Air India Staff Arrested Over People Smuggling Operation

New Delhi: : Indian police said Thursday they have arrested two Air India employees after uncovering a people smuggling operation at New Delhi airport that apparently targeted Nepalese quake victims.

A senior police officer at the airport said staff at the national carrier were suspected of helping Nepalese women promised jobs in wealthy Gulf countries to evade immigration procedures.

So far 28 women have been identified, most of whom police said were from areas of Nepal badly affected by a major earthquake in April, which killed thousands and left many more homeless.

M.I Haider, deputy commissioner of police at the airport, said the scam was exposed on July 21 when a group of seven Nepalese women transiting Delhi airport en route to Dubai were found with their travel documents stamped even though they had not yet cleared immigration control.
30/07/15 New Indian Express

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Urgent air connectivity to global cities sought

Vijayawada:  The Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (APCCIF) has appealed to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to provide connectivity from Vijayawada (Gannavaram) airport to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Pune and Aurangabad to make it convenient for a sizeable population which travels to those cities from the Andhra Pradesh Capital region, to reach those destinations.

The AAI would also do well to take urgent steps for providing connectivity to Dubai/ Abu Dhabi, Singapore/Malaysia, Australia, Bangkok and London/Amsterdam to cater to the requirements of the huge NRI population of this region that has settled down in U.S.A, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

APCCIF Executive Director P. Bhaskar Rao has in a letter to the Executive Director (Marketing) of AAI stated that population of the Capital city was likely to grow to three million by 2020 from the present 1.5 million and fortunately cities like Guntur with about 0.5 million population and towns like Eluru, Gudivada, Machilipatnam, Tenali, Mangalagiri, Bhimavaram and Nuzvid with a total population of another million are in a close range of 60 to 70 kilometres from the airport.
01/07/15 The Hindu

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2 held for smuggling gold bars from Dubai

Pune: The customs on Tuesday arrested two men at the Lohegaon airport for trying to smuggle in gold worth Rs 80 lakh from Dubai.

One of the accused, Dadaso Dursharekar, a resident of Posewadi in Khanpur taluka of Sangli, had arrived at the Pune airport by an Air India flight on Tuesday morning. His associate, Digvijay Ghorpade, was waiting outside the airport to collect the gold.

Dursharekar tried to clear the customs channel by submitting a nil customs declaration about dutiable goods imported by him. However, an alert customs official noticed his suspicious activities and detained him for questioning.
18/11/14 Times of India

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Proposed airport at Ankleshwar too close to national highway: MoEF

Ahmedabad: The airport proposed at Ankleshwar in Bharuch district to boost investment in Port and the up coming Petro Chemicals Special Investment Region (PCPSIR) at Dahej is facing hurdle in obtaining environmental clearance because of the sites proximity to the National Highway 8 (NH-8).

The project proponent Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL) has been asked to obtain no objection certificate (NOC) from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the minister of environment and forests.

Ankleshwar is one of the biggest industrial townships in Bharuch district with a population of 140,839. However, the for air connectivity people in Ankleshwar town have depend on either Surat or Vadodara airports located at a distance of 73 and 72 km respectively.
01/08/14 Business Standard

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SpiceJet to 'Adjust Processes' to Handle Delay Scenarios Properly

New Delhi: With the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directing SpiceJet to refund fares and food charges for all its passengers on a Mumbai-Delhi flight, the no-frills carrier on Tuesday acknowledged its failure and promised to "adjust processes" to meet such situations in the future.

However, it also said that budget airlines were "unable at short notice to provide food for everyone on board for logistical reasons as the aircraft are not stocked that way (and) only carry limited quantities of food on board".

SpiceJet became the first airline in the country to be directed by aviation regulator DGCA to refund fares of all passengers after its flight SG-419 was delayed by about five hours on June 16.

The airline was also asked to refund the money it charged from passengers for food and beverages as, according to the laid-down rules, it was supposed to have offered these items for free.

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft (VT-SGO), carrying 172 passengers, including two infants, suffered engineering problems, forcing the pilots to abort take-off.
30/07/14 PTI/NDTV

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29 cases of security breach at major airports since 2011: Govt

New Delhi: There have been 29 cases of security breach at major airports from 2011 till last month, though the number has been on the decline, Lok Sabha was informed today.

This year till June, two cases of security lapses have been reported from the Delhi airport, Minister of State for Civil Aviation G M Siddeshwara said in reply to questions and added that these were brought to the notice of concerned agencies for appropriate action.

While 17 cases were reported in 2011 from six airports, seven of them at Chennai and six in Mumbai, the number declined to nine in 2012 with the maximum of four reported from Mumbai. In 2013, the number declined to only one case reported at Amritsar, he said.

In reply to another question, Siddeshwara said 13 cases have been reported over the last three years in which employees of Air India were found involved in gold and contraband smuggling. Disciplinary action has been initiated against them, he added.
30/07/14 PTI/Business Standard

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Unstabilised flight landing worries ATC

New Delhi: Even as air traffic grows at a rapid pace in the country, it has been found that about one-fifth of missed landings in India, which force pilots to opt for a ‘go-around’, are “unstabilised”.This has led to serious concern amongst aviation and airport authorities who have started organising joint workshops and interactions for pilots and air traffic control officers (ATCOs) to address the problems encountered by both in such situations.
An unstabilised approach is a landing approach during which an aircraft does not maintain stability of at least one of the variables speed, descent rate, vertical or lateral flight path and landing configuration. Such approaches generally account for most approach and landing accidents.Missed landings, particularly due to unstabilised approaches, form about 20 per cent of the total go-around incidents, according to Airports Authority of India (AAI) data.
At a recent interaction of pilots and ATCOs organised by AAI here, serious concern was expressed by the authority’s top-brass on the issue. AAI is the sole provider of all air navigation, or ATC, services in the country.
ATCOs from several airports of north India and pilots from airlines like Air India, Jet Airways, IndiGo and GoAir discussed the pros and cons of unstabilised approaches and ‘go -around’ on air traffic control.
30/07/14 Asian Age

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Secondary runway ops suspend Metro work near Chennai airport

Chennai: Operations on the secondary runway of Chennai airport have interrupted ongoing Metro Rail construction in the area for a while now.

After the secondary runway was thrown open for flight operations, officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) had sought to suspend Metro Rail work, citing ‘safety’ reasons, said officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). The construction is disrupted for two hours on Tuesdays and Saturdays when the main runway is shut for maintenance and the secondary runway is used.

“They had asked to stop work only for those few hours, since we employ huge machines for construction near the secondary runway. We were advised to stop work on those two days. This is only a temporary arrangement till the construction is completed,” said an official from CMRL.

“But there should not be a problem when we begin train operations; it will continue unaffected irrespective of the operations on the secondary runway,” the official added.
30/07/14 The Hindu

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Odisha signs pact with AAI to develop Jharsuguda airport

The Odisha government today inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for developing the airport at Jharsuguda at a cost of Rs 210 crore.

The AAI owned airport spread over 909.22 acres of land at Jharsuguda is not in full-fledged operations. Presently, only air traffic control tower is functional and a few charter aircrafts are operating. Odisha has only one operational airport- the Biju Patnaik international airport in Bhubaneswar with facilities for both domestic and international flight operations.

The development of a full-fledged airport at Jharsuguda known for its concentration of industries, is set to give a boost especially to the operating industrial units. The airport's business is expected to be driven chiefly by corporate travellers.

Two of Vedanta Group firms- Sterlite Energy, an independent power plant (IPP) with its 2400 Mw coal-fired plant and Sesa Sterlite with 1.75 million tonne aluminium smelter have established their presence at Jharsuguda. Besides, there is a concentration of sponge iron units in the Jharsuguda-Rourkela belt.
30/04/14 Bhubaneswar/Business Standard

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Mumbai airport cargo goes paper-free

Now, the clearance of cargo goods at the airport is all set to get smoother. Airport authorities have made the cargo handling division paperless with all entries of imported-exported goods to be done online.
An official from Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said the airlines and agents will now have to issue online delivery order messages.

"The system has the capability to validate orders online before the generation of final gate pass and, thereby, ease the operational work," said a senior MIAL official.

The new system with a unified electronic platform will strengthen digital interface between cargo terminal operator and all air cargo stakeholders, including customs, custom brokers, airlines, freight forwarders, shippers, consignees and other statutory bodies, airport officials added.
30/07/14 Daily News & Analysis

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Mysore may be off commercial flight map this Dasara

Mysore:  Visitors to Mysore this Dasara season may have to travel only by bus, road or private charter flights.

The sole commercial operator has indicated to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) it will discontinue the Mysore-Chennai flight from September 1 even as no airline has approached the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for permission to operate flights out of Mysore in the winter schedule starting October.

The Mysore airport, built by the AAI at an investment of Rs 80 crore, will not operate commercial flights during the peak tourist season. The stakeholders are now pinning their hopes on Union minister of state for civil aviation GM Siddeshwara who will visit the city on Saturday.
SpiceJet, which got Mysore air connectivity in January 2013, indicated to the AAI it could stop services to Mysore. "SpiceJet representatives informed me they will discontinue Mysore operations. They attributed it to the load factor," C Manjunath, Mysore airport chief, said, adding that he's awaiting written communication from them.
30/04/14 Times of India

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Man attempts suicide at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport

Hyderabad: A passenger allegedly attempted suicide by leaping from the departure ramp at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad on Tuesday night.

The man identified as Ravi Kumar, 30, is a Chennai native and was about to board a Chennai bound Indigo flight.

He sustained injuries and was rushed to the hospital.

30/07/14 Deccan Chronicle     

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Major mishap averted at Amritsar international airport

Amritsar:  Timely spotting of human movement near runway of Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport averted a major mishap on Wednesday.

According to reports, an Indian air force aircraft was about to land when Air Traffic Control (ATC) spotted few persons going towards runway and alerted the pilot.
30/07/14 Yudhvir Rana/Times of India

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CIAL ups borrowing cap to fund expansion plans

Kochi: Keeping in view the additional fund requirements for meeting the capital expenditure for its long-term expansion plans, the Cochin International Airport Limited is all set to raise its borrowing limits of the company to Rs.1500 crore from the current ceiling of Rs.300 crore.

As per CIAL annual report 2014-15, a special resolution with regard to raising the credit cap will be presented during its annual general meeting (AGM) to be held on August 29 for the approval of its shareholders. The proposal, being initiated with a view to finance its ongoing and future projects and enhanced working capital needs of the company, had already been approved by the company director board during its meeting on December 2013.

The current limit on borrowing for the company was set during an extra ordinary annual general meeting of the company in August 2000.

The move follows an ambitious expansion plan by the airport company unveiled earlier this year, which envisages construction of a state-of-the-art international terminal to keep pace with its growing status and ever-increasing passenger traffic. To be established at a cost of Rs.977 crore, the terminal will have a built-up area of 15 lakh sq. ft with a peak hour capacity to handle 4,000 passengers, as against the present capacity of 1,200 passengers.
30/07/14 Hari Krishnan/The Hindu

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Booze Carrying Racket Held in Airport

Chennai: Duty-free liquor may not mean much to these two men, now that they’re in the slammer. Arrested as part of a liquor smuggling racket by the Airport Police, Madan Singh (37) and Sathik Basha (43) have been persuading regular passengers flying from Colombo to Chennai to carry their stipulated two bottles of liquor purchased at the airport, and hand it over once they cleared customs.

Any international air passenger is allowed to purchase two bottles of liquor sans duty charges and take it to their destination. It is widely believed that customs notified shops have a better quality of liquor and are available at cheaper prices than on retail.

“We received information that this gang had been collecting liqour outside the airport and selling it at an underground operation out of a place in Mannady, so we decided to intercept them,” said Airport Police Inspector Mahimaiveeran.

A team from the airport police waited at the arrival area of the Anna International Terminal as passengers of flight UL 127 cleared customs and began streaming out.

“We picked up two passengers who were doing the ferrying and they led us to the two men who were running the operation,” he added.
30/07/14 Daniel Thimmayya/New Indian Express

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Air India employees found smuggling gold

New Delhi:  Indian authorities have found 13 cases of gold smuggling by employees of the national carrier, Air India, over the past three years and the current year, the junior civil aviation minister said on Wednesday.
India, the biggest buyer of gold after China, last year imposed a record 10 percent import duty and made it mandatory to export a fifth of all bullion imports to constrict its trade deficit.
But this has led to heavy smuggling, with some gold in imported vehicles and even using human mules who swallow nuggets to try to get them past airport security.
30/07/14 Times of India

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Notices for Navi Mumbai airport land from today

Mumbai:  Notices for land acquisition for the 226-acre core area for the Navi Mumbai international airport will be issued from Tuesday. The land is largely owned by villagers and is spread over eight villages. The acquisition will be carried out by the Raigad collector.

Cidco officials said physical possession of the land is expected to be completed by September.

"In phase I, for compensation distribution, we received 46 consent letters, and 11 more people have come forward after closure of the process. Plots have been marked and allotments will be done through a lottery. The first assignment of plots to project-affected people will be done on August 15,'' sources said.
Once the land is acquired, the process of reclamation, hill-cutting and diversion of the Ulwe river will be undertaken in the core area.

Bids for the airport's construction will be issued within three months and the process will be completed within eight months. Thereafter, the bidder will have to take over the construction process, including whatever remains of reclamation and hill-cutting, officials said.
28/07/14 Clara Lewis/Times of India

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Near misses on rise in Indian airspace, show AAI records

Mumbai: If you are a frequent flyer, this news will send a chill down your spine. Indian airspace has seen as many as 17 cases of near misses so far in the year 2013-2014, four more than last year.
Airprox is when two aircraft come dangerously close to each other. As per the UN-backed International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an airprox is defined as a situation in which, in the opinion of a pilot or air traffic services personnel, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved may have been compromised. This situation is expected only at a time of actual risk, not potential risk.

According to records of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), a central government-run organisation, the year 2012-13 had seen a dip with 13 cases as compared to 2011-12, which saw 28 cases of airprox.
"This has happened despite the upgradation and modernisation of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) equipment and systems, which is being done continuously to improve the operations capacity in Indian airspace," an AAI insider told dna on Monday.
29/07/14 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

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CISF excels in catching airport thieves in Chennai

Chennai: The CISF once again helped nab a thief at Chennai airport.
The officials found an airline loader stealing a ‘cooling glass’ from a passenger’s bag on Monday while transporting the baggage to the conveyor belt.
Last week, the security officials had alerted Customs about a man exchanging a bag with a woman in order to evade screening.
On checking the contents of the bag, Customs officials found 2.5 kg gold biscuits in it.
In recent times, the CISF, responsible for the security at the city airport, has helped in finding culprits involved in stealing and also smuggling cases.
An airport source says that the terminals at the city airport are now fully under surveillance, while it is left to the airline companies to secure their flights and the local police to tighten security outside the terminals.
29/07/14 Deccan Chronicle

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Kadapa airport works nearing completion

Kadappa: Works undertaken at Kadapa airport is nearing completion and it would be inaugurated shortly, District Collector K.V. Ramana has said.
After reviewing the progress of works with officials of forest, roads and buildings and fire department at the airport here on Monday, the Collector said that issues pertaining to security arrangements and steps to check the entry of deer into the airport were yet to be addressed. He directed Roads and Buildings officials to put up speed breakers on the main road leading to the airport.
29/07/14 MV Subramanyam/The Hindu

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SpiceJet to discontinue operations from Mysore

Mysore: The sole commercial flight connecting Mysore with Bangalore and Chennai will be discontinued with effect from September 1, in what could be a major setback to the region’s connectivity with other business centres.

SpiceJet, which was operating the flight, has indicated that it is withdrawing operations from the city. Confirming this with The Hindu, C. Manjunath, officer in charge of he Mysore Airport, said he received an SMS from the airline’s local representative indicating the closure of operations with effect from September 1. The airline has also cancelled flights from Mysore till August 10.

Mr. Manjunath said services during June and July were erratic as the airline had suspended flights citing operational reasons.

“One of its aircraft was grounded for technical reasons and hence there were frequent cancellations and change of schedule in operations to Mysore,” said Mr. Manjunath.
29/07/14 The Hindu

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‘Will Complete All Airport Projects Soon’

Davangere:  All pending airport projects in the state, including Gulbarga, Bijapur, Hassan, Bellary and Shimoga will be completed soon, said Minister of State for Civil Aviation G M Siddeshwar.

He was speaking at a press conference at Anagodu after reviewing the release of Tungabhadra water to Anagodu tank. If the aviation industry suffers heavy losses, the ministry will take steps to rejuvenate it with the advice of the Union Finance Ministry, he said.

“I have a dream of building an airstrip in Davangere. Around 500 acres is needed for the purpose. I have already consulted the Deputy Commissioner in this regard,” he said. Efforts are on allot land for the airstrip near Karilakkenahalli village, he added.
28/07/14 New Indian Express

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Flight operations to stop at Hubli airport for two months

Bangalore/Hubli/Belgaum: The twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad will have no air connectivity for at least two months from August 1, as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will take up an expansion project. However, small aircraft such as four to six-seaters and helicopters can land at the airport.

Spicejet has been operating two flights per day on the Hubli-Bangalore, Hubli-Delhi-Jabalpur-Mumbai routes. The airline will provide service from Belgaum city during the period. Spicejet is the only service provider from Hubli.

The AAI will increase the length of the runway from 4,500 ft to 7,500 ft and width from 90 ft to 135 ft, at a cost of Rs 60 crore. It is feared that the project would get delayed as the Hubli-Dharwad City Corporation and other local utility providers are not co-operating.

Though the Public Works Department (PWD) has handed over three km of the road (major district road) that has been acquired for expansion, the urban local body and the traffic police have not taken steps to stop vehicular movement on the stretch.
27/07/14 Deccan Herald

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Regular flights to link Gujarat cities soon

Ahmedabad: The union civil aviation ministry has identified six places — Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Kandla, Keshod, Daman and Diu — in and around the state to promote regional air connectivity as part of the central government's plan for Tier-II and Tier-III cities of the country.

Small airports that can handle scheduled flights on a regular basis will be built at the six places identified by the civil aviation ministry. These places currently do have airstrips but they handle very few flights. For instance, one scheduled flight operates daily out of Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Diu. The airports that are planned will not be as big those in Ahmedabad and other large cities but they will be more than airstrips.

According to officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the small airports that are planned will be able to handle 70-80 seater ATR aircraft and Boeing 737s and will have frequency of up to 15-16 flights.
According to officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the small airports that are planned will be able to handle 70-80 seater ATR aircraft and Boeing 737s and will have frequency of up to 15-16 flights.
28/07/14 Piyush Mishra/Times of India

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Govt aims to develop 5 airports, award contracts

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry will start the development of five no-frills airports and award management contracts of four airports to private operators in the current financial year. The targets were set in a meeting between secretaries of ministries and Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Saturday.

Planning Commission Secretary Sindhushree Khullar coordinated the meeting attended by secretaries from the railways, road transport and highways, civil aviation, power, coal, renewable energy, ports and shipping, telecommunications, petroleum and natural gas ministries and the PM.

A ministry official said, "The outlay for the civil aviation sector has been increased 66 per cent. It was decided to start work on five of 50 low-cost airports. The locations are yet to be finalised. We have decided to award management contracts in at least four of six airports to private operators, processes for which were started last year."

The year’s outlay for the civil aviation ministry is Rs 934 crore.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had last year started the process to award management contracts at airports in Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Guwahati, Jaipur and Ahmedabad to private operators. The process had to be stalled earlier this year due to Assembly elections.
28/07 14 Business Standard

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Odisha Govt to establish mini airports at Paradip, Dhamara, Kalinganagar

Bhubaneswar: The State Govt has decided to set up new mini-airports at Paradip, Kalinganagar and Dhamara. Meanwhile in Malkangiri, land acquisition work for seting up a new airport there has been finished.

According to sources of General administration department, the state government is taking necessary steps use the airport located at Jharsuguda for commercial purpose. Similarly, the state government has decided to make Jaipur airport in Koraput district a full fledged one.
28/04/15 Odisha Dairy

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Kadapa airport works nearing completion

Kadapa: Works undertaken at Kadapa airport is nearing completion and it would be inaugurated shortly, District Collector K.V. Ramana has said.
After reviewing the progress of works with officials of forest, roads and buildings and fire department at the airport here on Monday, the Collector said that issues pertaining to security arrangements and steps to check the entry of deer into the airport were yet to be addressed. He directed Roads and Buildings officials to put up speed breakers on the main road leading to the airport.
28/07/14 MV Subramanyam/The Hindu

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flydubai to start five-times-a-week flights to Mumbai from October

Mumbai: Commencing on October 28, 2014, flydubai will operate direct flights five times a week between Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 2 and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, and increase the frequency of flights to Delhi to five weekly. With the addition of Mumbai to its network, flydubai now serves seven destinations in India, with 25 flights a week, a release states.

Flight FZ445 will depart from Dubai at 2240 hrs local time on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, landing in Mumbai at 0300 hrs local time.

Flight FZ446 will depart from Mumbai at 0400 hrs on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and arrive in Dubai at 0600 hrs local time.

In June, flydubai doubled its network in India with the start of flights to Delhi, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. The new flights were a result of the expanded bilateral agreements that India has signed with Dubai over the past 12 months.
28/07/14 TravelBizMonitor

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GMR Infrastructure plans to list airport business this year

GMR Infrastructure's airport business that made a profit last financial year after three years of losses is now set upon a financially stable path which entails an imminent IPO, cash compensation from an earlier project, a stringent filter on future projects and limited capital outflows, its group finance chief said recently.

The plans fit the Bangalore conglomerate's overall strategy of raising cash, paring debt, transforming itself into a light-asset company and unlocking potential in individual businesses, Madhu Terdal told ETin an interview.

"We are planning to list our airports energy businesses this year," said Terdal, adding that it aims to raise $250 million from share sale.
28/07/14 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Now, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security orders closing VIP lane at airport

Nagpur: The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has also now directed MIHAN India Limited (MIL), the operator of Nagpur's Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, to completely shut down the erstwhile VIP lane, which is now called the Emergency Lane.

MIL had, during the aerodrome committee meeting in September last year, taken a decision to convert the then VIP drop-and-go lane into Emergency Lane. The intention was to stop use of the lane, especially as a parking area by VIP and other vehicles.

However, the declaration didn't prove to be enough and many 'VIPs' continued to use the lane as a parking area since the decision was not strictly implemented. Finally, MIL constructed a gate to the lane and locked it up in April this year and issued a circular to the effect.

However, demands from various quarters still keep coming to the airport operators for special permission to use the lane. Many self-styled VIPs continue to create a scene in order to use the Emergency Lane. "The lane is supposed to be used by only emergency vehicles. But we keep getting a lot of demands to open the gate," said an airport official.
28/07/14 Times of India

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Ceptian dreams up international terminal for Surat airport

Ahmedabad:  At a time when the Centre has announced modernization of Gujarat airports and decided to develop them according to global standards, a city student has come up with a model for an international terminal for Surat airport as an extension of the existing domestic terminal.

In his model, Ajay Mistry of Cept University addresses key aspects of airport design. The challenge was to adopt the architectural language of the existing building to blend the international terminal model with the existing one so that they complement each other.

Traditionally, airports are designed as light-roofed structures with a horizontal, one-dimensional spread. In designing the model for an international terminal, Mistry has visualized a large and grounded structure. During take-off or landing, passengers in a plane will see the terminal as elevated ground.
28/07/14 Ankur Tewari/Times of India

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Plan to give extra waiting area to airport visitors

Lucknow: : Extra waiting area would be provided to visitors at the international terminal of the Amausi airport soon . Airport authorities have drawn out a plan for converting part of the open area near the canteen into a waiting shed.

Airport director Suresh Chandra Hota said there have been repeated demands from visitors for more waiting area at the international terminal. "We have agreed and directions have been issued to come up with a plan," he said.

"A lot of visitors arrive to receive or see off others at the international terminal. All of them do not seek entry into the main waiting lounge. The new waiting area will be free. They can wait and leave as and when they want," Hota said,
28/07/14 Times of India

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CIAL posts record profit

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has registered an impressive growth rate of 11.68 per cent in its profits rates to post a record profit of Rs. 124.42 crore during the fiscal 2013-14.

According to official estimates, the company’s gross profit stood at Rs. 157.46 crore while the total turnover was at Rs. 361.39 crore. Of this, 44.8 per cent of income (Rs. 161.99 crore) comes from non traffic sector.

The total revenue of the company during last financial year was at Rs. 306.5 crore with a profit after tax of Rs.111.41 crore.
28/07/14 Hiran Unnikrishnan/The Hindu

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Surat residents demand extension of airport runway

Surat: Members of the We Want Working Airport at Surat (WWWAS), a group crusading for the development of Surat airport, have started a 'signature campaign' on the social sites including Facebook demanding corrective measures to remove limitations on the airport runway.

The group members have urged the Airport Authority of India (AAI), through their online petition, to extend the runway by 1,800 foot to the original plan of 9,000 foot.

Originally the airport master plan had a runway length of 9,000 ft for safe operations of twin aisled wide bodied twin engine aircraft. However, as Air India was the only operator using single aisled aircraft, the runway construction was stopped at 7,200 ft.

The petition has been initiated by a Boston-based NRI, Tarun Chugh who is urging his group members and his contacts on Facebook and other social sites to sign the petition, which will then be sent to the AAI officials.
28/07/14 Times of India

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5 held at RGIA for bid to smuggle out gutkha

Hyderabad: Customs officials on Sunday apprehended five passengers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport while they were trying to smuggle out 5,000 packets of 'gutkha' to Doha. Gutkha is banned in India.

The customs officials pulled aside the five when they noticed gutkha packets stuffed in their checked-in luggage and stopped them from boarding a Doha-bound Qatar Airways flight in the wee hours of Sunday. "We found 5,000 packets of gutkha stuffed inside their checked-in baggage. They were natives of Hyderabad and were going to Qatar for jobs," a customs official said.
28/07/14 Times of India

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Increased smuggling a worry in Bangalore

Bangalore: Increasing attempts to smuggle in gold across the nation-including at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA)-is becoming a major headache for the authorities. Airports across major metros and other important cities have been reporting increasing smuggling activity, and, officials attribute the reason to the hike in gold import duty, which was hiked from 2% to 10% last year. The issue is troubling the retail industry in the country too.

In 2013-14, there were 99 cases of gold smuggling in KIA, which saw authorities seize 73.431-kg of gold worth an estimated Rs 25.3 crore. This is an increase from two cases with 2.4-kg of gold worth Rs 69 lakh being seized in the previous year.

This year, the number of cases at KIA has already touched 34, with 31.08-kg of the yellow metal worth Rs 8.85 crore having been seized. "...We've seen cases in the past. But the sheer magnitude in increase is alarming," a department of revenue intelligence (DRI) official said.
27/07/14 Chetan Kumar

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Abandoned Dakota aircraft at Kolkata airport was flown by Biju Patnaik

Kolkata: A Dakota DC-3 aircraft parked for decades at the Kolkata airport was used by former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik to rescue former Indonesian vice president Md Hatta and prime minister Sutan Sjahrir on July 22, 1947, a researcher has unearthed. Anil Dhir, who is based in Bhubaneswar and has made efforts to track down all the aircraft of Kalinga Airlines over the last two years, has written to Odisha chief minister and Biju Patnaik's son Navin Patnaik to salvage the aircraft and park it outside the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar.

Kalinga Airlines was a private airline that operated from Kolkata. It was founded by Biju Patnaik and operated nearly a dozen Dakotas. Patnaik was it's chief pilot. Indonesia was under Dutch control till 1941 when the Japanese occupied the country. After the Japanese surrender in World War II, Indonesian freedom fighters declared independence. The Dutch would have none of it though and made an attempt to regain control of the country, launching a full-scale attack on July 21, 1947.
After the Dutch attack, Dr Sukarno, who had declared himself the president of independent Indonesia, ordered Sjahrir and Hatta to leave the country to create international public opinion. The two were unable to do so, however, as the sea and air routes were controlled by the Dutch. This was when Jawaharlal Nehru came to Indonesia's assistance and asked Patnaik to fly to Jakarta and rescue Sjahrir and Hatta.
26/07/14 Jayanta Gupta/Times of India

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Navy clears Visakhapatnam airport expansion

Visakhapatnam: In a welcome relief, the authorities of Eastern Naval Command (ENC), has hinted that it has no objections to  the expansion of the Visakhapatnam airport, which also houses naval air station INS Dega.
Locals have been demanding that the Indian Navy shift its air station to NAOB as they were of the opinion that the expansion of the present airport is being hindered. However, in what could come as a disappointment for the locals, the Eastern  Naval Command (ENC) seems to be in no mood to heed to their demand to shift the operations of the Navy.
“We don’t have any objections to the expansion of the airport. We  extend full cooperation for that. However, at the same time, INS Dega is strategically located for our operations. We also need another air station for other operations that we are considering other places,” said a top ENC official.
27/07/14 Deccan Chronicle

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Navi Mumbai Airport: Cidco Extends Bid Deadline Again to Sept 2

Mumbai: After the Civil Aviation Ministry recently approved the revised tender document for the proposed Navi Mumbai airport, the nodal implementing agency Cidco has extended the deadline to submit requests for qualification (RFQs) to September 2.

Last week, a Cidco delegation had presented a revised tender document draft to aviation minister Ashok Gajpathy Raju, which he approved immediately. This is the second extension for the bids since June 18.

"Bidders had requested us to make certain changes in the existing tender document. Accordingly, we revised it and submitted it to the ministry for its approval, and was granted the same. Bidders have now a month's more time till September 2 to submit RFQs based on the revised tender," City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) vice-chairman and managing director Sanjay Bhatia, told PTI.

The state-run agency had floated tenders for the over Rs 14,500-crore project in February and had fixed June 18 as the date of submission of RFQs. The deadline was, however, extended to July 30 as the bidders sought time to submit the tenders.
27/07/14 Outlook 

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Andhra Pradesh: Narrow escape for Spicejet passengers after bird hit

Rajahmundry: Passengers of SpiceJet aircraft had a miraculous escape when it suffered a bird hit while landing at Rajahmundry airport at about 12 noon on Saturday. The aircraft carrying nearly 56 passengers was supposed to land when one of its engines was hit by a bird. The aircraft landed safely and there was no emergency landing.

SpiceJet authorities cancelled tickets of passengers who were bound to Hyderabad and refunded them fully while making alternate arrangements for those who wanted to reach Hyderabad.
27/07/14 Deccan Chronicle

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Royal Jordanian to shut down Delhi, Mumbai flights

Dubai: Royal Jordanian Airlines has decided to stop all its services to Mumbai and Delhi. The decision is taken due to reduced demand on travel to these cities, aggressive growth of regional competition and increased operating costs.

RJ will stop operating to Mumbai on September 10 and to Delhi on October 31, this year. The airline is also shutting down its Lagos route with effect from October 10.

With the closure of the three destinations, the RJ routes will count 51.

RJ Chairman of the Board/President and CEO Nasser Lozi said that the decision is part of a synchronised plan to turn around the airline covering operations and financial structure.
27/07/14 PTI/Economic Times

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Spurt in public grievances over facilities at airport

Chennai: Air passengers’ reluctance to fly through Chennai airport has certainly become more pronounced over the years, going by available data.
The number of public grievances recorded at Chennai airport has increased over the past two years.
From 83 complaints in 2012, the number had gone up to 89 in 2013. The first five months of 2014 alone have seen 22 complaints, according to information provided by Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Airport director H.S. Suresh said, “The two areas where we receive complaints are lack of cleanliness in toilets and maintenance of trolleys. We are taking steps to resolve these issues.”
Nearly Rs. 6 lakh will be spent to service the 2,800 trolleys at the airport, he said.
Civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju has come down heavily on AAI officials, over lack of maintenance, and given them a month’s time to upgrade facilities.
27/078/14 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Air India plane tyres burst

Ahmedabad: As many as 45 Ahmedabad-bound passengers had a narrow escape on Friday night after two tyres of Air India flight AI-130 burst while landing at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. But the flight landed safely and all passengers were reported safe. The flight had left Delhi at 8.30pm and reached Ahmedabad at 10.10pm.

"We experienced some jerk but landed safely. Only when we got down, we came to know that the tyres had burst. Thankfully, we are safe," said a passenger.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said that they would look into the matter and ascertain the cause of the burst in case there was something wrong on the runway. The two tyres that burst were on the left side of the plane. The same aircraft was supposed to fly back to Delhi at 11.50pm. But Air India cancelled the return flight AI-030 citing technical issues.
27/07/14 Times of India

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Gold smugglers exploit Indian female pilgrims

Jeddah: Customs officials in India have arrested two Indian Umrah travel agents for smuggling in gold from the Kingdom to India through elderly female Umrah pilgrims.
Ten female pilgrims were initially arrested after being found to be carrying 5.3 kg worth of gold upon arrival in the form of 48 gold bangles and three gold bars.
The women had arrived in Hyderabad from Jeddah on a Saudia flight on Wednesday, according to media reports.
Officials said that the women passengers, mostly aged 60 to 80, were unaware of the plot and that they agreed to wear the gold bangles after being asked by the tour guides before boarding the flight, media reports said.
“The main kingpin — named Amin, who has since run away — and the arrested duo convinced the women that the gold was bought for relatives who were getting married in Hyderabad and that the gold would be allowed through at the airport if it was worn,” said a customs official. “This is why they agreed to wear it.”
Officials eventually arrested Mustafa and Rahman, Hyderabad-based tour guides who were accompanying the pilgrims, and let the women go.
27/07/14 Irfan Mohammed/Arab News

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Centre okays international flights from Chandigarh temporarily

Chandigarh: Union defence minister has given the much-awaited clearance for operation of international flights from Chandigarh airport beyond 8pm as an "interim measure".

In a recent communication to Punjab chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, defence minister Arun Jaitley has said that Spice Jet and Indigo Airlines have already been accorded permission for international operations from Chandigarh.

Jaitley has also informed that presently, civil aircraft operations at Chandigarh were cleared from sunrise to 8 pm, but international flights would be facilitated beyond the existing watch hours as and when international flights were finalized, as an interim measure.
26/07/14 Times of India

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Mangalore Airport to be Expanded

Bangalore:  The state government has plans for the expansion of Mangalore International Airport, including a new terminal and extension of the runway by one kilometre, the Legislative Council was informed on Friday.

Replying to Congress member Ivan D’Souza, Minister for Information and Infrastructure, Roshan Baig, said the government has already earmarked Rs 33.99 crore to acquire around 396.67 acres for the expansion.

“The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will take up the expansion works once the land is handed over,” Baig said.

Stating that the directors of Mangalore International Airport and the AAI have submitted an initial technical feasibility report on the proposal, Baig said the expansion is expected to cost over Rs 1,120 crore.

The report, however, does not mention the financial viability and the cost-sharing pattern, the Minister noted.
26/07/14 New Indian Express

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Union minister visits new airport terminal

Nashik:  Union road, transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday visited the new Ozar airport terminal building during his Nashik tour.

His visit to the airport terminal lasted around 20 minutes during which time he to spoke to officials of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and the public works department.

The airport terminal building was inaugurated four months ago, but not a single commercial flight has taken off from here. The terminal is yet to receive the security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

Nashik president of Builders Association of India Vilas Biriari, whose firm Harsh Constructions had won the PWD contract and constructed the airport terminal building, said, "The airport terminal building is ready, but it is yet to be operational. The issue of operation is now with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Airport Authority of India (AAI) Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) of the central government. All associations in the city, including BAI, are waiting for it to become operational as it would boost Nashik's growth. We had urged the Union minister to visit the new airport terminal building during his Nashik visit so that he could speed up the process."
26/07/14 Tushar Pawar/Times of India

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Mangalore-Kuwait flight: Delegation from state to meet aviation minister

Bangalore: Minister for infrastructure development and information Roshan Baig on Friday July 25 assured that a delegation from the state would meet the minister of state for civil aviation in New Delhi to urge the restoration of direct flights from Mangalore to Kuwait.

He was responding to a question raised by MLC from Mangalore Ivan D'Souza during the state Legislative Council session, on reasons for stopping direct flights between Mangalore and Kuwait.

Ivan also said that due to the stoppage of the direct flight operation, commuters from Mangalore have been badly hit. "Out of the 7.62 lac NRIs in Kuwait, 1.3 lac are from the coastal Karnataka region alone. They need to be given this facility," he urged.

Baig said that the prime reason for stopping direct flights on Mangalore-Kuwait route was the lack of passenger response. To this, Ivan D'Souza replied that when the Air India Express direct flight was in operation on this route, only 60 seats were reserved for Mangaloreans and the rest 120 were for Keralites who boarded from Calicut. "The seats reserved for Mangaloreans were always full, but the response was not the same from Keralites, which gave the impression that the overall response was less," said Ivan.
26/07/14 Daijiworld.com

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Emirates A380 says “Namaste Mumbai”

Emirates, which flies daily direct from Lusaka to Dubai and Harare, has commenced its first scheduled Airbus A380 service to India with a daily flight between Dubai and Mumbai. EK500 took off from Dubai International airport at 21:55 hours on 21st July, arriving at Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai at 02:30, covering the approximate 2,222kms at an average cruising speed of 822kms per hour.

The return flight EK501 took off from Terminal 2 in Mumbai at 04:30hrs and arrived back at Emirates Terminal 3 in Dubai, the airline’s home and hub for its specially designed A380 terminal - Concourse A, at 06.00 hours.

Emirates’ Ahmed Khoory, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West Asia and Indian Ocean said: “Mumbai was one of the first destinations on our route network when we launched in 1985. Dubai and Mumbai share a rich tapestry of partnerships, business and culture. In the past 29 years, we have flown over 42 million passengers between India and the UAE and so it is quite fitting that the city becomes our 29th A380 destination. Now our customers on the route can experience the luxury, the quietness and the outstanding service onboard an Emirates A380, in addition to the other four daily services we will continue to operate to the city.”
25/07/14 UKZambians

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Over Rs 10 million worth Gold seized from the Airport within 24 hours.

Katunayake airport customs seized a stock of gold worth more than 10 million rupees during the last 24 hours.
The airport customs seized a stock of gold worth 8.95 million rupees which were to be smuggled out of the country by two women who were scheduled to fly to Bangalore last evening.
The two female suspects arrested are aged 26 and 36 and residents of Batticaloa and Trincomalee areas.
Meanwhile, Katunayake airport customs also arrested a woman who was attempting to smuggle a stock of gold worth more than 2.2 million rupees this morning.
The suspect, who is a resident of Battiacaloa area was planning to travel to Chennai, India.
26/07/14 Hiru News

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Govt plans 200 low-cost airports to connect Tier-II, Tier-III towns

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is moving ahead with plans to develop 200 low-cost airports in Tier-II Tier-III towns across country in the next years and has already identified 50 such cities under the first phase of this development.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has drawn up a low-cost model as the first step to provide air connectivity to these smaller towns where it was felt a sufficient number of people could afford to pay for air travel if the facility is made available.
Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju had in his presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month included plans for the development of 50 no-frill airports in several states and greenfield airports which are in the pipeline for Navi Mumbai, Juhu, Goa, Kannur, Pune, Sriperumbudur, Bellary and Raigarh.
During the 12th Plan (ending March 31, 2017) alone, about Rs 1,500 crore is being earmarked to develop non-metro airports. The idea is to connect Tier II and Tier III cities and enhance air traffic beyond metros.
23/07/14 Business Today

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Air India won't be privatised: Raju

New Delhi: Ruling out privatisation of Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today said several decisions like that on aircraft purchases were "forced" on it and taken without commercial planning in mind.
There has been "a lot of debate going on whether Air India should be privatised or not. But Air India has been doing its work which is necessary. It is called the continuing of its social commitment," he said referring to the recent evacuation from Iraq undertaken by the national carrier.
To a question on its falling market share, Raju said, "Air India has been sliding, there is no doubt about it, probably (due to) certain decisions which were forced on Air India."
Asked what were these decisions, the minister said, "Like in Parliament we face questions so similar to the allegations that have come out ... It has been pushed to, in the sense that, like buying and selling of aircraft. This does not appear to have been done with commercial plan in mind."
23/07/14 Business Standard

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UP signs MoU to upgrade Allahabad, Kanpur, Agra airports

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government and the Airport Authority of India Limited (AAI) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to upgrade airports in Uttar Pradesh for commercial purposes.

There are regular domestic flights to Allahabad and Agra, where the airports are operational from Bamrauli Air Force and Kheria Air Force stations respectively.
Although the Delhi-Kanpur-Kolkata flights were launched two years ago, they have been discontinued at Kanpur Airport at Chakeri Air Force station because of poor commercial viability.
Meerut's BR Ambedkar Airport at Partapur is used only for unscheduled flights. There are also airports in Moradabad in West UP and Faizabad in East UP, but they aren't big enough to handle commercial flights.
23/07/14 Piyush Srivastava/Business Today

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Ambitious aviation plans: Private airport getting ready near Durgapur in West Bengal

Decades ago, India's first Prime Minister, Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called various gigantic steel projects and huge dams as India's temples of the future. He was referring to the steel mills at Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela as they began their operations. In those days, for most of these industrial towns, the only means of transportation was by road or by rail. Aviation facilities, for most came much later.

Now, Durgapur, the steel city can hope to welcome visitors by air when the new and first private airport in West Bengal begins its operations at Andal, nearby. At present its nearest major international airport, is at Kolkata, some 200kms away.

The Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) is responsible for the airport. It is spread over 2,000 acres and has Changi Airport of Singapore as its largest shareholder. This new private airport is expected to follow the successful work pattern practiced at Changi.
24/07/14 AK Ramdas/Moneylife

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For Emirates, Kerala leads rest of India in flights

Thiruvananthapuram: With the latest bilaterals now in force, Emirates is operating 37 flights every week into Kerala, the highest among all states in the country, said a top airline official.

Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Emirates vice-president for India and Nepal, said the last renewal of bilaterals between the two countries was in 2008. After the new agreement this year, Emirates is operating 37 flights a week to the three Kerala airports. In all, Emirates operates 185 flights every week for the entire country.

"This is the highest that we fly into any single state in India. The total number of weekly seats into India that came into force in 2008 was 54,200 and with the recent renewal of the bi-laterals, the number will go up by 11,000 seats during the next one year," Ahmad told IANS.

"The rise would be spread over three schedules. This increased seats would be shared by Emirates and Fly Dubai," Ahmad added.
24/07/14 Daijiworld.com

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Flydubai announce new Mumbai service

Dubai: Flydubai announced on Wednesday that it will launch a five times weekly service to Mumbai on October 28.
The flights will operate from Dubai International’s Terminal 2 and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
Dubai’s discount carrier will also increase the frequency on its Delhi route to five times weekly on October 28.
Flydubai will serve seven destinations in India with 25 flights a week when Mumbai services commence.
23/07/14 Gulf News

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Aerobridges still grounded, get wet before flying at Raja Bhoj airport

Bhopal: Ambitious aerobridge project at Raja Bhoj airport in Bhopal that promised to pitchfork flyers to the terminal after touchdown without the treacherous trek through sun and rain has missed its July 20 deadline. And this because heavy rain lashing the city triggered massive waterlogging, forcing construction work to stop. So, flyers will have to get drenched before touchdown or take-off with the deadline extended to middle of August.

Aerobridges are enclosed, movable connectors which extend from an airport terminal gate to an aircraft and allow air passengers to zip across from terminal building to aircraft without getting exposed. Currently, the project is being handled by an Indonesian company. Two aerobridges, which are already lying at the airport, will be erected, according to the blueprint.

Ramjee Awasthi, an engineer supervising the construction, said, "Incessant rain for last couple of days has made it impossible to continue work. Water seeped into the foundation and delayed work. Though work has resumed, it had to be stopped again due to waterlogging."
24/07/14 Ramendra Singh/Times of India

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Capt Deepak Shastri AAI's Southern chief

Chennai: A day before the Civil Aviation Ministry’s meeting in the Capital to review the problems constantly surfacing at the Chennai Airport, the Airports Authority of India announced the appointment of a new chief for Southern operations.

Captain Deepak Shastri was announced as the new Regional Executive Director of Southern Region, Airports Authority of India, in an official note from AAI’s high command in Delhi.

The move could be considered critical as Shastri was the moving force behind constructing and commissioning new terminals in Pune and Calicut, in the last decade.
24/07/14 New Indian Express

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Cairo-New Delhi flights could be the boost Egypt needs

Kolkata: Egyptair will commence thrice-weekly flights between New Delhi and Cairo in October despite weakened visitorship from India.
 This comes on top of an existing four-times-weekly service to Mumbai.
 Egypt's tourism minister Hisham Za’zou commented: “Cultural tourism decreased during the last three years, especially in Luxor and Aswan. The ministry is now seeking to open new tourism markets like India to boost cultural tourism.”
24/07/14 Shekhar Niyogi/TTG Asia

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Airport Loos Too Stinky for Second Best

Chennai: It’s not so much of a burning issue as it is a smelly one. After over a year of constantly complaining that the toilets in the newly constructed domestic and international terminals are in a ‘torrid, dirty state’, air passengers are shocked as the results of the Airports Council International’s airport quality survey were announced recently — Chennai’s airport with a rating of 4.3/5 was the second highest rated airport operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). “This is shocking. I have sent at least three complaints to the airport managers as well as online about toilets not being cleaned at the Chennai airport and now they’re called the second best in the country?” queries Aashna B S, a frequent flier who shuttles between Mumbai and Chennai for her work in the fashion industry.
What’s the major complaint with our airport loos? The stink that pervades the air like an aura around each toilet zone. Recently, musician and composer Raghu Dixit was returning from Colombo and had stopped in transit at Chennai. His reaction as he decided to relieve himself was available for all and sundry to see on twitter, “A brand new building doesn’t make an international airport Chennai! You need to keep it clean and the toilet stink-free,” and then added two painful hashtags to enforce his sensory pain — #backtowhereitwas and #stinkypoo.
24/07/14 Daniel Thimmayya/New Indian Express

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Elderly woman held with bullet at IGIA

An elderly woman has been apprehended at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here for allegedly carrying a live bullet in her hand baggage.
Officials said the incident occured yesterday when the 60-year-old woman, a US passport holder, was on her way to board a flight to Jammu before which an inspection of her hand baggage by CISF officials led to the recovery of a .9mm bullet.
23/07/14 Business Standard

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Mumbai airport has record gold seizures

Mumbai: The latest statistics released by the Air Intelligence Unit of India Customs suggests that the quantity of smuggled gold seized at Mumbai International Airport during the first half of the year is the highest in the past 15 years.

According to officials, a total of 535 kilograms of gold were seized during the initial six months of the year. The quantity of seized gold is expected to cross 1,000 kilograms in 2014, surpassing the previous highs of 800 kilograms in 1989.

The instances of gold smuggling have been escalating. This is quite evident from the fact that 323 kilograms of gold were seized during the three-month period from April to June.
23/07/14 Paul Plomus/Resource Investor

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2 held with 5 kg gold at Hyderabad airport

Hyderabad: Over 5 kg gold which wasallegedly being smuggled via the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad here was seized by Customs officials and two passengers arrested in connection on Wednesday.
"The Air Intelligence Wing of Customs stopped some women passengers after their arrival by a flight from Jeddah but two male passengers, namely Rahman and Mustafa intervened saying they were tourists. However, based on suspicion, the two male passengers were questioned and as many as 48 gold bangles besides 3 bars (collectively weighing) 5.3 kg were seized from them," a senior Customs official told PTI.
23/07/14 PTI/Deccan Chronicle

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Bihar and Jharkhand to get new airports as air travel increases

The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has identified Gaya and Raxaul in Bihar for development of airports. The ministry has also selected Jamshedpur and Deoghar for development of airports in view of the growing number of air travellers across the country.
Both places in Bihar have immense potential to emerge as viable airports. In fact, Gaya already has a functional airport where Air India flights as well as those from foreign countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar operate regularly.
An Airbus-320 can land at the Gaya airport. There are now plans to develop it so it can handle the rush of tourists, especially the Buddhist pilgrims, who come to Bodh Gaya.
Raxaul does not have a functional airport as of now. During the 1962 war against China, an airport was made in the small sub-divisional town along the Nepal border for the Indian Army aircraft to land, but it has remained unused for years now.
Raxaul, however, has good potential since it is located on the border with Nepal. On the other side of the border lies Birganj. The local residents have to come to Patna, located more than 200 km away, to catch a flight to Delhi or Kolkata.
23/07/14 Giridhar Jha/Business Today

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Centre clears revised norms for new airport bids in record time

Mumbai: After nearly a decade of delay, the Navi Mumbai airport project has finally taken off. The civil aviation ministry has set the process of inviting tenders for the airport's construction into motion by clearing the revised tender document Cidco had prepared.
The new government moved swiftly to okay the document, and what could not be accomplished in years was done over a weekend, officials said. The plan to construct the Navi Mumbai airport was first mooted in 1998. In 2000, the project cost was pegged at Rs 5,000 crore. Today, it is Rs 14,575 crore. In early 2013, Cidco had submitted the initial draft of the tender document they had prepared for inviting bids. In March this year, they submitted the revised draft to the UPA government. Then, on Friday, they met the new civil aviation minister and resubmitted the revised draft. Cidco babus were in for a surprise when three days later, on Monday, the ministry cleared it.
The revised document has brought significant changes. For one, under the old draft, airlines could hold a maximum of only 10% stake in the private consortium that bid for the airport. Now the airline stake has been capped at 26%.
23/07/14 Chittaranjan Tembhekar/Times of India

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Sins of omission clip wings of Visakhapatnam airport

Visakhapatnam: Not appointing a regular Director for nearly 10 months, not bringing to use the integrated cargo complex even after spending about Rs.60 lakh on it and, to top it all, transferring more officials speaks volumes of the apathy of the officials towards Vizag airport.

The traffic crossed the 10-lakh mark to register 10,38,958 passengers during 2012-13. Air India launched the first international daily flight to Dubai via Hyderabad and Silk Air launched its direct flight to Singapore thrice a week during 2012. The traffic marginally declined to 10,13,689 during 2013-14 due to the over six-month long Samaikhyandhra agitation.

When Vizianagaram MP P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju was appointed Union Minister for Civil Aviation in the Modi Cabinet, people of the region felt that the Vizag Airport would be put on the fast track of development.

At the maiden Cabinet meet held in the city on June 12, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had promised to develop Vizag as an IT capital, tourist and medical hub, cinema capital and to develop the Visakhapatnam International Airport by freeing it from defence control, if necessary.
22/07/14 B Madhu Gopal/The Hindu

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Service quality at Chennai airport up, survey says

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India may be struggling to maintain Chennai airport, but passenger satisfaction with the new terminals seems to have improved.

An airport service quality survey conducted by Airports Council International shows customer satisfaction index improved for April-June quarter when compared to the first quarter of the year. The airport has been ranked second after Kolkata for quality of service among 11 public sector airports in the country.

The airport has scored 4.30 points on a scale of five when compared to 4.10 in the January-March quarter. Global ranking too improved from 114 to 56.
"The survey shows there is an improvement in quality of service. We are not saying the airport is good. The service may not be perfect but we are managing the terminals well within the constraints," said an AAI spokesperson.
23/07/14 Times of India

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Charges dropped against Sikh for carrying Kirpan to airport

New York: A US court here has dismissed criminal charges against a Sikh man for carrying a kirpan to a city airport.

The New York City Port Authority Police Department in May had issued a criminal summons in May to Maninder Singh for carrying two kirpans through security checkpoint at the John F Kennedy International airport here.

The summons had charged Singh with violating city federal rules, which prohibit carrying of knives with blade lengths of four inches or more.

Singh had faced a USD 300 fine as well as imprisonment of up to fifteen days.

The Queens Criminal Court dismissed the criminal summons after rights group Sikh Coalition's staff attorney Gurjot Kaur represented Singh during a hearing at where Kaur explained the religious significance of Singh's kirpans and the peaceful nature of his religious practice, the Sikh Coalition said in a statement.

Kaur also argued that the law in question provides many secular and recreational exemptions, including exemptions for individuals who carry knives for fishing, hunting and camping purposes and for members of the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts.
23/07/14 PTI/Zee News

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Delhi Airport launches India's first Pet Travel Information and Facilitation Desk

New Delhi: Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has launched a Pet Travel Information and Facilitation Desk at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here, the first such facility in the country.

The desk, Pet Fly, takes care of various hassles related to travelling with pets, includng handling and fulfilling regulatory clearance procedures, a press release from DIAL said.

 “Being pioneer in India for introducing unique experiences to our passengers, DIAL wanted to take a step further by ensuring better and professional facility for the comfortable journey of your pet," DIAL CEO I Prabhakara Rao said.

To send the pet, a passenger has two options-  either the pet can be sent through cargo or it can be booked on excess baggage ticket with the airline.
22/07/14 NetIndian

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Indian arrested after he’s mistaken as being part of fake passport ring

Abu Dhabi: An Indian businessman travelling to Istanbul from Abu Dhabi was mistakenly arrested as a suspect in a fake passport racket bust, XPRESS has learnt. He landed in jail for reportedly giving directions to three men travelling on fake passports.
Kamala Kannan, 42, was on a visit to the UAE when he was arrested at the Abu Dhabi airport on July 11. He was supposed to board Etihad Flight EY0097 to Istanbul at nine in the morning.
He was later released on July 18 after the court found him innocent.
“I cannot believe my fate. All I did to end up in jail was to help three men, who happened to be from my native place, with directions inside the airport after the immigration check,” Kannan from Chennai, India told XPRESS.
All the three men were later found to be travelling on fake passports, and are currently in jail.
According to him, after he cleared the immigration check, three men approached him and asked for directions to Gate 39. “They were also from Chennai, and since we were all travelling to the same destination, I readily helped them with directions,” said the businessman.
23/07/14 Anjana Sankar/Gulkf News

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Govt identifies 50 locations in smaller cities for new airports

The government has so far identified 50 locations for developing new airports in smaller cities and towns across the country, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, GM Siddeshwara informed the Lok Sabha.

It may be noted the Indian government has outlined plans to develop 200 low-cost airports in 20 years, mainly to connect tier-II and tier-III cities. The development of new airports in smaller cities and towns is part of the government’s efforts to encourage air travel in the country.

In the Union Budget 2014-15, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely had said that the proposed new airports will be developed in smaller cities and towns and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) will build the airports through public private partnership (PPP) process.
The locations for the new airports include cities in various states including Kadapa, Tirupati, Vijayawada and Warangal in Andhra Pradesh; Along, Daparizo, Pasighat and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh; Jorhat, Rupsi and Silchar in Assam; Gaya and Raxaul in Bihar; Bilaspur and Raigarh in Chattisgarh; and Daman and  Diu in Daman & Diu.
21/07/14 VCCircle

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Why the govt’s plan for 6 new airlines, 50 small airports is just lip service

The government has paid enough lip service in recent weeks on creating airport infrastructure, boosting regional connectivity and enhancing competition among existing airlines. It has been speaking of setting up hundreds of no-frills airports in tier II and tier III towns, offering incentives for regional airline startups and getting jet fuel taxation down. But on the ground, a lot of work in terms of policy formulation and tying up loose ends remains to be done.
Just yesterday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation GM Siddeshwara said in the Lok Sabha that his ministry has so far identified 50 locations with potential for small airports in various states. But how will these airports be set up in the absence of a blueprint for no-frills airports, which has not even been approved by aviation regulator DGCA?
Will state governments be asked to share costs of security, water and electricity? And what about traffic potential at remote locations? A ministry official had earlier indicated that no-frills airports which cost just Rs 70-80 crore will be constructed in areas which fall in the tourism circuit or backward areas where connectivity needs to be boosted.
Similar short-sightedness seems to have driven the ministry to approve six new airlines in the last one month. An article in Mint newspaper today mentions Air One Aviation Pvt. Ltd, Zexus Air and Premier Air which eventually want to become national airlines. And Turbo Megha, Air Carnival and Zav Airways which want to operate as regional airlines.
22/07/14 Sindhu Bhattacharya/First Post

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Govt approves site clearance for Dholera Airport Project in Ahmedabad

New Delhi: The government on Monday approved the site clearance for Greenfield international airport project at Dholera at Ahmedabad in Gujarat, a move that could see more international standard airports in the country.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Shri G.M. Siddeshwara Monday informed the Lok Sabha of the approval of the site clearance for the Dholera Airport project in Ahmedabad.

The project is being developed by the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board in 2014.

Besides this project, the Taj International Greenfield airport project proposed at Hirangoan, Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh is presently under the preliminary scrutiny, a press release by the government stated.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) had recently upgraded Bhopal, Indore and Raipur airports to international standards and the Government has initiated the process of declaring these airports as international airports.
21/07/14 ZeeNews

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Kishtwar to have a small airport

New Delhi: Minister of State for Civil Aviation, G.M. Siddeshwara informed Lok Sabha on Monday that the union government has so far identified 50 locations with potential for small airports in various states, an official statement said.

The statement included Kishtwar district of J&K state as one of the potential locations for a small airport.

“Kadapa, Tirupati, Vijayawada,Warangal in Andhra Pradesh, Along, Daparizo, Pasighat, Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, Jorhat,Rupsi,Silchar in Assam, Gaya, Raxaul in Bihar, Bilaspur, Raigarh in Chattisgarh, Daman, Diu in Daman & Diu, Bhawanagar, Jamnagar, Kandla, Keshod in Gujarat, Hisar, Karnal in Haryana, Kishtwar in J&K, Deoghar, Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, Belgaum,Hubli in Karnataka, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, Akola, Amravati, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Solapur in Maharashtra, Jharsuguda in Odisha, Ludhiana in Punjab, Bikaner, Kishangarh, Kota in Rajasthan, Thanjavore in Tamil Nadu and Agra, Allahabad, Bareilly, Faizabad, Kanpur, Meerut, Moradabad and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh,” the statement gave the names of the potential locations.
21/07/14 Kashmir Life

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Major Air Disaster Averted at Kochi International Airport

Kochi:  A major air disaster was averted on Monday after an Indigo flight from Bangalore to Kochi pulled away in the last minute after it was about to land outside the runway at the Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery.

 The Indigo flight 6E-407 carrying around 150 passengers attempted to land at least three times before pulling away, according to passengers. In one attempt, the flight went 100 feet outside the runway, said a passenger. Heavy rains, which hampered visibility at the airport, was cited as the reason for the incident.

The flight finally landed on the fourth attempt at 2:30 pm, after encircling the area for about 20 minutes.

Sensing that passengers were getting restless after the flight aborted the landing twice, the pilot made an announcement that due to water-logging and heavy rain the aircraft was unable to land and an attempt would be made again.

Thereafter the aircraft almost came 100 feet above the ground, way off the runway before the pilot powered the flight back to the sky.
22/07/14 New Indian Express

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Pilots warned as Chennai airport runway turns slippery

Chennai: Pilots have to be extra careful from now while landing at Chennai airport, especially on rainy days. The problem of a slippery runway has re-surfaced. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has informed airmen in a notice that the friction co-efficient of the main runway at Chennai airport has gone “below the notified value of 0.34 and is liable to be slippery when wet.”

“If friction co-efficient is below 0.34, it is dangerous when runway is wet. The DGCA should stop operations in wet conditions,” said aviation expert Capt A. Ranganathan. The friction coefficient reduces when the rubber from the aircraft tyre gets deposited on the runway. It could potentially lead to skidding of the aircraft. To improve friction coefficient, the milling work to remove rubber deposits should be done.

“Currently the friction coefficient level on the main runway at Chennai airport is slightly less than 0.34 at the intersection. It is around 0.32 to 0.34. As per the laid down safety procedure, remedial action is being taken. Due to continued operations at the airport, the balance work will be completed on Tuesday during the maintenance period between 2.30 pm and 4.30 pm,” said Chennai airport assistant general manager (PR) Harbhajan Singh.
22/07/14 S. Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle

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SpiceJet, Jet, Kingfisher owe R500 cr in unpaid fees to AAI

New Delhi: Private airlines Spicejet, Jet Airways (and subsidiary JetLite) and Vijay Mallya’s grounded Kingfisher owe state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) almost R500 crore in unpaid airport usage fees and penal interest on the base amount.
According to information submitted in Parliament, Kingfisher tops the list with R172.69 as of June 30, 2014, followed by Spicejet’s R110.86 crore and the Jet Group’s R93.07 crore. The total amount of penal interest raised on these private airlines during the last three years and the current year, works out to R115 crore approximately.
?Interest on delayed charges is levied by AAI @ 12% per annum on traffic charges as per its approved credit policy. Penal interest is charged due to delay in the settlement of the bills. Security deposit is being taken from the private airlines and in cases where delay persists, besides encashing the security deposit, the defaulting airlines are put up on cash and carry basis,” a statement made by the civil aviation ministry said.
It added that in case of Kingfisher, which has closed its operations, a case has been filed in the Mumbai High Court.
22/07/14 Financial Express

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Why Bangalore may struggle to become an aviation hub

Mumbai: On July 3, AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes said he wants to make Bengaluru an international aviation hub like Dubai. The comment, unlikely backed by a firm operational plan, nevertheless shows AirAsia's ambitious plans for India.
India has so far failed to utilise its potential to become a hub due to policy paralysis and high costs. But Fernandes is hopeful that will change.
The Malaysian carriers's local unit has already shifted a large part of its operations and staff to Bengaluru from Chennai and later has ambitions of flying from there to nearby foreign locations.
Bangalore has already given enough incentive to AirAsia to make the move from Chennai. Last month, it got approval from the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority to more than halve airport tariffs for what it calls a "home carrier". The discounts are also applicable to the international operations of the carrier. The move is seen as directly helping AirAsia although the airport hasn't specified it.So does Bangalore have what it takes to be a hub? It's got the basics right:
It is one of the fastest developing in India, being the base of most IT companies operating in the country as well as the choice of many other global giants making their way into it. A recent ASSOCHAM report said one global company moves to Karnataka every week.
21/07/14 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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AAI officials to meet Minister

Chennai: The brass of the Airports Authority of India has been called for a meeting with Minister for Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju to discuss the shortcomings in the Chennai airport complex and propose remedial measures, said official sources.
Of all the country’s major airports, Chennai, Srinagar and Kolkata have been facing public ire for poor housekeeping. In Chennai, a tortuous modernisation project along with staff issues has resulted in a number of discomforting factors for passengers such as limited seating and dirty floors and bathrooms.
When contacted, Chennai airport director H.S. Suresh said they had not received any communication from the Ministry.
“Probably the letter was sent to the AAI office, which will be sent to us after a couple of days,” he said.
As far as Chennai is concerned, regular incidents involving falling of glass panes and the occasional collapse of false ceiling panels are complaints that have to be addressed, airport sources acknowledged.
22/07/14 Sandeep Dixit/P Oppili/The Hindu

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Egypt Air to operate three weekly direct flights to Delhi

Cairo: In a bid to boost tourism, Egypt's flagship carrier Egypt Air will start operating three weekly direct flights between Cairo and Delhi from October, adding to its four flights to Mumbai.
Indian Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri signed a MoU on launching direct Egypt Air flights between Delhi and Cairo with the Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal and the Egyptian Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou last week.
The agreement came as Egyptian Ministries of Tourism and Aviation are trying to boost tourism by increasing flights to many cities and capitals and connect them directly with Egyptian cities.

Egypt Air will start operating three weekly non-stop flights between Cairo and Delhi from October.
"India has good relations with all world countries especially with Egypt as both people have similarities in history and civilizations," Suri said.
21/07/14 PTI/Economic Times

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Holii store launched at Chandigarh airport

Holii has opened its 4th airport outlet at the Chandigarh airport. The store located at the departure gate of the airport displays the brand’s unique and bright range of Holii bags and accessories.

The selection of products for airports differ from a regular store and certain product categories like travel bags, laptop bags, iPad sleeves, cross-bodies have to be constantly available at airport stores which involves a special collection creation just for airport stores. Along with a big travel collection, the store showcases Holii’s complete range of products such as handbags, clutches, wallets and small accessories. Holii’s other airport outlets are at Bangalore international airport, Hyderabad international airport, Delhi international airport and Delhi 'domestic airport.
22/07/14 Fashion United

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US Flyer with Sat-phone Undergoes Marathon 'Inquiry'

Chennai: An American tourist who was on her way back home after visiting India, was detained at the Chennai airport after CISF guards found a satellite phone in her luggage.
As the import and carrying of satellite phones is deemed illegal by customs and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, she was handed over to the airport police and various intelligence agencies have been conducting an inquiry since Saturday night.
Finally, late on Monday night, sources said that the major portion of the inquiry was “done with” and after a little paperwork, she would be allowed to leave.

A police official at the airport confirmed that Margot Greer Elizabeth (27), was handed over to them with the phone - and ever since she has been speaking with officers from CB-CID and other divisions.

According to the police, she had arrived in Chennai after touring Singapore and a few other Asian countries, a week ago. “At the time of her entering the country, we do not know how they allowed her to enter with the satellite phone, but during her return flight to Chicago, the CISF found and handed her over to us,” said Airport S2 Police Station inspector.
22/04/14 Daniel Thimmayya/New Indian Express

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Gold biscuits worth Rs 2 cr seized in Chennai airport

Chennai: Gold biscuits worth Rs two crore allegedly being smuggled have been seized from a passenger who arrived from Singapore at the airport here.
The gold, totally weighing six kg, was recovered by Customs Air-Intelligence unit sleuths in the baggage of 24-year old Fairose Khan of Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu, who arrived here last night, airport officials said today.
22/07/14 PTI/Business Standard

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Why Bangalore may struggle to become an aviation hub

Mumbai: On July 3, AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes said he wants to make Bengaluru an international aviation hub like Dubai. The comment, unlikely backed by a firm operational plan, nevertheless shows AirAsia's ambitious plans for India.
India has so far failed to utilise its potential to become a hub due to policy paralysis and high costs. But Fernandes is hopeful that will change.
The Malaysian carriers's local unit has already shifted a large part of its operations and staff to Bengaluru from Chennai and later has ambitions of flying from there to nearby foreign locations.
Bangalore has already given enough incentive to AirAsia to make the move from Chennai. Last month, it got approval from the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority to more than halve airport tariffs for what it calls a "home carrier". The discounts are also applicable to the international operaoperations of the carrier. The move is seen as directly helping AirAsia although the airport hasn't specified it.
21/07/14 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Miscommunication grounds international operations

Bhubaneswar: A miscommunication between the state government and Union civil aviation ministry has delayed the start of international flight operations from Bhubaneswar.

The aviation ministry said it has not received any letter from the state government pertaining to the request of Fly Dubai to start operations. But state government claimed it sent a letter along with written interest evinced by the international carrier.

A second letter sent by chief secretary J K Mohapatra to the civil aviation secretary on Thursday revealed that the state government had written to the civil aviation ministry on February 24. But after four months (on June 30) the ministry declined to have ever received any request letter of Fly Dubai forwarded by the state government. "We had enclosed a copy of the request letter of Fly Dubai, seeking permission for flight operation. But the ministry communicated to us that it never received such letter," said a top state government official.
20/07/14 Times of Indfia

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Air India resumes flights to Kabul two days after airport attack

Air India, the state owned airline of India, on Saturday resumed flights between the two nations following two days suspension.
The airline had suspended flights between Afghanistan and India following the attack on Kabul international airport on Thursday.
The flights by Air India were resumed despite objections by the its pilots who called for an immediate halt to flights between India and Afghanistan.
An official of the Air India said the airline will operate normally and flights between Kabul and Delhi were resumed on Saturday.
In the meantime, officials in Indian civil aviation said there was no such pressure and the Afghan authorities had assured them regarding enhanced security measures at Kabul airport.
19/07/14 Ghanizada/Khaama Press

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CPI(M) MP for Affordable Food at International Airports

New Delhi: A CPI(M) MP has asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to take steps to open affordable food outlets at international airports for poor passengers.

Rajya Sabha MP K N Balagopal said once checked-in, low-income passengers are not in a position to afford to buy necessary food items or drinks like tea and coffee inside the airport "in view of the prohibitory price tag".

Noting that air travel is not a luxury, the Kerala MP said the higher prices of essential food items and drinks make these "unaffordable" for a semi-skilled and unskilled labourer travelling abroad, particularly to West Asia, for a job.

"It is a fact that such people are being recruited in bulk by agents and sent to foreign countries. One can see, the pathetic situation of labourers, who are mostly illiterates, approaching the coffee shops inside the security area and withdrawing themselves after hearing the price of tea, coffee and sandwiches," Balagopal said.
20/07/14 Outlook India

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Mumbai airport to overshoot capacity by 2015

New Delhi : The much drummed up modernisation of Mumbai’s Chhattrapati Shivaji International (CSI) Airport will not help much as it will be oversaturated in handling passenger traffic by the next year because of faulty design, says one of the 11 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports tabled in Parliament on Friday.

Its maximum capacity after expansion is 40 million passengers per annum (mppa) while that much will be the traffic by 2015 itself, rising to 80 mppa by 2026.

“Thus even after modernisation and upgradation of CSI Airport, Mumbai, the airport would be unable to meet the demand of passengers. The problem is expected to be compounded with the delay in development of the second airport at Navi Mumbai,” says the CAG report.

It points out a “design constraint” limiting the capacity handling of the runways since two runways at the airport 09/27 and 14/32 intersect at their mid points preventing simultaneous operation of both runways.
21/07/14 Free Press Journal

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Gold found in airport toilet

Kochi: Air Customs officials at Kochi airport on Sunday morning seized 2 kg gold bars from the flush tank of one of the toilets in the immigration counters of the arrival area. The two gold bars, wrapped together, were immersed in the flush tank of the gents’ toilet. The market value of the gold is over ?56 lakh. Customs official suspect that the smuggler deposited the gold bars in the flush tanks on arrival from abroad for his contact among the airport staff to collect them. The smuggler could not be identified.
20/07/14 Business Line

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1kg heroin among Rs 5 crore drugs seized at airport, 4 held

Chennai: Sleuths of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday seized 1.16kg of heroin and 1.02kg of methamphetamine from a passenger at Chennai airport. The seizure was made in the wee hours when the passenger, RajendranSheshathri, was about to board a flight to Kuwait. Three others who were part of the cartel were also arrested from the airport. The investigators are zeroing in on the kingpin operating from Kerala.
NCB officials said the seized drugs are worth more than 5 crore. While heroin is a highly addictive analgesic drug derived from morphine, methamphetamine, used as a stimulant, is a synthetic drug with more rapid and lasting effects than amphetamine. "Both heroin and methamphetamine were concealed in the check-in baggage of Sheshathri. They were packed in transparent plastic covers and kept in a trolley bag. The seizure was made during the passenger screening process," said an official.
20/07/14 Times of India

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MIAL levied development fee on passengers in violation of contract: CAG

New Delhi: A comptroller and auditor general report on the Mumbai International Airport Ltd, tabled in Parliament on Friday, accused the private joint-venture partner of levying development fee of more than Rs 3,400 crore on passengers to fill up funding gaps, which was not part of the original agreement.

As per the initial agreement with Airports Authority of India and the private joint venture partner, the project cost of Rs 5,826 crore was to be financed entirely through equity, internal accruals and debt. However, the development fee levied on the passengers accounted for 29.19% of project funding while the equity stake of the private partners of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) at Rs 888 crore contributed a mere 7.6%.

The auditor has questioned the increase in the project cost from Rs 5,826 crore in 2006 to Rs 12,380 crore in 2011. The cost escalation was 68% in comparison to the original estimate. While the airport modernisation was to be completed by March 2010, the international airport was finally ready for operation only in January 2014. The domestic terminal is not yet ready and by the time it will be completed (2015), the airport will reach its design capacity of 40 million passengers per annum, CAG observed.
19/07/14 Pradeep Thakur/Times of India

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Govt told to review Mumbai airport financing

New Delhi: The risks involved in the development of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International (CSI) Airport, Mumbai, were not “appropriately transferred” to the developer Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) the Comptroller and Auditor General has said. MIAL, is a consortium led by the GVK group.
“Though the project cost more than doubled to ?12,380 crore from ?5,826 crore, the concessionaire did not appear to have faced financial vulnerability as the funding gap was being largely absorbed by passengers through the levy of a Development Fee though such a fee was not there in the Operation, Management and Development Agreement (OMDA),” the Government auditor said in its latest report on ‘Implementation of Public Private Partnership project at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai,’ which was tabled in Parliament on Friday.
The OMDA was signed on April 2, 2006 between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and MIAL.
The report points out that the absence of a review clause and re-negotiations appear to allow MIAL the right to operate the airport for 60 years with the terms and conditions frozen in the OMDA.
18/07/14 Business Line

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Holes in PPP Model for Mumbai Airport

New Delhi: The Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) report has asked the government to critically review the Mumbai airport operator MIAL performance and continuously review the financing pattern of MIAL.
In its report on the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model at Mumbai airport, CAG raised the question over the PPP model saying that the risk had not been appropriately transferred to the private party and funding gap was largely absorbed by the passengers through levy of Development Fee.
“There is a strong case for the government to critically review the outcomes from PPP arrangement in MIAL in line with the findings in this report and recommendations of PAC in the report on implementation of PPP in IGI airport Delhi and protect the interests of government and passengers duly ensuring sanctity of various agreements.”
CAG noted  that the project has been delayed by four years with tardy progress noticed in mandatory capital projects but MIAL had not been penalised and the Ministry of Civil Aviation instead, approved extensions and agreed to reschedule the projects across the different phases.
19/07/14 New Indian Express

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Performance audit of Mumbai airport needed

New Delhi: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Friday asked the government to review the financing structure and performance of the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), as the project cost for development and upgrade work of terminals has doubled because of inordinate delays, and the funding gap is now being addressed by levying development fee on passengers.
In its audit report titled Implementation of Public-Private Partnership Project at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, tabled in Parliament on Friday, CAG criticised the public-private (PPP) partnership model for development of the airport stating "the financing risks have not been effectively transferred to the private partner".
The auditor held that although the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had the right to penalise MIAL for delaying the project by four years, no communication urging MIAL to hasten implementation work was on record.
19/07/14 Business Standard

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Technical snag delays Delhi flight

Jaipur:  In the wake of cases where carelessness from airline crew can prove fatal, the pilot of a Delhi-bound flight from terminal 2 of Jaipur airport did an exemplary thing on Friday.

As the plane was moving on the runway for take off, the pilot decided against take off as he discovered serious technical snag in the plane. All the 65 passengers were informed by the plane crew about the technical snag. Almost after three hours the same plane took off and carried only 45 passengers as 15 passengers took another flight while five cancelled their journey.

According to the sources from the Jaipur airport, the Delhi-bound aircraft was on the runaway at 7.15am and it was scheduled to take off at 7.30am. "While the pilot started moving the aircraft before the final take off, he realized that there was something wrong in the engine. He instantly decided against taking off and an announcement was made in that regard," said an officer of the Jaipur airport.
19/07/14 Times of India

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CAG asks for review of Mumbai airport operator MIAL's performance

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has asked the government to review GVK-led Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) performance and continuously monitor its financing pattern, saying the project cost had doubled and the funding gap was being filled up by passengers through development fee.
CAG pilloried the public-private partnership (PPP) model for the airport, saying risks had not been properly transferred to the private party and castigated Civil Aviation Ministry for granting extensions to the project, delayed by four years, and not penalising the Mumbai airport operator for it.
In a report tabled in Parliament, CAG said: "There is a strong case for government to critically review the outcomes from the PPP arrangement in MIAL ... and protect the interests of government and passengers."
"It is essential that a regular and well documented review of performance of MIAL by Civil Aviation Ministry is in place to safeguard the interests of the government and to get MIAL to deliver the committed outputs," it said.
18/07/14 PTI/Business Today

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