Vistara adds 62 new flights from Mumbai, offers this to IndusInd Bank Credit Card users

Mumbai: Vistara is all set to expand its services from Mumbai. It has planned to increase the daily frequency of Flights from Mumbai to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Amritsar and Chandigarh.

According to the Vistara website, it has added 62 new flights out of the financial capital of the country, Mumbai. These new flights represent an over 50% increase in the size of the company's network, with 170 flights a day across 24 destinations operated by a fleet of 23 Airbus A320 and 6 Boeing 737-800NG aircraft.
Additionally, Vistara has increased its daily frequency on Mumbai - Kolkata sector from 1x to 3x; Mumbai - Goa from 1x to 2x; Mumbai - Bengaluru from 5x to 6x; Mumbai - Hyderabad from 1x to 3x daily.

Now, bookings for these new routes are open on all channels, including Vistara’s website www.airvistara.com, Vistara’s iOS and Android mobile apps, and through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and travel agents.

Vistara is also offering reward points to IndusInd Bank credit card owners. They can now convert the IndusInd Bank Reward Points to Club Vistara Points for benefits like Award Flights and Upgrade Awards.

Customer can Convert 1 Reward Point of Premium IndusInd Bank Credit Card to 1 CV Point and 2 Reward Points of other IndusInd Bank Credit Cards to 1 CV Point.
30/06/19 ZeeBiz

Read More

23 airports to get 380 parking bays

The increasing number of flights and congestion at busy airports has compelled the Airport Authority of India to plan for 380 additional parking bays at 23 airports in the country. Most of these parking bays will come up within the next two-three years. While Kolkata airport will get 46 parking bays — the largest number — Ahmedabad will get 40, which will come up latest by December 2020. Similarly, Jaipur will have 32 additional parking bays and Lucknow will have 38.

These parking bays are also being planned at airports in Delhi (39), Bengaluru (36), Chennai (7), Amritsar (10), Trichy (13), Patna (6), Ranchi (6), Hyderabad (22), Kochi (11) and at few more places. The aviation sector has witnessed continuous growth, barring turbulence in the last few months. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), with more people preferring air travel, India is one of the fastest growing domestic aviation markets in the world for five years.

However, the growth turned negative in April mainly due to flight cancellations and subsequent grounding of Jet Airways. The negative growth in the Indian market is temporary, said IATA. At present, nearly 600 aircraft are in operation in the country and 900 more are scheduled to be inducted in the next few years. Officials said the additional parking bays have been planned to keep in mind the rising number of flight operations due to growth in air passengers.
30/06/19 Kumar Vikram/New Indian Express

Read More

New chai lovers hangout at Dabolim airport

MumTravel Food Services (TFS), India’s leading Travel Food and Retail Company, is bringing to you the classic combo of chai-bhajjis this monsoon season at the Mumbai Se outlet. Now you can enjoy the cool breeze and warm chai and bhajjis from the airport itself.

If you are the kind that craves hot tea and crunchy bhajjis every time it is rainy then check out the Mumbai Se outlet at Goa International Airport, Dabolim. The outlet offers delicious bhajjis like chilli bhajji, onion and potato bhajji that is perfect for Goa’s rains. Mumbai Se is Travel Food Services (TFS) a travel F&B and retail company’s first outlet in the state. The chain covers over 300 outlets across travel-hubs including airports, railway stations and highways and is spread across 18 cities.
30/06/19 NavHindTimes

Read More

Number of international flyers & flights drops at Lohegaon airport

Pune: The Lohegaon airport has recorded a major drop in number of foreign flyers as well as international flight movements in the first quarter of the year.
Airports Authority of India data reveals that the number of international passengers has dropped by around 49% from 26,010 in February to 13,208 in April, while the number of foreign flight movements has dipped from 204 to 100 (a drop of around 50%) during the same period. With no international direct flights from Pune in the offing, at least till the end of October, things will not improve, sources said.

According to an economic report tabled at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai recently, Pune is the fastest growing airport in terms of domestic traffic in the state, surpassing Mumbai in terms of percentage increase in 2017 and 2018.

An airport official said that grounding of Jet Airways led to suspension of two direct flights to Abu Dhabi and Singapore, which resulted in drop in foreign passengers. “For a long time after that the international slots of Jet were not given to any other airline,” the official said.

Earlier this year, the airport authorities had said that an airline was expected to start a flight to Bangkok from Pune. There were also talks of another flight to Male in the Maldives from Pune. However, things have not moved much since then.

“The growth would have been much more and Pune airport would have achieved 10 million passenger mark but for the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft by DGCA on safety grounds and cancellation of a significant number of flights by Lufthansa, Jet Airways, Spice Jet and Indigo,” aviation analyst and expert Dhairyashil Vandekar said.
30/06/19 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

Read More

Mumbai’s new airport art

If you are travelling, and happen to spot a storyteller telling a tale that transports you to an imaginary world, or a bunch of traditionally dressed women presenting lavani or Bharuds, then don’t be surprised; It is just what the city’s international airport looks like these days.

The ongoing three-month-long cultural carnival titled Paaoolkhuna, Imprints of Maharashtra, organised by the Jaya He GVK New Museum at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, is intending to bring the portrayal of forgotten real-life observations into expressive art.
“The carnival is curated to bring to life the rich indigenous heritage and art from the state. Our aim is to bridge the gap between traditional Indian and contemporary art bringing it closer to our passengers,” says Rekha Nair, Airport services and museum director.

Started during the 2019 World Museum Day, the third edition of the carnival is set in line with the theme of the International Council of Museums — Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Traditions. It celebrates the art, culture, heritage and food of Maharashtra, showcasing the grandeur of the state over the six decades. Divided into various segments, the event brings artisans from across the state to present the traditional art in a contemporary way, so that it can connect all the passengers at the terminal. “We want to engage the passengers and sensitise them to the culture and heritage of Maharashtra,” says the director.
Along with music, dance, and storytelling, the event has also brought calligraphy, textile and other handicraft artistes to showcase their skills. With huge 3D printing installations, traditional Maharashtrian art has been combined with technology under the one roof. “We are embracing technology by sitting under the banyan tree where the dialogue happens. We are trying to present the old tradition in new way without losing its essence for thousands of customers everyday,” Rekha adds.
30/06/19 Priyanka Chandani/Asian Age

Read More

Long queues: Harrowing time for flyers at airport

Patna: Flyers are experiencing a harrowing time at Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport, Patna, these days. They are not only forced to stand in long queues to enter the terminal building, but also wait for a longer duration for security clearance. Those who are aware of the problem reach the airport several hours before the scheduled departure of their flights. Otherwise, there is possibility of flyers missing the flights.
Several flyers complained that it took almost half an hour to get inside the terminal building and another half an hour to get into the security hold area (SHA) after security check, frisking, luggage checking and collecting boarding passes.

Sandeep Pandey, an entrepreneur, was to board the IndiGo’s flight for Mumbai at 3.45pm on Saturday. “But I reached Patna airport at 12 noon to ensure not to miss my flight,” he said and pointed at the serpentine queue: “You can see the situation here. Not only the number of flights has increased, but there has been considerable jump in the number of passengers as well. However, the airport authorities have not taken any step to minimize the passengers’ woes,” he said.

Altogether 45 flights operate from Patna airport between 7.10am and 9.40pm under the ongoing domestic summer schedule. The number of flights will further go up to 47 in coming days. To avoid the congestion at the terminal building, the passengers who arrived much before the scheduled departure of their flights, have to wait outside.

Ajay Singh, who works in a private firm in New Delhi said, “I missed the flight on Thursday because of long queue in the security check area. I had to book my tickets again.”

Another flyer, Tamanna, complained that she never gets a seat in the SHA. “I travelled thrice in June but could not get a chair to sit any time. Majority of the people stand in the SHA,” she added.

The CISF personnel make three separate queues to enter the gate. A marketing professional, Rahul Kanishta, took to Twitter to vent his anger. “Patna airport is horrible!! Passengers have to wait for 20-30 mins outside in hot sun to enter airport, 5-15 mins at x-ray machine for luggage scanning, 5-10 mins @ airline check-in que, 20-40 mins for security check #Patna airport is the most chaotic airport in India (sic),” he tweeted.

Some other passengers also shared their horrific experience at Patna airport. Ahinav, an advocate, posted a picture of a serpentine queue and tweeted: “Please look at the queue to enter the patna airport to catch the flight. It takes almost an hour to enter into the airport and another hour to cross security check. How long passengers would suffer. any answer (sic).”
30/06/19 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Read More

Bengaluru airport set to get automated car parking soon

Bengaluru: A remote car parking facility for taxis, fitted with automatic ticket-dispensing towers and boom barriers with radio-frequency identification technology (RIFD), will soon be built at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
The remote car-parking facility will have the capacity t o accommodate more than 1,600 taxis, and the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which operates KIA, has issued a RFQ (request for quotation) for supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a management system for remote car-parking facility at the airport. The facility will accommodate 2,000 cars to help in all-time taxi availability at the terminals, according to BIAL. With the forecourt area of the new terminal currently undergoing a makeover for construction of elevated approach and exit roads for the second terminal, the parking facility at terminal one was proposed to be moved to the newly constructed parking lots.
30/06/19 Swathy Iyer/Times of India

Read More

Delhi lobby stalling air connectivity plans for Agra?

The failure of the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh to fulfil their promises of air connectivity for Agra and upgradation of the local Kheria airport are becoming a major cause of concern for the people of the district.
Connecting Agra with the country's other major airports will help boost tourism in not just the city of Taj, but also in neighbouring Mathura, Vrindavan, Aligarh and Firozabad.
Before 2014, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders accused previous governments of ignoring Agra's demand for direct flights. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had himself assured at an election rally in November 2013 that once in power, he would take up the matter on priority.
A lot of water has flown down the Yamuna since, without any progress on the demand. To rub salt into Agra's wounds, the international airport has been hijacked by politicians to Jewar in Bulandshahr district.
Social activist Sanjay Chaturvedi said that even as dozens of smaller centres were air connected, it was shocking that the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh failed to connect Agra -- the only city with three world heritage monuments -- with major Indian cities under the Udaan scheme despite a formal clearance and announcement.
"Smaller cities have regular flights, but not India's tourist destination number one," said Anil Sharma, who is spearheading a movement for an international airport in Agra for the past three years.
"Clearly, there is a collective lack of interest at the highest level of policy making. The people's representatives have not been able to press for Agra's case convincingly."
"The international airport project has already been sabotaged... They are dragging their feet even on the construction of an enclave at the Kheria airport, citing one obstacle after another," said Sharma.
30/06/19 IANS/Economic Times

Read More

AAI spent Rs 4 crore in 2018-19 to maintain 26 non-operational airports

New Delhi: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) spent Rs 4 crore in 2018-19 to maintain its 26 non-operational airports, according to an official document.
In 2017-18, the AAI had spent Rs 2.66 crore to maintain these 26 airports, the document stated.
The AAI owns and manages around 100 operational airports across the country. However, it also has 26 non-operational airports with it that have no flight operations currently.
Some of these 26 airports are in the following places: Donakonda in Andhra Pradesh; Daparizo in Arunachal Pradesh; Rupsi and Shella in Assam; Jogbani, Muzaffarpur, Raxaul in Bihar; Deesa in Gujarat; Chakulia and Deogarh in Jharkhand; Panna, Satna and Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh.
As per the document, the remaining of these 26 airports are in the following places: Aizwal in Mizoram; Nadirgul and Warangal in Telangana; Vellore and Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu; Kailashahar, Kamalpur and Khowai in Tripura; Bareilly and Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh; Asansol, Balurghat and Malda in West Bengal.
In 2018-19, Rs 85 lakhs was spent by the AAI to maintain the non-operational airport at Vellore in Tamil Nadu, as per the document.
30/06/19 PTI/Economic Times

Read More

Gold seizures at airports hit new high in Kerala

Kochi: Gold seizures continue to break new records in the state with Customs seizing over 100 kg of gold at airports in the first three months of the fiscal year.

As per Customs data, over 85.7 kg of gold alone was recovered from Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kannur airports, monitored by the Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive), between April 1 and June 27.

As many as 140 cases have been registered across the three airports. Around 20 kg of gold has been seized from CIAL till now and 40 cases have been registered. Around 56.6 kg of gold was seized from Kozhikode airport in 110 cases. In the last fiscal, 417 kg of gold was seized from four airports across the state with 1,102 cases being registered.

“Compared to the same quarter in the previous fiscal, the number of cases has come down, but the quantity of gold seized has gone up this year. The gold seized by various customs formations in the last fiscal year alone has recorded a 400 per cent growth in Kerala. If the current gold seizure trend continues in the following quarters, the quantity of gold recovered will surpass the previous year’s record,” Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said.
30/06/19 New Indian Express

Read More

Long-pending demand met - SpiceJet introduces two flights to Bengaluru

Mangaluru: Taking note of the convenience of the passengers, SpiceJet has introduced two direct flights on Bengaluru route, one in the morning, and the other at night.

At present, a total of eight flights operate between these two cities. IndiGo and SpiceJet have been operating four flights each.

Even after the addition of SpiceJet flights, the facility is less as compared to last year as Jet Airways used to operate six flights on this route till April. Because of less flights, fares had gone up.
The passengers feel that gap between two flights should be kept at an optimum level of nearly an hour, as they observe that in some cases, the flights depart within a short gap.
29/06/19 daijiworld

Read More

Allahabad gets direct air connectivity to Kolkata and Raipur

Allahabad: Allahabad started maiden Kolkata-Allahabad-Raipur flight on Friday. Operated by Indigo the daily flight would take just around two hours to complete the journey which takes around 24 hours by train for these two destinations.

Airport Authority of India, along with Bengali Social & Cultural Association, Allahabad, presented a cultural event at the Bamrauli civil enclave. All the Allahabad bound passengers on the inaugural flight were welcomed in the arrival lounge by UP minister for civil aviation and stamps Nand Gopal Gupta, Nandi. Bangla Tagore songs followed by solo dance to the tune were presented in the arrival lounge by artistes of BSCA.

Speaking to the media at the event, marking the inauguration of the air connectivity to Kolkata and Raipur, the minister said that following the decision of the Centre and the state, nine zonal headquarters of the state are being connected with the state capital. “The airport at Hindan and Bareilly have been dedicated to the nation and the state government has sanctioned funds worth Rs 200 crore for the airport at Faizabad," said the minister.
He also assured that after the pulling out of Jet Airways from various routes from the city, talks are on with other service providers and soon air connectivity to cities like Lucknow, Patna, Nagpur etc would be restored, this time by operators like IndiGo or Air India.
28/06/19 Rajiv Mani/Times of India

Read More

‘Pending dues forced Alliance Air to shift base from Vizag’

Visakhapatnam: The proposed shifting of the base of Alliance Air for its ATR 72 aircraft in Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad appears to be certain.

Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, is planning to shift the base from July 16 and utilise the aircraft on the Hyderabad-Mysuru, Mysuru-Goa, Mysuru-Kochi and Mysuru-Bengaluru routes.

Though the Alliance Air is citing aircraft shortage and profitability as the reasons, there seems to be other compelling reason for the decision if Andhra Pradesh Air Travellers’ Association (APATA) is to be believed.

“The previous TDP government’s failure to pay dues to the tune of ₹22 crore to the airline under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) in the last two years has made the airline take this decision,” claims APATA Vice-President O. Naresh Kumar, quoting sources in Air India.
Mr. Naresh Kumar said that the APATA was in talks with other airlines to operate flights on the Vizag-Vijayawada-Tirupati route and the latter had expressed their willingness on the condition that they got the necessary clearances from the government.
29/06/19 The Hindu

Read More

Cochin International Airport sees 17.52% rise in turnover

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) on June 29 said it has registered a net profit of Rs 166.92 crore out of a turnover of Rs 650.34 crore during the financial year 2018-19,

Despite the closure of the airport for 15 days due to the floods in August, the CIAL registered an increase of turnover of 17.52 per cent.


The turnover during 2017-18 was Rs 553.41 crore, the company said. The profit (after tax) increased by 7 per cent, ie, Rs 155.99 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 166.92 crore in 2018-19, a press release said.

The consolidated turnover achieved by CIAL and its fully owned subsidiaries like CIAL Duty free and Retails Services Ltd (CDRSL) stands at Rs 807.36 crore this year against Rs 701.13 crore last year.
The consolidated profit increased from Rs 169.92 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 184.77 crore this financial year.

CDRSL alone has logged a turnover of Rs 240.33 crore, the release said.

CIAL, which pioneered the idea of PPP model in airport infrastructure development, has been paying dividend from 2003-04 and with the last fiscal, the total dividend payout touched 228 per cent.
29/06/19 PTI/Moneycontrol.com

Read More

Mumbai airport update: Heavy rains hit Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, hundreds of flights got delayed

The Mumbai monsoon has finally arrived with heavy showers in various regions of the cities. Once again the rains slowed operations at one of the busiest airports in India, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Friday. Various airlines like SpiceJet and Indigo have already warned their passengers about the delay in flights from and to Mumbai airport. The impact of heavy rains was such that, in less than 24 hours, the number of flights that have been delayed is in hundreds. Looks like the situation is not expected to change anytime soon, as weather forecaster has predicted more heavy showers to come on weekend.

According to Mumbai airport website on Friday, 201 flights were delayed during departures including both domestic and international airlines. Majority of flights were delayed between 9AM early morning till 12PM. Similarly, approximately 117 flights were delayed or enroute during arrivals at Mumbai airport. For arrivals, majority flights were delayed from 12PM, with more delays to follow.

According to Skymet, rainfall activity began yesterday and last night many parts of Panvel, Badlapur, Shahapur and adjoining areas saw hefty showers. Rains were also observed over BKC, Kurla, Vashi, Chembur, Santa Cruz, Colaba, Borivali, Kandivali and a few others. In the last 24 hours from 8:30 am on Thursday, Colaba saw 3 mm of rains while Santa Cruz recorded 4 mm of rainfall.
29/06/19 ZeeBiz

Read More

Raja pitches for more int’l flights from city airport

Coimbatore: Nilgiris MP A Raja on Thursday raised in Parliament the long-pending issue of Coimbatore International Airport lacking adequate international connectivity. This has been a demand of industrialists in Coimbatore.
Speaking during the question hour, Raja asked the aviation minister why they were not allowing more foreign airlines to operate flights to and from Coimbatore.

He said why applications for flights to and from Dubai, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur were pending for a decade.

Raja said in his knowledge applications to operate flights between Coimbatore airport and Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Dubai were submitted almost a decade ago. Viability reports of the routes were also submitted but permission was not granted, he added.

Replying to Raja’s question, aviation minister of state Hardeep Singh said Indian air carriers can fly from any Indian airport to any foreign airport. He said, “Foreign carriers landing in India are determined by the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA), in which Coimbatore is not included.”

“Our policy is to ensure our Indian carriers get maximum number of passengers, for which they have to induct wide-bodied aircrafts. Once we know foreign carriers have exhausted their share of BASA locations, we will look at options,” he added.

While Singh’s reply was what the central government has been maintaining for the past six years, industrialists demand for an interim quick connection to Europe at least.

“After years of demanding and negotiating, we have good flight connections by Air India to the US and Japan, through their hub in New Delhi. While at least 20 passengers fly daily, 50 fly during holidays, we want good connections to Europe too,” a senior member from Kongu Global Forum said.
28/06/19 Times of India

Read More

Vizag’s connectivity suffers as many airlines withdraw services this year

Visakhapatnam: Even though the number of passengers availing flight services from Visakhapatnam has been on the rise there has not been a proportional increase in the number of flights to cater to the demand. Moreover, Visakhapatnam saw a slew of flights being withdrawn this year.
Only recently, Alliance Air— a subsidiary of Air India proposed to withdraw its Visakhapatnam-Tirupati-Vijayawada daily flight from July 16. According to sources, Alliance Air will be changing its base ATR72 aircraft to Hyderabad and will be operating to other sectors from Hyderabad.

Speaking to TOI, airport director Prakash Reddy said, “There is no official information on the withdrawal of this flight. The Visakhapatnam-Tirupati-Vijayawada sector is doing well with a load factor of over 90%. If they are planning to withdraw the services, it could be for some other reasons.”

Vice president of Andhra Pradesh Air Travellers’ Association (APATA), O Naresh Kumar said that there has been an annual increase of 20% in the number of passengers travelling by air. However, there has been no addition of aircrafts.

“Airlines have been facing a shortage of aircrafts over the last few years. Moreover, air services prefer routes with higher traffic and more profits,” he added.

The APATA vice president further said that although the Visakhapatnam-Tirupati-Vijayawada flight has good occupancy rate, the air service is being deployed at Hyderabad as it has an assured and consistent demand.
28/06/19 Reshma Jain/Times of India

Read More

AAI counters AAIB’s report on lapse of ATCO’s ratings

New Delhi: Safety procedures were ignored at the Delhi airport, as the ratings of controllers at the Delhi airport were found to have lapsed, a report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has said. The report findings have been countered by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which provides air traffic services in the country, saying that there were no lapse in ratings.
The report is part of an inquiry committee set up by the civil aviation ministry to probe a near-miss between an IndiGo and a KLM aircraft on November 2, 2017, that has blamed air traffic control for the same.
A committee of inquiry comprising AAIB officials was set up to examine this near miss. Listing “probable cause” of this near miss, the report said: “Assigning wrong/same level to IndiGo-977 by overlooking the overflying traffic (of KLM 811at flight level 35,000 feet)… failure to detect the assignment of conflicting level to departing aircraft IndiGo-977…. Inadequate surveillance by (controllers)… Inaction … on ATM (air traffic management) system generated alerts, predicted conflict warning (PCW)…. controller failed to react to PCW for approximate 82 seconds and reacted … by continuous wrong use of call signs.”
The report also said that some controllers had lost the ratings for manning the stations they were on. “Necessary steps be taken for revalidation of tower ratings of 101radar controllers and AAI shall take measures to prevent such lapses at mass level in future…. it is pertinent that in interest of safety, number of ATC ratings may be reduced so that a radar controller can mandatorily perform ATC duties in all the units every month,” the report recommended.
AAI has countered the report and said the lapses mentioned in the AAIB report may pertain to the multiple procedural ratings of the controllers.
28/06/19 Economic Times

Read More

CISF, BCAS team surveys security mechanism at Surat airport

Surat: A delegation of senior officials from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) surveyed the security mechanism at Surat airport on Thursday.
Last month, the ministry of civil aviation and the ministry of home affairs finally gave its approval to the airport’s long-pending demand for deployment of CISF. The BCAS agreed to deploy CISF for security following the phenomenal rise of more than 1.5 lakh in passenger traffic per month, airport’s strategic location as well as international flight operations between Surat and Sharjah.
The senior officials from BCAS and CISF had marathon meetings with Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials on Thursday wherein they discussed about the security parameters and security mechanism at the airport, which is at present under state police’s control. Despite rise in passenger traffic, the airport lacked adequate security arrangements with only 95 state police personnel stationed at the airport against the required strength of 114 personnel. At the inaugural flight of AirAsia from Bengaluru to Surat in June 2018, there was security breach with people accompanying the MPs from Surat and Navsari trespassing into the restricted areas of the airport. The regional chief security officer (RCSO) (Western region) of AAI was directed to investigate the matter.
28/06/19 Melvyn Reggie Thomas/Times of India

Read More

Three incidents of bird hit at Vadodara airport in 4 days

As many as three incidents of bird hit have taken place at the Vadodara airport in the last four days amid the monsoon season, a senior airport official said Friday.
These spate of incidents also led to three aircraft of different airlines getting stuck at the airport, he said.
Small insects, food particles, water bodies that attract birds are found in abundance around the airport premises during the rainy season leading to increase in cases of aircraft suffering bird hit during monsoon season, said  Charan Singh, Vadodara airport director.
The airport has reported three incidents of bird hit in the last four days with the onset of monsoon season and city receiving good rainfall, he said.
28/06/19 PTI/IndiaTV

Read More

Indore: 1230 acre land for airport expansion to cost MP govt over 3K crore

Indore: The state government’s plan for Indore airport expansion by acquiring additional 1230 acre land of six adjacent villages will cost it over Rs 3400 crore. The cost includes compensation amount to be provided to land owners.

“Airport Authority of India (AAI) had raised a demand for expansion of Indore airport and additional land was required. The authority had sent two proposals of airport’s expansion by developing one or two runways. The state government has decided to go for developing one runway, which is expected to meet demands by 2040 and initiated the process for identification of 1230 acre land,” divisional commissioner Akash Tripathi told TOI.

For primary survey, a team of administrative officials including tehsildar, revenue inspector and patwari took a helicopter ride to carry out inspection of land adjacent to the airport. The team identified 24.43 hectare land in Nainod village, 88.1 hectare in Kordiyabardi village, 61.48 hectare in Sirpur village, 203.33 hectare in Simhasa village, 53.42 hectare in Bisnavada village and 18.25 hectare in Navdapanth village.

As per the collector’s guideline, cost of the total 449 hectare land is around Rs 1700 crore and as per the rules, its double amount - Rs 3400 crore - will be allotted by the state government as compensation to land owners.

28/06/19 Sagar Choukse/Times of India

Read More

Spurned man held for making calls to airport

Hubballi: For two years, a ringing phone was one of the most dreaded things in the offices of Hubballi airport. A spurned lover had discovered his ex worked there and made incessant calls to every number associated with the airport, troubling staffers with demands to talk to her.
Police have finally arrested him for the nuisance after a search spanning two states, Karnataka and Goa. Roy Dais, 34, was detained at Goa airport as he tried to complete immigration formalities earlier this week. He worked as a mechanic with a motorcycle firm in Kuwait and made calls through the internet.

Roy, a native of Goa, has been brought to Hubballi and remanded in judicial custody.

Inspector Dileep Nimbalkar of Gokul police in Hubballi said on Thursday a lookout notice was issued against Roy after the airport staff sent complaints, alleging he made repeated calls to reach the woman and used abusive language when they refused to transfer the call. Roy allegedly even rang up the airport director and a line of the Air Traffic Control (ATC), disturbing officers engaged in a critical task.

It was not immediately clear on Thursday how he obtained these numbers. A few months ago, Roy allegedly also started bothering offices of airlines at the airport and the fire brigade. As the calls were made through an online service, authorities could not pinpoint his location.
28/06/19 Basavaraj Kattimani/Times of India

Read More

Mizoram CM Zoramthanga asks IndiGo to start flight services

Aizawl: Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga on Tuesday said that the state government has asked IndiGo airlines to start flight services on the Aizawl-Delhi and Aizawl-Guwahati sectors.

Mizoram has been facing airlink problem after Jet Airways withdrew operation from the state in February this year.

The state now has only one direct air link with Kolkata, which is operated by Air India.

Zoramthanga, who also holds general administration portfolio, said that the state lost its air direct link with Delhi and Guwahati after Jet Airways withdrew operation from the state on February 9 due to financial crunch.

He said that Air India has introduced additional flights after the government requested it to do so in order to ease public. “As per our request Air India has provided us additional flights on the Aizawl-Kolkata and Aizawl-Imphal routes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” he said.

Before this, the state had only seven flights a week, including to and fro, which has now increased to 10 with the introduction of additional flights.

On Friday, Zoramthanga had written to union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri to rationalise the airfare between Kolkata-Aizawl and Imphal-Aizawl sectors as the state has extremely poor air-connectivity.
27/06/19 Henry L Khojol/Eastmojo

Read More

6 complaints from MPs in 2018, 2019 regarding misbehaviour by CISF personnel during frisking

The CISF, which provides security at around 65 airports across the country, has received six complaints from MPs in 2018 and 2019 regarding

misbehaviour by the force's security personnel in the name of frisking, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister said in consonance with a 2009 circular of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the CISF has also "issued comprehensive directions for strict implementation of the instructions of BCAS" through which "due courtesy is extended to MPs during their frisking".
The BCAS is the top regulatory authority regarding civil aviation security in India.
27/06/19 Business Standard

Read More

Upcoming Noida International Airport at Jewar will be major air cargo hub for India

Noida: The upcoming Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar will be a trans-shipment hub for the country once it starts operations in 2022-23, according to the development plan of the Techno Economic Feasibility Report (TEFR) prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

As per the report, the airport is expected to cater to 2.5 million tons of cargo in the next two decades. The first phase is expected to cater to 0.5 million tons of cargo, which is estimated to increase to 2.6 million tons by 2045 as 51 per cent of cargo traffic at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport is being generated in the primary hinterland of NIA. The primary hinterland for NIA includes Mathura, Agra, Aligarh, Palwal, Greater Noida, Noida, Meerut and Ghaziabad.

Speaking to The Morning Standard, Arun Vir Singh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Noida International Airport Limited, the entity floated by the Uttar Pradesh government for implementing the airport project, said that 51 per cent of the current cargo traffic being handled by the IGI airport at Delhi is from Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar districts, with an investment of Rs 1.20 lakh million. Other districts, including Gurugram, Jhajjar and Faridabad contribute about 30 per cent of the cargo to IGI.  “The main commodities being handled include electronics, textiles, toys, pharma, handicrafts, leather, machine parts, etc. Once the NIA starts operations, we expect 55 per cent of air cargo to be generated from districts of Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar from day one,” he said.
Singh further said that besides being a major hub for air cargo, the NIA will also be a major centre for maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft.
27/06/19 Vandana Keelor/New Indian Express

Read More

SpiceJet gets 43% of slots vacated by Jet Airways

New Delhi: Low-cost airline SpiceJet has bagged the most number of airport slots - 43 per cent in total - vacated by Jet Airways, according to a report by Elara Capital. The debt-ridden Jet Airways formally stopped all its operation on April 17. Jet Airways owes more than Rs 8,000 crore to banks, and thousands of crores more in arrears to vendors, lessors and employees.

In May, civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu sought a report on the allocation of airport slots vacated by Jet Airways to other airlines.

Jet Airways has more than 440 slots at Mumbai and Delhi airports.

According to Elara Capital report, SpiceJet has won 43 per cent of these slots in March-June period at Mumbai and Delhi airports. SpiceJet received 130 slots, with the maximum number at Mumbai airport at 68 out of the 214 vacated by Jet Airways, reported cnbc.tv.

On the other hand, domestic airlines like IndiGo, GoAir, Vistara and AirAsia India have bagged 32 per cent combined, with 13 per cent,  7 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.

SpiceJet's slots would now increase by 70 per cent from the current slots in the coming months (as compared to the previous winter schedule) while IndiGo's slots would increase by 14 per cent during the same period, the report said. Vistara and GoAir's airport slots would now increase by 10 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively.

As per aviation experts, Delhi and Mumbai airport slots are considered most significant since these two witness maximum passenger movement and allow airline to operate maximum flights.
27/06/19 Business Today

Read More

‘For better air connectivity, Surat needs more bilaterals with countries’

Surat: Having elected their representatives as the MPs, Surtis have now chalked out their list of expectations of the people.
Surat’s We Work for a Working Airport (WWWAS), which has 85,000 members, has submitted a list of demands along with data to MP Darshana Jardosh regarding concerns about the city airport .

“Despite being an important hub of global trade, Surat is not a part of any bilaterals with other nations yet. India’s eight largest city needs to be made part of bilateral with the UAE, Thailand, the UK, China and Singapore. In a recent meeting with Thailand Ambassador Sam Chutintorn, he indicated the enthusiasm and intent that Royal Thai Airlines has to begin operations to Surat provided the city is made part of bilateral. Similar interest has been shown by Fly Dubai and Scoot Airways,” said textile businessman Tarun Chugh, who represents WWWAS as data expert .


Despite growing exponentially by 250% in the last two years and being a profitable sector for Air India for several years now, no flights have been added by the state-run carrier from and to Surat in the past two years. “Based on its travellers data, Surat requires direct international connectivity with cities like Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore. Air India with its excellent network and code share can easily provide onward connectivity,” added Sanjay Shah, who handles media communication for the popular aviation group.

While Airport Authority of India (AAI) requires to upgrade infrastructure at the earliest at Surat airport and begin 24 hours operations, private airlines have demanded airport expansion.

27/06/19 Ashleshaa Khurana/Times of India

Read More

Air services in Sikkim airport halted due to low visibility caused by unpredictable weather: Puri

New Delhi: Unpredictable weather that resulted in low visibility lead to suspension of air services at Pakyong airport in Sikkim from June 1, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Parliament on Wednesday.
"Pakyong is an operational airport and can handle ATR-72 and Q400 type of aircraft operations under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions," he told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question.
ATR-72 and Q400 aircraft are small aircraft that are run on turboprop engines and can carry up to 80 passengers.

"SpiceJet which was operating daily one scheduled flight on Kolkata- Pakyong- Kolkata sector have decided to temporarily suspend its operations with effect from 1.6.2019 due to unpredictable weather which results in low visibility at Pakyong," the minister said.

Pakyong Airport was constructed based on the design and drawings prepared by "renowned" consultant Mott McDonald, he said.
26/07/19 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Work on Gujarat's Dholera airport likely to commence soon

The work on the much-awaited greenfield Dholera International Airport (DIACL) in Gujarat may commence soon following DIACL deciding to fast track the project, which has been hanging fire since 2012, a release said Wednesday. The Rs 2,000 crore airport is set to come up in a greenfield city under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project at Dholera. It is to be built over a period of four years and expected to decongest the existing Ahmedabad airport once commissioned.
DIACL, at its first meeting Tuesday after the reconstitution of the company's board following the Airport Authority of India (AAI) picking up majority 51 per cent in it, also said that the AAI has assured of providing the necessary technical inputs to the concerned state departments as per the requirements of new greenfield airport. The Gujarat government owns 33 per cent stake in DIACL, while the rest 16 per cent stake is with the National Industrial Corridor Development and implementation Trust.
The first board meeting of the DIACL held Tuesday under the AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra decided to expedite the airport project, which will allow the company to commence work on it soon, the release said. Along with the board meeting, a project review meeting was also held which was attended by senior AAI officials on the plans to implement the airport project on a fast-track basis, it added.
26/06/19 PTI/Economic Times

Read More

Administration asks AAI to ensure punctuality of Hajj flights from Srinagar

Srinagar: Even as private airliner SpiceJet will be handling Hajj operations from Srinagar for the first time ever during forthcoming annual pilgrimage, Divisional Administration, Kashmir, has recently cautioned airport authorities to ensure that Hajj flights scheduled to depart from July 4 are as per scheduled time.

As per an official, in a recent meeting attended by different stakeholders, chaired by Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Ahmed Khan, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been asked to closely co-ordinate with SpiceJet for flight operations.
The delays in departures and arrivals of many Hajj flights during previous years had caused inconvenience to pilgrims while as the peak Umrah season this year was also not spared by delays due to inclement weather and snowfall. However, authorities say all arrangements have been put in place to make sure that flights leaving for Makkah and Madina leave as per scheduled time. “Proper coordination with the airlines must be maintained to avoid either delayed departures or arrivals as was experienced during Hajj 2018,” read minutes of the meeting.
A local representative of SpiceJet wishing anonymity told Greater Kashmir the airline is expecting to maintain punctuality even though it is for the first time SpiceJet is single-handedly handling the Hajj operations of almost 11,600 Hajis from Jammu and Kashmir. He said Hajj operations from Indore and Bhopal led by SpiceJet during last few years were “quite smooth and on-time”.
26/06/19 Saqib Malik/Greater Kashmir

Read More

Flyer-friendly changes a must at Lohegaon airport

The Airports Authority of India's (AAI) decision to deny permission to the PMPML to operate bus services from the Pune airport was the first blow to the people visiting the facility. The second blow was the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd's (PMPML) decision to discontinue their services along the route because of the AAI's stand and some other reasons as well.
As usual, it was the passengers who are at the loss because of the decisions by the two government authorities. The PMPML has been found wanting in meeting the demands for an efficient airport bus service to and from various parts of the city. However, its demand for parking space on the airport premises was justified because there would hardly be any taker for its service in the absence of the facility.

The AAI could have made some efforts to promote the airport bus service, as it would have reduced the traffic rush and snarls on the ways to Lohegaon. The decisions taken so far to decongest the airport premises are not much passenger friendly. Instead, the measures have caused hardship for them.

Another concern for the passengers has been the shifting of the OLA and Uber cab pick-up points and the autorickshaw and taxi stands from the airport to an inconvenient distance outside the facility. The passengers now have to walk long distances in the hot sun and now in the rain to reach these points. Though AAI has positioned three golf carts to carry the passengers from the airport's arrival gate to the exit point, many passengers complained that the service is not of much help during heavy rushof flyers.

Another decision of the AAI which has not gone down well with many is the to levy a penalty of Rs340 on vehicles that are required to halt for over 3 minutes at the pickup point. Besides, the access charge of Rs50 levied on all commercial vehicles entering the airport has also been criticized by many.

Besides the passengers, the airline staffers and other stakeholders at the airport are not too happy with the authorities' decision to increase the monthly parking rat5es for their two- and four-wheelers.
26/06/19 Dhairyashil Vandekar/Times of India

Read More

Hindon flight operations not likely before August

Ghaziabad: Operational problems and a fleet of grounded aircraft triggered by the meltdown of Jet Airways is affecting plans to open the new commercial terminal of the Hindon air force base, Ghaziabad’s district magistrate has said.

The terminal, inaugurated by the Prime Minister in March this year, will act as the second airport in NCR till IGI is revamped and will operate flights under the government’s UDAN scheme. But the expected launch of commercial operations has been deferred to August instead of July that was announced earlier.


“We recently held talks with Airports Authority of India (AAI) in which it was conveyed to us that domestic flight operations from Hindon IAF base will start in the first week of August,” said Ritu Maheshwari, the DM. “The AAI had earlier said operations may start in July but due to flight loss involving Jet Airways and due to other operational hiccups, deadline has been extended by a month now,” she said.


Maheshwari said the first flight is likely to connect Ghaziabad with Karnataka. “The AAI has said that the Hindon-Hubli (Karnataka) segment may start from August 5,” she said. On including Lucknow in the list of cities where domestic flights from Hindon will fly to, Maheshwari added, “The AAI has given in-principle approval for operating a flight between Ghaziabad and Lucknow. We have been told IndiGo has shown willingness to operate a flight on the segment.”

Flights from Hindon are scheduled to fly to and from eight cities — Hubli, Jamnagar, Faizabad, Pithoragarh, Shimla, Kalburgi, Kannur and Nashik —under the government’s subsidised regional air connectivity scheme.
26/06/19 Abhijay Jha/Times of India

Read More

Air services in Sikkim airport halted due to low visibility caused by unpredictable weather: Hardeep Singh Puri

Unpredictable weather that resulted in low visibility lead to suspension of air services at Pakyong airport in Sikkim from June 1, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Parliament on Wednesday.

"Pakyong is an operational airport and can handle ATR-72 and Q400 type of aircraft operations under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions," he told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question.

ATR-72 and Q400 aircraft are small aircraft that are run on turboprop engines and can carry up to 80 passengers.

"SpiceJet which was operating daily one scheduled flight on Kolkata- Pakyong- Kolkata sector have decided to temporarily suspend its operations with effect from 1.6.2019 due to unpredictable weather which results in low visibility at Pakyong," the minister said.

Pakyong Airport was constructed based on the design and drawings prepared by "renowned" consultant Mott McDonald, he said.
26/06/19 IndiaTV

Read More

Alliance Air announced mega sale on Raipur Jharsuguda sector with fares starting at Rs.1260/- only

Jharsuguda: Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India Limited announced mega sale on Raipur Jharsuguda sector with fares starting at Rs.1260/- only. Alliance Air directly connects Raipur to Jharsuguda and back. Also Alliance Air has daily direct flights from Raipur to Ranchi and onwards to Kolkatta.
Alliance air takes immense delight in connecting Raipur with Jharsuguda which is Odisha’s top thermal and metallurgical hub. Jharsuguda being one of the top choice for investment and manufacturing in Odisha & Raipur with a strong international brands presence with prominent global automobile companies avail a lot of benefit from this flight with faster connectivity and increased growth and trade between the two cities.

Flight 9I720 departs from Raipur at 1545hrs arrives in Jharsuguda at 1650hrs.

Flight 9I728 departs from Jharsuguda at 1715hrs arrives in Raipur at 1815hrs further taking off from Raipur at 1840hrs arriving in Ranchi at 2005hrs.

The airline has deployed its 70 seater ATR 72 aircrafts on all the sectors.
26/06/19 Orissadiary

Read More

Vizag city airport aims for the sky with rise in footfalls

Visakhapatnam: Notwithstanding the withdrawal of the Vizag-Colombo flight in October 2018, Visakhapatnam International Airport has witnessed a steady growth in passengers on both the domestic and international fronts in the first five months of the present calendar year, compared to the corresponding period in 2018.

The number of international passengers from Vizag Airport crossed the 42,000-mark in the first quarter of 2019 (January, February and March), according to a report of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The Silk Air flight to Singapore and the Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur are doing extremely well with over 70% occupancy, and a new Air Asia flight to Bangkok launched in December 2018 is also getting over 65% occupancy, which officials believe should make up for the loss of the Sri Lankan flight.
The number of passengers who flew on the Vizag-Bangkok-Vizag route stood at 11,533 passengers for the January-March period. The Vizag-Dubai-Vizag route had 9,060 passengers while the Vizag-Singapore-Vizag route saw 8,267 passengers for the same period. The Vizag-Kuala Lumpur-Vizag route was the busiest with 13,622 passengers during this period.
The number of passengers on Air India’s Vizag–Dubai (via Hyderabad) flight has also grown by over 50% as compared to the last quarter. A direct flight to Dubai or alternatively increasing the quota of seats from Vizag would result in more passengers flying directly to the Gulf from Vizag, say frequent travellers to the Gulf.
Though the demand for cargo exports is good from Vizag, non-availability of certain facilities like palletisation and cold storages of variable temperatures, and levying of higher rates on cargo by Air India for the same quantity of goods from Vizag compared to Hyderabad, are coming in the way of full utilisation of the cargo potential from the city airport.
The price variation is prompting exporters to send their cargo by road to Hyderabad and from there to Dubai, say A.P. Air Travellers Association (APATA) vice-presidents O. Naresh Kumar and D.S. Varma.
26/06/19 The Hindu

Read More

Alliance Air withdraws Tirupati flight

Visakhapatnam: Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, had been operating one of its flights on the Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada-Tirupati sector. However, the airlines has proposed to withdraw its flight from Visakhapatnam, effective from July 16, 2019.
Alliance Air was operating its afternoon daily flight from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada and Tirupati. Members of the Andhra Pradesh Air Travellers Association (APATA) have said that the reasons for the withdrawal of the flight is not known.
As per sources, Alliance Air will be changing its base ATR72 aircraft to Hyderabad and will be operating to other sectors from Hyderabad. A mail sent by Alliance Air read, “All concerned are requested to make necessary arrangements for shifting their resources and giving sufficient notice to the service providers at Visakhapatnam.”
26/06/19 Times of India

Read More

Air India opens booking for Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight

Jalandhar: Thousands of Canada-bound passengers from the Doaba region are set to benefit as Air India has finally started the booking for its much-awaited thrice-a-week Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight.
The maiden Toronto-bound flight from Amritsar will fly on September 27— coinciding with World Tourism Day. The Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flights will improve the air connectivity between Amritsar and Toronto — a long-pending demand of people of Punjab, particularly of the Doaba region. The Delhi-Toronto leg of the journey will take about 16 hours.

Thousands of people hailing from this NRI belt are settled in Canada. Since the people had to travel all the way to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi, for boarding the flights, they were demanding the resumption of the once popular and direct Amritsar- Birmingham-Toronto flight, which suddenly came to a grinding halt in 2008.
“The booking for the new Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flights has begun and we have formally sounded all our agents about the commencement of its operations from September 27. The flight will be taking extra time for we will have no option but to avoid Pakistan’s air space. The one-way introductory fare for an economy seat will be Rs 50,890 while the round-fare for the same seat will be Rs 92,737,” said RK Negi, manager, Air India, Punjab.

The passengers from Amritsar to Delhi will travel in Airbus-321 and they will have the option to board one of the two evening flights taking off from Amritsar thrice a week for a 45-minute journey to Delhi at 7 pm and 7.50 pm. At Delhi, they will board a Boeing-777 airplane, which will leave for Toronto at 3 am.
26/06/19 Varinder Singh/Tribune

Read More

How Calcutta won a Dubai flight but lost a London one

Calcutta: First, the good news: Air India has announced a flight from Calcutta to Dubai from mid-July.

Now, the bad news: the new route sounds suspiciously like a consolation prize that masks the tale of how Calcutta missed out on a direct flight to London.

The decision to launch the Calcutta-Dubai flight, which will be in operation four days a week, has prompted sources to convey to this newspaper that Air India had almost finalised plans a few months ago to introduce a direct flight from Calcutta to London.

But the Centre decided to give the route to Bangalore and it was launched in November last year, which the sources have attributed to political reasons.
However, after the Lok Sabha elections that transformed the BJP from an also-ran to a serious contender for power in Bengal, the Centre has apparently decided that a gesture from Air India could reap rich dividends in the international-flight-starved state. At present, the state has no direct flight to any of the countries in Europe and the Americas.

Since the London route had already been given to Bangalore, Air India then decided on the Calcutta-Dubai flight, the sources said.

On Tuesday, Air India announced that the non-stop Calcutta-Dubai flight would commence from mid-July with a 182-seater Airbus A320neo aircraft. The flight will operate four days a week.

Sources in Air India said discussions and deliberations were on for more than two years to revive the Dhaka-Calcutta-London route, which the state-owned airline had withdrawn in October 2008.

“Things had almost been finalised towards the end of last year after a lot of deliberations and discussions. But then suddenly we were told the flight to London would operate from Bangalore and not Calcutta,” said a source in Air India.

“Bengal has been deprived of direct connectivity to London because of political reasons. We had tried for two years for the Calcutta-London flight but it was given to Bangalore,” Derek O’Brien, Trinamul Congress parliamentary party leader (Rajya Sabha), said in response to a question. O’Brien is the chairman of all parliamentary committees on transport, including aviation but barring the railways.

In 2016, Air India chairman-cum-managing director Ashwani Lohani had said in Calcutta the airline would operate the London flight from the middle of 2017 with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

“A Dhaka-Calcutta-London flight is on our radar and I have asked my people here to start a survey. It can be launched by the middle of next year with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft,” Lohani had told this newspaper.

In 2016, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had requested then civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju to start an Air India direct flight to London.

Before that, Mamata had personally requested Jet Airways, which has now ceased to operate, to start a direct flight to Europe. The airline had turned down the request, saying Calcutta was a low-yield market and the flight would not be viable.

After Air India pulled out its direct London flight in 2008, British Airways and Lufthansa had followed suit, snapping Calcutta’s direct air links with Europe.

Aviation industry sources said the Calcutta-Dubai sector could face competition from Emirates and Etihad Airways that flies to Abu Dhabi.
26/06/19  Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

Read More

India needs to scale up airport infra: Virgin Atlantic

The airport infrastructure in India needs to be scaled up to meet the growing demand, according to David Hodges, country head India of Virgin Atlantic (VA).

Speaking to BusinessLine, Hodges said, “India is a great growth market, we have seen a 20 per cent growth since we were here last time.”

According to Hodges, the Indian aviation market is likely to become the third largest in the next few years with airlines such as SpiceJet, IndiGo and Vistara rapidly expanding.

Talking about the roadblocks for the Indian aviation industry, he said, “Similar to London, the airport infrastructure in India too needs to be scaled up to meet the demand. That’s the enabler for us to grow, where there is infrastructure, the industry will grow for India.”

Airports Authority of India manages a total of 125 airports, which include 11 international airports, 81 domestic airports and 25 civil enclaves at Defence airfields.

According to reports, between 2014 and 2018, the number of operational airports rose from 75 to 102 airports. The Modi 2.0 government plans to double the number by 2024. However, work of several airports like the Navi Mumbai airport have been stalled for quite some time.
25/06/19 Forum Gandhi/Business Line

Read More

SpiceJet to start 8 new daily international flights from Mumbai, Delhi

New Delhi: Low cost carrier SpiceJet on Tuesday said it would launch eight new daily international flights from Mumbai and Delhi in July.

"SpiceJet will service Mumbai-Riyadh-Mumbai, Mumbai-Dhaka-Mumbai, Delhi-Dhaka-Delhi and Delhi-Jeddah-Delhi with daily non-stop flights," Gurugram-headquartered airline said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The airline will deploy its 168-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft on all the routes.

SpiceJet said that it is the first Indian LCC to connect Mumbai with Riyadh and Dhaka, and Delhi with Dhaka and Jeddah.

"Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, earmarks SpiceJet's 10th international destination and the fourth station in the Middle Eastern market," the airline said.

The flights to Dhaka and Jeddah will begin from the last week of July, while the flight to Riyadh will commence on August 15, 2019.

"The airline is all set to commence operations on the Mumbai-Jeddah route from July 5, 2019," it said.

Commenting on the development, Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet said, "We are delighted to add Riyadh as our tenth international destination and add more flights to Jeddah and Dhaka thus providing our passengers with multiple flight options."
25/06/19 Business Today

Read More

Now fly from Mumbai to Durgapur

New Delhi: In a boost to Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN, SpiceJet on Tuesday launched a daily direct flight service between Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai and Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport (RDP) in Durgapur, West Bengal. This was SpiceJet’s 13th UDAN destination. The airline operates 45 daily flights under UDAN scheme. This is for the first time Durgapur is connected by flights to the financial capital of India.

“Enhancing air connectivity to Durgapur and Asansol was a promise that we had made to the people and I am delighted to announce the commencement of daily non-stop flights connecting Durgapur (Andal) to Mumbai from June 25, 2019. The UDAN scheme, an excellent initiative of our Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has helped provide air connectivity to the remotest parts of the country and I am elated that people from Asansol/Durgapur and the region around will have direct connectivity to the country’s financial capital and easy onward connections to the rest of the country and abroad. It will enhance the ‘Ease of Living’ Doctrine of our Government by saving both time and money. I would like to congratulate and thank SpiceJet for honouring my request and making this flight possible,” Union Minister and MP from Asansol Babul Supriyo said.

“We are extremely delighted to launch our daily Durgapur-Mumbai flight. Known for its steel industries, Durgapur is an important destination for us in terms of enhancing connectivity for the state of West Bengal. The new flights will serve both the industrial cities of Durgapur and Asansol, hence, we see tremendous potential in this sector,” Debashis Saha, Associate Vice President – Regulatory and Government Affairs, SpiceJet said.

SpiceJet flight schedule: SpiceJet flight number SG 6354 will depart from Mumbai at 7.50 am and will arrive at 10.05 am. SG 6355 will leave Durgapur at 10.45 am and reach Mumbai at 1.05 pm.
25/06/19 Debjit Sinha/Financial Express

Read More

Pantnagar-Delhi air service to run four days a week

Rudrapur: Barely three weeks after the Airport Authority of India (AAI) announced a daily flight service on the Delhi-Pantnagar-Dehradun route, the air service has been made a four-day per week service. The decision was taken due to the 'shorter than required' runway in Pantnagar, officials said.

After the departure of the scheduled flight on Sunday, the air service returned to its old course of being operational on four weekdays including Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Shubham Tandon, Pantnagar station manager of Air India, told TOI, "We do not have the required runway length in Pantnagar. It is only 2,250 metres, much less than the stretch required for a big passenger flight. Further, the 72-seater plane operational here was getting a daily booking of only 50 passengers on an average. The company was facing economic losses and hence the management decided to cut-off the trips.” Air India, the air service provider on this route had on June 1 announced that the flights will operate all seven days of the week. It was inaugurated by Ajay Bhatt, MP from Nainital, amidst much fanfare. Simultaneously, it was also announced that an Aviation Turbine Fuel System (ATFS) will be installed at the airport to enable the aircrafts to be fueled at Pantnagar.
25/06/19 Aakash Ahuja/Times of India

Read More

Kochi airport to remain shut for four months during the daytime

Travellers flying to Kerala have some important news waiting for them. The Kochi airport is going to shut down from November 20, 2019, to March 28, 2020, for eight hours every day during the day. The flight operations will hence be regulated at the Kochi airport from 10 AM to 6 AM, and this is happening due to the mandatory runway re-carpeting work that takes place every 10 years.
About 35 domestic flights would get rescheduled; however, it has been reported that this move will not affect international flights.
It is expected that the Kochi airport shutdown during tourist season is going to cause a lot of trouble for flyers, as flight prices could now go up.
There is now a proposal that the affected flights could get diverted to the Calicut and Kannur airports. Last year in August, the Calicut airport handled additional flights due to the Kerala floods, for both domestic and international flights.
24/06/19 Times Travel

Read More

Vizag airport preferred destination for gold smugglers

Visakhapatnam: In June 2015, sleuths from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Chennai and customs officials at Visakhapatnam airport seized around 62 kg gold bars valued over Rs 20 crore and detained 55 passengers coming from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Till date, it’s the largest seizure of gold at the city airport since it started operating international flights. All the smugglers were from Tamil Nadu.
In April last year, the air intelligence unit of customs at Visakhapatnam airport seized gold pieces weighing 410 grams and worth around Rs 13 lakh from a female Indian-origin passenger, who landed in the city from Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur.

In recent years, there have been many such cases.

The city’s proximity to South East Asian countries and direct connectivity with cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore has made Vizag airport vulnerable to gold smuggling, say officials. As most of these countries have good diplomatic relations with other nations, including India, security checks on flights originating from these countries are lenient, due to which gold smugglers are now targeting smaller airports like Visakhapatnam, they say. “The level of security checks for international flights often depends on the diplomatic relationship of that country to the one the flight is flying to. There are other factors too. For example, security checks are high for flights flying from Dubai to Indian cities.

“But the checks are comparatively lenient for flights from South East Asian cities to Indian cities, and also for flights between Dubai and South East Asian cities. For gold smugglers, travelling from Dubai via South East Asia to India looks to be the safest option,” said an DRI official.

In the last few years, acting on tip-offs and intelligence reports, customs and DRI officials have seized a huge amount of smuggled gold at the city airport. In 2018-19, customs seized 3.32 kg of gold valued at Rs 1.24 crore. “Gold smuggling at Vizag airport is on the rise. The smuggled gold mostly comes from Dubai via South East Asian countries, and most of these smugglers hail from Tamil Nadu,” said a customs officer.
25/06/19 Arpit Basu/Times of India

Read More

Kannur airport yet to go full steam

Thiruvananthapuram: Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL), the fourth international airport of the State, has been able to use only 20% of the inbuilt facilities since commencing commercial flight operations from the ₹2,292-crore airport six months ago.

The problem is due to the inability to throw open the fourth international gateway of the State and north Malabar to the foreign carriers and rope in more domestic carriers.
“Opening the doors to foreign carriers would have resulted in 40% use of the state-of-the-art facilities. One flight of a foreign airline would make the difference,” says managing director of KIAL V. Thulasidas.

In addition to the national carrier Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express (AIE), the aviation needs of Kannur are catered by IndiGo and GoAir. AIE has only been granted slots to operate to and from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Doha in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE to the Kannur airport.

The grounding of Jet Airways due to financial crisis and ban of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Boeing 737 Max 8 on Indian airspace had come as setbacks.

“The first six months of fight operations had gone beyond our expectations. Going by the current rate, we will surpass the targeted 1.8 million travellers in the first year ,” he told The Hindu.
The KIAL authorities are surprised by the demand for domestic flights from Kannur in the initial months. The air connectivity to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Hubli, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram and the passengers from Mysuru and Kodagu depending on Kannur have resulted in the surge.
The Karnataka government has planned to commence more services to Kannur to cater to the needs of flyers from Mysuru and Kodagu. But, this needs the Kerala government’s nod.
23/06/19 S Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

Read More

New smart system to prevent baggage theft at airports

New Delhi:  Researchers claim to have developed a smart system that can help prevent baggage theft and facilitate hassle free collection of luggage at airports by providing estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the conveyor belt for pickup.
The novel solution developed by a team at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab restricts a person from taking away someone else's baggage at the exit gate of the airport.

The system also assists the passengers by reminding them in case they have forgotten to collect their baggage, researchers said.

They noted that despite having a tight security system at most of the airports, baggage loss or theft is a common issue among travellers.

While there is a strict process in place for luggage collection on departure, very little emphasis has been given to baggage collection and theft prevention process on arrival, they said.

Also, airports have not come up with any system to locate or track baggage, which forces the passengers to stand in queue and wait for several minutes for their luggage to arrive.

"During our research, we could not find any existing systems providing services similar to us. Our solution is helpful to resolve these problems that have not been addressed so far," Gurjot Singh Gaba, Assistant Professor at LPU, told PTI.

"Passengers who pay a huge amount as airfare would benefit from this technology. Their baggage loss would be prevented and also they would easily collect their luggage at the airports," Gaba said.

According to a report by the aviation IT specialist, SITA, every minute 40 bags get mishandled worldwide.

In 2018, that amounted to more than 24.8 million mishandled bags, costing the air transport industry $2.4 billion, researchers said.
"Airport authorities receive baggage loss cases of million dollars every year which tarnishes their reputation. With our system, they could prevent losses of this kind. Hence, it will be beneficial for airport authorities as well," Gaba said.

Travellers face long queues at crowded airports, and have to spend a lot of time in queues for collecting the baggage.

The passengers have to stand around the conveyor belt until their respective baggage arrives.

The entrance of airport has high security but during exit there is no one to verify that the luggage is taken away only by the rightful owner.

The proposed system provides the solution to overcome both of these issues.
24/06/19 PTI/Times of India

Read More

Airport expansion: Land owners allege foul play in fixing compensation

Coimbatore: Owners of lands coming under block one, one of the 24 blocks identified for the acquisition of 627.89 acres for the expansion of the Coimbatore International Airport, recently petitioned District Collector alleging foul play in fixing compensation for the land under the two categories – agricultural and residential.

The petition said that lands used by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) from 1947 are currently categorised as agricultural land though they were used for non-agricultural purposes.

The compensation fixed by the government was ₹ 1,500 per sq.ft. for residential areas and ₹ 900 per sq.ft. for agricultural plots.

“AAI is using the land since 1947 and they constructed compound wall around the area. The land is being used for the wireless station and other arrangements. While surveying the land for acquisition, we were assured that ₹ 1,500 per sqft will be given as compensation. Now officials say that the land is categorised as agricultural for the acquisition,” said a land owner. Block two has 18.11 acres of land.
According to petitioners, the wireless station of AAI alone is spread over 10,000 sq.ft.
23/06/19 The Hindu

Read More

Bidding for Thiruvananthapuram Airport: Crash Landing?

Thiruvananthapuram: The decision of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to hand over the management, operation and development of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to the Adani group has not gone down well with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He has vehemently opposed the move, saying that no private player can manage the airport without the state government’s support. He seems to have made this a prestige issue and has started building resistance against the move.
Private investment is not a matter of anathema for the communist chief minister as the communists have already changed their mindset towards it. Moreover, he is rolling out the red carpet for investors from across the globe, though not many have shown much interest yet. “No authority can take the airport and hand it over to a private party ignoring the opinion and demand of the state government. No private player can manage or develop the airport without the cooperation and support of the state government. We have raised the issue several times and I would personally apprise the issue and clarify the state government’s stand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he told the state legislature. He took up the issue with Modi when he arrived in Delhi to attend a NITI Aayog meeting recently.
There is no reason to believe that the state government has developed a xenophobic attitude towards the Adani group; the latter already has operations in the state after winning the prestigious Vizhinjam International Sea Port project in Thiruvananthapuram. And in its effort to meet the target of completing the project in the stipulated timeframe, it is working hand in hand with the state government.
However, the chief minister’s warning that no force can operate or manage the airport without the cooperation of the state government has to be taken seriously. The communists have a track record of defeating entrepreneurs and warding off investors in the past several decades, causing the negative growth of industries in the state.
23/06/19 NV Ravindranathan Nair/India Legal

Read More

Deepika Padukone hailed for her response at Mumbai airport after being asked to produce her ID proof

A video of Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone being asked by a member of the airport security team to produce the identity proof has gone viral. With that, the Padmaavat star has also earned plenty of plaudits from her fans for the way she handled the situation.
Dress in all black, Deepika was spotted with her father, a badminton legend, at the Mumbai airport. As expected, also waiting to catch a glimpse of her were a group of Mumbai’s paparazzi.
No sooner did Deepika walk inside the airport, a CISF personnel shouted, “ID, ID?” By then Deepika had entered the airport with her father, who was about the get inside the airport buggy to go towards the security check-in. But Deepika turned and asked, “chahiye kya? (You want it?).” She then pulled her identity document out of her bag. Deepika returned to join her father only after the security staff was satisfied with the document.
The video was shared by photographer Viral Bhayani. The video has evoked an overwhelmingly positive reaction from internet users, who are applauding her for her gesture. One fan wrote, “She is really down to earth….tht’y people love her….she is amazing…love ya.” Another user commented, “How can some1 be so humble?” “Well done to both the security personnel and Ms Padukone,” commented another user.
23/06/19 Janta Ka Reporter

Read More

India Gets "World-Class" Command Centre For Air Traffic Control

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday inaugurated the Central Command Centre for Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) in Delhi and said it is an "absolute necessity" to ensure higher standards of safety.
As major airports are facing capacity constraints, the central ATFM system is primarily meant to balance the "capacity against the demand to achieve optimum utilization" of "airport, airspace and aircraft", Airport Authority of India (AAI) said in a statement.

Post inauguration, the minister said, "This is a world class system where on one large screen you can see all the civil aviation infrastructure in the country. The planes on the ground, the planes which are in the air, those planes you are in touch with - all of it is integrated with the ATC (air traffic control)."

"It is an absolute necessity. It was a requirement. I am glad that this state of the art facility is now operational...But more than that, it will also help in ensuring higher standards of safety. That is most crucial," Mr Puri said.

The minister said the defense forces will also use this system. "All platforms in the air, whether they are fixed wing or rotor craft, etc., are all part of this safety and integrated airflow management system," he added.

The central ATFM system integrates flight data from various subsystems like ATC Automation System, flight updates and flight update messages.
"The system also displays weather information along with static information about airports, airspaces and air routes. The system processes the demand and capacity information and provides decision-making tools to the ATFM Flow Manager for collaborative decision making and to ensure regulated flow of traffic at each airport in India," the AAI statement said.
22/06/19 PTI/NDTV

Read More

AAI begins year-long study to improve slot allotment at six major airports

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has started a year-long study to analyse air traffic, slot distribution and infrastructure at six major airports – Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata – in order to improve the mechanism of slot allotment, said its senior officials. A slot is a specific date and time at which an airline can arrive or depart at an airport.
It is allocated by a committee that comprises officials from the respective airport, aviation ministry, AAI, airlines, aviation regular DGCA, etc. “After one year, the results of this year-long study will be presented back to the DGCA and the ministry to take a call on how to improve slot allotment in the next year…We will take help of the central ATFM (air traffic flow management) in this year-long study,” a senior AAI official told PTI.
The AAI owns and manages more than 100 airports across the country. Recently, when Jet Airways temporarily shut down its operations on April 17, a tussle had erupted among the other airline companies in India to corner most of the Jet’s vacated slots, especially the ones at congested airports of Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.
The fight for slots had erupted as there is no written mechanism in India to allocate slots if an airline – in this case it was Jet Airways – temporarily shuts down its operations. Another senior AAI official told PTI, “Six major airports – Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai – have been identified where the analysis needs to take place. This exercise has been started in the month of May this year, and it will continue till March 2020.”
23/06/19 PTI/Financial Express

Read More

HP seeks 1000 Cr for expansion of Kullu & Kangra airports

Shimla: Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj while participating as representative of Chief Minister of HP, in the meetings of State Finance Ministers as well as GST Council held at New Delhi yesterday late evening, demanded Rs. 500 crore each for expansion and upgradation of Kullu and Kangra airports besides Rs. 426 crore for Shimla airport.
He said that an investment of Rs. 2500 crore was required for construction of new green field airport fit for landing wide bodied aircrafts in Mandi district. This would lead to a better connectivity within the state as well as for tourist destinations, he added.
22/06/19 UNI

Read More

Govt seeks Rs 1,426 cr to upgrade three airports

Shimla: The state government has demanded Rs 1,426 crore for upgrading three airports and asserted that Rs 2,500 crore would be required for the construction of a new greenfield airport, fit for landing of a wide-bodied aircraft in Mandi district.
The state required Rs 500 crore each for the upgrade of Kullu and Kangra airports and Rs 426 crore for Shimla airport, said Education Minister Suresh Bharadwaj, who represented the Chief Minister at state Finance Ministers and GST Council meeting in New Delhi today.
Referring to the proposed international airport in Mandi, Bharadwaj said this would lead to better connectivity within the state.
He also pleaded that the GST on components and materials used in construction of hydropower projects should be reduced and brought on a par with wind and solar power projects as hydel projects had also been classified as renewable energy.
Urging the Centre to expedite the proposed Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Manali-Leh rail line project and convert the Pathankot-Jogindernagar rail line to broad gauge, he said the Centre should bear 100 per cent cost of the projects, which were strategic from the defence point of view.
22/06/19 Tribune

Read More

More direct flights from Delhi to Bali soon, says Indonesian Minister

Nia Niscaya, Indonesia's Deputy Minister for Tourism, said direct flights will be operational from October this year from Delhi to Bali via Chennai, in a bid to spur the influx of tourists.
Speaking to ANI, the Minister acknowledged that improving connectivity between the two countries will give tourism a much-needed impetus.
"Highest growth in tourist numbers is from China, second from India. This year, the target we are given is a challenge due to the lack of connectivity. In October this year, a flight from Delhi to Bali via Chennai will be operational.
This will help tourism flourish. While we wait for this to happen, we are using Singapore as a hub. We are giving out deals (on flights) to encourage people coming to Singapore to extend their stay to Indonesia. Many Indians come to Singapore, and we want to tap this."
She went on to say that the focus is now on increasing connectivity to Bali, given its popularity among tourists. However, operations will be expanded to other destinations in the future, she added.
Echoing similar sentiments, India's Ambassador to Indonesia, Pradeep Kumar Rawat said talks are being held between civil aviation authorities in both countries regarding a boost to direct connectivity.
23/06/19 ANI/DNA

Read More

Indigo flight diverted to Bhubaneswar after passenger turns unruly

Bhubaneswar: Hyderabad-Guwahati Indigo flight 6E462 was on Sunday diverted to Bhubaneswar after a passenger turned unruly, airline sources said.
Irshad Ali, breached flight safety procedures by trying to open the door of the plane, they said. The passenger was deboarded after the aircraft landed at Bhubaneswar airport at 6.10 am and handed over to police.
23/06/19 Asian Age

Read More

CISF nabs two foreign passengers for fake air ticket at IGI airport

New Delhi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Saturday nabbed two Chinese passengers here after they entered the terminal building of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on a fake ticket.

Two foreign passengers, Zhang Peng, and Zuo Wei were intercepted by the CISF duty personnel of IGI airport after they were found roaming suspiciously in the check-in area of IGI airport Terminal-3, said an official release.

On further inquiry, it was revealed that both the passengers, to see-off their female friend, had gained access into the terminal building after showing an edited itinerary of a China Southern flight bound for Guangzhou.

Both the accused have been handed over to the Delhi Police for further legal action.
22/06/19 ANI/Yahoo!

Read More

Security lapse at Bengaluru airport: 7 passengers reach boarding gate without frisking

In a serious lapse of security at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru, seven people reached the boarding gate without having gone through the mandatory frisking.
The incident took place on Monday night at around 9pm. Staff members of Indigo airlines took note of four women passengers at a boarding gate whose boarding passes had not been stamped by security personnel. The women who were bound for Pune were later taken to the domestic security holding area and underwent security check before they were allowed to board the flight.
Shortly after this incident, a second group consisting of two men and one woman boarded a flight to Nagpur. It was only after they had boarded that the staff members of the airline noticed their passes had not been stamped.
The Additional Director General (airport sector) has reportedly asked for a thorough investigation into the incident and has written to the KIA personnel asking for a response.
Dated June 18, the letter has sought a proper explanation about the incident.
According to reports, the security booth was not manned at the time the passengers entered the security check premises. As a result, these passengers went through without any frisking or checking taking place.
22/06/19 News Minute

Read More

Proposal to divert flights to Calicut, Kannur airports

Kozhikode: The Ministry of Civil Aviation will consider a proposal to divert a few flights to Calicut and Kannur airports following the partial closure of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) for four months from November.

Flight operations will be regulated at the Kochi airport from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from November 20 to March 28, 2020 for the mandatory runway re-carpeting. The partial closure of the airport will not affect international traffic as a majority of flights are operated from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. But around 35 domestic services will have to be re-scheduled, it is learnt.

For the record, the Calicut airport had proved its prowess when the Kochi airport was shut down for a fortnight owing to floods in August last year. It handled around 180 additional movements, both in international and domestic sectors, apart from the unscheduled rescue flights.

For the Kannur airport, which was commissioned in December last year, business is yet to pick up. Many sense sluggish footfalls despite poaching passengers from Calicut and Mangaluru airports.

Following the flooding of the Kochi airport last year, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had rescheduled domestic flights from Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Mangaluru, and Coimbatore.

Meanwhile, Saudia will resume Haj flights with wide-bodied aircraft from the Calicut Airport from July 7. Air India will operate its jumbo flights to West Asia, while Emirates is awaiting approval from the Director General of Civil Aviation for operation of wide-bodied aircraft soon, officials said.

At present, Indigo, Spicejet, and flydubai are operating international services at maximum occupancy rates.

Given that the partial closure of the Kochi airport will affect daytime flights, CIAL does not want to lose revenue during the said period. Consequently, the company has requested airline companies to re- schedule their timings.
22/06/19 The Hindu

Read More

Extension of Jammu Airport runway

By application of the standards of a modern airport and the associated facilities for the passengers, Jammu Airport is lagging far behind looking to the importance of the winter capital city in more than one forms right from the angle of connectivity between its regions and with rest of the country as also it being a prominent tourist spot of general, religious and adventurous categories. Some overall improvement , additions and alterations have been made but they cannot be called as sufficient. The number of flights between Jammu and other cities, both exclusive and connected, have increased over the years numbering more than thirty on daily basis. It has been long felt that for landing and taking off of big aircraft, usually airbuses and of B-321 category etc, the runway is not adequate in length being only of 2042 metres.
Not that the authorities concerned were not seized of the matter but the project to have the runway of the standard size of 2438 x 45 metre faced hiccups and was held up due to environmental clearance. The project needs more land for the purpose, nearly 17 acres, which is learnt to be acquired from the Indian Air Force. However, it is heartening to note that Airports Authority of India (AAI) has succeeded in getting the environment clearance from the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.
22/06/19 Daily Excelsior

Read More

‘Land acquisition process for airport expedited’

Coimbatore: Land acquisition process for expansion of the city airport, which has been delayed for the last four years, will take place soon, collector K Rajamani said here on Thursday.

“The airport will be ready with all the necessary modern facilities shortly as land acquisition works are ongoing at a fast pace,” he said while speaking at the 13th annual general meeting of CREDAI Coimbatore.

The city never waits for governmental intervention for things to move on, Rajamani said. “Various industries and trade bodies have contributed to the growth of the region. Efforts are on to get the defence corridor project going.”

Acquisition for expansion of the airport has been in the works for more than a decade, but there were disagreements over the price. In April last year, 90% of the land owners agreed to the government-fixed price. But the government is yet to acquire the lands.
22/06/19 Times of India

Read More

Airport expansion: HC grants Centre time to file affidavit

Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa has allowed the defence ministry two weeks to file an affidavit on a petition filed by a local seeking direction to restrain the authorities from carrying out further development on the land requisitioned by the central government for expansion and improvement of Dabolim airport.
Petitioner Andre Pereira has alleged that the central government invoked the provision of the Defence of India Act, 1962, to requisition the community land used for agricultural purpose for improvement and expansion of the existing civilian Dabolim airport.

The Central government failed to release the land as per law and now it continues to be in occupation of the government authority, Pereira said. He has filed the plea seeking direction to restrain the ministry, the flag officer commanding, INS Gomantak and Airport Authority of India from carrying out further development in the requisitioned land.
During the hearing, the division bench comprising Justice S C Gupte and Justice Prithviraj K Chavan, while viewing the delay in filing the affidavit, also directed the two respondents to pay an amount of Rs 10,000 to the petitioner towards the cost of the adjournment.
22/06/19 Times of India

Read More

Azerbaijan Looks To Tap India Market With New Direct Flight

Azerbaijan Airlines is all set to connect New Delhi and Baku. An Eastern country with a Western outlook, Baku is known as the “Pearl of the Caucasus”. Combining history, culture and modernity, the vibrant city offers a safe and attractive setting along the Caspian Sea. From outdoor activities, phenomenal shopping experiences, luxury hotels, and beautiful venues and locations for weddings and honeymoons, Azerbaijan is a perfect destination for couples, families, and friends.

The new flight from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) will fly every Tuesday and Friday starting from June 25, arriving in Baku via Terminal 1 of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

Azerbaijan is one of the 41 countries in the world allowing Indians to receive a visa on arrival with a simplified electronic visa procedure. Azerbaijan’s exquisite natural beauty, fascinating history, opulent spa experiences, and delicious food and lively entertainment are just some of the reasons to consider the country for your summer holiday.
21/06/19 T3

Read More

AAI begins study to curb bird hits at airport

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has begun a study to curb the menace of bird hits at Chennai airport. A bird strike — an incident where a bird hits an aircraft either during landing or take-off — can be a big nuisance, as it can cause an aircraft to have an aborted take-off or even damage an aircraft, among other issues.
Officials of the AAI said they had recently awarded the contract to a four-member team headed by Krishnamurthy Venkatraman, former director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.
In the study, that will go on for about two years, experts will study the types of birds in the neighbouring areas of Chennai airport, the pattern of bird strikes in the past, the reasons why they are attracted to the airport and how it can be reduced.
Mr. Venkatraman, who has already done such studies at airports in Kolkata and Andaman, said: “We plan to create several small pits and traps in the airport with worms and small reptiles to feed the birds and then catch them. The bird hits happen before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m and can occur at an altitude of 500-2,000 m. We will carry out an elaborate study to find every minute detail and then propose solutions for the same.” On many occasions, kites come into the path of flights at the Chennai airport, he added.
22/06/19 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

Read More

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep S. Puri inaugurates AAI's C-ATFM centre

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated the state-of-the-art Central Air Traffic Flow Management system (C-ATFM) in New Delhi on Saturday.

In India, C-ATFM system came with an estimated cost of Rs. 107 Crore and has been already been implemented at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata airports.

With the growing air traffic flow in India, which is likely to expand in the near future, the requirement of ATFM or Air Traffic Flow Management has become the need of the hour.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Civil Aviation Minister said, "I am glad that this state-of-the-art technology/ facility is now operational and I think it will serve the needs of India's civil aviation, but more than that it will also help to ensure highest standards of safety, that is most crucial".

Helping to deliver optimum air traffic to airports with least average delay, this planning tool enables improved management of demand and capacity.

In 2017, India became the seventh country in the world after USA, Europe, Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Japan to implement an advanced state-of-the-art Central ATFM system.
22/06/19 ANI/Business Standard

Read More

MIAL defers Rs 2,000-crore bond offering over unfavourable market

Mumbai: GVK group-backed Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) has postponed plans for its Rs 2,000-crore bond offering and also deferred refinancing of some of its loans. According to India Ratings (Ind-Ra), MIAL has deferred its bond issue owing to unfavourable market conditions.

Ind-Ra has downgraded the rating assigned to term loans from ‘AA-’ to ‘A+’. Officials with bond arrangers said the bond market has been volatile. It is a tad unfriendly on credit issuance (bonds and loans). People have apprehensions and there is no clarity on how the environment is likely to be in the coming months.

Many players in the infrastructure sector are over leveraged. There is difficulty in terms of getting investors’ conviction in the environment where a lot of companies have not been able to meet their obligations.
The market is unfavourable so far as credit is concerned. This has impacted plans for investment grade companies also, they added. The company is in the infrastructure space. Ind-Ra said MIAL had planned to refinance a portion of the loan to meet cash requirements for both capex and Navi Mumbai International Airport equity. This plan, too, has been deferred, leading to compressed liquidity and weakening of forward-looking coverage ratios.

Earlier this week, the rating agency had cut the rating for MIAL’s term loans over erosion in built-up liquidity caused by factors like delays in real estate monetisation. The rating action also reflected higher-than-estimated capital expenditure and higher-than-projected equity injection in NMIAL. MIAL is the promoter of the upcoming New Mumbai International Airport.
21/06/19 Abhijit Lele/Business Standard

Read More