Cantonment, AAI in row over airport expansion

Chennai: The St Thomas Mount and Pallavaram Cantonment Board has issued demolition notices to Chennai airport and Airports Authority of India (AAI), stating that the ongoing expansion work was being taken up without sanction from the board.
The 14-member board passed a resolution at the council meeting on July 19, stating that the buildings for extension of domestic and international terminals have come up without its approval. It said that construction of all floors, superstructure for parking, storage yard and a building for cooling equipment are in violation of section 247 (illegal erection and re-erection) of the Cantonments Act, 2006. Under sub section (1) of section 248 of the Act (power to stop erection or to demolish), the chief executive officer of the board issued notices to demolish the buildings.
Under the act, the Cantonment Board also has powers to stop the ongoing work. "We had told the airport authorities several times that the construction is illegal as they did not get approval for the building plan from us," said Cantonment Board chief executive officer G Vijaya Bhaskar.
Around 550 acres of the 600-acre airport premises fall within the Cantonment Board's limits. The rest of the area comes under the Meenambakkam town panchayat's jurisdiction. Construction is taking place on 4.03 lakh sq ft of land, mainly near the airport entrance.
25/07/11 D Madhavan/Times of India

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AAI Keeps Cargo Hub Project On Hold Citing Viability Issues

Surat: The dream of developing diamond city's airport into a major cargo and maintenance hub has taken a major beating, two years prior to its tentative realisation deadline.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI), which had drawn up plans of expansion for the city's airport, has now said that the plan has been kept on hold till the financial viability is verified and readiness of major airlines to shift base to the city is achieved.
Airport Controller GK Khere told TOI, "Headquarters have kept this plan on hold only because they are not getting the readiness of any of the major airlines to shift from Mumbai." He also added, "Even if one or two of them show willingness, this project will get immediate approval."
It can thus be safely said that AAI doesn't see financial viability of the project. However, these calculations of AAI officials are based on current passenger traffic, which is minimal and curtailed to just one flight per day.
"Forget the recovery of capital which is used in construction of the airport, at present we are not even able to meet our expenses," Khare said.
28/07/10 Himanshu Bhatt & Melvyn Thomas/Times of India

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Maha governor supports Navi Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan has openly supported the proposed airport in Navi Mumbai. The proposal is pending for approval with the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).
“Mumbai needs another airport. Looking at the time taken for departure and arrival due to a rise in traffic, the proposed airport is necessary. This however, can be done by striking a balance between protecting the ecology while developing such projects like the airport,” Sankaranarayanan told Business Standard.
“On several occasions an aircraft is forced to circle around due to congestion at the airport. I, as a citizen of India, strongly support the requirement of another airport in Mumbai,” said the Governor, on the sidelines of a book release ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.
He called upon the civil aviation ministry to rigorously pursue its plans for the second airport in Navi Mumbai. Sankaranarayanan also spoke to civil aviation minister Praful Patel, who was present on the occasion, expressing his desire to meet him again on the airport issue.
31/07/10 Sanjay Jog/Business Standard

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Arunachal demands priority to greenfield airport project

Arunachal Pradesh, one of the seven sisters of North-East, has asked the Centre to be "liberal" and not consider profitability in the construction of the proposed greenfield airport project in Itanagar. It has asked the Centre to accord priority to the airport project, which when completed will be the state's maiden civilian airport.
The project has already been delayed by more than two years for which 'in-principle' approval was given by the Union civil aviation ministry in September 2009.
Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are the only two states that presently do not have any airport.
31/07/10 Supratim Dey/Business Standard

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Airport in Maoist hotbed handed over to army

New Delhi: Located in a Maoist hotbed, the Bilaspur airport in Chhattisgarh will be handed over to the army. First reported in Hindustan Times on July 2, (Army wants Bilaspur airport) the AAI (Airports Authority of India) board cleared the Ministry of Defence (MoD) proposal last week. The
decision comes at a time there is strong possibility of the army being called upon to tackle the Naxal menace.
The AAI-managed airport, which could be at the centre of army's anti-Naxal operations — if and when it is asked to take charge — is not handling any commercial operations.
With a runway that is 5,035 feet (1,535 metres) long, it is suitable for operation of small, 20-seater aircraft like Dornier-228 class. At present, the civilian airports in Raipur and Jagdalpur are used by the armed forces whenever the need arises.
31/07/10 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

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DIAL deploys new operation control center

HCL Infosystems has announced the successful deployment of the largest airport operation control centre (AOCC) in India for the new terminal (T3) of the Delhi international airport limited (DIAL). The IT system architecture of the AOCC has been integrated in order to facilitate high level of airside operations, resources planning & allocation, terminal operations & security, allowing various agencies/departments to collaborate real time.
The DIAL T3-AOCC has been designed to cater various operational and service requirements for daily airport management system, integrating 19 IT systems to manage the terminal and also capable of viewing and monitoring overall operations of the airport for real time inputs and collaborative operations.
30/07/10 CXO today.com

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Mysore airport work set to be delayed

Chennai/ Mysore: With the Airports Authority of India (AAI) rejecting Karnataka government’s plea for sharing the land acquisition cost, plans to develop the Mysore Airport at Mandakalli, on the outskirts of the city, to facilitate operations by bigger aircraft may be delayed further.
Minister of state (independent charge) for civil aviation Praful Patel informed the Lok Sabha today that the AAI had not accepted the request of the Karnataka government for cost sharing, because as per the MoU, signed between the state government and the AAI on October 6, 2005, any additional land required for expansion of the Mysore Airport is to be acquired by the state and transferred to the AAI, free of cost and free from all encumbrances.
AAI had taken up the development of Mysore Airport for ATR-72 type of aircraft operations in Phase I. Accor-dingly, it has completed cons-truction of the runway 09/27 of dimension 1740m x 30m, apron and link taxiway with associated facilities in March 2008 suited for ATR-72 aircraft operations. Construction of terminal building, technical block-cum-control tower, fire station, were completed in March this year. The airport, modernised at a cost of Rs 60 crore, was inaugurated on June 15 last by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.
31/07/10 Business Standard

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Chaos still rules the roost at T3 on Day 3

New Delhi: The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) in its haste to go one up on other airports, seems to have missed a key point-passenger comfort.
The developer does not seem too keen on providing even basic facilities for the passengers, who continued to be at the receiving end on the third day of commercial operations at T3.
Most transit passengers who have to catch connecting flights to international destinations have to go as long as 12 hours without food or water, sitting or sleeping on the floor. There are neither adequate seats at the transit lounge nor food courts or even wash rooms.
DIAL has planned a 60-room transit hotel for such passengers but it will be ready only after two months.
A delay of 10 minutes in getting the baggage could prove costly for passengers booked on connecting domestic flights. It takes about 40 minutes to reach the domestic terminal from the new terminal.
Also, domestic airlines close check-in counters 40 minutes before the departure. So, even a few minutes' delay in getting the baggage puts the commuters at risk of missing their flight.
31/07/10 India Today

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Where’s the new airport terminal?

New Delhi: The old international Terminal 2 of Indira Gandhi International Airport was closed on Wednesday and all international flight operations were shifted to the new Terminal 3. Passengers, however, are still landing up at the mothballed Terminal 2 and getting late for their flights.
Apart from passenger's ignorance, the lack of enough signage and information boards is also to blame.
Though private airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) had assured that there would be enough signage to guide passengers to the correct terminal, the reality is different.
From the point at NH 8, near Radisson Hotel, where passengers turn towards the airport and till the roundabout where two different roads lead to T3 and T2, there are no visible signage to guide passengers. There is a huge signboard after the roundabout but those who miss it, head directly towards the closed terminal. Though passengers from Delhi are still aware about T3, thanks to media coverage, those coming from nearby towns have no clue.
30/07/10 Sidhartha Roy/Hindustan Times

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Varanasi-Mumbai Air India flight returns after snag

Varanasi: A Mumbai-bound Air India flight IC-195 on Friday returned to Varanasi when it developed a technical snag shortly after take-off, an official said.
"The plane returned merely 5-10 minutes after it took-off from the Babatpur airport," airport director S K Siddhu told reporters.
30/07/10 IANS/Times of India

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User fees at Trivandrum, Ahmedabad airports from August

New Delhi: Users of modernised airports at Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad would have to pay User Development Fee (UDF) from next month. The Government has approved a proposal of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to levy UDF at these airports, an official spokesperson said today. While passengers travelling on domestic flights from Thiruvananthapuram would not have to pay the fee, those flying abroad from there would have to pay Rs 755 over and above the ticket price and taxes. The UDF here would be effective from August one. In Ahmedabad, the domestic passengers would pay Rs 110, while their international counterparts would have to pay Rs 415. The fee would be effective from August 16, the spokesperson said. The AAI has already imposed UDF at several airports which it has developed so far. These include Amritsar (Rs 150 for domestic, Rs 910 for international), Udaipur (Rs 150 for domestic, nil for international travel), Trichy (Rs 150 for domestic, Rs 360 for international) and Vizag (Rs 150 for domestic and nil for international travel). The UDF at these airports has already been imposed from June 15.
30/07/10 PTI/IBN Live

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Private airlines owe AAI Rs 304.65 crore

New Delhi: The aviation sector may be on an upswing, but airlines continue to lose money due to manpower issues. Air India and Jet Airways together suffered a loss of Rs127 crore owing to the three strikes by their employees since last year.
The national carrier alone suffered Rs77 crore losses in strikes by pilots and then by employees this May, whereas Jet suffered due to pilot strike. This information was given by civil aviation minister Praful Patel in Parliament Thursday.
In reply to a separate question, the minister said that as on June 30, the total dues of private airlines to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) were Rs304.65 crore.
Kingfisher Airlines was the biggest culprit at Rs184.87 crore followed by Jet Airways (together with JetLite) at Rs50.99 crore. IndiGo, SpiceJet and Go Air owed Rs11.19 crore, Rs11.14 crore and Rs5.29 crore respectively. Paramount owes Rs4.53 crore and others another Rs36.64 crore.
30/07/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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`No environmental issues in extending Juhu airport runway over the sea'

Learning from the Navi Mumbai airport fiasco, the plan to revitalise Juhu airport and make it fit for small planes is being steered clear of any green issues. On Wednesday, consulting firm KPMG made a presentation to the aviation ministry on Juhu airport, outlining the proposal to extend the 1,200-m-long runway to about 2,000 m by extending the airstrip into the sea over a bridge-on-stilts and not reclaiming any portion of the sea.
The firm also proposed changing the alignment of Juhu runway to make it parallel to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport's (CSIA) main runway and allow virtually independent use of both the airports. The entire exercise is estimated to cost Rs 1,200 crore and is being accorded priority as CSIA is now almost completely choked.
The main airport will have some free slots for bigger commercial planes if the small planes, like ATRs, that it handles currently are shifted to Juhu. "There are possibly no environmental issues in building a bridge-on-stilts over the sea to extend the runway. The airstrip's alignment also needs to be changed, otherwise it can't be used. The Juhu Beach road that passes at the end of the runway currently will have to be diverted into an underpass or tunnel road under the extended runway,'' aviation minister Praful Patel said.
30/07/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Varanasi airport to get remote-control opening

Lucknow: The swanky new integrated terminal at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport at Varanasi is all set for a formal inauguration on August 3 by Union minister for civil aviation Praful Patel through a remote control device, in New Delhi.
Alongwith four other airports in different parts of the country, Thiruvanathapuram, Shillong and Gagan sattelite navigation system in Bangalore, Varanasi Airport will be will be formally inaugurated while the foundation stone for the Bhubaneswar airport will also be laid through remote control in the same event.
Built at a cost of 94 crore by Lanco Infratech, the infrastructure arm of the Hyderabad-based Lanco Group, the new integrated terminal building at Varanasi will cater to both domestic and international passengers and has come up on 26,000 sq mts area adjacent to the present airport building. While it is capable of handling 4 lakh annual movement at present, post modernisation it will be capable of handling 800 passengers per hour.
Speaking to FE, airport director Varanasi SK Siddh said the structure is equipped with all modern passenger amenities such as central air conditioning system, four escalators, five lifts and would have two aerobridges, walkways; in-line baggage screening for check-in, etc.
30/07/10 Deepa Jainani/Financial Express

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Parking at IGI an expensive proposition

New Delhi: Driving down to the new airport to pick up someone and intend using the new multilevel parking lot? Be prepared to shell out a bomb. Parking in the general category for half an hour is Rs 50 but a minute more than that and one could end up paying double. For frequent fliers who park their vehicles for more than eight hours, the charge is Rs 600.
The parking charges that have been finalized by Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) for the new parking facility which has come up at the new terminal T3 have been fixed at Rs 50 for the first 30 minutes in the general category and Rs 70 for the special category. For upto two hours, passengers will have to shell out Rs 100 and Rs 140 respectively. For every one hour subsequently, upto eight hours, Rs 50 and Rs 70 respectively will be added to this. Finally, if a vehicle is parked for more than eight hours, the daily charge would be Rs 600 and Rs 900 respectively.
30/07/10 Times of India

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Insurance claims yet to be settled

Kasargod: More than two months after the Air India Express crash at the Mangalore international airport, the relatives of the 158 passengers killed in the tragedy are still groping in the dark about the settlement of insurance claims.
The relatives of 58 victims from the northern districts of Kasaragod and Kannur have so far received Rs.15.02 lakh as relief for each victim. This includes the Rs.10-lakh interim relief paid by Air India, the balance being the contribution of the State and Central governments. Those from the neighbouring Karnataka have got Rs.14 lakh each.
Air India officials, at a meeting with the relatives of the victims in Mangalore on Tuesday, made it clear that the final insurance claims would be decided only on the basis of the income, perks and family status of the victims. But the relatives appeared keen on equal claims for all victims.
The family members of the victims are eligible to receive an insurance amount in the range of Rs.72 lakh to Rs.76 lakh under the rules applicable to international air passengers. However, airlines authorities are insisting that the family members furnish papers including salary certificates and copies of travel documents, said Narayanan Kalingom, vice-president of the Mangalore Air Crash Victims' Family Association.
29/07/10 C.S. Narayanankutty/The Hindu

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Airline Seeks Apology from TV News Channel

Mangalore: National airline Air India has sought an unconditional apology from the authorities of a television news channel for the telecast of wrong, baseless and unconfirmed report of fire in flight NO IX 811 that was scheduled to take off from Mangalore to Dubai on 9.30 pm on July 24.
Chellam Prasad, station manager, Air India in a letter to the news editor of Times Now channel, Mumbai has stated that the channel owes unconditionally apology for the baseless and unconfirmed report telecast by the channel on July 24 has caused serious and long term damage to the reputation and credibility of the national airline that always held passenger safety as its prime concern. Air India calls upon you to “inform” the viewers that the said report was unconfirmed and hence baseless and that the error is sincerely regretted, it is stated.
Further, Air India has called upon the channel to telecast the apology and also repeatedly telecast the corrective action in every news bulletin throughout the day so that the misinformed public may get the correct and true information. Also the channel has been asked to continuously flash the same as a caption on screen throughout the day.
29/07/10 Daijiworld.com

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Teething troubles for T3 as it begins international flight operations

New Delhi: Barring few "teething troubles", international flight operations at the new integrated terminal 3 (T3) of IGI airport here remained largely smooth with about 20,000 passengers using it on the first day, airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said today.
"We have handled around 20,000 passengers, which include 9,200 departing and 10,100 arriving ones on the first day of operations, amidst few teething troubles," DIAL COO Andrew Harrison said today.
Between 4.45 PM last evening and 6.00 AM this morning, the terminal handled around 48 incoming flights and 54 departing ones. "All the stakeholders, including the passengers, expressed their happiness over the facilities at T3," he added.
Out of 102 flights, that operated through the terminal, about 13 were delayed due to various reasons.
"On the first day of the operations, 10 flights were delayed due to to airlines related problems while one Malaysian airlines arriving flight was delayed sue to problem in aligning the aerobridge. A Lufthansa and a British Airways flights got delayed due to improper handling of baggage," Harrison said.
He assured that problems have been rectified and "we would ensure that these problems do not recur in the future".
29/07/10 PTI/Economic Times

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Indian GPS system for air-traffic control to wait

India’s dream of putting a Global Positioning System of its own in space to help in commercial aircraft navigation may have to wait for two more years. Sources in Indian Space Research Organisation said the Geo-Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload onboard the GSAT4, which was launched by Isro on April 15, did not make it into orbit because of the failure of the GeoSynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) mission.
A technical glitch in the indigenously developed cryogenic engine led to the GSLV rocket with the satellite crashing into the Bay of Bengal. “We will be launching two more GAGAN payloads, one each on two geostationary satellites, GSAT-8 and GSAT-10,” a senior Isro scientist told Deccan Chronicle. “But we are yet to finalise the launch schedules.”
However, it is almost certain that these payloads will have to wait till the scientists at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Mahendragiri near Kanyakumari prove beyond doubt the reliability of the Indian-built cryogenic engine.
29/07/10 Deccan Chronicle

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BSP MPs meet PM to demand early approval to Jevar airport

New Delhi: BSP MPs today met prime minister Manmohan Singh here to demand early approval to the Jevar airport in Greater Noida and supply of coal linkages to Uttar Pradesh government's power plants to meet energy needs.
After their half-hour meeting with Singh in Parliament House, BSP leader in the Rajya Sabha S C Mishra told reporters that the airport would benefit the areas from Noida to Agra, apart from improving international tourism in the state.
Mishra said the proposal for the airport was pending for the last seven years and it was with the Group of Ministers on Aviation for the last three years despite the UP government agreeing to conditions laid down by private players operating the Delhi airport.
He said the prime minister assured the BSP MPs that the GoM would soon meet to take a decision on the airport proposal.
28/07/10 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Windshield crack aborts flight in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: A day after an Indigo flight was grounded at Ahmedabad airport following a bird hit, another flight of the same airline, going from Mumbai to New Delhi, was diverted to Ahmedabad due to a minor crack in its windshield. The flight landed safely, and passengers were being accommodated on other flights, said officials.
According to official sources, Indigo's flight 6E 190, with 119 passengers and crew members on board, landed at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at Ahmedabad this evening.
The flight took off from Mumbai at 3.37 pm and was on its way to New Delhi when the pilot spotted a crack in the right windshield of the aircraft. The pilot immediately contacted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Ahmedabad and sought permission to land at Ahmedabad airport, which was granted.
Officials said that the flight made a safe landing at Ahmedabad airport at 4.39 pm. The passengers were made to disembark from the aircraft, and were being accommodated on other flights to New Delhi.
29/07/10 Daily News & Analysis

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Legislator seeks review of Mumbai airport plans

Mumbai: Over 50,000 families are being affected by the expansion of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), pointed out a legislator representing the Vile Parle constituency, in which the airport is located.
People have been living on the periphery of the airport for over 40 years whilst the nearby Sahar village has been around for over 300 years, legislator Krishna Hegde said while bringing the issue to the notice of the Maharashtra legislative assembly on Tuesday.
"In spite of several reminders, neither the GVK nor Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited [HDIL], the companies undertaking the modernisation programme, have given the blueprint and plans to the elected representatives of the area — that is Priya Dutt, MP, and me," he said.
Hegde said there was a move afoot to force local residents out with 125 acres of land being being given to HDIL for commercial exploitation out of 250 acres originally allocated for the airport's expansion.
29/07/10 Pamela Raghunath/Gulf News

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'Demand for equal compensation untenable'

Mangalore: The Air India counsel, who held a meeting with family members of the May 22 air crash victims on Tuesday, is learnt to have told them that their demand for equal compensation for legal heirs of the dead was not legally tenable.
According to an office-bearer of the Mangalore Air Crash Victims' Families Association here on Wednesday, the counsel, H.D. Nanavati, said that there was no precedent of equal compensation being paid to the kin of all victims of any air crash.
He reportedly told them that the worth of persons would be taken into account while deciding the quantum of compensation. Though the families of the victims whose income was high would benefit the most, efforts would be made to ensure that the families that have lost earning members would get higher compensation.
The office-bearer said that payment of compensation could begin as early as the first week of August.
The association may soon hold its general body meeting soon to discuss the issue of equal compensation to all victims and the counsel's response.
The association had made this demand in a letter sent to the Secretary to the Department of Civil Aviation recently. The association's contention is that the passengers had paid equal airfare and hence the insurance element had to be equal for all of them.
29/07/10 The Hindu/Mangalorean.com

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Mixed luck for new Delhi terminal

New Delhi: International operations at the brand new Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport here did not quite get off to a flying start on Wednesday.
To begin with, Air India's flight AI-307 from Tokyo (Narita) landed at 4-50 p.m., ahead of Air India's flight AI-102 from JFK New York which was originally scheduled to be the first international flight to touch down at T3. The flight from New York, due to arrive at 4-45 p.m., landed at 5-10.
Passengers were also witness to delays while reclaiming their baggage at T3. That was not all. The Auto Track III radar used by the air traffic management system developed a technical snag at 5-50 p.m. Airport officials had to use an Auto Track II radar that was being maintained as a stand-by. Though there were no diversions, there were minor delays in flight movement because of the snag, said airport sources.
Both in the arrival and departure areas, those waiting to receive and see off family and friends had a tough time as there were no facilities such as shops and washrooms.
29/07/10 Urvashi Sarkar/The Hindu

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Guess who kept the British PM waiting

Delhi: British Prime Minister David Cameron had to wait at least 20 minutes in the air before landing in Delhi as the Air Traffic Control (ATC) radar went blank at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday. Cameron, on his first visit to India after becoming Prime Minister in May, reached Delhi from Bangalore and his aircraft landed at 6:15 pm, more than 20 minutes behind schedule.
"The aircraft kept on hovering over the airport for some time and landed at 6:15 pm. Other planes were held back for a few minutes for the VIP flight," said airport sources.
Airport sources said around 50 flights were affected due to the radar snag, including the plane carrying the British Prime Minister. They added that no incoming flight was diverted to any other airport but they were made to hover over the Delhi airspace till the Autotrac-II system was made operational.
29/07/10 Surender Sharma/MiD DAY

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ATC radar collapses, again

New Delhi: For the fifth time this year, the radar system at Delhi airport’s air traffic control (ATC) developed a snag on Wednesday, disrupting flights. The radar screens at the Delhi ATC went blank at 5.50 pm on Wednesday, after the software system that displays flight data crashed. The system was restored at 6.14 pm.
The ATC is using a new software, Autotrac III, on validation trial, which developed a snag and collapsed. ATC officials immediately switched over to the earlier system, Autotrac II.
At least 20 flights were directly affected during this period and about 50 flights were delayed by the backlog that ensued.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which handles air traffic at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), claimed that no flights were disrupted due to the radar system failure.
An AAI spokesman said that such glitches are part of the validation process and the stand-by system was running simultaneously. He claimed that there were no disruptions due to the problem.
Senior airline officials, however, said that the snag during peak evening traffic hour led to cascading delays and also affected flights directly, till the system was brought back to normalcy.
28/07/10 Hindustan Times

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Bangalore International Airport, first to get civil defence unit

Bangalore International Airport Ltd has become the first airport or corporate entity to have its own formal civil defence unit.
The first 35 volunteers from among employees of various agencies at the airport, who took a pledge, are being trained to be ready to save lives and property in times of a crisis or disasters around the airport area.
The unit is called the Bengaluru International Airport Area Division Number 22, a BIAL release said. The volunteers were trained for a week by the Karnataka’s Directorate of Civil Defence in disaster management, casualty and communication services, fire fighting, rescuing people, community patrol and mitigating accidents.
29/07/10 Logistics Week

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Civil aviation secy writes to state govt on Kolkata airport mosque

Kolkata: The state government, which has been dithering on the issue of shifting of a mosque on the second runway of Kolkata airport that was standing in the way of extension of the runway, as well as posing a safety hazard, has now geared up for the job. The Civil Aviation Ministry has written to the state government to take up the job on an urgent basis as the mosque could, among other things, lead to a Mangalore-type accident.
Civil Aviation Secretary M Madhavan Nambiar last week wrote to Chief Secretary Ardhendu Sen urging him to take steps for the shifting of the mosque, as it not only stood in the way of modernisation of the airport but also posed a risk. It has been since 1986 that the Civil Aviation Ministry has been requesting the state government to shift the 117-year old mosque located on the second runway.
Despite several requests from the state government and Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials, residents of the area have refused to shift the mosque where barely 30 people offer prayers every day.
29/07/10 Indian Express

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Safety rules flouted openly at Kochi airport

On July 23 at one of the parking bays at Kochi International Airport where a Jet Airways Flight 9W 561 which had just come in from Sharjah, was standing. At about 2 pm, a 'driverless' step ladder disengaged from its parked position and ran free, stopping a few inches before hitting the wing of the plane.
Airport authorities had brushed off responsibility saying the ground handling agency has to ensure that the safety rules are not flouted. It seems that the ladder belonged to a ground handling agency named World Flight Services. According to sources, airport authorities had allotted the agency parking space for its equipment between aircraft parking bays 12 and 13, and it is from here that the step ladder rolled out and had a free run nearly damaging the aircraft.
Kochi international airport authorities say they are reviewing procedures on their side, but place the blame squarely on the private ground handling agency.
28/07/10 Times Now

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Jet Airways & JetLite to migrate domestic and international operations to Delhi's T3

Delhi: Jet Airways, the country’s premier international airline and its wholly-owned subsidiary JetLite, will migrate the group’s international and domestic operations to the new state-of-the-art Terminal 3 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airline has already carried out terminal process proving flights earlier in the month to establish the operational and logistical readiness and is now set to migrate all its international flight operations from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 effective July 28th 2010 to 10 unique international destinations. The domestic operations of Jet Airways and JetLite will later migrate to DIAL’s new Terminal 3 by August 27th 2010.
The phased migration will see Jet Airways operate the inaugural flight 9W 261 from Kathmandu, which will arrive at the new Terminal 3 at 1715 hrs.
As one of the largest carrier’s, operating more than 74 flights daily out of Delhi, Jet Airways plans to develop Delhi’s new Terminal 3 as one of its major international hubs. As part of this strategy, Jet Airways and JetLite will attempt to provide guests with a seamless passenger experience, while also connecting maximum passengers through non-stop and one stop routes to destinations on its domestic and international network. The airline will also increase capacities from Delhi in a bid to transform this important station into a major hub for the carrier’s domestic and international operations.
Jet Airways and JetLite plan to utilize the launch of T3 as an opportunity to develop the new state-of-the-art airport into one of its formidable primary international hubs, from which it will be able to connect ‘India to the World’. As part of this strategic plan, Jet Airways, JetLite and Jet Airways Konnect will now connect over 29 unique domestic destinations, with over 10 international destinations around the world and many more through its operational code shares. Especially, since Delhi affords seamless connectivity into the SAARC, ASEAN, Gulf & Middle East Regions, UK, Europe and points in North America.
The airline, as part of the hub carrier strategy, will look at increasing connectivity to cities in Northern India through Delhi and will step up services through Delhi to the major metros in the winter schedule. On the international front, the Jet Airways Group will look at affording its guests additional connections from SAARC, the Middle East and Far East via Delhi on to Europe through London Heathrow and through Brussels onto North America.
World Class facilities to deliver superior guest comfort and convenience
Spread across 5.4 million sq ft, the new terminal building comprises a range of world class features and facilities designed to provide superior passenger comfort and convenience. For easy access, Jet Airways’ guests may enter the Departure terminal from Gate No. 1, Terminal 3 (IGI), and proceed towards the check in areas located at islands B, C and D, for departure formalities.
Terminal 3 is a 9 level building, featuring a sparkling 168 check-in counters and 95 immigration counters, of which the Jet Airways Group will man 32 integrated check-in counters for both domestic and international travel, significantly reducing check-in time for the airline’s guests.
DIAL’s new Terminal 3 also boasts a number of attractions for passengers including a large retail presence, transit hotel and a plethora of services to offer guests a truly world-class passenger experience.
Equipped with the most sophisticated Common User Passenger Processing System (CUPPS) and an advanced 5 level in-line Baggage Handling System with explosive detection technology, the new Terminal 3 will help quickly process larger numbers of guests arrivals and departure in a safe and secure environment. With 6,400 m of conveyor belts utilized in the fully automated baggage handling system at T3, airlines will now be able to handle 12,800 bags in a single hour.
As one of the largest carriers, operating out of the new Terminal 3, the Jet Airways group is best poised to afford its guests enhanced comfort and convenience, helping them connect easily from domestic flights onto their international flights and vice versa.
Nikos Kardassis, CEO - Jet Airways, commenting on the airlines move to the new terminal said, "DIAL's new airport building, is truly one of the best terminals in the world. I would like to congratulate GMR and the Government of India on this modern marvel, which symbolizes the aspirations of a new and vibrant India. At Jet Airways we plan to harness this world class infrastructure, as an engine for mutual growth. Especially since Terminal 3 in Delhi opens up immense possibilities for the economic development of this region, as airlines will now be able to offer seamless connectivity from India to the world.”
28/07/10 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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‘Wheelchair-borne passenger mishandled’

Mumbai: A south Mumbai resident, Dolan Sanyal, has approached a consumer forum alleging negligence by SpiceJet staff in handling her wheelchair-borne father-in-law. She approached the International Consumer Rights Protection Council because the airline failed to reply to several complaints filed by
her. On July 2, she filed a complaint with the council alleging that Anil Sanyal (83), was hurt after he fell off a wheelchair while a Spicejet staff was escorting him from the tarmac to the terminal after arrival. The council has told the Sanyals it will take up the matter on their behalf with the airline within two months.
Anil, who received a gash on his right hand after the fall, was recuperating from a heart surgery. “We took the risk of flying him because the staff handling patients are supposed to be trained,” added Sanyal. A month later, Anil passed away.
29/07/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Availing NOC for high-rise building near airport made easy

Surat: Obtaining a no objection certificate (NOC) from Airports Authority of India (AAI) to build a high-rise apartment or other structures around the airport has now become a simple task, thanks to the newly implemented NOC cell system. All required procedures for acquiring an NOC will now be done through the cell and the applicant will get the certificate directly at their residence from Delhi.
So far, there was no dedicated section to handle such applications, resulting in delay of allotment of NOC. Projects worth crores have been stalled for long periods as a result.
As per rules, NOC from AAI is must for a high-rise before getting permission from local authorities like Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA).
"Corruption allegations had been raised against the local airport authority in the past, as obtaining NOC is a lengthy process. So, we have put in place this procedure in which an applicant has to apply to the local office and will get a receipt for the same," says GK Khare, airport controller, Surat airport. "The receipt will serve as a document to prove an application."
28/07/10 Yagnesh Mehta/Times of India

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Ailing Woman Delays Jet Airways Flight

Mangalore: Mumbai-bound Jet Airways flight scheduled to take-off at 11.00 am from Bajpe airport was delayed a few minutes as a lady passenger complained of uneasiness minutes before the take-off.
Jet Airways said the a lady passenger felt uneasy and wanted to alight from the carrier. Accordingly, flight authorities obliged and the lady along with her daughter cancelled their journey.
28/07/10 Daijiworld.com

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Mumbai airport choked, so no private turboprop: Patel

New Delhi: Alarm bells have begun to ring for Mumbai airport. While the Navi Mumbai airport project is caught in a web of stalled environmental clearances, the Civil Aviation Ministry is seriously considering banning any more turboprop jets in the private category at Mumbai to accommodate more commercial flights.
“There will soon have to be a general ban on additional flights for turboprop jets in the private category. What can I do? The airport is reaching saturation point. Mumbai desperately needs a second airport,” Patel told The Indian Express.
Turboprop jets in the private category — largely the Cessna and King Air series — are used mostly by corporate houses and there are roughly 30-40 movements of such aircraft in a day.
28/07/10 Pranab Dhal Samanta/Indian Express

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Security lapses recur at Kochi airport

Nedumbassery: The Kochi International Airport witnessed yet another security lapse, when a parcel having neither a security-seal sticker nor being endorsed by the Departure Manifest, was found among other parcels that were being taken to the Jet Airways flight bound for Chennai on Monday evening.
According to sources, the Manifest was given with security seals for three parcels to be loaded in the Chennai-bound Jet Airways flight leaving Kochi Airport at 7.50 pm. But the Air India security personnel at the ladder point found four parcels in the trolley.
They immediately alerted the CIAL security personnel and the airport manager, who seized the parcel. Investigation revealed that it was a Saudi Airlines OCS (On Company Services) bag that reached the Kochi International Airport from Jiddah on July 24.
Normally, the Customs officers check the content in all cargo baggage and the CIAL Cargo Handling Department will tally the arrival manifest of the cargo baggage and distribute them to the addressee. But the OCS parcel was not reported as missing by the international cargo wing at the Kochi Airport.
It remains a mystery how the parcel, which reached the international side, could be brought to the domestic cargo wing functioning in another complex, without the knowledge of the cargo handling officers.
28/07/10 ExpressBuzz

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Indigo flight experiences bird hit; passengers safe

Ahmedabad: Passengers of Kolkata-bound Indigo flight had an harrowing experience when their flight had to make an emergency landing at Ahmedabad airport soon after the take off, following a bird hit on Tuesday. Though no injury or casualty was reported, one of the tyres of the aircraft was badly damaged in the incident.
According to the airport authorities, Indigo flight-410 reported bird hit in one of its engine at the time of take off.
28/07/10 Times of India

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Chaos expected as Delhi airport's T3 opens

New Delhi: Indira Gandhi International Airport's Terminal 3, sixth largest in the world, will start commercial operations on July 28. International flights will start taking off and landing at T3 instead of the old international terminal.
But what few are prepared for are problems that could well be a recipe for chaos, like lost passengers.
Most of the passengers replied in the negative when asked if they knew that all international operations would now be from T3.
Even the airport operator agrees that shifting from the old terminal to the new T3 would face some problems.
"We have a large contingency of staff who have been deployed to help provide info to passengers who may go to the wrong terminal," says DIAL's Chief Operating Officer Andrew Harrison.
The problem doesn't end there. According to new guidelines check-in counters of many airlines will now close 45 minutes before take off and not half an hour as it was before. Despite efforts by airlines to inform passengers most are still unaware.
To make matters worse people headed to the airport will also have to deal with unprecedented traffic jams.
Till now there is a junction from where traffic going towards domestic airport diverts to one side and that for international continues to go straight. But once T3 is fully operational a major chunk of the traffic too will all be heading in one direction.
28/07/10 Priyanka Dube , CNN-IBN

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PIA flights shifted to old T2

Delhi: In a snub of jumbo proportions the authorities at the Delhi international airport shifted two Pakistan International Airlines flights to the old T2 terminal at the eleventh hour. Incidentally, the two flights could have been the first airplanes on and off the newly inaugurated T3 terminal. The airport has finally shifted all international operations to the new terminal but the authorities ensured that it should not be a Pakistani plane that initiates T3 into action on Wednesday afternoon. Termed 'Gateway of India', T3 will be the country's biggest airport and the busiest once operations start in full swing.
International flight operations are scheduled to be shifted from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 on Wednesday starting from 2 pm. "We have chosen Wednesday because on this day there will be the least number of flights between 2 pm and 7:30 pm," Andrew Harrison, Chief Operating Officer, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said.
An Air India flight from New York will be the first to arrive at T3 at 4:45 pm while another Air India Jaipur-Delhi-Dubai flight (IC-895) would become the first flight to take-off from T3 at 6:50 pm.
28/07/10 Surender Sharma/MiD DAY

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To ease road traffic, 1A to tackle Haj flights

New Delhi: Terminal 1A, from which Air India's and Go Air's domestic flights operate at present, will probably be used for Haj operations this year. Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) officials said that this would be a temporary move to decongest the link road from Mahipalpur to the new terminal T3, as the beginning of the Haj season was going to coincide with the Commonwealth Games in October and the road might not be able to handle the increased volume of traffic.
With only one main road linking IGI Airport to the city, congestion is proving to be a huge problem for the airport operator. Once the Games start, the rush is only going to increase. "A tunnel road is coming up and we hope that it gets ready by August end. However, even with that, we are not confident that the road would be able to take the entire traffic headed for T3 along with the Haj traffic.
28/07/10 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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Star Alliance 'moves under one roof' at Delhi's Terminal 3

New Delhi: Star Alliance, the global pact among 28 airlines in which Air India is a member-elect, has become the first such interline pact to establish a common infrastructure node at the new terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.
Terminal 3 started full-fledged commercial operations Wednesday.
Nine Star Alliance member-carriers offer more than 70 flights daily to 10 global hubs in nine countries from the airport here and the integration of their infrastructure at the new Terminal 3 is part of its 'move under one roof' programme, officials said.
From September, premium passengers of member carriers can also avail of the facilities at the new lounge being set up by Air India, said Lee Hock Lye, the vice president for products and services with Star Alliance.
Check-in counters for all its member carriers are located in adjacent rows. In addition, Austrian, Continental Airlines, Lufthansa and Swiss also share a joint ticket desk that is accessible from both inside and outside the glitzy new terminal.
28/07/10 IANS/Economic Times

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Cost of runway-tunnel road to T3 shoots up, as new expenses emerge

New Delhi: The cost of zipping to IGI Airport's new terminal T3 through India's first runway-tunnel road has shot up by almost 50%. The crucial 1.5-km-long road with a 343-metre-long tunnel under the main runway was initially projected to cost Rs 67 crore. But now the six-lane road's cost has shot up to almost Rs 100 crore, Rs 99.7 crore to be precise. The airport authorities had made it clear from the beginning that the job of providing connectivity to T3 was of the state government. But when that job seemed to have been delayed by years, the government asked airport land to be used for a new link and agreed that the cost would be borne by the state.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is getting the tunnel-road built by Delhi Metro, India's biggest expert in drilling, who in turn have asked L&T to execute the project. The initial projected cost was just the contractor expense, say sources. A number of other expenses have come up that have led to cost escalation. These include laying of road, building a foot-over bridge, security equipment inside the tunnel that will pass below the main runway, and CCTVs for monitoring and tunnel lighting.
27/07/10 Times of India/Saurabha Sinha

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Cooch Behar airport set to take off

Kolkata: After lying idle for over two decades, flight operations are expected to resume at Cooch Behar Airport in late August or early September. Though efforts to kickstart operations at the airport had failed three years ago when Air Deccan conducted a test flight but never went ahead with commercial operations, AAI regional executive director Gautam Mukherjee said he was hopeful that flights would begin within the next month or so.
"Non-scheduled flight operator Deccan Charter has applied to Director General of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India for a daily service between Kolkata and Cooch Behar with an 18-seater Beechcraft 1900 Delta aircraft. If the service becomes popular, they may introduce more flights and encourage other airlines who operate small aircraft to touch down at Cooch Behar," Mukherjee said.
Deccan Charter's Kolkata pointsman said the Beechcraft would do one trip to Cooch Behar in the morning and three trips to Jamshedpur thereafter.
Though the airline is yet to get a state government commitment for at least eight bookings per flight to make the operations viable, aviation industry experts said 48-seater ATR operations would be more viable as fares would be a lot lower than an 18-seater Beechcraft.
27/07/10 Times of India

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Saudia flight aborts takeoff after engine smoke

Riyadh: A Jeddah-bound Saudi Arabian Airlines flight with 182 passengers on board aborted takeoff at India’s Chennai airport on Monday after the pilot detected smoke coming from one of its engines.
All passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and no injuries were reported.
According to reports from India, the plane was taxiing on the runway for takeoff when the pilot detected smoke. He immediately contacted the control tower to steer it back to a parking bay.
Last month, a Saudia flight to the Indian town of Kochi was forced to return to Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport following a technical malfunction mid-flight. The pilot was forced to make a U-turn one hour into the flight after being alerted of a technical fault by the aircraft’s flight monitoring devices.
In May, a Saudia plane made an emergency landing in the southern Najran province after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit.
26/07/10 Ghazanfar Alikhan/Arab News

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Loopholes in cargo-handling at airport

Kochi: The chemical mishap in a cargo baggage, which was being loaded into a Kingfisher aircraft at the international airport here on Sunday, has raised a major security concern in the handling of domestic and international cargo at the airport.
Senior officials in the Customs and Police departments had demanded that it was high time the Central Government took over the responsibility of cargo-handling from the CIAL authorities. At present, the cargo movement is exclusively handled by the security staff of the CIAL.
Government agencies like the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) come into scene only when the CIAL security staff raise suspicion about the content of the cargo.
Unlike other airports in the state, the cargo-handling at the CIAL is being done by a private agency.
A senior Customs official said that considering the changing security scenario in the state, cargo-handling at CIAL should be immediately handed over to the government agencies.
26/07/10 ExpressBuzz

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T3 take-off: Full-scale ops to start Wednesday

From Wednesday evening, international passengers will fly out of Delhi airport’s new Terminal 3 (T3). The swanky new terminal of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) will begin full scale commercial operations from Wednesday. Air India’s New York Delhi flight (AI 102), expected to land
at 4.45 pm and then dock at T3, will mark the beginning of operations. This was also the first proving flight, with passengers, to dock at T3 on July 14.
International airlines will shift out of the old Terminal 2 and operate all flights from T3.
Domestic flights, however, are expected to start operations from August 27.
The new terminal was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 3.
International flights were expected to start operations from T3 from July 14 and domestic flights from July 31 but the dates were postponed to July 28 and August 27, respectively.
Though private airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) had said that it wanted to be sure before opening the terminal, sources said the real reason behind the delay was unfinished work at T3.
26/07/10 Hindustan Times

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Mumbai airport best in India

Mumbai: The Mumbai airport has ranked fourth in world, beating foreign airports such as San Francisco and Zurich, for offering best quality services in the category of airports handling 1.5 crore to 2.5 crore passengers per year. The ranking was awarded by the Airport Council International (ACI), an independent global agency that conducts quality audits on airports.
This also makes the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport the best airport in India in the particular category. Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport is the only other Indian airport to qualify in the category. Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport, Vancouver and Taipei airport in China are three airports that have fared better than Mumbai in the survey.
The ACI survey team randomly selects 1,500 passengers to gauge an airport’s service quality.
Its questionnaire seeks passenger feedback on parameters such as services from the airport staff, rates offered by the retail stores and connectivity within terminals. On a passenger satisfaction index of five, Mumbai recorded a score of 4.34.
This is a distinct improvement over the earlier satisfaction scores of 4.20 in the first quarter of 2010 and 3.83 in the second quarter of 2009.
27/07/10 Hindustan Times

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Memorial Comes Up at AIE Crash Site

Mangalore: A memorial for the 158 persons, who lost their precious lives in the Air India Express Flight IX 812 crash on May 22, was installed at the crash site in Kenjar near Bajpe here on Tuesday July 27.
In its homage the Air India Express and Ministry of Civil Aviation have installed six black granite slabs on an elevated structure with the names of the 158 crash victims. The names of the passengers and cabin crew have been engraved separately on the slabs highlighting both cabin crew and passengers.
Civil Aviation secretary M M Nambiar unveiled the plaques.
27/07/10 Daijiworld.com

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Air India Holds All Religion Prayer Meet in Memory of Air Crash Victims

Mangalore: An all religion memorial prayer service was held at the Dr TMA Pai International Convention Centre, Mangalore on Tuesday July 27 in memory of all those whose precious lives were perished in the tragic air crash of Air India Express IX-812 on May 22 in City.
Family members and relatives of the deceased passengers, their friends, well-wishers and survivors, several Air India officials including chairman and managing director of Air India Aravind Jadhav, Madhavan Nambiar, secretary, Ministryof Civil Aviation participated in the meeting to pay their tributes to the air crash victims. Deputy commissioner V Ponnuraj and inspector general of police (western range) were also present on the occasion.
Prayers by religious heads of different religious faiths formed the most essential part of the memorial service. The multi-religious prayer service was conducted by B K Elias, representing the Muslim faith, M B Puranik for the Hindu faith, Sham Singh on behalf of Sikh faith, Nirmal Kumar representing Jain faith and Fr Denis Rasquinha as representative of the Christian faith. The prayer service also included prayer song befitting the occasion sung by the nuns of Bethany Convent.
CMD, Air India Aravind Jadhav said that Air India is committed to the welfare of the families of survivors. He assured the family members of the deceased that Air India willl be with them to ensure justice will be done to the family members at any cost.
Madhavan Nambiar also reiterated the commitment of the Civil Aviation Ministry to work closely with the family members of the victims in ensuring that proper compensation is given to the family members.
27/07/10 Daijiworld

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No change of site for Navi Mumbai Airport: Patel

Mumbai: Amid objections raised by the Environment Ministry over the proposed Navi Mumbai Airport, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today said there is "no question of change" in the project site.
"Whatever we have chosen, I will say, is final. There is no question of change in site (of Navi Mumbai Airport," Patel told reporters here.
Earlier, a section of media had reported that the Ministry of Civil Aviation was mulling to change the site for the proposed second airport in Mumbai due to environmental issues.
"The Ministry had examined (the issue) in great detail before approving Navi Mumbai Airport site and to just say that the site can move from here to there is not so easy," Patel said.
"Technically also, the site has to be feasible," he added.
25/07/10 PTI/Economic Times

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No Air India flights to JFK from Mumbai

Mumbai: Air India is mulling changes in its non-stop daily service to New York. Instead of the daily Mumbai-JFK flight, it will now be a Mumbai-Newark flight. The Delhi-JFK connection remains unchanged though.
Senior government officials said this tweaking in the Mumbai connection would lead to significant gains since the airline is looking to negotiate for better and earlier slots from Newark - a less busy airport than JFK. Also, a significant numbers of Indians are settled in and around Newark.
“At present, the aircraft is parked for seven to eight hours at JFK,” an official said. “This obviously costs money... the thinking is to reduce the waiting hours in New York and get earlier slots from Newark.” Moreover, this route is expected to be used by people travelling on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai leg because they prefer Newark to JFK.
The decision is significant because the twice daily service to New York accounted for a whopping Rs750 crore losses in 2008-’09.
The airline has been trying to cut down on losses. Besides restructuring the Mumbai-New York leg, Air India officials said they are trying for non-stop connections to Melbourne, Toronto, and Chicago from Delhi in the upcoming winter schedule.
26/07/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Nod for airport baggage check-in at Metro stations

New Delhi: Once the Airport Express Line of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) becomes operational, passengers heading for the airport will be able to check-in their luggage at the Metro stations.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has given its approval in this regard. But the bureau is yet to agree to a request by the DMRC authorities, to also allow passenger check- in at Metro stations.
According to sources, air passengers boarding at Metro stations will be issued a special tag using which they can trace their luggage at the airport.
"Allowing passengers to check in at Metro stations is not feasible due to security concerns. But we have decided to allow baggage check- in at Metro stations.
But every luggage will be screened twice-once at the Metro station and then at the airport. If anything suspicious is found, the passenger concerned can be traced through the special tag," a BCAS official said.
26/07/10 Faizan Haider/India Today

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Frequent flight cancellations trouble Mizoram

Frequent cancellation of flights is leaving many air travelers in Mizoram grounded. More than the inclement weather, the absence of instrument landing system (ILS) in the state's lone airport is the problem.
The ILS was installed a couple of years ago, but the Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA) has not yet approved its commissioning. Reason: Lengpui, Mizoram's lone airport, is yet to meet some civil aviation technical rules.
At least 25 flights in and out of Lengpui – this table-top airport is 40 km from State capital Aizawl – were cancelled in May and June this year. Besides, many flights to and from Kolkata and Guwahati were delayed for a total of 150 hours.
Air travel is the only 'fast' option for Mizos to visit other parts of the country. The alternative is an uncertain, circuitous road trip on National Highway 54. The highway connects Guwahati – it is Northeast India's communication hub – through southern Assam and Meghalaya.
This highway is prone to landslides during the monsoon months.
According to Lengpui Airport officials, the problem for air travelers has been compounded by the DGCA's inaction. The airport handles four flights every day besides a need-based small aircraft operated by a regional service provider.
21/07/10 Rahul Karmakar/Hindustan Times

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Three greenfield airports in northeastern India

The civil aviation ministry has approved setting up of three greenfield airports in the northeastern states to improve air connectivity.
An official statement said Saturday that of the three greenfield airports, one at Pakyong in Sikkim is already under construction at a cost of Rs.264 crore.
The two other greenfield airports would be set up at Arunachal Pradesh's capital Itanagar and Cheitu in Nagaland's capital Kohima.
The development of Tezu airport in Arunachal Pradesh, at a cost of Rs.79.00 crore, has been approved during 2009-10, it said.
The project is being implemented by the Airports Authority of India. The airport will be ready for operations by March 2012.
Besides, the viability gap funding to M/s Alliance Air for providing air services in the northeastern region has been approved for 2010 and 2011 at a cost of Rs.94.14 crore, the statement said.
24/07/10 IANS/Sify

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Smelly carton triggers scare at Kochi airport

There was some chaos and scare at Kerala's Kochi Airport Sunday when cargo loaders detected a loosely packed carton containing chemicals with a foul smell emanating from it.
The men loading cargo on to the Kingfisher IT 2482 flight from here to Chennai detected the carton.
'They found a packet with foul smell. It was improperly packed. There were three bottles and it was a chemical sample being sent to a Pondicherry detergent company,' Cochin International Airport Ltd Airport Director A.C.K. Nair told IANS.
He denied media reports that a fire had broken out in the cargo hold of the aircraft.
He said the flight left at the scheduled time.
25/07/10 IANS/Sify.com

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IX 811 Mangalore Dubai delayed due to technical snag

Mangalore: A prominent Television channel belonging to a large group today startled Mangaloreans by airing a terrible "news" of the IX 811 Mangalore Dubai Air India flight catching fire in Bajpe airport. But the airport authorities clarified that the said flight had a technical snag due to which the flight was delayed by 20 minutes.
The TV channel quoted the airport officials stating that there was fire and the fire dousing operations were still on even as the said aircraft had landed in Dubai at 11.40 pm (India time) after departing Bajpe at 8.40pm. The channel however closed the story after airing one more item saying that it was a hoax call.
The ATC sources confirmed to Mangalorean.com that there was no call by anybody saying that there was fire, but the pilot had reported a minor technical snag in the aircraft and the engineers had rectified it in some time and the aircraft was cleared to take off by the ATC.
24/07/10 Mangalorean.com

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GMR-MAHB to takeover airport November

Male: A consortium of India’s GMR Infrastructure and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) that won the Male International Airport bid will take over the airport’s management earlier than planned, Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) said Saturday.
Managing Director of the company, Ibrahim Mohamed said employees have been informed of the change and they will be transferred to the company to be formed by GMR and MAHB before November.
“[They] are trying to take over the operations before the previously set date. When the company takes over the operations, this company [MACL] will have a few administrative staffs,” he said.
GRM earlier said the company would start managing the airport in March 2011.
Mohamed said MACL would only consist of air traffic controllers and security officers.
24/07/10 haveeru online

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AERA to decide on single-till method by August

New Delhi: The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) is expected to take a final view on whether to go ahead with the ‘single-till’ method to compute airport revenues by next month.
The method of calculating airport revenues has been a bone of contention between airport operators and AERA, with the former batting for ‘dual-till’ while AERA has favoured single-till in a consultation paper released earlier. Airlines, on their part, agree with AERA and want the single-till method to be implemented.
AERA chairman Yashwant Bhave said Thursday, “Duality (using the dual-till method) is not legally feasible. We have an option between using a hybrid model and going for single-till. We are waiting for the government’s view on the matter and a final view should be taken in a month.”
To put it simply, the single-till method involves cross-subsidisation of aeronautical revenue by non-aeronautical revenue; in the hybrid method some of the aeronautical revenue is cross-subsidised whereas in the dual-till method the two revenue streams are kept separate.
24/07/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Ordeal for Air India passengers after Jet Airways mishap

Ahmedabad: Fifty-seven passengers of a Jet Airways flight had a miraculous escape when the aircraft's nose-wheel suffered a breakdown after landing at Ahmedabad on Thursday night.
However, the incident resulted in a harrowing time for more than 200 passengers of an international flight of Air India.
The New Jersey-Frankfurt-Ahmedabad flight of Air India was slated to land at Ahmedabad at 9.20 pm on Thursday.
However, it could not do so as the Jet Airways aircraft had blocked the runway.
After hovering above Ahmedabad airport for some time, pilots of AI Flight 144 decided to return to Mumbai. This is where the ordeal of the 230 passengers aboard the flight began. The passengers were not allowed to de-board at Mumbai, and had to spend the whole night sitting in the plane.
According to passengers, they were allowed to alight from the aircraft only in the morning for having snacks in the airport lounge.
Vinoda Pandya, a passenger from US, said, "It was a very bad experience for us. We were not provided food or water or tea in the flight. After landing in Mumbai, we were not told when we would be leaving for Ahmedabad. We spent the night in the aircraft."
However, Air India officials said that passengers were not offloaded from the aircraft as they were expecting to leave for Ahmedabad a couple of hours after landing at Mumbai. But, the flight got delayed as they didn't get clearance from Ahmedabad ATC, they said.
24/07/10 Daily News & Analysis

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Blame other airports for arrival delays, says MIAL

Mumbai: The Mumbai airport claimed that although it had eliminated delays in departures, arrivals continued to run late because the aviation regulator had failed to ensure other airports were penalising delays according to its new rule. As a result, it claimed that city-bound flights continued to land 40
to 45 minutes behind schedule. Following the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's rule, starting at 5 am on Monday, the air traffic control began sending flights that were not ready to take off on schedule to the back of the queue.
"Unless other busy airports such as Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata, implement the rule, we cannot reduce delays in arrivals," said a spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Limited.
Mumbai’s air traffic control staff also said that too many flights had to circle above the airport waiting to land because flights from other airports were not arriving on time.
24/07/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Mangalore Airport new terminal to be fully functional from Aug 2

Mangalore: The new terminal building of the airport at Bajpe here will be fully functional from August 2 with shifting process from the old airport near complete.
Airport director M R Vasudev said that the shifting to new terminal building from the old is in process. It is being now contemplated to use the old office for the purpose for management of cargo and other relevant services, he added.
It can be recalled here that the new terminal building was inaugurated on May 15.
24/07/10 Daijiworld.com

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Delhi airport, Air India close to mega deal

New Delhi: Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the consortium operating Delhi airport, is close to signing a mega deal with Air India (AI), which is making the new terminal its operational hub.
The consortium is working out the broad contours of the deal, according to sources close to the negotiations. A DIAL spokesperson said he was not aware of the development and AI’s spokesperson declined to comment.
The sources said DIAL was expected to offer AI a discount of 20 to 30 per cent on airport charges, on a commitment that the carrier would increase the number of its passengers there to 3,000 an hour, a four to five-fold increase from the current numbers, within two years. The airport charges include landing and takeoff charges, parking, usage of aerobridges and usage of airport terminal, among others.
AI has also committed to go in for a three-fold increase in its deployment of flights in and out of Delhi, from 480 a day to 1,200, starting from the next summer schedule. Currently, AI operates a little over 800 flights a day across the network.
These translate to AI bringing 10-13 million passengers annually at the airport’s new Terminal 3, a third of its annual handling capacity of 34 million passengers.
AI will initially get nine dedicated aerobridges of the 78 in operation and 56 check-in counters of the total of 168.
23/07/10 Mihir Mishra & Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard

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AI to begin push-back of aircraft 15 minutes before departure

New Delhi: After missing their scheduled slot following the DGCA guidelines, Air India has decided to begin the push-back of flights 15 minutes ahead of their scheduled departure.
"Air India has decided to increase its push-back time as per the DGCA guidelines," an AI spokesperson said today.
Yesterday, due to strict implementation of DGCA guidelines by the Air Traffic Control (ATC), many flights were delayed by 30 minutes to one hour after they failed to begin push-back of the aircraft 15 minutes before their scheduled departure.
22/07/10 ZeeNews

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Ahmedabad airport opens after 7 hour shutdown

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad airport was forced to shut down for seven hours on Thursday with a Jet Airways plane stranded on the runway, and began operations again by about 4 am on Friday.
Several early morning flights were delayed because of the backlog, but the flight schedule is back to normal now.
The airport was shut down late on Thursday evening after the nose wheel of a Jet Airways plane - flight 9W 2510 to Indore - came off. The flight was scheduled to take off at 8.55 pm, but was stuck on the runway as airport authorities tried to move the aircraft without damaging the runway.
According to a Jet Airways press release, the pilots had to abort take off as the nose wheel came out. All 57 passengers and 4 crew members were safe. They were deplaned and taken to the terminal building, Jet Airways said last night.
23/07/10 NDTV.com

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'Bad-nosed' Jet Airways plane stuck at A'bad airport, passengers safe

Ahmedabad: Fifty-seven passengers and four crew members of a Jet Airways flight had a miraculous escape at Ahmedabad airport on Thursday when their plane suffered a nose wheel breakdown during landing.
The ATR aircraft, flight number 2510, was coming from Indore to Ahmedabad and was scheduled to land at Ahmedabad airport at 8.54 pm.
Though the touchdown by the pilots was proper, the nose wheel suffered a breakdown due to a technical snag. Fortunately, no passenger was injured, officials said. But the aircraft got stuck on the runway which affected movement of lanes.
According to airline sources, the hydraulic brake of the aircraft got jammed due to rain, which was the reason for the incident.
23/07/10 Daily News & Analysis

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IGI to enforce DGCA order on parking bay schedule

New Delhi: Fed up with the poor punctuality record of airlines, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) recently issued an order which mandates that aircraft push back from the parking bays at least 15 minutes before their scheduled departure time or lose their slot in the queue. The order was implemented in Mumbai on July 19 when a whopping 86 flights had to be rescheduled. Now it is Delhi's turn to see how efficient its flights are. Sources say that the order is likely to be enforced in the capital by next week.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said that Delhi and Mumbai were facing massive congestion-related delays, specially with traffic at both airports having gone up recently. "The schedule for each hour is so packed that there is no scope for delays. Even if a couple of flights delay in taking off, it would mess the entire schedule. For that, airlines need to follow a strictly disciplined schedule,'' said an official.
In Mumbai, the first day of implementation of the order saw 86 flights delayed by 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes after they lost their original place in the line-up for departure. On the second day, the number came down to 48 and on the third day it was down to 39. Thursday saw about 25 flights delayed after being rescheduled.
Airlines have already started preparing for the change in Delhi. Kingfisher and Indigo are closing their check-in counters 5 to 15 minutes earlier than usual so that flights can be boarded with sufficient time to spare. Other airlines are likely to follow suit specially when DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi said that the order would be implemented in Delhi as soon as possible.
23/07/10 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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Don’t dismiss fliers’ issues, says court

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday expressed sympathy for the air travellers and told the airport authorities that they (airport authorities) could not dismiss their issues saying that they are technical matters. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Resources for
Aviation Redressal Association which had raised issues on traffic congestion, wastage of fuel and security of passengers.
The PIL said the operational polices adopted by MIAL is resulting in minimising and jeopardising the security of passengers to generate more revenue.
The PIL also alleged that the authorities are ignoring the alarming rate of air congestion though empowered to control wastage of aviation fuel.
However, when the lawyer representing the airport authorities told the court that these were technical issues and there are a number of reasons pertaining to this Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari said even he has faced delays at least on 10 occasions where the flight takes off at time but there is a delay at the arrival. “Don’t say it’s technical, its in public interest,” said Justice Dharmadhikari.
23/07/10 Hindustan Times

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AI flight takes off 'partially' from Chakeri

Kanpur: After three days of continuous cancellation from Monday to Wednesday, the sole operational flight between Delhi and Allahabad via Kanpur touched the Chakeri Airport on Thursday. However, yet again, the return flight from Allahabad to Kanpur and then to Delhi had to be cancelled following the sunset limitation. The 48-seater Air India flight was thus diverted directly to Delhi from Allahabad on Thursday.
It was reported that the Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad 48-seater Air India flight, whose arrival time at Kanpur was 2.40 pm, got delayed by 90 minutes and reached the Chakeri Airport at 4.05 pm with 22 passengers of Kanpur. The flight schedule was disrupted completely following the delay as the flight which was supposed to arrive at 2.40 pm landed at 4.05 pm in Kanpur. And, the departure time of the Kanpur to Allahabad flight, which was 3 pm, got delayed to 4.20 pm.
After several hitches of flight cancellations and flight diversions, the Air India flight seems to be following the pattern of Air Deccan, which was once operational from Chakeri Airport, and its flight services had to be closed down following the same reasons.
22/07/10 Times of India

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Oz fire-busters for Bhubaneswar airport

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to fight any exigency during landing or take-off of flights, the Biju Patnaik Airport authorities today acquired two sophisticated fire tenders. Made in Australia, their water jet can reach up to the height of 90 metres.
Priced at Rs 5 crore each, the airport authorities will procure one more Panther next week. The Biju Patnaik Airport is the first domestic aerodrome to procure Panther.
The air-conditioned fire tenders — christened Panther — will not only fight fire in the airport. They would be made available to douse any major fire in the city.
“We are ready to attend any major fire in the city, which cannot be controlled by the state fire brigade. But for that we need a request for the state government,” said T. Mandal, the director of the Airport Authorities of India, Bhubaneswar.
Weighing 27 tonnes, each of the Australian fire tenders has the capacity to carry 12,000 litre of water and 1,600 litre of aqua film foam, used to extinguish fire.
Panthers can carry five personnel of the airport fire control, including a driver, an in-charge and two operators. They are equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) and very high frequency communication sets to coordinate with the pilots of aircraft.
23/07/10 Ajit Dash/The Telegraph

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Flight passenger fare hike would adversely affect NRKs

Kozhikode: The Malabar Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday said that the exorbitant hike in the flight passenger fare, would adversely affect the thousands of Keralites working in gulf countries.
The Air India Express flights which were operating as low cost flights had increased the fare by Rs 5000, PV Gangadharan, president, Malabar Chamber of Commerce and Calicut Airport Committee chairman, PV Chandran, said in a release in Kozikhode. Other companies too had also increased the passenger fares, it said.
22/07/10 PTI/Economic Times

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Mumbai mum meets sudden death in Nepal airport

Kathmandu: A 47-year-old woman from Mumbai, who was in Nepal for a vacation with her son, died a sudden death while waiting for their flight back home to India, police said.
Sarita Singhal, who had come on a holiday with her son Raunak, was suddenly taken ill Thursday while at the waiting room in the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu to catch a Jet Airways flight back home. She fainted and fell and first aid efforts failed to revive her. As her bewildered son and airport staff rushed her to the Kathmandu Medical Hospital, she died on the way.
The hospital authorities told IANS the dead woman’s family members arrived Thursday evening and were handed over the body.
23/07/10 Sudeshna Sarkar/Sindh Today

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Nagaland CM defends Home Minister on Nepal airport incident

Kohima : The government today squarely blamed the media for flaring the issue of Home Minister Imkong L. Imchen’s experience at Kathmandu Airport on June 30 last where he was reportedly held up and questioned for possession of banned currency denominations. Replying to a starred question raised by MLA Joshua Sumi during Question Hour, Chief Minister Neiphiu defended his Home Minister, assuring that Imchen was not detained as reported but rather he missed the Jet Airways flight scheduled to leave Kathmandu for New Delhi due to the time taken to explain the circumstances for carrying the currency to the Nepalese police authorities at the Airport.
While his wife and children left Kathmandu by the original Jet Airways flight, Imchen took the next available Jet Airways flight, he explained. On being asked whether the Home Minister had taken permission or clearance from the Government of India to travel to Nepal, the Chief Minister assured that he himself had given clearance to Imchen for his visit to Kathmandu.
22/07/10 Morung Express

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Flight delays vanish into thin air

Mumbai: Flight delays at Mumbai airport have almost been eliminated in the span of two days. On Wednesday, only one-tenth of the average number of late flights were sent to the back of the take-off queue. The number of flights missing their departure slots came down to 6 from 60 on Monday. The
airport operator said that six out the eight domestic carriers recorded 100 per cent on-time performance during peak hours, which are from 5:30 am to 9 am, with only the main runway available for operations.
The secondary runway was shut because of bad weather. Two independent sources from private airlines told Hindustan Times that none of the stakeholders bothered to respect schedules because there was no accountability for delays.
A new rule by the aviation regulator, which came into force from Monday, grounded late flights and crated chaos.
But for the past two days, late flights which were a persistent problem at the Mumbai airport, have vanished because of the rule.
22/07/10 Hindustan Times

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Peacock hits Jet airways flight

Mangalore: In a freak accident a peacock darting across the taxiway near the apron of the Bajpe international airport today crippled the Jet Airways flight Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai 9W2133 here, a day too soon for the second monthly anniversary of the IX 812 crash.
The aircraft a Boeing 737-800 had landed on the runway No.24 and was taxiing on the taxiway towards the apron in front of the airport terminal. Suddenly a peacock darted across the path of the aircraft and got crushed under the nose wheel of the aircraft after the collision the remains of the bird smeared all over the wheel and the hydraulic section of the front nose wheel was crippled.
The Jet Airways engineers from Mumbai arrived with spare parts after three hours after the accident and fixed the affected section in the plane. Soon after that, the flight departed to Mumbai at 16.40 hours (two hours delay) with 75 passengers and 6 crew members.
21/07/10 Mangalorean.com

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AI flight takes off 'partially' from Chakeri

Kanpur: After three days of continuous cancellation from Monday to Wednesday, the sole operational flight between Delhi and Allahabad via Kanpur touched the Chakeri Airport on Thursday. However, yet again, the return flight from Allahabad to Kanpur and then to Delhi had to be cancelled following the sunset limitation. The 48-seater Air India flight was thus diverted directly to Delhi from Allahabad on Thursday.
It was reported that the Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad 48-seater Air India flight, whose arrival time at Kanpur was 2.40 pm, got delayed by 90 minutes and reached the Chakeri Airport at 4.05 pm with 22 passengers of Kanpur. The flight schedule was disrupted completely following the delay as the flight which was supposed to arrive at 2.40 pm landed at 4.05 pm in Kanpur. And, the departure time of the Kanpur to Allahabad flight, which was 3 pm, got delayed to 4.20 pm.
22/07/10 Times of India

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Fire Services unit at Mangalore airport shifted

Mangalore: The process of commissioning the new integrated terminal building (NITB) at the Mangalore airport has begun.
As a first step, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), on Monday, shifted its Fire Services unit to a new building close to the centre of the operational area of the new concrete runway.
Earlier the Fire Services unit was located in a building within the operational area of the old asphalted runway.
The airport has category-VII Fire Services unit with 29 firemen. They will be on duty round the clock in shifts. The unit has six fire tenders. Two fire tenders are required to be stationed during aircraft operation.
He said that offices of Customs, immigration and different airlines are yet to be shifted to the NITB.
He said the AAI was making efforts to put the NITB to use by August 2. The NITB was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel on May 15.
22/07/10 Mangalorean.com

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Air India Memorial Service for Crash Victims on Jul 27

Mangalore: Air India has organized an all-religion memorial service as a tribute to those who perished in the tragic crash of Air India Express flight IX-812 at Bajpe on May 22 this year.
In a media release, Air India informed that the memorial prayer service will be held at Dr T M A Pai International Convention Hall, MG Road on Tuesday July 27 from 10.00 am to 11.15 am.
M M Nambiar, secretary, ministry of civil aviation, and Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director, Air India, will also be present on the occasion.
Special transport arrangements have been made to pick up and drop relatives from Bhatkal, Kasargod, and Udupi. Air India has also provided helpline numbers in Mangalore 0824 – 2452306 / 2452307 / 2452308 for assistance to the relatives.
21/07/10 Daijiworld.com

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Hospitals, convention centres in airports soon?

New Delhi: India may soon boast of having hospitals and convention centres on airport land, enabling people quick access to these places to and from airports. The aviation ministry has asked the government to enlarge the scope of commercial activities on airport land by relaxing land use norms that are currently restricted to passenger-related things like hotels, restaurants, cargo and money exchange facilities.
Apart from easy access, the move is aimed at making airports commercially viable, especially in smaller cities where the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI)-run facilities perpetually lose money. At present, land use is decided by the AAI Act and is limited mainly to flier-related activities.
"The idea is to maximise revenue from land use and it's essentially aimed at smaller cities where AAI would then be able to cross-subsidise its aeronautical operations. At present, many airports in smaller cities are not making money, but are important from connectivity point of view. We want them to become commercially viable," aviation minister Praful Patel said.
22/07/10 Times of India

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Bullet seized from passenger

Thiruvananthapuram: Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at Thiruvananthapuram Airport on July 21 recovered a bullet from a passenger during security frisking.
The bullet was recovered from Sayed Mohammed Aliyar, 24, of Kanyakumari.
Sources said that Sayed was about to board the Air India flight to Riyadh at 10.30 AM when the bullet was recovered from him. On further interrogation, Sayed said that he got the bullet from a farm near his house at Manavilakurichi near Kanyakumari.
The CISF let him board the flight after they were convinced that Sayed was speaking the truth, but on condition that he would be summoned anytime if necessary.
22/07/10 ExpressBuzz

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JAL switches terminals in New Delhi

Japan Airlines flights to New Delhi will park in a different terminal from July 30.
The carrier's flight operations will move from Terminal 2 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, to the airport's newest Terminal 3.
In Terminal 3, JAL customers can check in for their flights at a dedicated JAL check-in island located near the security screeners and from mid-August*, eligible JAL passengers may also access the lounge of India's domestic carrier - Kingfisher. Kingfisher is slated to join JAL in the oneworld airline alliance in 2011. The lounge offers wireless LAN connection, showers and a business centre among other amenities.
The construction of the ultra-modern Terminal 3, a befitting symbol of India's swift and vast economic growth and expansion, was completed within 37 months and boasts the use of state-of-the-art technologies. Its function as a strategic hub in South Asia is highly anticipated.
22/07/10 Aviation Record

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Govt to set up cold chain storage for drugs at Mumbai, Delhi airports in first phase

New Delhi: Moved by the persistent demand from the pharmaceutical exporters and importers, the government is planning to further augment the drug storage facilities at the Mumbai and Delhi airports by creating additional cold chain capacities.
The government has placed drug storage facility as a priority agenda and will be starting with the two major airports now. The facilities at five key airports including Hyderabad and Bangalore will be augmented may be in the next two to three years. The complaints by the pharma industry that quality of medicines transported through air routes is getting affected due to the lack of proper storage system will thus be solved to a great extent, sources said.
A committee comprising the departments of health, pharma and civil aviation, along with representatives from the Airports Authority of India and the developers of the two airports is coordinating the augmentation of facilities at the two airports now.
Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) has already created four new cold rooms for pharma products. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has also planned to create 3700 square meters of additional cold room facilities for pharma products when the new cargo terminal becomes operational, sources said.
22/07/10 Joseph Alexander/Pharmabiz.com

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Airport retailing takes off

New Delhi: Airport retailing is getting a makeover with the fast pace of airport development in the country and an upswing in the number of fliers.
New airport terminals, such as the T3 in New Delhi, have given a shot in the arm to retailers looking for plush spaces and to footfalls largely as more people opt for air travel.
“The current expansion work and modernisation of airports is definitely one of the reasons why most retailers are expanding,” said Mr Jyoti Narula, Managing Director, Genesis Colors. “The target audience is (easily) available and the 24/7 mode of retailing takes into account the convenience of the customer, giving him the liberty of shopping at unusual hours. For us, the response has been overwhelming.”
The company imports and retails international luxury brands such as Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta, Just Cavalli, Satya Paul and Tie Rack. It retails Satya Paul accessories at domestic terminals in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai airports as standalone and shop-in-shop formats.He said the company is considering establishing outlets at other airports as well to boost its brand equity.
Ms Sukanya Dutta Roy, Country Manager, Swarovski India, said, “Premium brands are keen on participating in the airport's retail zone primarily as there has been a transformation in airports across India. We are also open to other upcoming airports with great potential.” According to Mr Rajesh Menon, Managing Director, Impact Marketing Services, for most retailers a 10,000-20,000 footfalls (on a conservative note) a day in an airport terminal could be potentially lucrative.
20/07/10 Bindu D. Menon/Business Line

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Gvk to sell stake in airport business

GVK Power & Infra (GVKPIL) is in talks with PE players to dilute stake in its airport subsidiary. GVK Airport Development Private Ltd which is the holding company for all GVK investments in the aviation space is looking at diluting up to 26% stake. GVK Airport development private limited is a hundred per cent subsidiary of GVK Power & Infra. ( Watch )
According sources from the company, GVKPIL is in talks with Temasek holdings, Blackstone group & SBI-Macquarie. ‘The company is looking at raising up to $400 mn through the stake sale’ said a company source who did not want to be named. The deal is expected to be finalised by September.
GVK Power and Infrastructure holds about 37 per cent in Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) and around 29 per cent in Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL). It is in talks with its South African partner Bidvest to buy 13.5% stake which will take hike its stake to 51% in MIAL.
Though Bidvest holds about 27% in the company and is looking at an exit option, the South African company is under an obligation to hold a minimum of 10% equity for seven years. Beyond this, the company is free to sell its stake to any financial investor though the first right of refusal is with the GVK group.
The Airports Authority of India owns 26% of the company and Airport Company South Africa 10% in MIAL.
20/07/10 Sameer Hashmi/Economic Times

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Police on vigil to free airport of touts

Mumbai: A week after two squads of plainclothes policemen were deployed outside the domestic and international airports in an attempt to nab touts, who are known for harassing and cheating foreigners, the Mumbai Police have claimed that the number of complaints against the fraudulent agents have decreased considerably.
Acting on several complaints against touts, who allegedly fleece foreign passengers, Deputy Commissioner of Police (zone 8) Satya Narayan Chowdhury had deployed two six-member squads of policemen on the airport premises.
“Touts would pose as agents and offer to exchange foreign currency for Indian rupees, but they cheat passengers in the process. The agents would also offer to take the foreigners to hotels for cheap rates and claim their commission. While many of these touts operate with the support of local taxi and autorickshaw drivers, many others pose as drivers holding placards with names, so as to divert others’ attention and blend in with the crowd,” said Chowdhury.
“We have set up two squads of six policemen each, three during the day and three other in nights, to patrol in plainclothes. These policemen have been instructed to be on the lookout for suspicious looking men who try to persuade foreigners into hailing a taxi. They will report only to me,” said Chowdhury.
21/07/10 Indian Express

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'Spirited' man delays AI flight

The passengers of Air India Express flight IX 144 were waiting for their plane to take off from Mumbai for their destination, Delhi. The scheduled departure was at 11:35 pm but some time later they were told that it has been re-scheduled for 12:15 am. However, the flight was already running late from Bahrain due to which the departure from Mumbai was again delayed till 1:15 am.
A yet to be identified passenger on the plane thought to make the most of the time. He went inside the airport and drank a bit too much.
After making good his time, the passenger returned to the plane.
"The aircraft had just started taxiing and was approaching the runway. However, suddenly a passenger who was seated behind me started vomiting. The crew immediately informed the pilot and the flight was aborted and returned to the parking bay," said Chander Bhave, who boarded the flight to Delhi from Mumbai.
"The pilot informed the ATC and an ambulance reached the plane," said Bhave.
After the aircraft was parked, the passenger was taken out and others were also asked to get off the plane for some time.
"Later, it was announced that the flight would depart at 2:45 am," said Dr Bhave.
Sources said, the drunken passenger was later declared fit by doctors and allowed to fly. "He flew to Delhi in the same flight," said sources.
21/07/10 Surender Sharma/MiD DAY

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