HAL plans MRO at old Bangalore airport with Rs 120 crore

Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is looking at setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility to leverage its Bangalore airport asset, which is now closed to commercial aircraft.
Along with the MRO plan, HAL is also combing across its business segments to expand revenue to make up for the loss in earnings from airport operations. The airport revenue, in the region of Rs 250 crore, is not a significant portion of the over Rs 8,500-crore entity, but it is by no means small enough to be glossed over.
HAL director (planning) M Fakruddin said the profitability from the airport business was very healthy. “We will look at expanding revenues from our existing line of businesses,” he told ET . HAL is in advanced stages of finalising a joint venture partner who will bring the licence for civil aircraft maintenance. Budgeting an investment of Rs 120 crore, the scalable model will start with two hangars with a capacity to handle 50 aircraft per annum.
HAL is also advancing on its plans to create a civil aircraft that is in the 100-seater configuration.
In fact, it is collaborating with National Aerospace Labs on the concept for design and manufacture of a regional jet. The Rs 2,000-crore plan will pit HAL against global aircraft manufacturers such as ATR, Embraer and Bombardier.
31/07/08 J Padmapriya/Economic Times

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DIAL goes into cost-cutting mode as capacity cuts hurt

New Delhi: GMR Group-led Delhi International Airport (DIAL) is feeling the pinch of slowdown in the aviation sector. Postponing recruitment and priority to cost-cutting are on the agenda of the company, which runs the Capital’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport , since revenue growth is likely to slow down due to decline in passenger traffic.
“As per our agreement with the government, airport tariff had to be increased by 10% this year. But the government didn’t allow us to do that as aviation sector is in the grip of recession and airlines’ losses are mounting. Due to this, we would see a revenue loss of Rs 35 crore in this year. To counter the situation, we have decided to postpone recruitment for 3-6 months and scale down the hiring process from 800 to 600 people,” a top GMR official told ET.
A DIAL spokesperson, however, denied that there was any plan to postpone recruitment. “Given the fact that Airports Authority of India (AAI) will get its employees back next year, we would hire more people,” he said. Over 2,000 AAI employees are on deputation with DIAL.
It has sought industry status to save on electricity costs. It currently enjoys ‘mixed’ status (business and industry) and ends up paying higher electricity tariff as compared to industrial units. If the airport operator gets industry status, it will pay 50 paise less on each unit of electricity consumed.
When the government corporatised the Delhi airport and handed it over to GMR Group-led consortium, DIAL got nearly 2,300 employees of AAI to run the airport.
31/07/08 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Asia Pacific airports lead fastest growth-ACI report

Nearly 4.8 billion passengers arrived and departed the world’s airports in 2007, a growth of 6.8 percent on the previous year,
according to the 2007 World Airport Traffic Report released by the Airports Council International (ACI).
The busiest airports in the world remained in their dominant position, Atlanta staying on top with over 89 million passengers, followed by Chicago O’Hare (76m), London Heathrow (68m), Tokyo Haneda (67m) and Los Angeles (62m). However, when just international traffic is taken into account, the top five busiest airports are London Heathrow (62m), Paris Charles de Gaulle (55m), Amsterdam (48m), Frankfurt (47m) and Hong Kong (46m).
The report showed that the fastest growth in passengers occurred in the Middle East with an 11.3 per cent increase, followed by Africa
(11.2 %) and Asia-Pacific (9.1%). The North America region showed the slowest growth at 3.5 per cent, demonstrating the region’s maturity as well as the capacity and congestion issues it faces. Europe showed growth of 7.4 per cent and, at 31 per cent of world passengers, looks set to overtake North America (32%) as the largest region for air traffic in the next few years if current growth patterns hold.
While worldwide passenger numbers grew by nearly seven per cent, the growth in aircraft movements was at 2.4 per cent, showing that the industry worldwide has moved to larger aircraft and are flying with higher load factors. Aircraft movements handled by the world’s airports totaled 76.4 million last year. Nine out of the top ten airports with highest aircraft movements are in the USA, reflecting
the large share of domestic and regional traffic in that market.
The report also revealed that nine out of the top ten fastest growing airports in 2007 were in Asia-Pacific. The fastest growing market for passengers was India with 24 percent growth and the largest single market in the world remains the USA, which handled 1.4 billion
passengers last year. The second largest market was China with 350 million passengers and third was the United Kingdom with just under 250 million.
31/07/08 micebtn, Australia

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One killed in mishap at Chennai airport

Chennai: A loadman attached to Kingfisher airlines was crushed to death by a speeding passenger bus of the Paramount airways at domestic terminal of the Chennai airport here on Thursday morning.
Siva (33) was walking through pay umber 22 when the passenger coach which was returning after off loading passengers dashed against him at around 7 am, airport sources said.
31/07/08 PTI/Sify

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Chennai Airport Development plans get PIB clearance

The development plans of Chennai Airport got the clearance of the Public Investment Board (PIB) today. It will now have to be approved by the Government (CCEA approval). The work is expected to begin by September 2008.
The Pre-Engineering and Pre-Qualification of the project have been completed. As per present estimates, work is expected to commence in September, 2008. Construction of Runway, Taxiway, Parking Bays is expected to be completed in 20 months and the Terminal Buildings in 26 months. Thus, the Runway, Taxiway, Parking Bays scheduled to be completed by April, 2010 and the Terminal Buildings by October, 2010.
It may be recalled that in April, 2007, the Government decided that the Chennai Airport would be developed to international standards by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The AAI has developed a master plan and design of terminals through Global Architectural Design Competition. An Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) has approved the development plans.
The Expert Committee on Infrastructural development is expected to give the environmental clearance of the project very soon.
The existing International Terminal at the Chennai Airport has a capacity of 3 million passengers and existing Domestic Terminal has a capacity of 6 million passengers. Additional capacity of 4 million is being added to the International Terminal to enhance its capacity to 7 million passengers. A new Domestic Terminal is being built with capacity of 10 million in addition to the existing Domestic Terminal, to augment the capacity of the Domestic Terminal to 16 million. The construction and development work is expected to be completed by October 2010. The total cost of the project is envisaged to be Rs.1808.10 crores of which approximately Rs.1077.16 crores will be required for the new Domestic Terminal building and for the modernization/extension of the International Terminal and the Face Lifting of the existing International and Domestic Terminals. 80% of the project will be funded through internal resources of the AAI and 20% through commercial borrowings. No User Development Fee (UDF) or budgetary support is envisaged for this project.
The upgraded International Terminal building, which will be able cater to 7 million passengers a year, will have a peak hour capacity of about 4450 passengers, 109 check in counters, 35 immigration counters for departure and 39 for arrival, 8 customs counters for departure and 26 for arrival, 8 conveyor belts and 8 aerobridges. The Domestic Passenger Terminals which will be able to cater to 16 million passengers annually will have a peak hour capacity of about 5360 passengers, 99 check in counters, 10 conveyor belts, 9 aerobridges and is expected to be saturated by 2012-13.
29/07/08 Press Information Bureau

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Bajpe international Airport Gets Additional Baggage X-Ray Facility

Mangalore: The additional baggage x-ray facility installed at Bajpe international airport was inaugurated by deputy commissioner (DC) Maheshwar Rao, on Tuesday, July 29.
The earlier baggage x-ray facility was installed in the departure and arrival lounge and was inaugurated by Dr Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmastala Manjunatheshwar, a few days ago.
The additional x-ray has been installed to speed up screening of baggage after the increase in the number domestic and international flights in recent times. Moreover, till the exclusive international terminus becomes operational in 2009 at Kenjar, near Maravoor, these additional facilities will benefit the passengers.
29/07/08 Daijiworld.com

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Toy gun triggers scare at airport

Mumbai: Spotting of a gun at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport caused panic on Monday night. However, the anxiety died down after it was realised that it was just a replica of MAG58 machine gun.
The gun was spotted in a black box lying near bay No 56 of the international terminal, Sahar, by an Indian airline employee around 10 pm. He immediately informed the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials. “There is high alert at the airport and we did not take a chance with its security,” said a senior CISF official. The CISF officials opened the box only to find the replica along with the exporter’s address.
The replica is a part of a 12-gun consignment that was sent by Pune-based exporter Sri Samarth Precision Works to London in June. “But due to some problem only six guns were sent, while six others were off-loaded and kept at the cargo complex,” said an airport official. Out of the remaining six, one gun went missing on June 23.
The consignment was sent through a Virgin Atlantic flight.
An airport official said that the box might have been stolen by a loader. “The loader or the thief must have panicked after seeing the gun and left it then and there,” he said.
30/07/08 Navita/Daily News & Analysis

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Drunk passenger not allowed to board flight

Ranchi: If you plan to get sloshed and take a flight and think no one will notice, you’re mistaken. Alcohol is not only prohibited on aircraft, tipplers are also not entertained.
For the first time, a resident of Ranchi, who was taking a Deccan flight to New Delhi yesterday in an inebriated condition, was booked for causing damage to property (a charger). He was not allowed to board the Deccan flight yesterday by station manager Krishna Yadav, who “suspected” the body language of the passenger. When he was not allowed to check-in, he entered into an argument with airport officials and broke an Airtel charger. He tried to pay for the damages through a cheque of Rs 5,000, which the authorities refused. Then he was made to pay in cash.
29/07/08 Aneeta Sharma/The Telegraph

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Private parties may make non-metro terminals

With Leftists out of government's hair, private parties may finally get to develop the terminal building at non-metro airports.
But no such luck for interested bidders in the case of two metro airports of Kolkata and Chennai, where the government may go ahead with the Left stipulation of getting works done only by the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI).
With the changed political equations, the ministry is veering around to the view that the Delhi-Mumbai model of airport modernisation is good enough for non-metro airports also. So instead of just parking and recreation facilities, private parties may, after all, get to bid for terminal development also.
A top ministry official said that the bids already called for the purpose are still valid and a decision should be taken in the next few weeks. Some of the top infrastructure developers are in the race for modernising Udaipur and Amritsar airports.
Consortia led by Reliance Energy, Fraport AG, Tata-Changi, Lanco and L&T have already been short listed as pre-qualified bidders for the Amritsar leg of modernisation. For Udaipur, the consortia shortlisted are led by Reliance Energy, Tata-Changi, L&T, Maytas Infra and GMR.
29/07/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/DNA MONEY/Sify

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Sri Lanka shifts site of planned second international airport

Sri Lanka's ports and aviation ministry has stopped work on a controversial new international airport in the island's south and decided to shift it to a new location.
A ports and aviation ministry statement said the decision was taken after protests from farmers in the original site in Weerawila, in the Hambantota district, and owing to numerous environmental problems.
Weerawila airport cochin site:avindia.blogspot.com
Ports and aviation minister Chamal Rajapaksa has asked the airports and aviation services authority to make arrangements to shift the planned second international airport to a new site in Mattala in the same district.
Plans to build the airport in Weerawila drew protests from farmers as well as environmentalists who said it was too close to the Bundala bird sanctuary on the south coast.
The government had already laid the foundation stone for the new airport even before the environmental feasibility study was completed.
The ports and aviation ministry said the decision to shift the site was taken after Rajapaksa met farmers in the area recently.
Building the airport at the original site in Weerawila would have prevented cultivation in paddy fields and other lands in area, it said.
The proposed new airport has attracted interest from India's Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).
CIAL earlier this year had talks with Rajapaksa, who is the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whose political constituency is Hambantota.
28/07/08 Lanka Business Online, Sri Lanka

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Chennai airport uplift gets wings

Barely a month after the Supreme Court upheld the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to acquire land for the much-awaited expansion and modernisation of the Chennai airport, the Rs 2,700-crore project is likely to be taken up by the public investment board (PIB) for consideration on Tuesday.
Government sources said the airport project has been delayed due to pressure from the Left parties who were allies to the government apart from the niggling land acquisition problems.
The project will in all probability be implemented by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) despite the ministry’s earlier stance of a private bidder carrying out the project. “The process of issuing a tender and carrying out a bidding process will take too long which is not good for a project that has already been delayed by more than six months,” an official from the ministry of civil aviation said.
According to AAI’s plans, the acquired land will be used to construct a second runway, parallel to the existing 12,000-feet main runway, and extend the existing 6,500-foot cross runway. This would enhance the airports handling capacity to 50 flights an hour and allow it to meet the demands of air traffic until at least 2016.
29/07/08 Shauvik Ghosh/Financial Express

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Delhi airport employees to boycott work on Tuesday

New Delhi: Over 2,000 employees at Delhi airport will boycott work and demonstrate at the office of the Civil Aviation Minister on Tuesday, saying terms of their employment were being changed by the government and DIAL, the private developer contracted two years ago to develop and manage the airport.
Airports Authority of India Employees Union General Secretary M K Ghoshal said the GMR Infrastructure-led Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) - a public-private joint venture to modernise Delhi airport - was pressurising employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to resign and join its rolls.
The agitating employees will demonstrate at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, which houses the civil aviation ministry, and submit a memorandum to civil aviation minister Praful Patel. Many Left leaders are expected to take part in the protest, Ghoshal said. "We are against it (quitting AAI). Why will anyone leave their government jobs with AAI and join DIAL?," he asked. "We will protest against the high-handedness of DIAL and the government." Ghoshal said DIAL did not assign any work to the employees who would boycott work Tuesday. "Our absence will not affect the functioning of Delhi airport in anyway," he said.
DIAL, however, has denied it was putting any pressure on AAI employees.
28/07/08 IANS/Sify

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AAI officials will be frisked too

Kolkata: Security was tightened at the Kolkata airport on Monday, a day after the state administration held a high-level meeting, where state’s top police officers were present.
Several new measures have been put in place at various sections of the airport to prevent terrorists’ strikes.
A meeting was also held this afternoon at the airport to take stock of the security situation there. The meeting was attended by airport director, executive director, and other officials of the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
As per the new security measures, airline staff and AAI officials will not be allowed to park their vehicles near the airport building. They will be discouraged to bring cycles and motorbikes with them. All officials could even be frisked at the security checkpoint and at the main entrance. Beside, hand baggage carried by officials will also be checked manually.
“Till now, passengers could enter the airport premises only by carrying a valid ticket. From today, an identity proof will have to be produced along with the ticket at the gate itself,” said an AAI official. Visitors have been banned from entering the terminals.
28/07/08 Kolkata Newsline

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Panic at Mumbai airport

Two unclaimed bags at a terminal of the Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic airport sent the authorities into a tizzy on Sunday morning. It was later revealed that the two bags belonged to a first time air traveller who was booked on a Jet Airways flight to Hyderabad.
The passenger, who was waiting for his flight, felt the need to have a cup of coffee around 4.30 am. He left his Aristocrat briefcase and a cloth bag in the departure lounge and went to a coffee shop on the fist floor of the terminal.
Some alert passengers spotted the bags lying near an empty seat. They immediately informed the airline staff who alerted the Central Industrial Security (CISF) personnel on duty. The CISF cordoned of the area to examine the bags.
The airline made several announcements over the public address system asking the passenger concerned to identify the baggage. When no one came forward to claim the bags, passengers present at the terminal started panicking. In the meantime, the owner of the bags heard the commotion. He looked down from the first floor coffee shop and was surprised to see that security personnel had surrounded his bags and were opening them.
Infuriated, he rushed down and started shouting at the CISF staffers for tempering with his bags. When told that his bags had caused a major security alert and that it was an offence to leave behind unaccompanied bags, he feigned ignorance and continued with his tirade against the officers.
It was only after a few passengers present at the terminal intervened that the passenger calmed down and realised his mistake. When asked to shell out a fine of Rs 1,000, the passenger claimed that he only had Rs 50 on his person. He further pleaded that he was not aware of the rules as he was flying for the first time.
28/07/08 Baljeet Parmar/Daily News & Analysis

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Irregularities in issuance of shares in CIAL alleged

Nedumbassery: The office-bearers of Cochin International Airport Shareholders’ Organisation (CIASO) have alleged serious irregularities in the issuance of 25 percent of shares to four directors.
The office-bearers sought a probe into the irregularities in the distribution of shares. At a press conference here on Sunday, CIASO secretary Devassykutty Padayattil said that the State Government, which had kept 51 percent of shares in the initial stage, given back 25 percent later. These shares were issued to four directors, ignoring the minority shareholders.
A K Nazeer, vice-president of the CIASO, said that former managing director of the CIAL Sriram Bharath who had introduced and implemented several ambitious projects for the development of the CIAL, was removed from the post for no reason.
But Nazeer could not pin point any project solely introduced by Bharath. He alleged that most of the ongoing projects initiated by Bharath came to a standstill after his removal. He demanded that a permanent managing director for the CIAL should be appointed. The CIASO sought introduction of the users’ fee. The orgnisation accused that the CIAL management miserably failed to collect around Rs 45 crore from Air India towards the payment of ground handling contractors.
28/07/08 Newindpress

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Mohali Airport: Haryana told to cough up 230.41 cr

Chandigarh: The Punjab government has written to its Haryana counterpart asking it to deposit Rs 230.41 crore “immediately” to make good its share in the money spent on acquiring land for the terminal building of the proposed Mohali International Airport.
The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), which has been appointed as the nodal agency for the development of the international airport by Punjab, has spent Rs 460.82 crore to acquire land for the terminal building. It has acquired 300 acres for the purpose.
The letter, which was sent two days back, has been addressed to Haryana’s principal secretary, Civil Aviation, as well as the principal secretary to the Chief Minister, states that the demand for money was in consonance with the decision taken at a joint meeting with the Airport Authority of India (AAI). The AAI in its meeting on July 4 had decided that both Punjab and Haryana would share the 49 per cent equity allotted to them equally and provide money for the purchase of land and other allied activities. The AAI has 51 per cent equity in the project.
The communication, which has been sent by Punjab civil aviation secretary Visvajit Khanna, also points out that the Punjab government will notify its counterpart on the future course of action on approach roads, water supply, power station and peripheral security. These costs are also to be shared by both state governments.
27/07/08 Jangveer Singh/Tribune India

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Night parking facility at Vadodara airport by Dec

Vadodara: Come December, Vadodara Airport at Harni will be equipped with night parking facility for aircraft. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) which is facing severe congestion at bigger airports like Mumbai and Delhi through a policy decision had decided to expand small airports in the country to ease out the problem. It was this decision that paved way for expansion of Harni airport.
AAI also expects to rake in the mullah by providing parking slots at the airport to private airlines during off-peak hours (between 12 midnight and 6 am) by setting up such a facility. AAI officials say that 70 per cent of the project has been completed.
"The setting up of six parking bays for aircraft begun in August 2007 and we feel that the project will be completed in December," Vadodara airport director RS Sardar told TOI on Saturday.
The night parking facility which will cost around Rs 14.5 crore is coming up 950 metres away from the main terminal building near the old runaway, which is no longer in use.
"The new apron for parking the aircraft is coming up in an area spread across 290 by 120 metres area which will have six parking bays in the initial phase. The parking bays are being constructed to accommodate Boeing 737, 900 series — the biggest aircraft that the airport caters to," said another official.
27/07/08 Prashant Rupera/Times of India

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Bajpe airport on ‘high alert’

Mangalore: The security staff at Mangalore Airport has been put on alert following serial bomb blasts at Bangalore on Friday, according to M R Vasudeva, director of the airport.
Apart from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the staff of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had also been alerted, he said.
The police maintained that a high alert had been sounded in the district and security had been tightened at strategic locations.
Dakshina Kannada unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has condemned the serial blasts at Bangalore on Friday.
K Monappa Bhandary, president of the unit, said in a press releae here that it was an attempt to disturb peace and destabilise the Government in the State.
State governments were finding it difficult to control terrorism as the UPA Government in 2004 repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 implemented by the NDA Government, he said.
Bhandary said that the Union Government should ban organisations sponsoring terrorism and take legal action against the guilty. The State Government too should take steps to arrest the persons behind the serial blasts in Bangalore, he added.
27/07/08 Udayavani

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Plane carrying Pawar makes emergency landing

New Delhi: A major air accident was averted when a Jet Airways flight with Union Minister Sharad Pawar on board returned to Delhi airport safely after it was found that a rear door was not locked properly.
Taking a serious note of last evening's incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended at least two cabin crew members of the Delhi-Mumbai flight (9 W362), official sources said in New Delhi on Saturday.
When the Boeing-737 reached the height of about 5,000 metres after taking off at 1725 hours, the cabin crew on the rear of the plane informed the pilot that they could hear "a hissing sound and see the sky through one corner of the door".
The Commander of the plane immediately reported emergency to the Delhi air traffic control, which asked them to burn fuel in the air in order to make a safe landing.
The DGCA preliminary inquiry showed that the cabin crew had not shut the door properly "before reporting door closed" to the pilot, sources said.
When contacted a Jet Airways Spokesperson said the "safety of the passengers was not compromised" and the door was "secured".
26/07/08 Expressindia.com

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Belgian fury over cat scan

Mumbai: A Belgian woman allegedly slapped an airline ground staff when she was asked to check in her two pet cats.
On Friday at 10.30am, Melvin Gerard, 28, assaulted Sujata Neelkanth Patil, 45, a duty officer of Air India. Gerard was booked on Air India's flight IC 147 Mumbai-Jamnagar that was to take-off at 11.30am.
“The cage in which the cats were kept was broken, which would have made it difficult to keep them in the cabin. Patil explained this to Gerard who insisted on taking the cats along with her,” said the official.
When Patil told her firmly that she would not be allowed to take the pets inside and that she needed to check them in, Gerard lost her cool and slapped Patil, the offical added.
Air India officials informed the Central Industrial Security Force, who took her to the Santa Cruz airport police station. During her argument with Patil, Gerard spoke in English, but when the cops started asking her name she feigned that she did not know English.
The cops informed officials of the Belgian embassy in Mumbai, who came to the police station in the afternoon. A non-cognisable offence was lodged against her under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code. She, however, gave a written apology to the airline.
26/07/08 Navita/Daily News & Analysis

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GMR, Reliance may bid for Prague Airport

Prague: The Czech government has launched a tender to choose an advisor on the sale of state-owned Letiste Praha AS, or Prague International Airport, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
The ministry, which handles privatization on the government's behalf, is seeking to sell 100% of the airport by early next year.
Preliminary bids in the advisor tender for the planned sale are due by Aug. 29, the ministry said.
In September, the ministry will choose the five best preliminary bidders and ask them to submit formal and binding bids.
Earlier this week, Prague International Airport said its first-half traffic rose 6.3% year-on-year to 5.93 million passengers, following the record 12.5 million passengers using the airport in 2007.
Analysts have estimated that the government may garner as much as EUR3.8 billion from its sale.
Among others, Aeroports de Paris (1034014.FR), a major French airport authority, and Indian infrastructure companies GMR Group and Reliance Airport Developers Ltd., have said they may bid for Prague Airport.
25/07/08 Leos Rousek/Dow Jones Newswires/EasyBourse.com, France

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Sky-rocketing fuel prices ground flights at Rajasansi airport

Amritsar: The hike in aviation fuel has affected not only bigger airports in the country, but also smaller airports like Rajasansi, where various international and domestic flights have been cancelled. The number of flights at Amritsar International Airport has witnessed a mammoth fall of over 20 per cent for the first time since it was given international status a decade back.
Trans-Aero Airlines, which had three weekly flights to Moscow, has suspended its operations temporarily. Slovakia Airlines also has cancelled its direct flight to Bratislava twice a week for this season. “Leaving aside popular domestic and international flights, several other ‘uneconomical’ flights have also been temporarily suspended,” confirmed director of the airport, Arun Talwar.
Talwar said the soaring oil prices and rising inflation has hit the aviation industry in a big way and smaller airports like Rajasansi are also bearing the brunt. He added that Indian Airlines, Air India, Deccan and Jet Airways are also filing requests to cancel some of their so-called “uneconomical” flights or reduce the frequency in wake of the rising prices of aviation fuel.
The airport manages about 135 flights in a week and the number has been rising due to the large population of Sikh diaspora abroad visiting the city of the Golden Temple.
25/07/08 Dharmendra Rataul/Chandigarh Newsline

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Indian expatriates in Gulf fall victim to fake passport rackets

Kozhikode: Police in Kerala believe well-entrenched networks are supplying fake passports to Indian expatriates in Gulf countries, with as many as five arrests this week.
Immigration authorities at the Kozhikode International Airport here apprehended five people coming from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with fake passports in the last four days.
The latest arrest was made on Thursday. The man in question, Pushkaran, 30, was a native of Kasargod district in northern Kerala. All those arrested arrived by RAK Airways from the emirate of Ras-al-Khaimah.
''Pushkaran told us that he had bought the passport from a person named Gafoor and paid 3,000 UAE dirhams for it,'' an immigration official said.
Police say many of the victims of the racket are expatriates who had deposited their passports with their employers or those who have lost the document.
''When they can't get their passport from their employers, they think the easy way is to arrange a fake passport,'' said a police official.
According to Police, the networks have deployed its members in Kerala to collect Indian passports and smuggle them abroad. On July 6, customs officials at the airport arrested a youth, Nissar, who was travelling to Sharjah, and seized 31 passports from him.
''We are sure that Nissar is a member of one such racket. He had made several trips to Gulf. He used to board the flight from Mumbai,'' C Vijayakumar, deputy superintendent of police who is handling the case said.
26/07/08 Indo Asian News Service/NDTV.com

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MCD to investigate illegal slaughter houses near airport

New Delhi: A day after the bird hit ruckus at the IGI Airport involving an Air Mauritius flight, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi ordered an inquiry today following reports of illegal slaughtering around the airport.
Vijender Gupta, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the MCD, said that such reports had been received earlier as well. He added that the final report and action plan will be decided on Monday when the report is submitted in MCD, and strict action will be taken against defaulters.
MCD officials say there have been reports of illegal slaughtering from Chhawla village near Najafgarh. The Delhi Cantonment area till Lajwanti Chowk and to the Jail road area have been identified as possible areas.
The Veterinary Director has been instructed to submit a report within three days and fix accountability on concerned officers of the area in case such activities are found. Gupta said that the MCD has also written to the Airport Authority of India for help on the matter, in case they are aware of such activities.
25/07/08 Delhi Newsline

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Work on, but ACs falter at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Silent air-conditioners added more heat to Friday at the domestic terminals of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, leaving staff and passengers sweating, while some positively fumed.
It was 37 degrees Celsius outside with humidity levels touching new highs. The cooling system was not working in both terminals 1-A and 1-B, and also in parts of the arrival terminal. It is understood that hectic construction work in the airport — primping up for a whole new look — is the reason why air-conditioners have stuttered in the last one month, particularly in terminal 1-B and the arrival area. The Delhi International Airport Private Limited or DIAL, responsible for the modernisation, had put up pedestal fans in terminal 1-B to keep passengers cool.
A company spokesperson said: “As part of the airport’s restructuring, two AC units in the security hold area of terminal 1-B were being replaced on Friday. The work was over in a few hours.” However, an airline official here said air-conditioners had stopped working since 3.30 pm on Thursday, after a short powercut. In terminal 1-A, a main pipeline of the cooling system had leaked and needed to be changed. This forced authorities to switch off the air-conditioners completely.
25/07/08 Sobhana K/Delhi Newsline

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N S C Bose Airport to get new cargo facility soon

Kolkata: A modern storage system is being installed at the N S C Bose Airport here to maximise the utility of perishable import and export goods.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is setting up a Centre for Perishable Cargo with the help of Malaysian technology for preserving 80 tonne of perishable goods daily.
"This is a rupees ten crore project funded by the Agricultural Product Export Development Authority which will have an extensive system where goods will not only be loaded and unloaded from planes, but it will also be checked, weighed and stored," Senior Manager (cargo), K J Raju told PTI.
The system will be separated by chambers. The goods will be unloaded from the truck dock and taken to the refilling area where it will be examined with x-rays and weighed by mobile weighting machine.
From the refilling chamber the goods will go to the Ball Mat area from where it will reach cold storages where they would be frozen at different temperatures.
25/07/08 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Fire-crackers in shoes: Cops suspect a recce trip

Mumbai: Just the intention to hide fire-crackers in three pairs of shoes while taking a flight back to Muscat appears suspicious enough for police to further investigate the matter and find out what exactly was the motive, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VIII) Nissar Tamboli while commenting on the Wednesday’s incident at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
On Wednesday evening at 5:30, the ground-handling staff of Air India had detected 30 fire-crackers hidden inside the soles of plastic shoes in the baggage of 29-year-old Omani national Badar Naser Allidi. According to officials at the Sahar police station, Allidi is said to have told interrogating officers that the shoes were given to him by another person in Mumbai and were meant for someone else in Muscat, with him just being a carrier.
Police officials, however, do not seem convinced. Even the services of an Arabic translator were hired as Allidi can neither understand nor speak either Hindi or English.
“The prime focus of our investigation is to get to the man who gave Allidi the shoes, if that really is the case,” said Tamboli. He also said that the case, under current circumstances, also appears to be the one of a ‘recce’ trip to assess ground realities. Though Tamboli did not elaborate on the matter, sources told Newsline that the recce angle is being seriously looked into.
While the modus operandi of Allidi is yet to be ascertained, it does bring back the memory of Richard Colvin Reid alias Abdul Rahim who became famous as ‘the shoe bomber’. He was prevented from blowing an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in 2001 by detonating plastic explosives contained in his shoes.
24/07/08 Shashank Shekhar/Mumbai Newsline

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Tragedy averted at IGI as aircraft catches fire, bird hit suspected

Ahmedabad: A Major tragedy was averted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Thursday after an Air Mauritius flight caught fire, reportedly after being hit by a bird. All 241 passengers on board and 11 crew members were safely evacuated.
The incident occurred at 2.08 pm on Thursday when the flight, MK 745, was taking off. According to initial reports, a bird had entered the aircraft’s engine, and the pilot tried to immediately stop the plane that had already picked up speed for take-off. The sudden brakes overheated the plane, which led to a fire in the belly of the aircraft in the left carriage, airport officials said.
The fire was detected when smoke started coming out of the aircraft. The pilot immediately informed the apron control. The airport’s fire and rescue team doused the flames within 15 minutes. “The cargo is stored just above the left carriageway. Thankfully, the fuel tank of the aircraft is on the flaps, far away from the point where the fire started. Otherwise, it could have been a big tragedy,” said an airport official. The passengers were disembarked through the chute of the plane. “All passengers and crew members are safe. The cause of the incident is being investigated but a bird hit, as reported by the pilot, cannot be ruled out,” said an official statement from Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).
As many as 53 passengers, most of them honeymooning couples, were reported to have suffered minor bruises. The airport officials said the rescue team had put the chute at the emergency exit through which the passengers slid out and sustained injuries in the process.
The aircraft has been grounded and is undergoing repairs at Bay -87 at the IGI. The passengers were transferred to Le Meridien and Maurya Sheraton.
24/07/08 Expressindia.com

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Mangalore airport tops satisfaction survey

Mangalore: Customers have ranked Mangalore and Jammu airports high among the 25 domestic airports in the country in a customer satisfaction survey conducted recently.
Spectrum Planning (India) Ltd (SPIL) conducted the survey for the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in February and March this year. Both Mangalore and Jammu airports secured 86 per cent satisfaction score in the survey.
The executive summary of the survey says that the AAI has assigned the company to conduct four rounds of survey between 2007 and 2009 with a six-month interval. The February-March 2008 survey was the third one. The company conducted the survey of 13 international airports in the country, separately. The objective of the survey is to assess the opinion of customers on the facilities and services and to identify new services and improve facilities to make the airports more customer friendly. The survey aimed at assessing the attitude of the service providers at airports, the executive summary said.
According to the survey, the overall customer satisfaction index (CSI) of Mangalore Airport at Bajpe is raising. The satisfaction score in the first round was 75 per cent, it shot up to 82 per cent in the second and 86 per cent in the third round.
The survey covered the aspects such as quality of food, car parking facility, shopping facility, behaviour of staff, general comfort, adequacy of seating arrangement, general aesthetics of airport, cleanliness, illumination, phone and banking facilities and so on.
25/07/08 The Hindu/Mangalorean.com

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Fire-crackers found in shoes inside air passenger’s baggage

Mumbai: The Air India ground-handling staff at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Wednesday found fire-crackers hidden in the soles of three pairs of shoes in the bag of a 29-year-old man.
The man, whose identity has not been revealed by the police, was to board an Oman Air flight to Muscat at 5:30 pm. “While checking the baggage, the Air India ground-handling staff discovered three pairs of shoes inside his bag in which the soles had been cut out and were filled with fire-crackers. He was immediately detained and handed over to us for further questioning,” said Senior Police Inspector Dilip Patil from the Sahar police station.
Patil said when the man was asked why he was carrying fire-crackers in his bag, he replied that he had been given the shoes by someone in the city to transport them to Muscat.
24/07/08 Expressindia.com

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Jackal menace: officials survey Kolkata airport runway

Kolkata: Frequent spotting of jackals and dogs on the runway of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport by pilots during landing has prompted the Airports Authority of India (AAI) here to seek the assistance of the State’s wildlife officials in controlling the menace.
A team comprising four members from the wildlife wing of the State’s forest department recently did a survey of the runway and the adjacent land to assess the situation. “We did not find any dog or jackal in the airport premises but will certainly take measures if we find their presence in the compound,” divisional forest officer Rathin Banerjee said here on Wednesday.
“A formal request was made to the wildlife wing of the State’s forest department to look into the matter as AAI is not empowered to kill or catch the jackals,” an AAI official added.
The official blamed the grasslands in the airport compounds and the open markets along its boundary as reasons for such a high concentration of jackals and birds. “There are around 25 jackals and several dogs living within the airport compound now,” he said.
24/07/08 Raktima Bose/The Hindu

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Keep HAL airport open: AAI

Bangalore: The new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) has landed in a turbulent whirlwind with the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The AAI has prepared a report that says that BIA’s capacity is less than what its promoters have stated, that the airport is already saturated, and that the promoters have violated a key clause in the concession agreement signed with the government. It has gone on to recommend that the old HAL airport be kept open till BIA builds an additional terminal.
The AAI report, a copy of which is with The Times of India, follows a directive by the civil aviation minister to study the capacity issues at BIA. The AAI had designated a 4-member team to conduct the study in June.
The report says that the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) must take "immediate action...to create an additional capacity of 10 million passengers per annum to avoid further congestion and to handle the projected growth." The report goes on to say, "In view of the saturation of the passenger terminal, import cargo, apron and runway, it is recommended that, in the meantime, the existing HAL Airport may be permitted to operate until the time of commissioning of proposed additional capacity at the new Bengaluru International Airport."
24/07/08 Times of India

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Safe check-in: Secure landing

Detailed passenger manifests will be electronically transmitted to airports in India within 15 minutes of take-off by UAE carriers with effect from August 1 as part of stepped up security measures, airlines here have said.
This will include names, birth dates, nationality, sex, passport numbers, visa details, place of passport issue and country of permanent residence.
The airlines have hitherto communicated general flight manifests specifying the number of passengers and cargo load.
August 1 is the deadline set by the Indian government for international air carriers to comply with this security requirement.
Emirates airline and Etihad Airways are gearing up to meet the deadline.
Indian carriers have been implementing this Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) on their flights from the Gulf region since June 1.
"Emirates is currently working closely with the government of India and Indian immigration authorities to ensure that all processes involved in the APIS are in place," a spokesperson of the airline told XPRESS.
Anne Tullis, Etihad’s Manager for Corporate Communications, said the airline was ready to implement the APIS on India-bound flights.
24/07/08 Subramani Dharmarajan/XPRESS, United Arab Emirates

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First aid training in Bajpe Airport

Mangalore: In an age where nothing is certain everybody should hone the skills and knowledge about first aid treatment called Dharmadhikari of Shrikshetra Dharmasthala Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade.
He was speaking after inaugurating the first aid training camp for staff of the airport organised jointly by the Airports Authority of India and Kasturba Medical College at the Bajpe International Airport today.
He said first aid and the right knowledge of places where advanced treatment were available was a must for everybody in the modern times. It saves life and helps to prevent serious deformities. He also inaugurated the X ray machine at the airport and said it was a pleasure to travel through the Mangalore airport.
Airport Director M.R.Vasudeva speaking on the occasion stated that the Mangalore airport now stood in the second place in the South India in terms of passenger satisfaction
24/07/08 Mangalorean.com

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Dependence on Left stalled privatisation of 2 airports

New Delhi: The government could have considered modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports earlier through the private-led joint venture (Public-private participation) model had not the UPA government been dependent on the Left for support earlier, highly-placed civil aviation ministry sources have said. Sources said that the UPA government could have even considered privatisation of loss-making state-owned carrier Air India earlier, but did not do so since it was dependent on the Left for support. However, despite the fact that the UPA government is not dependent on the support of the Left now, sources said that the government is not likely to consider the aforementioned issues now.
"This is because of some factors. The modernisation process of Kolkata and Chennai airports by the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already started. Further, there are only a few months left for the government’s tenure to be completed," highly-placed ministry sources said.
But ministry sources pointed out that the UPA government had gone ahead with modernisation of the New Delhi and Mumbai airports through private participation earlier, despite the fact that the Left was opposed to involvement of private companies in the modernisation process.
23/07/08 Howrah News Service

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Bidding for Navi Mumbai airport may be completed by March 2009

New Delhi: The government is expecting to complete the bidding for the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport by March next year.
"We hope that the bidding of the proposed Navi Mumbai airport will be completed by March, 2009," a top Civil Aviation Ministry source said.
The new airport, which is to come up at Kopra-Panvel area, is being built through PPP route, with private sector partner getting 74 per cent equity while Airports Authority of India and Govt of Maharashtra through City and Industrial Development Corporation holding 13 per cent each.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has already given techno-feasibility clearance to the proposed airport, which will be located on National Highway NH 4B near Panvel, about 35 km from the existing Satrapati Shivaji international airport in Mumbai.
The airport construction is at global tendering stage. The land required is about 11.4 sq km for the core airport activity and will have two parallel runways each 4,500 metres long.
23/07/08 PTI/Economic Times

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Another accident inside Delhi airport

New Delhi: Despite a slew of promised measures and the intervention of the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Indira Gandhi International Airport remains an accident-prone area.
In a recent incident on the airside near the domestic terminals, a car of Kingfisher Airlines hit an Air India Ambulift, which was carrying passengers. The incident happened on July 12, at around 9.30 pm near bay 32.
According to sources, the Kingfisher vehicle was going towards Terminal 1A from Bay 126 when the Ambulift, which was driving ahead, suddenly took a left turn and the vehicles collided. “The Estillo was dragged for approximately 10 feet after the impact and its right side was damaged,” he said. Thankfully, neither the passengers or the drivers were injured in the incident.
“The accident could have taken a much more serious turn as the Ambulift was carrying passengers from an aircraft to the arrival terminal. It is the airport operator’s duty to regulate traffic in the airside but there is not enough vigil,” an airport source claimed. Confirming the incident, a senior Kingfisher official said the car only suffered dents and no one was injured. Air India’s spokesman, however, could not confirm the incident. Incidents where vehicles have rammed into other vehicles and even aircraft are common at IGIA. There have also been incidents of airport personnel being injured by speeding vehicles.
23/07/08 Sidhartha Roy/Hindustan Times

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Old Hyderabad airport to host air shows

Hyderabad: The union government has, in principle, accepted chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy's proposal to utilise the Begumpet airport for general aviation services and national and international air shows.
The Begumpet airport was closed for civil aviation on March 23, this year after the new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad became operational.
The chief minister recently wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, suggesting that the Begumpet airport be used during any national emergency or at any time by aircraft owned or operated by Indian Air Force and other Armed forces. It could also be used for general aviation services (other than those relating to commercial aircraft, charter flights, and aircraft hired or operated under commercial arrangements) and for hosting air shows.
According to an official press release here on Tuesday, a number of international organisations have evinced interest in the proposal. They include Farnborough International Ltd - a subsidiary of UK's aerospace trade association, Aviation Development Australia Limited, Aerospace Australia Limited, GIFAS - the French aerospace industries association, UK Royal Air Force, Dayton-Montgomery Country Convention & Visitors' Bureau, Flightline UK, International Council for Air Shows and Fairs & Exhibitions (1992) Ltd.
Meanwhile, aerospace industries in Hyderabad have come together and formed Samuha Engineering Industries Limited to promote an Aerospace and Precision Engineering SEZ in the city.
22/07/08 Business Standard

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Loading and unloading of cargo in Kolkata airport automated

Kolkata: In a bid to automate and speed up loading and unloading of cargo planes, two sophisticated machines have been installed at the N S C Bose International Airport by the AAI.
The Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS) imported from Malaysia would be used for loading cargo planes and the Elevated Traffic Vehicle System (ETVS) from Germany for unloading them, Senior Manager (Cargo) N S C Bose International Airport K J Raju told PTI.
The machines, the first of their kind to be installed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), each costing Rs 10 crore would reduce the time for loading and unloading by at least ten hours, Raju said.
The ASRS designed by Malaysian company Metronic has a capacity of unloading 2,000 tons of cargo per day, while the volume currently was 80 tons per day.
The ASRS would unload cargo and store it after checking and numbering it in a matter of five hours, which now took 15 hours, Raju said.
23/07/08 Press Trust of India

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Alis Aerolinee Italiane selects the all-new A330-200F to start cargo operations

Alis Aerolinee Italiane, an Italian cargo start-up company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the acquisition of five A330-200 Freighter aircraft, plus three options. An engine choice has not been made yet.
With an important cargo market potential, Alis Aerolinee Italiane intends to establish direct links between Northern Italy and long haul markets such as North America, India, China, Japan and South-East Asia.
“By opting for the A330-200F for our operations, we start with the most modern cargo aircraft available on the market in its category. The A330-200F offers superior economics, operational flexibility and overall better value for money what made it the logical choice for Alis and its shareholders,” said Alcide Leali, founder and CEO of Alis Aerolinee Italiane. “We are fully convinced that the A330-200 Freighter aircraft will greatly contribute to our development plans and allow us to operate the most modern and efficient fleet of cargo aircraft in Italy”.
Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers, John Leahy said, “We are proud to have been selected as Alis’s strategic partner in this exciting new project with our all-new A330-200F. This is another endorsement for our game changing A330 Freighter and a recognition of the opportunities the A330F offers carriers who want to run a flexible and optimized freighter operation on mid to long haul routes”.
23/07/08 Media-Newswire.com, USA

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Despite aviation sector slowdown, Chakan airport

Pune: Contrary to the general apprehension that the current slowdown in the aviation industry may adversely affect the pace of development of Pune’s international airport, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has actually moved a few steps ahead with the project.
MADC, which has been mandated to develop the airport after the charge was transferred to them from MIDC on May 15, has prepared a preliminary feasibility report on the new airport and has submitted it to the government. In the report, 3,332 hectares of land in the Chakan area has been identified for acquisition, for which the MADC has sought seed money of Rs 200 crore.
“Some part of the land will come from seven villages in Chakan but the villagers will not be displaced. The rest of the acquisition will be from other places nearby,” said MADC general manager Ramesh Yaul. “We will start the process as soon as we get the go-ahead and the money from the government,” he added. “It should take one and a half years for land acquisition and, after that, another three years for development of the airport. If all goes well, we are looking at four-and-a-half years from the time this report is approved,” Yaul forecast.
He asserted that airport development is an infrastructure issue — not affected by economic slowdowns.
21/07/08 Expressindia.com

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Committee says Dabolim, Mopa airports viable

Panaji: The committee formed to look into all aspects of construction of a new airport at Mopa has recommended to the central government to review its decision of March 29, 2000 as regards to closure of the Dabolim airport for civilian use and suggested that it be permitted to continue even after Mopa airport becomes operational.
Accepting, in principle, the recommendations of the additional study of International Civil Aviation Organisation that both, Dabolim and Mopa airports were economically viable, it also has given green signal for construction of an international airport at Mopa. It has also stated that expansion and upgradation of Dabolim Airport should be continued and completed as scheduled. The committee in its report has also suggested that approach road from National Highway 17 (near Dhargal) should be developed into a six-lane expressway to establish fast airport connectivity and said that the road connectivity should be part of the Mopa Airport project.
The committee in its report which was recently handed over to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has also stated that viability gap funding from this project could be availed from the government of India.
21/07/08 Navhind Times

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Chennai runway extension yet to get ministry nod

Chennai: The state government is all set to hand over land for extension of the secondary runway at Chennai airport, but Airports Authority of India (AAI) is still awaiting the mandatory environment clearance from the union government.
The government has decided to hand over 130 acres by this month-end for extending the existing secondary runway by 1,400 metres.
The AAI is also planning to kickstart preparatory work for the construction by the first week of next month.
However, there is still no sign of clearance from the union ministry of environment though the state revenue department and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) held a public hearing last month and sent a report of the proceedings to the ministry.
"We are yet to receive environment clearance for the project which will help enhance aircraft handling capacity of the airport," airport director Dinesh Kumar said.
Meanwhile, the state government is ready to transfer the land to AAI as per schedule. "We will be handing over 130 acres acquired for the extension of the secondary runway by the end of this month," transport secretary Debendranath Sarangi said.
22/07/08 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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Indian dies at Riyadh airport lounge

Dubai: An Indian worker, who was going home after four-and-half years, died of a heart attack at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh.
Koya Kutty (52), who worked as a labourer in Qunfuda, collapsed at the departure lounge, a few minutes before he was to board an Air India flight for Mumbai.
He was to take another flight from Mumbai to Calicut in his home state Kerala.
21/07/08 PTI/The Hindu

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Indian Customs detains man caught with 231 arowana fish from KL

Chennai: A chappati-maker returning to India after a four-month stay in Kuala Lumpur was detained by airport officials yesterday for smuggling in 231 Arowana fish, intended for supply to a local buyer in the southern city.
Chennai Airport Customs, during a routine check, questioned the passenger of Air India flight IC956 after he crossed the green lane with his baggage.
Chennai Customs (Airport) Joint Commissioner K. Engineer said the 38-year-old suspect was believed to have worked in a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur since April and was used as a courier by a Chennai-based syndicate.
“He carried only one baggage with him which was filled with ornamental fish. They were small and medium-sized, all packed in polythene covers filled with oxygen and water. All the fish were alive. We believe he is just a courier,” Engineer told Bernama.
The seized ornamental fish, which is popular and fetches good market price in India, was estimated to be worth RM12,300.
All the fish were returned to Malaysia last night by the same flight, to be deposited at the Malaysian Customs, Engineer added.
22/07/08 P. Vijian/Bernama/New Straits Times, Malaysia

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Dog Alerts to Mislabeled Mangoes Charges Filed Against Bombino Express

Sacramento, California: A parcel inspection dog named C.C., working last year near Ontario International Airport, sniffed out a mislabeled box of mangoes from India. The detection set in motion a year-long investigation culminating in a lawsuit brought by the California Attorney General’s Office against an international shipping company. Bombino Express was the label on the package.
The complaint alleges that the company regularly shipped mislabeled produce to skirt state and federal inspection and treatment regulations designed to protect against invasive species.
“This is an important example of the risk we face from invasive species introduction each day in California,” said CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura. “This type of situation is one of several ways that new spot infestations of exotic pests develop. We are pleased to partner with the Attorney General’s office in the pursuit of this lawsuit, and we salute the excellent work of parcel inspection dogs and their handlers.”
According to state and federal law, fruit imported from India must be treated before being sent to the United States. The packages must then be accompanied by certificates stating that they were treated. This apparently did not occur for the mislabeled mangoes.
C.C. was rescued from an animal shelter in Florida and trained as a parcel sniff dog by the USDA. The dog and her handler, Michael Cochrane, regularly screen parcels shipped into California via Ontario International Airport.
21/07/08 Imperial Valley News, CA, USA

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Runway jackals give forest dept a tough time

Kolkata: Every monsoon, jackals and dogs block the runway of NSCBI, giving airlines and airport officials a harrowing time. On Wednesday, a team from the wildlife wing of the state forest department visited the airport, on the request of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), to find a permanent solution to the menace.
"We made a preliminary visit and will determine measures to solve the problem," divisional forest official Rana Dutta told TOI. The forest department officials said they would install cages on barren green fields beside the runway to trap dogs and jackals. Sources at the airport said the vast barren land adjacent to the runway has not been cleared for several years, making it the home for these jackals and dogs. Reportedly, some 25 jackals and several dogs come out of their bushes and run around on runway whenever it rains.
About 22 contract staff of the airport's bird section have taken all sorts of measures to get rid of the uninvited guests. They use sticks and even explode chocolate bombs, which are otherwise banned in the city, to chase the jackals and dogs. "Our worry is after dusk when our duty hours get over," one of the workers said. "Security officials of the apron control have to take over at that time." With air turbine fuel prices rising, the airlines are now putting pressure on the AAI to get rid of such problems.
21/07/08 Times of India

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IAF boom in southern airstrips

Thiruvananthapuram: Beefing up its presence in peninsular India, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is aiming at the maximum use of all available and proposed airports in the southern states. But it's not just the spanking new airports that are on the IAF radar. The IAF is planning to revive a World War II-era airstrip in Tamil Nadu built by the British.
If the IAF plan gets through, the airstrip at Kayathar, the small village in Tuticorin district where Veerapandya Kattabomman was hanged, will get a fresh lease of life.
"The Air Force has plans to revive old airstrips. The revival of the one at Kayathar is being actively considered," a senior IAF officer said.
Kayathar airstrip is currently held by the Tamil Nadu Government, but the IAF has approached it seeking a transfer, it is learnt. What the IAF plans to do is to renovate the strip, install necessary facilities so as to enable landing and easy take-off of fighter aircraft and helicopters in emergencies.
Some years ago, the Tamil Nadu Government had plans to revive the airstrip, as the nearby Gangaikonda was being transformed into an IT hub.
It's not just the LTTE gaining air power that is putting the IAF on alert in the south. Plans for new seaports and defence installations in the south and the proximity of the east-west international shipping lanes are critical factors pushing the IAF to transfer assets southward.
20/07/08 Tiki Rajwi/Newindpress

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At last DIAL admits: Worked too fast at IGI

New Delhi: For the first time since the public outcry against the chaos at the international terminal, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the company renovating IGI Airport, has admitted its mistake: to tackle renovation work at a breakneck speed that put passengers in a fix.
“We learnt a lot with our experience,” DIAL’s chief operating officer Andrew Harrison said on Friday. “Looking back, we would do things differently. Our deadlines were aggressive, which caused a lot of inconvenience to passengers — and our staff, too.”
Harrison was addressing the media at the IGI international terminal during the first peek at the renovated terminal — work there got over on June 31. For the past more than six months, it took passengers between three and four hours to reach the aircraft after arrival at the airport.The traffic situation was no better outside the terminal.
DIAL was initially supposed to wrap up renovation work by March 30 this year, but it sought more time from the Civil Aviation ministry to reduce the chaos. DIAL’s pitch, Harrison said, was to take up renovation work of small portions of operational area at a time to reduce inconvenience.
Harrison said: “The situation was a little bad for a few months between November (2007) and January. Ideally we should have been renovating only 20 percent of the operational space, but with our deadlines we were working on 35 per cent of the operational space.” This, he said, was the “reason for all the trouble”.
19/07/08 Expressindia.com

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IndiGo, SpiceJet say no to Bangalore aerobridges

Delhi/Bangalore/Hyderabad: After cutting down on capacity and manpower, airlines are now trying to save on airport charges. This they are doing by sparingly using airport infrastructure on which additional charges are levied and using their own equipment at the airport.
For instance, low-cost carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet are not using the aerobridges at the new Bangalore greenfield airport, because the airport authorities levy an extra charge for using the aerobridges. Also, carriers like Air India do not use the aerobridges for smaller aircraft like ATRs.
Airline executives said the aerobridge charges at the Bangalore airport could range anywhere between Rs 4,500 and 8,000, depending on flight duration and aircraft type. The new airport has a total of 8 aerobridges. The old HAL airport, which had two aerobridges, did not levy any charge on usage of aerobridges.
"We do not use the aerobridges at the Bangalore airport, which is the only one in the country to currently levy any charge for aerobridge. As a cost-cutting measure, we prefer to use our own buses for ferrying the passengers to and from the aircraft," said a SpiceJet executive.
Agreed Bruce Ashby, CEO of Delhi based budget carrier IndiGo, which currently does all its groundhandling on its own, which includes ferrying passengers to the aircraft on their own vehicles.
Currently, the full-service carriers Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher and other LCCs JetLite and Simplifly Deccan use aerobridges, but an executive of one of the carriers said because of the extra charges, it is definitely costlier to use an aerobridge at the Bangalore airport.
19/07/08 Business Standard

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‘12-15 cases of baggage reported missing every week: 99% are found’

Mumbai: In what may be viewed as the continuation of the story of missing baggage that passengers face at airports the world over, Amrita Khandelwal who was travelling from Jaipur to Mumbai on a domestic carrier lost her baggage after landing at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) on Thursday evening.
Only on Thursday, on his blog, Amitabh Bachchan had written about UK’s legacy carrier British Airways misplacing his baggage for the 18 th time when he landed at the Toronto Airport from London to perform at a concert.
But who should be blamed for such inconsistencies is a question that people from the industry have divided opinions on. While a Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) spokesperson, in response to Khandelwal’s lost baggage, said that such cases are entirely the responsibility of the concerned airline as they are responsible for the passengers’ baggage handling duties and the airport operator is not involved in such operations, airport sources point fingers at the overcrowded apron area at Mumbai Airport, the busiest in the country. But Mumbai Airport, here, is just a reference point in the entire story.
Rahul Ram, lead singer of the Indi-rock group Indian Ocean, a frequent traveller with all the paraphernalia that accompanies a music group, told Newsline that his instruments have got lost more than twice at airports in America. In one of the cases the band had to perform the next day.
19/07/08 Shashank Shekhar/Mumbai Newsline

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Rajasansi to get 45 acres for expansion plans

Amritsar: Decks are being cleared to transfer at least 45 acres for the expansion and modernisation of Amritsar International Airport (AIA) following the long-pending demand of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to provide land for strengthening the modernisation work of the airport.
Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu said the notification for the land could be issued any time.
The AAI had requested acquisition of 45 acres immediately as part of the airport’s infrastructural development following grant of international status to the airport a few years back.
“The land is being acquired and formalities have been completed and soon the land will be handed over to the AAI,” said the DC, adding that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had promised the land during his last visit to the airport.
AAI Director (Amritsar) Arun Talwar said the land was required for the smooth functioning of the airport and they had written to the state government several times in this regard. “Though we have received no communication from the DC office so far, it is true that the land is being given to us,” confirmed Talwar.
“Seeing the rising number of passengers and NRIs visiting home, more airlines are lining up to start their operations from here. We need the land for the airport’s operational wings,” he said, adding that work on the Rs 100-crore project of the airport’s upgrade was going on at a war footing.
19/07/08 Dharmendra Rataul/Chandigarh Newsline

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Dabolim Airport will not be grounded, assures Kamat

Margao: Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat has allayed apprehensions raised over the Dabolim airport following the nod given by the high-level committee for a new airport at Mopa and asserted that the Union government would soon tender bids for construction of a new terminal building at Dabolim on par with international standards.
That’s not all. Kamat said the Navy has already okayed 2.5 acres of land for expansion of Dabolim airport, adding that modalities are being worked out for the transfer of the land from the Navy to the Airport Authority of India.
“The stand of my government is very clear, that the Dabolim airport should be retained as an international airport even after Mopa becomes a reality, Kamat told Herald on Thursday.
He said under no circumstances will the government allow the closure of the Dabolim airport after the new airport at Mopa becomes a reality.
In this connection, he pointed out that the high-level committee has inserted a host of conditions in its report recommending Mopa airport, including the condition that the Union cabinet will have to reverse its earlier decision on the closure of the Dabolim airport.
Secondly, Kamat said the committee has made it amply clear that the expansion work on the Dabolim airport should be taken up and completed before the new airport comes into existence.
17/07/08 Herald Publications

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Airports deny carriers’ high levies claim

New Delhi: Airlines may be crying foul over steep airport charges, but airport operators fail to see what the noise is all about.
Airport charges generally include landing and parking fees for aircraft, besides ground-handling levies, and are decided by the Airports Authority of India. Surprisingly, all these levies have remained constant for the last seven years.
The only thing that has changed is the user development fee (UDF), which the government permitted greenfield airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore, but only from international passengers.
For all remaining airports, revenue generation happens only through landing, parking and ground-handling charges, which continue to languish at 2001 levels.
According to a Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) spokesperson, the concession agreement signed by GVK with the government allows the operator to hike landing and parking fees by 10% after two years of operation. But this suggestion too was turned down by the government, keeping in mind the precarious financial health of airlines.
According to back-of-the-envelope calculations, the average landing charge per domestic flight at Mumbai was Rs 12,300 last year (for international flights the average figure was Rs 56,000). This translates to Rs 117 as the average yield per embarked domestic passenger for GVK last year against Rs 387 from every international passenger.
18/07/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Woman Smuggling Ketamine As Baby Food Held In Chennai

Chennai: A woman bound for Kuala Lumpur, who tried to hoodwink Chennai Airport Customs by concealing three kilogrammes of ketamine in children's food tins was detained yesterday.
Chennai Commissioner of Customs (Airport) Parminder Singh said officials questioned the suspect out of suspicion when they saw her lugging a heavy hand luggage filled with foodstuff at the airport checkpoint.
"When we questioned her, she said someone outside the airport gave the foodstuff to her. We suspected and immediately unpacked her hand luggage and found four tins of children's food.
All the foodstuff had been removed and the tines were filled with ketamine and nicely sealed again," Parminder told Bernama.
The seized contraband, nicknamed party drug, was estimated to be worth about RM230,000 in the international market.
The 38-year-old suspect, who hails from Trichy, admitted that she was hired to carry the consignment to Kuala Lumpur and was assured some money for the service. He said that this was the first time that a woman passenger attempting to smuggle ketamine had been apprehended by the department. The suspect was booked on Air India flight IC955 bound for Kuala Lumpur.
17/07/08 P.Vijian/Bernama

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Centre grounds Maya`s airport hub plan

Lucknow: The Centre has put the proposed Rs 3,500-crore global airport hub at Noida in Uttar Pradesh into cold storage and the ambitious project would not be able to keep its date with the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
The matter is pending approval from the Union Cabinet since long even as the government has allowed development of a greenfield airport within the 150-km radius of an existing one on a case-to-case basis.
"However, this relaxation does not apply in this case as the matter was already before the Union Cabinet and not the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)," UP Chief Secretary and Industrial Development Commissioner (IDC) Atul Kumar Gupta told Business Standard.
"Despite our repeated efforts and representations, the issue has ‘effectively' been put in the cold storage," he said.
Proposed in 2001, the Taj International Airport hub is to be built over 1,500 hectares at Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar district by a public-private partnership and will rival Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. The hub, estimated to handle 4 million passengers annually, would be the only of its kind in India and offer world-class facilities and amenities to passengers and airlines.
The state had requested the Centre to convene a Cabinet secretary-level meet to clear any doubts about the proposed project. However, the Centre was yet to respond or seek further clarifications, said Archana Agarwal, secretary, UP Infrastructure and Industrial Development Department.
17/07/08 Virendra Singh Rawat/Business Standard

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K`taka aviation hub signs pact with UK`s Marshall Aerospace

Bangalore: The Rs 3,000-crore Hassan aviation cluster, being built by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar's Jupiter Aviation, is aiming to replicate a facility of Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge in England.
An executive from Jupiter Aviation said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Marshall.
Marshall Aerospace has wide experience in conversion, modification and maintenance of military, corporate and civil aircraft. It also provides design, manufacturing, testing, certification and logistic support over an 800-acre site and operates the local airport in Cambridge, England.
S Ravi Narayanan, CEO & MD, Jupiter Aviation, said the MoU would help the company replicate the infrastructure and customer base of Marshall. "This is a major step for Jupiter Aviation towards fulfilling its objective to make Hassan a world-class aviation lifecycle support centre," he said.
The airport at Hassan is expected to be ready by early 2009. The airport complex would be built over 2,500 acres at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore. In the first phase Rs 600 crore will be invested.
According to industry information, this complex, in addition to the airport (to be built at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore), would have a pilot training institute, an aeroplane maintenance centre, a hi-tech hospital, a golf club and a swimming pool. The airport will have a 5,000-metre runway.
16/07/08 Raghuvir Badrinath/Business Standard

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Lucknow airport may renamed after Chaudhary Charan Singh

New Delhi: Within days of supporting the UPA government over the nuclear deal, an old proposal of the Samajwadi Party (SP) government on renaming Lucknow airport will be discussed in the Union Cabinet’s meeting slated for Thursday.
Four years ago the Mulayam Singh Yadav government had submitted a proposal to the Civil Aviation ministry to rename Lucknow’s Amausi airport after the name of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Singh is father of RLD president Ajit Singh, who has three MPs in Parliament. Singh was part of the Mulayam Singh government in Uttar Pradesh, when the proposal was mooted and now his support is crucial for the UPA government to survive the trust vote in the Lok Sabha on July 21 and 22.
The Cabinet is considering the proposal at the time when Ajit Singh has not come out openly in support of the government on the nuclear deal issue.
In the changed political scenario, the civil aviation ministry, which has proposed renaming of the airport on the demand of the UP government, says it would be a befitting tribute to the farmer leader from western Uttar Pradesh, which is also the political base of Ajit Singh’s RLD.
The Lucknow airport derives its name Amausi from the village, where it is situated. There have also been demands to rename Amausi airport in the name of local heroes like Chandra Bhanu Gupta, architect of modern Lucknow.
17/07/08 HT Media Ltd/MSN India

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Bajpe Airport Likely to Start Handling Cargo Operations Soon

Mangalore: The Union Government has issued a notification which will likely enable Bajpe (Mangalore) airport of the Airports Authority of India to handle cargo operations soon.
Official sources here have viewed this as a first step in realising the long-pending dream of the region.
The airport will have two duty-free shops within a week, as a result of the notification which is awaiting publication in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Air commuters will be able to buy imported goods such as liquor, tobacco, perfume, cosmetics, camera, watches, soft drinks, food products, pens and toys from the shops.
The airport authorities have been seeking permission to start cargo operations and establish duty-free shops for a long time.
Cargo operations are expected to improve the airport’s revenue, besides benefiting exporters and importers of the region and northern parts of Kerala.
The notification, issued by Heera Radhakrishnan, Chief Commissioner of Customs, Karnataka, declares Surathkal and Gurupura hoblies, in which the airport is located, as “to be a warehousing station”, under Section 9 of the Customs Act, 1962, M.R. Vasudeva, Director of the airport, told The Hindu.
Sources said that based on the notification the Customs Department might issue licences for setting up private and public warehouses in the limits of these hoblis.
17/07/08 Raviprasad Kamila/The Hindu

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Kaun jeetega Kochi and Coimbatore airport ad rights?

Chennai: The race for outdoor advertising for the domestic and international terminals at Kochi and Coimbatore has intensified with about ten companies bidding for the advertising rights.
Officials at both airports did not disclose the value of the contract.
The authorities at both the airports are currently in the process of evaluating the bids. There are six companies vying for the advertising rights at Cochin airport, while four firms are in the race for the advertising rights at the Coimbatore airport.
"Technical evaluation of the bids is in process. This will take two to three months..." said Suresh Babu, commercial manager, CIAL.
The Coimbatore airport will also make an announcement within three months. CIAL expects to receive a minimum annual royalty of Rs 3 crore, from the rights at the Cochin airport. A technical presentation will be made next week after which the companies that qualify will be called back.
Mumbai-based Laqshya Media is one of the firms bidding for advertising rights at both the airports. Times OOH Media is one of the contenders for advertising rights at the Kochi airport. The company has a three-year exclusive license to advertise at the Mumbai and Delhi airports in 2007.
The advertisement rights for Kochi airport will be an exclusive five-year contract with indoor and outdoor advertising options. Advertising displays, signages, advertising messages would be allowed at baggage claim, security check and on the approach road.
16/07/08 Sumedha Srivastav/Televisionpoint.com

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Omani national dies of heart attack at the intl airport

Mumbai: Sixty-seven-year-old Sharifa Mohammed, a resident of Oman, died of heart attack at the international airport at Sahar on Wednesday morning. The deceased Sharifa Mohammed and her family had come to visit Mumbai in the first week of July on a tourist visa and were on their way back to Oman when the incident took place.
Around 7am, Sharifa, who was accompanied by her husband, son and daughter, was wheeled by the airline staff to board Oman Air’s flight WY 806 that was parked at bay number 46 of the Sahar terminal. “After she boarded the flight, she complained of uneasiness and was then wheeled out of the aircraft by our staff,” an airport official said.
The airline staff then informed the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) doctors who reached the spot within 10 minutes. “The doctors found the patient lying unresponsive in the chair. They could not feel the pulse or blood pressure,” the spokesperson for MIAL said.
Sharifa was taken to the Tops Line ambulance and cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was started immediately. She was also given oxygen, but there was no response from the patient. Around 7.50am, she was declared dead by the doctors and her relatives were informed. The body was sent to the Cooper hospital, Vile Parle (w) for a post-mortem and was handed over to Sharifa’s relatives by afternoon, who took the body to Oman by the evening flight.
17/07/08 Navita/Daily News & Analysis

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Student's Deserted Bag at Airport Gives Anxious Moments

Mangalore: An unclaimed bag found near the flag post of the Mangalore international airport in the morning of Wednesday July 16, gave rise to apprehensions among the people and the officials there, for some time.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials, on whom the onus of the airport security rests, grew concerned after they found that the bag was lying there unclaimed for more than 15 minutes and prepared to initiate safety measures. After a few tense moments, the situation returned to normalcy after it transpired that the bag belonged to a student bound for Dubai.
A Goan student studying in Manipal had come to the airport to fly to Dubai. His bag, containing a guitar and books.. It is said that he kept his bag near the flagpost as he did not have enough money to pay for the excess baggage.
By the time he came back, the CISF officials, as a precautionary measure, had stacked sand bags around the deserted object, presuming it to be left there by miscreants.
The student came out of the airport and explained that he was finding it difficult to pay for the baggage. The immigration officials had also objected to his travel, as he had no return ticket in his possession, even though he was going on a visiting visa. The CISF officials made him to pick up his bag himself. After the student took away his bag, the security personnel were faced with the ordeal of removing the sand bags and keeping them in their original place.
17/07/08 Daijiworld.com

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New flight service from Mangalore to Kuwait launching today

Mangalore: A new flight service from Mangalore to Kuwait will begin today. Air India Express has introduced flight from Kozhikode to Sharjah and Kuwait Via Mangalore. It will be beneficial to large expatriate population hailing from the coastal districts mainly comprising of Mangaloreans, Udupians and Bhatkalis who have sizable presence in UAE and rest of the gulf region.
It may be recalled that international flight services from Mangalore to Dubai was inaugurated on October 3, 2006. Since then many flights have been introduced by Air India Express connecting Mangalore with Muscat in Oman, Doha in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai in United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The new flight will be another milestone in the developement of Mangalore Airport.
17/07/08 SahilOnline

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Raytheon bids to supply equipment to Isro, AAI

Bangalore: US defence contractor, Raytheon Co., has bid to supply equipment for the final phase of India’s satellite based navigation system for aiding civil aviation, being built by Indian Space Research Organisation, or Isro, and Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Isro and AAI, to aid civil aviation traffic movement across the country, are jointly building the Global positioning satellite-aided geosynchronous augmented navigation system or Gagan.
Raytheon has tied up with local firms Accord Software and Systems, Pvt. Ltd and Elcome Technologies Pvt. Ltd for designing global positioning system devices and logistical and on-site support, and Naverus Inc., of Kent, Washington, for performance-based navigation route design, procedure flight validation and other related services. Raytheon had supplied radars in the initial test phase of the Gagan programme.
16/07/08 Livemint

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Aviation slowdown to squeeze airports authority's revenues

New Delhi: Closure of its airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore, coupled with slowdown in the aviation sector, has made the Airports Authority of India (AAI) jittery over revenue collection in financial 2008-09. In 2007-08, it collected Rs 4,000 crore and now the authority feels that even meeting this figure would be good enough in this turbulent year, when record oil prices have put a question mark on airlines' survival and pulled down growth rate of domestic passenger traffic.
Airport developers' revenues come from two main areas — aircraft movement and passenger fees — both of which have drastically fallen and are likely to impact their bottomlines. Private developers like GMR and GVK are also impacted by this slowdown. While they were entitled to raise airport charges by 10% this year, the aviation ministry has not allowed that so far because of airlines' poor health.
What makes AAI's case worse is that Hyderabad and Bangalore have got private airports, so stopping the revenue stream from these two. It's a double whammy for the government agency since projects worth Rs 3,400 crore have to be implemented this fiscal as part of the Rs 12,500 crore to be spent on building infrastructure during the 11th Five Year Plan.
Airlines are in a bad shape financially and delayed payments from some players have become a common practice today, which is bothering all airport developers.
16/07/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Bahrain to give visa on arrival to Indians

Dubai: Bahrain will soon offer visas on arrival to Indians in a move that is expected to attract a major chunk of tourists from the subcontinent to the Gulf country.
Initially the visa will be offered for two weeks, an official said.
India and Russia are being added to the list of countries approved by Bahrain for visas on arrival, Interior Ministry Under-Secretary for Nationality, Passports and Residence Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said.
Currently, nationals of 35 countries are granted visas on arrival at entry points, including Bahrain International Airport and King Fahad Causeway.
The visitors should carry a valid passport and a return ticket and provide either hotel reservation details or family contacts in Bahrain for visas on arrival.
The new flexible rules will come into force very soon, said Shaikh Rashid.
The visa can be extended for a further two weeks through the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence. Shaikh Rashid warned that there would be hefty penalties for those who misuse the facilities and overstay in the country.
15/07/08 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com

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DIAL calls bids for private aircraft facility

The Delhi International Airport (DIAL) has invited expressions of interest from global players for setting up a dedicated facility for private and charter aircraft.
The EoIs can come in till the end of this month.
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DIAL's move comes on the back of rapid growth in private and charter aircraft in the country. According to industry estimates, the number of private aircraft (at about 100) is expected to cross the number of aircraft available for commercial use in the next few years.
Already, the number of such planes has increased by 22% in Delhi in 2007-08, with nearly 10,000 aircraft movements.
The EoIs can be submitted by fixed base operators (FBOs) based anywhere around the world. The selected companies will then build and maintain dedicated services for private and charter aircraft.
Apart from providing handling and catering services for general aviation operators, the proposed facility would also build special lounges and conferencing facilities, besides offering luxury pickup and drop services for such customers.
16/07/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/ DNA MONEY/Sify

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Airport authority to rehabilitate animals

Kolkata: Animals like jackals and dogs that regularly stray into the runway of the Kolkata airport from the nearby buffer zone and cause flight delays will be rehabilitated, said state Forest Minister Ananta Roy.
“The Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the Forest Department of West Bengal have decided to end the menace of animals. After the end of ‘Forest Week’ on July 20, we will start the rehabilitation work,” said Roy.
In the last two months there have been several incidents when animals, particularly jackals and wild cats, strayed into the runway and caused the delay of several flights.
“On June 8, a jackal strayed into the runway when an Air India flight was taking off. The pilot had to apply emergency brakes,” said Anukul Jayakar, Joint General Manager (Ground and Field Security).
He added: “There are wild animals living in the buffer zone beyond the runway and the main airport. Three months ago we cleared it off. But we will have do it all over again.”
It is estimated that the area across the boundary wall of the AAI land is home to around 15 to 20 jackals.
16/07/08 Kolkata Newsline

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Air Force to set up enclaves at Kochi, Kannur airports

Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has sought land at the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), Nedumbassery, and at the site of the proposed airport at Kannur as part of developing Air Force facilities on the lines of the one at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport, Air Officer Commanding-in- Chief of Southern Air Command (SAC) Air Marshal S C Mukul said on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference here in connection with the silver jubilee celebrations of the SAC, Mukul said that the IAF has placed its request with the State Government in this regard.
"We're going ahead with the `enclave philosophy.- These small enclaves (attached to commercial airports) will extend our reach with minimum cost for the IAF," he said.
The enclaves are basically intended to aid the IAF in faster mobilisation of its assets in the southern peninsula. The enclaves will have, apart from the tarmac area, basic infrastructure for housing ground equipment and the like, Mukul said. The Karipur airport is also in the IAF's scanner, but Kannur facilitates easier access to the Lakshadweep Islands which fall under the jurisdiction of the SAC, Mukul said.
Infrastructure-wise, the IAF's plans for its Sulur and Tanjore facilities will be completed by 2012- 2016. Sulur will base a full-fledged Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) squadron, while Tanjore will base Medium Lift Helicopters and Transport Aircraft.
16/07/08 Newindpress

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MAHB plans fifth venture abroad this year

Buttorworth: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) hopes to enter a fifth overseas venture this year.
Human resources general manager Ahmad Zuber Abdul said the company had received many enquiries about its services.
“We have to be selective on our overseas ventures. After our latest venture in Turkey, we hope to have a fifth venture this year,” he said after launching the company’s “Beyond Borders” programme at SK Pokok Sena here yesterday.
He said MAHB was a sought-after service provider in airport operations as its staff were experienced and known to be adaptable to various working conditions.
“Another selling point for us is the KL International Airport. It is well-managed and other airports want to learn from us,” he said.
MAHB's venture in Turkey started last year. It would be assigning a number of its experienced personnel to the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport to assist in the operations, technical and financial areas when the airport’s expansion is completed in 2010.
It also manages the Hyderabad International Airport and Delhi Airport in India and the Astana Airport in Kazakhstan.
16/07/08 Yeng Ai Chun/Malaysia Star, Malaysia

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Review plan to shut down Dabolim airport

Panaji: The Mopa committee headed by chief minister Digambar Kamat today submitted its report to the Prime Minister at Delhi recommending the construction of the international airport at Mopa.
The committee also recommended that the cabinet's decision to close down Dabolim airport upon commissioning of the new airport be reviewed and that the Vasco-based airport continue to operate even after the operationalisation of the new one.
The expansion and upgradation of Dabolim airport should be continued and completed as scheduled, said a press note of the meeting issued by MP and committee member Shantaram Naik.
In its recommendations to the Centre, the team from Goa also advocated that mutation cases with respect to land at Dabolim, other than the land acquired by the government for the Navy, be reviewed as per the provisions of the Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968. The Ministry for Civil Aviation has been requested to ensure that appropriate land is made available for upgradation of the Dabolim airport.
15/07/08 Times of India

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