.
Officials said that AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra recently told officials to expedite study for finalising a location. A 1,500 acres land pocket at Madurantakam in Kancheepuram district is being considered for setting up the airport along with another chunk of land at Gummidipoondi.
The ministry of civil aviation had set up a committee to study the land at Madurantakam to find out its suitability. The piece of land in Kancheepuram district is considered ideal as it is a vast expanse without buildings or houses and is also close to a highway connecting Chennai.
Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and AAI officials will evaluate various parameters including the location, wind pattern, probable orientation of the runway, obstacles in the form of hills or constructions nearby, approach route and the incline flights may have to take to reach the runway.
AAI will require around 2,000acres for a second airport which could be set up either by the public sector airport operator or a private investor under a public-private partnership.
A senior official said that as the state government did not earmark a land within the deadline of December 31 last year, the authorities are studying the two options available. The ministry of civil aviation is keen to push through the preliminary work as the AAI has to carry out a study all over again after identifying Sriperumbudur eight years ago.
26/01/18 Times of India

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Bagdogra: traffic soars, fliers sore

Siliguri: Passenger traffic continues to increase exponentially in Bagdogra and is likely to touch the two million mark at the end of the current fiscal, according to officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

In the past nine months of the current financial year, there has been a rise of 53 per cent in traffic, pushing the passenger tally past the number for the entire 2016-17.

"It is, indeed, a significant rise. While over 15 lakh passengers had travelled in the last fiscal, over 16 lakh have already travelled in the first nine months of the current fiscal, that is, till December 2017," Rakesh Sahay, airport director, Bagdogra, said on Wednesday.

The unprecedented growth rate in passenger movement has made AAI officials draw a projection on the number of passengers till the end of this fiscal, that is, till March.

"If the current rate (of above 50 per cent rise) continues, the estimated number of passengers will be over 23 lakh. It will be above 20 lakh even if the growth declines to 20 per cent in the last quarter (from January to March). We are confident that for the first time, the number of passengers here will cross the two-million mark," said an official.

In Bagdogra, there are at least 22 arrivals and 22 departures every day.

"On an average, 6,500 passengers move through the airport every day," said a source in AAI.
26/01/18 Avijit Sinha/Telegraph

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UDAN II to link 43 airports: Aviation Minister

New Delhi: Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju today said the UDAN Phase 2 has dealt with difficult issues. Speaking at a press conference to announce the second round of winners under the regional air connectivity scheme, he said: UDAN 2 will connect 43 airports and helipads in our priority sector, the North-East and the hill states.

Minister of State Jayant Sinha said 4-5 cities were seeing explosion in flights under Udan II. These include Hubli and Kopal in Karnataka. UDAN I and II is expected to cost the government over Rs. 800 crore annually.

Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey said Kargil will be connected by airport for the first time. New greenfield airport in Kannur will get flights to 8 cities while Allahabad will be connected to 12 cities, he added.
Jet Airways wins right to operate UDAN flights and this is the first time the airline has participated in the scheme. IndiGo also wins right. This is first time they are participating. Pawan Hans also wins right to operate helicopter services under UDAN.
24/01/18 Business Line

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Bengal Govt speeds up process for setting up regional airports

Kolkata: The West Bengal Government has expedited the process of developing airports in Malda, Purulia and Balurghat.

The State Public Works Department (PWD) is carrying out the developmental work.

It is learnt that a completely new airport in Malda, on the existing one spread across 114 acres of land, will come up at a projected cost of Rs 13 crore.

Among other infrastructural facilities, an administrative building and an all-new air traffic control (ATC) will be set up.
The development of the other regional airports will cost a similar amount.
25/01/18 UNI

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19 places in NE to be linked under UDAN-2

New Delhi: Under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN-2, at least 19 destinations in the Northeast, including five cities in Assam, are proposed to be connected.The destinations also include eight airports and helipads in Arunachal Pradesh, five in Manipur and one in Sikkim, announced Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju unveiling the UDAN-2 scheme.
In keeping with the government’s policy relating to ease of doing business and UDAN facilitating regional air connectivity by making it affordable for the masses, the Centre has decided to focus on priority areas, which include the northeastern region, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, among others.

According to Raju, the airports and helipads proposed to be connected in Assam are Jorhat, Lilabari, Rupsi, Tezpur and Nagaon.

Jorhat for instance is going to be connected to Kolkata, Pasighat and Tezu by Zoom Air, IndiGo and SpiceJet. Lilabari is going to be connected to Kolkata and Tezpur, and Rupsi to Guwahati by Trujet. Tezpur is going to be connected to Kolkata, Lilabari and Shillong by Zoom Air and AAA Aviation.
24/01/18 Assam Tribune

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Udan: Flights to link Solapur with Bangalore and Hyderabad

Mumbai: Solapur airport will soon be connected to Bangalore and Hyderabad airports under phase-II of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). While SpiceJet will connect the airport to Bangalore, Alliance Air would connect it to Hyderabad.

On Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Raju announced that the airports would be connected under phase-II of the RCS. While Solapur was included in Phase-I of the scheme, officials said an operational hurdle
delayed starting of flights on the route.

“There is a chimney coming in the flight path at the airport. We are still in talks with the company to demolish the chimney as early as possible,” Valsa Nair, the secretary, civil aviation said. “We see tremendous potential in the routes that we have been awarded and look forward to beginning operations very soon,” said Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet.
25/01/18 Indian Express

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You can soon fly to Kargil! Here’s how

The snowy peaks of Kargil will now just be a flight away thanks to the Regional Connectivity Scheme (or RCS) that aims to make air travel accessible to the masses. As part of the scheme, popularly known as UDAN (or Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), the Ministry of Civil Aviation awarded as many as 325 routes to 15 airlines and helicopter services. Thanks to the scheme, you can soon book cheap flights to Kargil.

This is the second phase of UDAN, which covers distant towns such as Darbhanga in Bihar, Pakyong in Sikkim, Cooch Behar in West Bengal, Jorhat in Assam and Almora in Uttarakhand to larger cities. These are among the 73 unserved or undeserved airports and helipads located across 19 states that will be connected to the 36 existing ones.
Among the major domestic airlines that have been granted rights to the routes are SpiceJet, IndiGo, Jet Airways and Alliance Air, which is a subsidiary of Air India among others.

UDAN caps the airfare for an hour’s journey of 500 km on a plane and a 30-minute helicopter ride at ₹2500 and awarded 128 new routes in March 2017 as part of its first phase.
Even though it has a military air base, there are no commercial flights that fly to Kargil currently. The nearest major airport to Kargil is Srinagar (204 km), which is connected to major cities in the country. At the moment, you have to travel from Srinagar to Kargil by road. While buses do connect the capital of Jammu and Kashmir to the town made legendary thanks to eponymous battle of ’99, you can also book a private taxi. It takes anywhere north of five-and-a-half hours depending on the condition of the roads to reach Kargil from Srinagar.
25/01/18 Vrutika Shah/GQ

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‘First flight from Jewar likely by December 2021’

The first flight from the second airport in the National Capital Region at Jewar could take off as early as December 2021, Civil aviation secretary R N Choubey said on Wednesday. Choubey, along with senior officials of Airports Authority of India, visited the site of the upcoming airport on Tuesday to assess the progress of the project.

The proposed international airport at Jewar is considered to relieve the congested Indira Gandhi International Airport here, which is inching towards full capacity in terms of passengers it can handle. Currently, the airport handles 60 million passengers every year. In 2017, Delhi airport handled an average of 1,350 flights every day in 2017.

“Yesterday, we spent five hours over there. You will be surprised, land is the most difficult item to get, but the people of that area want to give their land for this because it will lead to a boom in that area. So we expect that the bid will be floated sometime in August or September, and by December this year, we expect the foundation stone of Jewar airport to be laid after awarding it to the selected concessionaire. By December 2021, even if the project is not fully completed, the first flight will take off from Jewar,” Choubey said. The Jewar airport project is being undertaken by Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority, which will form a special purpose vehicle to be put up for bids by concessionaires.

Further, the government is also working on plans to expand the Delhi airport, which is operated by GMR-owned Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL). However, the expansion of the Delhi airport has run into several hurdles, including the recent slugfest between domestic airlines that refuse to move from the Terminal-1, to the newly opened Terminal-2. DIAL, in September and October last year, had asked budget carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet to operate its flights, to and from Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru effective January 4 from the Terminal-2. GoAir was directed to shift its entire operations to Terminal-2. DIAL’s directive was on the grounds that Terminal-1 was already handling traffic beyond its capacity. Even as GoAir moved its operations to Terminal-2, IndiGo and SpiceJet moved the Delhi High Court challenging DIAL’s order citing inconvenience to passengers. The High Court upheld DIAL’s decision, but IndiGo moved the Court again earlier this month against the single-judge’s order.
25/01/18 Pranav Mukul/Indian Express

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Jazeera Airways makes Kochi its third destination in India

Kochi: Jazeera Airways, Kuwait's major low cost airline, which has begun operation to Kochi, is exploring the possibility of a tie-up with Kerala tourism.
"There is a great opportunity for Kuwait and Kerala in the field of medical and leisure tourism. There is lot of traffic especially during weekends to Kerala out of Kuwait, many of whom could be seeking medical treatment in the state," said Andrew Ward, VP marketing & customer experience, Jazeera. He said he would try to meet the Kerala tourism minister during next visit.
Jazeera has launched four weekly flights into Kochi from Kuwait. Kochi is the third route in India being offered by the airlines after Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

Ward said the airlines will add fourth destination, Mumbai in February. It is also looking at launching flights to other cities later.
24/01/18 Economic Times

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Selfie-crazed fliers unaware of curbs

Visakhapatnam: Passengers, mostly first-time fliers or those unaware of rules, take selfies while boarding and while getting down from the plane at the city airport leading to frequent altercation with the airlines’ staff.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has prohibited this as the Vizag airport is a Navy enclave. Photography is strictly banned here. It may also be noted that the city police had  imposed a ban on use of drones for taking pictures or videos.
Taking these instructions casually, however,  passengers are often seen taking selfies. As a result of this, airline staff are being forced to demand the phones of passengers to delete the pictures, resulting in arguments.

With increased use of smart devices, there have been many instances where travellers as well as crew members including pilots click photographs inside flights. In view of safety concerns, the DGCA had directed the airlines, through an airline safety circular last year, to ensure that passengers do not ‘indulge in photography’ while boarding or de-boarding a plane.
“Apart from the DGCA’s instructions, our airport comes in defence territory. So no one should indulge in photography in view of safety.  We have put up boards prohibiting photography at the airport and urge the passengers to adhere to the rules,” Vizag Airport Director G. Prakash Reddy said.
25/01/18 Sumit Kumar Onka/Deccan Chronicle

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State govt expedites shifting of families for Navi Mumbai airport

Navi Mumbai:The state government has expedited the shifting of about 3500 families from the core area of the 1160 hectares of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).
The shifting of the residents from the 10 villages of the core airport area would help in speeding up the operations and meeting the airport deadline fixed at December, 2019.
"The Chief Secretary held a meeting with the task force on Wednesday and approved the scheme by Cidco and issued the letter on Thursday," said Cidco Joint Managing Director Prajakta Lavangare Verma.
The task force has been constituted to monitor the progress of the airport project.
"The CM had suggested the MD on January 8 to work out an incentive scheme for expediting the rehabilitation of PAPs," the joint MD said.
Cidco has worked out a scheme with different monetary scheme for deadlines till May end with an estimated outgoing of additional Rs 140 crore. The incentive is in addition to the rehabilitation package.
25/01/18 Sanjay Benerjee/Times of India

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Committee to meet next week for airport project

Pune: A high-powered committee under chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is soon expected to authorize district collector Saurabh Rao to start the negotiation process with villagers for the proposed airport at Purandar and issue a notification giving details of land and survey numbers to be acquired for it.
A source in the state government said that the meeting of the committee was likely to be held next week because the chief minister was in Davos for the World Economic Forum. He said the clearance for the work to commence could come in the first week of February. The ministry of defence ( MoD) issued a letter to Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) on Tuesday, giving clearance to the proposed Purandar airport with some riders.
The committee will have to issue a formal authorization to the Pune district collector to start the negotiations with the villagers and take other initiatives.
"I have requested the state government to give me the formal authorization so that the process can be initiated and completed within the next six to eight months," Rao told TOI.
He said once the notification specifying the boundaries was issued, a social impact assessment would be conducted through research organizations such as Tata Institute of Social Sciences or the economics department of University of Pune. He also demanded deputy collectors for the villages where land would be acquired.
25/01/18 Nisha Nambiar/Times of India

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CAPA India Summits to discuss traffic growth, aircraft financing, airport capacity, Air India

More than 250 delegates from around the world will assemble in Mumbai next week for the CAPA India Aviation Summit on 30-31 January, followed by the CAPA India Airport & Airspace Summit on 1-Feb-2018.

These two events have seen unprecedented global interest, reflecting India’s current status as the world’s fastest growing aviation market.

CAPA will launch the summit by presenting our annual India outlook for FY2018/19, including traffic forecasts and analysis of capacity trends, yields, profitability, fleet orders, capital raising activities and strategic plans. The outlook, which leverages our strength as the region’s leading aviation advisory and research practice, will set the scene for three days of informed debate.
24/01/18 CAPA

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Passenger stopped for carrying hand grenade shaped power bank

New Delhi: There was a minor scare at Delhi airport on Wednesday, when a passenger was stopped from boarding his flight after an object looking like a hand grenade was found in his possession, reported ANI.
On examination, it was found to be a power bank shaped like a grenade.
The passenger was travelling from Delhi to Ahmedabad on a Go Air flight when his luggage was checked for the suspicious looking article. He was thoroughly interrogated, only after which after which he was allowed to board the flight.
This is not the first time that such an incident has caused panic among passengers at Indira Gandhi International Airport.
In September last year, a suspicious image was detected during the screening of a consignment at the Indigo domestic cargo terminal - that too turned out to be a power bank covered in clay.
25/01/18 Times of India

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Was Shashi Tharoor detained at airport for travelling with pistol to Jaipur Literature Festival?

Several media outlets on Thursday evening reported that Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was detained at the Jaipur airport after he was allegedly found possessing a pistol while on his way to the Jaipur Literature Festival.

News channel Aaj Tak reported that Tharoor was detained for 35 minuted by the security personnel at the airport after he was found to be carrying his ‘licenced pistol.’
Hindi newspaper Jagran reported that Tharoor was detained at the airport since he ‘had not informed the security officials’ about his pistol. The website added that he was grilled for 45 minutes at the airport.

The same story was reported by Firstpost Hindi (with headline ‘Shocking: Congress MP caught with pistol’), Amar Ujala (with headline ‘Shashi Tharoor arrived with pistol, held at the airport’) and other smaller websites among others.

However, a flash by news agency ANI said that there was no truth in the media reports on either Tharoor carrying a pistol or his detention. Quoting Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) sources, ANI reported, “Shashi Tharoor wasn’t detained for possession of pistol at Jaipur airport. He was waiting for his sister. Someone asked him what he was waiting for,he said ‘my sister’, misheard as ‘Pistol’, individual informed security, which sought clarification and matter later closed.”

Tharoor himself took to Twitter and termed the media reports hilarious adding that he had never owned a pistol. Quoting the link to Aaj Tak story, Tharoor wrote, “This would be hilarious except that people might actually believe it: I have never owned a pistol or applied for a license, & I’ve certainly never carried one or been stopped for doing so. Our media’s talent for making up stories is literally unbelievable! (sic)”
25/01/18 Janta Ka Reporter

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Hijack at airport! AAI security exercise puts staff on high alert

Chennai: Airports Authority of India (AAI) reviewed security procedures and the results of an anti-hijack drill to plug shortfalls at an aerodrome committee meeting held on Tuesday.
Sources said that the outcome of the drill and the impact on security were discussed and instructions were given to the agencies to improve vigil.
The drill is a mock exercise which is conducted annually and is aimed at testing the preparedness of various agencies which would be involved in a situation wherein a hijacked aircraft lands at the airport.
The review looked at negotiation skills, reaction time of the force and also the preparedness of fire and rescue services and others, said an official.
He also said that the meeting also looked at the contingency plan of the airport in handling emergency situations.
Central Industrial Security Force, airport officials, airport fire and rescue services, state police personnel, ambulance service and other agencies participate in this drill.
In view of Republic Day, which is considered a high-risk situation, the security at airport entries and pre-embarkations has been enhanced by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.
25/01/18 Times of India

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Proposed airport at Purandar finally gets NoC, in writing, from Air Force

The proposed international airport at Purandar has finally received the much-awaited No-objection Certificate (NoC) from the Indian Air Force (IAF), but with certain conditions attached. It has also received the subsequent clearance from the Ministry of Defence.

Among the conditions in the clearance letter, addressed to the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), is one stipulating that all civil flights should be shifted from the Lohegaon airport to the Purandar Aerodrome, once the latter becomes operational.

Despite the completion of several procedural formalities, work on the new airport could not start without the NoC from the Air Force. Member of Parliament from Pune, Anil Shirole, said, “The Defence Ministry on Tuesday gave the NoC for the proposed international airport at Purandar. The letter in this regard has been sent to the MADC.”

The letter from the MoD stated, “The Air HQ (IAF headquarters) has no objection for development of Greenfield Airport at Purandar, Pune, by MADC subject to following conditions: The Air Traffic Service route W-28 to be relocated outside Local Flying Area of Pune. Approach control service based on radar will be continued to be provided by IAF (Pune Air Traffic Control). Aerodrome Control Service may be provided by AAI at Purandar.”

The letter added, “No further requirement of additional airspace should be projected by the AAI or MADC in future. Flying operations at National Defence Academy to continue till 7000’ (feet). Independent Parallel operations may be undertaken from Pune and Purandar Airports, based on mutually agreed Standard Operation Procedures or Memorandums of Understanding between IAF and AAI. All civil scheduled or non-scheduled flights should be shifted to Purandar Aerodrome after its operationalisation.”
25/01/18 Indian Express

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'Relocating seven airports for Purandar airport not a joke'

Defence ministry’s goahead for an international airport at Purandar has gotten locals contemplating to move the court. They have continued with the protest even as the main clearance is in place and now heading towards the land acquisition part.

The new airport was proposed by the government as the land of Lohegaon facility is small and belongs to the air force. Purandar airport will be built on 2,367 hectares of seven taluka villages. It will be called Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje International Airport given that it is being built on Sambhaji’s birth land. The project has received approvals from Airports Authority of India and defence’s “conditional clearance”. With them being fulfilled, it has now received a no-objection certificate. The built-up is now facing a final hurdle — land acquisition.

Member of Parliament and head of airport advisory committee, Anil Shirole, confirmed the development. “Defence’s no-objection certificate was the main concern. Now, that we have received it, the process will speed up. With all the permissions in place, the land acquisition will begin,” he said.

Suresh Kakani, vice-chairman and managing director of Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd, said that work pace will pick up with permissions in place. “We have already commissioned the techno-economic feasibility study and appointed a consultant for the same. We have for a report at the earliest,” he said.

The rapid process has concerned farmers who believe they will be landless after handing over their parcels to the government. Their agitations have time and again revolved around the concern, only to be pacified by the government and district administration, who revised compensation packages. However, the relief was short-lived as the agitations continued in one for another. Once they came to know of the noobjection certificate, they decided to meet in order to discuss action and move to the court.
25/01/18 Prachee Kulkarni/Pune Mirror

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IndiGo cannot have Terminal-1 of IGI Airport exclusively: SpiceJet tells Delhi High Court

New Delhi: Low-cost carrier SpiceJet today told the Delhi High Court that Terminal-1 (T-1) of the IGI Airport here cannot be given exclusively to IndiGo Airlines, as doing so would be anti-competitive.
IndiGo, on the other hand, told the court that it cannot give up its option of staying fully in T-1 and said if in future its number of passengers exceeds the capacity of the terminal, then it will move some of it to T-2.

It declined to accept partial shift of its operations to T-2, as ordered by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), saying its suggestion to be allowed to stay in T-1 and GoAir and SpiceJet be moved to T-2, was never considered.

The submissions were made before a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Rekha Palli which reserved its judgement on IndiGo's plea challenging a single judge order of December 20, 2017 upholding DIAL's decision to partially shift operations of the three airlines from T-1 to T-2.
The development comes barely a week after IndiGo told the court said some headway has been made in the meeting with DIAL to resolve the issues related to partial shifting of the flights of the three airlines to T-2.
24/01/18 PTI/Economic Times

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AAI to acquire 151 acres for Chennai airport expansion

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will acquire nearly 151 acres in and around the Chennai airport for creating various additional facilities.

The land will be acquired in Kolappakkam, Manappakkam, St. Thomas Mount and Gowl Bazaar; in these areas, installation of simple approach lighting systems for secondary runway, construction of hangars and parallel taxi track for the airport, fuel farm, installation of CAT 1 approach lighting system for the main runway and a wide aperture localiser antenna will be made, officials said.

“We have been asking the State government for a long time now; we hope to get the land in a few months. The land acquisition process will begin and then, subsequently, construction and installation of the facilities. The passenger traffic and aircraft movement has been steadily increasing and we need to have these in place at the earliest,” an official said.

The airport witnesses movement of about 400 aircraft and at least 35,000 people a day.

Though the AAI originally sought about 200 acres from the State government, it had to cut it down after the State authorities asked it to do so.
24/01/18 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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CSC wins cargo handling concession to develop facilities at CSIA airport

CSC- in a joint venture with SATS, has been recently awarded a cargo handling concession for designing, developing, operating and managing the international cargo facilities at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

According to reports, in the joint venture company-Mumbai Cargo Service Center Airport Private Limited, CSC holds 51 percent stake, rest 49 percent by SATS. The concession will commence in April 2018 till 2036.

CSC, which has been providing its services since 1995, is currently the country's largest air cargo facility handling services company. CSC operates and manages air cargo handling facilities in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, and Mangalore airports. Besides, it handles over six lakh tonnes of cargo every year across various airports of the country.

With this acquisition, CSC group is expected to handle over ten lakh tonnes of cargo per annum across various airports of the country. Earlier, CSC has also been awarded a concession to expand and operate the existing cold chain temperature controlled cargo terminal at CSIA Airport Mumbai till 2036.
24/01/18 Stat Trade Times

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