Udan scheme: Uncertainty hovers over development of airstrips for promoting connectivity in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the state is bracing up to pull its Kannur airport out of the UDAN scheme, no decisive step has yet been taken to develop the airstrips and airfields conceived to promote regional connectivity in the state. Though CIAL has been instructed to hold a feasibility study, it has been dragging its feet citing the government order lacks clarity.  The state government decision to drop Kannur airport out of the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, the Regional Connectivity Scheme of the Centre aimed at making air travel affordable, also sheds light on the poor management of aviation affairs in Kerala.

More so as the state continues to lack an exclusive department for aviation despite having four international airports under its belt, including the soon to be functional Kannur airport. A senior IAS officer well-versed in aviation matters said, “I don’t know who recommended the government to include Kannur airport under the UDAN scheme as it is aimed at putting unused airports and unserved regions on the aviation map.” No international airport, he said, can be included under UDAN as the scheme offers monopoly for the airlines on routes awarded under it. “The unused airport near Calicut University and airstrips to be constructed in select regions can be considered under it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the uncertainty over conducting a feasibility study for the proposed airstrips in the state and the decision to develop another international airport in Sabarimala have cast a shadow over the dream of flying at a rate cheaper than Rs 2,500 under UDAN. That despite the industry’s fervent demands to develop airstrips and airfields to tap the sector’s growing potential. Complicating matters further, the Louis Berger Consulting Pvt Ltd - consultant for a techno-economic feasibility study and an environment impact study for the proposed greenfield airport at Sabarimala - reportedly submitted a report in favour of an international airport.
IATA Agents Association of India president Biji Eapen said, considering the nature of traffic from Kerala, airports have been chiefly catering to international passengers. For UDAN, the state has to develop airstrips and airfields in areas where no full-fledged airport is operational. “Developing airstrips, airfields and small feeder airports will further promote short distance air travel and act as a hub and spoke model for air traffic in the state. The thrust will be on developing facilities capable of serving the state’s cause,” said Jacob K Philip, an aviation analyst who conducted pre-feasibility study for the Cochin Airport in 1991. 
30/06/18 Dhinesh Kallungal/New Indian Express

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Bird hit ruled out

Patna: Patna airport director Rajendra Singh Lahauria on Friday ruled out bird hit as the reason that forced the Delhi-bound Air India flight to return to Patna on Thursday.

"It was very likely a technical snag that had caused the flight to make a return landing at the airport after it had ventured around 15 nautical miles on the Delhi route," Lahauria said. "The investigation conducted so far by the team of engineers from Air India that came from New Delhi yesterday (Thursday) night has not found any trace of bird hitting the plane. However, we are still waiting for the final report to be submitted by the team."

A total of 122 people were on the Air India flight that faced problems within 15 minutes of taking off from the Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport, forcing it to return. However, it was not an emergency or priority landing. The pilot of the aircraft opted for normal landing as he had requested to return to the airport due to technical reasons. The incident occurred around 2.45pm.
30/06/18 Nishant Sinha/Telegraph

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Dedicate Vizag airport to civilian flights

Visakhapatnam: The Vizag Development Council (VDC), Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (APCCI), Andhra Pradesh Air Travelers Association (APATA) and Andhra Pradesh Tours and Travelers Association (APTTA) on Friday suggested to the Central and State governments to dedicate the present Visakhapatnma Airport (INS Dega) for civilian flights.

The bodies said that there will be multiple benefits to both civilians and defence people, if the present airport is dedicated for the civilian aircraft. Suggestion for ideal location of the civil airport in Visakhapatnam, the VDC and other associations said that Navy can use the entire 2,000 acres acquired for the new civilian airport at Bhogapuram, which is closer to INS Kalinga, a naval establishment located on Visakhapatnam-Bheemili Beach Road.
30/06/18 Hans India

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Government calls off livestock export from Nagpur airport

Nagpur: In a sudden development on Friday evening, the central government cancelled the export of goat and sheep from city airport due to begin on Saturday apparently following protests from a section of Jain community. Official sources said project has been indefinitely deferred.
Dr Vikas Mahatme, leader of Dhangar community of livestock herders and Rajya Sabha MP, who was coordinating the project told TOI the government had decided to hear the Jains before deciding on further course of action. He said he had talked to Union commerce minister Suresh Prabhu who asked him to postpone the programme.
With this, the consignment of 1500 ‘Rabari’ goats from Rajasthan that were being brought to the city too had been turned back. It was to reach city at 8am on Saturday. The logistics company’s spokesperson first told TOI he was in shock and didn’t know how to respond but within an hour said he had no objection to the decision as he was being compensated for the loss.
30/06/18 Snehlata Shrivastav/Times of India

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Delhi, Mumbai airports among least punctual claims global ranking report

New Delhi: Mumbai is fifth-least punctual airport in the world in terms of on-time performance; Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad rank 262, 255 and 246 out of 513 airports and Indigo is the highest ranked airline from India at 14 and Air India was the second-poorest performer.

These are among the findings in a report of 513 airports and 65 airlines across the world by British aviation intelligence firm OAG.

According to the report, Mumbai was ranked 509 in terms of on-time performance after recording only 60 per cent of its over 3.2 lakh flights during June 2017 to May 2018. The OAG report also states that the airport handled a record 1,003 flights during a 24-hour period on June 5.
Other large Indian airports also ranked poorly in the OAG report. While Delhi was ranked 451 with on-time performance of 70.7 per cent, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad were ranked 262, 255 and 246. The top Indian airport on the list was Port Blair, which recorded 84.6 per cent on-time performance and ranked 65.

Globally, Japan’s Nagoya Komaki airport was ranked the best with 94.5 per cent on-time performance during the 12-month period. This is the first time Indian airport and airlines figure in the OAG report. The OAG 2016 only ranked the top 20 airports and airlines in the world. No Indian airport or airline figured in the 2016 report.

Emails sent to officials at DIAL, MIAL, BIAL, HIAL and the airport manager of Chennai did not elicit a response.

Among 65 airlines across the world with more than one lakh operations in the 12-month period, flag-carrier Air India was the second poorest performer. Only 58.4 per cent of its over 1.7 lakh flights were on time and scored marginally better than China’s Shenzhen Airlines with 56.1 per cent on-time performance.

Low-cost carrier IndiGo was the best Indian performer and was ranked 14 with 82 per cent of its 3.6 lakh flights being on time during the period. Budget airline SpiceJet ranked 45 while full-service carrier Jet Airways ranked 54 out of the 65 operators.

The best performing global airline was Panama’s Copa Airlines with an on-time performance of 88.2 per cent, followed by Australia’s Qantas Airways with 85.7 per cent.
30/06/18 Pranav Mukul/Indian Express

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Delhi Airport sets up complaint cell to control aircraft noise

New Delhi: The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has set up a noise complaint cell for hospitals and residences around the airport to control aircraft noise.
According to DIAL, the residents and hospitals can use the cell to register complaints.
DIAL issued a public notice that read, "Delhi International Airport Limited has established a noise complaint cell. In case of any grievances and suggestions on high level of noise, kindly contact Delhi International Airport Limited."
It has also issued a public helpline number for noise complaint cell which is 01147198600.
The decision has been taken after the locals alleged that the noise created by aircrafts at the Delhi airport was affecting the health of the residents of nearby areas.
Several hospitals also claimed that the noise created by planes were usually between the range of 75 and 94 decibels, which was "clearly beyond the stipulated standards laid down under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000".
Meanwhile, DIAL spokesperson told ANI that noise abatement is one of the key areas, the Delhi airport is focusing on.
30/06/18 ANI

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Thiruvananthapuram Airport expects modest growth in 2018; IndiGo maintains #1 carrier status

In 2017, Thiruvananthapuram Airport was India’s 14th busiest airport, handling around 4.2 million passengers. However, despite annual growth in excess of 10% above 2016 traffic levels, the airport actually slipped three spots down the rankings, having been leapfrogged by Guwahati (+31%), Jaipur (+24%) and Lucknow (+17%) during that 12-month period. Thiruvananthapuram has a scheduled non-stop network of 22 destinations, led by Bengaluru (8,798 weekly seats), Dubai (6,166) and Chennai (5,646).

The airport currently boasts 18 serving carriers in the week commencing 28 June. A year ago, it only had 17 airlines, with Saudi Arabian Airlines being the latest addition to the airport’s carrier portfolio. The SkyTeam carrier added a three times weekly service from Riyadh and a twice-weekly operation from Jeddah to the Indian city in October last year.

Despite being in one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets, traffic throughput at Thiruvananthapuram has been stable and unremarkable alongside some of its more dynamic peers which are increasing passenger volumes at break-neck speed. That said, the airport will effectively have doubled in size since 2010 if traffic forecasts for 2018 are correct. Additionally, in two of the last eight years it has produced double-digit growth, in 2015 and 2017.
Weekly seats at Thiruvananthapuram have increased by 3.5% year-on-year, when compared to the same week in 2017. However when consulting the latest monthly data (January to April 2018) from Airports Authority of India, the airport has averaged 16% growth so far this year. So clearly airline loads have been rising to fuel this traffic increase. The 16% increase is just behind the national average for the country’s 57 busiest airports in that period, which is 20%. On this basis, if Thiruvananthapuram manages to maintain its current level of monthly traffic increases, then it could get close to breaking the five million annual throughput milestone for the first time in 2018.

When using anna.aero’s SVID calculator, Thiruvananthapuram delivers a score of 0.93, which means it gains an “Excellent” rating. Comparing this seasonal performance against those of its nearest domestic rivals – India’s 13th largest airport Lucknow and 15th largest Kozhikode – Thiruvananthapuram performs well. While both peer airports score an “Excellent” result, Kozhikode has the most seasonal traffic profile (scoring 1.03) of the three airports. Evidently, Thiruvananthapuram has slightly less year-round appeal than Lucknow, as the latter’s monthly passenger figures yield it a very healthy score of 0.59.
29/06/18 anna.aero

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Act now on air safety infra or continue to risk lives: HC

Mumbai: Referring to Thursday’s plane crash in the city that killed five persons, the Bombay high court on Friday said the authorities could either step up now and put in place the requisite infrastructure for air safety or continue risking lives as it has been “doing until now.”
The observations came while a bench of Justices SC Dharamadhikari and Bharati Dangre was hearing an application filed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) seeking permission for some overhead cables that would need to be installed for a Metro rail junction.
Installing such cables for the Metro-IIB line, however, will come in the way of the funnel area of the Juhu airport by around 11centimetres.
MMRDA counsel, SB Talekar, told the court that since the violation to height norms was minimal, the AAI had granted it a no-objection certificate this January, but directed it to also seek the HC’s nod for the same.
The bench contended even a violation of “one centimetre was too much sometimes.”
It directed the Airports Authority of India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to file an affidavit clearing their stand on MMRDA’s plea.
It refused to pass any orders granting relief though.
“We don’t want to be part of such decisions. Anything that endangers the life of the public can’t be considered like this. What you (the authorities) need to do is decide whether you want to act now and set up safe infrastructure for even small flights to take off and land safely, or continue to put lives at risk as we have been doing until now,” it said.
30/06/18 PTI/Times of India

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Surat gets air connection to five more destinations

Surat: IndiGo airline has announced commencement of its flight services from Surat, its 56th destination, from August 16.
The country’s largest low-cost airline will operate new flights to and from Surat connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Jaipur, respectively. In the later stage, the airline may connect to Kolkata, Goa and Varanasi. According to IndiGo’s official announcement, flights between Surat and Jaipur will be operated thrice a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while flights between Surat and Bengaluru will operate on all days except Tuesday.
IndiGo will be the fourth airline to operate from Surat. At present, SpiceJet, Air India and AirAsia have been operating flight services to various key destinations, including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Patna from the city.
Chief strategy officer, IndiGo, Willian Boulter, said, “We are pleased to have an opportunity to fly out of Surat starting August. Surat undoubtedly holds immense potential for IndiGo and launching operations to and from the Diamond City is in line with our growth strategy for India market. IndiGo is looking at introducing new flights connecting Surat with Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Jaipur.”
At present, Surat airport handles about 36 flight movements per day to various destinations, operated by SpiceJet, AirAsia and Air India. Flight movement will be between 40 and 45 once IndiGo too commences services from the city in August.
The terminal building will be bursting at its seams starting August with more than 3,500 passengers flying to and from Surat airport. At present, the terminal capacity is for only 250 passengers per hour.
30/06/18 Times of India

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Dumna Airport Authority to replace outdated DVOR for uninterrupted flight operation

Dumna Airport Authority will replace the outdated Doppler Very High Frequency Omni Range (DVOR) for uninterrupted flight operation. Even after materialising several development works, flights operation is relying on outdated DVOR system violating the international airport standards.Surprisingly, DVOR system was installed at Dumna Airport during the year 2000 which is still operational even after its maximum lifetime of 12-years. Now, with the failure of DVOR and cancelling flights for more than 36-years, airport authority has been aroused and working on war footings to replace the existing DVOR with advanced system.
Dumna Airport, Director, Samtanu Saha, while talking to ‘The Hitavada’, confirmed that the DVOR was installed at the airport during the year 2000. The system was to be replaced after 12-years of its installation as per international standards. The system was restored with a hectic workout within 36 – 38 hours. Authorities have started efforts for replacing the outdated DVOR system with its advanced version for avoiding further repetition of its failure. The new DVOR system will be installed in next one month for fluent operation of flights at Dumna Airport. He informed that the DVOR system works for visibility of airport strip to air traffic control from 5,000 metres but the system had visibility of around 2,000 metres. Air Traffic Control (ATC) taken a serious note on low visibility of airstrip at Dumna Airport and immediately abandoned the flights operation. A team of technical experts from Nagpur immediately called in Jabalpur and started restoration of DVOR system and made it operational.
30/06/18 Hitavada

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No tags on hand baggage at Udaipur airport

There will be no tags for hand baggage at Udaipur airport anymore. As per sources, airport has done away with tags for hand baggage for domestic flights. Passengers flying on domestic sectors will no longer be required to tag their hand baggage and with this Udaipur now stands among the airports of India where tags on hand baggage are no more a necessity.

Airport authorities informed that the system of tagging hand baggage has been done away with which will also save time. The same has been applied at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Cochin, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Tiruvanthapuram and Patna airports. All security arrangements have been strengthened at the airport and CCTV cameras will carry out the required surveillance.
29/06/18 Monika S/Udaipur Times

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'Safety Management System' training for Airports Authority of India officials

Guwahati: A four day 'Safety Management System' (SMS) training program was conducted at Tezpur Airport, Tezpur, Assam for the designated safety managers of the Airports Authority of India posted at different airports in North Eastern Region.

The training programme which started on 26th June, 2018 was concluded with distribution of training course completion certificate by D.K Kamra, Regional Executive Director, AAI, Guwahati.

The training program was conducted by experts in Aviation Safety from AAI Headquarters, New Delhi and Regional Headquarters, NER, Guwahati.
30/06/18 Guwahati Plus

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Now, fly from Varanasi to Kathmandu direct

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday evening flagged off air services between Varanasi and Kathmandu.

The first flight took off from Varanasi's Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at Babatpur in what is being seen as a major boost for air travel from and to the spiritual city. While it is well-connected to a number of Indian cities, flights operating between Varanasi and Kathmandu is expected to not just see s spurt in regular travellers but also rise in numbers of those looking to fulfill their spiritual needs.

More importantly, opening up more air routes with Nepal could also be a diplomatic boon at a time when China has trying to improve its connectivity with Kathmandu. While Nepal is trying to balance itself on a tightrope, there is no denying that it has had far closer diplomatic and cultural ties with India for decades. People-to-people connect was also highlighted by PM Narendra Modi when he visited the country earlier this month.
29/06/18 Zee News

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New software makes AAI building permits easy

Nagpur: Airport Authority of India (AAI) has launched a new software to make issuance of building permits easy. According to RK Singla, general manager (no objection certificate), builders can now apply online for these permits which will be issued within 15 days.
“Our website nocas2.aai.aero/nocas explains whether a permit is needed or not. The maximum permissible height in an area is given in the colour coded zoning map. We have an interactive system too where the coordinates of the plot can be entered. If anybody applies for a NOC even though it is not necessary then our software has an auto-settle feature. It will generate a letter informing the applicant of the same,” said Singla. One can see the names of house owners and builders to whom NOC has been issued on this link.
Of the 125 airports in the country, AAI has integrated its maps with that of local bodies in 11 cities. “We will invite Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) officials for integrating their software with us,” said Vijay Mulekar, senior airport director of Mihan India Limited (MIL).
If the building permit software of NMC and NMRDA is advanced enough then it would be easily integrated with that of AAI.
30/06/18 Ashish Roy/Times of India

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NMC in a fix over razing buildings falling on flight landing path

Nagpur: Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) officials appear to have been in a jinx over removing illegal building and mobile towers around Nagpur airport. The callous attitude of civic officials have eventually led Mihan India Limited (MIL), the authority responsible for developing city airport as major international hub for airlines, to mull over cutting down the lenght of the runway.

It may be mentioned that this move will not only hamper bulk flight operations from Nagpur airport, but it will also shatter the dreams of Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and union transport minister Nitin Gadkari to make Nagpur a big international airport.

Vijay Mulekar, senior airport director, said in a press conference that few buildings at Jaitala and Chinchbhuvan were coming in the way of flights landing and take off. “These high rises were constructed in violation of our permits. We wrote a letter to the then municipal commissioner Ashwin Mudgal to raze the extra construction, but he turned down our request, saying that it was not NMC’s job. We also held two meetings with him, but to no avail,” added Mulekar.
The director had then written to Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to raze the constructions, but is yet to get a response. “I will also write to the ministry of civil aviation but if I do not get any response, I will have no option but to reduce the length of the runway by 560 metre from its present length of 3,200m,” he told the media.
The official pointed out that Nagpur airport had two runways — 1-4 and 3-2. “We will have to stop using the 3-2 runway completely for big aircraft like Boeing 737 and Airbus 320. Only 1-4 runway will be used, but this means that the airport will not be able to handle more flights in the future,” he added.
30/06/18 Nagpur Today

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Saudi airline Flynas begins Riyadh-Hyderabad flights

Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has announced addition of yet another international airline — Flynas — to its portfolio.

The maiden flight landed on Friday from Riyadh here. Hyderabad is the first city chosen by Flynas to start operations in India with two weekly flights between Hyderabad and Riyadh.

With Flynas launching operations, Hyderabad International Airport is now connected with Riyadh by two airlines providing convenient travel options to the travelers from the region.

Flynas is a Saudi airline offering an extensive network from its hub in Riyadh to Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. It offers flights to 17 destinations within Saudi Arabia and 53 international destinations with a fleet of 30 aircraft.
29/06/18 Business Line

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Chennai airport could soon lose fourth busiest tag to Hyderabad

Chennai: The city’s airport faces stiff competition from Hyderabad airport, which is growing at a brisk pace in terms of aircraft movement and the number of passengers it handles.

Chennai airport is currently the fourth busiest in the country, behind Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Hyderabad airport is in the fifth place in terms of aircraft movement and sixth with regard to passenger movement. Kolkata airport stands in fifth place in terms of passengers handled and sixth in aircraft movement.

Data released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) shows that Hyderabad airport has notched up higher growth in the number of domestic passengers travelled than Chennai.

In April 2018, while Hyderabad recorded 13.8 lakh domestic passengers, Chennai airport had 13.5 lakh users.
30/06/18 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Now, accounting on airport to become accurate

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has already developed a system, SkyRev 360, which ensures automatic data collection from various electronic systems being used for control of aircraft, invoicing and collection under Make in India initiative last year. Now, AAI has come up with yet another innovative concept ‘SKYBOOKS360’ which is an integrated 3-Business solution for Airport Operators.

On Friday at Nagpur, AAI and Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) signed an agreement for Skybooks360 in presence of S Suresh, Board Member of Finance, AAI and Suresh Kakani, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC). He is also the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of MIHAN. V M Mulekar, Senior Airport Director of MIHAN India Limited (MIL); Chandrashekhar Tewari, AGM, Business Development; Shwetali Thakare, Chief Finance Officer, MADC.

Skybooks360 is a customised Enterprise Resource Package (ERP) for airport operators and AAI is offering this unique solution targeting airport operators in India and abroad.Lot of aircraft fly over Indian sky also. When they overfly, there are charges leviable and collected by airport. When one go manually there are errors and flights get delayed. AAI has developed automated computerised systems where knowing the exact information of airline flew and for how much duration on the Indian side can be calculated. Accordingly a billing can be done which is error-free and easily acceptable by the airlines.'
30/06/18 Hitavada

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Kannur airport backs out of UDAN

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kannur international airport, gearing up for commercial flight operations in September, has decided to opt out of the bandwagon of regional flights under the Union government’s Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN).

A decision to this effect was taken at a board meeting of Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL) chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Secretariat here on Thursday. The decision to withdraw from the UDAN scheme would be communicated officially to the Civil Aviation Ministry, official sources told The Hindu.
The decision to back out comes after signing the agreement in January between the Centre, State government and Airports Authority of India for inter and intra-State services from the State’s fourth international airport coming up near Mattannur.

The KIAL board gave its nod after it came to the conclusion that the three-year exclusive monopoly in the seven sectors under the UDAN scheme and Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of the State will seriously hamper domestic flight operations and that revenue generation will be hit.

KIAL, the operator of the airport, will not get any revenue from the domestic flights operated under the UDAN scheme as it cannot impose landing and parking, and terminal navigation landing charges on the airline in addition to discounts on route navigation facility.
28/06/18 S. Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

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Chennai Airport modernisation gets nod

Chennai: Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has accorded environmental clearance for Phase-2 modernisation of Chennai Airport, which will be carried out within the existing airport premises without the need for additional land acquisition.

According to Chennai airport officials, the passenger capacity after modernisation of proposed phase-2 modernisation will be 30 million per annum.
Costing Rs 2,476 crore, the project involves demolishing and reconstructing the existing old domestic and international terminals with additional 16 million passenger per annum (MPPA) (domestic 10 MPPA and international 6 MPPA). It will ease out congestion during peak hours in both domestic and international terminals, particularly at immigration area.

While saying the ministry was satisfied with the modernisation proposal, Kushal Vashist, Director in Union environment ministry, has issued 33 specific conditions in the environmental  clearance that include taking up flood mitigation measures.
29/06/18 SV Krishna Chaitanya/Indian Express

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Cochin International Airport Ltd records lower profit than last fiscal

Kochi: Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial), which was recognized by the United Nations as the world’s first fully solar-powered airport in May, reported a profit of Rs 156 crore in fiscal 2017-18, lower than Rs 179.45 crore recorded in 2016-17.
Sticking to the tradition of recording higher revenue, Cial reported annual revenue of Rs 553.42 crore in fiscal 2017-18, compared to Rs 487.28 crore a year ago.
On the reduced net profit, Cial spokesperson said, “After the commissioning of the new international terminal worth Rs 1,250 crore, the company could sustain a meagre decrease in profit. It is an achievement for Cial to maintain their profits.”
The airport witnessed a rise in passenger traffic yearon-year, especially in the domestic sector.
Cial, which is the first public-private partnership airport in India with more than 18,000 investors, also crossed another major milestone for international airports this year, by recording passenger movement of over 10 million .
Last year, Cial had set up a separate subsidiary, Cial duty-free and retail services Ltd (CDRSL) to improve its revenue from duty-free sales. CDRSL logged a turnover of Rs 237.25 crore this financial year. In the 10 months of its operation last year, CDRSL’s turnover was at Rs 181.78 crore.
29/06/18 Times of India

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At Delhi’s IGI Airport, foreign airline crew members asked to get business visas

New Delhi: The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) Delhi has directed all foreign crew members of scheduled/non-scheduled and chartered flights, operated at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) by scheduled/non-scheduled operators, to get B-5 category of business or e-business visa.

The directive — which states that as per the existing visa manual, foreign crew member scheduled/non-scheduled, and chartered flights operated by scheduled/non-scheduled operators must be in possession of B-5 category of business or e-business visa — was issued by Foreigner Regional Registration Officer Surendra Kumar on June 26.
Last year in September, three foreign airline crew members from US, China and Finland were booked by the Delhi Police after they allegedly skipped immigration clearance at IGI airport. In his direction, Kumar also said that crew landing permit (CLP) should be given only to foreign crew who arrive first time as operating crew. “While granting CLP, the officer concerned may brief the first-time crew member to get B-5 category of business or e-business visa for subsequent visits. While granting CLP, a common register should be maintained by all shift in charge,” the order said.

Reacting to the order, Chairman of Airline Operating Committee (AOC) Gopal Krishnan Nair said they will raise the issue with the authority concerned. As per Bureau of Immigration rules, crew members of scheduled/non-scheduled flights by operators — as approved by the Ministry of Civil Aviation — can be granted landing permit up to seven days without any charges.
29/06/18 Mahender Singh Manral/Indian Express

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Madurai likely to lose five flights from July

Madurai: Travel industry is in a rude shock as at least four flights to Chennai, one to Bengaluru and one air link to Mumbai (via Chennai) linking Madurai airport would be withdrawn in July.

The shocking part is that all these flights are well-patronaged and the load factor is in no way connected to the withdrawal of services.

“Jet Airways that is operating four services of ATR flights from Chennai and Bengaluru to Madurai has announced its withdrawal from July 1,” said N. Sriram, Chairman of TourIST of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Stating that it would be a big setback for the development of Madurai airport, he said that the four flights, with timings spread across the day, will badly hit the business class.
29/06/18 The Hindu

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No end to woes of Calicut airport

Kozhikode: The woes of the Calicut International Airport seem to be continuing even after the completion of Runway End Safety Area (RESA) expansion work as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are still indecisive over resumption of operation of wide-bodied aircraft.

Sources said the DGCA wanted the airport authorities to fix the RESA issue of the table-top runway when the AAI had given the green signal to allow Emirates, Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines), and Air India to operate wide-bodied aircraft to destinations in the Middle East. This was one of the primary reasons cited for dilly-dallying the proposal.

Besides, the DGCA had asked these airline companies to take up a compatibility study and safety assessment in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements and propose a risk mitigation plan for identifying hazards at the airport.
Now, after the partial closure of the runway for six months, RESA has been widened to 240 metres from 90 metres at both ends. Incidentally, this has reduced the length of the runway to 2,700 metres from 2,850 metres. But this does not mean that the airline companies are unable to operate the modern versions of Boeing and Airbus, the sources said.
Airline companies had expressed their preference to operate Boeing 777-200 Extended Range, Boeing 777-200 Longer Range, Airbus 330-300, Airbus 330-300R, Boeing 777-300 Extended Range, and Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner.
Several organisations and political parties have been seeking resumption of operation of wide-bodied aircraft under Code E ever since the ban was enforced in May 2015. Now a political decision may even be required to speed up the process, the sources said.
29/06/18 The Hindu

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Industry seeks direct air connectivity with Tier I, II cities

Although Nagpur is walking abreast with the national growth rate of 10 per cent in Information Technology (IT) sector, it needs additional push from policy-makers and influencers to make its economy more vibrant. This can be possible if Nagpur has a strong air connectivity with Tier 1 and Tier II cities. Taking serious note of it, the Vidarbha Association of Software Exporters (VASE) and the Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA) have mailed representation to R N Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. After sending representation, Amitabh Khanna, President of VASE recently met R N Choubey in New Delhi and reiterated the demand.

Khanna thanked the Ministry of Civil Aviation for adding flights from Nagpur to Bengaluru and one more flight to Hyderabad. He said: “With growing demand, Nagpur is still to be connected with Chennai. Chennai, along with Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, houses most of the corporates, MNC offices, and have decision-makers. Chennai is the largest industrial and commercial hub of south India.”Khanna said, Chennai has an economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, medical tourism, hardware, manufacturing and financial services. Nagpur should figure in the list of cities which are witnessing industrial and commercial growth and it should have seamless connectivity with Tier I and Tier II cities. “The decision-makers and influencers will like to visit the city in the morning, do their business and leave in evening,” he said.

Nagpur also needed to be connected with Tier II cities like Patna, Ranchi and later Bhopal and Bhubaneswar, too, in the same way as Bengaluru was connected with such cities. “Such a connectivity has made Bengaluru the most desirable city to work in India. It is seamlessly connected with all Tier I and Tier II cities. IT firms in Bengaluru employ about 35 per cent of India’s pool of 2.5 million IT professionals and account for the highest IT-related exports in the country. We in Nagpur also want to achieve similar heights as Bengaluru,” Khanna said. He said, as there is no direct air connectivity to states like Bihar and Jharkhand, people from Nagpur are avoiding to visit these states. If there will be air connectivity, Nagpurians will visit places in Bihar and Jharkhand to explore business opportunities.
29/06/18 Hitavada

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State is owner of Mopa land, clarifies government

Panjim: State government on Thursday sought to clarify that it has given only the Right of Way to GMR Goa Airport Ltd with respect to the land for construction of the Greenfield international airport at Mopa and that the State continues to be owner of the land.

The clarification came days after Congress Mandrem MLA Dayanand Sopte alleged that the land has been mortgaged by GMR Airport to get the loan from the lenders and that the State has no right over it. The MLA had further charged that the company has obtained over Rs 1000 crore loan from the bank, while quoting the cost of the project as Rs 1500 crore only, whereas government record states it is Rs 3000 crore.

The MLA has announced to raise the issue on the Floor of the House during the upcoming monsoon session, next month.

“The Directorate of Civil Aviation, in regard to the statement made by Dayanand Sopte, MLA Mandrem on Mopa Airport Project has clarified that the Government has given only the Right of Way to GMR with respect to the land for construction of the Mopa Airport,” the press statement issued by the Government reads.

“The ownership of the land will remain with the Government and the land is not mortgaged by GMR to get loan from the lenders,” it added.
29/06/18 Goacom

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Pouch with Rs 68,000 & valuables restored to the rightful owner at Delhi airport

New Delhi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Wednesday restored a pouch containing Rs 68 thousand to the rightful owner at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
On June 27, a CISF's duty personnel noticed an unattended pouch lying on the chair in arrival hall seating area at airport terminal 1C. He asked the nearby passenger but no one came forward to collect the pouch.
He immediately informed the matter to the CCTV observer to review the CCTV footage and cordon the area from security point of view. After ascertaining that there was no dangerous or hazardous item inside the pouch, it was opened. On opening the pouch, cash INR 68000/-, one yellow colour metallic bangle, some cards and one arrival boarding pass from Guwahati to Delhi of IndiGo Airlines flight in the name of Mukesh Bardia were found. On reviewing the CCTV footage, it came to light that an arrival passenger had placed that pouch and forgot to collect the same while exiting from terminal building. "Contact detail of Bardia was obtained from the concerned airline. Accordingly, he was contacted and informed about the pouch. The pouch along-with cash and valuables deposited with the Airport Manager which was returned to the said passenger after verification", the CISF release said here on Thursday.
28/06/18 UNI/WebIndia 123

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Mumbai Airport does a first: T1 becomes 1st to offer automated check-in facility

Airlines operating out of the Mumbai airport Terminal 1 (T1) now provide self-bag drop (SBD) facility to passengers, making it the only terminal with such a fully-automated check-in system, a release said today. Besides, the airport operator has also extended the check-in facility to a host of five-star hotels in the city, enabling the passengers to collect their boarding passes from the hotel itself.

All the airlines operating out of T1 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) are now on SBD facility, making T1 the only terminal in the country to have a fully-automated check-in system, Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) said in the release.

MIAL, which runs the Mumbai airport, is the joint venture company between GVK-led consortium and the Airports Authority of India.

According to MIAL, passengers can now use extended check-in facility at some of the hotels here.
29/06/18 PTI/ZeeBiz

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Flyer to Kolkata ‘loses’ trolley bag at airport

Kolkata: The absence of any protocol among airlines to verify checked-in baggage tags at the carousel where passengers claim their luggage has led bags getting switched by mistake or being pilfered. Shaumya Dasgupta, who lives in Bengaluru, was at the receiving end recently when his strolley went missing in a flight to Kolkata.
Among other things, the bag contained his mother’s death certificate that he intended to submit to his lawyer and banks during his stay in Kolkata. The airline has been unable to retrieve the bag and has offered Rs 3,600 as compensation for the luggage that has been lost in transit. Dasgupta, meanwhile, is back in Bengaluru and is doing the rounds of the civic authority there to get duplicates of the lost death certificate.
“I travelled to Kolkata on June 21 on flight 6E 433. After the flight landed, I went to the baggage claim area and waited for the strolley. But it never did. I was anxious about it as it contained, among other things, my mother’s death certificate. I know I shouldn’t have put the documents in the strolley, but I wanted to make sure they didn’t get crumpled. There was an expensive Swiss knife in it too but I was more concerned about getting the bag for the death certificate because without it, my trip would be futile,” recounted Dasgupta.
29/06/18 Times of India

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Mumbai airport: Now you can check in for flight, get boarding pass from these six hotels

To offer more comfort and option to fliers, Mumbai airport has now extended boarding pass, baggage tag and check-in facility to six starred hotels located outside the airport. The facility enables a flier to check in at the kiosks located at these hotels, print the boarding pass and the baggage tags. Post the process, he/she will just have to drop their baggage at the 'self-bag drop' and proceed for security clearance.

These hotel are Sahara Star, Hyatt Regency, Taj Santacruz, ITC Maratha, Hilton Mumbai International Airport and The Lalit. Three hotels/lounges located within the airport premises were among the first to have check-in kiosks. The move will help passengers save their precious time.

A Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said that five more hotels will be soon added to the list.

Terminal 1 of the Mumbai airport is the only terminal in India which have fully automated check-in system. All airlines including Indigo, SpiceJet and GoAir now offer self-bag drop facility.
28/06/18 Economic Times

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AAI to re-work master plan for Puducherry airport expansion

Puducherry: The Airports Authority of India has decided to re-draw the master plan for the Puducherry airport expansion.

The AAI, Puducherry, had prepared a plan for airport expansion by acquiring 114 acres of land in Puducherry and 272 acres from Tamil Nadu side.

The re-work of the master plan became a necessity after the territorial administration flagged AAI the huge cost involved in Puducherry side as the land earmarked for acquisition was in a thickly populated area.

Most part of the 114 acres was meant for airport expansion but with the acquisition in limbo, new residential colonies developed in the area, pointed out an airport official.

The re-drawing of the master plan came up for discussion during a meeting here between Chief Secretary Ashwini Kumar and Chairman of AAI Guruprasad Mohapatra, who made a short visit to Puducherry recently.
“In the meeting, the AAI agreed to re-work the land acquisition plan so that our financial burden was reduced. The residential areas will not be disturbed in the acquisition process,” Mr. Kumar told The Hindu.
28/06/18 Rajesh B Nair/The Hindu

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GMR JV’s international airport terminal in Philippines to start operations from July 1

Mumbai: GMR-Megawide, a 40:60 joint venture between Indian airport operator GMR and the Philippines’ Megawide, is all set to welcome airlines and passengers at its newly-constructed Terminal 2 (T2), the international terminal of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA), from July 1.

The $600-million project is part of the first ‘airport resort’ in the world that GMR-Megawide has been managing since 2015 after winning the concession agreement.

MCIA is the second busiest airport in Philippines and is marketed as a destination in itself for the ever increasing number of tourists in the Philippines, where the tourists inflow reached an all-time high of 6.6 million in the 2017. Cebu is also the gateway to the popular regions of Visayas, the cluster of central islands, and Mindanao in Philippines.

The airport expansion and upgrade will boost the capacity of MCIA to 14 million passengers annually. MCIA handled 10 million passengers in 2017, of which 3.1 million were international, with 260 flights per day. Total international flights operating from MCIA in 2014, when GMR took over the project, was six which has now shot up to 22 and international flights are growing at 20% annually. No Indian carrier, however, flies to MCIA.
28/06/18 Financial Express

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AAI rules shatter many dreams

Thiruvananthapuram: The dream of a house of her own seemed close to be coming true late last year for Thankam, when the construction of her house at Sree Chithra Nagar in Valiyathura, as part of the Pradhan Manthri Awaz Yoajana, was nearing completion. But now, six months later, she is unable to live in the completed house, while money-lenders are visiting everyday, pressurising her to pay back the money she borrowed for the construction, even as the final instalment of PMAY is held up due to technical reasons.

The requirement of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has come as a huge blow for many like Thankam.

The cost of obtaining the NOC, provided only through two approved agencies, who charge close to ₹20,000 is a major issue for many of them.

Without the NOC, the houses will not be given TC numbers from the Corporation.

The final PMAY instalment, of above ₹1 lakh will not be credited to the beneficiaries until the TC number is allocated.
The houses will also not get power and water connections without TC numbers.

“I had thought of building this new house only because I was told I will get all the money through PMAY. My husband had passed away a year before. I had borrowed some money to complete the house.
It was only after the house was completed in December that the rule for NOC from the AAI came up. Because of this, I have not got the final instalment of ₹1.4 lakh from the Corporation. The contractor will not hand over the key until I pay his dues. At the same time, money lenders are also at my doorstep every other day. I am staying with a relative now,” says Ms.Thankam.
28/06/18 SR Praveen/The Hindu

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Does constructing airports with DMF fund address needs of mining-affected people?

Last week, Jharsuguda in Odisha opened a revamped airport to flight operations for passengers. Earlier, it was a small airstrip that could accommodate only small charter flights. About 250 kilometres away, in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh, Chakarbhata airport construction is ongoing.

There is more than one common link between these two airports, which have sprung up around the mining belts of two of India’s top mining states—Odisha and Chhattisgarh. They will both be linked through Air Odisha, a joint venture airline operating under the central government’s flagship scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) to “boost regional connectivity”.  More importantly, some part of the funding for these two airports has come from a fund meant strictly for the mining-affected areas and people. Both airports have diverted part of the money coming to the respective districts under District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for works at the airports.

DMF was instituted under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 2015, to be established as a non-profit trust to “work for the interest and benefit of persons, and areas affected by mining.” The mining companies, which operate, pay a defined proportion of the royalty to DMF as a way of sharing profits with those whose land is being mined upon. However, diverting a part of this fund for construction of local airports is certainly not in the interest of those affected by mining.
27/06/18 Chinmayi Shalya/Down To Earth

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Chennai airport to get a robotic touch soon

Chennai: For the first time, Chennai airport will soon get humanoid robots that will guide passengers and offer assistance with queries.

For a start, there will be three robots in Chennai airport - one each for domestic arrival, domestic departure and international departure.
Officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said they have began discussions with a few Indian companies to buy these robots in a few months.

“We have asked for a few specifications; once these companies get back to us for the next discussion, we will know when it can be installed. We want to have these on a trial basis first and see how useful they are. If passengers like it, then we will have more of them in our airport,” an official said. Officials said, it is not clear yet on how much AAI is likely to spend for these three robots.

From information on flight status to enquiries about which gate to board from, the robots will be able to help passengers with anything and everything, he added. “We haven’t decided if it should be positioned in one place or allowed to be walking around in their terminal. We will look at the security aspect and take a call on that issue,” he said.
28/06/18 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Abrupt weather change upsets Indira Gandhi International schedule

New Delhi: Air passengers had to face a harrowing time at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday evening after a sudden change of weather led to six flights getting diverted, apart from scores of both arrival and departure flights getting delayed.
While the capital witnessed rainfall on Wednesday morning, IGI airport saw rains accompanied with thunderstorms. The weather turned adverse in the evening, between 6.45pm and 7.15pm, which resulted in six arrival flights getting diverted to other nearby airports.
The flights that were diverted included Air India’s flights from Guwahati (AI 890), Varanasi (AI 405), and Patna (AI 408), Jet Airways flights from Jorhat (9W 957) and Patna (9W 731) and IndiGo’s flight from Kolkata (6E 206).
R K Jenamani, head of MeT unit at the IGI Airport, said that while the airport saw thunderstorms since the morning, the weather turned adverse in the evening due to the presence of cumulonimbus clouds, which are dangerous for aircrafts. The change in the wind pattern also resulted in crosswinds, which made it difficult for aircrafts to land at the airport.
28/06/18 Times of India

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Mohali airport open on Sundays too

Mohali: The international airport here will be open on Sundays also from now on. However, the airport timings will be from 1 pm to 6:30 pm on Sundays.
Six flights are scheduled to take off from the airport this Sunday. While three of them will be for Delhi, one each will go to Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
In October last year, flight operations were suspended for Sundays due to runway upgrade. The duration of the airport timings will also be increased as upgrade process has been completed.
27/06/18 Tribune

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Hubballi gets two more flights from today

Hubballi: IndiGo will start its daily flight service from Hubballi to Kochi and Goa from Thursday (June 28), under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme.
A 72-seater ATR flight will leave Hubballi at 5.40 pm and reach Goa at 6.35 pm. In the return direction, it will take off from Goa at 6.55 pm and land in Hubballi at 7.50 pm. From Kochi, the Hubballi flight will leave at 1.50 pm and reach here at 4 pm. From Hubballi, it will take off at 8.10 pm and land in Kochi at 10.15 pm.
From July 1, IndiGo will operate A320 flights from Hubballi to Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
27/06/18 Deccan Herald

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Heavy rain hits flight services in Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur: The Gorakhpur airport was closed and flights to Delhi were cancelled after heavy rains lashed the Uttar Pradesh city throwing normal life out of gear.

The programme of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was scheduled to return to Gorakhpur today after inspecting a rally venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Maghar, was changed due to rains here.

Modi will address a public rally and lay the foundation stone of a research institute at Maghar tomorrow.

Heavy rainfall since last night has caused water logging in several parts of Gorakhpur and mobile water pumps have been deployed in many localities, officials said.

The Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath airport was closed after "rain water came on the runway", airport director B S Meena said.

"Both Air India and SpiceJet flights to Delhi are cancelled as rain water came on the runway," he said.
27/06/18 PTI/India Today

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Bagdogra bottleneck hinders more flights between India, Bangladesh

India and Bangladesh are keen to expand bilateral air services but are hampered by inadequate infrastructure at Bagdogra, one of the key airports on this side.

In a recent media interaction at Indian Hill destination Darjeeling, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali expressed his country’s interest on service between Bagdogra and Dhaka.

The unique geographic location of Bagdogra (IXB) near Siliguri makes it a gateway for half of West Bengal, North East region, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. Besides a direct link to all major Indian destinations, it offers regular services to Paro in Bhutan and Bangkok. Bagdogra is just 20 km from the nearest Indo-Bangla immigration point and Land Customs Station at Fulbari.

“Service between Bagdogra and Dhaka can be a highly successful one that can boost bilateral commercial activities significantly. It is in our wish list since long,” said CII North Bengal Chapter Chairman Kamal Tiwary. His view was shared by Mostofa Sohrab Chowdhury, president, Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) from Bangladesh.
27/06/18 Debasis Sarkar/Economic Times

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Surat airport extension: AAI officials blamed of corruption

A lawyer has alleged officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for corruption at Surat airport and sought an inquiry from the Chief Vigilance Commissioner. Yeshwanth Shenoy in his letter, written to the chief vigilance commissioner, has alleged officials to give permission to extend the runway of Surat airport ignoring the obstacles in the funnel area of the airport.

The letter stated, "The extension of Surat runway was proposed in February 2015 because there was a big pothole right at the centre of the runway. Since re-carpeting will not be cost-effective, an extension was proposed. The reason then given was that extension of the runway will benefit the airport as it will allow larger aircraft to land. However, a number of communications were exchanged between AAI officials and the Surat airport director highlighting that no aircraft larger than the ones already approved can be operated, even if the runway is extended. Another letter written by the Executive Director Operations was written stating that action must be taken to reduce the height of obstacle before the proposed extension.
28/06/18 DNA

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Increase in gold seizures at Mohali airport

Mohali: Having opened after a three-week closure on June 1, the international airport here has witnessed a spurt in gold-smuggling attempts. In the first 27 days, there have been seven seizures, of which five were made by customs staff and two by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
The latest seizure was made on Tuesday when a flier was caught hiding gold worth Rs 28 lakh below his seat. The eight gold biscuits, weighing 933 grams, were covered with tape and were found below a seat of the aircraft that had arrived from Dubai. However, the passenger refused to claim the gold and a case was registered against an unknown person.
The previous seizure was made by the DRI, wherein a Ludhiana resident was caught hiding 10 gold biscuits in his rectum. He had returned from Bangkok and the 760 gram of gold recovered from him was worth Rs 21 lakh. A few days before this incident, a Delhi resident was arrested by the customs staff for possession of gold worth Rs 10.29 lakh. The gold was in the form of beads on three burkhas.
The biggest haul this year came on January 30, when two passengers returning from Dubai were found carrying over 8 kg of gold which was worth at least Rs 2.25 crore. The accused were carrying 35 gold biscuits each.
28/06/18 Tribune

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A multi-airport plan that can boost Indian aviation

India is witnessing phenomenal growth in the aviation sector. Currently, we are the world’s third largest domestic aviation market behind the USA and China. International Air Transport Association (IATA), the premier trade association of world airlines, has forecasted that by mid-2020, India is expected to displace the United Kingdom as the third largest aviation market in the world.
But this skyrocketing growth is resulting in the country’s airports running out of capacity. Having aimed to achieve 1 billion passenger trips in the next 10-15 years, the government is aware that this cannot be achieved with existing airport capacities. Therefore, it has launched an initiative called NABH (Next-Gen Airports for Bharat) Nirman to expand capacities five folds — Rs 1 lakh crore will be invested towards this aim within the next five years.
This will usher in a new era of multi-airport system (MAS) in our country. MAS is defined as two or more significant airports serving commercial air traffic in a metropolitan area. That means development of greenfield airports (new airports on fresh land) in Delhi/Jewar, Mumbai, Pune etc. will result in these areas having flights from multiple airports.
The reasons for evolution of MAS vary across the world. In the US and Europe, this model emerged due to development of secondary airports. In Asia, it was due to capacity constraints at existing airports.
But world over, the MAS is being seen as an effective solution to airport congestion problems and to meet future demands. Even in Asia, cities of Osaka, Manila, Jakarta, Tehran, Islamabad, Colombo and Bangkok have MAS. Airports located within a distance of 125 km or a driving time of one-two hours from a city centre can also be a part of the MAS.
27/06/18 Times of India

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India 'boost' to Heathrow expansion

London: The two Indian origin Labour MPs with constituencies closest to Heathrow - Virendra Sharma in Ealing Southall and Seema Malhotra in Feltham and Heston - were among those who supported the government when the long delayed plan to build a third runway at Britain premier airport was approved by 415 votes to 119, a majority of 296.

An expanded Heathrow would be good for India, Sharma argued.

He said: "Thousands of young people in my constituency will have access to high quality jobs and rigorous apprenticeships to qualify them for the jobs.

"An expanded Heathrow is not just an airport for West London, it is a nationwide and worldwide hub, with more flights in and out of Heathrow we can expect more direct flights to India and other increasingly important UK trade partners. The government is investing in a global Britain."

The plans will create 114,000 extra jobs in the area around the airport by 2030, with an extra 16 million long-haul seats by 2040, according to officials.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling said support for the new runway would set a "Lear path to our future as a global nation in the post-Brexit world. This is a really important moment in the history of this House and the history of this country."

But never have Britain's political classes been so bitterly divided, not just on Brexit, but also on crucial issues such as the expansion of Heathrow, which will be just about the biggest infrastructural project the country will witness in the next 20 years or so.

An hour before MPs voted, police locked down the Central Lobby, adjacent to the Commons, after 12 chanting protesters sprawled across the floor.

Eight Conservative MPs rebelled to vote against Heathrow expansion while 286 Tories supported the third runway. The eight included the former Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers, as well as Greg Hands, who quit as a trade minister ahead of the vote so he could oppose the plans which he dubbed "fundamentally flawed".
27/06/17 Amit Roy/Telegraph

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Tamil Nadu’s Hosur airport stuck in Kempegowda International Airport clause

Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) authorities’ refusal to grant a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for the Hosur airport to become operational might have hampered the Tamil Nadu government’s plan to get its UDAN project sooner.
However, a number of flights to various Tamil Nadu airports have commenced in the last few months from KIA and a couple more are lined up to start operations soon.
In February, AirAsia India started flight services between Bengaluru and Chennai. The airline had resumed services after a gap of about two years and is operating three flights on the Bengaluru-Chennai route.
Similarly, Indigo has also started flight services from Bengaluru to Tiruchirappalli.
The Salem airport which started operating flights under the UDAN scheme a couple of months ago has a flight service from Bengaluru.
27/06/18 Bangalore Mirror

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Bagdogra on Bangla radar for ties boost

Darjeeling: The Bangladesh government is keen on air connectivity to Bagdogra for improving trade and tourism with north Bengal, Nepal and Bhutan.
Interacting with journalists at Darjeeling Press Club, Bangladesh high commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali said the Sheikh Hasina government was in favour of flight services to Bagdogra and a visa facility at Siliguri.
“Not only will this improve trade ties between India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. it will provide people of this region better access to Bangladesh and the rest of southeast Asia,” he said.
At present, Bangladeshis have to travel to Kolkata and then to Bagdogra or New Jalpaiguri. Indians residing in north Bengal need to travel to Kolkata to apply for a Bangladesh visa. Once a visa facility is available in Siliguri, travel documents can be processed there. Currently, the only international flight operating at Bagdogra is a Bhutan Airlines flight.
27/06/18 Deep Gazmer/Times of India

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Muck, water welcome flyers at Surat airport

Surat: Even as Surat airport has been designated as the immigration checkpost, the passenger amenities have gone for a toss.
A picture has gone viral on social media, where passengers boarding an aircraft had to walk through a pool of water and mud at the airport tarmac after city witnessed heavy rain on Monday.
The picture was taken by one of the passenger boarding the SpiceJet flight on Monday and posted it on Instagram. The picture went viral from Instagram to other social media, including Facebook and Whatsapp, inviting anger from people in the city.
RTI activist Rajesh Modi posted the picture on Twitter and tagged SpiceJet to provide bus service to passengers from the departure area to the airport tarmac in order to ensure that they have a safe entry into the plane without wading in mud and water and getting wet in the rain.
The official Twitter handle of SpiceJet acknowledged the message and reverted saying, “Thanks for notifying. We shall relay the details to the concerned team for necessary action.”
27/06/18 Times of India

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Flight to Sharjah: Airport groups fight for relevance

Surat: A fight for relevance is going on between two airport groups ahead of the launch of international flight operations from Surat to Sharjah. The airport groups are involved in a verbal duel ever since the central government designated Surat airport as an authorized immigration check-post through a gazette notification last week.
As soon as the immigration checkpost was approved, ‘We Work For A Working Airport At Surat’ (WWWAS) announced that Air India Express planned to launch a direct flight service between Surat and Sharjah by mid-August.
Two days ago, ‘Surat Airport Action Committee’ (SAAC), the other group, announced that Air India Express will start its Surat-Sharjah service only from September 1. SAAC president Sanjay Ezhawa stated that AI Express has applied for a slot at Surat airport and once it gets approved, the service may begin from September 1. Ezhawa said he had met Air India Express CEO Shyam Sunder and that the airline plans to commence Surat-Sharjah service only from September 1, provided customs and immigration infrastructure was ready and a separate facility is provided for boarding and de-boarding of passengers.
Surat airport sources said Air India Express is looking for morning slot, but the airport remains congested in the morning hours with many flights.
27/06/18 Times of India

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Air India withdraws decision to stop morning Nagpur-Mumbai flight

Nagpur: Air India had unofficially announced that the flight would be suspended from July 12. The reason cited was, the aircraft flying on Mumbai sector was to be diverted for serving Haj pilgrim till August 4.

Sensing the need of frequent flyers especially trader community of Nagpur, Nagpur Today had promptly raised the issue and brought to the fore the anguish regarding Air India’s decision. Following the reaction on the news Air India eventually put a second thought to its decision and decided to continue flight operations.

Moreover, suspending the flights would have brought more trouble to the leaders travelling to Nagpur to attend forth coming monsoon session of Maharashtra State Legislature, to be held in Nagpur after a gap of 47 years from July 4. Taking note of the situation, Nagpur Divisional Commissioner Anoop Kumar wrote a letter to Chief Secretary of Maharashtra D K Jain and sent copies to Principal Secretary of Maharashtra State Legislature Dr Anant Kalse;
27/06/18 Nagpur Today

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Rangeilunda runway revamp ushers in Udan hope

Berhampur: A detailed project report for the provision of a 1,500-metre-long runway in Rangeilunda airstrip has rekindled hopes of the facility becoming operational for the public.
Public and works department (division II) executive engineer P.K. Das, who is in charge of the airstrip, on Tuesday said the length of the present runway was 895 metres. "We have prepared the report to expand the runway to a 1,500-metre one, which would cost Rs 33 crore. The report had been submitted to the government for final approval last month to facilitate taking off and landing of flights under the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (Udan) scheme at Rangeilunda," said Das.
Rangeilunda airport is located at a distance of around 12km from Berhampur. It is adjacent to the Berhampur University campus. Britishers had built the air base during the World War II, and it has remained as an airstrip since then. At present, the defence establishment, officials of state government, private companies and the VIPs use the facility to reach Berhampur and other places in south Odisha, sources said.
In 2017, the works' executive engineer had submitted a report to the state government to expand the runway to 1,820 metres to facilitate take off and landing of the 40-seater planes. But, the government suggested curtailing the proposed length of the runway from 1,820 to 1,500 metres.
27/06/18 Sunil Patnaik

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TVS tollgate to get vertical garden as part of airport facelift

Trichy: Trichy Corporation has proposed a beautification drive at TVS tollgate and Pudukottai Road, which is considered as the gateway to access Trichy International Airport. The civic body has obtained the required permission from stakeholders including state and national highways to raise a vertical garden facility with creepers to reduce the carbon emissions as well as give a green welcome for tourists entering the city.
Trichy city witnesses at least three lakh floating population on an average on any given day, as it serves as a hub for roadways, railways and airways. With tourists and visitors heading to central districts through the city, Trichy’s gateways, including TVS tollgate reels under the menace of open urination and posters spamming the walls. TVS tollgate, a junction where vehicles heading to Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Chennai, Madurai and Trichy meet, the pillars of flyover on Chennai-Madurai national highway and also the compound wall of SETC bus depot diagonally opposite to Jamal Mohamed College stink due to poor sanitation and lack of support among public.
“At least 4,500 passengers visit Trichy International Airport every day. Such footfall would also attract the friends and families of air users to send off and receive them.
TVS tollgate being the gateway for airport should be beautified to project Trichy as clean and green city among incoming visitors,” H Ubaidullah, independent aviation analyst said.
27/06/18 Deepak Karthik/Times of India

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Kerala HC allows reopening of duty-free shop at Trivandrum International Airport

Kochi: The Kerala high court on Tuesday allowed reopening of the duty free shop at Trivandrum International Airport that was closed following alleged tax evasion and illegal sales of liquor by misusing traveler data.
An interim order allowing reopening of the duty-free shop run by Namakkal, Tamil Nadu-based Plus Max Duty Free Pvt Ltd was issued by the court after considering a petition filed by the company challenging the orders issued by Customs cancelling its licence and directing closure of the shop.
The company had stated in the petition that there as unauthorized access of its database in December last year, particularly documents to be submitted to Customs, and that a police complaint was lodged at Namakkal. On the basis of an anonymous complaint, Customs issued summons to the company’s local manager and inspected its warehouse and duty free shop but got no incriminatory evidence.
Enquiry by customs continued and customs commissioner Sumit Kumar issued an order suspending the company’s licence and superintendent of Air Customs of the airport ordered for closing the shop, the petition said.
26/06/18 Times of India

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Travel Food Services wins big at the 7th Annual Airport FAB Awards in Finland

Travel Food Services (TFS), Travel F&B and Retail Company, emerged with the highest tally of awards among Indian companies, taking home four awards at the prestigious Airport Food and Beverage Awards held in Helsinki, Finland on 21 June, 2018. The master concessionaire won two Global and two Regional awards, making it the first Indian company with these many wins at the FAB 2018 Awards. This also marked the second year in a row that TFS has been felicitated at the international platform for its novel concepts, impeccable services and customer-centric approach. 

Travel Food Services’ concepts The Irish House at Indira Gandhi International Airport won the global award for the Airport bar of the year and Frshly at Chennai International Airport was pronounced global winner for New Food and Beverage concept of the year. In addition, Travel Club Lounge at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was named regional winner (for Middle East, Africa and India) under the category for Airport Food & Beverage Offer Best Reflecting Sense of Place, and ID at Chennai International Airportwas named Airport Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year for Middle East, Africa and India (as regional winner).

Travel Food Services was awarded in the following categories at the FAB 2018 Awards: Airport Bar of the Year (under US$3 million in sales), Global winner: Travel Food Services, The Irish House, Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Food & Beverage Concept of the Year, Global winner: Travel Food Services, Frshly, Chennai International Airport, Airport Food & Beverage Offer Best Reflecting Sense of Place, Regional winner (Middle East, Africa & India): Travel Food Services, Travel Club, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Airport Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year (under US$5 million and Best Overall), Regional winner (Middle East, Africa & India): Travel Food Services, ID, Chennai International Airport.
27/06/18 ee

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Gir zone opens at airport, lions roar welcome

Ahmedabad: Flyers who land in Ahmedabad will now be welcomed at the domestic terminal by the royal roar of Gujarat’s pride. The terminal offers a glimpse of Asiatic lions of Sasan Gir, their only abode in the world. A replica of Gir forest has been conceptualised by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has allotted an 11,000 sq feet area between the arrival and departure terminals. This forest zone features lifesize replicas of lions, black bucks, eagles, leopards, and few other animals that are found in Gir.
“Apart from the objective of giving a glimpse of the Gir forests, the replicas are a marketing tool and can facilitate mass awareness,” said Parimal Nathwani, Rajya Sabha member and group president (corporate affairs), RIL. Nathwani inaugurated the forest zone called ‘The Gir’on Tuesday. Accompaning him was Lok Sabha MP and actor Paresh Rawal. “Ahmedabad airport is likely to house an aviation museum in future,” Rawal said. “J R D Tata, considered the father of civil aviation in India, made the country’s maiden voyage from Juhu airport to Drigh airstrip, Karachi, via Ahmedabad in October 1932.”
27/06/18 Times of India

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KSRTC to begin Airport smart bus service ​trial run from first week of July

Thiruvananthapuram: Air passengers could reclaim the loss on their tickets if they miss their flight due to a delay by KSRTC’s new bus service. The offer could be part of the ‘airport smart bus’ service which will connect airports in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Karipur with the city centre. The service will begin its trial run from the first week of July.

“The bus routes are yet to be fixed; it will depend on the demands of the passengers,” said Pradeep Kumar, mechanical engineer, KSRTC. “The Corporation is planning to provide compensation to passengers if they miss their flight due to a delay in bus service, once the service becomes popular, ” he said. Currently, passengers have to depend primarily on cab services to and from the airport. However, with the launch of smart bus services, travelling from the airport to railway and bus stations will become easy.

The service will be operated with rented buses during the one-month pilot phase. An agreement has been signed with Force Motors by the Corporation for the trial run. Similar to electric bus service, the driver and bus will be provided by Force Motors, while the conductor and fuel will be provided by KSRTC.
27/06/18 New Indian Express

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CISF Transfers Cop Who Strip-Searched Pregnant Woman At Guwahati Airport

Guwahati: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Tuesday said that the woman Sub-Inspector, who allegedly strip-searched a pregnant lady at Guwahati airport has been transferred from screening duty to training.
"CISF woman Sub-Inspector has been transferred from screening duty to training. CISF has expressed regret on the behalf of woman Sub-Inspector to the complainant," the CISF said in a statement.

The CISF also assured that the matter will be enquired thoroughly.

"CISF has taken cognizance of victim's complaint and the matter was enquired into. A new Sub-Inspector was deployed for conducting the screening duty," the CISF added.
27/06/18 IANS/Times of India

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CISF uses metal detector to frisk pregnant flyer

Guwahati: The CISF has launched a probe into reports of a pregnant woman being frisked on Sunday by using a metal detector at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport here.
The incident took place when the woman and her husband reached the airport to board a plane to Delhi. Sources at the airport said that a woman CISF officer frisked her allegedly by using a metal detector.
A metal detector is not supposed to be used on any expecting mother as it can harm the fetus. Director of LGBI Airport BK Tailong said the incident took place during a routine security check at the airport where several smuggling attempts were foiled recently.
27/06/18 Kangkan Kalita/Times of India

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'Name J'Suguda airport after Sai'

Bhubaneswar: Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik on Tuesday wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu urging him to name the Jharsuguda Airport after legendary freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai.

“Veer Surendra Sai was a heroic son of western Oidhsa. It will be proper to name the Jharsuguda Airpor should after his name,” mentioned Patnaik in his letter.

Notably, the Jharsuguda Airport would be made operational from July 5, as per the Government plan. The airport has been added under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Admi) scheme.
27/06/18 Pioneer

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Cross runway operations suspended at Chennai airport

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India has suspended cross runway operations at the Chennai airport following an incident in which two aircraft happened to be on the same runway at the same time recently.
Cross runway operations — wherein both the main and secondary runways are used at the same time — began on a trial basis in January this year.
But sometime ago, a Coast Guard aircraft and a passenger aircraft were found on the same airstrip. This worried the AAI officials. Hence, they decided to stop cross runway operations.
27/06/18 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Ahmedabad airport to get a facelift ahead of VGS 19

Ahmedabad: Visitors to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January 2019 may get to see the Ahmedabad airport in an entirely different avatar. According to those in the know of things, the international and domestic terminals are set to get a major facelift.

As part of the airport beautification project, Ahmedabad Airport Authority (AAA) has planned to significantly increasing the green cover inside and around both the airports. This will also include getting imported plants to give a rich feel to the airport.

Major focus of the project is on improving cleanliness and hygiene on campus. AAA will spend approximately Rs3 crore on state-of-the-art ‘mechanised environmental support service system’ which will help keep the airport clean.
Talking to Mirror, Parimal Nathwani, group president (Corporate Affairs) at Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) which is part of the project, said, “We have been maintaining Ahmedabad airport premises for a few years. We wish to beautify the airport area by increasing the green cover. We are also planning to import plants from abroad.”

Nathwani added they plan to install a stone structure with the words ‘I Love Ahmedabad Airport’ sculpted on it, with a miniature plane hanging beside it. This structure will be 100-feet-long and eight-feet-high, he added.
27/06/18 Kuldeep Tiwari/Ahmedabad Mirror

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Some Kerala exporters illegally transporting perishable goods to Gulf via Madurai airport post Nipah outbreak: TNCCI

Madurai: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce & Industry (TNCCI) has cautioned the exporters of Tamil Nadu by exposing a case where some Kerala exporters have illegally tried to transport perishable goods to Gulf countries via Madurai since such exports have been banned by them post Nipah Virus outbreak.

Talking to KNN India about this, Chamber’s President N Jegatheesan said, “One of our members pointed this out to us after which a Kerala number vehicle carrying perishable goods- fruits, vegetables and meat – was found near Madurai airport.”

United Arab Emirates (UAE) in May had banned import of fresh fruits and vegetables from Kerala in the wake of outbreak of Nipah virus (NiV) in the state.

According to some reports, it was indicated that the main host of the disease is the fruit bat, where the virus is transmitted through secretions from the bat to the fruit that it feeds on or touches.

Mangoes, dates and bananas are the bat's most preferred fruit. There have been cases of transmission of the disease among humans and between humans and animals as well.
27/06/18 Knn

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Cial floats tender for utility vehicle

Kochi:  Cochin International Airport Ltd(Cial) has floated a tender for a new mobile command post vehicle, which will be the operations centre in case of an emergency at the airport.
The vehicle which will be purchased by Cial for around Rs 2 crore will include a conference table, CCTV cameras, pneumatic telescopic mounted thermal cameras and lockers. “During an emergency, airport director will guide all security operations from mobile command post,” said Cial official. The vehicle will have a chassis of a reputable company. The special utility vehicle must have a minimum 20 KVA power generator, LED mast flood lights, 5 KVA UPS, a conference room, a retractable canopy, beacon lights, video conferencing facilities, real-time video streaming, a camera mounted on a pneumatically operated mast of sufficient height and LED television video wall along with other requirements.
The driver’s compartment must be modified to be resistant against noise, vibrations, and high temperatures. Furthermore, the window of the vehicle will be modified into the single window o allow viewing from inside the vehicle.
26/06/18 Vikram Vinod/Times of India

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Airport hill cutting ops cancelled after downpour

Navi Mumbai: The season’s heaviest rainfall so far in the last 24 hours disrupted Ulwe hill blasting operations for the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) project on Monday. Blasting of the hill could not be carried out neither in the 1pm to 2pm slot nor between 5pm and 6pm.
Ulwe node received 238mm rainfall in the 24 hours from Sunday 4pm, Cidco officials said. Cidco monitors rainfall in the various nodes under its jurisdiction. The hill operations had to stop as water entered into the holes drilled at the blasting site. The rain water had to be first drained out before explosives could be placed, said sources associated with the hill operations.
The high flood level is 4.5m and the airport will be developed at a height of 8m. Currently, the hill is being cut and levelled at 5.5m level. Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) will level it further by 2.5m to build the runway and other infra for the airport.
Cidco-appointed Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune, a central government body will study the level of the airport from the mean sea level, rise in the water level and amount of rainfall.
26/06/18 Times of India

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Indian-origin hotelier wants independent process for Heathrow expansion

London: One of the UKs leading Indian-origin hoteliers, Surinder Arora, today welcomed Parliaments go-ahead for the expansion of London's Heathrow Airport but also called for an independent process to determine the best project to deliver it.

At a crucial House of Commons vote yesterday, MPs approved controversial plans to build a third runway at the west London airport by 415 votes to 119. While the vote has been welcomed by businesses as a historic decision, environmental groups have concerns over its impact.

The vote to build the runway at Europe's busiest airport came after decades of bitter debate.

Arora, who had unveiled his own plans for the so-called western hub of the airport last month, welcomed the vote as a step in the right direction.

"This stamp of approval from MPs for Heathrow expansion is a vital further step but there now needs to be an independent process to determine who can best deliver each element of the expansion, said the founder and chairman of the Arora Group.

He stressed that his groups plans to deliver the full extra capacity via a Westerly campus deliver significant cost savings and break the current monopoly at the airport, which "overcharges" airlines and passengers.

Costs must be kept down for the expansion to work and Heathrow's track record should be a cause for concern," Arora warned.

The Punjab-born hotelier believes his plans, designed by architects Corgan, offer the best value for money, with an estimated cost for the airport expansion of around 14.4 billion pounds. The competing scheme, from the existing airport company Heathrow Airport Limited, reportedly comes in at around 31 billion pounds.
26/06/18 Aditi Khanna/PTI/India Today

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Air connectivity to Hubballi gets UDAN push, IndiGo begins ops

Hubballi:  With another low-cost airline, IndiGo, commencing its operations to Hubballi, air connectivity from the city to other parts of the country will get a much-needed boost.

The number of flight schedules will be almost doubled by July 1,  thanks to PM Narendra Modi’s ambitious regional connectivity initiative. More flights are expected to fly from the city as SpiceJet has planned to connect Colombo and Dubai in addition to national capital Delhi in the coming days.

The city has benefited a lot from the regional connectivity scheme, UDAN (Ude Deshka Aam Nagarik). Four small budget airliners were chosen in second round bidding by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
26/06/18 Pramodkumar Vaidya/New Indian Express

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Pregnant woman stripped, searched at Assam airport

New Delhi: In a shocking incident, a pregnant women was allegedly “strip-searched” at Guhawati airport after a woman CISF staff wanted to verify her pregnancy. The incident took place on the Sunday when woman and her husband were on their way to Delhi after attending the last rituals of her father in Assam.

Shivam Sarmah and his wife Doli Goswami were travelling from Guwahati to Delhi on Sunday by Spicejet flight SG-169. Doli is 25 weeks pregnant with no complexity.

“I requested Spicejet staff for a wheelchair at Guwahati airport which they provided. However, the airline asked multiple questions on pregnancy for about 20 minutes before providing boarding passes. We were carrying the doctor’s prescription slip but left it in check in a bag after airline staff stopped us from carrying too many hand bags,” Mr Sarmah added.

“When we approached the security check, the CISF staff did not hand over the boarding pass and  asked my wife to show proof of her pregnancy. I told woman CISF staff Sujata about her pregnancy and even shown her June 12 Delhi to Guwahati flight boarding pass. My wife has lost her father on June 11 night. We did not face any problem in Delhi. But in Guwahati, the CISF staff insisted about proof of pregnancy. Finally, she asked my wife to accompany her to a room and she was forced to undress. The CISF woman officer also pushed her abdomen to check pregnancy manually,” said Mr Sarmah.
26/06/18 Sunil Thapliyal/Asian Age

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Congestion may force private jets to look for alternative airports

New Delhi: People flying business jets to Bengaluru and Hyderabad may soon be landing at the older airports in those cities as the aviation ministry is looking at a proposal to shift business aircraft movements out of congested airports in big cities.
The proposal was discussed in a meeting convened by aviation secretary RN Choubey last month and Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) has been asked to prepare a list of alternative airports, people familiar with the development said.
“We have been asked to identify alternate airports for general aviation flights in the country,” BAOA managing director RK Bali said. “Not all cities have alternate airports available but some of them have alternate airports, which we are going to suggest should be made available within 25 to 30 km, immediately and/or in the medium or long term,” he told ET.
For example, according to industry insiders, while alternative airports in Mumbai and Delhi may not be immediately available, in Hyderabad and Bengaluru older airports can be used for business Jet operations.
26/06/18 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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New outlet sells reasonably priced beverages at Pune airport

Pune: Now, you can have a cup of tea or coffee at the airport without burning a hole in your pocket.
An outlet selling beverages at affordable prices was unveiled at the city airport on Monday. While it will charge Rs 10 for a bottle of water, a cup of tea will cost Rs 20 and coffee, Rs 25.
Currently, there are around 12 outlets inside the terminal building which mainly sell snacks and beverages. The airport lounge-cum-restaurant has been under renovation for more than two months now.
The airport authorities said the plan to sell products at affordable prices was conceptualised around a year ago and it had become a reality now. Similar outlets selling food items at reasonable rates will come up in the near future.
“Passengers have always complained about the exorbitant price of food and beverages being sold both inside and outside the terminal building. We have been making efforts to provide all options to the people. Currently, there is a restaurant located on the premises which serve South Indian food at affordable rates. With the opening of the outlet inside the building, we feel passengers’ choices will increase,” an airport official told TOI.
26/06/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Curbs on new flights on two days a week

Visakhapatnam: No new flights will be allowed between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Visakhapatnam International Airport, if the proposed restrictions on operation of commercial flights, to come into effect from Nov 1, are any indication. Navy officials had agreed to reduce the number of exclusive military flying slots from the originally proposed 5 hours to 3 hours after a hue and cry was raised by air travellers. The Navy had agreed to have dedicated military slots only between 9.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) Chief had assured Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during a meeting convened by the latter that international flights would be allowed even during the military slots.

It was proposed to have mixed operations for civil and military flights from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at a meeting organised by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) with officials of the Indian Navy and scheduled domestic airline operators on June 15 in New Delhi .

Though existing flights will not be curtailed, military flights will be accorded priority, and the meeting proposed not to allow new flights during those two hours.
26/06/18 B. Madhu Gopal/The Hindu

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Airport ground staffer in trauma after lightning strike

Kolkata: A lightning strike near the airport sent a Jet Airways baggage loader into shock on Monday morning. Though Sami Das, 25, did not suffer any external injury, doctors who assessed his health said he was in trauma and had been admitted to the ESI Hospital at Kankurgachhi for observation.
A fortnight ago, a similar lightning strike had resulted in the death of a cricketer at south Kolkata’s Vivekananda Park. Doctors determined Debabrata Pal, 21, had a cardiac arrest following the lightning.
Monday’s incident occured around 8.50am when Das was trying to manouvre a luggage trolley on which bags were being offloaded from a Jet Airways flight. Witnesses said they saw a flash followed by an explosive noise as lightning struck the ground somewhere close.
According to another airline ground staff, Das was thrown off the trolley, probably by an electromagnetic pulse from the lightning strike. Stunned, he lay on the ground as others rushed to his rescue.
“We rushed him to a health facility at the airport that is operated by a private firm. The doctors who examined him said he did not suffer a direct strike but seemed to have been indirectly affected by it. He seemed in deep trauma. So we took him to ESI Hospital for observation,” said an employee of JSMC, an agency that offers ground handling services to Jet Airways in Kolkata. Das in an employee of JSMC.
Doctors at ESI Hospital said the trauma was owing to fear. “The patient was terrified on experiencing lightning at such close quarters. He is in shock," a doctor said.
26/06/18 Times of India

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AAI plans to rent coaches for airlines’ use on tarmac

Pune: The airport officials are planning to rent around 15 buses and provide them to airlines to ferry passengers to and from the terminal building to the aircraft.
“We are trying to get the new system in place and are talking to all the airlines. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) intends to rent the buses for use by the airlines. If any airline intends to use the buses, they can contact AAI and they will be provided to them at a cost per passenger basis. While the details are being reviewed presently, we have started to talk to the airlines in this connection. Some of them have evinced interest while we are yet to get confirmation from a few. Once all the airlines agree, a commercial tender will be floated in this connection,” an official told TOI. The official said that while regulations regarding the use of buses in the airport’s apron area were being relaxed, the plan will also earn AAI additional income.
"“With the apron area of the airport being small in size, it doesn’t allow free movement of coaches all the time like in other airports. However, there have been demands from passengers and we have been tryinWWg to relax the norms. We have made some calculations and feel that each airline will need at least two buses,” the official pointed out.
Airlines which operate maximum number of flights from Pune airport are IndiGo, SpiceJet and Jet. Airlines like GoAir, Vistara, Air India and Alliance Air too have considerable number of flights from the airport. German airline Lufthansa has one flight from Pune but operates six times a week.
25/06/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Flights to be rescheduled for airport taxiway work

Chennai: Two international flights may have to be rescheduled and a majority of domestic flights will have to use the second runway as Airports Authority of India (AAI) takes up maintenance work on the main runway.
Four rapid exit taxiways have been under construction, and the work to link them to the main runway will begin next month. For this, the runway will have to remain closed during daytime, for about nine months.
The runway will be closed in two phases - from 12.30pm to 8pm in July and August, and from 10am to 6pm from September.
The daily departure of a Saudia Airlines flight which usually takes off at 12.30pm has been advanced to 11.15am; an Air India flight and a Cathay Pacific flight will also be rescheduled.
AAI is making four rapid exit taxiways for use by narrow-body planes and a parallel taxiway on the northern side of the main runway.

The main runway now has a rapid exit taxiway which can be used by wide-body planes operated on international sectors. Such taxiways enable more landings and take-offs.
26/06/18 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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Veggie exports await Amritsar-London flight

Amritsar: Exports of perishables such as baby corn, snow peas, sugar snap, okra and other vegetables from Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh to Europe continue to suffer despite Air India increasing flight frequency from Amritsar to the UK. The national carrier is currently operating thrice a week from the Amritsar airport.
Recently, the airline has started one more flight to the European destination on every Saturday. It had started twice a week Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham flight from February 2 this year.
The agri-export community of the region says that Air India's decision to increase the Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham flight is of little help. Exporters have been demanding a direct flight between Amritsar and London to deliver fresh product at a competitive rate.
Farmers say that Birmingham is not the ideal destination for the exports of perishables. "Exporters, not only from the Majha (a region of Punjab) but also from adjoining states of Himachal and J&K are disappointed by Air India's decision to increase flight frequency to Birmingham as they wanted a direct flight to London," said Kuljit Singh, a farmer from Mahal village.
The AI had pressed a Boeing 777 on this route with a perishable cargo capacity of 24 tonnes. So, there is required infrastructure, but absence of ideal destination is the main stumbling block. 
Currently, exports of perishables from the region to England through the airport are almost negligible, said Amritsar Airport Director Manoj Chansoria.
25/06/18 Neeraj Bagga/Tribune

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