Manipur: Flight services resume with maximum 5 planes per day

Imphal: Passenger flight services in Manipur have been resumed from various cities across India, with five flights landing at Imphal Airport on Monday.

Earlier, following the request from the state government owing to rapid rise of COVID-19 cases and a huge backlog of samples, the Union ministry of civil aviation allowed to operate a single passenger flight service from Delhi to Imphal from June 18 to 28.

While briefing media persons on Sunday, chief minister N Biren Singh stated that the huge backlog of approximately 15,000 samples to be tested has been cleared during the last 10 days' period and fresh samples collected from the new returnees will be tested within 24 hours.
29/06/20 Vangamla Salle K S/EastMojo

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Now, Vistara plans Delhi flight from July 13, bookings open

Indore: There’s some good news in the air. The Indore-New Delhi sector is again attracting attention of more airline companies. Following IndiGo, Air Asia and Air India, now Vistara has declared its schedule for Delhi flights from July 13. Bookings began from Sunday, said TK Jose, Chairman of MP Chapter of Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI), on Monday. One-way fare has been pegged at Rs 3423 per passenger. Vistara plans two flights to New Delhi from here, one each in the morning and evening.

*With Vistara’s plan, the total number of flights to New Delhi will now read 5 (from July 13).

*Presently, IndiGo and Air Asia have non-stop daily flights.

*Air India has a direct flight on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
30/06/20 Manish Upadhyay/Free Press Journal

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Delhi Airport sees business potential from rare repatriation flights

New Delhi: International repatriation flights during the nationwide lockdown have opened up a new opportunity for the Delhi airport.
Executives at the country’s busiest airport were pleasantly surprised to see airlines from across the world flying to take back their citizens during the Covid-19-induced lockdown. “It was surprising to see some of the requests for repatriation flights. It was hard to believe that so many citizens from countries such as Panama, Nicaragua work in India that it could fill a full flight,” said a Delhi airport official.

During the two months of the lockdown, the airport handled about 92 flights handling 8,000 passengers to 28 destinations that weren’t connected to Delhi before. Now the airport, which is connected to 73 international locations, sees an opportunity — operating regular flights to some of these new destinations.

These include several long-haul destinations like Accra in Ghana; Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington in New Zealand; Brisbane in Australia; Cairo and Marsa Alam in Egypt; Jakarta and Denpasar-Bali in Indonesia; Zhengzhou in China; Shymkent, Atyrau and Karagandy/Sary-Arka in Kazakhstan; Domodedovo in Russia; and Dublin in Ireland.
30/06/20 Arndam Majumder/Business Standard

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Flight carrying 144 students stranded in Ukraine arrives in MP

Indore: A special Air India flight carrying 144 Indian students, who were stranded in Ukraine due to the coronavirus-induced restrictions, landed at the Indore airport in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday morning, an official said.
The flight reached the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport here via Delhi at 5.16 am, airport director Aryama Sanyal said.

She said 144 Indian students stranded in Ukraine arrived here.

The passengers were screened at the airport and their belongings were sanitised, she added.

A health department official said most of these students were from Madhya Pradesh, including 29 from Indore who have been sent to a quarantine centre in the city for seven days.
30/06/20 PTI/Outlook

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Two flights carrying 324 passengers from Auckland and Kuwait arrive at Chandigarh International Airport

Mohali: Two evacuation flights, under the Vande Bharat Mission of the Union Government to evacuate stranded Indian nationals from abroad, carrying 324 passengers landed at the Mohali International Airport here on Monday.
The first Air India flight carrying 140 evacuated passengers arrived from Auckland via New Delhi at the Mohali airport at 7.30 am.

The second flight by GoAir carrying 184 passengers from Kuwait via New Delhi at the Mohali airport arrived at 6.30 pm.

All repatriated persons, who mostly belong to different parts of Punjab, Haryana and nearby states, will reach their districts under the supervision of the respective state government representatives where they will be quarantined as per government guidelines.

Processing of passengers went smooth at the airport with joint efforts of all the authorities/agencies which were involved in the processing of passengers which were governments of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, CISF, Immigration, Customs and Punjab Police etc., along with Chandigarh International Airport.
Health department spokesman said that during the screening, the health officials took utmost precaution and the passengers also maintained social distancing.
29/06/20 Tribune

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Thirteen flights with 2880 passengers to arrive on Tuesday

Kochi: A total of 13 international relief flights with 2880 passengers will arrive at the Cochin International Airport, here on Tuesday.
Maldivian flight from Male at 0015, Spice Jet from Ras Al Khaima at 0215, Indigo from Dubai at 0330, Air India Express from Abu Dhabi at 0435, Salam Air from Muscat at 0830, Go Air from Dubai at 1735, Go Air from Doha at 1830, Air Arabia from Sharjah at 1230 and 1315, a CIAL spokesman said on Monday.
Air India Express from Dubai at 1815, Saudia from Dammam at 1930, Emirates from Dubai at 2200 and Kuwait Airways from Kuwait at 2305.
29/06/20 UNI

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2 flights with 324 passengers from NZ, Kuwait reach Chandigarh

Mohali: Two flights carrying 324 passengers landed at the Chandigarh international airport here today. The flights were run under the Vande Bharat Mission of the Union Government to evacuate Indian nationals stranded abroad.

An Air India flight carrying 140 passengers from Auckland arrived at 7.30 am while one by GoAir carrying 184 passengers from Kuwait landed at 6.30 pm.

All repatriated persons, who mostly belong to different parts of Punjab, Haryana and nearby states, will reach their districts under the supervision of their respective state government representatives where they will be quarantined as per the government guidelines. A spokesperson of the Health Department said no passenger was found suffering from fever, cough, cold, etc, during the screening and all were asymptomatic for Covid.
29/06/20 Tribune

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225 returnees arrive by flight

Dimapur: Altogether 225 people reached Dimapur by flight on June 29. According to DIPR report, out of 225 persons, Air India flight brought 111 from Kolkata, 17 from Imphal and 2 from Guwahati. Indigo flight carried 95 people from Kolkata. After the medical screening and mandatory procedures, all the returnees were transported by buses to their respective quarantine centres.
29/06/20 Nagaland Post

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Flights from Nashik hit post lockdown

Nashik: Despite the government lifting restrictions on travel that were in place during the lockdown and the air operators taking all the necessary precautions for the safety of travellers,the airlines plying from Nashik to Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune are hardly getting 10-20 passengers.
There are hardly any takers for the Trujet flights plying to Ahmedabad from May 27 or the Air Alliance flights, which have started operations to Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad from June 12.

Sources from Alliance Air said the passenger load for flights plying to all the three routes had heavily reduced after the lockdown. “On an average, we are not getting more than 15-20 passengers for all the three routes. It is not viable to run the flights if we do not even have 10 passengers,” said sources.
30/06/20 Tushar Pawar/Times of India

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Kashi airport gets inline baggage screening system

Varanasi: The LBS International Airport of Varanasi on Monday got the latest technology of baggage screening in the aviation industry, which will not only save time of passengers but also ensure foolproof checking of baggage.

With the formal inauguration of Inline Baggage Screening System (ILBS) by divisional commissioner Deepak Agrawal and airport director Akash Deep in the presence of officials of CISF, Airport Authority of India and all airlines this technology became operational at the airport.
Regarding the new arrangements of baggage screening, the airport director said, “With the operationalization of ILBS, Varanasi airport has been enabled to serve the passengers in a more efficient way. Unlike previous arrangements now the passengers will directly move to the check-in counter without waiting for registered baggage screening. This will save time and efforts of passengers.”
30/06/20 Times of India

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Ready for resumption of international flights: Delhi Airport

Delhi Airport says it is ready for the resumption of international flights in the 'new normal' environment basis its handling of repatriations and evacuation flights.
“During the two months of lockdown period, DIAL handled about 92 flights, handling ~8,000 passengers to destinations that have never been connected from Delhi Airport before the COVID situation. Operation of these international flights has ensured that Delhi Airport is ready for the resumption of International flights in the 'new normal' environment,” the airport operator said in a white paper.
 While the airport says its ready for international flights, the govt has extended the ban on restart of international flights till July 15, 2020. A senior govt official said that they would like to restart international flights but the two key airports in the country still have restrictions in place and the international operations may have to wait.
 “We would want to restart flights but Delhi and Mumbai, our two key airports that receive international traffic, have restrictions in place in terms of quarantine and rising number of cases. On top of it, there are restrictions at many international airports too,” said a senior govt official, who did not want to be identified.
Delhi airport also said that it received flights from 28 new destinations from around the world, which were not directly connected with Delhi airport, as the world and India conducted evacuation and repatriation both into and out of India.
 29/06/20 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Dealing with COVID-19 at Kempegowda International Airport

Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Bangalore International Airport Limited, discusses how Kempegowda Airport responded to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is preparing for the full resumption of operations.
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Kolkata girl adopts Delhi dog, loses it at airport

Kolkata: A dog was flown down from Delhi to be reunited with her adoptive parent in Kolkata after staying apart for three months during the lockdown. But the reunion barely lasted a few minutes as she bolted after a family member opened the cage to check on her at Kolkata airport. The family from Ballygunge has been searching for the six-month-old Fifi all around the airport for the past three days. They have also sent out desperate pleas on social media and have urged volunteers and animal lovers to launch a co-ordinated search. The family has shared Fifi’s pictures on Facebook and Instagram.
Nilanjana Kuthari, who had met Fifi on the campus in Shiv Nadar University in Noida, said she is worried that other dogs may harm her since Fifi is very small. “It is gut-wrenching when I go to bed every night thinking how she must be alone in an unfamiliar place. There are so many strays who can harm her. I keep thinking whether she has eaten or not and if she is looking for us too. Once its morning, I start for the airport with my mother to launch another search,” Kuthari said.
Soon after the lockdown began, and the university shut down, Fifi was checked into a foster home in Gurugram. Later, Nandidni Kaushik, another student at Kuthari’s university, made the arrangements for Fifi to be flown to Kolkata.
On Wednesday evening at Kolkata airport, Kuthari wanted to check if Fifi was fine after staying cramped for so long. The moment the door was opened, Fifi bolted and could not be traced till Saturday night.
29/06/20 Zeeshan Javed/Times of India

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Kannadigas arrive at Kannur airport from Dubai, face hardships

Kannur: Dismissing rumours of passengers who landed in Kannur from Dubai escaping from quarantine, the passengers clarified to Daijiworld that the news reported by some media is wrong and no one had skipped the process of quarantine.

Over 150 Kannadigas stranded at Dubai had planned to fly to Mangaluru. They also registered themselves for being quarantined in Mangaluru, it is learnt. But the private flight by which they had planned to return here failed to get clearance to land at Mangaluru because of some document-related issues. Therefore, the flight landed at the Kannur airport where the passengers were quarantined in hotels of Kasargod.
On arrival at Kannur, the passengers were advised to undergo seven days quarantine at Kannur and seven more days at Mangaluru. The passengers, who had already lost their jobs, and who had opted Mangaluru as their quarantine centre, expressed their reservations as they would have been forced to meet hotel bills twice.

After they reached Kasargod and were quarantined at a hotel for 12 hours, the district collector ordered seal down of the hotel and asked the people under quarantine to move out. Therefore the people passed through Talapady border with Karnataka by providing all information and by registering in Seva Sindhu app.
29/06/20 Daijiworld

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No int'l flights for JK under VBM-IV

Kashmir has not got any international flights under the fourth phase of ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ announced by the Government of India (GoI) on Sunday, while two domestic flights are scheduled for July 5 and 8.
As per the flight schedule issued today, no international flights have been reserved for the inhabitants of J&K stranded in and outside India following COVID-19 lockdown.
The first domestic flight, as per the 4th phase of VBM, would arrive in Srinagar from Delhi on July 5 and the second flight on July 8.
The third phase of the VBM started on June 3 and continues till July 15.
On Sunday, Indian national carrier, Air India published the evacuation flight schedule for Phase 4 of VBM. The airline will operate 170 repatriation flights to and from 17 countries.
As per the published schedule, the flights will operate 170 flights connecting India with Canada, US, UK, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa, Russia, Australia, Myanmar, Japan, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Kashmiris stranded in Dubai have expressed resentment over the failure of the authorities to add two more flights for J&K residents stranded in UAE.
Fiaz Gulzar, who is presently stranded in Dubai said scores of Kashmiris stuck in different places were struggling to reach their homes.
“Some are jobless and some even have medical emergencies. We appeal the higher authorities to evacuate us from here and provide us direct flight from Dubai to Srinagar,” he said.
29/06/20 Rising Kashmir

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Swab test compulsory at Agartala airport

Agartala: The Tripura government has made swab test compulsory for all incoming air travellers. A separate unit with an adequate number of doctors and health workers has been established at the arrival lounge of the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport here.

Only some passengers from each flight had undergone the test thus far. However, with several travellers testing positive for COVID-19, the government has mandated the test for all passengers.

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said: “We have taken this decision to keep every one secure.”
29/06/20 Syed Sajjad Ali/The Hindu

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Contract workers at the airport face the axe

Thiruvananthapuram: Retrenchment fears are looming large over 900-plus contract workers employed by the Air India SATS Airports Services Pvt Ltd. (AISATS) for the ground-handling services of most of the airlines operating from the Thiruvananthapuram international airport.

AISATS is a joint venture between national carrier Air India and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS).

The AISATS management is eyeing those with two years to 10 years service. Already over 50 contract workers whose passes had expired were shown the door citing pandemic-induced crisis faced by the aviation sector, airport sources said.
The contract workers would need identity cards issued by the Airport Director to enter the facility where they were deputed for ground-handling, customer service, ramp, cargo, and cleaning works.

Their applications for the passes would usually be forwarded by the AISATS management to the Airport Director after the mandatory clearance was obtained from the police station where the workers reside.

But now, the AISATS management had stopped forwarding applications for renewal of the passes, sources said. The aim seemed to be to phase out all the contract workers.
28/06/20 S Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

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Man who went missing from airport on his return from Kazakhstan traced to Ghaziabad, quarantined

New Delh:  A 72-year-old man, who went missing from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here upon his arrival from Kazakhstan, was traced to Ghaziabad and sent to home quarantine for 14 days, police said on Sunday.
Harjeet Singh, a resident of Dilshad Garden, arrived in Delhi on flight number AI 1916 from Almaty in Kazakhstan on Saturday and went missing from the entry gate of the screening hall at Terminal-3 of the IGI airport, they said.

The police were informed about it by the Yamuna Vihar sub-divisional magistrate''s (SDM) staff.

They said Singh deliberately skipped the screening procedure, following which he was to be institutionally quarantined, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

A case was registered under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Epidemic Act, a senior police officer said.

During investigation, it was revealed that the mobile phone number and address given by the passenger on arrival were not in use. With the help of CCTV footage, the vehicle in which Singh left the airport was identified, the officer said.

With the help of the registration number and electronic surveillance, Singh was traced to Indirapuram, Ghaziabad and sent to home quarantine for 14 days by the authority concerned, he added.
28/06/20 PTI/Outlook

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Bird worth Rs 20L dies 6 days after rescue

Kolkata: A hyacinth macaw — the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species — that found a new home at Alipore zoo last Sunday after being rescued, along with 21 other birds, by officials of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) from the airport’s cargo terminal died at the zoo on Saturday morning.
Earlier in 2018, of the over 153 exotic birds seized by DRI and handed over to the zoo, more than 50, including species such as Turquoise Grass Parakeet, Gouldian Finch and Bird of Paradise, had died at the facility, leading to the agency’s seeking an inquiry report from the zoo.

Talking to TOI, member secretary of West Bengal Zoo Authority, V K Yadav, said that the bird died at the zoo on Saturday. “As far as I know, the bird was sick when it was handed over to us. We also informed the DRI officials to be present during the post-mortem,” he added.

A source said that apparently, the reason of death was natural and that the bird had not eaten anything for the past three days.

Deepankar Aron, additional director general of DRI’s Kolkata unit, said they have got the news. “We are doing a lot of hard work as far as curbing wildlife crime is concerned — it’s the fourth largest illegal trade in terms of volume across the globe. Sadly, trade in exotic species is also originating in India. So, there should be a holistic approach by all stakeholders to safeguard the future of these species,” Aron added.
A source said the DRI had on Friday sent a letter to Alipore zoo, seeking proper care and security of the 22 birds rescued last Sunday. A pair of hyacinth macaw is reportedly sold for as high as Rs 40 lakh.
28/06/20 Krishnendu Mukherjee/Times of India

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Kerala Sets Up Antibody Testing Kiosks At Airports For Returnees From Gulf

As Kerala prepares for the return of expats from the gulf, Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said that the state has set up kiosks at the airport to conduct antibody tests for the returnees. This comes shortly after the Kerala government made pre-flight COVID-19 testing mandatory for passengers travelling from abroad through the Vande Bharat Mission, especially from the Gulf countries.

"The kiosks have been set up in association with HLL Lifecare Ltd and 14,800 test kits have been arranged through Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL). More numbers of kits will be arranged as the number of persons increasing," Kerala Health Minister said. The kiosks have been set up in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur airports. 

"Five to ten numbers of kiosks can be set up in each airports depending on the number of passengers. Antibody tests in airports are conducting mainly for passengers coming without conducting COVID-19 tests. Health workers are conducting tests keeping all security measures and wearing PPE kits," she said.
According to the minister, this would be a quick and easy way to detect the possibility of COVID in the passenger's system. Once a passenger tests positive on the antibody test, he/she will be sent to COVID first-line treatment centres to get diagnosed through an RTPCR test. His contacts will be sent to quarantine. If contacts in quarantine also show symptoms, they would be sent to the treatment centres.
28/06/20 Ananya Varma/RepublicWorld

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DGCA to hear residents through video conferencing

Surat: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) scheduled personal hearing of the residents of 198 buildings whose height is obstructing the flight path at Surat airport, through video conferencing between July 7 to July 10.
Following the directions of the Gujarat high court on the writ petitions filed by the residents, the DGCA served fresh notices to the residents of the 198 buildings on June 19 and fixed the hearing dates through video conferencing.
Sources said that once the personal hearing is conducted, the DGCA will file report placing on record its decision taken on the buildings obstructing the flight path at Surat airport before the HC. The final hearing in the case is scheduled in HC on July 27.
Earlier, the DGCA had fixed the personal hearing on March 19, but due to the lockdown the hearing was adjourned.
In December 2019, the HC had ordered the Centre, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on the unauthorised construction obstructing the flight path at the Surat airport.
The DGCA’s personal hearing has been organised after the Gujarat HC ordered to take up the issue of the building height obstruction at the war footing. The issue pertains to construction of buildings one metre to 14.3 metre higher than the permissible limits in the inner horizontal surface limit.
28/06/20 Times of India

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Wait grows longer for CISF cover in Surat airport

Surat: The current pandemic situation has thrown cold water over Surat airport’s demands for Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) cover of its premises.
After the recent announcement that a force of 360 CISF personnel will take over the security of the Diamond city’s airport, the specialised security force that guard major airports in country has shown its inability to do so till around December 2021.
After years of demand, the decision to deploy CISF at the airport was announced around a year ago. In the beginning of this year, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) had even carried out final survey for the purpose.
Currently 140 police personnel are posted at the airport police station who manage immigration related work as well. Surat is perhaps the only airport in the country that operates international flights sans CISF security. According to aviation activists CISF cover is one of the most important landmarks to become international airport.
Sanjay Ezhava, an aviation activist said that CISF is a highly trained specialised force that guards 26 international airports and few domestic airports as well. International flight operators will not consider Surat for operations in such a scenario.”
28/06/20 Yagnesh Bharat/Times of India

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3,630 expats to land in Kochi on Saturday

Kochi: Eighteen international repatriation flights are expected to bring 3,630 expatriates at Kochi airport on Saturday. Air India will operate a stopover flight from Paris via Delhi and Azur Air is scheduled to operate a direct flight from Kiev in Ukraine. Repatriation flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Kuwait, Doha, Muscat, Paris and Ukraine are scheduled to arrive on Saturday.

On Friday, 21 flights brought 3,960 passengers at the airport. Rapid antibody tests were conducted on 85 passengers who arrived till 6pm. IndiGo airlines cancelled its Riyadh flight while Spice Jet rescheduled its Ras Al Khaimah flight to Saturday. The domestic terminal witnessed 24 arrival and departure operations on Friday. One departure flight each to Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Pune, and one round trip to Mumbai were cancelled.
27/06/20 New Indian Express

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Cong MP Akhilesh Singh urges Union Civil Aviation minister for rebuilding Raxaul airport

Patna: Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh has urged Union Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri for rebuilding Raxaul airport in Bihars East Champaran.
The construction of an airport at Raxaul began in 1960s, Singh said, adding that flight operations began in 1968 but was later closed down in 1970.

The restoration of an airport at Raxaul, which is a is a sub-divisional town in the East Champaran district close to Nepal border, would serve the twin purposes of facilitating air travel for the people of the region and will be useful in protecting national security in view of increasing tensions with China which has growing influence over Nepal, the Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister said .

"I would request you to kindly consider and start the process of rebuilding Raxaul airport under UDAN scheme so that passengers should have convenience in reaching here besides helping the region''s development," Singh said in a letter addressed to Puri on Friday.

The UDAN scheme, which stands for ''Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik'' introduced by the Narendra Modi government, enables air operations on unserved routes, linking regional areas in a bid to promote balanced regional growth and also to make flying affordable for masses.
27/06/20 PTI/Outlook

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Massive backlog of Chinese imports at Mumbai airport, traders cry foul

Mumbai: The recent border skirmish with China and the consequent measures to fight with Beijing on economic grounds has resulted in a backlog of imports at the Mumbai International Airport. This comes even as traders and various associations are crying foul over delayed consignments.

"Presently. about 70 per cent of Indian import consignments are checked through the automated route. However, since 23 June any consignment coming from China is being subjected to 100 per cent manual checks. The same is true for Mumbai airport. The 100 per cent examination is a huge task for the customs department," a source told India Today.

According to sources, every mobile phone, every consignment at the Mumbai airport is being checked, resulting in a huge backlog to be cleared.

"Cannot put an estimate to the volume of consignment stuck but it is massive," the source added.

High-tension between India and China continues to hog headlines as Indians have called for a complete boycott of Chinese goods and the central government has pledged to surge tariffs for China in the aftermath of the border clash in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

Meanwhile, these stuck imports are creating hardships for traders and industry as their consignments are getting delayed for delivery and are also impacting production.

With further impact on the supply chain, the importers are alleging that they are at the receiving end.
"This is a sudden change. We have not been informed by the government if there has been any change in the policy. These random checks and examinations will only lead to harassment of the importers," a trader said, on condition of anonymity.

According to sources, while there is no official confirmation, the increased amount of checks by the customs are because of the intelligence alerts.

However, another person said that these checks have been in place at Mumbai airport for the past four days which should let the importers know that this is the new procedure.
27/06/20 Pankaj Upadhyay/India Today

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Work on B'luru founder's giant statue at airport takes-off

Bengaluru: Work on installing a 108-feet statue of Bengaluru founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda began near the international airport at Devanahalli on the city''s northern outskirts on his 510th birthday fest, an official said on Saturday.

"Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa laid the foundation stone for the statue of city founder Kempegowda near the airport where a 23-acre central park will also be built around it as a star attraction to thousands of visitors flying in and out of Bengaluru," the official told IANS here.

The Rs 80-crore statute will be built in a year for unveiling in 2021.

Yediyurappa also unveiled a replica of the statute at the venue.

The country''s third busiest airport in this tech city has also been named after the city founder.

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Congress state unit president D.K. Shivakumar, state Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, state Revenue Minister R. Ashoka and others were present on the occasion.

Adichunchanagiri Mutt pontiff Nirmalananda Swami, JSS Mutt pontiff Shivaratri Deshikendra Swami and Siddagagna Mutt pontiff Siddalinga Swamy graced the event.
27/06/20 IANS/Outlook

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Made-in-China airport utility reaches city, beats import bump by a whisker

Kolkata: A passenger facility at Kolkata airport that was threatening to become a casualty in the China-India skirmish 2,500-km away has managed to scrape through by the skin of its teeth.
The final consignment of automatic tray retrieval system (ATRS) from Shanghai in China reached the airport on Monday, putting to rest fears that the Rs 36-crore project could get caught in the ban cry against Chinese products following anger fuelled by the brutal killing of 20 Indian soldiers by Chinese troops in Galwan Valley, Ladakh, on June 15.
ATRS is meant to automatically send trays, on which passengers place cabin baggage items for screening, back to the preparation area for others to use. The system enables CISF officers to screen twice the number of bags than they currently do in an hour.

“We were rather tensed about the fate of the ATRS consignment that began arriving in batches earlier this month. Two consignments were still en-route when tensions with China flared up. Thankfully, they have now arrived, the last of them this Monday, barely hours before Customs clearance of Chinese goods into Kolkata port and airport got held up,” said an official.

The project that was to be completed much earlier got caught in the coronavirus pandemic. The first delay was owing to travel restrictions on Chinese nationals to stop the spread of Covid-19.
26/06/20 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

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Imphal landings under DGCA investigation. Here’s why

Mumbai: Airline flights into Imphal airport are currently under scrutiny by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The question being probed is: during descent to land in Imphal, do certain pilots breach the limits set for a safe descent rate to wilfully carry out an "unstabilized" or unsafe approach and landing in order to save fuel.
Read Manju V's report in full >>

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Alliance Air to commence Bengaluru-Goa ops

New Delhi: Despite the Covid-19 outbreak, Air India''s wholly-owned subsidiary Alliance Air will commence flight operations connecting Bengaluru to Goa via Mysuru from July 1.

According to the airline, all-inclusive one-way fares from Bengaluru-Goa will start at Rs 3,283.

"The airline is adhering to all government guidelines and is following all the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation," the airline said in a statement.

"Required precautionary measures are being taken within the aircraft as well at the time of check-in, boarding and arrival at the destination. The aircraft are being rigourously disinfected after each flight to eliminate any risk of contagion."
25/06/20 IANS/Outlook

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Kerala: CIAL begins Rapid Antibody testing of international passengers

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will begin Rapid Antibody testing of international arrival passengers from Friday morning in accordance with the instruction given by the state government. CIAL informed that a coordinated system has been established by the health, revenue and security officials to implement the testing and 200 passengers will be tested per hour.
“CIAL established 16 counters near the international arrival area, after the Customs hall for testing the passengers. HLL Lifecare Limited, a Government of India-owned company is entrusted with the testing job. International passengers who do not have Covid-19 negative certificates will have to undergo RAB test and they will not be allowed to leave the airports till the results come. Usually an RAB test will take 20-30 minutes and passengers who undergo it should wait at the allotted area till the results come. If found positive, they will be sent to Covid-19 treatment centres for further confirmation tests like RT-PCR,” said a statement from CIAL.
As per the latest guideline, all arrival passengers should wear N95 face mask, face shield, hand gloves and carry sanitisers. Apart from these, PPE kits are made mandatory for those returning from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. As UAE has already made Covid-19 tests mandatory for all departing passengers, they should produce the test certificate at the counter. Those who are coming from Qatar should have green status in Ehteraz, the COVID contact-tracing mobile app of Qatar government and they too will have to undergo RAB testing.
23 relief flights scheduled for Friday
CIAL schedules 23 relief flights from Middle East countries and one from Tbilisi, Georgia on Friday evacuating 4320 passengers. The airport confirms the arrival of 15 flights on Thursday with 2520 passengers.
25/06/20 Anantha Narayanan K/Times of India

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Alliance Air to commence Bengaluru-Goa service

Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India is set to commence flight operations connecting Bengaluru to Goa via Mysuru from July 1, 2020.

The flights will be operating daily, except Tuesday.

Flight 9I898 will depart from Bengaluru at 1420 hours and arrive in Mysuru at 1515 hours. This flight will further depart from Mysuru at 1555 hours and arrive in Goa at 1800 hours.

Flight 9I 897 will depart Goa at 1900 hours and arrive in Mysuru at 2030 hours. This flight will further depart Mysuru at 2055 hours and arrive in Bengaluru at 2145 hours.

An all-inclusive one-way fare from Bengaluru-Goa starts at ?3,383.
26/06/20 Nisha Shroff/Business Traveller

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1st charter flight brings 170 stranded Kashmiris from Dubai

A private charter flight brought back 170 Kashmiris on Thursday from Dubai even as hundreds others are still stranded in various emirates of the UAE. This was the first international charter plane from Dubail that landed at the Srinagar International Airport.

Several Kashmiris still stranded at Dubai told this newspaper that they were facing immense hardships there.
“The Rs 26,000 Dubai-Srinagar airfare in the repatriation flights is simply unaffordable for me as I have been here without a job and have exhausted all my savings on rent and food,” said Safdar Mehraj, a Kashmiri in Dubai.

“There were only two flights allocated by the government under Vande Bharat Mission for Srinagar from Dubai. Those organising the charter flights are not getting permissions easily,” Mehraj said.

Mushtaq Ahmad, another stranded Kashmiri in Dubai said: “I was running a business here which is now closed for last several months and there is no hope of its resumption till December.”
Ahmad said he was taken ill few days back and had to ask for Rs 50,000 from home. “The condition of our salespersons is all the more worse. They are also left with no money now. Who will send them money for air tickets?” he asked.

A Kashmiri working in the UAE told Greater Kashmir that he and his friends had “recently pooled some money” to buy air tickets for financially ailing stranded persons to send them back to Kashmir.

He said many philanthropic groups of Kashmiris were trying to help those in need. “We bought two tickets, but the question is why the airlines are charging hefty amounts. People like job seekers, salespersons, etc. are in a desperate situation,” he said.
26/06/20 Saqib Malik/Greater Kashmir

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153 stranded Indians from Sharjah arrive at Dabolim airport

Vasco: Air India brought in 153 stranded Indians from Sharjah to Goa recently. This has been the third Vande Bharat Mission operation to Goa. All sanitization and social distance protocols were duly followed and all help was extended by the Goa Airport staff.

Further, to meet the requirements of the passengers departing and arriving from Goa airport, some retail outlets are also made functional. Touchless purchase and payments besides social distance and sanitized areas were also ensured.
Meanwhile an association named Goans Connecting Goans Association (GSCGS) has expressed their gratitude towards the State government and Centre.

 “As the effects of the outbreak impacted millions across the world, we at GSCGS took up the call to help and assist our larger Goan diaspora in Dubai,” said GSCGS in a press statement.
26/06/20 Herald

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SP chief slams BJP for claiming credit for Kushinagar airport

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, here on Thursday, slammed the Yogi Adityanath government for claiming the work done by the SP government as his own. 'SP ka kaam, Janata ke naam,' he tweeted.
Yadav said his government had initiated the process for the Kushinagar airport. "We also started the process for Meerut, Moradabad, Chitrakoot Azamgarh and other airports," he said.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday granted international status to the Kushinagar airport and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it.
Yogi Adityanath said the international status to the Kushinagar airport would help in developing the Buddhist circuit, which included Kushinagar, Sarnath, Shravasti, Kapilvastu, Kaushmabhi, Sankisa, Lumbini and Bodhgaya.
25/06/20 IANS/daijiworld

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Jewar airport may see Chinese links snapped

Greater Noida: The post-Galwan anti-Chinese sentiment has started taking a toll on 'Made in China' products in the retail markers across the National Capital Region with a whopping 70 per cent decline in the sale.

The market associations across the NCR confirmed that the anti-Chinese sentiment has led to the decline in sale of such products and the consumers are ready to wait for alternative products for 10-15 days.

In the electronic markets, where most of the products are imported from China, there is a sudden surge in demand of Indian made products, and even products from other countries like Taiwan are largely being accepted by the consumers.

Bharat Ahuja, president, Bhagirathi Palace Market Association said, "There is a steep decline of about 70 per cent in sale of Chinese products. Since the import was stopped due to Covid-19, the shopkeepers had not placed orders due to apprehensions over restarting of Chinese units. Now, since the Galwan incident, the consumers are demanding non-Chinese goods."

"This has created an immense opportunity for the Indian companies and small and medium industries. It is time that the government shall step into help made in India grow," he added. Noida's Atta Market is also witnessing a steep decline in sale of such products. "People are angry. At times, they even yell on shop owners for displaying Made in China goods for sale. Customers are entering shops with an aim to buy non-Chinese products.
25/06/20 Abhishek Anand/India Today

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Industry forum welcomes Sabari airport project

The Central Travancore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CTCCI) has welcomed the State government’s initiative to establish the proposed Sabari International Greenfield Airport at Erumeli.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, CTCCI president Fr. Abraham Mulamoottil said that the video conference of the association members held on Friday extended full support to the government with regard to the proposed airport project.
Fr. Mulamottil said the CTCCI meeting further urged the government to focus on a decentralised and sustainable rural development plan establishing 20 towns in Central Travancore region as business centres.
He said the association members also offered their wholehearted support to the project and expressed interest in investing in the government project.

According to him, the proposed airport project would sure give a boost to the tourism industry that was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. It would also help revamp the State’s agriculture sector.
24/06/20 The Hindu

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Experts to give suggestions for development of aviation hub in Hisar: Hry Dy CM

Chandigarh: Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Wednesday said that a joint working group of experts will give suggestions to the State Government for the development of an aviation hub in Hisar.

He made the announcement during a video conference with leading airline operators.

"A joint working group of domain experts has been constituted which will give suggestions to the state government for the development of the aviation hub in Hisar,” Chautala said.

The Haryana government had earlier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to expand airstrips of the state and to increase facilities for training of commercial pilots, according to an official statement.

The state government has increased the budget of the civil aviation department for the 2020-2021 financial year from Rs 42.09 crore to Rs 173.07 crore.  Chautala said that for the expansion of the existing airstrip in Hisar, the government has reserved 4,200 acres of land near it.
25/06/20 Pioneer

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Mumbai airport handled over 2 lakh passengers since May 25

Mumbai: Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has catered to more than 2 lakh passengers since the commencement of the domestic operations from May 25.

During this period, the airport handled a total of 1,744 domestic flights, which were operated by 10 airlines, catering to a total of 34 sectors.

"CSMIA catered to a total of 2,01,258 passengers which includes 1,40,878 at departures and 60,380 at arrivals. CSMIA has handled a total of 1,744 domestic flights for the period from May 25 to June 24, operated by 10 airlines and catering to a total of 34 sectors in the country," Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) the operator for CSMIA said.

The MIAL said Mumbai-Delhi route saw the highest number of passengers with 41,206 air travellers. A total of 22,778 air passengers travelled in Mumbai-Kolkata route, 18,812 in Mumbai-Varanasi and 17,784 in Mumbai-Patna route.

"Upon the revival of commercial domestic flight operations on May 25, the airport was permitted to operate 25 departures and 25 arrivals per day. With the recent grant by the Government of Maharashtra to double the commercial passenger flight movements, the airport saw a total of 06 new sectors added to their existing schedule. The sectors include Trivandrum, Coimbatore, Raipur, Udaipur, Jabalpur, and Jalgaon," MIAL said.
25/06/20 Pankaj Upadhyay/India Today

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Kochi airport to receive 21 evacuation flights on Thursday

Kochi:  The Kochi airport is expected to receive 21 evacuation flights collectively bringing 3,420 passengers on Thursday. The arrivals include an Air India flight from London and an Ethiopian Air flight from Addis Ababa. On Wednesday, 4,060 repatriates mainly from West Asian countries and Australia touched down at the airport in 21 flights.

Kuwait Airways brought 331 evacuees from Kuwait, of which 160 were students pursuing studies in the country. An IndiGo flight from Doha and a Salam Air flight from Muscat were cancelled.  The domestic terminal handled 22 arrivals and departure operations on Wednesday. One departure each to New Delhi, Mysuru, Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad were cancelled. As many as 605 domestic passengers arrived, while 535 people boarded flights from the airport.
25/06/20 New Indian Express

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Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport becomes 1st in India with this new tech at both ends of runway

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport gets Aviation Weather Monitoring System! For the first time in India, an Aviation Weather Monitoring System has been installed at the Bangalore airport at both ends of the runway. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which operates Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) at its new runway has recently installed an indigenously-developed Aviation Weather Monitoring System (AWMS). According to a statement released by BIAL, it is the first airport in India to have this technology installed at both ends of the runway.

The Aviation Weather Monitoring System has been developed by Bengaluru-based CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL). Apart from this, Bengaluru airport has also installed four Drishti Transmissometers which is expected to help in measuring the Runway Visibility Range (RVR). With this, the number of RVRs installed at the both runways have reached six. According to the airport authorities, the Drishti Transmissometers are also made by NAL in association with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The move of installing RVRs and AWMS boosts the airport’s vision of ‘Made in India.’
Hari Marar, MD and CEO at BIAL said that this technology is critical for airport operations. According to BIAL, these Drishti transmissometers are known for their accuracy at runway visual range and are also suitable for all categories of airports that include CAT I and II, and CAT III A & B. The authorities said that once the Aviation Weather Monitoring System and Runway Visibility Range are integrated, the data collected can be displayed on one single screen. Further, the web-enabled feature allows the data to be accessed and maintenance can also be carried out.
25/06/20 Pratishtha Nangia/Financial Express

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Machine at Indore airport to ensure social distancing

New Delhi: A smart machine with artificial intelligence-based sensors has been installed at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar international airport in Madhya Pradesh which warns people to keep a safe distance when a gap of one metre is not maintained.

The machine relays messages in both Hindi and English, like “Door Rahiye, Surakshit Rahiye and Keep Distance, Stay Safe”. It also has an in-built alarm. Airport director Aryma Sanyal said the machine was developed by a private firm and is equipped with artificial intelligence-based sensors.

The machine was inaugurated by Indore BJP MP Shankar Lalwani on Wednesday. “This machine will make people aware about the COVID-19 threat and also help in checking the spread of the infection,” Lalwani said
24/06/20 Indian Express

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Kushinagar Airport Now International Airport, Will Boost Tourism: PM Modi

New Delhi: Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, has given its approval for the declaration of Kushinagar airport in Uttar Pradesh as an International airport.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter to apprise about the decision.
"Great news for Uttar Pradesh, tourism and those inspired by the noble thoughts of Lord Buddha! Kushinagar Airport will now be an international airport. Connectivity will improve significantly. More tourists and pilgrims will also mean better opportunities for local population," Modi tweeted.
Kushinagar Airport is located in the vicinity of several Buddhist cultural Sites like Sravasti, Kapilvastu, Lumbini (Kushinagar itself is a Buddhist cultural site) and declaration as an "International Airport" will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of competitive costs to the air-travellers.
24/06/20 ANI/Business World

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Bihar CM inspects ongoing construction works at civil enclave of Darbhanga airport

Patna: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday inspected ongoing construction works at civil enclave of Darbhanga airport and asked the officials of Airport Authority of India (AAI) to complete the remaining works at the earliest keeping in mind ‘huge importance’ of the project.

He also spoke to the union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri and the AAI chairman Arvind Singh over the phone from the construction site and urged both of them to take necessary steps to remove the hurdles which are coming in way of completing the project.

“Certain issues related to the construction works were solved immediately at the spot soon after the CM spoke to Puri over the phone,” a state government official who was accompanying Nitish, told TOI over phone.

A civil enclave was being constructed at the Darbhanga airport, which is an air base of Indian Air Force (IAF).

“The civil airport at Darbhanga is a very important project. Beginning of flights from this airport will provide convenience to people of entire north Bihar. The opening of this civil airport will not only increase economic activities in the entire Mithila region but also provide new avenues for business and trade,” Nitish said while inspecting the construction works.

The CM further asked Darbhanga DM Tyagrajan SM, who was present at the construction site, to ensure regular monitoring of the ongoing construction works to complete the project at the earliest.

A DyGM-rank officer of the AAI, who was present at the civil enclave, informed the CM that 55% works of the civil air-strip had already been completed.

CM further asked the AAI officials to widen the taxi track and also expedite the construction work of terminal building. CM also suggested constructing a separate link road for connecting the terminal building to the NH-527B. He also suggested creating the entry and exit to the terminal building from gate no-1, so that the main entrance to the civil airport and the air forces’ air base remains separate.
24/06/20 Madan Kumar/Times of India

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Three flights cancelled

Ahmedabad: The departure of three flights got cancelled from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
These are two flights to Hyderabad and one to Kolkata. Sources confirmed that all three flights were cancelled due to operational constraints faced by airlines. A source in an airline said that at times, there are not even five passengers scheduled to travel by a certain flight and as a result, departures get cancelled.tnn
24/06/20 Times of India

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Amritsar Airport 3rd busiest in the country during lockdown

Amritsar: Suspension of international commercial flights by India during lockdown has disclosed the real potential of Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport Amritsar. In a press release, Sameep Singh Gumtala, Global Convener of the FlyAmritsar Initiative said that even during suspension offlights in the month of April, Amritsar became the third busiest airport in the country. Many countries operated special repatriation charter flights from the Airport to fly its residents back to their home country of residence.
Gumtala shared that as per recent traffic report released by Airport Authority of India (AAI) for the month of April 2020, Amritsar recorded a total of 5972 international and domestic passengers leaving behind all major airports in India except Delhi and Mumbai. Delhi was on the top with 20, 624 and Mumbai on second with 9051 passengers. A total of 5011 international passengers, also the third highest number among all international airports in the country. Delhi airport recorded 19514 followed by Mumbai with 7956 international passengers. All other major airports in India like Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Kolkata were also not near to the numbers handled by Amritsar.
A complete suspension of flights in late march left thousands of foreign nationals and residents stranded across the country including Punjab. The biggest number UK and Canada residents stranded in India was recorded in Punjab. To repatriate its citizens, their Consulates in India arranged special chartered flights operated by leading airline carriers including British Airways by the UK.
Amritsar handled the biggest number of flights from India to London Heathrow airport by UK and also by the Canadian foreign office to Toronto, Vancouver and Montrealto fly back Britons and Canadians. These overseas flights started in April and continued to operate till mid May 2020. According to unofficial estimates, the number of flights from Amritsarby UK and Canada is one of the biggest during the current crisis by these two countries from all over the World.
24/06/20 Punjab News Express

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Made in India aviation weather monitoring system installed at Bengaluru airport

An indigenously-developed Aviation Weather Monitoring System (AWMS) has been installed at the new runway of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
With this, KIA has become the first airport in the country to install indigenous AWMS technology, developed by Bengaluru-based CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), at both ends of the new runway.
In addition, KIA has installed four Drishti transmissometers – also developed by NAL, in association with the India Metrological Department (IMD) – to measure the runway visibility range (RVR).
KIA has the unique honour of having NAL’s 50th Drishti installed at its runway. With this, KIA now has a total of six Made in India RVRs at both runways, Bangalore International Airport Limited said.
The Drishti transmissometer is acclaimed for precise reporting, helping pilots with an accurate runway visual range. It is suitable for all categories of airports such as CAT I, CAT II, CAT III A & B and measures RVR down to 25 meters.
With AWMS and RVR integrated, the data is displayed on a single display screen. With the web-enabled feature, the data can be accessed, and maintenance carried out from any location.
“At BIAL, we are proud to take the lead to adopt this indigenous technology, which is critical for airport operations. This technology will enable seamless operations at KIA,” said Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL.
23/06/20 Bangalore Mirror

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Sensors to check crowding at airport

New Delhi: To enforce social distancing at Indira Gandhi International Airport, the operator, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), will soon be installing sensors to map the total number of people in a room or a queue. An alarm will sound each time the number exceeds the value set in the system. A source said trials are currently being conducted for implementing this technology.
DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar had mentioned this technology in a webinar, which was also attended by Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri, last week. “For instance, if a washroom already has the set number of people, an alarm will sound if another person enters. This will indicate that no one can enter until a person exits. This can be an effective way of managing crowds,” he had said.
A source said the technology would be installed in the ceiling and small laser beams would be projected down vertically, creating a virtual grid of the room. Each individual would be treated as a “dot” or a value in the system. The alarm would ring if the predefined value was exceeded.

“If the value for a washroom is set at four, an alarm will ring as soon as a fifth person enters,” said a source, adding that a similar technology was being used in immigration to help identify the time it would take to reach the counter.

DIAL did not comment on when the technology would be implemented at IGI airport. Officials privy to the development said this won’t be the last addition to the technologies being introduced for the safety of passengers.
24/06/20 Pankhuri Yadav/Times of India

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KIA to get technology that lets surfaces self-sanitise

Bengaluru: The Kempegowda International Airport will soon introduce a nano-coating technology that enables surfaces to self-sanitise. The surface disinfection will reduce the use of chemicals. This is
part of a series of measures to enhance sanitisation at the country’s third busiest airport.
The enhanced hygiene measures include UV-treated trays where a dedicated team manually sanitises them aer every use; UV-treated trolleys with two custom-designed UV tunnels to disinfect trolleys aer every use. The tunnels are located at a cordoned-o area of the terminal.
Ultra Low Volume (ULV) spray treatment for check-in bags, where all outbound passenger bags are
sanitised before dispatch to the aircra is also part of the enhanced measure.
“Sanitisation of high-traic areas and frequently touched surfaces continues to be done every 30 minutes manually without disrupting the flow of passengers. All high-traic areas are sanitised once in three hours by using ULV machines — eight times in 24 hours,” KIA’s operator Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) said.
23/06/20 Rasheed Kappan/Deccan Herald

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Officer at Calicut International Airport test positive for COVID-19

Kozhikode: A week after a terminal Manager of the Calicut International airport tested positive for COVID-19, yet another officer of the Airport has been tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
According to health authorities, the sample of the officer was taken as part of testing of all those who had come in contact with the terminal manager.
Consequent to this, few shops and a petrol bunk in his hometown Naduvanoor, where the man had visited since the date on which his sample was collected for testing, has been shut, the authorities said.
23/06/20 UNI

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Kerala: 23 flights with 4420 passengers to arrive at CIAL

Kochi: Cochin International Airport is set to receive 23 relief flights, evacuating 4420 passengers on Wednesday.
The flights include a repatriation operation from Sydney by bringing 180 passengers from Australia via New Delhi, a CIAL spokesman said on Tuesday.
The relief flights to arrive on Wednesday are; Air Arabia from Sharjah at 0005, 0200, 0830, 1115 and 1530, Air India Express from Abudhabi at 0255, SpiceJet from Ras Al Khaimah 0500, Oman Air from Muscat at 0715 and 1330, Salam Air from Muscat at 0930 and 1355.
23/06/20 UNI

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Indigo, Air Vistara passengers advised to remain home

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh Health Department on Tuesday asked passengers who had landed at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur on June 7 and 10 to remain in home isolation.

“Passengers who landed at Raipur by Indigo flight 6G-2757 on June 7 and by Air Vistara UK-797 on June 10 are suggested to remain in home isolation. One passenger each in both flights were detected coronavirus positive,” a press release from the state government said.

In view of public's and their own health safety, the Health Department has asked inter-state travellers to remain in paid quarantine for 14 days and then in home quarantine for 14 days.

24/06/20 Pioneer

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Flyers at Chennai airport anxious over requirement of e-pass

Do you need an e-pass to travel to Chennai airport during the lockdown? This question continues to weigh on air passengers’ minds, despite the authorities having clarified that a boarding pass or a ticket will do.

Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that the State government had already communicated to them that passengers just need to keep their ticket or boarding pass handy. “Departing passengers don’t require an e-pass from the Tamil Nadu government,” an official said.

Yet, social media platforms are abuzz with queries from passengers residing in various parts of the city. Swetha S., a resident of Chennai said, “I have to go to the airport to pick up a family friend. The return journey may not be a problem as the passenger will be with me. But I’m worried if I will be asked to show an e-pass while getting to the airport.”
One of the reasons for the prevailing anxiety is that some passengers have been finding it difficult to get a cab. Among them is Nirnoy Nimesh, who tweeted that a private cab company had backed out at the last minute. “I had booked a cab from your website for dropping at Chennai Airport on 20Jun. My pickup time was 1:15 PM and at the last moment I was asked for epass by your company. And cab didn't arrive till 2PM, I had to make my own arrangements and travel,” his tweet read.
22/06/20 The Hindu

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Busy week ahead at Vizag, Vijayawada airports, 16 repatriation flights to land

Visakhapatnam: Airport officials in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada are staring at a tough week ahead as 16 repatriation flights are scheduled to arrive at these two airports in Andhra Pradesh within the next few days. Further, regular domestic flight numbers are also increasing every week. Thus, airport officials and paramedical and health department staff are staying vigilant.

To put things in perspective, before the lockdown, Visakhapatnam used to have 14 international flights from the airport in a week— operated by three airlines. On the other hand, the Vijayawada airport, despite being an international airport, had no international flights running.

Of the 16 repatriation flights set to arrive in Andhra Pradesh, 10 will land at the Visakhapatnam airport while six will land at Vijayawada airport. Eight of these flights will be operated by Air India under the third phase of the Vande Bharat Mission.

The remaining eight flights will be operated by airlines of west Asian countries— Air Arabia, Jazeera Airways and Kuwait Airways. The flights operated by Kuwait’s national carrier are being called ‘amnesty flights ’.

Speaking to TOI, a senior airport official said, “These flights have been strategically selected from countries where there is a large Telugu population. It’s always a tough job to clear passengers on repatriation flights. We have to be very careful with paperwork at the same time sensitive to the people. Further, we have domestic flights as well. However, we are prepared to handle the huge inflow.”
23/06/20 Arpit Basu & Sulogna Mehta/Times of India

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CIAL confirms eight repatriation flights on Monday

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) confirmed eight repatriation flights on Monday that will evacuate 780 passengers from Middle East countries and Maldives.
The relief operations commenced with the landing of the Air Arabia flight (G9 425) from Sharjah at 4.40am. The Qatar Airways flight (QR 8364) from Doha touched down at 9.40as and Saudia flight from Riyadh landed at 11.49am.
The Indigo flight (6E 9377) from Doha reached CIAL at 1.17pm and the Air India Express from Dubai reached at 5.47pm. The Indigo flight (6E 9111) from Male landed at 4.13pm and, Air India Express from Dubai is expected to land at 9.06pm. Two Air Arabia flights, G9 425 and G9 429, from Sharjah are scheduled to land at 10.30pm and 11.30pm.

The Indigo flight from Doha and Kuwait airways from Kuwait were cancelled on Monday. The domestic terminal handled 32 arrival/departure operations on Monday. One departure operation to Delhi was cancelled.

There are 12 repatriation flights scheduled for Tuesday at CIAL, out of which 11 flights are from the Middle East. The arrival of Air Arabia flight from Sharjah at 1am will commence the evacuation operations at the airport for the day. The Air India flight from Metro Cebu, Philippines, is scheduled at 7am landing after stopover at Mumbai and Chennai.
22/06/20 Anantha Narayanan K/Times of India

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Day 28: Jammu, Srinagar Airports receive 20 domestic flights with 2,290 passengers

Jammu: On Day 28 of resumption of operation of routine domestic operations in Jammu and Kashmir, 20 domestic flights with 2,290 passengers on board today arrived at Jammu and Srinagar Airports.

A total of 878 passengers aboard 9 regular commercial flights arrived at the Jammu Airport while 11 domestic flights with about 1412 passengers on board landed at Srinagar Airport today.

After arrival, all the passengers were tested for the COVID-19 virus and transported to their destinations at both the airports amid strict observance of all necessary preventive protocols.

The Government has made elaborate arrangements for the arrival, screening, sampling and proper transportation of the passengers to the quarantine centers taking special care of guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed by the Union Ministries of Civil Aviation and Health and Family Welfare.
21/06/20 Kashmir Images

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CIAL to receive 12 flights with 2160 passengers on Tuesday

Kochi: A total of 12 relief flights with 2160 passengers from Middle East and the Philippines will arrive at Cochin International Airport here on Tuesday.
The airport confirmed the arrival of eight international flights with 1780 passengers on Monday, a CIAL spokesman said.
The arrival of flights scheduled for Tuesday are; Air Arabia from Sharjah at 0100, 0130 and 1230, Air India flight from Cebu, The Philippines via Mumbai and Chennai at 0700, Salam Air from Muscat at 1115, Indigo from Doha at 1355 and Air India Express from Dubai at 1740.
22/06/20 UNI

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Barrette lighting for Thiruvananthapuram airport runway

Thiruvananthapuram: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is gearing up to complete the conversion of the existing approach lighting system into Barrette Cat I approach lighting system at the beginning of Runway 32 of the Thiruvananthapuram international airport.

A barrette is three or more ground aeronautical lights closely spaced together in a transverse line so as to appear as a bar of lights at least three metres in length from a distance. Placed every 30 metres, they will ensure more visibility of the central line of the runway to the pilot about to land.
The Barrette light system, as specified by the Director General of Civil Aviation, is mandatory for the airport to get the aerodrome licence.
The installation of the high intensity, uni-directional barrette lights for all weather conditions has been completed in the first 540 m of the threshold of the runway on the Vallakadavu side. The remaining 360 m is outside the airport premises till Muttathara on the approach path to Runway 32 that is 3,396-m long.
The AAI has secured permission of the Public Works Department to mount the lights on the Ponnara bridge above the Parvathy Puthanar that runs close to the boundary wall. The AAI says the light system with one cross bar will not affect the movement of road users through the bridge. In the Barrette system, one pole will be at the beginning of the NS depot-Vallakadavu road near the Ponnara bridge and the other on Ponnara bridge approach road and the height clearance will be 5.5 m from the ground. Other lights near the bank of the Parvathy Puthanar will be installed on cantilever/GI truss.
In Muttathara, these lights will be mounted on the land under the AAI. It hopes that the local people will support the initiative following the talks with the Vallakadavu-Vayyamoola Joint Action Council and the residents’ association in the locality.
The barrette lights will supplement the Instrument Landing System (ILS) installed to guide aircraft to precision landing. With ILS, the aircraft can land at low visibility of even 800 metres.
21/06/20 S. Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

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Abandoned Amarda Road Airport best suited for planned Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul hub

Bhubaneswar: The Finance Minister, during the announcement of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus packages last month, had said that the government has plans to make India a global hub for Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO).

Nirmala Sitharaman had announced: “Not just civil aircraft but defence aircraft can also benefit from the MRO if we make India a huge hub. Maintenance cost for all airlines will come down and that again will have a ripple effect on passengers. Travelers can probably pay less after that,” she had said. This was told as part of the fourth tranche of stimulus measures to boost the economy amid the corona virus pandemic. The FM had also said that the tax regime for the MRO ecosystem was being altered to favour setting up such hubs in India.

According to Anil Dhir, the abandoned World War II airport at Amarda Road is best suited for this purpose. Dhir, who has conducted a lot of historical research on the airfield and has written extensively on it, says that it has one of the longest runways and around 900 acres of land. Dhir said that no Indian airport has the infrastructure for setting up MRO facilities. Hangars and space are scarce and many of the airports have congestion. Setting up a Greenfield project will be very expensive; the Amarda Road base can easily be activated and converted into a world class hub. Being close to the Bay of Bengal, trails and testing of aircraft will also be safer and easier.

The Amarda Road Airfield has a short but secret illustrious history which has never been made public. It was made during the Second World War as a forward airfield against the Japanese conquest of Burma. The large strip was used as a landing ground for planes and as a training space for special bombing missions. It had the longest runway in Asia, more than 3.5 km long. The total runways, taxiways, aprons, etc. were more than 60 km. It was eventually abandoned after the war.

According to the Economic Survey for 2019-20, the annual import of MRO services by Indian carriers is around Rs 10,000 crore. With airlines’ fleet growing annually by 100, the size of domestic airline MRO is set to grow annually to Rs 21,600 crore in the next five years and to Rs 36,000 crore once the fleet size reaches 2,000 aircraft,” the Survey said.

A competitive Indian MRO industry would help Indian carriers reduce expenses on such works which are currently being done overseas. India was one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world, with a spiraling annual spend on Aircraft component repairs and air-frame maintenance.
21/06/20 Orissadiary.com

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Mangaluru: Flight chartered by KSCC brings stranded Kannadigas from Sharjah

Mangaluru: Karnataka Sports and Cultural Club (KSCC), an entity registered with Community Development Authority, UAE and government of Dubai, UAE, has become the first sports and cultural club to arrange a charter flight to repatriate stranded Kannadigas in the UAE. The flight landed at Mangaluru International Airport at 11 am on Sunday June 21.
The Air Arabia flight with 173 passengers took off from Sharjah International Airport around 6 am (UAE time). The flight had 29 pregnant women, 16 children, five infants, senior citizens, people with medical emergencies, people who have lost jobs, stranded visit visa holders and those who had reported deaths in their families.
KSCC manager Shafi said that all the legal procedures were carried out smoothly. The charter flight was arranged only for stranded Kannadigas.

KSCC had set up a help desk to finalize the list of passengers, given discounted ticket fares for needy passengers who could afford the full repatriation cost, and free PPE kits and snacks to all the passengers.

Rapid tests for coronavirus were conducted before departure and mandatory quarantine for all the passengers was arranged according to protocol in three hotels in Mangaluru for a period of seven days.
21/06/20 daijiworld

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Travel Food Services issues safety measures for airport lounges and F&B

Indian travel F&B and retail company, Travel Food Services (TFS) has rolled out a comprehensive safety programme for its outlets and lounges.

TFS manages over 300 outlets and 19 lounges across travel-hubs including airports and railway stations in 18 Indian cities.

At their Bengaluru Airport outlets, acrylic sheets are installed at the lounge reception; a staff member is deployed near the hot beverage counter for serving, and footprint markings are made for queue management.

A pedal-based sanitiser facility, tables with sanitised and non-sanitised labels and signage to not occupy certain seats and maintain physical distancing are few safety measures adopted at TFS outlets and lounge services at Mumbai Airport.
22/06/20 Sanchita Nambiar/Business Traveller

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AAI to give Adani Group till November to take over three privatised airports; rejects request for moratorium on payments

Mumbai: The state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to give the Adani Group time till November 12, 2020 to take over the commercial operations of the three privatised airports Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru, said multiple people in the know.
This is less than half the seven-month extension the group had asked for, citing the Force Majeure clause because of Covid19. ET had reported it on June 4.
AAI will also reject the company’s requests of a six month moratorium on payment of concession fees and a three month extension on reimbursements to AAI. The decisions were made by the AAI board on Friday, said a senior executive.
An Adani Group spokesman didn't immediately respond to queries.
Adani had signed concession agreements for the three airports on February 14, 2020 and was supposed to take over commercial operations by August 12. But in March, it asked for an extension, citing the acute impact of the Coronavirus crisis and subsequent lockdown on aviation business. Adani had in Feb 2019 won bids to privatise six airports also including Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. It hasn't signed concession agreements for the latter three yet.
In the board meeting, AAI has said the decision to curtail the extension to three months was made considering the partial resumption of flights from May 25 and resumption of several economic activities from June 1, one of the people told ET. The government allowed flights to resume after keeping them suspended since March 25 to prevent the spread of the virus.
20/06/20 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Alitalia operates maiden freighter to Mumbai

The Boeing 777 landed at 41.19 am and departed at 5.45 pm with medical cargo to Rome and then onwards to New York, said MIAL spokesperson. Currently, Alitalia is a non-scheduled airline operating one weekly flight, every Sunday until July, said MIAL adding the airline will be arriving in Mumbai at 5 am departing from Mumbai at 5.45 pm.
"The Mumbai airport has handled similar passenger-cargo flights with airlines such as Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Emirates Sky Cargo, KLM, Spice Jet, Indigo and Oman Air that have operated passenger flights converted to cargo operations during the lockdown," said MIAL.
"Additionally, during the lockdown, Mumbai airport has necessitated the need of the hour and has transported 3000 tonnes of supplies such as PPE, masks, gloves, and Covid-19 diagnostic kits which have been operated by over 900 flights including scheduled freighters and non-scheduled charters. The essentials were distributed to the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chennai, Hyderabad as well as the remote areas of the country where these essentials are scarce," said MIAL adding that Mumbai is a gateway for Pharmaceuticals, Perishables, and Engineering goods to India.
21/06/20 Manju V/Times of India

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Hyderabad-bound flight cancelled

Ahmedabad: The departure of a Hyderabad-bound flight was cancelled on Saturday from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport in Ahmedabad.
Well-placed sources confirmed that the flight was cancelled due to operational issues faced by the airline. Of late, flight cancellations in the last minute have been rampant at the city airport, either because of operational reasons or lack of adequate passenger load to viably operate the aircraft.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, individuals are apprehensive of travelling. Moreover, travel restrictions imposed by corporates have also impacted business travel. On Friday as well, two flights departures were cancelled from the city airport.
21/06/20 Times of India

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AAI likely to ask Adani Group to take over 3 airports by Nov, 6-month extension unlikely

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is unlikely to provide a six-month extension to Adani Group for taking over the three airports of Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Mangalore, sources close to the development told CNBC-TV18. The state-run airport operator is now expected to ask the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate to commence commercial operations at the airport by completing all conditions and financial closure by November 2020, sources said, indicating an extension of three months.

AAI is likely to have decided on a three-month extension as compared to six months due to partial resumption of domestic flights, permission to some categories of foreign nationals to arrive in India, removal of some lockdown restrictions and phased resumption of economic activities outside containment zones.

As per the original plan, Adani Group was to complete financial closure and start commercial operations within 180 days from February 14, 2020, when the AAI board approved the concession agreement between the statutory body and Adani Group. Hence, the earlier deadline was August 2020.

In addition, AAI is also unlikely to grant moratorium to Adani Group for payment of monthly Concession Fee for six months, as requested by the latter.

It is important to note that the AAI had bid out six of its airports in 2019 and Adani Group had emerged as the highest bidder for all six airports. While the Union Cabinet is yet to approve the bids of Jaipur, Trivandrum and Guwahati, Adani Group signed the takeover agreement for operations, development and maintenance of the remaining three airports in February 2020.

Under a two-stage tender process, which concluded February 2019, Adani Group made entry into Indian aviation and emerged as the highest bidder for all six airports, quoting the highest per passenger fee to be paid to the AAI on a monthly basis.
20/06/20 Anu Sharma/CNBC TV18

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Why an airport at Sabarimala when Kerala fights pandemic?

Thiruvananthapuram: When the state government is mobilising resources from all quarters to fight the Covid pandemic, the move to set up a full-fledged fifth international greenfield airport at Sabarimala raises eyebrows. First, the fourth international airport set up in Kannur is yet to emerge as economically viable project. Among the reasons for Kannur airport not being able to realise its full potential, the first issue is that the Centre is not ready to grand the ‘point of call status’ to any more airports in the country, as Indian carriers may be adversely affected. If only the status is given, foreign airlines can operate to and from the airport.

According to sources, the Kannur airport which set an ambitious target of `400 crore revenue in the last fiscal not only fell short, but is even struggling to meet its operational revenue target needed for maintain normal operations. Meanwhile, the customs department has made it clear that the airport owes it around `3 crore. After it served several notices on the airport company, the arrears of up to March were cleared recently. Normally, the airport company will have to make advance payment to the customs department to avail its service at the airport. Not only customs, the company also owes payment to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which provides security services at the airport, sources said.

Second, the Civil Aviation Ministry statistics show that passenger volume at the existing four international airports in the state for the 2018-19 fiscal was just around 60 per cent of its total terminal capacity, the lowest in the country. Kerala’s four international airports have a combined terminal capacity of 30 million passengers per year, but they saw only 18.14 million passengers last fiscal. Third, the cash-strapped state is in dire straits to meet its daily expenditure and it even promulgated an ordinance for deferring the payment of six days’ salary of government employees and hiked liquor duty by 35 per cent to mop up revenue for fighting the pandemic.

Leave alone these facts, the state does not need a full-fledged international airport in Sabarimala. “An airstrip or small feeder airport is enough to meet the requirement of the pilgrims. Instead of developing more international airports, the state should channel the air traffic to the existing four airports from various destinations inside the state by setting up airstrips,” said Biji Eapen, IATA Agents Association of India president.
20/06/20 Dhinesh Kallungal/New Indian Express

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Flier movement down to 30% at Ahmedabad airport

Ahmedabad: Though the city airport has resumed operations, there is barely any passenger movement, thanks to the limited number of flights. People’s apprehensions about travelling is another factor.
Ever since flight operations resumed from May 25 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad, only about one-third of scheduled flights have been in service. Sources said that passenger movement is 30% or less of a normal day’s figure.
Sources said that most flights are operating with 50% passenger load. “Several flights are getting cancelled due to inadequate passenger loads,” said an airline’s ground staff member. “Only those attending to emergencies are taking flights.”

On Friday, three flights — to Chandigarh, Hyderabad, and Delhi — were cancelled, confirmed sources. Travel agents have been hit. “The tourism industry is already in the doldrums. Leisure travel has completely stopped,” said Manish Sharma, secretary, Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI), Gujarat chapter. “Even corporates have imposed major travel restrictions due to which business travel has also come to a standstill.”
20/06/20 Times of India

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First Vande Bharat Mission flight from Qatar to arrive in Mangaluru on Jun 19

Doha: First flight from Doha Qatar to Mangaluru, under the Vande Bharat Mission has left the city at 12 noon on Friday, June 19. There are 180 passengers on the flight including five infant.
The Air India Express flight left Hamad International Airport in Doha at 12 noon (Qatar time) and is expected to reach Mangaluru International Airport at 6.25 pm IST.
Kannadigas of Qatar have expressed their thanks to chief minister B S Yediyurappa and union minister D V Sadananda Gowda, state BJP president and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, chief secretary to chief minister Ravi Kumar, special officer Karnataka government Karthik K R, Meena Nagaraj, IAS officer, nodal officer for Recurring Activities, Deepthi, Foreign Ministry, New Delhi, and Qatar's chief business ambassador P Kumaran. Indian ambassadors to Qatar and B Y Raghavendra, MP Shivamogga and officials of embassy for their continuous support.
19/06/20 daijiworld

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Bengaluru Airport Introduces UV Treatment For Baggage, Other Safety Measures

Bengaluru: Following the coronavirus outbreak, Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport has introduced ultraviolet treatment while scanning outbound baggage apart from other measures to enhance passenger and staff safety.
"Two custom-designed UV tunnels have been created to disinfect trolleys after every use. Two custom-designed UV tunnels have been created to disinfect trolleys after every use. These Tunnels are located at a cordoned-off area of the Terminal," according to a statement by the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).
The airport plans to use an ultra-low volume (ULV) spray treatment for check-in bags: all outbound passenger baggage is sanitised before dispatch to the aircraft
Authorities also plan to minimise use of additional trays for footwear by introducing specially designed trays; the trays that are in use are UV treated and sanitised manually after every use.
Officials are currently in the process of implementing silver nano-coating for frequently used touchpoints for self disinfection like check-in counters, Immigration counters, ATRS trays, etc. Currently, sanitisation of high-traffic areas and frequently touched surfaces continues to be done every thirty minutes manually without disrupting the flow of passengers.
All high-traffic areas are sanitised once every three hours by using ULV machines - eight times in 24 hours.
19/06/20 ANI/Business World

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New baggage-screening system at international airport in city

Hyderabad: The international airport here has implemented a matrix system to screen arriving baggage.
The system serves up X-ray images of the baggage placed on any of the belts at the airport to Customs officials seated in a matrix room for screening the bags without having to be physically present at the belts, a press release said on Friday. From the time of its launch, the new system, claimed to be the first of its kind in the country, has provided a greater degree of control to the Customs department in making effective decisions while screening the baggage, the release said.
The matrix has been instrumental in marked improvement in process efficiency and optimisation resulting in considerable enhancement in baggage throughput, screening reliability and passenger experience, it said.
The Customs Department at the airport has acknowledged the new Matrix solution for its safe, secure and efficient baggage-screening process, it said. Besides, this system ensures that no baggage is cleared without a Customs officers assessment and screening thus reducing any risk of revenue loss to the government, the release added. The GMR-led Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has implemented the system, as part of a joint development effort between India Customs and the aerodrome.
19/06/20 PTI/Outlook

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Himachal Pradesh: Demand for airstrip in Spiti grows amid increasing India-China tension

Manali: Amid growing tension between India and China, demand to build an airstrip at Rangrik in Spiti valley of Himachal is also growing as Himachal and China shares over 250km border, but has no airstrip in the region. After many surveys in last two decades, state government’s minister said the matter of the airstrip will be taken up afresh.
Spiti and Kinnaur districts of Himachal, which are on high alert these days, share border with China. The position of Indian Army in this area is better than China due to better road connectivity. However, the region has no airport. The nearest airports are Shimla, Kullu and Chandigarh. Many efforts were made and surveys were carried out in the past many years, even Indian Army recommended the airstrip, but the project could not become a reality. Now, after the fresh clashes between armies of both the countries, local leaders and residents think the airstrip is not just need of Spiti but has become a national need.
Tanpa Lote, a resident of Kee village of Spiti said, “There was proposal to build military-cum-civil airstrip either at Rangrik or near Kibber. Our politicians also promised to fulfil our dreams. Chinese helicopters often enter our territory in Spiti. The airport will strengthen our military and local infrastructure. The location is strategically very close to China border but undisputed and under complete jurisdiction of Himachal government. We want to see planes landing here before we die.”
Two-time MP Ram Swaroop Sharma had also assured residents of airstrip in Spiti. Sharma raised the issue in Lok Sabha as well but no concrete step has been taken so far. Now tribal development and agriculture minister Dr Ram Lal Markanda said the proposal will be taken up with the Centre afresh.
19/06/20 Suresh Sharma/Times of India

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Flyers slip through checks at airports

Chennai: Airports could become gateways for Covid-19 across the country.
People who take Vande Bharat flights to Delhi are slipping through checks there and are taking domestic flights to other cities. Though the rule says these passengers should not mingle with domestic passengers and should go into quarantine in Delhi, many are giving authorities the slip. There is no mechanism to find out if a passenger arriving on a domestic flight had actually reached India from abroad.
The state may have announced an intense lockdown but passengers landing by around 30 domestic flights can still walk out of the terminal without Covid-19 screening at the Chennai airport. AAI officials say loopholes are exploited by frequent travellers who know how airports function.

Two instances show how easy it is for passengers to slip through the checks, evade quarantine and even fly when they are Covid-positive. In one incident, around four passengers who landed from Chicago in New Delhi not only managed to reach Chennai by a domestic flight but also walked out of domestic terminal with just a home quarantine stamp on their hands on Sunday.

They managed to evade institutional quarantine for all international passengers in Delhi and in Chennai. The reason? There is no way to check the origin of passengers if they have not booked a through flight and hold a common boarding pass for the international and domestic sector. The passengers from the US walked out of the airport in Chennai as domestic passengers arriving from Delhi.

T Rajasekar (name changed), who landed from Chicago, said there was no one explaining to them about the need to go into a quarantine in Delhi. "Soon after arrival at the international terminal, those who wished to return to their states were asked to wait in a queue. Many states had counters but not for Tamil Nadu."
18/06/20 Times of India

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Kerala clears plan to acquire ''controversial'' land for Sabarimala airport

Thiruvananthapuram: After dilly-dallying, the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala has begun the process to acquire land for the proposed Sabarimala airport.

A government panel of bureaucrats sometime back was told to identify the land for the proposed airport. The panel zeroed in on 2,263- acre Cheruvally rubber estate in Kottayam district for the proposed airport.

It will be the fifth international airport in Kerala, which is already the first state in the country with four international airports.

As soon as the decision became public, state BJP chief K. Surendran termed it as a fraudulent deal.

On Thursday the Vijayan government gave the nod to the Kottayam district collector to go ahead with the land acquisition.

Located in Kottayam, the estate lies about 48 km from the famous Sabarimala temple.

The rubber estate is owned by Thiruvalla-headquartered Believers Church and its title has for long been a contentious issue involving successive governments who have contended that the land originally belongs to the state government.

The ownership issue involving its present owners and the state government has been lying with the Kerala High Court.

It was in 2016 that Vijayan got the informal go-ahead from the then Union Civil Aviation Minister Anand Gajapathy Raju to build an airport near the Sabarimala temple.
18/06/20 IANS/Outlook

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Air cargo volumes for export-import at Kolkata airport hit during lockdown

Kolkata: Air cargo volumes for export and import at the city airport have been severely hit during the lockdown, an official said on Wednesday.
According to data provided by AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company, a subsidiary of the Airports Authority of India, the export-import (Exim) cargo at Kolkata airport was around 30 lakh kg in February 2020, which declined to nearly 11 lakh kg in May.

The situation is almost the same all over the country, the official of the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) said.

"The lockdown has caused a damaging effect on the air cargo business in Kolkata. The volumes have dropped sharply following the COVID-19 outbreak, and the scenario is the same in other airports as well," ACAAI regional chairman Jaideep Raha said.

The number of international flights from Kolkata was far less than that of Delhi and Mumbai and the air cargo movement from the city airport was "the worst-affected", he claimed.

During the lockdown, airlines like Qatar Airways, Singapore, Emirates and Air Asia have suspended operations from Kolkata, while Thai Airways has filed for bankruptcy, Raha said.
17/06/20 PTI/Outlook

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Airlines slowly add flights; 68 on Thursday in Mumbai

Mumbai: Airlines have been slowly adding flights this week, with Mumbai airport handling 68 scheduled domestic flights on Thursday.
The state government on Monday doubled scheduled domestic flights in/out of the airport to 100 a day. As airlines cannot add flights overnight, the airport on Tuesday handled 52 and on Wednesday, 55.
The 68 flights on Thursday connected to 18 cities, with 34 departures and 34 arrivals, carrying 6,735 passengers, which included 5,030 at departures and 1,705 at arrivals, said a Mumbai International Airport Ltd spokesperson.

Last month, ministry of civil aviation sanctioned 200 flights a day for Mumbai from May 25, when domestic flights resumed after lockdown. But the state government, on the eve of resumption, permitted only 50. The state reduced flights at airports to check spread of coronavirus.

The highest passenger load on departures from Mumbai have been to Delhi. The first flight departed to Kolkata at 6.05am, while the first arrived at 8.30am from Lucknow, operated by SpiceJet and IndiGo respectively.

Meanwhile, the state received 14,203 stranded Indians in 87 repatriation flights so far under Vande Bharat Mission, according to the chief minister’s office. It said 71 flights are scheduled till the month-end.
18/06/20 Times of India

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3,590 expats to arrive at Kochi airport on Friday

Kochi: Kochi airport will facilitate 18 relief operations on Friday evacuating 3,590 passengers from various countries. Air India has confirmed stopover flights from London and Kiev via Delhi for the day.A statement from the airport said 720 passengers are expected to arrive from Sharjah alone by four flights operated by Air Arabia.

Kochi airport confirmed the operation of all international relief flights on Thursday. As many as 2,200 passengers are being evacuated from GCC. The domestic terminal handles 23 arrival/departure operations. Two departures to Mumbai and one to Delhi were cancelled.Meanwhile, 1,093 domestic passengers arrived on Wednesday and 968 departed from Kochi.
18/06/20 New Indian Express

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Relief flights from Dubai, Oman to bring Goans home

Panaji: At least six more repatriation flights are expected to touch down at Goa International Airport, Dabolim, in the coming days, bringing seafarers and expats, who were stranded abroad, back home.
While some of the repatriation flights are under the Vande Bharat mission, they will not be operated by national carrier Air India.
Sources said that two repatriation flights from Dubai operated by Fly Dubai and one from Muscat, operated by IndiGo are scheduled to land at the Dabolim airbase under the Vande Bharat mission.

“The IndiGo flight from Muscat, Oman will arrive with 149 passengers on June 19 at 8pm,” Goa airport director Gagan Malik said.

The flights from Dubai are expected to arrive on June 21 and June 25 though final clearances are yet to be given. Both the flights from Dubai are also expected to bring back 149 Goans. “There is no final approval as yet for the Fly Dubai flights but the clearances will come,” the Goa airport director said .


Aside from these three flights, Qatar Airways is likely to operate two repatriation flights to bring Goan seafarers stranded in Bridgetown, Barbados and from Rome, Italy. The flight from Barbados is expected on June 22, state government officials said. The flights from Rome and Barbados are expected to bring back 280 seafarers each.
18/06/20 Times of India

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First ever charter flight from Kuwait lands in Mangaluru with 165 passengers

Mangaluru, Jun 18: The first ever chartered flight from Kuwait landed at Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday June 17.
United Karnataka Associations of Kuwait in association with Akbar Travels Kuwait successfully operated the flight with 165 passengers, giving distressed Kannadigas the opportunity to travel back home. It is really a dream come true for the distressed Kannadigas from Coastal Karnataka.
The Jazeera Airways charter flight took off around 10:40 am from Kuwait International Airport Terminal no.5 and to arrive at Mangaluru airport at 5:05 pm.
Earlier, all the association leaders and Akbar Travels team wished all passengers a safe and pleasant journey back home. They said that this mission would not have possible without the support of Karnataka state government, government of India, government of the State of Kuwait, Indian Embassy in Kuwait, deputy commissioner’s office in Mangaluru, entire Team Jazeera and all the associations who collaborated and worked hard together to make this operation a successful.
From the time Indian government announced Vande Bharath Mission, all Karnataka associations came together under one banner ‘United Karnataka Associations of Kuwait’. They contacted all possible contacts in central and state governments with the request to take back distressed people of Karnataka. Many of them had serious medical condition and needed urgent attention, some have lost jobs and without any money from last 3 to 4 months, and few pregnant ladies. With all the hardships in front of their eyes, they worked tirelessly with the hope of flying needy Kannadigas back home safely.
18/06/20 daijiworld

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