Showing posts with label Airports Jun 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Jun 2007. Show all posts

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Air Deccan to build low-cost airports

Bangalore: After low-cost flying it’s now low-cost airports. Air Deccan has announced plans to partner with builders to bid for the construction of four low-cost airports in Karnataka. The Karnataka government had recently called for expressions of interest for setting up airports in Hassan, Shimoga, Gulbarga and Bidar.
But the airline did not disclose who they would be tying up with. The partnership with the builder would be based on an assurance from Air Deccan that the latter would ensure regular passenger traffic to these smaller towns.
But the airline did not disclose who they would be tying up with. The partnership with the builder would be based on an assurance from Air Deccan that the latter would ensure regular passenger traffic to these smaller towns.
Air Deccan executive chairman G R Gopinath said his vision is to build no-frills airports at a cost of Rs 20 crore each, compared to the over Rs 300 crore that regular airports cost.
30/06/07 Times of India

Buzzing bees keep passengers away from plane

Mumbai: It was the passengers who saw them first.
“We had stepped onto the tarmac and were about to board the plane when we saw the amazing sight. A blanket of bees covered the nose of the jet and the plane’s entire front portion up to the front doors,” said Sudhir Kulkarni, a passenger. “It was really scary. We panicked, fearing an attack, and some of us started running.”
“The passengers were boarding Jet Airways' Flight 9W 327 9.45am flight to Ahmedabad on Wednesday when we saw the bees,” a Mumbai airport official said. “No one was stung.”
The anxious passengers were shepherded into the plane from the rear end, the door was shut and locked, and the airport fire services were called in.
But as their hoses pounded the fuselage with water jets, more surprises were in store. Some of the bees flew away but most died and stuck to the aircraft.
The plane took off after a 20-minute delay, the dead bees smeared on its body. By the time it landed in Ahmedabad, though, the bees had fallen off, probably burnt crisp.
29/06/07 The Telegraph

Link failure disrupts Patna airport functioning

Patna: There was a complete link failure at the airport here on Friday. All telelinks snapped at the airport due to damage to the underground cable of BSNL.
The three airlines operating from Patna — the Indian, Sahara Airlines and the Air Deccan — had to provide the boarding passes manually to their passengers.
Airport sources said even the normal functioning of Airports Authority of India was hit due to this failure.
Sources in the Air Sahara said later in the evening that they managed to run the system somehow as the internet line was okay.
Meanwhile, BSNL official Prakash Nath blamed a road construction company engaged in constructing a pillar in front of the BSNL office, for this.
30/06/07 Times of India

AI flight makes emergency landing at Chennai airport

Chennai: An Air India flight from Mumbai to Bangkok made an emergency landing at the Meenambakkam airport here on Friday after developing problems in the hydraulic system.
Airport officials said the flight, which left Mumbai at 3.30pm, developed problems when it was about to land at Bangkok. Officials there denied permission to land at the airport after which the flight was diverted to Chennai.
The flight, with 178 passengers, made a safe landing at the airport here at about 6.55pm.
29/06/07 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Friday, June 29, 2007

Tantia Constructions bags terminal project from AAI

Mumbai: Tantia Constructions on 28 June said it has received a Rs12.46 crore project from Airport Authority of India (AAI) for construction of new terminal building and allied works at Cooch Behar Airport.
The construction work of the airport terminal in the West Bengal town would be completed within 12 months, the Kolkata-based construction company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Earlier in 2005, Tantia was awarded the terminal building construction of Dibrugarh Airport in Assam, which is being carried out at present.
28/06/07 PTI/Livemint

Centre asks AAI for time-bound upgrade of airports

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to undertake modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports besides 35 non-metro ones in a time-bound manner.
Addressing senior AAI officials, Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla said these airports should be upgraded on a fast-track basis and in a time-bound manner, according to a AAI release here.
AAI Chairman K Ramalingam said that renewed thrust was being given to training of the AAI personnel through International Civil Aviation Organisation and other international agencies.
28/06/07 PTI/Economic Times

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Chennai airport runway surface in good shape

Chennai: A friction test conducted on the runway of the Chennai airport last week showed that its surface is in good condition.
During the test, conducted using a specially designed car, friction levels were found to be 0.56, allowing aircraft to land without undue directional control problems, say Airports Authority of India officials.
The test vehicle is a sophisticated measurement system of both operational and calibration measurement. It can transmit data to the Air Traffic Control within a short period of time. The vehicle has a small wheel attached to the rear side. The tyre of the wheel is made of the same material as a normal aircraft tyre and the shape and tread are similar.
When operated on the runway with the tyres touching the ground, it friction readings, which are correlated with true friction values obtained from aircraft operations.
AAI officials use the friction tester on a clean surface at speeds of 65, 95 or 130 kmph.
28/06/07 The Hindu

'India needs Rs 36,000 cr in airports'

New Delhi: The country needs a whopping Rs 36,000 crore investment for developing airports, two-third of which is expected to come from private players, a senior Civil Aviation Ministry official said on Wednesday.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) and private developers would invest the money to develop half-a-dozen greenfield and 50 smaller airports in next five years in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar and north-east, K N Srivastava, joint secretary in the ministry, said at a aviation summit.
He also said the ministry was in talks with Indian Air Force authorities to allow airlines use some of its stations during peak hours, beginning with the Hindon Air Force base station in Ghaziabad.
Srivastava said Rs 12,000 crore investment would come from AAI's internal accruals and other sources, while the ministry expected private players such as Tatas and Ambanis to pump in Rs 24,000 crore.
He said the government was planning to build greenfield airports in places like Sirdi and Solapur in Maharashtra, four in north-east and one in Karnataka. Of the 50 smaller airports identified, 12 were in the north-east and eight in Karnataka, besides a few in Bihar, Gujarat and other states.
27/06/07 PTI/Economic Times

Major Push For Civil Aviation In Northeast

The civil aviation ministry has drawn up a major plan to boost air traffic in northeastern states by constructing four new airports at a cost of Rs.3.5 billion ($85 million), a senior official said Wednesday.
The ministry will also make operational the 12 airports that are not being used currently in the region, even as efforts will be made to step the investment for maintenance of airports at the national level, the official added.
'The government of India has launched a very careful roadmap for the development of airport network in the northeast region,' N.K. Srivastava, joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry, told an aviation summit here.
'There are currently 12 operational airports in the northeast and about the same number of airports which were operational before. We are looking at making these 12 airports operational,' he said.
'In addition to that, four new greenfield airports will be developed at Sikkim, Kohima, Itanagar and Tamang,' he told the seminar organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) here.
27/06/07 NEWSPost India

Sri Lankan Dy. Minister detained at Nedumbaserry Airport

Kochi: Sri Lankan Deputy Minister for Higher Education Mohd. Mustafa was briefly detained at the Nedumbaserry International Airport, near here, today for arriving without a valid visa.
Mr Mustafa, who arrived in the city to attend an awards function of the Kerala Management Association this evening, was later issued a 'temporary landing permit' by the Port Registration Officer and allowed to leave the airport.
Senior immigration officials at the airport confirmed that the Sri Lankan minister arrived here at about 1130 hrs. by Sri Lankan Airlines flight 165 without a valid visa.
However, they denied that the minister was detained and said that he ''waited'' in the immigration office while the temporary landing permit was arranged for him.
27/06/07 UNI/NewKerala.com

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Air India plane lands under emergency conditions

New Delhi: A Bangkok-bound Air India flight from Mumbai with 154 passengers on board today landed at the international airport here under emergency conditions after it developed a problem in its hydraulic system.
The pilot of Air India's flight 348 detected the technical glitch and landed the Airbus 310 safely at around 12 pm as emergency personnel were kept on standby, airport officials said.
All the 154 passengers on board are safe, they said.
"The pilot felt there was some problem in the hydraulic system and decided to land. The landing was normal. The aircraft was taxied to the technical area for a check," the carrier's northern India regional director D S Kohli said.
He said the "passengers would be flown to Bangkok and Tokyo in the evening and to other destinations thereafter". They were being accomodated at the airport and and served refreshments.
26/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

Kochi airport gets own dog squad

Kochi: Cochin airport Tuesday got its own dog squad comprising two female Labradors as part of its security set-up, becoming the first airport in the country to do so.
"No other airport in the country has its own dog squad. We are the first to get one. The Labradors have been purchased at Rs.125,000 each from the dog training centre of the Indian Army in Meerut," S. Bharath, managing director Cochin International Airport Limited, told reporters.
Earlier, the airport would ask Kerala Police to provide sniffer dogs when required and they had to be brought from 50 km away.
"The two dogs would be kept at the airport and used when VIPs travel or when there is a bomb alert," said Bharath.
26/06/07 IANS/NewKerala.com

New security system for Chennai airport

Chennai: A state-of-the-art security system will be in place at the Chennai airport shortly.
The proposal has been sent to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Board for approval.
According to AAI sources, under the Rs.100-crore project, the entire airport will be divided into six areas: perimeter fencing, perimeter surveillance, passenger and staff surveillance, baggage control and unattended objects, vehicle movement and access control.
Power fencing will be installed on the airport’s perimeter. Sixty ‘intelligent cameras’, which can differentiate between a human being and an animal, and are capable of panning, tilting and zooming, will be installed on the perimeter. . When an intruder enters the operational area or the sterile zone, the security system will alert authorities in the main control room. Employees of various government agencies and ground handling staff will be provided with Radio Frequency Identity Cards.
Similar cards will be issued to vehicles entering the operational area. They will be pasted on the engine. Sensors fixed at the access points can read the information in the card from a distance of up to 10 feet, when a staff member or vehicle approaches the entry points. The movement of people and vehicles in the operational area can be digitally recorded and stored for a year.
27/06/07 P Oppili/The Hindu

Parking at Dabolim airport restricted

Vasco: Parking of vehicles will be restricted at Dabolim airport premises due to security consideration from July 1.
In his order, Airport Director Paul Manickam stated that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) would restrict parking of vehicles in the existing car parking area located east of the terminal building which is declared as a no-parking zone.
‘Vehicle in restricted area will be allowed to drop or pick passengers during short period of arrival and departure,’ Manickam stated.
AAI terminal Manager Utpal Baruah informed that only two buses of commercial airlines and hotels are allowed to bring their passengers during arrivals and departures.
He further added that airport staff vehicles would permitted with stickers in specified areas. Parking of black and yellow taxies would as per the ordered regulated in April 1 2005 and the VIP and other categories of vehicles would be permitted for a certain period and that too at a specified area.
Baruah informed that the parking area has been shifted outside the airport and adjacent to highway, where parking will be permitted on payment of fees.
26/06/07 Herald Publications

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

e-passports: Gateway to opportunity for IT firms

Mumbai: The Indian government is soon expected to invite tenders to deploy e-passports. The multi-million dollar project will initially provide e-passports to diplomats and, if successful, will be rolled out for close to 40 million passport holders across the country.
An e-passport is machine- readable, enabling quick processing at airports. The passport comes with an in-built security (biometric) features which comprise an IC (integrated circuit) chip embedded in the back cover that stores the data (including photo). These also make the passport tamper-proof. In ordinary passports, this data is typically displayed on the photo page.
With almost 500 million passports in circulation and the cost of a single e-passport ranging between $8 and $15 (Rs 330 to Rs600), it has opened up a huge market for Indian IT firms.
IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), NXP Semiconductors and Gemini Traze are already in the fray.
26/06/07 Shivani Shinde/Business Standard

Upgrade in Calcutta airport surveillance

Calcutta: Three new radars at the airport will make air traffic movement over the city and its surrounding areas safer within a couple of years.
“There will be a new primary surveillance radar, while two secondary radars will also be installed,” S.P.S. Bakshi, regional executive director (east), Airports Authority of India (AAI), said on Monday.
AAI officials in Delhi said Rs 30 crore has been sanctioned for the project, which will include construction of buildings to house the radars and instal equipment.
The primary surveillance radar, also known as approach surveillance radar (ASR), helps locate the position of an aircraft, while the mono-pulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) records its speed and altitude.
The ASR radiates electromagnetic waves that bounce off the aircraft and relay back to the radar, giving the plane’s location. The process does not require the Air Traffic Control to establish contact with the pilot.
“The ASR will be installed inside the airport but the two new MSSRs will be placed outside,” said Bakshi. A survey will be conducted to identify the site.
26/06/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

Flights delayed due to heavy rain

Nagpur: Torrential downpour in Mumbai led to diversions, delays and rescheduling of flights to and from Mumbai over the weekend.
All the three evening flights from Mumbai—Indian, Jet and Kingfisher Airlines arrived one to two hours late and left only around Saturday midnight. " Passengers who came from Mumbai told us that they boarded the flight but it didn't take off for about a hour. In Nagpur again the planes were held up because of heavy rain and air traffic congestion in Mumbai," an airline official said.
Indian diverted two Mumbai-bound flights to city on Saturday night. A Delhi-Mumbai flight and Muscat-Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight were diverted to Nagpur and they took off to Mumbai after refuelling well past midnight.
The Sunday morning flights from Mumbai too were delayed. While Kingfisher Airlines arrived 20 minutes late, Indian and Jet Airways flights were delayed by a hour. Indian and Jet Airways departed at about 11 am.
25/06/07 Times of India

Monday, June 25, 2007

Undertrained staff jeopardize ATC operations

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has, in a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) plea filed by an employee, Anoop Kumar Gupta, posted with its Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) wing, admitted that many technicians who maintain complex landing and communication equipment at the air traffic control (ATC) towers had not been trained on the new generation equipment.
These technicians are attached to the CNS wing of AAI and are required to attend to malfunctioning landing system and radars.
The Authority has admitted that it was unable to meet the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) standards framed in 1994, which mandate that personnel entrusted with maintenance “should undergo periodical on-the-job checks at least once a year and refresher course at least once in three years.” The AAI has admitted that the only training that all CNS employees have undergone was the “Ab-initio training after recruitment where principles of operation of all CNS equipment are covered.”
People familiar with the developments in the CNS department spoke to Mint on condition of anonymity, saying less than half the staff was properly trained. The CNS wing is entrusted with the maintenance of equipment such as the Instrument Landing System, which provides precise guidance to an aircraft approaching a runway, radars and VHF Omni Range, which helps planes flying at the same altitude maintain lateral distance.
24/06/07 K.P. Narayana Kumar & Tarun Shukla/Livemint

Pvt firms for airport revamp projects

Kolkata: Airports Authority of India (AAI), that fought tooth-and-nail to bag the Kolkata and Chennai airport modernisation projects, will only monitor its implementation. A private firm with a “strong balance sheet and sound technical experience” will carry out the actual constructions.
“AAI will appoint the best in business for the turnkey projects to modernise Kolkata and Chennai airports. Instead of grappling with 16-17 contracts like civil engineering and electrical, the effort will be to award one large contract.
Expressions of interest will be invited in September. Technical and financial bids will follow,” civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said on Saturday, after a two-day review of the Kolkata airport.
Sources in AAI said several firms, all joint ventures between Indian and foreign companies, had expressed interest in the twin projects. While the Indian partner will meet the financial norms, its foreign collaborator will bring to the table technical expertise and experience. AAI will simply oversee the project implementation.
24/06/07 Times of India

Cold storage facilities at five airports in NE

New Delhi: To cash in on the potential of the northeastern states in increasing the country’s spice exports, the Centre today announced plans to establish cold storage facilities at five airports in the region and heavily subsidise air freight to Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai for all export-oriented horticulture products from the region.
The government also announced a new initiative to start organic cultivation of turmeric, ginger and chilli on a large scale in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district. Though the present contribution of the northeast to India’s spice exports was very small, there was a great scope for increasing it, Union minister of state for commerce Mr Jairam Ramesh said. For this purpose, cold storage facilities would be established at five airports in the northeastern region ~ Guwahati, Aizawl, Imphal, Agartala and Dimapur, he said, announcing a subsidy scheme under which 90 per cent of air freight to Kolkata airport and 50 per cent of air freight to New Delhi and Mumbai airports from northeast airports for all horticulture products meant for exports would be subsidised by the Centre.
24/06/07 The Statesman

Flight operations resume at Vizag Airport

Visakhapatnam:The flight operations to and from the visakhapatnam Airport resumed today after two days of torrential rains.
According to airport sources here, the deep depression weakened and the climatic conditions improved by noon and visibility beyond 4500 metres.
However, the services were cancelled from June 22. Due to poor visibility and heavy rains, the Air Sahara, Air Deccan, Kingfisher and Paramount flights landed here this afternoon. The Indian resumed its Hyderabad-Tirupati-Channai service.
The Union Minister of State for Mines T Subbaramni Reddy said recently, the ILS was in operational condition, but the Airport Authority of India(AAI) said that it would take another 45 days for its commercial opeation.
24/06/07 Siasat Daily

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Calcutta airport revamp in private hands

Calcutta: The Calcutta airport modernisation project — a Rs 1,500-crore venture — will be given to a private party, with the Airports Authority of India monitoring it.
Civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla today said it would be implemented as a turnkey project.
“A detailed project report is being prepared and the global tender will be floated soon,” he added. “The contract will be finalised by September after bidding.”
The airports authority, which will provide technical guidance to the contractor, is expected to soon issue an expression of interest to invite bidders.
Work is scheduled to start in 2008 and is expected to be over by the middle of 2010.
The Calcutta airport will get new terminals and other facilities on a par with global standards.
Chawla said the Cooch Behar airport would be operational by August. “A private airline is keen to start operations from Cooch Behar.”
The civil aviation secretary also outlined plans to upgrade the air network in the Northeast.
23/06/07 The Telegraph

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Air France may fly in superjumbo Airbus A380 to Delhi by '10

New Delhi: The modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports is attracting international carriers. Air France may become the first international airline to fly the superjumbo Airbus A380 connecting Delhi and Mumbai to Paris by early 2010. The only Indian carrier which has five A380s on order, Kingfisher Airlines, will start getting delivery by 2011.
Air France has placed orders for a dozen-odd A380 aircraft, with delivery schedules starting 2009. To start with, Air France plans to connect long-haul destinations such as New York, Montreal and Sau Paulo, to Paris which will serve as its hub. Its next stop would be Asian cities in India, China and South-East Asia.
“We hope to fly the Airbus A380 to Delhi and Mumbai by 2010,” said KLM executive vice-president commercial PSM Gregorowitsch. Air France and Dutch airline KLM merged globally in 2004 and run joint operation.
In India, the Air France KLM combo have 42 weekly flights out of major metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. There are plans to add Kolkata to its network by next year and add two additional flights by year end from Hyderabad and Chennai.
23/06/07 Sudipto Dey/Economic Times

Flights delayed as aircraft gets stuck on runway

Bangalore: Eight flights were delayed and another was diverted after an Alliance Air aircraft carrying 118 passengers, including crew members, got stuck on the runway after landing at the airport here on Thursday.
Last week, the airport runway was closed for an hour when a Sri Lankan cargo plane overshot the runway that led to flight delays.
According to sources in the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Boeing 737 flight of Alliance Air, a subsidiary of the State-owned Indian, developed a technical snag in the wheel hydraulics after landing. Certain procedures had to be followed while towing the aircraft to the isolated bay. The runway had to be closed for over half an hour. “The flight had been incapacitated to move on its own following the breakdown in hydraulics,” the sources said.
The incident occurred soon after the flight IC-7542 landed in Bangalore around 7.55 p.m., and the authorities cleared the runway around 8.35 p.m.
The sources said that the officials would inspect the aircraft for its air worthiness before it was allowed to take off again.
22/06/07 The Hindu

Kolkata airport revamp on anvil

Kolkata: Work for the modernisation of NSC Bose airport will be kicked off from January, 2008 even though the state government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) were still examining the availability of land for the construction of a third runway, a part of the modernisation plans.
The union secretary for civil aviation, Mr Ashok Chawla today discussed the modernisation of the NSC Bose airport with the chief minister and chief secretary. The existing airport terminal will be upgraded and modernised to handle passenger traffic four times its present volume. According to Mr Chawla, the existing terminal building, after being modernised will handle 20 million passenger traffic per year, 16 million domestic and another 4 million international passengers.
A total of Rs 1500 crore is the estimated cost of the modernising the airport of which Rs 1100 crore will be alone spent on the terminal building, designed by a french firm.
22/06/06 The Statesman

Emergency landing by Emirates flight for sick Pakistani passenger

Kolkata: A Bangkok-Dubai Emirates flight made an unscheduled landing in Kolkata yesterday to save a Pakistani passenger’s life.
The pilot sought permission to land after a Pakistani woman in her 50s, flying with her son, complained of severe chest pain and respiratory problems raising fears that she had a cardiac arrest.
Because of the pilot’s SOS the plane was immediately given permission to land. Mohina Wahab was taken to a private hospital, where a thorough check-up revealed that she had not suffered any cardiac attack.
After preliminary treatment, she and her son plan to resume their journey today.
Inside the plane, Mohina was put on oxygen, but that hardly helped in easing her problems. The pilot then decided to land at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport where Mohina was examined by a doctor and advised hospitalisation.
23/06/07 Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates

Fabrics, floor mats seized at Air Cargo unit

Chennai: Officials of the Customs Air Cargo unit have seized 14,650 metres of fabrics with embroidery and chamki works and floor mats booked as personal goods. The seized materials were valued at Rs.34 lakh.
C. Rajan, Commissioner of Customs (Airport), said the authorities scanned two consignments of personal baggage that had arrived from Dubai on June 2 in the name of A.R. Hassan and Archunan Kannan.
The passengers had declared that the baggage contained used clothes, personal effects, blankets, carpets and curtain cloth. However, the authorities recovered 8,234 metres of fabrics with embroidery and chamki works. Investigations revealed that the two persons were labourers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. When they returned to India, they requested their friends to send their personal belongings as unaccompanied baggage.
Both informed the authorities that they were unaware that the baggage contained fabrics. They said someone had misused the details in their passports to book the consignment. On June 7, 14 and 18 similar consignments arrived at the Air Cargo Complex. The passengers disowned them, Mr. Rajan said.
23/06/07 The Hindu

Infiniti Retail launches retail store at airport

Mumbai : Infiniti Retail Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Sons, today launched `Croma Zip' India's first electronic retail store at the domestic airport here.
The 850 sq ft showroom will have latest electronic gadgets and has been done up with an initial investment of Rs 9 crore.
The company also has a national chain of mega stores for consumer electronics and plans to open up another 35 such stores across the country by the year end.
The retail chain has entered into a technical and sourcing agreement with Australian retail giant Woolworths for the supply of the equipment.
22/06/07 UNI/Deepika

CII hails Centre's decision to modernise Srinagar airport

Jammu: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has welcomed the initiative taken by the government for developing Srinagar airport to an international one, which is likely to go operational by year end.
This step of the central government will not only connect the state to the rest of the world but would also help in growing trade and commerce of Jammu and Kashmir with rest of the world through direct linkages, a press release issued by state council of CII has said here on Friday.
Industrialists of the state are looking forward to these international flights so as to boost their trade, as direct flights to various destinations will help saving both time and money, it said.
Direct market linkages would help them to trade better and with limited involvement of middlemen, it said, adding perishable items like fruits, vegetables, flowers etc could be directly exported to the foreign countries, hence curbing huge losses every year.
23/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Govt looks at ways to cut waiting time at airports

New Delhi: An inter-ministerial group consisting of finance ministry, commerce ministry and Airports Authority of India officials is looking into ways to drastically cut the time passengers take to board a flight from the time of entering an airport (dwell time in aviation parlance).
Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla heads the group, which first met here on June 20. The officials are also looking into the delays that occur in cargo loading and offloading at airports.
The average dwell time at Indian airports does not measure up to global standards.
“The group will look into the standards set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The group will suggest improvements in three ways: upgradation of infrastructure, equipment skills and manpower. It would also look into reasons of delay at various stages of passage,” an official source said.
One measure that is being considered is getting airports to install escalators at all such places where passengers have to cover more than 300 metres from the entrance.
The existing Policy on Airport Infrastructure has set a short-term objective of clearing incoming international passengers within 45 minutes of arrival and departing passengers within 60 minutes, including the check-in time. Similarly, the target for domestic flights is 30 minutes and 45 minutes, respectively.
22/06/07 Asit Ranjan Mishra/Business Standard

Airline says sorry to disabled man

New Delhi: Jetlite, a division of Jet Airways and was formerly Air Sahara, on Thursday apologised to cerebral palsy patient Rajiv Rajan for refusing to let him board a Delhi-bound flight in Chennai on Monday.
The airline also said it would sensitise its staff to the special needs of people with disability. "We regret the inconvenience caused to Rajiv Rajan. We will train our staff to be sensitive towards people with special needs. We apologise for the inconvenience," Jetlite said in its public apology.
Rajan was made to wait three hours at the Chennai Airport on Monday and was not allowed to board the flight because airline officials considered him unfit for travel. The officials told him that he needed a medical clearance or an escort.
Rajan was flying to Delhi to attend a seminar on disability as an invitee of the Government of India. Disabled rights activists protested at Delhi Airport on Thursday and at Chennai on Wednesday against the way Rajan was treated.
21/06/07 CNN-IBN

Airport terror threat: Maharashtra alerts Centre

Mumbai: Alarmed by a confidential report from the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) indicating that airports in the city are on the radar of terrorists, the Maharashtra State Home Department has sought help from the Centre.
The report says the recent spate of attacks on temples, mosques, railway stations across the country have increased the likelihood of an imminent strike at the airports. It has also listed the measures that should be undertaken to counter such strikes.
In its assessment sent to the state Director General of Police (DGP), PS Pasricha, the ATS has talked about specific areas within the airport where it believes security should be tightened.
These include the area between the parking lot and the entry gate of the terminal and the path from the entry gate to the x-ray machines. The waiting lounge inside the departure section is also listed as a soft target. The DGP, who sent the report to the IB, was tight-lipped on its content. “We keep sending confidential reports to the Intelligence Bureau. This is one of them. I don’t want to reveal anything on any specific report,” Pasricha said.
21/06/07 Baljeet Parmar/Daily News & Analysis

Human chain protest in front of Chennai airport

Chennai: About 100 physically challenged persons yesterday formed a human chain in front of the domestic airport here in protest of refusal by a private airline's to allow a cerebral palsy victim to board the aircraft without an escort.
Holding placards, the disabled, most of them in wheelchairs, held a peaceful protest by forming the human chain for nearly 90 minutes.
They demanded equal rights and urged the Government to put an end to discrimination against the disabled.
"We've been facing discrimination from various airlines and Monday's incident was the height of it. It not only violated human rights, but also the International Civil Aviation rules," said Smitha, Assistant Coordinator - Vidyasagar, an NGO which organised the agitation.
"We want to make this issue a national movement against discrimination on the grounds of disability and are also planning to file a Public Interest Litigation against the Civil Aviation Ministry," she said.
21/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

Flap follows baggage booboos

The next time A.R. Rahman takes a British Airways flight, chances are his suitcases will reach London with him. The star composer became the latest victim of lost luggage on Tuesday, with the airlines misplacing two of his suitcases on the eve of the formal opening of Lord of the Rings.
With complaints pouring in, several airlines are busy putting in place measures to plug the holes and ensure smooth baggage flow. From special training of ground staff and random checks at conveyer belts to pitching for an exclusive terminal, big plans are being drawn up to curb the rising number of lost-baggage cases as international and domestic airlines struggle to cope with the pressure of far more flights and many more passengers.
“Every day, there are on an average 10 complaints from passengers not receiving their baggage, mostly at the international terminal,” said a senior official of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. “The problem is most acute on stopover flights,” he added.
Some airlines blame the ground-handling agencies —most airlines having outsourced the function — while others point a finger at the chaos in clogged terminals.
Shilpa Shetty — whose 10 suitcases were lost in British Airways transit on way to Yorkshire recently — can take heart from the fact that the airline has sought exclusive rights of operation from terminal 5 of Heathrow airport to avoid such baggage booboos.“The terminal is scheduled to be handed over for trial operations by the end of this year. Once operational, the pressure will be eased,” pointed out the British Airways official.
21/06/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

HC stays allotment of plots for Delhi airport expansion plan

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has stayed a single bench order, which directed allotment of separate plots to those whose lands have been acquired by Airport Authority
of India (AAI) for expanding the Delhi international airport.
A vacation bench comprising Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice P K Bhasin passed the stay order on an appeal filed by AAI challenging the order of single bench which
had asked it to allot separate plots instead of single plot.
The single bench of Justice S Murlidhar, in its May 30 order, had said the entire programme of vacating land at Nangal Dewat village and allotment of alternative plots in
Rangpuri should commence on July 1 and end on July 31, 2007.
The court stayed the order after finding that there were two contradictory judgements by the same high court on the allotment of the plots.
Justice Anil Kumar had upheld the Nodal Officer's order of granting single plot to the head of the family whereas Justice S Muralidhar held that those who were to be displaced due to expansion plan should be given separate plots.
21/06/07 Udayavani

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Cochin Airport to start cargo airline

The Cochin International Airport (CIAL), the first international airport in the country outside the ambit of the union government, is planning to launch a dedicated international cargo airline service.
The airport management is currently in talks with a leading international player and a domestic partner for launching the freighter service that will connect West Asian destinations.
CIAL is also exploring possibilities to partner with national carrier Indian Airlines for converting old passenger aircraft into cargo planes.
The cargo services will be operated under the brand name Air Kerala, which was floated to launch an international low-fare carrier to the Gulf destinations.
“The project will supplement our proposed state-of-the-art centre for perishable cargo, which can handle 40,000 metric tonnes a year. With this centre and freighter service, we can facilitate the export and import of perishable cargoes such as vegetables, fruits, flowers, fish and meat products to different parts of the country and the world, including West Asia,” S Bharath, managing director, CIAL, told Business Standard.
20/06/07 PR Sanjay/Business Standard

Errors on flight info screen at Mumabi airport

Passengers arriving at Terminal 1A of the Chhattrapati Shivaji International Airport are facing a tough time as the flight information display screens show incorrect messages. On Monday, the status of IC 866, Indian’s Goa-Mumbai flight, which arrived at Mumbai airport at 8 am, was being displayed as ‘Expected at 8.15 am’.
G8 105, GoAir’s Mumbai-Goa flight, which left Mumbai at 2.10 pm, was shown to be ‘Rescheduled for 2.35 pm’. While the status of IT 640, Kingfisher’s Mumbai-Delhi flight, which left the city at 3.45 am was still being shown as ‘Now Boarding’ even at 4.00 am.
The display errors have left passengers and their relatives perplexed.
Conceding that the display screens were erroneous, an airport official said, “We keep receiving complaints from agitated passengers and have seen for ourselves that the exact status of flights on the flight information display screens is often wrong.”
The erroneous nature of the screens is similar at the Chhattrapati Shivaji
International Airport at Sahar.
19/06/07 Megha Chaturvedi/Daily News & Analysis

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Aditya Birla Group mulls airport foray

Mumbai: After retail, the Aditya Birla Group is now considering airport development. Sources close to the development said the group will shortly take a decision on the business, which has seen interest from large houses like the Tatas and the Ambanis.
The group was expected to enter the business of developing non-metro airports. In that case, it would not need a foreign partner, as was the case with the Tatas and the Ambani brothers, who have bid for the Navi-Mumbai airport but have not finalised tie-ups.
When contacted, an Aditya Birla Group spokesperson said, “We do not comment on market speculation.”
For metro and greenfield projects, the winner of bids will have to take up development of both the aeronautical part and the civil facilities. That is why the Tatas and the Ambanis are jointly bidding with foreign partners for these projects.
These joint ventures involve getting the foreign companies to supply the technical knowhow for the aeronautical part of the projects.
19/06/07 P R Sanjai & Kausik Datta/Business Standard

Navi Mumbai realty takes off

By the time Mumbai’s second airport is up and running at Navi Mumbai, surging air travel may well overtake its capacity. But property prices in the sprawling area, planned as a mega city to decongest Mumbai, are already taxiing for take off. Like everywhere in India, property prices in the Navi Mumbai region are currently undergoing a correction from their peak levels since hardening of interest rates and prices are likely to fall further during the next six months due to lack of demand say real estate agents.
“ Prospective house buyers should wait for six months. The airport will completely change the face of this entire locality and property rates are likely to appreciate by more than 25 per cent once construction of the airport gains momentum,” said Manohar Shroff of Shivam Real Estate, a leading Navi Mumbai real estate consultant and developer.
Real estate consultants say prices in the region are likely to drop by 15 to 20 per cent in the coming months and house buyers/investors should come in at a time before prices shoot up due to the implementation of the airport project.
15/06/07 Lalatendu Mishra/Hindustan Times

Final test of Gagan later in 2007

Paris: The final test of India's ambitious Gagan air traffic management and aircraft navigation system will be conducted later this year following the integration of a satellite with ground-based centres across the country.
The Rs 644 crore project, being jointly executed by the Indian Space Research Organisation and Airports Authority of India, is meant to provide augmented information for satellite navigation to aircraft flying over Indian airspace.
Officials of US defence major Raytheon, which integrated the ground-based systems with the INMARSAT geo-stationary satellite, said the final technology demonstration test of the Gagan system would be conducted later this year.
Once the test is completed, Raytheon will work with ISRO and AAI for the complete implementation of the system, the officials said. They made it clear that a final decision in this regard would have to be taken by the Indian authorities.
19/06/07 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

Monday, June 18, 2007

False alarm

Kolkata: An air passenger travelling to Delhi from Kolkata had to pay a fine of Rs 200 for leaving his luggage unattended for some time. CISF personnel detected the bag lying in the domestic terminal around 4:30 p.m. They reported the matter to officials of Airports Authority of India who contacted their counterparts of the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad. CISF personnel cordoned off the area and the process for anti-explosives drill was on when a man came to the place and claimed the luggage. After proper verification it was handed over to him on payment of a fine of Rs 200. The passenger, Mr S Kundu, who was on his way to Delhi by an Air Deccan flight.
17/06/07 The Statesman

New arrival lounge at Bajpe airport opened

Mangalore: The New Arrival lounge at the Bajpe Airport was thrown open to the passengers by the Airports Authority of India, today June 17, 2007. Passengers arrived by the Jet Airways flight at 9:15am from Bangalore were the first ones to arrive through this lounge.
The first batch of passengers arrived through the new hall included Former Dpy Chief minister Siddaramaiah and seer of Puttige Math, Udupi, Shree Sugunendra Tirtha swamiji. Former Udupi MLA U.R. Sabhapathi, and Brahmavar MLA Jayaprakash Hegde, were also present.
The new airconditioned lounge spanning over the area of 14,000 sq. ft. equipped with two converyor belts, restrooms, taxi counter, hotel counter and flight information center, was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 3.5 crore. The structural design of the building was designed by the civil engg dept of NITK Surathkal.
17/06/07 Mangalorean.com

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Proposed aviation policy suggests AAI restructuring

New Delhi: Indicating the introduction of private and foreign participation in the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the proposed Civil Aviation Policy recommends its restructuring and hiving off some of its services, including air traffic management.
The policy 'Vision-2020,' which has been referred to a Group of Ministers for wider consultations, suggests that efforts would be made to raise funds from the capital market and various modes of public-private partnership (PPP) "on a fast-track mode" as part of restructuring the profit-making public sector unit, sources said.
At an appropriate time, the government would permit AAI to hive off some of its services, either by setting up wholly-owned subsidiaries or through joint ventures with international partners, they said.
The proposals include hiving off Air Traffic Control (ATC) from AAI and converting it into a separate entity.
There have been differing views among political and industry circles on some of the proposals made in Vision-2020, which led the government to have a further discussion on it.
A section among these circles feel that separation of ATC and other services would lead the PSU to lose a substantial chunk of revenues, affecting its profitability, the sources said.
16/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

Anand Sharma gets what he created a scene for: No airport security check for MoS

New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma’s ugly spat with security personnel at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for the want of a privilege he was not entitled to has come full circle. Two months after that incident, first reported in The Sunday Express, Sharma, along with 44 other Ministers of State, has been accorded that privilege, officially: he will no longer have to undergo security checks at airports.
Clearly, the VIPs have coalesced, lobbied and successfully amended the list of those exempted from pre-embarkation security checks.
The fresh notification issued early this month by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security now has 24 categories of VIPs exempt instead of the earlier 23. The one addition is category Number 13: Minister of State in the Union Council of Ministers.
Not just that, it’s learnt that the Ministry of External Affairs is set to issue parallel orders authorising these ministers the use of the ceremonial lounge at the airport too, another privilege that Sharma insisted on using that night. Incidentally, the MEA’s protocol division comes under Sharma.
16/06/07 Pranab Dhal Samanta/Indian Express

Will present Bangalore airport shut down after new airport opens?

There is an increasing demand in India's IT capital to retain civil flights at the present international airport here even after a new one becomes operational early next year. But the company building the new facility seems to be in no mood to acquiesce.
The new airport is coming up at Devanahalli, about 30 km from the city centre, while the present one run by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is about 10 km away.
The agreement between Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the builders of the new airport, and the Indian government stipulates that no other civilian airport will be permitted to operate within 150 km of the new one.
But pressure is mounting on the state government not to completely shut down civil operations at the present airport but to retain it at least for short-distance flights.
BIAL, which is building the Devanahalli airport on a build, own and operate (BOO) basis, however, may not be willing to dilute the terms of the agreement.
17/06/07 V.S. Karnic/India eNews.com

Traffic congestion at Delhi airport causes flight delays

New Delhi: Several flights were delayed due to air traffic congestion at the Delhi Airport since Saturday morning, authorities said.
An Indian (Airlines) flight also had to be grounded which added to the delay.
A senior Delhi International Airport Limited official said the flights which were bound for destinations like Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore were delayed by up to 45 minutes because of congestion.
“Some flights were delayed because of back lag. Flights came in late from other destinations which resulted in several departures from Delhi being delayed,” a DIAL official said. As per a report this evening, a Pune-bound flight was also delayed.
16/06/07 Delhi Newsline

Deal struck Down Under for overhaul of airport fire services

New Delhi: Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (MIAL) has signed a six-month contract with Airservices Australia—owned by the Australian government, it has over 50 years experience in providing fire fighting and rescue services at 19 airports across the island continent—starting April 1, to provide aviation rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) consultancy services.
And for the last two months, two fire fighters from the Australian corporation—Charles Bernard and Brian Guthrie—have been studying the structure and functioning of the aviation fire services wing at CSIA. In addition to drawing out an enhancement plan for equipment and technique, the experts will also address issues like fatigue management, endurance training, routine drills, and combating heat stress.
Last week, six CSIA personnel returned from a maiden visit to Australia, where at the Sydney and Brisbane airports, they observed the Australian fire-fighters in action for 10 days.
Training aids are also being worked on. Already, two 40-feet marine containers have been acquired and will be remodelled and converted into “smoke rooms” to be used for mock drills. Also on the cards is acquiring fire simulators.
16/06/07 Lekha Agarwal/Mumbai Newsline

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Foreign firms may be left out of modernization deal

Mumbai: Foreign operators of airports who have been jostling to line up domestic partners for modernizing Airports Authority of India-managed airports in Chennai, Kolkata and some of the three dozen other cities in India may soon find themselves completely out of the picture, thanks to the government’s U-turn on privatization.
“Considering that the government has opened up only airside development to private players at the 35 non-metro airports, we will bid for this on our own and will not require any foreign airport operator in this area. We may, however, team up with real estate developers if the need arises,” says Manish Kalghatgi, a GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd spokesperson.
GVK had tied up with Airports Co. South Africa to modernize the Mumbai airport.
Unlike core airport operations, where most Indian firms do not have the experience required to?improve?airport operations, city-side development encompasses developing food and beverage malls, convention centres and hotels. This calls for more of real estate development expertise and marketing in the hospitality industry, rather than expertise in reducing traffic congestion in the air or ensuring faster take-offs and landings for planes.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel recently said the government would itself upgrade the Chennai, Kolkata and 35 other non-metro airports in India located in towns with a population exceeding a million residents.
“There’s no role in this for airport operators per se as this is more for real estate players,” says Peng of Changi Airports. “On the other hand, if the idea is to develop an airport city— a meetings and incentives, conference and exhibitions destination for a city like Mumbai, then that’s where our expertise would come in to bear. In the given situation, our business plan will be modified to suit the current scenario.”
Bob Johnson, CEO of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, says, “We are more interested in airport opportunities in India.”
16/06/07 Yassir A. Pitalwalla/Livemint

AAI to upgrade Chennai airport

Mumbai: State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) will modernise the Chennai airport, the third busiest airport in the country. At a time when the government is encouraging public-private partnership in the airport modernisation programme, the Prime Minister’s Committee on Infrastructure, which met today, has decided that the airport will be upgraded by the AAI.
Earlier, the government had given the modernisation mandate of the Kolkata airport to the AAI. The Left parties and the AAI employees were always against involving private and international companies in the modernisation of airports.
The greenfield airport, mooted by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunandihi, coming up at Sriperumbudur near Chennai will be developed under a public-private partnership. The Prime Minister’s Committee has also asked for a pre-feasibility report for this greenfield airport.
16/06/07 Business Standard

Puducherry airport to be developed

Puducherry: The Department of Tourism of Puducherry administration and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) would ink a memorandum of understanding here tomorrow for development of the airport at Lawspet near here.
A department release said today that the airport (which is not operational now) would be developed in two phases.The AAI would take up immediate expansion of the runway by 260 metres for operation by ATR 22 (62-seater) aircraft and in phase two, the airport's runway would be expanded to its full length for handling air buses.
The Union Territory administration had agreed in principle to transfer around 370 acres of land to the AAI on ownership basis (the 120 acre site of the existing airport land and additionally 250 acres) which were being acquired now for expansion of the airport.
The present runway length of the airport was suitable for operation of smaller (18 seater) aircraft.
15/06/07 Chennai Online

DJ Aqeel back in Mumbai

Dubai: Celebrity disc jockey Aqeel who was discharged in a case of drug possession, has arrived in Mumbai, his lawyer Ashish Mehta said.
“Aqeel was honourably discharged by the prosecutor (the Indian equivalent of Magistrate) as there was no sustainable evidence against him,” Mehta said over the phone.
The local magistrate here discharged Aqeel after his lawyer argued that the contraband recovered from his bag was “planted”.
On June 3, Aqueel was allegedly caught with 0.06 grams of banned drug ecstasy tablets in his bag at the international airport here. He was visiting Dubai to take part in a radio programme.
However, tests conducted by the police had found no traces of ecstasy in his blood and urine samples. His wife Farah Khan had earlier claimed that he does not consume drugs and “somebody must have planted” the contraband in his bag.
15/06/07 PTI/Afternoon Dispatch & Courier

Cargo flight catches fire in Chennai

Chennai: A cargo flight belonging to a private courier service caught fire at the airport on Friday but no casualties were reported.
The fire was noticed soon after the First Flight Courier service aircraft landed from Mumbai and was parked at the cargo terminal this morning, airport sources said.
Fire services immediately rushed to the spot to douse the blaze.
No casualties were reported. Extend of damage to the aircraft and its cargo was yet to be ascertained.
15/06/07 Zee News

Friday, June 15, 2007

ATCs to get autonomy

New Delhi: The aviation ministry is all set to corporatise air traffic services in the country. The aviation policy — called Vision 2020 — that will be considered by the Union cabinet on Friday talks of hiving off ATC from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to form an ATC Corporation.
"This company will be a subsidiary of the AAI. It’ll be made independent so that ATCs can cope with the huge growth in air traffic," aviation minister Praful Patel said.
Patel said at present ATC is looked as yet another department and this critical area needs focused attention. The country has about 1,500 air traffic controllers at present. This areas earns revenue from several areas like aeronautical charges from airlines for providing navigation both in air and ground. The AAI has an annual revenue of about Rs 3,000 crore and nearly 40% of this comes from ATC services.
"There have been complaints for long that our demands are not heard and adequate attention is not paid to us. The AAI does not even have a member (ATC) despite the critical importance of the job that we do" said a source.
15/06/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Menzies sets sight on local airport grounds

Hyderabad: With the local aviation sector taking wings, Menzies Aviation, a global provider of passenger, ramp and cargo services, has set its eyes on picking up concessions at most metro airports in the country for providing services.
A full subsidiary of the $2.5 billion John Menzies Plc, the company has set up three joint ventures, one with the GMR group for cargo services at Hyderabad International Airport and two with the Bobba Aviation Group for cargo and ground handling at Bangalore and Hyderabad, respectively.
The group is set to invest close to Rs 300 crore at the two locations for setting up state-of-the-art infrastructure. Prospects for ground handling and cargo services providers are huge considering the passenger base in the country has grown at 23% per annum over the past three years, while the fleet size is projected to grow at 27% annually over the next five years. This is against a projected growth rate of 9.5% for the rest of Asia.
15/06/07 C Chitti Pantulu/Daily News & Analysis

Capital nod for third runway at Calcutta

Delhi has given the nod for the third runway at Calcutta airport. This was announced by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at a Cabinet core committee meeting on Thursday.
“The need for the third runway is already being felt, but it will soon become an absolute necessity,” said S.P.S. Bakshi, regional director (east) of the National Airport Division.
“Even now, flights stay in queue while taking off and have to be put on hold in air while landing during peak hours. In another few years, the airport will be completely clogged,” added Bakshi.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport has been struggling to cope with the sudden rise in flight count with just two runways.
In the past two years, there has been a 45 per cent increase in the number of flights.
To make matters worse, only the primary runway has the instrumental landing system (ILS) facility
and so, can be used at night and during conditions of low visibility.
The secondary runway is also shorter and cannot be used for the landing of larger aircraft.
15/06/07 The Telegraph

Air traffic disrupted as cargo aircraft gets stuck on runway

Bangalore: A Sri Lankan Airlines cargo aircraft got stuck on the runway after one of its engines developed a technical snag at the HAL airport here on Thursday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Soumendhu Mukherji told The Hindu that the Colombo-bound cargo flight UL9172 developed a technical snag while taking off at 7.30 p.m. The runway was blocked for over an hour.
There was no report of any casualty though seven people were reportedly in the aircraft when the incident occurred, he added. Regional Director of Airport Authority of India Navindar Koushal said air traffic was disrupted and more than 20 flights were delayed.
The operation of international flights, which begin around 9 p.m., was likely to be affected by this incident, sources said. Afsal K. of Hyderabad said that his flight to Bangalore was delayed.
“We had to spend three hours in the air. It is three hours’ worth business wasted for me,” he added.
15/06/07 The Hindu

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Yar'Adua Orders Recall of Defence Attache to India

Abuja: President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has made good his government's declared commitment to ensuring greater probity and transparency in the management of public funds by ordering the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs to effect the immediate recall of Nigeira's Defence Adviser in India, Navy Captain GA Ojedokun.
Captain Ojedokun was last month found with about $2.7 million cash at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. But it was later released to him following diplomatic presentations by Nigeria's High Commission in India and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Press Release from the office of the Special Adviser to the President (Communications) and signed by Mr OJ Abuah reads: In furtherance of his declared commitment to ensuring greater probity and transparency in the management of public funds, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Tuesday directed the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro to undertake a thorough investigation into the reported apprehension of a police officer with millions of Naira at Police Headquarters, Abuja.
'President Yar'Adua further directed that a detailed report on the incident be forwarded to him at the conclusion of the investigation for further action. 'In a similar vein, the President has also ordered the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs to effect the immediate recall of Navy Captain GA Ojedokun, Nigeria's Defence Adviser in India from whom a large sum of United States Dollars was recently seized at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
13/06/07 Josephine Lohor/This Day, Nigeria

HAL keen to retain domestic airport

When Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) project was launched, State-owned aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was ready to close its airport for domestic air traffic to shift to BIAL. However, the aviation boom and the air traffic it has generated have resulted in a U-turn in the Defence establishment's thinking. HAL is now keen on retaining its airport. The rationale: The Devanahalli airport will not be equipped to handle a projected annual passenger traffic of over 10 million, and the HAL airport can take care of the spillover.
The passenger traffic at the HAL airport has grown by 25 per cent in the last five years — a stupendous growth. "The growth would have been much more if we had not stemmed the increase due to non-availability of parking and terminal space. With this kind of growth, there is bound to be a spill over from Devanahalli. In the interest of the city and its people, HAL Airport should be retained," the company's managing director, Bangalore Complex, A.K. Saxena, told The Hindu.
14/06/07 Rasheed Kappan/The Hindu

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Investors head for airports, fly over airlines

Mumbai: Airlines appear to be losing sheen as an investment destination. Investors now find airports more attractive to invest in, followed by cargo and logistics and maintenance, repairs & overhaul (MROs). The India story is, however, flying high with the country considered the most attractive emerging nation to invest in the aviation sector, along with China, but considerably ahead of the Middle East, Brazil and east European markets.
The Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation carried out a survey among national and international investors that showed investments in airlines only preceded those in duty-free retail, business jets and in-flight catering. Airports seem to have caught the fancy of investors with over 86% viewing investment opportunities. A similar proportion (82%) is favouring greenfield metro sites such as Navi Mumbai as of ‘greatest interest’.
Interestingly, investors who want to invest in the Indian airline business prefer low-cost carriers (LCC) despite their losses. Only 40% of them said they may invest in full-service carriers, while an overwhelming 80% showed interest in LCCs.
In fact, international LCCs, which would be a reality soon as Indian LCC’s get approval to start international services, could be the next big investment opportunity for investors, points out the survey.
On the current foreign direct investment(FDI) guidelines in the aviation industry, over 70% of the respondents believed that the cap on foreign airlines shareholding in Indian carriers should be 49% or more.
13/06/07 Sudipto Dey/Economic Times

Foreign operators find aviation sector lucrative

Mumabi : After bidding for the development of Shimoga, Gulbarga and Bijapur airports in Karnataka, Changi Airport International (CAI) is planning to enter Indian airport development business in a big way. Just as in the case of these airports, wherein CAI formed a consortium with the Tata Group, it is looking at the joint venture route in other projects too.
On the sidelines of the Aviation and Tourism Investor Summit hosted by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in Mumbai, NG Tim Peng, regional vice-president, CAI told the media that his firm is keen on taking up joint venture projects with an Indian counterpart for the development of regional airports in India.
Meanwhile, talking about what foreign investors look for before investing in airport development of any country, Mark Thompson, executive director, Abu Dhabi Investment Company said that airport investors assess few key characteristics like the government support in terms of minimum revenue guarantee.
12/06/07 Financial Express

India on high over low-cost airports

New Delhi: India's low-cost aviation sector is attracting a lot of attention. In fact Singapore's Changi group, which operates one of the world's swankiest airports, is looking to develop no-frills airports just for low cost operators in India.
And they have tied up with Tata as their joint venture partner.
“We've submitted for a bid for three airports by Karnataka government. Through a consortium jointly by Tata and Changi airport,” says regional Vice President Changi Airport NG TIM.
However, what you might miss will be the flashiness of a five-star hotel usually associated with international airports and will mostly likely be greeted by the simplicity of railway station.
For airline companies, a separate airport for low cost operators will result in huge savings by reducing congestion and turnaround times.
Separate airports for low-cost airlines may be new to India but it’s a tried and tested concept in other countries.
In India where there are more than four low-cost players in the domestic sector, this is bound to be a lucrative venture for airport developers.
12/06/07 George Koshy/CNN-IBN

Macquarie Considering Indian Airport Investment

Australia's Macquarie Bank is interested in investing in Indian airports but the risks needed to be carefully considered, an official said on Tuesday.
Regulatory frameworks, flexibility to raise capital and exit options were all important considerations in an infrastructure sector where intense competition has pushed prices up around the world, Ambalika Banerji, an associate director at Macquarie Bank, told an aviation conference in Mumbai.
"There's a significant pool of equity chasing a limited supply of airport assets globally, and investors are paying a huge premium for control," she said.
"Demand for airport assets is at an all-time high, and airport trading and transaction multiples are going up very quickly."
Macquarie, which Banerji said was the world's second-biggest owner of airports after BAA, which is owned by Spain's Ferrovial, would be keen on investing in India but would weigh the risks carefully.
12/06/07 Airwise

At IGI, Spicejet aircraft lands on wrong runway

New Delhi: In what could have turned out to be a major tragedy, a Spicejet aircraft landed at the wrong runway at IGI Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
The flight SG-851 (Srinagar-Jammu-Delhi) made the landing at 2.30 pm.
A mishap was averted because there was not much traffic on the runaway in the afternoon since maintenance was going on at the primary runway when the aircraft landed.
The pilot, Gursharan Singh Arora, is reported to have apologised immediately to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) on ground. Arora is stated to have told the ATC that the aircraft’s Instrumental Landing System failed, after which he could not follow directions of the Air Traffic Control to land at the secondary runway.
Arora has been grounded and an inquiry has been lodged against him.
An airport official said there were more than 150 passengers in the aircraft.
12/06/07 Delhi Newsline

Residents oppose Bhagalpur airport extension

Patna: Entire families of about half a dozen colonies in Bhagalpur came out on the streets and virtually drove away an Airports Authority of India team, which came to survey runway extension at the local airport on Tuesday.
On Monday too the locals staged a demonstration. On Tuesday, they became agitated on seeing the AAI team, feeling that district authorities had given them a false assurance. The survey officials beat a retreat when the Awas Bachchao Sangharsh Samiti took to the streets, with residents fearing demolition and displacement. Women and small children joined the protesters, who demanded that the airport be shifted beyond the city limits.
The residents were not satisfied with official claims that their houses would not be touched and that the runway extension project would in no way lead to their displacement.
13/06/07 The Hindu

Villagers protest against wall near IGI airport

At least 20 persons, including 12 policemen, were injured in a clash last night between the police and villagers protesting construction of a boundary wall near Indira Gandhi International Airport. The police had to fire 12 rounds in the air to control the mob, which turned violent in its protest against the construction of a boundary wall which they claimed would block off an access road for them.
Seven persons were arrested for fomenting trouble and obstructing traffic. A case was registered at the IGI police station soon after the incident, according to sources.
Residents of Shahbad village in the Mohammadpur area pelted stones when the police tried to stop them from razing the boundary wall. They set afire a truck carrying construction material to the site in Shahabad village. "After stone-pelting left several policemen injured, a mild lathi charge was resorted to but after that failed to have the desired effect the police fired 12 rounds in the air," the source said. As many as 12 policemen were injured in stone pelting, he added. Demonstrators later squatted on the railway track on the Delhi-Jaipur route affecting traffic on the line, besides blocking traffic on the airport road.
The situation was still tense and additional police personnel had been deployed to maintain law and order in the affected area. The police had rounded up several persons after the violence and a case of rioting had been registered against them, said a senior police officer.
12/06/07 The Tribune

Calcutta’s dream airport taking shape

Calcutta’s dream airport is finally taking shape — on paper.
An integrated international and domestic terminal. An exclusive international terminal with special facilities for passenger arrival and departure. Parking bays to handle jumbo aircraft. A network of roads with flyovers and underpasses for uninterrupted traffic flow...
These are the highlights of the detailed project report (DPR) for the new-look Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, to which officials in the civil aviation ministry are giving the finishing touches.
“The DPR on the modernisation of Calcutta airport is in the final stages and we are working on the finer details. It will be finalised by next month,” K. Ramalingam, chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI), told Metro from Delhi.
The projected cost of the airport makeover stood at Rs 1,500 crore, but the final cost is yet to be worked out, added the chairman.
According to AAI sources, the Calcutta airport modernisation programme should be implemented before the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.
The DPR outlines plans for two new terminals at the airport — an integrated large one for domestic and international flights, and another relatively small one just for international flights.
13/06/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

In mid-air, plane’s key panel goes blank

This is an emergency. I am not getting the proper data. None of the navigational panels are working properly...
The SOS to the Calcutta air traffic control (ATC) was from the Hyderabad-bound SpiceJet flight SG 527 minutes after take-off on June 6. There were 132 passengers on board.
In what was termed by airport officials and pilots as an “extremely rare and dangerous situation”, the aircraft’s essential gadgets measuring height and speed and fixing direction were malfunctioning. A disaster was averted by the pilot’s SOS to the airport and then the surveillance radar that navigated the craft back to safety.
The Boeing 737-800 series left Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 2.47pm. Once airborne, the control of an aircraft is handed over to the surveillance radar from the ATC tower but the officer in the control tower keeps in touch with the pilot.
“The pilot was not responding to our calls. We were very worried,” recounted an official of the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA)’s air safety wing.
Then, the pilot’s voice reached ATC officers. “He sounded really nervous,” the official added.
And with good reason. The pilot told the control tower that the altimeter, the heading and the speed control system were not displaying the vital information.
“The craft was then flying at an approximate height of 3,000 feet above ground level and steadily gaining height.” an official explained.
The pilot told the control tower that he needed to return to Calcutta airport at once. “A full emergency was declared at the airport; we had never faced such a situation,” an ATC official admitted.
SG 527 was then completely guided back to the runway by the surveillance radar. The pilot was first told to turn in a particular direction, then asked to lower height and decrease speed as directed by the radar. The aircraft landed just after 3pm, amidst all emergency arrangements.
12/06/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

Changi, Tata bid to manage Indian airports

Mumabi: Singapore's Changi Airports International and the Tata Group have jointly bid to develop three airports in India, where the Government is spending US$10 billion (US$1 = RM3.46) to upgrade airport facilities.
The two companies have bid to manage airports in the cities of Shimoga, Gulbarga and Bijapur in Karnataka state in southern India, Ng Tim Peng, a regional vice president of Changi Airports said in Mumbai yesterday.
The bid was submitted last month on the request of the state government, he said.
The bid extends a February agreement between the two partners to invest in and manage two of India's largest airports. The tie-up with Tata Group is Singapore's second attempt to invest in Indian airports after it pulled out of bidding for the New Delhi airfield in 2005.
India's federal government is selling stakes in its biggest air fields to help pay for US$10 billion in investments over seven years as increasing traffic in the world's second-most populous nation strains the existing facilities.
Changi Airports is wholly owned by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, which operates Asia's fifth-busiest airfield in the city state.
12/06/07 Bloomberg/Business Times - Malaysia, Malaysia

Govt planning to allow airports on private land: Patel

Mumbai: Faced with a shortage of infrastructure in the country, government is planning to allow setting up of airports on private land.
Speaking at the 3rd Annual Aviation and Tourism Investor Summit organised by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Mumbai on Monday, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the government is also working on a proposal to allow regional airlines, which could operate in more than one metro city.
However, they will have to be new players as the existing airlines operating at the national level would not be allowed to operate a regional-level service.
"The licences given for the regional carriers will be distinct from those given to the national carriers", he said.
There will be some inbuilt incentives for the operators providing regional services. Their capital requirements will be lower as there are certain incentives available for smaller aircraft. Besides, the landing and parking charges are lower at regional airports, he said.
The government will shortly call a meeting of chief ministers of various states to discuss aviation issues and will also discuss the issue of regional airlines, the minister said.
12/06/07 Zee News

Patel for 2nd airport in Blore

Mumbai: Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Monday expressed the need for second airports for Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Speaking to Deccan Herald on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation here, Mr Patel said: “We have to respect the concession agreements entered into with airport builders consortia like in Bangalore because the governments are involved in it. However, we also have to see how best we can ensure that the second airport is taken up within the metropolitan region. Ultimately, what is important is the interest and requirement of people.”
A second airport for the IT city is not possible at present as the State and Union governments have entered into an agreement with the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) which states that no other airport, new or existing, would operate within 150 km of the new aerodrome.
12/06/07 B S Arun/Deccan Herald

Maharashtra airports will be aviation hotspots

Mumabi: With Pune getting its green field airport, Nagpur airport being turned into a multi-nodal port and rest of the 12 air strips in the state getting a major upgrade, the aviation industry in the state is set to get a shot in the arm.
The Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, while speaking at the three-day summit on investment and development opportunities in emerging markets on Monday said, “Nobody in India should be more than 50 kilometers away from the airport.”
Outlining major plans for 30 non metro airports in the country, he declared that the government would finalise the bidding process for the same by mid next year.
The Greenfield Bangalore and Hyderabad airports would become operational by April next. On the modernisation process of the non-metro airports, he said, "It would be undertaken by AAI (Airport Authorities of India) and be carried out under a public-private partnership," he said. The thrust of aviation policy will be regional.
12/06/07 Daily News & Analysis

Mumbai not alone in airport land problem

Mumbai: It’s not just in Mumbai. Airport land across the country faces the threat of encroachment, with illegal occupants having control of 788 acres—20 times the size of Nariman Point—in the high-security area near runways.
While the Mumbai airport tops the list prepared by the Airports Authority of India with 247 acres (this, however, may not be the accurate figure as the airport no longer belongs to AAI) in the control of encroachers, it is followed by Satna in Madhya Pradesh with 150 acres, Hyderabad with 97 acres, Amritsar with 83 acres and Kolkata with 75.7 acres.
Mumbai and Delhi mostly have slum-dwellers sitting on airport land, but in other cities, especially the non-metro ones, encroachments usually mean small establishments, hotels, shops and even companies providing support to airlines.
“It’s only in Mumbai and Delhi that slums account for a majority of the encroachments. In other airports, the encroachers are private parties like small establishments, hotels, shops etc who have encroached on large tracts of land,’’said R N Pathak, consultant, AAI.
With the Rs 500-crore development plan for 23 non-metro airports already under way, the first steps towards encroachment removal have been taken, claimed Pathak.
11/06/07 Times of india

Delhi International Airport Selects IBM for ERP System at IGI Airport

Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd. (DIAL) has partnered with IBM India to address the escalating growth in air traffic in Delhi. IBM Global Business Services will implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) integrating and modernizing the airport's business processes. The ERP system will integrate all data and processes of the organization into a unified system.
IGI Airport is one of the largest airports in India with over 20 million passengers a year, and will become one of the largest airports in the region by 2010, with slated capacity of 37 million passengers and a brand new terminal building (T3). The airport will have an ultimate design capacity of a 100 million passengers a year after completion of planned phases of construction.
The ERP implementation at DIAL is set to take place over a two-year period is in line with the airport's modernization efforts to address the growth in aircraft and passenger traffic.
11/06/07 IT News Online

AAI not to take up greenfield airport in Chennai: Patel

Mumbai: Minister for civil aviation Praful Patel today ruled out the possibility of a greenfield airport in Chennai being taken up by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The civil aviation ministry has already received a resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly which says the AAI should modernise the existing airport and also build a greenfield one near the city. The new airport is to be built across 5,000 acres near Sriperumbudur at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore.
''There is no possibility of AAI handling the greenfield airport,'' said Mr Patel while addressing delegates at third annual investors' summit organised by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
Sensing that it will get Chennai and Kolkata airports, the AAI has already begun groundwork by inviting global design bids so that work can begin as soon as all clearances come.
11/06/07 NewKerala.com

Kenyan woman detained at IGI airport swallowed heroin capsules

New Delhi: A 35-year-old Kenyan woman, who was to take an Air India flight (314) to Hong Kong on Saturday, was nabbed at IGI Airport while she was allegedly trying to smuggle 70 capsules containing at least 10 gram heroin each.
Customs officials said the accused, Milli Cent Omomdi, had swallowed the capsules which would have been sold in China.
“We are yet to figure out how many capsules she was trying to smuggle to Hong Kong. We are in the process of extracting the capsules containing the contraband,” said a senior customs official.
Till later this evening, doctors had managed to extract at least 15 capsules. It is a time consuming process as the accused has to pass the pills through stools and takes a few days, said officials.
According to police, on Saturday night, customs officials became suspicious when Milli was trying to clear the customs counter at IGI.
The accused was taken to a court where permission was given to get her medically examined. The woman reportedly told investigators that she had come to India on June .
11/06/07 Aditya Kaul/Delhi Newsline

Monday, June 11, 2007

Ahead of merchant airports policy, companies scout for land, tie-ups

In anticipation of new government rules that are expected to allow new airports to be built by private entrepreneurs with the requisite land, aerodrome developers have started scouting for locations to build new airports and tying up with realty firms to ease land acquisition troubles.
Close on the heels of German airport investor Fraport AG’s tie-up with DLF Ltd to develop up to five airports, Singapore’s Changi Airports International has started work with local partner Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd on its search for viable locations for such investments.
Senior civil aviation ministry officials expect other such proposals to come up soon.
The ministry expects to circulate a draft “merchant airport” policy among various other ministries within the next six weeks before sending the guidelines for such private investment to the Union cabinet for approval, civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said.
Merchant airports are expected to allow up to 100% foreign ownership; investors could even be foreign airport companies or airlines.
Merchant airports would cater to domestic and international passenger traffic apart from meeting cargo requirements of industry and retail chains, Chawla said. The policy on greenfield airports allows private developers but the land is to be acquired by the state government.
Airport security and air traffic control is likely to remain with government bodies such as the Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and AAI. Further, airport projects will require clearance from the defence and environment ministries.
Analysts said new airports in smaller cities may find operations will take longer to break even since most of passenger traffic is concentrated in India’s large cities, which already have large airports or have plans for second airports.
11/06/07 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

Three new taxiways commissioned at IG Airport

New Delhi: Three new exit taxiways have been commissioned at Indira Gandhi International Airport to enable faster landing of aircraft on one of the runways.
The taxiways--Bravo, Uniform and Victor--have been commissioned by Delhi International Airport Pvt Limited (DIAL), a joint venture company entrusted with the task of modernisation and restructuring of the Delhi Airport.
The rapid taxiways will reduce runway occupancy time for aircraft landing on the main runway from the Dwarka side, the joint venture said in a release.
As a result aircraft can vacate the runway sooner and reduce the waiting time for following aircraft leading to faster landings.
DIAL, comprising GMR Group, Airports Authority of India, Fraport, Malaysian Airport and India Development Fund, has also started work on the integrated passenger terminal and runway and the new terminal would be inaugurated in 2010 before the Commonwealth Games.
Prior to that in 2008, a new runway and domestic terminal will be ready to cater to the growing traffic.
10/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Juhu- On a high

Juhu Aerodrome, India ’s first civil aviation airport, enjoyed the prime position of being Mumbai’s only airport until the Santacruz airport (now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport) came up. The aerodrome was built in 1927 for landing seaplanes, cargo and post. In 1928, with the formation of the Flying Club, the aviation industry slowly began functioning. It was then known as the Vile Parle Flying Club.
Run by the Airports Authority of India, the Juhu airport has just one runway. It also has a flying club with several executive and light aircraft, gliders, and a heliport to ferry Oil and Natural Gas Corporation personnel (by carrier Pawan Hans) to offshore oil rigs at Bombay High.
In order to ease the air traffic congestion at the Santacruz airport, it has been proposed that small planes will now land at the Juhu aerodrome, which will be given a makeover to make this shift possible.
At present, the Juhu aerodrome is being regularly used by UB Air, Million Air helicopters, Tata airlines, Mesco planes. This also allows servicing of smaller aircrafts.
10/06/07 Expressindia.com

HAL airport: the last-ditch effort

The onus on retaining civil aviation operations at the HAL airport, even after the new international airport in Devanahalli takes off in April 2008, is back on the State government.
The agreement between Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) says that no airport would be permitted to operate within 150 km from the Devanahalli airport. While government sources say that the chances of a revision are remote, there is a contention that it all depends on how Bangalore’s air passengers mount pressure on the government.
What the experts point out in favour of retaining the airport — the third busiest in India — is its potential to serve as a supplementary airport, operating domestic flights.
Another issue raised by those who endorse the idea of two airports in the City, is the poor connectivity between the City and Devanahalli.
According to aviation experts, the Bangalore market offers enough room for two airports. And they point out that two airports also ensure competition to offer better services.
10/06/07 Deccan Herald

Mumbai airport's modernisation plan faces a hitch

Mumbai: Vijaya Muthu's house in Gaodevi in Santa Cruz (east) overlooks the runway of the busiest airport in the country. Her one storied house with a shop is just behind the tall concrete wall topped with barbed wire, which separates the runway from the slums.
Gaodevi is one of the crowded settlements that will be moved out as part of the steps to implement the $1.5 billion Mumbai airport modernisation plan. Last week, the State Government extended the cut off date, especially for the airport slum dwellers, to January 1, 2000. But Vijaya is not ecstatic about that. "I want to know if the Government is giving us another house nearby. I refuse to be dumped into some creek or swamp. We have put a lot of money into creating a home for ourselves here and now they want to kick us out," she said.
Gaodevi is the poorest of the slums near the airport and already builders are doling out money to people, tempting them to leave. Vijaya said both her neighbours had sold their rooms to a private builder for sums ranging from Rs. 70,000 to Rs. 2 lakh. "Some private builders and their goondas are coming here and asking us to sell our houses and go. They are saying we will get nothing in the rehabilitation," she said. Many of the women who live here are domestic workers who are worried that if they are relocated, they will have no livelihood.
10/06/07 Meena Menon/The Hindu

Several planes grounded as mercury soars in north India

New Delhi: An unusually intense heat wave across north India affected air travel Saturday and over half a dozen flights were disrupted in at least three cities as temperatures at runways touched a 49 degrees Celsius.
In the Indian capital where the temperature touched 44.9 degrees, the highest for this year, at least five flights of state-run Indian Airlines and private carrier Jet Airways could not take off due to the weather conditions.
According to the met office at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here, the runway temperature recorded a maximum of 49.5 degrees though the air temperature at the airport was 46.1 degrees.
"Due to the weather, flight schedules were disrupted to some extent between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. In high temperature the air becomes thin and creates problems for the plane in take-off," said R.K. Jenamani, meteorological director at the IGI airport.
"During such times, planes should carry less load than its capacity. Either they have to shed some cargo, passengers or fuel but due to economic reasons they (airlines) seem to have decided to delay the flights," Jenamani added.
While the airport of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh recorded a maximum temperature of 42 degrees Celsius, the mercury climbed to 46 degrees at Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
09/06/07 IANS/NewKerala.com

Shopping between flights

Indian retail has been trying to find a stable ground between the mindsets favouring organised and unorganised ways of doing business. But airport retailing is where most people and authorities stand united. With Indians pegged to be major contributors to Asia’s 35% share in global duty-free sales at airports, the idea is to get them attracted to international airports here, rather than say, a Changi in Singapore.
Authorities too are picking up the signals. The idea is to get travellers, who aren’t essentially shoppers, to splurge within a ‘controlled environment’. Airport developers like DIAL are not only following the demographic trends to check what travellers want, but are also making sure that their stay at these places becomes longer. On the cards is inclusion of international aspirational brands like Gucci, Armani and Swatch. Then there are restaurants, Internet cafes and spas. The territory, so far held by the duty-free shops run by the India Tourism Development Corporation, now has retailers like Future Group and Shoppers’ Stop. These retailers have already plunged from general retail space to partner with experienced global players like Alpha Retail (UK) and Nuance (Switzerland). The strategy further includes getting the right product mix (the idea is to look beyond duty-free liquor or tobacco and focus more on aspirational brands and elite local goods like Indian teas) and setting up better-designed, larger stores at strategic points (both in the departure and arrival zones).
10/06/07 Jyoti Verma/Financial Express

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Govt readies plan to promote MRO facilities

New Delhi: The government is preparing a road map to woo more aviation majors like Embraer and Boeing to set up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities for aircraft in the country. Official sources told FE that the civil aviation ministry was looking at actively pursuing foreign investment in MROs.
The sector can expect certain policy initiatives to augment the industry’s proposals in the current Plan, they said, adding that mega deals and joint ventures with global aviation majors can be expected soon.
In recent months, three different JVs between Indian companies & foreign companies like Airbus, Boeing and SIA Engineering have embarked upon for setting up of MROs. Global Vectra, the second largest helicopter operator in the country, is also planning to set up a MRO facility at Mumbai. The Indian MRO market is growing at about 8% annually and the Asia-Pacific aircraft and engine MRO market is estimated to touch $12.90 billion by 2011.
According to the Planning Commission outsourcing of line-maintenance by domestic and international airlines to MROs should be allowed. Green field projects and modernisation projects of existing airports should ensure hangars and space for MROs. Location being an important factor, an aircraft MRO should be located at an airport and it must have hangars large enough to accommodate the type of aircraft meant to be repaired or overhauled.
09/06/07 Oineetom Ojah/Financial Express

Indian stranded at Bahrain airport leaves for home

Dubai: An Indian national stranded at Bahrain International Airport since Tuesday after being turned away from India for allegedly possessing fake passport, has finally left for his home.
Mohammed Valappil, left for India last night after Indian embassy officials in Bahrain issued him an emergency outpass confirming his passport to be genuine and a social group arranged money for his ticket, as he had none to buy one, a media report said.
The 27-year-old man came to Bahrain last month to work as a salesman at a Supermarket in Samaheej. Unsatisfied with his new job, Valappil decided to go back to India and flew back home Bahrain International Airport on Tuesday.
Immigration officials at Mumbai airport, refused entry to the country claiming his passport to be fake. They confiscated his passport before putting him on a flight back to Bahrain.
After arriving in Bahrain on Wednesday, he was detained by police at the airport. The Indian embassy officials, later, issued him an emergency outpass confirming Valappil's passport to be original and not fake.
09/06/07 PTI/The Hindu