Baggage check-in systems in Mumbai airport hit by computer network glitch

Mumbai: The baggage check-in systems of both Terminal 1 and 2 of the Mumbai airport were affected causing delays in issuing boarding passes and loading baggage after the Local Area Network (LAN) failed for over an hour due to a reported power supply issue on Tuesday evening.

“Due to an unexpected technical glitch, the network is down. The team is resolving the issue and operations are expected to resume shortly,” a Mumbai International Airport spokesperson said.

It was later announced that the system was restored around 5.50 p.m. Jet Airways, in a message to passengers, said that a network failure at the airport had impacted all airlines and departure delays were up to an hour.
31/07/18 Aditya Anand/The Hindu

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Jet Airways flights to Guwahati from Aug 1

Bengaluru: Jet Airways will be introducing new flights from August 1 on the Bengaluru-Guwahati-Bengaluru route as well as Hyderabad-Indore-Chandigarh (both ways) route.

According to an official release, the first daily direct service (Jet Airways 9W 659) will depart from Bengaluru at 10.15 am and reach Guwahati at 1.15 pm. In the return direction, the flight (Jet Airways 9W 660 ) will take off from Guwahati at 4.20 pm and reach  Bengaluru at 7.30 pm. The flight will be a daily service between the cities of Bengaluru and Guwahati.

Jet Airways will also connect Indore with Hyderabad and Chandigarh 4 times a week from August 1, the release added. Jet Airways 9W 955 will depart from Hyderabad at 10.50 am and have a stopover at Indore at 12.15 pm. It will depart from Indore at 12.45 pm and reach Chandigarh at 2.45 pm. This flight will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
31/07/18 New Indian Express

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Immigration staff yet to be appointed at Surat airport

Surat: While the central government has given a nod for the immigration checkpost and customs notified airport in Surat, the Gujarat government is yet to allot the immigration staff at Surat airport.
Last year, the Gujarat government had sent a letter to the director general of police (DGP) to allot 68
immigration staff members for Surat airport in the financial year 2018-19. The training and other process of the immigration staff was conducted in early 2018, but still the staff has not been posted at the airport.
Talking to TOI, airport director Sanjay Kumar Panigrahi said, “The immigration staff is yet to be posted at the airport. We have almost completed the facilities related to the international flight operation from Surat.”
Sources said the immigration staff was to be appointed in April-2018 and they were to be trained for about a month related to immigration process.
31/07/18 Times of India

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Direct Asr-London flight may become a reality soon

Amritsar: The long-pending demand of many NRIs and Punjabis for a direct flight from Amritsar to London is likely to be accepted soon.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India are considering to resume the direct flight from Amritsar to London, said Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) member Yogesh Kamra, who was part a delegation that met the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha.
The national carrier is already flying Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham flight to the UK. He said the minister citing unavailability of slots for Air India at London Heathrow airport, the flight will operate to London Luton International Airport.
30/07/18 Tribune

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Decision on bigger aircraft operation from Calicut soon: Raghavan

Kozhikode:  A decision on re-launching of wide-bodied (Code-E) aircraft from Calicut international airport near here would be announced soon, senior leader M K Raghavan, MP on Monday informed.
An assurance in this connection has been received from Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu this evening, said a release here. Stating the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) have been directed to kya necessary steps on the issue, Raghavan, representing Kozhikode in Lok Sabha quoting the Minister's office, said the AAI would make the announcement.
30/07/18 UNI

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Police kiosk at airport

Dum Dum: A police assistance kiosk was opened outside the airport terminal building on Monday afternoon for passengers to lodge complaints and seek help.

"Officers at the booth will keep taxi touts in check and help passengers book pre-paid taxis," an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.

"The kiosk, set up opposite gate No. 2B on the arrival level, will be staffed by four cops at all time. Each team will be headed by an officer of the rank of assistant sub-inspector. The booth will have a radio set so that the cops can ask for back-up during any emergency."
31/07/18 Snehal Sengupta/Telegraph

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Environment clearance sought for airport site

Pune: The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has sought environment clearance to the proposed site for the international airport in Purandar.
A source in the government said the MADC had written to the environment department for environment clearance to the project. It is among the procedures listed for finalizing the site.
MADC was appointed the Special Planning Authority (SPA) for the proposed airport site covering seven villages — Pargaon Memane, Khanvadi, Munjwadi, Ekhatpur, Kumbharvalan, Vanpuri and Udachiwadi. Villagers stated that the environment ministry should assess the project thoroughly because its proposed site had good agricultural produce. “On one hand, the state wants tree plantation. On the other, it wants to build the airport on a site where the villagers have planted several saplings. What about the green cover?” questioned a villager.
31/07/18 Nisha Nambiar/Times of India

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DGCA will only issue licences, but control of ATCOs will remain with us, says AAI boss

AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra spoke to Sindhu Bhattacharya of CNBCTV18.COM on a range of issues such as congestion at airports, privatisation and capacity, among others and clarifies that control of air traffic controllers will remain with his organisation and not with. Edited excerpts:

The government has said the control of air traffic control officers (ATCOs) will pass on from AAI to (aviation regulator) DGCA to comply with ICAO norms. What are your thoughts?

A: ATCOs are recruited and trained as per international and DGCA norms but are not licensed currently. They are only rated by a system devised by AAI, their employer. Should DGCA take over the role of licensing the ATCOs is the question. That will require rule changes and DGCA is working on it … Control of ATCOs will remain with AAI.

UDAN flights and slot constraints. What’s the situation?

A: Slot constraints for these flights exist only in Delhi, Mumbai airports. So we are building Hindon airport as an alternative to Delhi. Flights should start from Hindon in 6-9 months. In Mumbai, round one of UDAN flights have been accommodated. but Navi Mumbai is required for remaining flights.
30/07/18 Sindhu Bhattacharya/CNBC TV18

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Mysuru airport expansion on fast track

Mysuru: Making a strong business case for expanding the Mysuru airport in view of its tourism and investment potential and to provide air connectivity with major commercial cities of Karnataka, the authorities have set August 15 as the deadline for completing a joint survey for land acquisition to kick start phase II of the project (airport expansion).

With proposals in the offing for additional flights from Mysuru to the rest of Karnataka and other cities under the regional connectivity scheme, the airport expansion work will be put on fast track with a definite time frame.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) has already issued security clearance for the proposed underpass in which the existing four-lane National Highway 766 (previously 212) will pass below the runway, the work on highway diversion and runway expansion will also be taken up concomitantly subject to completion. Incidentally, Mysuru is among the only two cities in India to which the BCAA has issued clearance for an underpass below the runway; the other being Varanasi.
30/07/18 The Hindu

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Flood may force CIAL to close Cochin airport

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) authoritiesat Nedum-bassery are keeping their fingers crossed as water level at Idukki and Idalamalyar dams are going up.

The last time when the airport had to be closed due to floods was in 2013 when the adjoining Chengal Canal overflowed following opening of the shutters of the Idamalayar dam after heavy pounding by rains. Ever since this happened, CIAL undertook works to increase the depth of the Chengal Canal to increase the water -flow to the Periyar in the downstream and also reinforced the outer bunds of the canal and also the boundary wall of the airport, to prevent flooding of the airport.
However, a senior official of CIAL told Deccan Chronicle on Sunday that if shutters of Idamalayar dam and Idukki dam are opened simultaneously, then CIAL would not be able to escape flooding once again. “We understand the situation will deteriorate only if more rain happened in the catchment areas of the dams now on,” he said.
30/07/18 Vinod Nedumudy/Deccan Chronicle

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Aviation boost for Nashik, Pune, Mumbai, Jalgaon and Kohlapur; Pilots crisis over, Air Deccan set to fly

Air Deccan to restart its flight services in Maharashtra. Due to the shortage of pilots and aircraft issues, the airline had suspended its services in the state a month ago. After getting an SCO flying permit from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the airlines had started its service under the government's regional connectivity scheme UDAN in last December.

Air Deccan said that it will connect Nashik with Pune, Mumbai, Jalgaon and Kohlapur with six times a week services to the destination.

"We are happy to announce the relaunch of our new routes in Maharashtra connecting Mumbai with Pune, Nashik, Jalgaon, and Kohlapur. The UDAN scheme is an excellent scheme initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make flying more affordable for the common man," Air Deccan Managing Director Shaishav Shah said in a statement.
30/07/18 ZeeBiz

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Delhi Airport becomes first Indian Airport to achieve ISO

New Delhi, July 30 (UNI) GMR led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has been conferred with ISO 55001:2014 certification for its Asset Management (AMC). DIAL was awarded this coveted certification by British Standards Institution (BSI) for Aeronautical Ground Lighting (AGL) and associated Electrical System at Delhi Airport.
These are vital installations of an airport that ensure safe, continuous and reliable aircraft movements. This makes Delhi’s IGI Airport as the first Airport in India and among the select ones in the World to win this title.
AGL system is a crucial airport function that provides continuous visual guidance to the aircraft for landing, taxiing and taking off. Electrical installation provides the continuous power supply to these AGL Systems and are continuously monitored for their satisfactory function through automated communication system.
30/07/18 UNI

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Bird scare at Ahmedabad airport gets worse

The enthusiasm of Ahmedabad airport authorities to keep birds at bay seems to be waning. In the first seven months of the year, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport witnessed bird hit incidents almost equal to the whole of last year and nearly double the number three years ago. What’s more, they have still not called for the periodic environment committee meeting that is held every three-four months to discuss issues.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has succeeded in reducing the number of bird hits in last few years on as well as around the 3.5-km-long runway of the airport. However, figures of this year indicate lackadaisical approach on part of the authorities.
30/07/18 Alok Brahmbhatt/Ahmedabad Mirror

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Delhi, Mumbai airports busiest — for thieves, too!

Delhi and Mumbai airports, the busiest and largest in the country, also witness the most thefts seen at any of the nation's 13 major airports, together accounting for 80 per cent of the cases reported in roughly the past three-and-a-half years. In the bargain, Delhi far outstrips Mumbai with more than double the incidence of pilfering.

Parsed, the data released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation says that a total of 252 cases of thefts were reported at the 13 airports between 2015 and June 2018. Of these, 204 were reported at Delhi and Mumbai terminals — Delhi alone claiming discredit for 144 of these.

Each of the two airports easily handle more than 900 flights every day. Over last seven years, Delhi's air traffic has almost doubled. Its airport catered to more than 60 million passengers in 2017-18, while Mumbai's flew 48.5 million people last fiscal.
30/07/18 Mehul R Thakkar/DNA

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VVIP movement forces fliers to walk to airport terminal

Lucknow: Passengers had to walk 400 metres till airport terminal, as parking of taxis was shifted from the terminal area towards Kanpur road due to the VVIP movement from Lucknow's Amausi airport for PM Narendra Modi's ground-breaking ceremony in city on Sunday. Besides, ten unscheduled chartered planes of delegates and business tycoons had landed at the airport which hindered the arrival and departure schedule of flights.
Keeping in view the VVIP movement, several changes, like shifting of parking area and restriction of
movement of passenger vehicles, were made at the airport ahead of the event.
People who came to receive their family members and friends were not allowed to drive in their vehicles till the terminal, which left many inconvenienced.
30/07/18 Urooj Khan/Times of India

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Smoking room at Lohegaon airport closed for month-long renovation

Pune:  "Smoking area coming up soon. Work in progress. Inconvenience is regretted," is what the Airport Authority of India's notice reads at the entrance of the smoking room on the first floor of the Pune Airport's terminal building.
The room was shut down on Saturday for renovation .
"The current smoking room is located right next to the childcare room and there have been several complaints regarding the same. A few passengers even said the smoking room's ventilation was not good as the smoke would at times enter the security hold area (SHA) and the childcare room. Hence the room has been shut down now and a proper facility is being constructed. It should be ready within a month or so," a Pune airport official said. However, a few passengers are still not convinced with the location of the smoking room.
30/07/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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The World's Loneliest Airport Has India, Sri Lanka In a Tough Spot

New Delhi: Sri Lanka and India seem to be on the opposite sides of the table on a crucial issue of bilateral ties.
Earlier this month, Sri Lankan civil aviation minister Nimal Siripala de Silva had told the Parliament that the government had asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to submit its business plan to operate the loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.
However, India’s minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha on Sunday told Parliament that there was no proposal under consideration for the AAI to buy a controlling stake in the airport. Sinha also clarified that there were no plans for the AAI to build a flying school and a maintenance, repair and overhaul unit at the airport.
The airport, dubbed the world’s loneliest, was built with high-interest commercial loans from China. The AAI is reported to have a 70 per cent stake, while Sri Lanka’s CAA will invest 30 per cent. The airport was officially inaugurated in March 2013 but the lone flight operating from there was also stopped in May this year due to losses.
30/07/18 Aishwarya Kumar/News18

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Delhi High Court Orders to Halt Construction of High-rise Buildings Around IGI Airport

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday ordred to stop construction of high-rise buildings around Indira Gandhi International airport until further orders. The matter will be next heard on September 17.

The order came on a PIL by Kerala-based lawyer Yashwanth Shenoy who said the Aerocity, which has several high rise hotels, near the international airport was major threat to security and safety of the aircraft flying over it.

He said it was easy for any terrorist to bring down a plane from these hotels as they do not have bullet-proof windows, a requirement for being allowed to come up there, neither sufficient security personnel at these establishments.

On March 20, the operator of the IGI airport told the High Court that there are 365 obstacles around the aviation hub that may pose a threat to aircraft safety.
30/07/18 Latestly

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Three international teams line up for Jamaican airport PPP

Three teams are in contention for a public–private partnership deal to take over the operation and expansion of Norman Manley International Airport near Kingston, Jamaica.
The winner will finance, develop and maintain the airport, the second largest in Jamaica after Sangster International, which serves the tourist resort of Montego Bay.

A request for proposals was issued by the Ministry of Transport to eight prequalified bidders in June 2017. The three that responded are:

Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico
A team led by Corporación del Este, a subsidiary of Dominican developer Grupo Puntacana. This team also includes China Harbour Engineering and local companies Corporación del Kingston, GBG Energy and Jamaica Producers Group
A team led by Egis Projects, a French engineer that specialises in international transport PPPs. Its team includes Jamaican investment adviser GK Capital Management, Kingston finance house Sagicor Investments Jamaica and Razel-Bec, the civil engineering arm of France’s Fayat Group.
Among the prequalified teams that did not submit final bids were Vinci Airports, GMR Infrastructure of India, Zurich Airport International, Cedicor of Argentina, the Korea Airport Corporation and A-Port Chile.
30/07/18 Global Construction Review

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Airport body holds vigilance workshop

Raipur: The corporate vigilance department of Airport Authority of India had organised a two-day workshop on Preventive Vigilance - A Tool for Better Governance on July 26 and 27 at Swami Vivekananda Airport, in Raipur. Interactive sessions were conducted by key dignitaries from the department including the chief vigilance officer of AAI, RS Bhatti.
The event was attended by around 52 participants from airports like Bagdogra, Patna, Gaya, Port Blair, Pekyong, Jharsuguda, Kolkata, Raipur and Bhubaneswar.
The workshop focused on various facets of vigilance such as preventive, punitive, surveillance and proactive vigilance. The seminar stressed on the importance of technology as enabler in AAI.
29/07/18 Times of India

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Birds spotted, flight diverted to Varanasi

Patna: A Kolkata-Patna-Lucknow flight of IndiGo carrying around 150 passengers was diverted to Varanasi from the city airport after a flock of birds was spotted at the runway touchdown point around 10.45am on Saturday.
After the air traffic control (ATC) office at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport here directed the pilot to abort landing, the flight, 6E-339, was taken to Varanasi airport as it did not have sufficient fuel for second landing attempt here.
ATC officials at Patna airport said birds usually congregate near the runway during rainy season. “Insects and small reptiles, which normally remain underground, come out when it rains and attract birds,” Santosh Kumar, assistant general manager (air traffic management) at Patna airport told TOI.
29/07/18 Piyush Tripathi/Times of India

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Airport to provide designated parking space for app-based cab aggregators

Thiruvananthapuram: Hoping to put an end to the continuing conflict between conventional taxi drivers and application-based cab services, authorities at the Trivandrum International Airport have decided to allot designated spaces for the latter. There had been frequent complaints from passengers about the tussle between taxi drivers and drivers of cab aggregators at the airport.
Because of fleecing by autorickshaw drivers and prepaid taxis, app-based cab services are in great demand at the airport.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) will provide space for facilitation counter and pickup points for cab
aggregators at both domestic and international terminals of the airport for a period of three years. Cab
aggregators will be provided parking space for five vehicles in front of the terminals. AAI has floated a tender in this regard, inviting aggregators. They expect that majors in the sector, Uber and Ola, will respond to tenders.
29/07/18 Times of India

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From August 1, fly directly to Indore from Chandigarh

Mohali: Adding another destination having direct connectivity from the Chandigarh airport, Jet Airways will start flight operations to Hyderabad via Indore starting August 1.
Online bookings for the direct flight to Indore have already begun on the Jet Airways website. The flight will operate four times a week — Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday — said the official spokesperson of the Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL).
The Jet Airways flight 9W-958 will depart from Chandigarh at 3.15pm and after traveling 3 hours nonstop, will arrive at Indore at 5.15 pm. The initial fare has been fixed at Rs 4,253 per person till Indore as displayed on the official website of Jet Airways.
29/07/18 Barinderjit Saluja/Times of India

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Govt to roll out DigiYatra offering for air passengers soon

Mumbai: Having worked on the DigiYatra project for over a year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is close to rolling out this service at airports in a few months, a senior union minister said.

“We have this programme called DigiYatra, which hopefully will be introduced in a few months itself,” Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation said at the sidelines of GJEPC 44th Gem & Jewellery Awards in Mumbai on Saturday night.

“(Under this) the moment you will enter the airport, your images will be captured and then you will be able to go through the full lifecycle of your travel in a seamless manner,” the minister said.
29/07/18 Lalatendu Mishra/The Hindu

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More Flights To Operate From Mysuru

New Delhi: Here is some good news for air travellers from Mysuru. More flights will be introduced from Mysuru to smaller airports like Hubballi in two months. The flights come under a network that will connect other cities like Ahmedabad, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Tirupati.

The ambitious Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik), launched by the Narendra Modi Government will be expanded and the Mysore Airport at Mandakalli will handle more flights.

The all-inclusive airfare under RCS is Rs.2,500 and the airfare cap will be indexed to inflation and revised quarterly.
29/07/18 Star of Mysore

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Kadapa airport sees steep rise in passenger traffic

Kadapa: The passenger traffic has increased at the Kadapa airport, thanks to the affordable airfare and connectivity to major cities. As a result, the airport authorities have set a target of attracting one lakh air passengers by March 31, 2019. Currently, six air services are being run and another flight would be operated from Kadapa to Bengaluru soon. The occupancy ratio has reached 90 per cent, encouraging the air operators to run more flights from Kadapa airport.

The UDAN Scheme, introduced by the Centre aims at providing air connectivity to all towns, helped increase passenger traffic at the Kadapa airport. Earlier, Vayudoot flights were run between Hyderabad and Kadapa from 1985 to 1989. However, the air services were stopped due to lack of passenger traffic. The then CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy developed Kadapa airport to promote industrial growth in the region. In 2007, the AP government signed a MoU with the Airport Authority of India to develop Kadapa airport at a cost of `60 crore.
29/07/18 New Indian Express

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Air India coach facility likely, but only after the monsoon

Pune:  Air India is likely to start a coach service at Pune airport, from the security gate to tarmac, but the facility may be in place only after the monsoon. Once the service is introduced, the national carrier will be the fourth airline to start a coach service at the city airport.
“Air India is expected to bring a coach for its passengers at the Pune airport. Though we cannot confirm the time when the service will start, the coach will be brought from Hyderabad,” an airport official said.  Airline sources told TOI that it could take some time before the coach comes to the facility.
 “Things are being worked out in this regard. But it takes a couple of months. Once the coach comes in, it will be used to ferry passengers from the security gates to the aircraft parked in the bay, if the aircraft has not been given an aerobridge and the weather is rough,” a source pointed out.
28/07/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Sindhudurg airport construction to be completed by August

As much as 80 percent of the construction work on the Rs 520-crore Sindhudurg airport in the state is over, while the remaining work is expected to be completed by the next month,an official release said today.

Significantly, the work on taxi way, apron and isolation bay has already been completed, it said.

The greenfield airport is being constructed at Parule Chipi in the Sindhudurg district of the state by IRB Sindhudurg Airport on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer basis for the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.

With a 2,500-metre long runway, the airport will have a capacity to handle 200 departing and 200 arriving passengers during peak hours.
27/07/18 moneycontrol.com

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Airport Council rankings in service quality : Vizag airport gets 112th rank

Visakhapatnam:  The Visakhapatnam airport improved its rank to 112th in Airport Service Quality (ASQ) for Q-2 in the present fiscal.

The ASQ ratio is increased from 4.15 per cent to 4.36 per cent in Q-2 and achieved 112th rank in the world with respect to ASQ.
This is rated by Airport Council International. In Q-1 in the present fiscal, the Visakhapatnam airport was at 173rd rank.

In the recent times, the aircraft parking area has been expanded to land eight aircraft to 16.

Now the airport is facilitating to land 16 aircraft at a time. With the introduction of the number of flights to almost all the cities in the country, the passenger growth rate also increased.
28/07/18 Hans India

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'Solar initiative directly benefits Cial passengers'

Around 10 million passengers flew in and out of Kochi last fiscal year but many might not know that more than three decades ago Kochi was at the risk of the falling off the aviation map if not for the audacious attempt by a young IAS officer - V J Kurian - to set up a new airport.
Q: When Cial started out there were many challenges and obstacles. Now the same airport has received recognition from the UN.
A: We started with just Rs 20,000 in our hand but went on to build this Rs 300 crore project. In 1993, when I mooted the idea nobody believed it would become a reality. Not even in my wildest thoughts did I imagine that we would handle 1 crore passengers in just around 25 years of operation and now the UN recognition has followed.
Q: What set in motion Cial's solar initiative? Was it just a branding exercise?
A: It started as a necessity because of an increase in the electricity tariff. In a state where you have rain for six months, we were not sure if a solar project would be viable. We started with 100 KW and after a couple of months realized that power production was quite good. We decided to expand it 1MW and observe it for over a period of one year. We presented it to the state government and said upgrading the facility to 12 MW would make us energy efficient.
27/07/18 Vinod Vikram/Times of India

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Villagers vow mass protest against land acquisition

Pune: The black banners are ready. So are the people of seven villages — Vanpuri, Kumbharvalan, Udachiwadi, Ekhatpur, Munjavadi, Khanavadi and Pargaon Memane — to oppose land acquisition for the Purandar international airport.
The Vimantal Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti has announced “chakka jam (road blockade)” on all the roads leading to the seven villages next week. It will, in turn, affect nearly 40 villages. The samiti members claimed that this would mark the commencement of a series of agitations against the land
acquisition.
A joint meeting of the seven villages would be conducted on Sunday to decide the course of action for the next week, a member of the samiti said.
Pargaon Memane, the village to be largely affected, has seen huge tracts of irrigated land in the past 10 years because of the Purandar lift irrigation water supply. Several farmers took up cultivation of vegetables and fruits.
28/07/18 Nisha Nambiar and Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Proposed Navi Mumbai airport: Light will guide pilot to taxiway, runway occupancy time to reduce

Mumbai: At Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, an aircraft generally takes around 30 minutes to exit the runway during peak hours. With the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport adopting the Multiple Apron Ramp System (MARS), the runway occupancy time of flights is expected to reduce. This, in turn, would lend more flexibility to the aircraft turnarounds thus causing less delay of flights, officials in the know told The Indian Express. Providing relief to one of the world’s busiest airports, the CSIA, the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is set to have three terminal buildings and two parallel runways. The first flight is expected to take off by December next year from the new airport.
“At CSIA, the departing flight takes 30 minutes to enter into taxiway. Using MARS, the pilots would be guided better to enter the taxiway,” a senior Air Traffic Control (ATC) official said. “At present, pilots are required to follow multiple instructions from the ATC after they land on the runway. In MARS, they would just be required to follow a light, making the process easier. It also reduces any chance of human error,” the ATC official said.
The GVK group of industries, which is building the new airport at Panvel submitted their final master plan of the airport to the safety body Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last month. In the first phase of building the airport, planners are expected to construct the southern runway and one terminal building. According to sources in the City Industrial and Development Corporation (CIDCO), the GVK is expected to construct the southern runway and terminal building by next year. In the draft plan, yet to be approved by the DGCA, two separate entries to the airport from both the east and west sides have been proposed.
28/07/18 Neha Kulkarni/Indian Express

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Airport Metro yard to be country’s largest underground facility

Kolkata: : Metro Railway’s Biman Bandar (airport) station yard will be the largest underground facility in the country once it is completed in 2021.
Metro general manager Ajay Vijayvargiya, along with senior officers, on Friday reviewed constructions at the yard and stressed on speedy work. At Biman Bandar, the station will be integrated, connecting Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport to Tollygunge, Garia, Salt Lake, Howrah and later Barasat.
“The construction methodology being used is top, down, cut and cover. It is located near the old elevated Biman Bandar station of Circular Railway, which is no longer in use. The underground The 550m-long and 41.6mwide yard will have six tracks. Construction is going on in full swing and the diaphragm wall and plunge piles are nearing completion. Work on the top slab is also under progress,” Metro Railway CPRO Indrani Banerjee said.
28/07/18 Jayanta Gupta/Times of India

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Parrikar likely to head Mopa development authority Panaji: The cabinet on Friday evening approved a draft of the Goa (Mopa Airport Development Authority) Bill, for the creation of a new development authority for the proposed greenfield airport at Mopa, in Pernem taluka. Chief minister Manohar Parrikar may be the chairman.
As per a concession agreement signed by the state government with GMR Goa International Airport (the concessionaire), the latter was required to implement the project in a phased manner, with the first phase scheduled to be completed within three years. An authority as a single-window mechanism was considered necessary for development of the project.
28/07/18 Times of India

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More flights from Visakhapatnam this winter

Visakhapatnam: Airline operators SpiceJet, Air Asia, IndiGo, TruJet, and Jet Air have got their winter schedule from Visakhapatnam International Airport approved by the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA).

SpiceJet will arrive at 7.05 a.m. and take off to Vijayawada from Vizag at 7.25 a.m. with effect from November 20.

Air Asia will land in Vizag at 12.30 p.m. and take off for Vijayawada at 1.10 p.m. w.e.f. October 28, IndiGo will operate three flights a day between Vizag and Cochin in the mornings, afternoon and night from November, 2018 to March, 2019, according to AP Air Travellers Association (APATA) vice-presidents O. Naresh Kumar, D.S. Varma and K. Kumar Raja.
28/07/18 The Hindu

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Mattala Airport Deal Will Embroil Sri Lanka in India-China 'Regional Power Games': Rajapaksa

Colombo:  Sri Lanka's proposed deal with India over the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport will "unnecessarily" embroil the island national in India-China "regional power games", former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Friday.

The Sri Lankan government earlier this month had announced that it would go ahead with the deal with India to jointly operate the airport in the southern Hambantota district. The country has also entered a 99-year lease with China to develop an industrial park and an oil bunkering facility at the Hambantota port.

"We are opposed to the selling of national assets," Rajapaksa said while in Tangalle town of his home district Hambantota. "Our country will be unnecessarily caught in regional power games due to this," he added.
27/07/18 PTI/News18

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Pondy, Mysuru, Salem flights may take off from Chennai in August

Chennai: Air travel to small towns from Chennai is going to get a boost as flights to Puducherry, Salem, Neyveli, Kadapa and Mysuru under regional connectivity scheme are likely to be flagged off next month.
A report on the regional connectivity scheme Udan, released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) this month, has set deadlines for the flights to small towns. It also shows that AAI is gearing to start more flights to small towns by end of the year.
Chennai to Kannur service will begin in December, while services to Thanjavur and Vellore which should have commenced in January are expected to be delayed further. AAI has not set a new deadline for starting services at these airports.
28/07/18 Times of India

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'Develop Amarda Rd airstrip as tourist hub'

Bhubaneswar: A memorial service was held at the Amarda Road Airstrip at Rasgovidpur in Mayurbhanj district on July 26 for the 14 airmen who had died in a crash here on the same date in 1945. War historian Anil Dhir, Gandhian Aditya Patnaik, social activist Dr Biswajit Mohanty and the staff of the Gandhi Eye Hospital at Rangamatia, besides locals including school children paid homage to the dead airmen who have been forgotten in history.  Wreaths were laid for each of the dead airmen.

On the July 26, 1945, two British Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator four-engine bombers collided at low altitude. The aircrafts were based at the Amarda Road airfield and were part of a six-plane contingent from the Air Fighting Training Unit engaged in a formation flying exercise.

14 airmen, the crews of the two aircraft, died in the crash. They comprised six British, three American, one each Canadian, Dutch,  New Zealander, Australian and Indian. Meanwhile, historian Dhir requested the Governments of Odisha and West Bengal to erect small memorials for these airmen at Amarda Road and the crash site. He has also requested to open up the sealed underground bunker which may hold relics of the period.
28/07/18 Pioneer

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The Amarda Road Crash Memorial Service held at Rasgovindpur Airstrip

Rasgovindpur: A memorial service was held at the Amarda Road Airstrip today for the fourteen airmen who had died in a crash here on the 26th of July 1945. War historian Anil Dhir, Gandhian Aditya Patnaik, Social Activist Dr. Biswajit Mohanty and the Staff of the Gandhi Eye Hospital at Rangamatia, locals including school children paid homage to the dead airmen who have been forgotten in history. Wreaths were laid for each of the dead airmen.

Very few people know that the skies of Odisha had seen the crash of two aircraft which has collided against each other and resulted in the deaths of 14 airmen. On the 26th of July 1945 two British Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator four-engine bombers collided at low altitude. The aircrafts were based at the Amarda Road airfield and were part of a six-plane contingent from the Air Fighting Training Unit engaged in a formation flying exercise. Fourteen airmen – the crews of the two aircraft died in the crash. They were of nationalities- six British, three American, one each Canadian, Dutch, New Zea-lander, Australian and one Indian.

The Rasgovindpur Airstrip had a short but secret illustrious history which has never been made public. It had the longest runway in Asia, more than 3.5 km long. The total runways, taxiways, aprons, etc. were more than 60 km. Today all is forgotten, no details of the activities that happened here between 1943 and 1945 exist, not even in government and military records. The station came into existence during the war as a forward airfield against the Japanese conquest of Burma. The large strip served its purpose well as a landing ground for planes and also as a training space for special bombing missions. The Amarda Road airstrip, as it was called in war terminology, spreads across an area of nearly 900 acres. Built in the 1940’s at a cost of Rs 3 Crores, it was eventually abandoned after the war. It was named as the Amarda Road Airfield due to the nearby Amarda Road railway station.
28/07/18 Orissa Diary

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India "not considering" Mattala Airport deal

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry, in a surprise revelation, has said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is not considering any proposal to acquire a controlling stake of 70 per cent in Mattala International Airport in a joint venture partnership with the Sri Lankan government.

Indian media quoted Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha as stating that “no such proposal is under consideration at present".

He was replying to a question raised by the Lok Sabha BJP member Poonam Mahajan as to whether the AAI is considering purchasing a controlling stake in the Mattala airport, thereby gaining ownership of the airport, the Business Standard web site reported.

According to Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva’s statement in parliament recently the AAI has been asked to submit its business plan for operating the Mattala Airport.
27/07/18 Bandula/Sunday Times

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Minicoy in Lakshadweep soon to have an Airport and better infrastructure

New Delhi: In a development initiative by the NITI Aayog for islands separated from the mainland of India, a committee constituted by the Aayog under the chairmanship of T Haque accompanied by representatives from Union ministry of home affair, Union ministry of tribal affairs, ministry of environment and forests, adviser (NRE), NITI Aayog along with Indian Air Force visited Minicoy and addressed the related issues for implementation of identified projects in Lakshadweep for its holistic development.
Sources said that an interactive session with officers and other stakeholders including islanders holding land required for the proposed projects such as developing an Airport and developing tourism infrastructure in Minicoy was held at Deputy Collector's office where HoDs from several departments, DP/VDP members, village moopans and land owners participated in the meeting convened by the government officials.
27/07/18 One India

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Mopa Airport to be commissioned by Sept 2020: Parrikar

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has informed State Legislative Assembly on Thursday that first phase of Mopa Airport is expected to be commissioned by September 2020.
In a written reply in response to a question tabled by Congress MLA Nilkanth Halarnkar, Mr Parrikar, who also holds Civil Aviation
portfolio, said development of Mopa Airport had begun and the earth work was in progress.
27/07/18 UNI

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New models for airport management

India has emerged as the third largest domestic aviation market in the world. The number of major airports increased from 12 to 27 between 2007 and 2017.

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008, was enacted to provide an independent authority to protect the interests of airports, airlines and passengers, and to primarily regulate tariff for aeronautical services rendered at airports. Aeronautical services include navigation, surveillance and supportive communication for air traffic management; services for the landing, housing or parking of an aircraft; ground safety, fuel and handling services; and so on.

Exponential growth in the sector has pushed the government to propose an Amendment Bill in 2018. The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority has been under tremendous pressure with an increase in the number of private operators entering the airline/airport sector. Some of the major airports now function under public-private partnerships. It was felt that if too many airports come under the purview of the Authority, it would be difficult to efficiently determine the tariffs and monitor the service standards of major airports. For engaging private partners in infrastructure projects, several business models like predetermined tariff or tariff-based bidding have come into place. The airport project is awarded to the concessionaire who offers the lowest tariff.
27/07/18 Krishnadas Rajagopal/The Hindu

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It's raining buckets inside airport

Dum Dum: If Calcutta airport was waiting for a watershed moment in its long history of embarrassments, it came on Thursday morning through a leaking roof.
Even the business class lounge in the international section of the terminal wasn't spared the ignominy of buckets and baggage tubs laid out on the floor to catch rainwater dripping down the high ceiling.
As the intensity of the downpour increased, sofas in the lounge were pushed around as if they were players in a merry-go-round where one drop on the upholstery would lead to elimination.
In bay number 16, a cascade at the entry to the aerobridge welcomed passengers boarding a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok.
27/07/18 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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Three flight services were launched between Thoothukudi and Chennai on Thursday.

Thoothukudi: With the addition of these new flights, the number of aircraft operated from the Thoothukudi airport has risen to six. The flight services start from Thoothukudi at 7.55 a.m., 12.35 a.m. and 4.40 p.m., and reach Chennai at 9.30 a.m., 2.15p.m. and 6.15 p.m. respectively.

The flights are scheduled to take off from Chennai at 5.50 a.m., 10.25 a.m., 2.40 p.m. and reach here at 7.30 a.m., 12.05 p.m., 4.20 p.m. respectively.
27/07/18 The Hindu

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2 small airports in Odisha and 3 in C'garh not ready yet for regional flights

Two small airports in Odisha and three in Chhattisgarh are still not in full readiness to start Air Odisha's services under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) as per the data available with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Readiness of Utkela Airport is pending in Odisha for Air Odisha to start the Utkela to Raipur and Raipur to Utkela  Air services, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has informed.

The Ministry expects the Utkela Airport to be ready by August 2018 to commence the services.

Moreover, readiness of Ambikapur, Bilaspur,Jharsuguda and Raigarh airports is also pending for services of Air Odisha on Ambikapur to Bilaspur , Raipur to Jharsuguda, Jharsuguda to Raipur, Raipur to Raigarh and Raigarh to Raipur sector, it informed.

Notably, Chhattisgarh has signed MoU with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation for promoting Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) in the State, officials informed.
27/07/18 Pioneer

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Calicut airport set to spread its wings with operation of wide-body aircraft

Calicut: Wide-body aircraft of Saudia, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Air India will soon operate their flights to Calicut International Airport (CCJ) in Karipur, facilitating transport of thousands of Keralite expat workers in the Gulf as well as Haj and Umrah pilgrims from the Malabar region.

“There is no obstacle facing operation of wide-bodied aircraft to Calicut airport,” said K. Srinivasa Rao, director of the airport, while speaking to Saudi Gazette.

“We are now awaiting the green signal from the Directorate of Civil Aviation for the operation of big aircraft and we expect the permission any time from now,” he added.

He said the airport’s newly constructed international passenger terminal would be launched either in August or September, adding that it would increase the airport’s annual capacity from three million to 4.5 million. He estimated the airport’s annual revenue at Rs2 billion. But revenue fell 30 percent while exports were down 80% after AAI denied wide-body aircraft.
27/07/18 P.K. Abdul Ghafour/Saudi Gazette

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To avoid traffic, more opt for overnight flights at Kempegowda International Airport

Bengaluru: Air passengers in the city are increasingly opting for odd-hour, overnight departures and arrivals to beat Bengaluru traffic.
Earning their name from the puffy eyes they can leave travellers with, red-eye flights (10pm to 6am) are both cheaper on the pocket and allow passengers to reach their destination early. Statistics from the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) show that domestic red-eye flight movement at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has increased from 28 flights a night in 2013-14 to a staggering 91 in 2017-18. Similarly, international flight departures at night at KIA have also gone up — from 24 per night in 2013-14 to 31 in 2017-18.
While a majority of the international flights are operated at night, domestic ones are between 6am and 10am and 5pm and 1am. Now, the number of domestic flights being operated after 1am has  increased.
27/07/18 Christin Mathew Philip/Times of India

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Passengers with only handbags will not have to wait longer!

No need to wait any longer! Soon, domestic air passengers travelling with only handbags will be able to go straight to security checkpoints as the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has asked the major airports especially IGI Airport of New Delhi to introduce “express security check facility” in order to reduce congestion at check-in and frisking areas. A senior CISF official was recently quoted in a TOI report stating that the express security check facility was first introduced in India at Hyderabad airport about a year ago. He further elaborated that an enclosure with three PESC (pre-embarkation security check) facilities was placed close to departure gate number 1 with one booth for women and five for men.

Now, CISF wants other large airports to introduce the same facility. The official continued, if passengers with single handbags and printed boarding cards can straightaway go to a dedicated PESC then the load on check-in areas will be reduced. Therefore, this will help to minimize the waiting time for passengers in other security hold areas. The official added that to create this security check facility at IGI airport, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has been requested to create infrastructure. Interestingly, all proactive measures are being taken into consideration by DIAL for the future terminal design, which can further improve the experience of passengers.
26/07/18 Devanjana Nag/Financial Express

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Navi Mumbai airport: Environment Ministry okays forest land diversion for Pushpak Nagar

In what may be considered as a major step in the development of townships around the Navi Mumbai international airport, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has accorded approval for diversion of 22.55 hectares of forest land required for developing Pushpak Nagar.

"The approval from the ministry of environment and forest was necessary for the development of Pushpak Nagar," Navi Mumbai town planning authority Cidco said in a statement issued here today.

Pushpak Nagar township has been planned with state-of-the-art engineering and social infrastructure across 221 hectares, and the development is happening at a rapid pace.
26/07/18 PTI/moneycontrol.com

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Three sites identified for development of new greenfield airport

Surat:  The district administration has identified three potential sites in Surat and Navsari districts for the proposed development of greenfield airport, which would be much bigger than the existing airport in Surat. As per information sought under the right to information (RTI) Act by citybased RTI activist Rajesh Modi, the district collector’s office stated that the process to identify new sites for development of greenfield airport is over and the report is submitted to chief secretary, Gujarat, JN Singh for further action. Three government land sites —two in Surat’s Olpad taluka and one
in Navsari district’s Jalalpore taluka — have been identified for the new greenfield airport, located within the radius of 40 kilometre.
TOI was the first to break the story on the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the state government mulling a bigger airport within 40 km radius of the existing airport on March 29 this year. The sites have been identified in Olpad’s Kuwad and Pinjrat villages and Vansi Borsi village in Navsari’s Jalalpore taluka respectively.
According to copies available with TOI, Pinjrat village in Olpad taluka has 1,800 hectare of government land. However, the said laid is subject to soil testing and technical survey for the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) clearance. The second land is identified in Kuvad and Saras villages respectively in Olpad taluka, admeasuring 644 hectare. The third site is identified in Navsari’s Jalalpore taluka, where there is about 2,000 hectare of government land available in Vansi-Borsi and Mangrol villages respectively.
26/07/18 Times of India

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Airport food under FSSAI scanner

New Delhi: The Food Safety And Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed all the Food Business Operator (FBO) establishments within the premises of seaports and airports to have licence issued by the Central food safety agency only.

The food regulator, in its recent order stated that in future all such FBO's having establishments within the seaports/airports premises i.e. within Port/Airport Terminals for which DOs (Designated Officers) (PHOs (Public Health Officer)/APHOs (Additional Public Health Officer)) have been notified under FSS Act, 2006 need to obtain licenses from respective DOs and incase where DOs (PHOs/APHOs) have not been notified under FSS Act, 2006, the FBOs need to obtain license from the respective Central licensing authorities.
26/07/18 Priyanka Sharma/India Today

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End of Physical Stamping of Boarding Passes at IGI airport

New Delhi: The physical stamping of boarding passes would be done away with at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here from August onwards, a spokesperson for the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said on Thursday.

The facility will start at the T-2 terminal for GoAir passengers in the first week of next month and be introduced for other airlines subsequently, the spokesperson said.

A passenger only has to flash his boarding pass at a scanner machine placed at the security area for frisking. CISF personnel will give a 'go-ahead' command through a terminal placed at his end before frisking the passenger, said officials involved in its implementation.
26/07/18 PTI/News18

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Delhi airport dues to CISF: Aviation brass meets Rajnath Singh, to approach finance ministry

New Delhi:  With the home ministry threatening to withdraw CISF security cover at Delhi’s IGI Airport following mounting dues for security personnel deployment, a team of aviation ministry top brass met Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday. The combined dues of Indian airport operators to CISF for personnel deployment stands at Rs 915 crore, of which Rs 775 crore is reportedly outstanding from Delhi Airport alone.“Had a fruitful meeting with home minister Rajnath Singhji along with my colleague Jayant Sinha. Discussed issues related to passenger service fee (PSF). Extremely hopeful for the redressal of the same in near future,” Union aviation minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted on Thursday evening.
“We will take up the matter with the finance ministry. We are not considering to increase PSF,” a senior aviation ministry official said without elaborating how the CISF dues will be paid. All air travellers in India pay a PSF of Rs 130 to cover security deployment expense incurred by airport operators.
26/07/18 Sauabh Sinha/Times of India

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Air passenger service fee: Prabhu hopeful of redressing issue soon after meet with HM

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu today expressed hope that the issue of dues the Delhi airport operator owes to the CISF, which provides security cover to the IGI Airport, would be addressed soon.

He made the comments after he had a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, under whose ministry the CISF comes, and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the airport operator, owes over Rs 600 crore to the CISF, sources said.

Report suggests that there is a demand to increase the Passenger Service Fee (PSF) to clear the dues. A PSF of Rs 154 is collected from each passenger flying out of the Delhi airport and part of the amount is set aside for security component.
26/07/18 Outlook

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KIAL board sanctions ?113-cr development works

Kannur: With the Kannur International Airport set to begin operations in September, the board of directors of Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL) has sanctioned development works estimated at ?113 crore.

A press release here said the project sanctioned by the board included construction of a 18.3-km road along the periphery of the airport. This road will facilitate easy access in emergency situations and enhance the safety and security of the airport, the release noted. The works also include an international air cargo complex, a modern administration block, barrack for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, and landscaping of the area.

The landscaping work will cover the area in front of the passenger terminal building, roundabouts and dividers, the release said. The CISF barrack will comprise a 4-storey building block of 6,192 sq. m with a dormitory of 356 beds, apart from double and single rooms. There will also be a separate unit quarter guard and a kennel building for sniffer dogs, it said. The air cargo complex of 1.05 lakh sq. ft. will be equipped with modern facilities to handle perishable and general cargo. There will be dedicated zones such as perishable cargo export zone, international general cargo export zone, international general cargo import zone, apart from office spaces, the release said.
26/07/18 The Hindu

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No need to acquire land for new airport terminal: Collector

Trichy: District collector K Rajamani has allayed residents’ fears that they will have to part with their land for the new terminal building proposed to be built at the Trichy international airport. “The new building will come up within the premises of the airport and there is no need for acquiring land,” he clarified at the public hearing organised by district revenue officials here on Wednesday.
He also said that the construction would commence by October if all went well and the project would be completed by 2021. Rajamani chaired the public hearing which was aimed at elaborating on the proposed stateof-the-art two-level integrated terminal to come up at a cost of Rs897 crore. More than 200 residents from Sathanur, Kottapattu and Thiruverumber took part in the meeting and aired their concerns.
26/07/18 Times of India

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Solar-powered Cochin Airport gets UN’s highest environmental accolade

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport in Kerala, the first fully solar-powered airport in the world, has been chosen for the prestigious Champion of Earth Prize – 2018 instituted by the United Nations (UN). Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), had visited the airport located on the fringes of Kochi recently lauding its achievements in renewable energy conservation and the vegetable cultivation in the solar park.
Solheim, in a communique to VJ Kurien, managing director, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), said ‘previous Champion laureates range from world leaders to inspiring scientists – all visionaries who drive the world closer to its aspiration of environmental sustainability and a life of dignity for all.’
The Champion of Earth Prize is considered the UN’s highest environmental accolade.
A massive solar plant, adjoining the airport’s cargo complex, produces 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity every day taking care of its energy needs. Former CM Oommen Chandy had inaugurated the 12MWp plant in August, 2015 comprising of 46,150 solar panels across 45 acres. Excess electricity is routed into the grid of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
26/07/18 Indian Express

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MIL to survey illegal buildings near airport

Nagpur: Unfazed by non-cooperation by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), Mihan India Limited (MIL) has decided to conduct another survey of illegal buildings near airport that come in way of aircraft landing.
After the survey report is available, notices will issued to all such buildings and the owners will be asked to demolish the extra construction.
“Airport Authority of India (AAI) has empanelled surveyors. We will contact one of the surveyors and give it the contract. The survey should take 15 to 20 days,” said a source in MIL.
MIL had earlier done a survey of such buildings and found out that some 15 of them were constructed more than the permissible height. These were mostly located in Jaitala area and one on Wardha Road.
26/07/18 Ashish Roy/Times of India

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When Bengalureans fly within the state, they prefer Mangaluru

While Delhi and Mumbai continue to be the top two domestic destinations from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), among the intra state air routes, Bengaluru-Mangaluru was the busiest during June.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) city pair-wise domestic passenger statistics for the month of June, KIA operated flights on 40 domestic routes and among the destinations within the state, Mangaluru topped the chart with 52,476 passengers. During June, 26,143 passengers travelled to Mangaluru from KIA and 26,333 passengers travelled from Mangaluru.
The second busiest destination was the Bengaluru-Hubballi route as 12,275 passengers travelled on this route. The Bengaluru-Hubballi route is one of the fastest growing routes. Last year, during the same period there were 2,272 passengers on this route. The third busiest destination from Bengaluru is Belagavi, as 3,982 passengers commuted between the two routes. However, there was a dip in the number of passengers between the two destination when compared to the same period last year. In June 2017, 4,185 passengers had travelled from KIA to Belagavi.
26/07/18 Bangalore Mirror

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CISF suggests removal of boarding pass stamping at airports

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has reportedly suggested a pilot test at the Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports for flyers to not have to get their boarding passes stamped during the process of security check. According to a report published in the Times of India, CISF has written to the mentioned airports to quickly take note of the suggestion. The report suggests that the Hyderabad airport has already began work on the same.

CISF's Head of Airport Security, MA Ganapathy, on July 18 wrote to the CEOs of all three airports to stop the stamping of boarding passes of domestic flyers. The system is already available at the Hyderabad airport.

It is to be noted that the suggestion has been only for domestic flyers.

With this move, the CISF wants to eliminate the process of stamping boarding cards on a permanent basis. To do so, security personnel will frisk passengers at the pre-embarkation security check (PESC) area, which will also have HD CCTV cameras that will capture clear pictures of flyers.
26/07/18 DNA

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New air terminal by 2021

Turuchi: A new state-of-the-art integrated passenger terminal building at the fast-growing Tiruchi international airport is expected to be ready by 2021.
“The mega project will be executed only on land belonging to Airports Authority of India (AAI) within the sprawling Tiruchi airport premises,” Collector K. Rajamani said on Wednesday.
Land belonging to either the government or others would not be acquired for the construction of the new passenger terminal, Mr. Rajamani stressed at a public hearing meeting organised here on Wednesday.
The public hearing was organised by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board ahead of the execution of the new integrated terminal building and Apron within the airport premises.
26/07/18 The Hindu

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AAI earmarks Rs 250 crore for Surat airport development

Surat:  Airports Authority of India (AAI) has earmarked Rs250 crore for development of Surat airport so that international operations can be expanded from here.
In a document sought under Right to Information (RTI) Act, AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra had written to Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in May stating that necessary fund allocation for the development of Surat airport has been proposed.
At present, the airport handles about 36 flight movements per day to various destinations, operated by SpiceJet, AirAsia and Air India. Once IndiGo commences services in near future, flight movements could go up to 45. About 2,300 passengers travel daily to and from Surat airport.
26/07/18 Times of India

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Boarding pass stamping may soon be passe

New Delhi:  Soon, domestic passengers flying out of Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi won’t need to get their boarding passes stamped “security checked”. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has written to these three airports to conduct a pilot project at the earliest. Hyderabad airport already has this system in place.
CISF’s head of airport security, M A Ganapathy, on July 18 wrote to the CEOs of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore airports (DIAL, MIAL and BIAL, respectively) to stop stamping of boarding cards of domestic flyers. A senior CISF official said MIAL “is very keen to do a pilot”. The Mumbai airport management is learnt to have approached both CISF and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security for the same.
MIAL has discussed its blueprint with security authorities, it is learnt. Sources said the pilot project is proposed to be carried out at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) Terminal 2 for domestic passengers of Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara. The pre-embarkation security check (PESC) area will have HD CCTVs to capture a clear picture of passengers as well as security personnel frisking them.
26/07/18 Saurbah Sinha/Times of India

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Better days for air travellers? Airports to be monitored for best services; penalised for bad performance

Soon, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) will start keeping a tab on all big airports across the country. AERA will make sure that all the major airports are meeting the promised service standards in terms of maximum time taken for various processes such as security check, check-in and immigration, according to a TOI report. AERA, which fixes tariffs for big airports of the country, that cater to more than 15 lakh passengers a year, will link meeting of service standards to tariff determination. Additionally, the authority will penalize laggard airports and it will reward the ones that excel at the same time.

The authority is concerned by the fact that during peak travel hours, most of the Indian airports are severely congested and resemble overcrowded railway stations of the country. As air travel exploded in the last few years, both the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) as well as the private metro airport operators have failed to improve the infrastructure. As a matter of fact, serpentine queues- right from terminal entry to the security check, check-in and immigration, are not an uncommon sight anymore as all the big airports these days are mostly congested.
AERA Chairman S Machendranathan was quoted in the report saying that there are set service standards for airports. In order to measure the actual conditions at the airports vis-a-visa the standards, the authority is going to appoint consultants, the Chairman said. Further to this, Machendranathan added that the authority will link the meeting of standards to tariff determination and the airports which do not meet the same, will be penalized.
25/07/18 Devanjana Nag/Financial Express

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Haryana to extend existing airstrips in 5 aerodromes

Chandigarh: Haryana government has decided to extend existing airstrips in five aerodromes of the state, while Hisar Airport is being developed as international Aviation hub and would be extended to 9000 feet, the other four airstrips at Karnal, Pinjore, Bhiwani and Narnaul would be extended upto 5000 feet.
Stating this here on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation department said that to take maximum advantages of booming opportunities in the Civil Aviation sector, the government has
decided to extend existing airstrips in five aerodromes of the state.
He said that the four airstrips at Karnal, Pinjore, Bhiwani and Narnaul would be extended upto 5000 feet to accommodate medium sized aircrafts for various activities like parking, sub-basing; flying training as well as adventure sports for which the department had already published an expression of interest.
25/07/18 UNI

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Rajitha says Mattala to India and Hambantota to China is a balancing act

Minister Rajitha Senaratne stated that the reason as to why the Mattala Airport is being given to India, while the Hambantota port is given to China, is to balance out a possible diplomatic conflict.
He also said that, while the decision to build the Hambantota port and the Mattala Airport was a correct one, the problem lies within the fact that they were built without a proper plan.
He further says that, Rs 26,500 million had been used to built the Mattala Airport and Mattala would receive flights had a free trade zone was also built parallel to it.
25/07/18 Charunya Rajakaruna/Ada Derana

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Nashik Ozar On India Cargo Map

Nashik Airport located at Ozar about 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India is owned by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which had used the airport primarily to develop, test and build aircraft for the Indian Armed Forces.
     Now Nashik is seeing a second life for air cargo; in fact the airport will double its annual growth in 2018 exporting goats and sheep to places including the UAE.
     Exporting Goats and sheep to Sharjah started in 2016.
     So far in 2018 12,356 goats and sheep had been dispatched from Nashik via eight flights. The animals are usually sent during the monsoon season.
25/07/18 Air Cargo News

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Modi to kick off work on Chennai airport

Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit the city soon to lay the foundation stone for the phase II modernisation of Chennai airport.

According to sources, Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to request for dates to the Prime Minister’s Office for this event.

“Since this is a massive project, we thought it will be nice to have the PM laying the foundation stone. We are hoping to get a date soon,” an official said.

The phase II modernisation is estimated to cost Rs. 2,500 crore and this includes construction of a new international terminal and also remodification of the existing terminals.
24/07/18 The Hindu

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Can’t commit the date of starting work on terminal expansion: AAI

Surat: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has made it clear that they are unable to commit as to when the tender work for expansion of terminal building at Surat airport will be issued.
Replying to a query filed under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, the AAI stated that the future date of terminal building expansion cannot be committed. However, the AAI admitted that the revised scope of work has been issued and preliminary estimate is being prepared.
With the project for expansion of existing terminal building in limbo for the past one year, Surat airport will soon burst to its seams with the increase in flight movements in the next two months.
24/07/18 Times of India

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India will own 70% of Mattala Airport forever – Wimal

MP Wimal Weerawansa says that there is a plan to remove the Navy camp in Galle from its current location.

According to him, the relevant land will too be given to India, once the camp is removed from there.

India isn’t buying the Mattala International Airport based on commercial purposes, but to own the control of the Mattala Airport, said Weerawansa.
24/07/18 Charunya Rajakaruna/ADA derana

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Lost and found items Bengaluru airport double in sevenn years

Bengaluru: Know someone who lost any of their belongings at the Bengaluru airport? It’s not surprising, given that more than 20,000 articles were reported lost by the authorities during the last financial year (2017-18).

Out of these items, 5,686 (27.85%) were handed over to the original owners. More than 70% of the articles (14,727 in number) were left unclaimed which included prohibited items seized by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) over the same period. About 7,153 items — mostly perishable goods — were disposed.

The busiest airport in south India and the third largest in the country, the Kempegowda International Airport experiences an average footfall of 85,000 passengers every day.

Data shared by the airport authorities reveal that the increase in the number of passengers resulted in a proportionate rise in number of lost items collected by the airport staff.
24/07/18 News Minute

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Soon, you may not have to take laptops out of handbags for screening at airports

New Delhi:  The hassle of removing laptops, tablets and liquids from handbags for screening at airports may soon be a thing of the past. Some of the world’s busiest hubs are doing trial runs for screening machines that give a 3D view of what’s inside the bag, and not requiring items in them to be removed.
AERA, which fixes tariffs for big airports that handle over 15 lakh passengers a year, will link meeting of service standards to tariff determination and penalise laggard airports while rewarding ones where passengers can breeze through the various processes.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), agency in charge of security at Indian airports, is watching these trials closely and plans to test the technology here too and then hopefully use it at the busiest airports here.
24/07/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Three more international flights on airport radar, flydubai in talks

Pune:  At least three more international flights are likely to take off from the city airport by October, once the additional parking bays are in place.
In the offing is a flight to Singapore. Also, the authorities of flydubai, a low-cost airline headquartered at the terminal-2 of Dubai International Airport, have evinced interest in operating flights from Pune.
“India is a very important market for flydubai. We continuously look at opportunities to expand our operations in the market and better serve passengers between the two countries. Any discussion regarding bilateral agreements are done at the government level," Sudhir Sreedharan, vice-president, commercial operations, flydubai, said in an email response.
24/06/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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DGCA assurance on big aircraft operations

Kozhikode: Director General of Civil Aviation B.S. Bhullar on Monday assured a team of MPs from north Kerala that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body for civil aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, would give approval for resumption of operation of wide-bodied aircraft at the Calicut international airport by July 31.

The MPs—P.K. Kunhalikutty, M.K. Raghavan, E.T. Mohammed Basheer, and M.I. Shanavas—met the director general and held talks with him. The delegation also urged the DGCA to restore the Haj embarkation point at the airport, Mr. Raghavan said in a press release. He added that a joint team of the Airports Authority of India and the DGCA that conducted an inspection in October 2017 had clarified that there were no technical hurdles in allowing the operation of Boeing 777-200 and other wide-bodied aircraft under Code E.
24/07/18 The Hindu

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Flights missed in crater chaos

Chingrighata: Several travellers missed their morning flights on Monday after peak-hour traffic came to a standstill on EM Bypass as vehicles struggled to negotiate huge craters around Sukanta Nagar.

A 7km stretch from the Chingrighata flyover to the Ruby crossing remained chock-a-block with traffic for nearly two hours from 9.30am.

The impact of the snarl was so great that senior police officers from Lalbazar rushed to the Chingrighata intersection. All vehicles headed for Salt Lake and New Town were diverted from the Beleghata crossing. But by then, several employees of offices in Sector V had missed the morning meeting on the first day of the week.
24/07/18 Telehraph

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Bird hit grounds Air India aircraft in Chennai; Passengers bound for Singapore grounded

Chennai: Air India flight carrying 172 passengers, including crew, from Singapore to Chennai suffered a bird hit 400 feet above the ground damaging the nose of the aircraft.
An Airport Authority of India official told Express that the incident happened at 400 feet above and not in the airport premises.
“The nose of the aircraft or radome is damaged but the radar has not been affected,” an airport official told Express.
Radome or nose cone is found at the foremost point of an aircraft. The nose cone also houses radar and other instruments that might be used to detect meteorological phenomena or transmit communication signals.
23/07/18 C Shivakumar/New Indian Express

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Bhogapuram Airport: Fresh tender issued

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government has invited Request for Proposal (RFP) from private players for construction of Bhogapuram International Airport under public-private partnership mode in Vizianagaram district with a revised cost of 4,208 crore.
The last date for submission of application will be August 24. Companies with a net worth 590 crore at the close of the preceding financial year are eligible to participate in the tender. The applicant for pre-qualification may be a single entity or a group of entities.
23/07/18 Sribala Vadlapatla/Times of India

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Big airports on radar: Tariffs to be linked to meeting service standards

New Delhi:  The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) will soon check if big Indian
airports are meeting the promised service standards in terms of maximum time taken for various processes like
check-in, security check and immigration.
The authority, which fixes tariffs for big airports that handle over 15 lakh passengers a year, will link meeting of service standards to tariff determination and penalise laggard airports while rewarding ones where passengers
can breeze through the various processes.
The authority’s concern stems from the fact that in peak travel hours, most Indian airports resemble overcrowded railway stations and are severely congested. Both the private metro airport operators and the stateowned Airports Authority of India (AAI) have failed to augment infrastructure as air travel exploded in last few years.
23/07/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Surat airport gets nod to operate 24X7

Surat: Surat airport which had recently been accorded the international status has been given permission to operate 24x7. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has given the airport permission to operate round the clock and the headquarters is in the process to recruit staff and set up immigration and customs counters at the terminal.

Last month, the central government had notified the airport as customs airport. As per the notification, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs had notified Surat airport as customs airport through its notification under section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962 issued on June 8.

Confirming the same, Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI said, “For summer schedule, we considered four airports including Patna, Guwahati and two others for 24x7. For winter schedule, few more airports are considered including Surat. Making an airport 24x7 operational is a heavy expenditure and despite knowing that Surat has been a loss making airport, we understand the potential of Surat in the South East Asia and which is why we have given permission so that first international flight can commence from October onwards. October 1 onwards, the airport will be 24x7.”
23/07/18 Tanushree Bhatia/DNA

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Pune airport's new executive lounge to be operational by September

Pune: The Pune airport will have a new executive lounge in a couple of months, airport officials have said.
"A Delhi-based company will be developing the lounge near the SpiceJet counter inside the terminal building. The contractor will submit the design soon. We are hoping that it will start by the end of September," an airport official said.
"This lounge will be open to all passengers willing to pay a certain amount. The charges and a menu will be announced soon," another official said.
23/07/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Bhogapuram Airport: Fresh tender issued

Vijayawada:  The Andhra Pradesh government has invited Request for Proposal (RFP) from private players for construction of Bhogapuram International Airport under public-private partnership mode in Vizianagaram district with a revised cost of 4,208 crore.
The last date for submission of application will be August 24. Companies with a net worth 590 crore at the close of the preceding financial year are eligible to participate in the tender. The applicant for pre-qualification may be a single entity or a group of entities.
23/07/18 Sribala Vadlapatla/Times of India

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Dormant flying club grounds realty

Behala: A revised rule that requires any construction within 22sq km of the Behala Flying Club to get a no-objection certificate from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has led to a slowdown in municipal sanction of building plans in one of Calcutta's realty hotspots.

The construction red zone around the "non-operational" flying club used to be barely 2sq km before a software upgrade by the AAI this year dragged as many as 16 wards into its span.

While a plot being in the red zone does not automatically disqualify it as a potential construction site, even a single-storey structure must now be cleared by the AAI before the building plan is submitted to the civic authorities.
23/07/18 Subhajoy Roy/Telegraph

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Green wall to greet flyers on arrival

Pune: Flyers are likely to run into a green wall on landing at the city airport.
A wall, with a covering of artificial green plants, has come up at the arrival hall with two more such walls slated to come up soon, airport authorities said. An officials said that the walls were an attempt to keep the airport environment-friendly.“Two more walls are coming up soon. The wall has been adorned with plants and while it is pleasing to the
eyes, it also tries to highlight the concept of green and environment-friendly airport,” an airport official said on Monday.
23/07/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Next gen revolution waiting to happen at Delhi, Mumbai airport

New Delhi and Mumbai airports will soon get environmentally friendly TaxiBots to help reduce carbon emissions. These semi-robotic vehicles will tow the aircraft from the airport gate to take-off point, thus eliminating the use of airplane engines during taxiing, significantly reducing aircraft fuel usage and the risk of foreign object damage.

These TaxiBots, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), are semi-robotic vehicles that connect to the aircraft and will be controlled by the pilot to taxi the airplane from the airport’s aerobridge or bay to the runway without using the aircraft jet engines. IAI announced this at the 2018 Farnborough Airshow and said it had entered into an agreement with Gurugram-based KSU Aviation for the same.

“The use of TaxiBot at Indian airports in the next five years will bring about a saving of $1.5 billion to Indian carriers and reduce environmental damage of greenhouse gases by four million tons,” Yogesh Sethi of KSU Aviation said.
21/07/18 aditya anand/The Hindu

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Poor planning bane for aircraft safety

New Delhi: A Bengaluru-bound Vistara aircraft, with 102 passengers on board, was brought back to the parking bay minutes before takeoff after a bird strike. The passengers were put on other flights; the aircraft was serviced and put back into service after about 12 hours. This is not an isolated instance of an avian impediment causing problems for aircraft. Last month, a Delhi-bound Air India was forced to return after a suspected bird strike 20 minutes into its journey. On an average, three such incidents take place across the country every day, reveals data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Although bird strikes pose a sizable threat to flight safety, the number of major accidents caused due to such collisions is quite low. In most cases, flights are delayed causing inconvenience to the passengers, and aircraft are taken off service for maintenance leading to wastage of money and time.  In 2015, the total number of such incidents was 764 which rose to 839 in 2016 and 1,125 in 2017. Moreover, instances of wildlife strike saw a sharp rise of more than 50 per cent in the last two years, suggests government data. Major airports like Mumbai and New Delhi have witnessed the maximum number of such incidents, said a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Unauthorised settlements and colonies near the airport area and the existence of wetland or ponds in the vicinity of airports, meat shops running near the airport among other reasons can contribute to the issue, said the official. Besides, in some cases (about 2 per cent), wild animals such as Nilgai, deer, wild boar and jackal sneak into airports and collide with planes on runways through breaches in the perimeter wall.
22/07/18 Kumar Vikram/New Indian Express

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AAI may close deal with Gujarat for Dholera airport by mid-Aug

Gandhinagar: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is likely to finalise a deal with the Gujarat government by next month for the proposed Rs 2,000 crore Dholera airport, a senior state official said.

"We have already sent the proposal to them (AAI) and they have accorded in-principle approval for it. We hope that by mid-August we will be able to finalise it," chief secretary, Gujarat government, Jagdip Narayan Singh told PTI here.

The airport is set to come up in greenfield city under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project at Dholera and will be built over four years.
22/07/18 PTI/Economic Times

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New routes, airlines at Bahrain International Airport

Bahrain International Airport (BIA) announced 12 new routes for the regional hub, along with new carriers operating out of Manama.

Gulf Air, the national carrier, added eight new routes, with new direction services to Bangalore (India), Calicut (India), Abha (Saudi Arabia), Tubuk (Saudi Arabia), Alexandria (Egypt), Sharm El Shaikh (Egypt), Baku (Azerbaijan), and Casablanca (Morocco).

Azerbaijan’s flag carrier, Azerbaijan Airlines, also started its new direct service between Baku and Bahrain, operating twice a week between Heydar Aliyev International Airport and BIA.
22/07/18 Arabian Business

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My bag was tampered with, valuables are missing: Flier

A Mulund resident who flew back to Mumbai on Friday from China on a Singapore Airlines flight has raised a complaint alleging that her bag has been tampered with and some of her valuables including some jewellery are missing.

Devanshi Thakker had taken the Singapore Airlines flight from Beijing to Mumbai via Singapore. However, when Thakker landed at Mumbai airport on Friday, she was informed that her baggage was still in Singapore due to some issues.

When the baggage was finally delivered by the airline staff at Thakker's resident in the central suburb, it was ripped, she claimed, and valuables including a watch she estimated at Rs 20,000 and some imitation jewellery was missing from the bag.
22/07/18 DNA

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Profiling person on the basis of religion is wrong: Delhi High Court

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has warned officials of the immigration and police department from profiling individuals on the basis of religious practices. The court said such profiling was contrary to the constitutional creed of India.

The observation came while hearing the case of a Muslim Canadian national of Indian origin who was immediately sent back to Canada upon his arrival at Hyderabad airport citing reason that he had visited mosques and attended religious gatherings during his last visit.

The man, Mohammad Abdul Moyeed, had challenged the decision of blacklisting him in Delhi High Court.

The central government, in response, had told the court that they had acted on report of a police officer in Haryana.
22/07/18 Sneha Agrawal/India Today

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Ban on meat shops around Mohali airport

Mohali: To avoid any airplane mishap due to bird hit, the Mohali administration has imposed a ban on running meat shops within one kilometre of the Air Force station and the Chandigarh international airport, here. District Magistrate Gurpreet Kaur Sapra issued orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in this regard.
Action against illegal construction in the area will also be initiated. Sapra said the issue was discussed in the recent civil-military liaison conferences. “The Air Force and the airport authorities were upset over the functioning of meat shops. Due to these meat shops, the risk of bird hit had multiplied. I have ordered to shut all meat shops,” said Sapra. She added that they would start issuing notices for illegal construction in the area.
21/07/18 Tribune

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Airlines say airport size limits their ability to shield passengers from rain

Pune: The airlines operating from the Pune airport admitted that the temporary measures taken to protect passengers from rain and sun were not up to the mark. However, they blamed the airport’s space constraints.
In the absence of an adequate number of aerobridges and proper transport facility, passengers at the Pune airport are forced to walk to and from the aircraft. The airline officials said the issue of transportation has been taken up with the Airports Authority of India.
An airline official, on condition of anonymity, revealed certain logistical problems. “Keeping so many umbrellas in an airport this small is a big problem. There have been times when we have had up to 400 passengers needing umbrellas at the same time. Providing umbrellas to everyone is not possible,” he said.
22/07/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Delhi’s IGI Airport is Getting TaxiBots to Tow Planes, Will Cut Fuel Cost by 85%!

If regular engines in high-end automobiles guzzle fuel, those figures are still dwarfed by the amount of aviation fuel planes consume. Because commercial aircraft guzzle huge amounts of fuel per second, measures to cut fuel costs have been implemented at Delhi’s IGI Airport.

According to a report in the Financial Express, Taxibots will now be used to bring flights from the parking bay to the runway, with engines switched off.

Only departing flights will see this facility, which has brought down the amount of fuel used during taxiing, by about 85% going by the claims made by the officials at the Delhi International Airport Limited.

21/07/18 Rayomand Engineer/Better India

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Advanced equipment made operational at city airport

Amritsar: Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport is all set to glide into the select league of international airports in the country with the operationalisation of the Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR), Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) and Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B).
AK Dutta, member of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), commissioned these radars at airport traffic controller (ATC) office on Friday.
ADS-B ground station will enable the ATC to accurately track the aircraft movement. Now, the ATC could control airspace of about 200 km radius around Amritsar, which was restricted to 50 km.
21/07/18 Tribune

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Ludhiana-Delhi flight on Sundays soon

Ludhiana: There is good news for frequent flyers between Ludhiana and New Delhi as the city will have a flight even on Sundays soon. As of now, the flight between two cities operates four days a week and doesn’t operate on Sundays.
Airport director Anand Narayan Sharma said Alliance Air flight would now operate five days a week including on Sundays. He added that flight on Sundays will start from next week (July 29).
The second good news for residents is that the flight will operate in the morning hours. Whereas the flight will take off from Indira Gandhi International Airport at 7.30am, it will arrive at Sahnewal Airport at 8.45am. The 70-seater flight will take off from Sahnewal Airport at 9.15am and
it will reach Delhi at 10.30am.
21/07/18 Shariq Majeed/Times of India

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KIAL receives top international rating in passenger amenities

Bengaluru: Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru – operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL)- has overscored over some of the participating airports to emerge top in the quarterly ACI-ASQ Arrival Survey.
In the survey conducted for arriving passengers during April-June 2018, KIA Airport garnered 4. 67 rating points (out of five) in the Airports Council International’s Airport Service Quality firstever survey for arrivals.
Abu Dhabi International Airport was second with 4.
53 points, while Toronto Pearson International Airport was third with 4.
21/07/18 UNI

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Air India springs a nasty surprise

Vijayawada: Air India has abruptly suspended operation of flights connecting Vijayawada and Delhi in both directions for three days in a week for varying periods, causing untold hardship to people who had booked their tickets in advance.

The flight to Delhi (AI 460) which takes off from the Gannavaram airport at 9 a.m. and the one to Vijayawada (AI 459), which takes off at 6 a.m., have been suspended for three days in a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday), from July 15 till September 30.

Besides, the Vijayawada-Delhi (AI 468) flight which starts at 8.40 p.m and the Delhi-Vijayawada (AI 467) flight which starts at 5.30 p.m, have also been suspended on Saturdays from July 15 till July 28.

B. Dhanasekaran, Manager (Operations), Air India, said orders received from the higher-ups cited ‘operational reasons’ for the decision.
21/07/18 P. Sujatha Varma/The Hindu

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Abandoned Bangladesh plane shifted to other location

Raipur: The plane owned by United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd, stranded in Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur since last three years, since its emergency landing, was on Friday shifted from the parking area to the west side of the airport. The drill was conducted by the Airports Authority of India with assistance from Air India in the presence of United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd representatives.
Airport Authority of India personnel led by Rakesh Sahay Airport Manager, initiated the shifting work with the help of Air India on Friday, at 1.50 pm and the shifting work was completed by 2.30 pm. Inayat Hussain, Assistant Manager (Engineering) and Shubhankar Bannerjee Assistant General Manager (Kolkata) were present on the occasion as representatives from United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd. Airport Manager Rakesh Sahay extended his gratitude to Air India for its valued assistance in executing the shifting work.
The space vacated by the stranded United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd plane will create a parking space for aircrafts which will be arriving frequently in near future during election time and otherwise. Later the space will be used for laying parallel track for plane taxiway.
21/07/18 Hitavada

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Indigo flight from Bhubaneswar to Ahmedabad soon

Bhubaneswar: Low-cost airline IndiGo is all set to launch direct flights to Ahmedabad from the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) soon, the BPIA authorities here have announced.
“IndiGo will start direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad within a few days,” informed BPIA Director Suresh Chandra Hota.
“We have also urged two airlines, IndiGo and AirAsia, for flight operations between Bhubaneswar and Pune,” he said.
Another daily flight from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata would be operated by the IndiGo from August 1. The IndiGo flight A320 from Kolkata would reach Bhubaneswar at 12.20 am and take off to Kolkata at 5.25 am on a daily basis.
21/07/18 Pioneer

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Flying out of Delhi airport? Now you will have to pay much more

Flying out of Delhi may soon become even more expensive as Delhi Airport has sought a hike in passenger handling charges. The IGI Airport operator has demanded a uniform passenger service fee (PSF) for ‘facilitation’ of Rs 77 each on every passenger.

According to a Times of India report, if the government approves the hike, it would lead to a surge of Rs 67 and Rs 32 per domestic and international flyer.

For now, the domestic flyers pay Rs 10 each and international flyers pay Rs 45 each as user development fee (UDF).

Meanwhile, the government is also looking to increase security charge on air tickets. Both private airport operators and state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) have demanded an increase in passenger service fees after the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) raised an alarm over unpaid dues from airport operators.
20/07/18  ZeeBiz

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Sri Lanka Will Not Allow Military Use of Mattala Airport by India - Minister

New Delhi: Amid stiff resistance from opposition parties, the government of Sri Lanka has clarified that India will not be allowed to use Mattala International Airport for military purposes even if ownership of the airport is transferred to the Airports Authority of India.

Sri Lanka's minister of civil aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, has informed Parliament that a joint venture would be formed to operate the debt-ridden airport where 70 percent of its shares would be bought by India while the other 30 percent by the Sri Lankan government.

Silva said that discussions are underway on the nitty-gritty of the proposal and that a technical evaluation committee and a negotiating committee on matters regarding national security and the job security of employees of the airport would recommend the future course of actions.

Earlier, Sri Lanka's opposition leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, made strong allegations that the Sirisena government was compromising the sovereignty of the country and national security despite knowing that airports play an important part in domestic and international wars.
20/07/18 Sputnik

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CM concerned over suspension of AI flights from Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today voiced concern over suspension of Air India flights from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok and Bengaluru and sought the Centre's intervention for quick restoration of these operations.

In a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, the chief minister also urged him to explore the possibility of starting international air operations from Bhubaneswar to other South East Asian countries in view of immense potential in these routes.

"It is a matter of serious concern that very recently Air india has suspended the direct flight services from Bhubaneswar-Bangkok and Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru," Patnaik said.
20/07/18 PTI/Business Standard

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