Centre has approved construction of 21 greenfield airports in India, says President Kovind

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has accorded approval for the construction of 21 greenfield airports in the country, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Monday.

Among them, the country’s biggest airport is coming up at Gautam Buddha Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, he said his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh had in December 2021 told Parliament that the Civil Aviation Ministry has so far accorded ‘in-principle’ approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country in places such as Mopa (Goa), Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga in Karnataka.

The greenfield airports will also come up in Datia (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram and Oravackal in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh, Singh had noted.

Kovind said on Monday: “A new airport is being set up at Hollongi, Itanagar. A modern new terminal has recently been opened at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Tripura. This development of the North East will prove to be a golden chapter in India’s growth story.” The president also said that a new era of development in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh region has begun and commencement of international flights on Srinagar-Sharjah route is a part of this.

31/01/22 PTI/Print

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Bird-hit Mumbai flight forced to land

Rajkot: The Rajkot-Mumbai Air India flight was forced to land immediately after take-off following a bird hit.

Officials said that the flight was cancelled on Sunday evening due to the incident and the operation is likely to remain affected on Monday too if the aircraft is unable to take off.

The flight was supposed to take off at 6.56 pm but it was delayed and it took off at 7.30 pm. However, a sudden bird hit damaged one engine of the aircraft, which forced the pilot to land the flight immediately. There were a total 103 people in the flight including crew members.

For now, the aircraft is in the parking area. Flight operations are likely to be affected as only one flight can take off from the airport.

This was the last flight to operate from the airport on Sunday. 

31/01/22 Times of India

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Agnihotra homa at Belagavi airport to ‘purify’ air

Belagavi: A mass Agnihotra havan was conducted at Sambra airport in Belagavi during the sunset hours on Saturday to ‘purify’ and ‘energise’ surrounding areas in the domestic airport.

The event was held jointly by Belagavi airport and a private company, M/S Expert Valves India Private Limited run by Vinyak Lokur.

The airport director, Rajesh Kumar Maurya, said he agreed to hold the havan after he saw a video that gave scientific validation to the impact of Agnihotra homa. “This homa has been traditionally conducted to purify, heal and energise space,” he said.

On Saturday evening about 20 men and women, mostly educated entrepreneurs, arrived at the airport with copper containers, cow dung, unpolished rice grains and other materials to conduct the ritual.

They sat in straight lines on opposite sides and kickstarted the havan.

Maurya said the cow dung and two pinches of unpolished rice grains are put inside a copper container and light fire to the mix that billows smoke.

“Many see these rituals in different perspectives, but when it was proposed to me with a video, I viewed it with a scientific eye. This purifies air,” he claimed.

The mass homa was conducted at the entrance of the airport.

Maurya further said Vinayak Lokur is an educated man and he has been doing this homa in many places for the past ten years. Every religion has its own methods of healing the environment. For instance the Christians do through burning candles and Hindus do through havan and bangging gongs.

31/01/22 Sheryas HS/Times of India

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Thick fog delays flight services at Vij airport

Vijayawada: Fog affected the movement of aircraft at Vijayawada International Airport on Monday. A thick layer of fog covered the city till 10 am making it difficult for the landing and take-off of aircraft. Delhi-Vijayawada Air India flight and Bengaluru-Vijayawada Indigo flight faced difficulty in landing for more than one hour.

Air India flight took three rounds in the air as the runway visibility was low. Delay in landing also scared the passengers. At one point in time, Air India decided to land the flight at Rajahmundry airport. But visibility improved after 9.30 am and the landing of aircraft resumed.

Earlier, airport director Rama Rao said they were closely monitoring the situation and taking inputs from IMD over the fog and other weather conditions.

Meanwhile, passengers became restless due to the delay in arrival and take-off of flights. A few of them had arguments with the airline’s officials.

31/01/22 Times of India

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Hit by Covid-19, domestic flight operations dip by 50% at Coimbatore airport

Amidst the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, resulting in the fall in demand for air travel, Coimbatore International Airport has recorded a 50 percent dip in the number of domestic flight operations in the city.

According to a report published in the Times of India (TOI), only 12 domestic flights are being operated from the city airport, out of which some also got cancelled due to fewer passengers.

The frequency of flights to Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai has also come down. Meanwhile, the flights to Tirupati, Pune and Goa have been completely stopped.

However, international flights to Sharjah and Singapore continue to operate as before.

Notably, the Covid-19 situation in the country and the resultant travel curbs have significantly affected flight operations.

As per reports by TOI, Mukuntha Kumar said, “Only business people and those travelling for education depend on air travel now. Leisure travel has taken a back seat as people want to avoid unnecessary travel.”

31/01/22 India Today

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Covid test at Bengaluru airport: Flyers to UAE allege severe malpractice

Bengaluru: Many air travellers claim the sole Covid-19 testing lab at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is indulging in malpractices, including collecting bribes for negative reports, issuing tampered positive reports to force desperate flyers to take another test at a cost of Rs 3,000 and demanding extra money to issue reports swiftly.Passengers venting their ire are a daily affair, with numerous complaints making it to social media. Authorities, including officials of the health department, have turned a blind eye so far.

With the UAE mandating all incoming passengers to carry a pre-departure Covid RT-PCR test apart from a negative test report valid for 48 hours, passengers, mainly those departing to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, must undergo a test at Auriga Research lab, the only testing facility at KIA. An RT-PCR test costs Rs 3,000 at the lab.

On Saturday, a group of more than 35 passengers protested at the lab, venting their anger at staffers as many passengers scheduled to fly to UAE were issued positive reports and staff allegedly coaxed them to take another Covid test for Rs 3,000 each.

“I received my Covid negative report on Friday night from a lab near home but on Saturday morning, my predeparture test at Auriga lab showed I was positive. This happened to more than 30 others. How is that even possible?” wondered Hari Mallabadi, a Rajajinagar resident and businessman who was scheduled to be part of the Indian pavilion at the ongoing Dubai Expo.

The protesters claimed that those who took the re-test by paying the additional Rs 3,000, were issued a Covid negative report within minutes with the same QR code. “Those who refused to pay and were given re-tests by Auriga staff for free were all issued positive reports again,” said Judaea Van Buerle, a woman flyer who missed her flight to Dubai.

The manager and staff of the lab refused to comment and attempts to reach their spokesperson proved futile. However, airport sources said the commotion has become a daily affair and touts decide whether passengers can fly. Many who were declared positive by the lab, tested negative minutes later at private labs on their return home after missing their flights to UAE.

31/01/22 Petlee Peter/Times of India

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West Bengal to seek AAI nod for relaxation of 40km-distance rule for second airport

Kolkata: The state is set to approach Airports Authority of India seeking a relaxation of the maximum distance criteria of 40km between a new airport and the city so it can propose a site in Kalyani, around 58km from the city and around 43km from NSCBI airport.

Sources in the state said Bhangar, the site it was exploring for acquisition of 7,000acres, may not be feasible as it comprises wetlands and multi-crop agricultural land. While acquiring wetlands may disturb the ecological balance of the region, farmland acquisition is a prickly issue that can spark an agitation.

The Trinamool government had come to power in 2011 riding on the uprising in Singur and Nandigram against farmland acquisition. Since coming to power, the government has also stressed on a policy for zero-forcible acquisition of farmlands. In a recent communication, state chief secretary H K Dwivedi had directed South 24 Parganas DM P Ulganathan to earmark a plot of around 3,000hectares in Bhangar for setting up the city’s second airport to reduce congestion at Dum Dum.

However, an assessment over the past week has revealed that the earmarked zone at Bhogali–1 gram panchayat in Bhangar has 30-odd cemeteries, 80-odd large fish bheris, more than 150 small fish bheris, and more than 6,000 residents at Nangla and Palpur villages along with several thousand acres of farmland. Another thing that has been worrying the state is the history of Bhangar, where a project of the Power Grid Corporation had faced serious land acquisition-related hurdles. Anti-airport construction sentiments and demonstrations had started in the area when preliminary talks were on, which has prompted the state to look for other alternatives.

“The zone identified in Bhangar has too many bheris and farmland that can hamper the ecological balance and also give rise to major scarcity in food supply as it supplies a large chunk of the city’s vegetables and fish,” said a source.

31/01/22 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

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Curbs on Mumbai, Delhi flights to Kolkata lifted

Kolkata: Airlines officials on Monday greeted the state government’s decision to remove restrictions on flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Kolkata but said that normal operations would resume only from Wednesday or Thursday onwards as changes in schedules required to reinstate the flights would take some time.

However, there is a damper with fresh restrictions being issued on air travel between Bengaluru and Kolkata. Flights from the country’s IT capital will be allowed only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There are around 18 daily flights operating between Bengaluru and Kolkata.

Air India also indicated that the earliest it can resume the flight between Kolkata and London is on February 13 as those booked to fly next Sunday have already been rerouted through Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

“This is a huge relief for passengers as they will now be able to travel directly between London and Kolkata. The flight on February 13 has 75% occupancy. This will go up further now that the direct route has been restored,” said an AI official. Sources said they would take a call on bringing in the flight even earlier on February 6 if they could manage a decent load within the next couple of days.

Officials of AI, along with IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara, AirAsia India and Go First rushed back to the drawing board after the state announced the relaxations in a bid to check out how many of the 40-odd flights that they operated from these two cities to Kolkata can be reinstated and how fast. “Between mid-December and January-end, flight count has halved while passenger figure is down by 60%. But we expect a steady rise in travel demand from February and that should translate to more flights. In any case, Delhi and Mumbai being the high density routes should see most of the flights back in operation. But they are unlikely to happen on Tuesday,” said an airline official.

As Covid cases had increased in the run-up to the third wave, the state government had restricted flight arrivals from Delhi and Mumbai to only three days-a-week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday. According to Kolkata airport director C Pattabhi, on these days, Kolkata airport has been getting around 200-210 flights with passenger count around 24,000. On the remaining four, the flight count is down to around 190 and passenger figures around 18,000. In contrast, the airport was catering to 390 flights till mid-December with around 50,000 passengers travelling daily.

31/01/22 Subhro Niyogi & Tamaghna Banerjee

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Charges at new parking lot in airport may remain

Pune: Parking charges at the under construction multi-level parking lot of Pune airport is expected to remain unchanged, sources said.

“The construction work of the parking lot is 90% complete. The drainage work has been done and the power sub-station and the air-conditioning system are working fine. As far as the parking charges are concerned, they are expected to remain the same. The Airports Authority of India has uniform parking charges for all its airports and hence the charges will remain the same in all likelihood,” a source at the airport said.

According to the charges published on the AAI website for the Pune airport, the fee for parking a car for half an hour is Rs30. Between half an hour and two hours, the fee will be Rs85. After two hours, the charges will increase by Rs20 per hour.

For two-wheelers, the parking fee for half an hour will be Rs10 and Rs20 after half an hour for a maximum of two hours. Thereafter, there will be an increase of Rs20 for each hour. For SUVs, the charge until half an hour is Rs30 and after half an hour until two hours, the charge is Rs100.

Thereafter, there is an increase of Rs20 for each hour. Beyond 7 hours and up to 24 hours, the parking charges for the above vehicles will be 300% of the fees taken after half an hour until two hours.

31/01/22 Jou Sengupta/Times of India

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Class 4 student flees home to see aeroplane at Kolkata airport; cops send him back with promise of personalised visit

Kolkata:  Bubbling with curiosity about aeroplanes flying above his roof at Ashokenagar in North 24 parganas, a Class 4 student left his home and turned up at Kolkata airport on Saturday evening just to see an aeroplane.

However, he came inches closer to fulfilling his dream before cops sent him back home with a promise to take him to the airport closer to an aircraft “sometime later”.

The 10-year-old boy had taken a train and reached Dum Dum cantonment station, some 25km apart, from where he walked more than 10km to the road near airport where he had been waving at passing cars and taxis for a lift to that takes motorists inside the airport terminal.

One taxi driver spotted him and after a brief conversation, he realised that the boy had fled and dropped him at NSCBI airport police station.

The cops struck a conversation with the kid and found he had fled his home after his father turned down his request to take him for a ride on a plane and all he wanted was a closer look at an aircraft.

They immediately contacted Habra police and also alerted local intelligence to find out the boy’s home and called his parents to the police station.

“An officer from our police station lives in the area. He personally went to his home and contacted his parents who were frantically searching for the kid. He escorted his father to the police station,” said a senior officer of the police station.

The kid’s father, Asadul Molla, who runs a fritter shop in Ashoknagar to feed his family of five, said: “He is crazy about aeroplanes. With the schools closed, his urge to have a closer look at an aircraft soared during his stay at home over the last two years. I myself have never seen a plane, how can I take him for a ride?”

A senior officer of the police station said even after the parents came to take him home, the boy was adamant to not to leave.

“It was already midnight and thus it was not possible to take him to the airport. We finally promised him to make him see a plane when he arrives with his parents later,” said the official.

Speaking to TOI the child said he realised he was wrong but said he would ensure he can take ride in an aeroplane by himself in future.

31/01/22 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

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HC: Can’t regularise illegal structures near Goa airport

Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa has stated that the Chicalim panchayat cannot consider regularisation of 46 illegal structures that have mushroomed around Goa International Airport, and rapped the panchayat for passing resolutions that regularisation could be considered, reports Lisa Monteiro. The panchayat’s resolution stated that applications for regularisation could be considered if occupants produce NOCs from naval authorities and planning authorities. However, the high court stated that such resolutions “cannot operate to defeat court orders or otherwise frustrate the implementation of court orders”.

“Now that it is quite clear that neither the naval authorities nor MPDA can grant any NOCs for retention of these structures, there is absolutely no question of the panchayat delaying the action of demolition by granting the occupants time to produce NOCs and thereafter, consider their case for regularisation of such structures,” the high court stated.

“Ultimately, it must be remembered that this is a matter where illegal and unauthorized structures have come up in the funnel zone or other prohibited areas around the airport, and inaction by the authorities will pose a serious hazard to aviation safety,” stated the division bench comprising justices Mahesh Sonak and R N Laddha.

Show cause notices were issued to around 46 structures, which were prima facie found to be illegal and unauthorised, and counsel for the panchayat Zeller D’Souza submitted that most of the occupants have either accepted that the structures are illegal and unauthorised and are unable to produce any permissions or documents to establish the legality of such structures.

“…It is the naval authorities who had themselves complained about the mushrooming of illegal and unauthorised constructions in the funnel zone or other prohibited areas around the airport. It is at the behest of the naval authorities that several directions were issued in the main petition to clear these illegal and unauthorised constructions. Therefore, there is no question of naval authorities themselves even considering the grant of any NOCs for the retention of such structures,” the high court stated.

31/01/22 Lisa Monteiro/Times of India

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Delhi airport implements one-handbag rule with few exceptions

New Delhi: In order to avoid any inconvenience to the passenger during the security check, the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has implemented a new rule, under which, a passenger can carry only one piece of hand luggage as cabin luggage.

As per the report by the Live Mint, the airport's officials informed that keeping in mind the advisory from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), only one piece of hand baggage is permitted per passenger.

While the airport authorities will strictly monitor that this rule is being followed, there are a few expectations.

Under the new rule implemented at the IGI airport in Delhi, along with the handbag as cabin luggage, few other items are allowed.

- An individual can carry a ladies handbag, an overcoat or a wrap, a rug or blanket, a camera or pair of binoculars, a reasonable amount of reading material, an umbrella or a walking stick, apart from their handbag, as cabin luggage.

- The passenger with a baby will be allowed to carry the infant's feed for consumption during the flight and the infant's carrying basket provided an infant is carried.

- Collapsible wheelchair and/or pair of crutches or braces for passenger's use, if dependent on these, are not exempted.

- A passenger can carry the laptop bag and a gift item purchased from duty-free shops.

01/02/22 India Today

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UP: Colonel's wife accuses CISF & airport security of stealing Rs 36 lakh jewellery

Lucknow: Sonia Vyas Bhatt, wife of a Colonel in Indian Army, has lodged an FIR with Sarojininigar police station here, accusing CISF and private security company of stealing her ornaments worth Rs 36 lakh.

Sonia alleged that her ornaments were stolen while she was going to meet her husband in Dibrugarh by a flight connecting Lucknow to New Delhi on November 30, 2021.

She also said she returned to Lucknow and later took up her case on January 8.

She has lodged a case of theft against airport officials and CISF officials deployed at Sarojininagar police station.

In her complaint, the woman said she, along with her daughter, was going to meet her husband in Dibrugarh from Lucknow via Delhi airport on November 30.

“I had to take a connecting flight for Dibrugarh from Delhi. I had a handbag, a backpack, a sling bag and a black purse in which I had put all my jewellery worth Rs 36 lakh. At screening point, a woman constable of CISF asked me to show the purse and ornaments in it. I requested her to check it inside the purse and not take it out. I had put the ornaments in a transparent box. But she did not listen to me,” she said.

According to the FIR, the woman constable took out the ornament box and put it on another tray there.

When she went to take her ornament box, the CISF constable took it back from her and put it into another tray. “In the meantime, the airport announced the boarding time and I took my bag and went to board the flight. In the flight, I found the ornament box missing and I complained about the same to the flight attendant who advised me to report to CISF in New Delhi,” she said.

Bhatt further mentioned in the FIR that she had reported the matter to CISF in New Delhi and also to her husband. “The boarding for my flight for Dibrugarh was announced and so I was asked to board the flight and report the matter in Dibrugarh after reaching there,” she said.

She said she reported the matter to CISF in Dibrugarh and made several calls to the airport officials to inform them about the incident.

“I was promised to be helped in the matter but when I reached Lucknow on January 8, I was shown CCTV footage in which it was seen that the ornament box fell down from scanning tray during the checking by the CISF officials,” she said.

The victim said the quality of the CCTV footage was very poor. “The camera was of very poor quality. No CCTV footage was available after the ornament box was seen falling down from scanning,” she complained.

31/01/22 Times of India

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Two flights hovered in the air at Gannavaram due to dense fog

Amid dense fog at Gannavaram airport, flight services were delayed on Monday early morning. Meanwhile, the fights from Delhi, Bangalore to Vijayawada were hovered around the airport due to fog as it had difficulty in landing on the airport runway. Airport officials have made clear that several flights were also disrupted due to the fog. "We are reviewing the situation from time to time; the planes will be allowed to return to landing once the smog conditions improved," Airport Authorities said. It is learned that the snow has been disrupting flight services at the airport for the last two weeks. Authorities said the flights were landing at the airport after the snow had receded.

31/01/22 Pavan Kumar Bandari/Hans India

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Mangaluru airport sees 70% growth in domestic passenger traffic

Mangaluru: In an encouraging development, the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has recorded 70% growth in domestic passengers for the calendar year (CY) 2021, compared to 2020.

As per the data available, in 2020, MIA welcomed 5,40,928 passengers, which rose to 7,72,555 in 2021, a whopping growth of 70%. With this growth, MIA, the second busiest in the state after Kempegowda International Airport, has been able to get back to traffic levels as it was before the pandemic.

“The growth would have been more positive if not for the pandemic, which almost grounded the aviation sector in the last two years. The growth at MIA, in terms of domestic passengers or flights has been tremendous. It will bounce back further, once Covid-19 is over,” said a senior official of a leading aircraft carrier, who added that domestic passenger traffic will shoot up again in a few days. “A lot of air travellers who couldn’t travel in 2020 due to travel restrictions, started to fly to various tourist destinations in 2021. There was revenge tourism, and as a result, there is an upward growth in the domestic industry. The growth is likely to continue in the coming days,” the official expressed.

Currently, four airlines operate domestically, and connect to various cities of India. Among them, Indigo tops the list, with the highest domestic flights operations. “After the second wave of the pandemic, the domestic flights at MIA started to pick up, starting from August. In October, MIA saw 781 domestic flights operations, which increased to 798 in November, and jumped to 953 in December. This is a sign that there is a robust growth of the domestic airline market,” said an executive.

30/01/22 Kevin Mendonsa/Times of India

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Ahmedabad: One runway incursion at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport

Ahmedabad:: Hampering of flight movement due to a runway incursion was barely saved in the nick of time at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad earlier this month.

In response to an RTI, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) revealed that a runway incursion was reported at the city airport on January 9 this year by a mechanical runway sweeper (MRS) vehicle, which was inappropriately positioned along the runway and came in the way of landing and take-off of aircrafts, at 10.56am.

A runway incursion is an aviation incident involving improper positioning of vehicles or people on any airport runway or its protected area. This is the lone incident that occurred at the SVPI airport in the past one year.

“The last aircraft airborne was at 10:51 hrs and there were no further flights thereafter because of the routine runway maintenance from 11am to 3pm on Sunday. As a standard operating procedure, the MRS Vehicle maintains the runway for safety measures. The standard process is a handover call by ATC to Follow-Me Operations Vehicle and Follow-Me Operations Vehicle further guides all vehicles to the runway for maintenance. The MRS vehicle slowly moved towards the runway at 10:56 hrs and was stopped by ATC through the Follow-Me Operations vehicle,” said the city airport authorities.

30/01/22 Niyati Parikh/Times of India

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Bumpy runway, poor lights: Pilots flag areas of concern at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: Barely meeting the minimum serviceable norms on runway lights, uneven patchwork repairs in the secondary runway, straying of animals onto the runway during monsoon, waterlogged parking bays — pilots’ list of complaints about the operational area at Kolkata airport is a long one.

While some issues like proper resurfacing of the primary runway has been addressed, most of the other problems remain unresolved.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently slapped a Rs 20 lakh fine on the airport operator, The Airport Authority of India (AAI),for the lapses. This is the steepest fine imposed till date.

An audit carried out by DGCA some months back observed improper maintenance of the runway, electrical lighting and the foreign object debris programme. It then issued a show-cause notice and levied the fine after the replies were not satisfactory. Kolkata airport officials said it had appealed to the regulator against the fine and pointed to discrepancies in the assessment.

“The DGCA rates airport runways with points ranging between 1 and 9. We received a rating of 5. We have appealed against the rating and the penalty and a committee is set to revise the assessment this week,” said an airport official.

According to pilots, the airport has been maintaining the minimum requirement for runway lights but rarely are all runway lights functional. “If the minimum requirement is that 80% lights have to be in operation, only that is maintained. The rest remain out of operation at all times,” said a pilot.

While the primary runway condition is in fine condition now, a captain said there had been occasions in the past when the runway appeared slippery during rain due to rubber deposits. It reduces friction and affects the braking of aircraft on touchdown. The secondary runway is bumpy and potholed. In places where patchwork repairs have been carried out, the new surface has not been properly integrated with the older one.

30/01/22 Subhro Niyogi & Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

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Cochin airport continues to be India's 3rd busiest airport despite Covid

Kochi: Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has retained its position as the third busiest airport in India throughout 2021 despite the pandemic.

CIAL said as per the latest statistics released by Airports Authority of India (AAI), it stands at third position in the country in terms of international traffic in December, a feat it has been enjoying since the beginning of the previous year.

"As per the AAI data on international traffic for the month of December 2021, Delhi Airport topped the list with 8,42,582 passengers and Mumbai airport retained its second spot with 4,51,212. CIAL registered 301,338 international passengers, during December 2021 whereas Chennai Airport which is at the fourth position handled 2,46,387 international passengers," CIAL said in a release.

CIAL handled a total of 43,06,661 passengers during the whole year of 2021. Of that, 18,69,690 were international passengers. CIAL's passenger volume has almost increased by a million in 2021 when compared to that of 2020, it said.

CIAL Managing Director S Suhas attributed the traffic growth to the proactive measures taken by the management to attract more airlines.

"Despite the spike in COVID cases, CIAL has successfully managed to facilitate smooth traffic. A slew of measures was implemented to instill confidence in both passengers and other stakeholders. The year 2021 witnessed the resumption of direct services to the UK by Air India," Suhas said.

Singapore Airlines started operations in December 2021 and we hope that we can host services in Kochi-Bangkok sector soon, he added.

30/01/22 PTI/Business Standard

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Airport on Mandi farm land opposed

Shimla: The CPM has said the airport should not be constructed on fertile land in Balh in Mandi.

“People produce three crops in a year in this area to earn their livelihood. Is it a right decision to use such fertile land for constructing an airport, especially when there’s an alternative available?” said CPM state secretary Onkar Shad. “The project will affect and displace 2,000 families of 12 villages and around 2,000 migrant labourers.”

Shad said the selection of the site was questionable considering there’s a massive scarcity of agricultural land in the state. “There’s only 11 per cent land available for agriculture in the state. It doesn’t make any sense to divert the fertile land for airport construction, especially in the Balh which is known as mini Punjab for its agricultural productivity,” said Shad. 

30/01/22 Tribune

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Over 11 acre land around AAI's Kolkata airport encroached by slum dwellers; FIRs filed

Over 11 acre land around the Kolkata airport, which is owned and run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), has been encroached by slum dwellers, officials said.

The Centre-run AAI has filed FIRs with the West Bengal Police to remove the encroachers from the land, the officials told PTI.

As per the AAI officials, slum dwellings are present in five separate pockets just outside the boundary wall of the Kolkata airport.

These five pockets, which are adjacent to the diverted Narayanpur-Kaikhali road, are spread across a total 11.073 acres land, they added.

These slum dwellings are made of items such as bamboos, they stated.

The officials said that the AAI is waiting for the West Bengal Police to take action over this matter.

The Centre had on August 3, 2017, informed the Lok Sabha that slum dwellers and other inhabitants have encroached 798 acres of land belonging to the AAI.

The AAI, which manages 100 plus airports apart from carrying out other duties, possesses around 55,800 acres of land across the country, the government had noted.

30/01/22 PTI/Economic Times

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Bombay HC stays AAI’s order to slash height of JVPD buildings

 Mumbai: The Bombay high court has held that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) prima facie has no authority to withdraw the no objection certificates (NOCs) granted for height of a building to be constructed in the upscale Juhu Vile Parle Development Scheme (JVPD).

It also said the revocation was retrospective and stayed via an interim order, a revised NOC that reduced the height to 37 metres from the original NOC that had permitted 57 metres.

The HC bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and SM Modak was hearing two separate petitions filed by Armaan Real Estate Pvt Ltd and Juhu Gitanjali Vastushilp Co-operative Housing Society Ltd to challenge AAI’s action.

Ashort grievance in these almost identical petitions was that after the AAI or Airports Authority of India granted them NOC for carrying out construction up to a particular height under provisions of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (Height Restrictions for Safeguarding of Aircraft Operations) Rules, 2015, the same authority—AAI--cancelled the earlier nod and issued a revised permission by “reducing the height substantially with retrospective effect.”

The HC, on considering the facts and hearing senior counsel Pravin Samdani and Veerendra Tulzapurkar for petitioners, said, “Prima facie, we are of the view that the (AAI and its General Manager (ATM) western region) have no power to cancel the earlier NOC permitting particular height and to substi- tute by another NOC with retrospective effect by substantially reducing the height permission already granted earlier.”

AAI counsel Ajay Khaire raised a preliminary objection to the petitions, saying the developers had the alternate remedy of filing an appeal against NOC. He sought time to file an affidavit. The high court gave him up to three weeks to file the affidavit and a rejoinder, if any, to be filed a week thereafter and placed the matter for priority hearing on February 24.

The HC, staying the revised NOC, however clarified that if the petitioners carry out any construction on the plots in question from the date of its order, it would be subject to its further orders at the next hearing.

30/01/22 Swati Deshpande/Times of India

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MIA sees 70% growth in domestic passengers

Mangaluru: In an encouraging development, the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has recorded 70% growth in domestic passengers for the calendar year (CY) 2021, compared to 2020.

As per the data available, in 2020, MIA welcomed 5,40,928 passengers, which rose to 7,72,555 in 2021, a whopping growth of 70%. With this growth, MIA, the second busiest in the state after Kempegowda International Airport, has been able to get back to traffic levels as it was before the pandemic.

“The growth would have been more positive if not for the pandemic, which almost grounded the aviation sector in the last two years. The growth at MIA, in terms of domestic passengers or flights has been tremendous. It will bounce back further, once Covid-19 is over,” said a senior official of a leading aircraft carrier, who added that domestic passenger traffic will shoot up again in a few days. “A lot of air travellers who couldn’t travel in 2020 due to travel restrictions, started to fly to various tourist destinations in 2021. There was revenge tourism, and as a result, there is an upward growth in the domestic industry. The growth is likely to continue in the coming days,” the official expressed.

Currently, four airlines operate domestically, and connect to various cities of India. Among them, Indigo tops the list, with the highest domestic flights operations. “After the second wave of the pandemic, the domestic flights at MIA started to pick up, starting from August. In October, MIA saw 781 domestic flights operations, which increased to 798 in November, and jumped to 953 in December. This is a sign that there is a robust growth of the domestic airline market,” said an executive.

An executive of a low-cost airline said that domestic flights saw a negative growth soon after the new year began. However, it is improving except for night flights. “From past three days, the passenger load has been good. The flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai are running at full capacity. People are now not worried about the new Covid-19 variant, since it has mild symptoms, which has led to an increase in the movement of domestic passengers. The only issue they have, is to produce a negative RT-PCR report while boarding,” added the executive.

30/01/22 Kevin Mendonsa/Times of India

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International terminal being renovated to handle added domestic operations at Ahmedabad airport

Ahmedabad: As a measure to decongest passenger movement at the domestic terminal — Terminal-1 — of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad, domestic operations of one airline are expected to be shifted to international terminal — Terminal-2 — of the city airport from mid-February.

The international terminal is undergoing a renovation for initiating added domestic operations.

The primary purpose of the renovation is integrating operations of one more domestic airline from Terminal 2. “As part of this, a dedicated passage for domestic passengers is being created for smooth transition through the international terminal. Besides, separate areas are being demarcated for handling passengers. A new staircase as well as an escalator have been installed at the international terminal,” a source privy to the development confirmed.

The city airport authorities are also in the process of expanding the security check area. “We will increase the number of security checkpoints so that more passengers can be handled with a lesser turnaround time. Additional door frame metal detectors in addition to x-ray baggage scanning machines will be deployed for a quick transition,” said the source.

A lounge has already been operationalized at the international terminal for added passenger convenience and comfort. Besides, additional food and beverage options are also being made available for passenger comfort.

The proposal to shift operations of two domestic airlines to the international terminal is going on since October last year. “To start with, SpiceJet Airlines will operate from Terminal 2 in addition to the existing operations of Air India and its subsidiary airline – Alliance Air, and the International carriers,” said an airport spokesperson.

30/01/22 Niyati Parikh/Times of India

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CIAL reaffirms its position as third busiest airport in India

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has retained its position as the third busiest airport in India throughout 2021 thanks to concerted efforts to smoothen traffic during the pandemic and increased connectivity.

According to the latest numbers released by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), CIAL stands third in the country in terms of international traffic. The figures showed that the airport stood third in terms of international passenger traffic in December too, which cemented its third position for the entire 2021.

A communication from CIAL on Sunday said according to AAI data on international traffic for the month of December 2021, the Delhi Airport topped the list with 8,42,582 passengers and Mumbai handled 4,51,212 passengers. CIAL saw 3,01,338 international passengers during December 2021, whereas the Chennai Airport, which is at the fourth position, handled 2,46,387 international passengers.

CIAL handled a total of 43,06,661 passengers during the entire 2021. Of them, 18,69,690 were international passengers. CIAL’s passenger volume increased almost by a million in 2021 when compared to 2020, the communication added.

30/01/22 The Hindu

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MADC allots land for star hotel at Nagpur cargo hub airport

Nagpur: The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has approved the allotment of 6.79 acres land for a star hotel in ‘Multi Model International and Cargo Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN).

A release by MADC stated that this would be will be the first star hotel in MIHAN.

The release said that advertisement evoked a very good response and after taking the valued opinion from the Department of Company Secretary, the Legal Department and studying the CVC guidelines, the allotment was made to highest bidder Indian Safari and Camps Pvt. Ltd, Nagpur.

The Letter of acceptance was sent on January 28, 2022, to India Safari and Camps. The reserve price for the land is Rs 6,325 per sq.mtr. The highest bidder has quoted Rs 7,099.00 per sq. mtr. and the second highest bidder, Abha Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. has quoted Rs 6,335.00 per sq. mtrs. for the said land. The total consideration of land is about Rs 20 crores.

29/01/22 PTI/Print

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Colourful murals to adorn airport’s pillars

Chennai: For a passenger walking from one terminal to the other at Chennai airport, it may be an eyesore with construction work on in many areas. But soon, it may change as the pillars of the travelator may sport exquisite murals on the art and culture of the State.

Outside the terminals at the airport, there is a long bridge built for installing a travelator to connect the domestic and international terminals. The travelator was fixed some years ago and it was linked to the Airport Metro station as well.

Now, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is keen on airports showcasing the local art and architecture in the best possible way and to promote tourism, sources said. Following this, there is a proposal at the airport to create murals along these pillars.

“Tamil Nadu is a land of temples and hence, there will be an attempt to replicate the temple architecture in the form of murals and showcase them through other means as well. This is what we have been mulling over, and once this plan is approved, it will be implemented in such a way that any passenger who comes in will find it welcoming,” a source said.

29/01/22 The Hindu

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Extended runway at Jammu Airport becomes operational, 8000ft long

An extended runway at Jammu Airport has been made operational. In addition, the first flight took off from the extended Runway to mark its operational status and the first flight; the Indian Air Force gave the flight a water cannon salute.

The first flight that ran through the newly constructed runway is an Indigo Airlines plane. The Centre had given environmental clearance for the expansion of the runway at the airport.

"Operationalisation of the extended runway portion was done at joint user airfield of IAF & AAI at Jammu," a defence spokesman said.

He said the runway had been extended from 6700 feet to 8000 feet. He said the AAI completed the work in coordination with the Indian Air Force and MES. The spokesman said that Air Commodore G S Bhullar, AOC Jammu IAF Station, Sanjeev Garg, Airport Director, and other officials were present occasionally.

29/01/22 Zee News

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DGCA team probes mid-air scare at KIA

Bengaluru: A Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) team has commenced probe into the mid-air collision scare involving two IndiGo flights that were allowed to take off at the same time and in the same direction from Kempegowda International Airport’s parallel runways on January 7. Senior officers connected to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) were questioned as part of the investigation. Local authorities had allegedly tried to hush up the incident by not reporting it to DGCA, possibly to avoid a probe and punishment.

Over 380 flyers onboard the two aircraft had a miraculous escape after a radar controller noticed the potentially grave error and at the nick of time, instructed the two pilots to diverge. TOI was the first to report the incident, which resulted in DGCA initiating action against those at fault.

On January 21, exactly two weeks after the mid-air scare, a DGCA team from Delhi arrived at Bengaluru airport and carried out investigation into the incident. According to DGCA sources, the team quizzed the ATC, including the ones on duty on the morning of the incident, and notably the version of the senior-most officer in the ATC tower at the time was recorded. The investigators returned to Delhi the next day and is expected to submit a report on the incident in mid-February, said sources.

Meanwhile, the Air Traffic Management at Bengaluru airport is said to be conducting an internal probe to ascertain who was at fault for the incident and under whose guidance the matter was covered up, possibly to save officials posted at KIA.

Further, a team from the Aviation Investigation Bureau of the ministry of civil aviation also visited Bengaluru airport this week and collected evidence related to the incident. 

28/01/22 Petlee Peter/Times of India

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Gujarat: SVPI aiport gets general aviation terminal

Ahmedabad: The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport managed by the Adani Group is now equipped with a general aviation terminal to welcome passengers from private flights and non-scheduled operators (NSOP).

The 12000 sq ft GA terminal at Ahmedabad Airport is aesthetically designed with the terminal building of 4500 sq ft area which has a dedicated entrance to the GA terminal that is secured for controllable access and has an operation Control Center manned 24 hours of the day.

“The new GA terminal is a modern space with an enjoyable range of facilities like spacious passenger lounge, 24×7 personal concierge services… Besides, it also has an access control system, Wi-Fi enabled services, IT system integrated with overall Ahmedabad Airport’s platform, perimeter security control system, to provide a safe and secure experience to all passengers,” said a spokesperson for Adani.

28/01/22 Indian Express

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Air passenger, freight traffic touches new highs

Coimbatore: The city airport has recorded its highest passenger traffic since the Covid-19 outbreak in December last year, when it handled 1.8 lakh inbound and outbound fliers, compared to 1,57,157 in November last.

As per the data available with the Airport Authority of India, the city airport handled 1,70,331 domestic and 10,468 international passengers in December, against 1,49,168 domestic and 7,989 international flyers in November. In total, the passenger traffic registered a 16.5% growth in December.

According to N Muguntha Kumar, a frequent traveller and aviation enthusiast from the city, the patronage from the fliers started increasing ever since the second wave started waning away. “It attained its peak in December 2021. The period also recorded the highest number of aircraft movement as well in 20 months since the pandemic first broke out.”

The city airport had operated 1,334 domestic and 72 international flights in December, compared to 1,162 domestic and 63 international flights in November.

There was a robust growth in freight movement in December, when the airport handled 599 tonnes of domestic cargo and 55 tonnes of international cargo, against 527 tonnes of domestic cargo and 48 tonnes of international cargo in November. The airport used to handle 1,000 tonnes of freight a month on an average before the pandemic.

28/01/22 Times of India

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Golden retriever joins ASG dog squad at M’luru airport

Mangaluru: The dog squad of the Aviation Security Group(ASG) of the CISF, responsible for the security of Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), welcomed another member—Goldie—a year-old golden retriever.

Goldie has joined Jack, Bruno, and Julie, who are labrador’s. Goldie, incidentally is the fifth member of this squad, which was set up on December 16, 2013. The squad lost the services of Leena recently, due to age-related illness. Goldie started active duty at MIA on Thursday, after six months of training at Dog Training School (DTS), Ranchi.

Goldie, with his white groomed coat of hair, has become the cynosure at MIA from the first day of the duty.

With his handler constable (general duty) Aktarul Hoque, Goldie joined Jack, the senior-most member of the squad, with his handler, head constable (general duty) M M Auti, on a familiarisation drive of the facility, on the first day of his duty. The dogs work in shifts with adequate rest.

28/01/22 Times of India

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Two wings at domestic terminal of airport merged

Chennai: Many passengers who have accidentally gone to the wrong wing in the security hold area for the boarding gate have had a tiring long walk and faced anxious moments before catching a flight. Now, that’s about to change as Airports Authority of India has merged the two wings in the remote security hold area – east and west (for the boarding gates 11 to 13 and 14 to 16) – in the domestic terminal of the Chennai airport.

This will help passengers accidentally reaching the wrong boarding gate in the either of these wings or if the airlines make any last minute changes for boarding.

Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said if a passenger went to the wrong gate in the west wing instead of the east, then he or she had to walk all the way up, take an elevator or an escalator, cross quite a distance and then once again go one level below to reach the exact gate. With the merger of these two wings, an additional space of 1,015 sq. ft has been created which means, one or two additional boarding gates may be added in the near future as well, according to a release.

“There have been numerous occasions when passengers have missed flights due to this separation of east and west wings and this merger is a quick and easy solution to the issue and passengers now can freely move all through from gate numbers 11-16 without any hassle,” the release said.

28/01/22 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Proposal for city’s second airport revived, four sites identified

Chennai: As Chennai continues to wait for a second airport for several years now, the State government has once again identified four sites for building a greenfield airport.

Sources said the shortlisted locations include Sriperumbudur, Parandur, Tiruporur and Mamallapuram. “It is not easy to finalise a site soon. We should take into account the land availability, the number and type of runways that can be constructed and other such issues. We have to see the distance from Tambaram Air Force Base too,” a source said.

A source from the State government said, “We understand that the talk on this airport has been around for years now. But things are progressing now. We understand the economic and business potential that comes by setting up this airport.”

Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu said the State government and TIDCO had requested Airports Authority of India (AAI) to send in a team to study the feasibility of the four locations.

More than a decade ago, Sriperumbudur was identified as a suitable location. In 2019, the AIADMK government looked at Parandur and Mamandur following which the Airports Authority of India sent a team that conducted a pre-feasibility study and submitted a report to the State government.

28/01/22 Sangeetha Kandavel, Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Govt. committed to development of Calicut airport, says Minister

Kozhikode: Public Works and Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas has said that the State government is committed to the development of Calicut international airport.

Addressing a meeting to discuss the development of the airport here on Thursday, he said the Left Democratic Front government had made significant intervention for the development of the airport since 2016. Soon after the new government came to power, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had entrusted the charge of the development of the airport with three Ministers, he said.

The meeting was organised by Malabar Chamber of Commerce (MCC), Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), Greater Malabar Initiative Foundation (GMIF), Calicut Management Association, Malabar Development Council, and The Business Club. A collective effort had become necessary to reinstate the glory of the Calicut airport after various restrictions were imposed on the facility from 2015 including the suspension of wide-bodied aircraft operation.

The airport, established in 1988, grew into one of the busiest airports in the country in terms of passenger traffic. The international status was awarded to the airport in 2006.

Mr. Riyas said it was decided to solve traffic jam at Ramanattukara Junction to facilitate smooth journey from Kozhikode to the airport.

27/01/22 The Hindu

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Multiplex inside Chennai airport to be ready in five months

Now, if passengers happen to come way too early for a flight, they may just end up staring at their mobile screens for hours, while sitting in the waiting area. The same is the case for transit passengers too who always look for the best outlets available to shop and other ways to spend their time before they catch their next flight. But this is about to change in five months, as the multiplex at Chennai airport is getting ready and will be finished before June. Officials of Airports Authority of India said, PVR Cinemas has begun construction of the theatres which are coming up inside the multi-level car parking space in the airport. “This will come up on the top floor of the multi-level car parking area. The construction should be over in five months and will be open to public subsequently,” an official said. Passengers from the terminal can enter the multi-level car parking through a link bridge and reach the multiplex. 

“The link bridge has also been finished. There will be a total of five screens. We hope passengers will like this facility,” another official said. These five screens would cater to about 1,000 passengers when opened. Apart from air passengers, residents from the south of the city may also find it easier to watch a movie here as they can just park their vehicle in the complex and head a few floors up to reach the theatre. 

The multi-level car parking, which is nearing completion, will also have shopping and dining options and a hypermarket to attract the locals in the neighbourhood besides being beneficial for the passengers. This facility should have been ready by now but has been going through delays due to various reasons and is likely to be opened in a few months.

26/01/22 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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With 1.9 crore flyers, Mumbai airport becomes India's second busiest in 2021

Mumbai: Mumbai airport is the second busiest airport in the country after Delhi with 1.9 crore passengers being handled in 2021.

On around 1.6 lakh flights, Mumbai airport handled nearly 1.9 crore passengers between January and December 2021. Out of this, approximately 88 per cent or 1.7 crore were domestic passengers across 1.4 lakh flights, Mumbai International Airport Ltd said, according to a report published by The Times of India (TOI).

Meanwhile, Bengaluru became the third busiest airport by clocking 1.6 crore passengers on 1.5 lakh flights.

International and domestic travel was severely hit in 2021 as well. While Mumbai airport handled 24 lakh international passengers, Bengaluru airport handled just 9 lakh.

After the second covid wave in April-May 2021, the recovery in domestic air travel saw Mumbai airport register an over 117% increase in traffic in July-December with around 10.9 million passengers, as against around 5 million in the same period in 2020, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) shared in its data.

For Mumbai airport, the last three quarters of the calendar year (CY) 2021 cumulatively witnessed around 19 lakh international passengers, which is approximately 174% more than that of 2020 when over 7 lakh footfalls were registered, it added.

25/01/22 India Today

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Bengaluru airport records highest cargo handling in 2021, recovery in passenger traffic

Bengaluru: The Kempegowda International Airport has recorded its highest-ever cargo tonnage despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, said Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL).

In 2021, the airport handled an all-time high of 4,06,688 metric tonnes (MT) of cargo, recording a significant growth of 28.6 per cent against the 3,16,305 MT in 2020. “This is still 7.2 per cent more than the pre-Covid level tonnage of 3,79,348 MT in 2019,” BIAL spokesperson said.

“International cargo recorded a 32.8 per cent growth as 2,65,873 MT was processed as compared to 2,00,209 MT in 2020. Domestic cargo grew at 21.3 per cent as 1,40,815 MT was processed as against 1,16,096 MT in 2020,” the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, the United States (US) and Europe continue to be the top trade lanes from the airport.

“The tremendous recovery in air cargo is a positive sign for the aviation sector that has been severely impacted by the pandemic,” said Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL.

“The key factors that contributed to the cargo growth at Bengaluru airport are our resilient ecosystem that ensured efficient operations round the clock, focus on supply chain efficiencies, conducive geographic location, aided with robust infrastructure and technology, the right mix of commodities and adequate airline capacities to key markets globally,” Marar added.

Thirteen airlines operate freighters to and from Bengaluru airport and various domestic and international destinations. “Commodities driving the growth are perishables (both agricultural and poultry products), pharma, chemicals and textiles in the exports category, and electronics, heavy machinery, healthcare and life science products in the imports category. Notably, Bengaluru airport has emerged as the No. 1 airport in the country for perishable exports, accounting for 31 per cent of India’s total perishable shipments during the financial year 2020-21,” the spokesperson said.

Bengaluru airport authorities said that the increased pace of Covid-19 vaccination has led to a substantial recovery in domestic passenger traffic in 2021.

“During this period, Bengaluru airport welcomed 16.07 million passengers, registering a growth of 18.9 per cent from 13.51 million passengers in 2020. Bengaluru Airport has been able to recover 48 per cent of the pre-Covid level traffic of 33.65 million passengers handled in 2019,” the spokesperson explained.

After the gradual easing of curbs by various state governments, domestic passenger traffic recorded double-digit growth of 22 per cent, an upswing from 12.39 million in 2020 to 15.12 million in 2021. The second wave of Covid-19, which led to continued travel restrictions across the globe, followed by supply-side limitations on seat load had led to a decline in international traffic. During this period, international passenger traffic shrunk by 15.5 per cent, from 1.12 million in 2020 to 0.94 million in 2021.

25/01/22 Darshan Devaiah BP/Indian Express

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Solid waste management project averts bird-hit threat to flights

Thoothukudi: Collector K. Senthil Raj has created an effective solid waste management system at Kumaragiri near Pudukottai for converting the degradable garbage into manure, which effectively averts bird-hit incidents in the nearby Thoothukudi Airport besides creating revenue for the rural local body by selling the manure.

The garbage getting generated in five village panchayats around Thoothukudi Airport, which is undergoing rapid expansion with longer airstrip to handle wide-bodied aircraft, is being dumped at different places – mostly on private patta lands - by heads of these rural local bodies. This callous management of solid waste management causes health issues besides triggering minor law and order issues in the villages as the owners of the lands on which the garbage is dumped and the residents living closer to these nauseating yards object to this practice. Moreover, birds being attracted by the degradable waste getting dumped in the spots closer to the Thoothukudi Airport pose serious threat to the aircraft during landing and take-off.

Dr. Senthil Raj designed a solid waste management programme exclusively for these five village panchayats. As he persuaded the Airports Authority of India to fund this solid waste management programme, the AAI released ₹ 90 lakh from its Corporate Social Responsibility Fund for implementing this scheme. As per this project, several tonnes of solid waste getting generated in all the five village panchayats is brought to the integrated solid waste management yard at Kumaragiri near Pudukottai. After segregating the refuse into degradable and non-degradable waste, the degradable waste is being converted into manure while the non-degradable waste like plastics is shredded to be used for other purposes.

25/01/22 P. Sudhakar/The Hindu

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DGCA imposes fine of Rs 20 lakh on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport over poor runway maintenance

New Delhi: India's aviation regulatory body, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) for violating safety norms by neglecting runway maintenance.

"After the regulator started safety auditing for airports a few months back, the audit report found that NSCBIA has committed serious safety norms violations, especially on the runway maintenance work. It has been decided to impose a fine of Rs 20 lakh," a senior official from DGCA confirmed to ANI.

The DGCA's audit report suggested that the Kolkata airport has been negligent in the maintenance of the runway as per the mandated safety requirement.

The Regulatory has issued a show-cause notice to the airport in case of serious violation of security rules at the airport.

"According to the audit report, the maintenance of the runway at Kolkata airport was not done as per the guidelines, the lights on the runway were not fixed properly and Foreign Object Debris (FOB) was reported on the runway, which could have been a part of an aircraft's safety during landing and takeoff was a concern," DGCA official told ANI.

23/01/22 ANI/Times of India

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Two flights diverted due to heavy fog at Vizag airport

At least two early morning flights were diverted or flown back to their originating destination, as the flights were not able to land due to poor visibility because of heavy fog at Visakhapatnam Airport, on Saturday.

According to Airport Director K. Srinivasa Rao, one Indigo flight from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam that was to again fly to Tirupati, was diverted and flown back to Hyderabad and another Air India flight from Delhi to Visakhapatnam to Port Blair was diverted to Bhubaneswar.

But according to him, the conditions improved by 10 a.m. and the flights were called back and the operations thereafter happened smoothly.

Due to heavy fog, we had to hold a couple of flights at the originating destinations, but had given the clearance, after visibility conditions improved around 10 a.m.. Thereafter, all flights landed and took off, said Mr. Srikanth, manager of Indigo.

22/01/22 The Hindu

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Andhra to tie up with IndiGo to resume flight services from Kadapa airport

Andhra Pradesh government on Friday, January 21, decided to enter into an agreement with Inter-Globe Aviation Limited (IndiGo) for resuming flight services from the Kadapa airport in the Chief Minister's native district. The state Cabinet, which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, approved a proposal to cancel the existing Selected Airline Operator Agreement with Turbo Megha Airways (Trujet) and enter into a new pact with IndiGo, official sources said.

The Cabinet approved an expenditure of Rs 20 crore to support IndiGo operations from Kadapa and also to meet the state's 20 per cent share under the Regional Connectivity Scheme-UDAN for other airports like Kurnool. Trujet previously operated flights on Kadapa-Chennai-Kadapa and Kadapa-Vijayawada-Kadapa sectors for three years under UDAN. As the three-year viability gap funding support from the Centre under UDAN ended in May last year, Trujet stopped its flights.

The state government, however, approved a proposal in May 2021 to extend Rs 20 crore as VGF to Trujet for continuing the flights on the two sectors for one more year "to provide affordable flight services in line with the RCS-UDAN and in the interest of passenger comfort".

Orders were accordingly issued on May 16, 2021 but now the government decided to terminate the agreement with Trujet and bring IndiGo into the picture to resume the stalled flight services from Kadapa, the sources added.

As per the new plan, IndiGo is expected to operate four flights per week from Kadapa for a period of one year.

22/01/22 PTI/New Minute

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16 flights cancelled due to poor seat occupancy

Indore: Over a dozen flights were cancelled on Friday following decline in passenger footfall at Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport of Indore.

Around 16 flights including that of Indigo and Air India on routes like Indore-Ahmedabad, Indore-Chennai, Indore-Jaipur, Indore-Lucknow, Indore-Prayagraj, Indore-Bangalore, Indore Delhi and Indore-Mumbai routes were cancelled due to lack of passengers on Friday, airport officials said.

“Passengers who made bookings in these flights were provided with alternative options by the airlines including refund or seats in alternate flights to their respective destinations,” Airport director Ramesh Kumar said.

Officials said that the airport has witnessed cancellation of at least 10 flights on a daily basis, and decline in passengers count is seen as a reason behind the same.

Authorities fear that if this trend of decline in passenger footfall continues for a few more days, it would leave airlines with no option but to suspend their operations once again like it happened during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

22/01/22 Times of India

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Smart recovery: Cargo handled at Delhi airport inched close to pre-pandemic levels last year

New Delhi: Cargo has proven to be aviation's lifeline during the pandemic when passenger numbers have seen a sharp dip.

Delhi Airport last year saw cargo movement return to almost pre-Covid levels thanks to its strong international connectivity and being the nodal hub for sending pandemic relief material across the country.

IGIA last year handled 9.3 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of cargo, just short of the over 10 lakh MT in 2019. Last year's cargo movement was 27% more than 2020's 7.3 lakh MT.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) says while 6 lakh MT was international cargo, 3.3 lakh MT was domestic.

In pre-pandemic 2019, IGIA had handled over 10 Lakh MT in 2019, which was about 30% of the India’s total air cargo.

The key product categories handled last year include ready-made garments, electronics goods, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and automobile/machine parts.

In 2021, Delhi Airport handled over 25,000 cargo flights, more than the 9,900 seen in 2020.

"Last year, Delhi Airport witnessed an increase in connectivity to international destinations. In 2021, international connections from Delhi increased to 87 destinations from 71 in 2019," DIAL said in a statement.

The big international routes showing high recoveries last year included USA, Germany, France, UK and UAE.

21/01/22 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Is the ATC responsible for the near mid-air collision over Bengaluru airport?

In October 2019, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) informed stakeholders (airlines, air navigation service providers, the airline regulator, and so on) of the commissioning of a new runway at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) south of the existing runway. The two runways were given the nomenclature RWY 09L/27R (also known as the north runway) and RWY 09R/27L (south runway). The first flight from the newly commissioned runway took off in December 2019. Even today, the KIA has the singular distinction of being the only airport in South India that operates parallel runways.

But on the morning of January 7 in a strange turn of events that had the potential to become dangerously fatal for nearly 430 passengers and crew of two IndiGo aircraft, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at KIA cleared IndiGo flight 6E-455 bound for Kolkata and IndiGo flight 6E-246 bound for Bhubaneswar for take-off almost simultaneously from KIA’s parallel runways. The two Airbus A320s, prima facie, were involved in an aircraft proximity (airprox) occurrence, with a high risk of a “breach of separation”, as they took off from KIA’s parallel runways. It was left to the alertness of an approach radar controller who, on noticing the trajectory or flight path proximity of the two aircraft, alerted the air crew.

According to sources at KIA, both aircraft flew at the same speed and climb rate right until they reached around 3,000 feet before the radar controller’s action resulted in them veering away from each other. Officials also disclosed that if the pilots had not initiated preventive action, the two airplanes’ flight path might have merged into a single point at around 7,000 feet, an altitude which would have been reached in no time since the two A320s were climbing at a rate of approximately 2,000 feet per minute.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s statutory body for the regulation of civil aviation in India, has opened an investigation into the incident.

Though the pilots said that the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) would have been activated and that there was no need for unnecessarily panic over the incident, the Air Traffic Control’s action in clearing both aircraft for simultaneous take off was illegal and unsafe and contravenes several of AAI’s regulations.

The AAI’s Manual of Air Traffic Services Part II, dated May 10, 2021, clearly states that when both runways (RWY) are available, the operations shall be in segregated mode wherein simultaneous operations on parallel runways are permitted, but with one runway being used for approaches and landings, and one runway being used for departures and take-offs. The AAI Manual of Air Traffic Services Part II, as part of the General Conditions, unambiguously states that the following conditions shall be adhered to: “No simultaneous departures from RWY 09R/RWY 09L (south runway/north runway) shall be permitted during segregated mode of operations or during change of modes. Similarly, no simultaneous departures from RWY 27R/RWY27L (north runway/south runway) shall be permitted during segregated mode of operations or during change of modes.”

The Manual of Air Traffic Services Part II goes on to further state: “No mixed mode of operations is permitted”. What occurred on January 7 was neither a segregated mode or a single mode. It was clearly a mixed mode, which is prohibited.

The AAI’s Manual of Air Traffic Services Part II also states that the control tower (TWR) handling arrivals shall inform the tower handling departures regarding “any missed approach/discontinued approach by arrivals”. States the manual: “During Low Visibility Operations Plan (LVOP) when segregated mode of operation is in progress on 09 mode and runway visual range (RVR) falls below 550m, tower one (TWR1) shall co-ordinate with TWR2 for those departures which have already joined Taxiway P/Q for South runway to depart from RWY 09R till RVR falls below 350m. TWR1 shall positively confirm from TWR2 that there are no further departures from RWY 09R [south runway] before allowing departures from RWY 09L. TWR2 shall positively confirm from TWR1 that there are no further departures from RWY09L [north runway] before allowing departures from RWY09R before reverting back to segregated mode of operations.”

Hence, not only is mixed mode not permitted, even in the case of LVOPs, segregated mode operations must first cease before single mode is activated.

20/01/22 Ravi Sharma/Frontline

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Flyers on Hyderabad-Canada flight test Covid positive at Abu Dhabi airport, seek govt's help

Hyderabad: Passengers travelling from Hyderabad to Canada via Abu Dhabi have sought assistance from the authorities after some of them tested positive for Covid-19 at the Abu Dhabi airport.

Syed Omar Azam took to twitter to explain that he was one of the passengers on the flight on January 20. "We are stuck at Abu Dhabi airport for over 18 hours as some of the passengers including myself were tested positive for Covid19,” he said. He said multiple Rapid RT PCR tests were done at the airport facility.

"All Covid positive passengers have been sitting at Gate 28-29 since morning without any medication or help. Airport authorities could not even provide us a place to quarantine and there was no proper food. They took our passports and did not come back. We have asked so many authorities to help us, but no one helped us except some security persons who gave us food to eat. It is a very bad experience for us during these difficult times. We need help please,” Syed Omar Azam said.

While the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi was yet to respond on twitter, the airline that they were traveling in responded on Friday. “Hi Syed, I hope you have been assisted by our airport team already. Can you please also DM us your booking reference, as we'd like to look into it further? Thank you,” the airline person messaged Azam.

21/01/22 Ch Sushil Rao/Times of India

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Dholera International Airport awaits cabinet nod: All you need to know about the greenfield airport

The ambitious Dholera International Airport project in Gujarat is yet to take off as the first phase of its construction is still awaiting approval from the Cabinet.

Phase one of the project has also received approval for Rs 636 crore of the total Rs 987 crore from different departments of the Centre, according to Ahmedabad Mirror.

Starting from Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) approval of the site in 2010 to the Centre’s site clearance in 2014, the project is yet to hit the road after seven years.

Here is all you need to know about the Dholera International Airport:

– Dholera International Airport is a greenfield airport project near Navagam in Ahmedabad district, Gujarat. A greenfield project is one where the work is generally started from scratch on land that hasn’t been used for construction or infrastructure earlier.

– The airport will be spread across 1,426 hectares and two runways of 4,000 metres and 3,200 metres respectively.

– About 100km from Ahmedabad, Dholera Airport is expected to be an alternative to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

– According to a Business Standard report, the airport would be developed in three phases at a cost of Rs 1,712 crore.

– Dholera International Airport Company Ltd (DIACL) was set up in 2012 by the Gujarat government to develop the airport, which is now a joint venture between AAI with 51 percent stake, Government of Gujarat has 33 percent and National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust has 16 per cent stake.

– As per a report by Indian Express in December 2021, chairman of AAI Sanjeev Kumar said that all the approvals required to start the work have come.

“Environment Clearance is already there. Security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs has already been obtained. About 3,000 acres have already been made available by the Government of Gujarat and this land has been given on long term lease to the joint venture company (DIACL),” he said.

– During Phase-1, a 3,200-metre-long runway will be built for type 4E aircrafts, in the Phase-2, the same runway would be extended to 3,800 metres. And in Phase-3, the second runway will be built.

– With both the runways operating parallelly, the airport can expect 100 million passengers per year, the AAI chairman said.

– The airport was earlier expected to start operations by December 2023, however, with the delays the first phase should be completed by 2025.

21/01/22 First Post

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Flight operations delayed at Bhubaneswar airport due to dense fog

Flight operations were delayed at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar on Friday morning because of poor visibility due to dense fog conditions.

BPIA officials said the IndiGo flight en route from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar was diverted to Raipur due to poor visibility. The visibility was 150 metres at 9 am and 500 metres half an hour later.

"First flight from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar landed at 9.27 am after the visibility improved. As instrument landing system is already installed in the airport, pilots can land the planes when the visibility is up to 800 metres as against the normal visibility of 1.5 km," BPIA Director Pravat Ranjan Beuria told TNIE.

However, pilots of small aircraft, on their own discretion, can land even if the visibility is less than 800 metre.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), very dense fog condition is when the visibility is below 50 metres and during dense fog when the visibility is between 50 metres and 200 metres.

"On Friday morning, dense fog prevailed in the capital and very dense fog occurred in Angul. The fog condition is prevailing due to clear sky conditions, calm winds and moisture availability," said Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Scientist, Umasankar Das.

21/01/22 New Indian Express

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Alert official averted crash at last moment

New Delhi: Lokendra Singh, a 42-year-old approach radar controller at Bengaluru Airport, has emerged as the alert hero who saved the lives of almost 430 people onboard the two IndiGo flights that were headed for a mid-air collision after taking off from Bengaluru on January 7. After realising that 6E-455 to Kolkata and 6E-246 to Bhubaneswar were headed towards each other, this air traffic controller directed the two Airbus A320s apart by asking the pilots of one to head left and the other to the right.

Singh’s alertness is being applauded as it is learnt the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) in the two aircraft had not gone off due to lateral separation. Pilots of both the flights were unaware of the danger as they were being handled by different controllers who themselves didn’t know the error that had been committed.

TOI queries on the issue to authorities led to the investigation that blew the lid on the allegedly attempted cover-up and the discovery of this incident. DGCA has launched a probe.

TCAS issues two types of advisories to pilots: first a traffic advisory (TA) to give an advance warning to crew of two planes that they are headed in the same direction and in second stage resolution advisory (RA) that asks crew to take evasive action to avoid mid-air collisions.

20/01/22 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Bombay HC asks Civil Aviation Ministry to submit report on construction of metro near Juhu airport

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has asked Rajiv Bansal, Secretary at Ministry of Civil Aviation to file a report on an issue raised by a petition concerning Juhu airport in Mumbai and the construction of metro rail around it.

The petitioner, Harit Vipinchandra Desai, had filed a writ petition stating that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) in favour of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) to construct an overground metro rail line within the Funnel Zone to the East of the approach and take off climb surface of runways 26 and 08, respectively, of Juhu airport.

This NOC, according to Desai, was ex-facie contrary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (Height Restrictions for Safeguarding of Aircraft Operations) Rules, 2015. Desai’s concern was that the provisions relating to “height clearance” had been observed in the breach by the AAI and the decision to issue the impugned NOC was not lawful.

Desai claimed that if the metro rail line work is allowed to be commissioned by the MMRDA, there is a possibility of an accident of an aircraft arriving at or departing from Juhu airport.

Desai prayed for the NOC to be quashed and the metro rail line work stopped.

During the hearing, the Advocate General told the division bench headed by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta that all the necessary permission and expert opinions had been taken and only then had the plan been given the go ahead. However, the bench was of the opinion that, since they are not experts to say whether what Desai was stating was right or wrong, they only wanted to first understand the matter and secondly see if due procedures had been followed.

20/01/22 Vidya/India Today

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Kerala High Court grants pre-arrest bail to Trivandrum airport official in sexual assault case

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to the former Chief Airport Officer (CAO) of the Trivandrum International Airport, Giri Madhusudana Rao, in the case where he was accused of raping an employee working under him.

Giri Madhusudana Rao was granted anticipatory bail on the condition that he appear before the investigating officer from January 20 to January 30. The order also states that Giri Madhusudana Rao's mobile phone must be produced before the investigating officer when required.

However, Giri Madhusudana Rao testified in court that examining his WhatsApp chat would reveal that he was not involved in the rape case. As a result, the phone is likely to be taken into custody immediately.

Giri Madhusudana Rao further alleged that he and the victim in the case had a consensual relationship and that she came to his flat of her own choice.

20/01/22 Vivek Rajagopal/India Today

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26 acre land to AAI for airport expansion: DM

Patna: Patna DM Chandrashekhar Singh on Wednesday inspected the Patna airport and issued instructions for transfer of additional land to Airports Authority of India (AAI) within 15 days for further expansion of the airport.

According to sources, around 26 acre land is proposed to be transferred to the AAI for various facilities at the airport, including a parallel taxi track and expansion of parking bay.

The DM was accompanied by Patna airport director Bhupesh CH Negi and other officials from other departments and AAI. “A total of 26 acres of land is required for construction of a parallel taxi track at the airport. Out of the 26 acres, 21 acres belong to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), 3.8 acres to transport department and remaining land is of animal husbandry department,” the DM told TOI.

He said the aircraft parking area at the airport is also proposed to be expanded. “As of now, only six aircraft can be parked at the airport,” he said. “The required land will be transferred to AAI within 15 days, so that they can commence construction works,” the DM said.

20/01/22 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

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Delhi airport and surrounding area at high risk of land subsidence

New Delhi: A recent research reveals that around 100 sq km land area near Delhi NCR region is prone to subsidence.

The distressing outcomes have come to light after research done by IIT Bombay, German Research Center, and Cambridge, and the Southern Methodist University of America.

According to the research, in 2014-16 - the speed of land subsidence was 11 cm/yr. This has increased by almost 50% to 17 cm/yr after two years. The same trend was seen in the year 2018-19 as well.

The research suggests that the area around Delhi Airport has the highest risk of land subsidence. 

An airport needs to have a rigid and stable base to operate and any crack can in the area may lead to major mishaps. The Kapashera area - near the Indira Gandhi International Airport - faces the highest risk, with 12.5 sq km area being prone to land subsidence.

The report identifies - Delhi's Bijwasan, Samalkha, Kapsehra, Sadh Nagar, Bindapur, Mahipalpur, and Mahavir Enclave - as the at-risk areas. Gurugram's sector 22A and Block C, and pocket A, B and C of Faridabad's Gandhi Memorial.

Professor Seema Mehra Parihar, Geologist and Remote Sensing and GIS Expert, exaplains that land subsidence occurs when the upper layer of the land starts leaning towards the lower layer.

There are 3 main reasons for land subsidence:

1. Mining: The removal of minerals from the lower level of the earth results in the subsidence of the top layer of the land.

2. Extraction: Extraction of oil from the ground also causes the subsidence of the land.

3. Groundwater level: The most important and major factor leading to the weakening of the upper layers which in turn bend towards the lower surface and lead to the risk of land subsidence. According to an American geological survey, 80% of the land subsidence is caused due to lower groundwater levels.

20/01/22 Zee News

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Ex-chief airport officer gets anticipatory bail

Kochi: The high court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to former chief airport officer of Trivandrum International Airport who was booked for sexually assaulting a subordinate woman officer.

Justice Gopinath P granted anticipatory bail to 62-year-old Giri Madusudana Rao of Chinna Avutapalli in Andhra Pradesh considering his age and medical condition. In his plea, the petitioner had submitted that he is suffering from age-related illnesses and has an hs-CRP level of 7.0 mg/l, which suggests that he is highly prone to heart disease.

Prosecution had argued that the copy of the WhatsApp conversation between the petitioner and the complainant that was produced before the high court, to contend that it was a consensual relationship, was edited.

The court said it was not proper on the part of the petitioner to place an edited version before the court. However, his counsel told the court that a full backup of the chat is stored online and that the police can access it.

While granting anticipatory bail, the court said while the allegations are serious and requires thorough investigation, only a limited custody is required for the purpose of recovery. The petitioner has been ordered to appear before the investigating officer at 9am every day until January 31 and as required by the officer.

20/01/22 Times of India

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Mid-air collision between two Indigo flights averted at Bengaluru International Airport

A mid-air collision involving two Indigo domestic passenger flights was narrowly averted at the Kempegowda International Aircraft (KIA) recently. What is worse is that the incident was neither recorded in the logbooks nor was it reported by the Airports Authority of India to the country's aviation regulator, both of which are mandatory.

It was the lack of communication among controllers at the Air Traffic Control room that was responsible for the incident that occurred around 8.45 am on January 7.

DGCA Director-General Arun Kumar told The New Indian Express that Flight No. 6E 455 heading from Bengaluru to Kolkata and Flight No. 6E 246 on the way from Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar were involved in 'breach of separation' at Bengaluru airport.

"Put simply, this technical term refers to a situation where sufficient distance was not maintained between two flights either laterally or vertically which is an alarming situation," explained a senior pilot. Kumar said both the North Runway (for departures) and South Runway (for arrivals) were in use at KIA in the morning of the incident. 

"Later , the shift in-charge decided to go in for single runway operations and opted to make use of the North Runway for both arrivals and departures. The South Runway was closed but that was not communicated to the Controller in the South Tower. As a result, he gave the green signal for the flight to Kolkata to depart, while the North Tower controller permitted the flight to Bhubaneswar to depart. There was no coordination between them," he added.

The aircraft departed at almost the same time and were approaching each other. "The approach radar control gave the command for diverging which averted a mid-air collision," he explained. The incident has not been recorded in any of the logbooks nor has AAI reported about it, he added.

An aviation expert said a breach of separation incident could have serious consequences. "The impact can range from mild scratches to the flights to a head-on collision. Many upgraded systems are in place to ensure such incidents never happen but still they occur on and off," he said. Indigo did not want to comment, while airport operator, BIALsaid they were not aware of the incident.

19/01/22 S Lalitha/New Indian Express

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Emirates, Air India, and others cancel flights due to AT&T and Verizon’s 5G rollout

On Tuesday, Emirates, Air India, ANA, and Japan Airlines all announced that they were canceling some flights to the US due to this week’s rollout of C-band 5G over concerns it could potentially interfere with some instruments, particularly on Boeing 777 aircraft. This comes as cell carriers, federal agencies, airlines, and airplane manufacturers struggle to reach an agreement on policies regarding how the rollout should be handled. The situation has continued to evolve as AT&T and Verizon switch on their c-band, but it’s only gotten messier.

ANA cites specific guidance from Boeing, saying that “Boeing has announced flight restrictions on all airlines operating the Boeing 777 aircraft.” Japan Airlines also cites a notification from Boeing, saying that it was told that “5G signals for U.S. mobile phones, which will begin operating in the U.S. on January 19, 2022, may interfere with the radio wave altimeter installed on the Boeing 777.”

However, Japan Airlines changed its guidance on Wednesday, saying it “received confirmation from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) that there is no longer a problem with the operation of the Boeing 777 and we will resume service to the U.S. mainland with Boeing 777 from January 20.” ANA has updated its advisory with similar language, saying that it’s returning to “the normal schedule based on FAA notification that there is no safety issue with the operation of Boeing 777 aircraft to the U.S. airports that we serve.” However, Emirates and Air India haven’t changed their guidance, and the FAA hasn’t publicly released an updated statement. The 777 isn’t currently on the regulator’s list of cleared aircraft.

Emirates’ announcement clearly outlines what’s being canceled. The airline, described as the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 777 by Reuters, says that it’s “suspending flights to the following US destinations from 19 January 2022 until further notice,” listing Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Miami, Newark, Orlando, San Francisco, and Seattle.

The airline will continue to fly to New York JFK, Los Angeles (LAX), and Washington, DC (IAD). Emirates says it’s “working closely with aircraft manufacturers and the relevant authorities to alleviate operational concerns” and that it hopes to start flying to the US again as soon as it’s able.

More airlines were affected as Tuesday progressed. Reuters reports that Taiwan’s China Airlines will reschedule some flights, while South Korea’s Korean Air Lines switched away from Boeing’s 777 and 747-8 aircraft on six flights to the US, and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific says it’s prepared to use different planes if necessary. Lufthansa had canceled at least one US flight and was switching from the Boeing 747-8 to the 747-400 aircraft on some US routes. Air India, Singapore Airlines, and Austrian Airlines were also switching out 777 aircraft for US flights.

Airline operators in the US warned earlier on Tuesday that the 5G rollout could cause “catastrophic disruption” to their flight schedules. According to the FAA, the concern is that the C-band 5G signals could interfere with the radar altimeters used in some planes, creating a safety issue. 

19/01/22 Mitchell Clark/The Verge

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Kolhapur-Mumbai flight resumes, connects Jalgaon too

Kolhapur: The flight connectivity between Kolhapur and Mumbai has resumed once again after a break of more than two months. The Mumbai-bound flight will travel further till Jalgaon via Mumbai, thereby offering connection to Jalgaon within three hours.

Airport director Kamal Kumar Kataria said, “The flight service to Mumbai from Kolhapur airport has resumed after a gap of around two months. The flight service provider will be operating the same flight till Jalgaon via Mumbai and hence along with Mumbai now Kolhapur has got air connectivity to Jalgaon as well. The flight will be plying on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the flight service provider aims to continue the flight every day from February.”

The flight will depart from Jalgaon airport at 9.50am and via Mumbai, it will arrive at Kolhapur airport at 12.55pm. The flight will again depart at 1.55pm and via Mumbai, it will reach Jalgaon at 4.15pm, added Kataria.

The air connectivity to Jalgaon will reduce the travel time from northern Maharashtra region (Khandesh) with Western Maharashtra.

19/01/22 Rahul Gayakwad/Times of India

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Aquabrim Home Appliance installs its devices at Chennai Airport to combat rising water level

Chennai: In a recent development, the Corporate Communications of Chennai Airport issued a press release announcing the successful installation of Aquabrim Home Appliance Pvt. Ltd. devices to safeguard the airport premises from the threat of flood due to rising water levels of the Adyar river nearby.

It has been a persistent issue at the airport which now stands resolved due to these innovative devices. These include a Water Level Indicator and Alarm System, which will send notifications (in the form of messages) to 10 key officials at the airport if the devices detect that the water level in the river has exceeded 9.5 m MSL (bridge height 10.5 m MSL).

The need for such devices in the real world is quite evident. In the modern world driven by automation in almost every sector, technology could ensure that water-related issues like wastage, floods, water mismanagement, etc., could be kept in check and tackled in time. In the aforementioned case, early detection of rising river water will trigger preventive measures by airport officials saving huge damages.

19/01/22 ANI/Print

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6 Passengers, Double-Vaccinated, Test Covid Positive; Stopped At Indore Airport

Indore: Six passengers, including three women, were not allowed to board Air India's Dubai-bound flight at the Indore airport today after they were found infected with coronavirus, a health official said.

"As per protocol, every passenger boarding the weekly Indore-Dubai flight has to undergo a rapid RT-PCR test at the airport. Today, 67 passengers were tested (in the morning) and the results of six passengers came out positive," Priyanka Kourav, medical officer of the Madhya Pradesh health department, told news agency PTI.

She said that two of the six infected passengers are from Bhopal and four from Indore.

"Of the six, five passengers had received both doses of anti-coronavirus vaccines while a woman passenger is inoculated with four jabs of two different vaccines," Ms Kourav said.

19/01/22 PTI/NDTV

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Metro height at airport: Bombay HC seeks aviation secy’s report

Mumbai: The Bombay high court bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and M S Karnik on Tuesday sought an independent comprehensive report from Union civil aviation ministry secretary Rajiv Bansal on the issue of height clearance granted for an over ground Metro rail 2B project in Mumbai.

The HC in its order said, “Bansal shall also consider the aspect of safety and security of the public, who reside in the vicinity of Juhu Airport, and throw light as to whether commissioning of the Metro rail line of the MMRDA would in any way affect aircraft operations at Juhu Airport.’’

Adjourning a PIL challenging the NOC for the Metro 2B line to February 28, the HC permitted MMRDA to “carry on preparatory work for the metro rail line, viz Geotechnical investigation and utility identification’’ till further orders and clarified “apart from such preparatory work, no other work may be carried out without the prior leave of this court at the site.’’

The PIL filed by Harit Desai challenged the NOC granted by Airports Authority of India (AAI) to MMRDA for overground Metro rail line within the Funnel Zone to the east of the approach and take off climb surface of runways 26 and 08, respectively, of Juhu Airport. The NOC was contrary to the ministry’s (height restrictions for safeguarding of aircraft operations) rules, 2015, submitted Desai’s counsel Nishant Thakkar.

The rail corridor is from DN Nagar, Andheri (West) to Mankhurd.

19/01/22 Swati Deshpande/Times of India

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Runway re-carpeting: Ahmedabad airport to remain close for 9 hours daily till May 31

New Delhi: The flight handling capacity of Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport will remain severely curtailed till May-end as the runway will remain closed for nine hours a day between 9 am and 6 pm daily for re-carpeting. The work started on January 17 and is expected to get completed on May 31, 2022.

Since operations can happen between 6 pm and 9 am only, flights will need to be rescheduled. Airlines have begun reaching out to passengers for the same.

“The runway re-carpeting is done and we have tried to minimise flight disruptions by informing airlines well in advance. The work is essential to ensure safe flight movement. We are using the latest technology and putting in place all modern features,” said a senior official of Adani Airport.

A drop in any airport's capacity for runway re-carpeting always leads to flight disruptions, inconveniencing passengers. “But if it is needed to ensure safety, it has to be done. The ongoing Omicron surge has seen a sharp fall in passenger numbers. Also passengers tend not to book in advance now and do so closer to date of travel. So hopefully the number of passengers required to be rebooked due to flight rescheduling will not be very high this time,” said sources.

19/01/22 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Despite 3rd wave, number of flyers has grown 5 times since 2nd wave in Kolkata

Kolkata:  Unlike the second wave, when flyer count took a plunge as Covid cases soared, the sweeping third wave is yet to act as a deterrent for air travellers.

In the one month period between mid-December 2021 and mid-January 2022, the Kolkata airport has clocked five times the number of passengers it had recorded in May 2021, when the second wave was at its peak. While only 2.5 lakh passengers had travelled during May 2021 when the second wave was at its peak, 12.6 lakh passengers travelled in 31 days during the third wave.

Representatives of the travel trade community said airlines as well as travel agents were petrified when Covid cases began shooting up in mid-December and passengers were detected with the Omicron variant in the country initially. But their fears were allayed by the passenger figure.

“During the second wave of the pandemic, airlines had to cut down on flights as passenger count had plunged. This time, more than twice the number of flights have been operating out of Kolkata. Yet, loads on flights have been more than twice that of the second wave,” an airline official said. Against 4,367 flights that operated in the month during the second wave, 9,833 flights operated in the month-long period during the third wave.

Rahul Wadhwa, chairman of Airlines’ Operators Committee at Kolkata airport, said it was the severity of the infection and high mortality rate during the second wave that had driven people indoors, out of fear of contracting the virus. “Though many more people are getting infected this time, that fear is absent as a majority of patients are also recovering quickly without the need for hospitalization,” said Wadhwa.

A senior official at the Kolkata airport pointed out that the passenger footfall did fall by nearly 40% but it was primarily owing to the restrictions on flights on two high-density sectors: Delhi-Kolkata and Mumbai-Kolkata. “That a majority of the adult population is vaccinated and those infected are recovering in less than a week have boosted travellers’ confidence,” said the official.

19/01/22 Subhro Niyogi & Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

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Six Covid-19 Passengers Stopped from Boarding Dubai Flight at Indore Airport

Indore: Six passengers, including three women, were not allowed to board Air India’s Dubai-bound flight at the Indore airport on Wednesday after they were found infected with coronavirus, a health official said. “As per protocol, every passenger boarding the weekly Indore-Dubai flight has to undergo a rapid RT-PCR test at the airport. On Wednesday, 67 passengers were tested and the results of six passengers came out positive," Dr Priyanka Kourav, medical officer of the Madhya Pradesh health department, told PTI.

She said that two of the six infected passengers are from Bhopal and four from Indore. Of the six, five passengers had received both doses of anti-coronavirus vaccines while a woman passenger is inoculated with four jabs of two different vaccines, Kourav said. All six passengers are asymptomatic. They were sent back to their homes with advice to isolate themselves.

19/01/22 PTI/News18.com

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Delhi HC refuses to entertain plea by ATCs concerning breath analyser tests

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition by Air Traffic Controller (ATC) Guild India against the conduct of random breath analyser (BA) tests on five per cent of the controllers on duty at the airports amid the ongoing covid pandemic. Justice V Kameswar Rao, who said that he was not inclined to interfere with the procedure, noted that not more than six persons are to be tested in an hour, and even in big airports, five per cent of ATCs comes down to only three to four persons.

"Everyone must be tested... (It takes) one minute for the test. In six minutes (out of an hour) everyone is through. I am not inclined," the judge said.

Advocate Anjana Gosain, appearing for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), submitted that BA tests were being conducted in accordance with the earlier directions passed by the court and after each test, the area is thoroughly sanitised.

The judge closed the petition and clarified that the authorities shall continue to scrupulously follow the directions passed by the court earlier and any infraction will be taken seriously.

Lawyer Piyush Sanghi, appearing for the petitioner Association, contended that as per the earlier order passed the court, only two per cent of the ATCs can be allowed to take the BA test at random, and thus the aviation authority cannot increase the number to five per cent at a time when there is a surge in COVID-19 cases.

19/01/22 PTI/Economic Times

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