Showing posts with label Airports Mar 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Mar 2009. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

MoCA stresses on on-time airport completion

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) continues to lay emphasis on airport development in the country and its completion on time. Informs a ministry official, "These are tough times to raise finances on projects but Mumbai and Delhi deserve these airports. The Airports Authority of India needs another Rs 5,000 crore in addition to Rs 12,000 crore allocated for airport development under the eleventh plan. We need to do a lot for the smaller airports."
The official also hinted that due to increasing costs and reduction in AAI's revenues with Bengaluru and Hyderabad becoming greenfield airports, there is also a need to look at low cost airports. Referring to the Mumbai airport, he added, "The cost of developing the airport has gone up to Rs 9,000 crore from Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 crore. If we do not continue with investments, one would get an average-looking airport. Once we get this infrastructure in place, we shall start pushing for passengers (through the airport) and also look at hub-and-spoke models once these airports stabilise."
Even Air India, which had proposed capital infusion, is currently being consulted with the finance ministry and the process will begin soon. MoCA, Ministry of Defence approve BAPL's airport in Ludhiana
Bengal Aerotropolis Projects (BAPL), that is engaged in developing aerotropolis projects in the country, has received the site clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Defence for setting up a greenfield airport at Machhiwara in Ludhiana, Punjab.
31/03/09 Chetan Kapoor/Express Travel World

High drama in AI plane

New Delhi: High drama was today witnessed in a Kolkata-bound Air India plane when it had to return from the take off point after a passenger raised suspicion over the behaviour of her three co-passengers, who later turned out to be members of a security agency.
The Air India's flight IC-401, with 104 passengers and cabin crew, was scheduled to take off for Kolkata at around 7 am.
".. a female passenger, an off-duty air hostess, become suspicious of the three passengers and informed the cabin crew," a senior airlines official said.
The pilot decided to abort the take-off and asked the Air Traffic Control to allow him return to the parking bay. As soon as it arrived, the airline's security staff and CISF personnel boarded the plane and asked the three passengers to prove their identities, he said.
"After a verification, it was found that they were security officials going to Imphal," a senior CISF official said, following which they were allowed to continue their journey.
31/03/09 PTI/Times of India

Jetlite B738 at Delhi on Mar 29th 2009, ILS failure

A Jetlite Boeing 737-800, flight S2-320 from Kolkata to New Delhi (India), was on approach to New Delhi's runway 29, when a thunderstorm went into the final approach path prompting the crew to abort landing and request a different runway. Air Traffic Control vectored the aircraft for an ILS approach to runway 11. However, when the crew attempted to intercept the localizer runway 11, the ILS was found malfunctioning. Air Traffic Control now orderd to swing over to runway 10. However, while the airplane maneouvered to align with runway 10, Air Traffic Control reported, that the ILS 11 was now working. The airplane finally landed on runway 11 on the third approach 20 minutes after the first approach attempt.
30/03/09 Simon Hradecky/The Aviation Herald

Youth duped of Rs 30 lakh for jobs

Chennai: About 25 youth have filed a complaint of cheating with the suburban commissioner S R Jangid on Monday. They were promised jobs with the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
A complaint filed by Ezhumalai, who represented the men, said that he was working with the municipal corporation in the area for the last 20 years. He came in contact with Manibharati alias K G Laxmiswami through a common friend, who had told him that the latter had helped him get a government job for his wife and could help his sons too.
Manibharati allegedly said that he knew an employee with the AAI, Gautam Singh, who said he could help them get a job for his sons and nephews.
He wanted Rs 150,000 plus a commission of Rs 1 lakh per candidate. “About 25 of them came forward for the job from my side and coughed up close to Rs 30 lakh. I had many interactions with Manibharati, who also went to the extent of allotting the men their jobs at the airport.” Manibharati also produced a letterhead of AAI addressed by the General Manager of AAI congratulating the youth on their performance and called them for a medical examination as the next step towards recruitment. The youth then came down to Chennai. “We realised that it was a hoax when we found out that there was no one called Gautam Singh at the AAI,” the complaint said.
31/03/09 ExpressBuzz

Airlines urged to connect smaller cities to beat downturn

Hyderabad : The civil aviation sector should look for business opportunities in the economic downturn through innovation, ensuring more connectivity to smaller cities and targeting the middle class, a top government official said on Monday.
Civil Aviation Secretary Madhavan Nambiar called upon the aviation sector to replicate the success of the telecommunication industry by spreading its reach through this vast country.
"The at least 30 crore-strong middle class should be able to utilise this sector to spur its growth," he said.
Mr. Nambiar was addressing the leaders forum at Seventh Routes Asia, a premier event for the airlines and airports in Asia Pacific region, which began here on Sunday.
He underlined the need for the aviation sector to market well and play a stimulating role in India's emergence as a global superpower.
Mr. Nambiar pointed out that the northeast was an under-served area where the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was incurring a loss of Rs.100 crore on airports. The aviation secretary asked the airlines to work with the AAI to make the airports sustainable.
According to Mr. Nambiar, the sector is suffering from a phenomenon of over capacity on trunk routes and under capacity on non-trunk routes.
He pointed out that the sector in India had an enormous five-year long rally in civil aviation, witnessing unprecedented growth of the order of around 20-25 per cent per annum.
Out of 89 operational airports in the public sector, almost 60 airports have been taken up for extensive development work, Mr. Nambiar said.
30/03/09 IANS/The Hindu

Airports rework service contracts to reduce costs

Hyderabad: Airports are renegotiating contracts with service providers to bring down their operational costs due to declining aeronautical revenues and pressure from airlines to lower airport charges.
Airport operators like Delhi International Airport Ltd, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), Airports Authority of India (AAI) and others have been able to bring down their operational cost "substantially" by reworking financials of their annual maintenance contract with service providers.
"We are renegotiating every contract to bring down our project cost. The current market situation has forced us to be more disciplined," said B S Shantharaju, chief operating officer of the Delhi International Airport Ltd, at the Asian Routes Development Forum on Monday.
P Seth, board member - planning (operations) - Airports Authority of India, said the airport operators were seeking renegotiation of service rates with their contractors because of the falling costs of steel, cement and labour.
P S Nair, chief executive officer of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, said his airport has already been able to make substantial cost savings due to revised contract rates.
Airlines that are bleeding profusely due to overcapacity and falling demand have been resisting raising of airport charges by airport operators. In March, two of the largest airports--Delhi and Mumbai--raised their fees by 10%. M Madhavan Nambiar, secretary civil aviation, said that this was the first hike in ten years.
31/03/09 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

Trainer aircraft crash lands at Babatpur, pilot safe

Varanasi: A trainer aircraft of Indira Gandhi Training Institute, Rae Bareli, crashed due to under-carriage while landing at Babatpur Airport on Monday afternoon. The trainee pilot had a narrow escape in this crash. The air traffic remained affected for an hour due to this incident.
According to in-charge airport director SV Satish, the training craft was landing at the airport when its nose wheel collapsed due to under-carriage around 12 noon. It led to blowing of crash siren and the fire tenders rushed towards the craft. Fortunately, the aircraft stopped after sliding on the air strip and the trainee pilot Raghu managed to come out.
Raghu, a Hyderabad-based trainee pilot, told TOI that his training had started two years back. It was the day of solo piloting for him. He said the aircraft was properly checked before taking off from the institute's strip. But, due to some technical snag, its nose wheel collapsed due to under-carriage while landing.
Due to the crash, landing of Delhi-Varanasi flight of Jet Airways was delayed by over half an hour. Its landing was allowed only after the removal of crashed aircraft from the runway.
30/03/09 Times of India

Hyderabad airport among the world's top 10

Though only a year old, the GMR-group promoted Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad has already etched its name along with some of the world's best.
According to the results of a survey conducted by the Airport Council International, RGIA was rated the second most service-oriented airport in the 5-15 million passenger per annum category.
It was also named as the fifth most service oriented amongst the world's top ten airports by scoring 4.41 on a 1-5 scale in overall passenger satisfaction.
The airport celebrated its first anniversary on March 23, 2009.
30/03/09 Rediff.com

DIAL awards hotel building contracts to 5 hospitality firms

New Delhi: Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the GMR-led consortium mandated to upgrade the capital's airport, has given the rights to develop six hotels around the airport to five domestic and global hospitality companies.
The companies that have won the contracts for building the hotels are Accor, InterGlobe Hotels, Lemon Tree, Bird Group and Hyatt, GMR said in a statement on Monday. When contacted DIAL spokesperson said, these companies would set up six hotels in the 5-, 4- and 3-star categories with a total capacity of 2000 rooms as part of the Hospitality District planned around the airport.
"As part of the development of hotels, the developers will offer service facilities like convention centers, restaurants and commercial plazas within the hotel premises to meet the requirements of passengers and airlines,'' the statement said.
30/03/09 Business Line

Work on new ATC tower at Mumbai to begin soon

Mumbai: After flagging off construction of the new terminal building at Mumbai airport in February, redevelopers of the Mumbai airport are ready to begin work on the new Air Traffic Control Tower (ATC) at the Santacruz airport.
While the exact date is yet to be worked out, a spokesperson from the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) told Newsline, “The construction is likely to start in a couple of months. The tower will take two years to be commissioned. This includes construction as well as installation of the equipment.”
Specific details on the tower’s design could not be verified. “It will be a steel and glass structure and will have much more floor area than the current tower,” said a senior airport official.
Sources said the tower, to be built in a section of the current parking area opposite terminal 1B, would stand well above 230 metre, making it a landmark. The existing tower is 150 metre high.
It was operationalised in 1999 by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an overall project cost of about Rs 280 crore.
The shifting would coincide with the installation of the surface movement radar (SMR), which gives a clear picture of all moving and stationary objects in the airport’s operational area.
31/03/09 Shashank Shekhar/Express India

Monday, March 30, 2009

Radar shutdown at Chennai delays 120 flights

Chennai: About 120 flights were delayed at the Chennai airport on Sunday as the radar system was shut down for regular maintenance between 8 am to 6 pm, forcing Air Traffic Control (ATC) to switch over to an antiquated operational mode.
Traffic controllers had to guide aircraft by the ‘rulebook’ they follow in the absence of radars, as the screens went blank and flights in the 256 nautical mile area had to be sufficiently separated from each other while maintaining the required minimum heights.
Most international airports have stand-by radars for times like this. “But in Chennai, the main radar itself is obsolete,” a pilot told Express, ruling out using a stand-by radar.
“Air-traffic controllers have a tough time coordinating flights in such cases and pilots too are not familiar with the downgraded mode of procedures” the pilot said.
Sources said that at least 10 flights were in queue at any given time during the day when the radar was undergoing repairs. “They used a separation time of ten minutes between aircraft and yet another seven minutes to land. So an aircraft trying to land had to wait for at least 17 minutes, depending on its turn.
30/03/09 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

Plea for reducing airports charges

Hyderabad: The airline industry today made a strong plea to Indian airports to reduce landing, parking and navigation charges, with a top Jet Airways officer saying India accounted for only two per cent of global air travel but 30 per cent of the world losses.
Of an estimated $8.7 billion global losses, Indian airlines accounted for almost $3 billion, said Jet Airways chief commercial officer Mr Sudheer Raghavan at the Asian Route Development Forum conference here.
“India has two per cent of global air travel, but its airlines account for 30 per cent of the global losses,” he said, referring to the “extremely low fares” being charged by Indian carriers last year even when jet fuel prices were rising.
Observing that 80 per cent of airport revenues were generated out of aeronautical activities like various airport charges, he made a strong plea for reversing the trend, saying the airports should aim at hiking non-aeronautical revenues, like those from hotels, shopping-malls and other sources, in order to slash charges for the airlines.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), has also appealed to the Indian government and private airport operators to reduce airport charges drastically.
29/03/09 Press Trust of India/The Statesman

Shortage of bays at airport hits airlines' schedules

Mumbai: Despite being on time, airlines are getting delayed be due to shortage of bays at the Mumbai airports.
According to airport sources, due to modernisation of the Mumbai airport, certain bays are unavailable. As a result, even if the airlines are running on schedule, they are prepared for a 30-40 minute delay. However, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) maintains that there is no shortage and that the problem is due to certain airlines occupying the bays for a longer period.
Although the air traffic at Mumbai airport is 676 per day instead of the earlier 700, airlines are still getting delayed significantly."Even if I land on time, I have to wait at least for half an hour to find a bay," said a pilot from Jet Airways. "Either I am waiting on the taxiway or at the apron."
There are 100 bays - 60 domestic and 40 at the international terminals."At night, seven out of the 40 bays are not available. This includes five bays that were at terminal 2A which was recently demolished. And two bays at Apron M," said an airport source.
According to airlines their international operations are most affected. "As the aircrafts that are parked on the bays near the terminal do not vacate on time, we are given remote bays," said a source from Kingfisher Airlines. For instance, for a flight which is parked on remote bay and is depart at 10 pm, the airline has to start boarding the passengers at 9.10 pm.
30/03/09 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

Airlines ask airports to reduce charges

Hyderabad: The airline industry on Sunday made a strong plea to Indian airports to reduce landing, parking and navigation charges, with a top Jet Airways officer saying India accounted for only two per cent of global air travel but 30 per cent of the world losses.
Of an estimated USD 8.7 billion global losses, Indian airlines accounted for almost three billion dollars, said Jet Airways Chief Commercial Officer Sudheer Raghavan at the Asian Route Development Forum conference here.
"India has two per cent of global air travel, but its airlines account for 30 per cent of the global losses," he said, referring to the "extremely low fares" being charged by Indian carriers last year even when jet fuel prices were rising.
Observing that 80 per cent of airport revenues were generated out of aeronautical activities like various airport charges, he made a strong plea for reversing the trend, saying the airports should aim at hiking non-aeronautical revenues, like those from hotels, shopping-malls and other sources, in order to slash the charges for the airlines.
29/03/09 PTI/Economic Times

Fracas over missing laptop delays flight

Kolkata: A JetLite flight to Bangalore was delayed by 45 minutes and boarding on several flights had to be suspended for 10 minutes on Sunday evening after a passenger complained that his laptop had gone missing from the security hold.
The passenger, Saptarshi Basu, is a Bangalore-based infotech official hailing from Siliguri. After a frantic search, CISF officials found out that a Chennai-bound passenger had picked up Basu's laptop, thinking it was his own. His own laptop, which was similar to Basu's, was found in the deposit rack for hand baggage.
Around 5 pm, Basu, who was to board the JetLite flight to Bangalore, went in for security check. But his laptop was missing on the other side of the X-ray machine.
"Security check was on for 400-odd passengers. CISF officials suspended all boardings," said an AAI official.
CISF officials found out from the CCTV footage that Basu's baggage had been picked up by another passenger, who turned out to be S B Hari, a Chennai-bound SpiceJet passenger. Hari's laptop was later found at the deposit rack were hand baggage are kept after frisking.
"The JetLite flight took off at 5.55 pm, 45 minutes behind schedule..," said an airline official. Since Basu was yet to go through all the formalities, the flight took off without him. He was accommodated on an AI flight that took off at 7.55 pm.
30/03/09 Times of India

Goodbye Kolkata, British Airways flies from city of diminishing returns

Kolkata: After the cheapest car, one of the world’s premier airlines bid adieu to the city. In the wee hours of March 29, a British Airways (BA) flight left Kolkata for London for the last time. After 80 years of operation.
For 76 year-old Renu Mazumdar, life will not be the same again. Twice every year, for the last 15 years, she would board BA 146 and fly non-stop to London to meet her son Kallol Majumdar, a practising doctor in the Isle of Wight. “I need a wheelchair to get into the aircraft. The 11-hour journey was in itself quite an ordeal. With British Airways discontinuing its flight to London, I do not know how I will manage a stopover journey, the only option left now,” says Majumdar.
The withdrawal was announced in November last, when the airlines cited “route rationalisation” as the reason for its decision. In spite of a load factor of around 70 per cent, heavily discounted ticketing, prompted by Lufthansa’s introduction of the direct Kolkata-Frankfurt flight in 2006, the revenue has shrunk.
A few moments before the final touchdown on March 29, the pilot of the Boeing-777 announced that this would be the British Airways’ last flight to Kolkata. “A significant section of the passengers were elderly people with roots in Kolkata, who hastily preponed their return from London because this was the last available direct flight,” said Kavita Jhunjhunwala, a business traveller, who arrived by the last flight in early hours of March 29.
Many travellers have their BA memories. Corporate traveller Niraj Basotia recalls, “I was booked on Calcutta-Heathrow with a connecting flight to Belgium. At the Heathrow Airport, I found that my luggage was not on the flight.” Having reached Belgium with just his laptop, he had to purchase everything from a business suit to toothbrush. He wrote a letter to the airline about the inconvenience faced. “Without asking for any clarification, they reimbursed my entire bill of Rs 30,000, besides gifting me a Harrington suit,” recalls Basotia.
30/03/09 Mouparna Bandyopadhyay/Indian Express

Sunday, March 29, 2009

GMR Hyderabad Int'l Airport re-evaluates biz model

GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) is on the brink of completing one year of commercial operations. In this short time, it has been rated the fifth most service-oriented airport in the world by Airports Council International. But, the airport is not jumping of joy. And, that's because, it is yet to stand on its own feet, financially speaking. With domestic passenger traffic at the airport dropping nearly 16%, it is now reviewing its business plan.
PS Nair, Chief Executive Officer of GHIAL said, "To address the unprecedented slowdown, we have our strategy in place, one of them being a review we did on de novo or annual operating plan. We recast all our figures and prepared an actionable plan for addressing the whole issue in a holistic manner."
The second phase of its expansion plan is also on hold.
"We have created extra capacity for 12 million passengers, whereas—this year we will be handling 6.3 million. What ever we created will meet future challenges for next four to five years," Nair said.
But there is a silver lining. International passenger traffic is up 9%, and freight traffic has grown 40%, this financial year. The airport also wants to increase non-aero revenues from its retail, advertising and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility.
28/03/08 Vishwanath Pilla/CNBC-TV18/Moneycontrol.com

Air India to resume Kolkata-London flight from tomorrow

Kolkata: Air India will resume its service between Kolkata and London from tomorrow even as British Airways has decided to suspend its operation from the city the same day due to shortage of passengers.
Air India, which had suspended its service on the route in October 2008, will operate flights between Kolkata and London via Delhi all days of the week, a spokesperson of the airlines said.
An Airbus 319 will carry 122 passengers from NSC Bose International Airport here at 10.30 am and reach Delhi at 12.30 pm. From there a Boing 777-200 EK will carry 280 passengers to London, the spokesperson said.
Luthfansa and Emirates are the other two airlines which operate flights on the route. While the former has three flights a week, Emirates operates flights on all days via Dubai.
28/03/09 Press Trust of India

Saturday, March 28, 2009

BA bids bye to Calcutta of low yield

Calcutta: When British Airways takes flight from Calcutta on Sunday, it will mean more than just another direct international air link going off the city’s radar.
The “world’s favourite airline”, which had touched down in the city for the first time in the late 1920s, has withdrawn and re-introduced flights several times over the decades. The airline’s latest departure, however, bodes trouble for both the travel industry and frequent fliers from the east who have found this direct Calcutta-London flight the most convenient link with Europe and beyond.
“British Airways leaving is a disaster for aviation in the east. We will soon feel the repercussions,” warns Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of the Travel Agents Federation of India.
With just over 24 hours to go for the last British Airways flight to touchdown and depart — arrival 1.15am on March 29 and departure 5.05am on March 29 — Metro compiles a Q&A on BA bidding bye-bye.
What are the reasons for an airline leaving a city?
Low profitability, security issues, low passenger load.
What prompted British Airways to leave Calcutta?
The official reason is “route rationalisation”. Apart from Calcutta, the airline is pulling out of Dhaka. “This route is not making a profitable contribution to our business and we are unable to sustain it,” says a senior airline executive.
The real reason is low profitability. The thrice-a-week Calcutta-London flight has had an average passenger load of 70 per cent but yield — or profit margins — has been low. “Most tickets, including those for business class, are sold at discounted prices that pinch our bottomlines,” says an official.
28/03/09 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

Air India, Air India Express at Changi's Terminal 2.

From Sunday, Air India, Air India Express, Asiana Airlines and Korean Air will operate out of Changi Airport's Terminal 2.
The four are currently at Terminal 1.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement on Friday that the move is to allow the airlines to have more capacity for their future growth and expansion.
It will also 'better distribute capacity usage across the three main terminals and optimise the usage of airport facilities', said CAAS director-general and chief executive officer Lim Kim Choon.
To inform passengers and visitors about the move, the airport will be updating its directories, signs and electronic displays.
Steps have also been taken to keep the Indian and Korean communities here posted about the move, via their respective embassies and key associations.
27/03/09 Karamjit Kaur/Strait Times, Singapore

Category II ILS ready at Calcutta

Calcutta: The new Category II Instrument Landing System (CAT-II ILS) was commissioned at the airport on Friday night.
A special calibration aircraft that flew in from Delhi on Thursday afternoon to test the functioning of CAT-II ILS completed the two-day exercise on Friday evening.
“The calibration was successful and we have commissioned the new ILS,” said P.K. Singhal, the regional executive director (east) of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The new set of ILS equipment was imported from the US and installed at a cost of around Rs 1 crore.
Replacement of the ILS equipment, installed in 1993, was overdue. The changeover was deferred in October.
By adding facilities, the system can be upgraded to CAT-III ILS, which allows operation of flights when runway visibility is as low as 50 metres. “The new equipment is more precise and compatible with CAT-III,” said Singhal.
28/03/09 The Telegraph

Firefighters pick holes in airport’s fire services

Mumbai As the Mumbai airport prepares to undergo a transition from public to private hands, the differences in the airport’s 270-strong fire department have led to a section of firefighters alleging that there are glaring loopholes in the working of the key department ever since the airport’s privatisation.
The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) had recruited a fresh batch of 100-odd firefighters in phases. According to a firefighter at the Mumbai airport, who did not wish to be named, the new recruits are not only inexperienced but they have not received the mandatory Fire Training Certificates (FTCs) for aviation firefighters.
According to an airport official, there are two specialised aviation firefighting schools in the country — Delhi and Kolkata — run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Once a candidate is recruited as a trainee firefighter, he can only undertake full service after receiving an FTC from either of these two schools.
But an MIAL spokesperson refuted the allegation, saying that the MIAL had conducted a 12-week firefighting course for the recruits at the airport itself. “We had conducted the 12-week course for 108 new recruits under the supervision of an ex-principal of the Kolkata school and he was the course consultant,” he said.
“The training was done as per the ICAO standards.”
The firefighting department at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) has a total of 270 staff, of which 150 have been recruited by the MIAL and another 120 belong to the AAI. The latter group is uncertain of its future services at the airport.
The AAI firefighters, however, do not agree with the MIAL. According to one of them, there also exists a lot of irregularities in the entire firefighting setup.
28/03/09 Shashank Shekhar/Express India

LGBI airport readies to handle big aircraft

Guwahati: The hub of air traffic in the North East, the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport, is getting ready to handle bigger aircraft and more passengers in the days ahead under an augmentation plan, according to the Airports Authority of India. The runway has already been extended to 10,200 feet, which will allow larger aircraft to use the airport. It would particularly aid wide-bodied aircraft that requires longer runways to take off and land at LGBI. Moreover, the expanded runway would be a boon to any aircraft for safe landing and take off in wet conditions, which is frequent in the region.
This correspondent was told that ongoing extension work would involve the building of a link taxiway, construction of isolation bay, and a new apron for parking of five AB 321 and six ATR 72 aircraft.
In the near future there are plans to develop a newly acquired land measuring 240 acres for expanding the airport along with its drainage system.
According to data maintained by the AAI, the LGBI airport has seen a rise in the number of commercial flights. The total number of arrivals during the year 2008 was 14,856, whereas the number was 14,001 in the previous year. The increase of 6.107 per cent, however, could be surpassed this year.
The type of air traffic control equipment, according to the AAI meets the present day requirement of the airport. Today, there exists Procedural Air Traffic Control Service with Westinghouse radar backup and instrumental approach (ILS/VIR). Along with Flight Information Service, alerting service, Air Traffic Advisory Services are also offered by the Guwahati ATC.
27/03/09 Prabal Kr Das/The Assam Tribune

Delhi, Mumbai air travellers pay for unrendered services

The airport development fee that private developers in Delhi and Mumbai have been allowed to charge without tough strings attached, and concessions given to Hyderabad Metro, show that there is no sanctity to contracts in public-private partnerships, reports CNBC-TV18's Economic Policy Editor Vivian Fernandes.
You do not pay toll for a highway on the assumption that someday it will be an expressway and you will have a smooth ride. Why then should you pay for flying out of Delhi and Mumbai airports which are still works in progress? Over the next three years passengers from Delhi and Mumbai will be paying Rs 3,370 crore for a service they are not getting. The private consortia led by GMR and Reliance respectively cannot arrange enough funds, so passengers have been roped in as investors, without the rights of investors. In the Civil Aviation Ministry's definition, public-private partnership seems to be all about private gain at public expense.
Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, Godrej & Boyce, said, "The main problem is that when contracts are written they are not written in a way that prevents this from happening."
Public greed might have been the original sin, as both the GMR and Reliance combines had won the airport contracts by offering the government a 46% share of the revenue. Officials connected with the privatisation process say the government could not have rejected these offers, even if unrealistic, without provoking an outcry, but the experience holds a lesson for future auctions of such contracts.
Ajit Gulabchand, CMD, HCC, said, "When we structure a project it must remain economically viable through a range of weathers."
The airport development fee could have been treated as government equity or even as an interest-bearing loan, and not a grant - as that amounts to changing the terms of the contract after the event.
27/03/09 CNBC-TV18/Moneycontrol.com

Friday, March 27, 2009

A 23 per cent drop in baggage mishandling

New Delhi: In what could bring a sense of relief to many air passengers, for the first time in four years, airlines have reported a 23 per cent drop in baggage mishandling in 2008. The significant drop has resulted in an annual savings of $ 800 million for airlines globally.
The number of checked bags delayed, damaged, sent to wrong place or pilfered fell from 1,16,164 bags per day in 2007 to around 89,617 bags per day in 2008, according to a Baggage Report 2009 by SITA, global provider of airline computer applications. For a single baggage item mishandled, airlines stand to lose $83 in form of damages. In 2007, airlines lost $ 3.7 million on account of 42.4 million mishandled baggage items, which fell to $ 2.9 billion losses in 2008 as 32.8 million cases were mishandled.
Air travellers assign top priority to baggage, SITA said. Over 60 per cent of passengers surveyed globally associated a pleasant trip with having their “check-in baggage arrive promptly and safely”; a score second only to flights being on time – and well ahead of short queues, friendly ground staff or well-equipped modern terminals, it added.
The reasons cited for fall in mishandled baggage are fewer checked-in baggage per passenger and improvement in baggage handling processes. The checked-in baggage has seen reduction due to the policy of charging for checked bags that has gathered pace since 2006. Many airlines require passengers to pay for more than one item. Low-cost carriers like Europe’s largest Ryanair Holdings Plc, impose fees for all stowed cases, buoying revenue even as the recession hurts ticket sales.
27/03/09 Indian Express

Bangalore, Hyderabad airports may get nod to hike fees

New Delhi: Air-travellers flying out of Bangalore and Hyderabad airports would soon have to shell out a little more on their travel bills. The civil aviation ministry is expected to clear the two private airport operators’ proposal to increase aeronautical charges by 10%. Aeronautical charges comprise passenger service fee (PSF) and aircraft landing and parking charges.
Following the ministry’s permission to allow state-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) to increase airport charges, the two airport operators - Siemens-led Bengalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) and GMR-backed Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) has proposed to hike charges at the respective airports.
“Linking their cases with AAI, the two airport operators at Bangalore and Hyderabad recently informed us of their plan to increase aeronautical charges by 10% effective this month. But we objected to this as they can not do so (charging the AAI rates). Both the airport companies have been asked to submit a fresh proposal for the ministry’s consideration,” a government official, who did not wish to be identified, said.
The state-owned airport operator recently announced an increase in aeronautical charges including navigational charges by 10% across its airports in the country.
27/03/09 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

Navigation software in AI plane shows Srinagar in PoK

New Delhi: It came as a rude shock for a pilot of an Air India plane with 56 passengers on board when an on-board navigational aid showed Srinagar airport in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).
The Airbus A320 (IC-821) was on a flight from Delhi to Srinagar on Wednesday and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba besides separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani were among the passengers.
According to aviation sources, the pilot Captain Kapil Raina saw one coordinate of the Srinagar airport in the navigation aid at 20 degrees left of Banihal pass (between Jammu and Srinagar), an area which is somewhere in PoK.
Top Air India officials said the navigational aid of all the planes were updated with the new software provided by a Swedish company yesterday morning in which the coordinates of Srinagar airport were wrongly mentioned as noticed by the pilot while operating the flight in the afternoon.
The software company, which offered the new system to all airlines, had later sent an advisory to the engineering department of the Air India whereas it should have been sent to the operational wing, the officials said.
The alert pilot tackled the software glitch and ensured a safe landing of the aircraft at Srinagar airport using the manual landing system, they said.
26/03/09 Indian Express

Cial shows growth in flight services in summer schedule

Kochi: Cochin International Airport Ltd. (Cial) will register a 5 % growth in the aircraft landings per week in the new summer schedule at a time when the aviation industry is facing a slowdown.
Starting April, there will be 429 landings per week, of which 249 landings will be domestic flights and the remaining 180 will be in the international sector. In the winter schedule there were 414 landings in the airport.
Apart from new airlines, several existing ones operating to Kochi have started additional flights, according to Cial airport director A.C.K.Nair. In the domestic sector, Go Air is introducing a new flight from Ahmedabad to Kochi via Bangalore. Star Aviation will commence its operations in June with three flights per day from Chennai.
In the international sector Mihin Lanka is expected to start services to Kochi shortly, Mr Nair said. Saudi Arabian Airlines have introduced a new flight in Kochi-Jeddah-Dammam route.
26/03/09 Economic Times

AI staff held for trafficking women on free tickets

Mumbai The Mumbai Police crime branch has blown the lid off a human trafficking racket to the US, in which women were allegedly flown to New York on forged passports, posing as wives of Air India employees. The police have arrested two Air India employees who allegedly escorted the women to the US, but returned alone.
As many as three persons have been arrested so far by the social service branch (SSB) of the crime branch, and the police are on the lookout for the kingpin. The arrested have been identified as Deepak Salvi, 41, Hemant Morade, 40, and Ejaz Ansari. According to the police, Salvi is an office superintendent with Air India while Morade is an operator. While these two were arrested on February 25, Ansari was arrested from the Madanpura area of Nagpada on Tuesday last for aiding and abetting in the racket.
“These Air India employees are entitled to two free airline tickets for their relatives each year, and it is much easier for them to get visas to the US. In September 2007, Salvi availed himself of this entitlement and flew from Mumbai to Shanghai and then to New York, accompanied by his wife. However, he returned alone to Mumbai. Again in April 2008, Morade did the same thing and he also came back alone. The vigilance department of Air India took note of this and started discreet enquiries,” said an SSB official, who did not wish to be named.
The vigilance department discovered that the wives who were flown to the US were actually imposters. Air India then approached the US consulate for further information on these two cases in December 2008. The consulate confirmed that the two women were imposters and had flown on forged passports to New York.
27/03/09 ExpressIndia

3 impostors held at airport

Thiruvananthapuram: Three persons who entered the International Airport here by impersonation on Wednesday were held by the security officials.
According to sources, three workers of a sub-contractor engaged by the Hindustan Petroleum Company Limited, had entered the airport using the passes issued in the name of three other workers.
Those held have been identified as C.J. Ajith, 23, and Preman, 39, both hailing from Kochi and Thanis Salad, 42, of Tamil Nadu.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) had issued photo-less identity cards to workers of the sub-contractor who undertakes civil works of HPCL inside the Airport. It may be owing to the absence of workers, who had been issued passes, that the company had made three persons, to whom passes were not issued, enter the airport. They were held following a tip-off by the intelligence wing of the CISF at the airport, sources said.
26/03/09 ExpressBuzz

New arrival hall at Chennai airport opened on trail

Chennai: The newly-renovated Anna international arrival terminal was put on trial on Thursday, prior to its opening for regular use next week.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to get domestic passengers to use the international arrival terminal as the existing domestic arrival hall will have to be temporarily closed for expansion works.
Around 180 passengers from three domestic flights were routed through the renovated terminal between 2 pm and 5.30 pm it was to check if all facilities were functioning well.
Fifty passengers of a Kingfisher Airlines flight from Vizag, which arrived at 2 pm, were the first to use the building. They were followed by passengers from a Jet Airways flight from Bangalore and an Air India flight from Hyderabad.
"We gave feedback forms to the passengers. The responses are good. All utilities like conveyor belts, electronic displays and other equipment worked well," said a senior AAI official.
27/03/09 Times of India

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Fight for Birmingham-India air route goes to Europe

The fight to restore a direct air link between Birmingham and India is being taken to Europe after West Midlands MEP Neena Gill said the Indian government’s protectionist attitude violated the spirit of an agreement with the EU.
Earlier this month, national carrier Air India said it would not be renewing its popular Birmingham-Amritsar route, which had been suspended in October last year as the firm tried to protect its Heathrow routes.
The decision meant Birmingham was left with no direct, non-stop link to India. Birmingham airport has been courting other airlines from the subcontinent – such as Jet Airways – as potential replacements, but Indian regulations mean that, as things stand, only Air India has a licence to fly direct routes between Birmingham and India.
In a letter to the Birmingham Post, Labour MEP Ms Gill said she was “astonished” by the decision not to reinstate the flights, and said she would be taking the matter up with the European Commission.
Speaking about the Indian government’s refusal to allow other airlines to fly direct from Birmingham to Amritsar, she said: “Only last September the EU and India signed an aviation agreement. I believe this decision contravenes the sentiment of this agreement and intend to take this matter up here with the EC.
“I am contacted all the time by constituents regarding what was a convenient service between Birmingham and the Punjab that served both the business and personal interests of so many in the Midlands and that avoided lengthy and difficult connections at Delhi.
“As such I am taking this issue up with representatives of the airline here in the UK and with the Indian High Commission.
“I have also written to the Indian minister for aviation and believe an explanation of what smacks of a protectionist policy would be highly desirable for the people of Birmingham.”
A large proportion of Birmingham’s Asian community has links to North India, which is served by Amritsar.
26/03/09 Tom Scotney/Birmingham Post, UK

Computer glitch in AI plane, alert pilot lands aircraft safely

New Delhi: An alert pilot of an Air India Airbus plane with 56 passengers on board today tackled a software glitch in computer navigation in a jiffy and ensured a safe landing of the aircraft at Srinagar airport.
The Airbus A-320( IC 821) Pilot Captain Kapil Raina on a flight from Delhi to Srinagar detected an alarm in his computer-aided navigation system when it was making a descent while flying over Banihal pass, airline officials said. The aircraft had been updated with the new software provided by Jetson software company in which the coordinates of Srinagar airport had been wrongly notified, the official said, adding the company later rectified the apparent error.
The pilot quickly took the plane to a higher altitude and hovered around while informing the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Srinagar airport. While making a second attempt to land, there was an alarm in the computer of the plane again, giving room for suspicion for the pilot that the computer was malfunctioning. The pilot informed the ATC at Srinagar and landed the airplane using manual landing manouveres. Former Chief Minister Muifti Mohammed Sayeed, his daughter Mehbooba, separatist leaders SAS Geelani, Bilal Lone and MLA Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami were among the passengers.
25/03/09 Indopia

Take chartered flights from Ranchi

Ranchi: Businessmen, politicians and other professionals can now book a chartered flight to their favourite destinations from the state capital.
Lucknow-based Spirit Air Private Limited has decided to fly two chartered aircraft from Ranchi to destinations within the city and anywhere in the country.
The aircraft — New Cessna 172 Skyhawk and Cessna Caravan — would be parked at the Birsa Munda Airport in the state capital.
“The two aircraft are capable of operating from small airfields. They can operate from Dhanbad, Chaibasa, Daltonganj, Giridih, Deoghar, Dumka and Hazaribagh,” said G.C. Biswas, the associate vice-president (marketing) of the company. The company would start flying the chartered aircraft from April 1. While the New Cessna 172 Skyhawk can fly three passengers, the Cessna Caravan can fly 9.
The aircraft could be booked for private and public purposes, including election duty, tourism and corporate tours. Spirit Air has already opened an office in the state capital where the clients can book their flights.
Also, Kingfisher Airlines has decided to connect Ranchi with Bangalore via Mumbai.The new flight would start operations from April 10. The flight would start from Patna and then follow the Ranchi-Mumbai-Bangalore route.
26/03/09 The Telegraph

Flier dead after on-board illness

Kolkata: A Bangkok-bound Air Berlin flight made an emergency landing at Kolkata airport on Tuesday morning after an American passenger complained
of breathing problems. He was declared brought dead by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) doctors.
Ronald Tebl (72) was booked on a Munich-Bangkok Air Berlin flight. After the flight took off from Munich, he complained of breathing trouble and informed the cabin crew. In-flight doctors advised the pilot to land at the nearest airport. "The pilot contacted us and sought permission for landing at 6.45 am," said an official.
AAI doctors rushed to the aircraft soon after the flight landed. Following a detailed investigation, they declared Tebl brought dead. "He died of cardiac arrest," said a doctor.
25/03/09 Times of India

Better facilities planned at Kanpur airport

Kanpur: Working on the lines to provide better facilities to passengers during summer season, Airport Authority of India (AAI) have made operational centralised air-conditioning facilities at Kanpur airport premises. AAI is in-charge of maintenance of airport here in city.
Talking to TOI, a senior AAI official said, "the centralised cooling system have been started in departure and arrival halls. Though it was constructed in winter but was operationalised now keeping in view approaching summer season."
25/03/09 Times of India

Gulf Air to suspend Bangalore, Hyderabad flights

The Gulf Air, Bahrain's national carrier, is set to temporarily suspend its operations to two South Indian cities - Bangalore and Hyderabad - with effect from March 29.
According to sources in the travel industry, the airline will operate the last flight from Bangalore (GF273) and Hyderabad (GF275) on Sunday.
However, the flights are likely to be back in service by October end, the sources added.
When contacted, a Gulf Air spokesperson could neither confirm nor deny the report.
25/03/09 TradeArabia, Bahrain

Riyadh - Dammam - Mangalore Direct Flight On the Cards

Mangalore: As announced on daijiworld.com last month, Air India Express had confirmed its plan to fly Dammam - Mangalore direct by the end of March, 2009. The plan is still on and is awaiting a green signal from the Civil Aviation department. Owing to the forthcoming general elections, the execution of the plan may be delayed by a few weeks. But there is no second thought on flying directly from Saudi Arabian soil to Mangalore, says AI Express officials.
A senior officer, who did not want to be identified told daijiworld that, after the announcement of Dammam - Mangalore flight, there had been tremendous pressure on AI Express from Coastal Karnataka based organizations in Riyadh to extend the service also to Riyadh as there are a number of potential passengers from both Coastal Karnataka and Kasardgod living there. Bowing to pressure, AI Express is now considering another option of flying Riyadh - Dammam - Mangalore. "The plan is surely on the cards, but I cannot assure you at the moment. But Riaydh bound Mangaloreans have every reason to cheer when the news is confirmed" said the AI Express official.
Meanwhile, AI Express has submitted the approval for thrice-weekly flights from Dammam - Mangalore. Due to the current situation, they might reduce the schedules to twice a week, instead of three times a week. Eventually, depending on the load, the frequency may be upgraded.
Due to certain technical difficulties, the scheduled 10 flights per week from Air India Express between Dubai - Mangalore have been reduced to 9 a week. From March 14 to April 14 the Wednesday morning flight will not be operating, but it will continue to operate after April 14, said an Air India Express official.
25/03/09 Daijiworld.com

DIAL’s 2010 room service falls short

New Delhi: The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is expected to be ready with only a sixth of the 3,000 rooms projected by next year in the IGI Airport’s upcoming hospitality district, a Parliamentary committee report has said. DIAL officials, too, admit there’s little time to build 3,000 rooms, and the airport developer is gearing up to ensure as many possible are up in time for the mega-event.
The report on ‘Development of Tourism Infrastructure and Amenities for 2010 Commonwealth Games’ says DIAL is expected to pool in only 500 rooms in the 45-acre project. As per projections, Delhi would be short of at least 15,000 rooms for the Games.
On its part, DIAL is now assessing bids for the hospitality project from realty developers. But it is yet to decide how many rooms will be ready in time.
DIAL spokesperson Arun Arora said results of the bids recently held will be announced “very soon”.
According to senior officials, the bids fell short by a fair margin: they reportedly fetched the airport developer Rs 700 to Rs 800 crore, against approximately Rs 2,700 crore when the previous bids were opened last year. The one-year gap and the deteriorating economic conditions have led to the shortfall, officials said.
Sources in the civil aviation ministry said DIAL has now been asked to expand its revenue base from the hospitality district. As per an agreement with the government, DIAL would use 5 per cent of 5,000 acres of airport land for commercial purposes. It has so far released 65 acres, out of 250 acres of allocated land, for bids where hotels will be constructed in a built-up area of 45 acres.
26/03/09 Geeta Gupta/ExpressIndia

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

ATC staff too will face random breath tests

Mumbai: The overworked air traffic control (ATC) personnel at the Indian airports will soon have to brace themselves for random alcohol tests. To make air travel safer, the director general of civil aviation (DGCA) is working on guidelines that will make breath analyser tests mandatory for all ATC officials reporting to work.
"The ATC officials play an important role in air safety as they are the ones who guide the pilot and the aircraft. So, we have decided to bring them too under the gambit of alcohol detection tests," said a DGCA official.
Confirming the move, a civil aviation ministry official said that the DGCA is working on the guidelines for ATC licensing and will incorporate this requirement in it.
Currently, these tests are performed only on pilots and cabin crew.
25/03/09 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

Pharma cargo zones planned at airports

New Delhi: The Union health ministry has joined hands with the pharmaceutical industry and airport developers GVK and GMR to plan the setting up of dedicated cargo zones to handle the import and export of pharma products.
A committee with representatives from each of these stakeholders is scheduled to meet next month to discuss how to do this at three airports – Mumbai, New Delhi and Hyderabad. The Nhava Sheva port at Navi Mumbai will house a similar cargo zone, meant to ensure the quality of medicines in transit.
The area to be dedicated and the facilities to be provided will depend on the volume of medicines handled. Over 90 per cent of the pharma trade is through these outlets, sources say.
An administrative order clearing the proposal to set up such pharmaceutical zones was issued by the health ministry on March 12. “There will be dedicated storage centres for drugs that are imported and exported. This will prevent the possibility of cross-contamination. Similarly, drugs will be stored at different temperatures as prescribed under the law, thereby retaining their efficacy,” said Surinder Singh, the Drugs Controller General of India.
25/03/09 Joe C Mathew/Business Standard

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Ministry-DIAL rift over closure of runway

Differences have cropped up between the civil aviation ministry and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) over the closure of the airport’s main runway.
“DIAL wants the entire runway closed for a long period of time, while the ministry is against it, citing inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the move,” said a source close to the development.
“We do not want the runway closed. We are still looking at various options. Today’s meeting remained inconclusive. We are meeting again in about a week’s time,” said a senior official from the ministry. A DIAL spokesperson said he was unaware of the meeting.
The Delhi airport currently has three runways — 27, 28 and the new runway 29 — out of which 28 and 29 are mainly used. According to sources, DIAL wants runway 28 to be closed.
However, airlines are against the proposal, arguing that restructuring of their operations after the runway closure would increase their turnaround time at the airport, leading to more fuel consumption. In addition, the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft would have to be reduced, affecting the passenger load factor (PLF) of the flights operating in and out of Delhi.
According to sources, the carriers voiced their concerns in a recent meeting with DIAL and other stakeholders, including officials from the air traffic control (ATC), which comes under the Airports Authority of India.
In the meeting, airline executives pointed out several difficulties to be faced in operation of flights from runways 27 and 29.
There was a suggestion that all international operations be undertaken from runway 29 and domestic operations from 27. This, however, would have an impact on the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft, thus leading to lower loads.
24/03/09 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

Spicejet flight makes emergency landing in Delhi

New Delhi: A Spicejet aircraft carrying more than 100 passengers from Delhi to Goa landed on Monday under emergency conditions after the pilot noticed a technical problem soon after take off.
The Spicejet flight SG257 had to land after pilot detected the technical problem soon after take-off this evening, sources at the airport said.
The flight landed safely, they said, adding the passengers left for their destination in another flight.
24/03/09 PTI/Times of India

Airlines planning to suspend services from Kozhikode

Kozhikode: Owing to the huge loss in revenue following the ‘fare war’, more airlines are getting ready to suspend their services or cut down the frequency of the flights from Kozhikode International Airport.
Etihad Airways and Emirates will reduce the frequency of the flights and Jet Airways also will cancel its Doha flights in the coming week. Other leading lowcost, no-frills airlines also will suspend services soon enough.
The full service airline companies cannot survive with the new fares and they are forced to cut fares on a par with the low-cost services of Indian Airlines and Air India.
A senior Air Arabia official told The New Indian Express that the poor demand from the passengers is the main reason for the revenue loss which results in the suspension of the services to Kozhikode.
“There are almost 2600 seats available a day, but the demand is only around 1500,” he said.
A Kozhikode-Dubai air ticket costs only Rs 6500 for a full-service flight of a leading airline which will provide fivestar food and other facilities for the passengers.
A Jet Airways official said passengers’ demand the same fare of Air- India Express for a full-service airline. And the private companies are forced to provide five-star facilities on the same ticket fare of low-cost airlines.
23/03/09 TP Nijeesh/ExpressBuzz

Chandigarh set to earn more wings

Chandigarh: The city is all set to have a stronger presence on the domestic air route map with four new flights to start from here soon.
Kingfisher Airlines plans to connect Chandigarh with Srinagar through Jammu from second week of April, said officials. The airline is yet to release its schedule for the flight.
Low-cost carrier Go-Air will also be starting flights to New Delhi, Mumbai and Goa from the city from March 29. Deccan Airways was providing air connectivity between Jammu and Chandigarh till last year. Its flights continued from October 2005 to April 2008. Go-Air will be providing its services to the city for the first time with its flights. The carrier promises that its fares will be low compared to other airlines. As per the schedule, the flights will take off on five days of the week except Tuesday and Saturday.At present, Jet, Kingfisher, Indian and MDLR airlines provide daily flights from city to Delhi and Mumbai.
22/03/09 Ajay Sura/Times of India

Fire near Kolkata airport, aircraft moved to safety

Kolkata: A paint factory near Kaikhali, just off Kolkata airport's boundary wall, was gutted in a fire on Monday morning. Though no one was injured, the fire created a flutter among airport officials and residents of the apartment next to the factory. The blaze was brought under control after five hours of firefighting.
Two Airbus 319 and one ATR aircraft of Air India, parked in hangars near the boundary wall next to the spot, were immediately removed to safety. Landings and take-offs at the airport were restricted to the Madhyamgram end of the runway. "However, no flights were delayed," said general manager (operation), Mahesh Kaul.
The fire was spotted around 9.15 am and the flames rose as high as the Green Valley Apartment building's fifth floor in just five minutes, making residents panic. Airports Authority of India sent eight fire tenders to ensure that the flames did not spread to the airport compound. West Bengal Fire Services sent 16 fire tenders.
Rajarhat-Gopalpur Municipality officials said the decades-old factory came under the municipality in 1994. But its owners don't have a proper licence. "Civic officials lacked the will to shut it down as its workers are CPM supporters," alleged an AAI official.
24/03/09 Times of India

Airport fight: Police finalise chargesheet

Thiruvananthapuram: The police have named certain CISF personnel and immigration officials as prosecution witnesses in its chargesheet against two air passengers who were booked last month on the charge of assaulting CISF Inspector Subroto Chatterji and other passengers at the international airport here on February 7, 2009.
The police will file its chargesheet in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court this week after getting Deputy Director of Prosecution V. Radhakrishnan’s opinion.
The accused are ‘Madathil’ Reghu, 49, owner of a chain of ‘dance bars’ in Abu Dhabi, and his business partner and Egypt-born UK national Ahmed Muhammed Al-Jalak, 30.
The police have charged them with assault by hand, voluntarily causing hurt to a Government official to prevent him from discharging his duty, verbal abuse and common intention under sections 323, 332, 294 (b) and 34 respectively of the Indian Penal Code.
The prosecution case was that Reghu and Al-Jalak, in an allegedly inebriated state, assaulted and verbally abused fellow passengers at the airport’s arrival hall.
They were apparently angry that as business class passengers they did not get preferential treatment at the immigration clearance counter manned by the State police. The accused allegedly attempted to jump the queue in front of the counter, resulting in a fracas with other passengers.
They allegedly assaulted Subtoro Chatterji, the security shift in charge, when he tried to dissuade them from behaving in an ‘unruly, uncontrolled and offensive’ manner.
24/03/09 Kerala Online

Monday, March 23, 2009

Singapore’s Silk Airlines to start operations from Amritsar

Amritsar, Punjab: Singapore’s Silk Airlines plans to start operations from Amritsar next month, much to the relief of tourists and business community who had been facing hardships after the cancellation of Singapore’s national carrier last month.
Punjab Council of CII Chairman Gunbir Singh told The Tribune that they had been pressing upon the Singapore Airlines to reconsider its decision to operate its no-frill economy class airline to fill the void created by the termination of its own thrice-a-week flight operations from Amritsar.
He said during the last visit of the Singapore Ambassador to India, the CII had mooted the proposal in view of the demand of a large number of NRIs settled in South-Asian countries, New Zealand and Australia. Now the final nod was being awaited for the resumption of flights.
Gunbir Singh said there was a tremendous scope for lifting of export cargo from here, including hand tools, hosiery, fresh vegetables.
23/03/09 Global Sikh News

Dragonair A333 returns to Bangalore due to engine problem

Bangalore: A Dragonair Airbus A330-300, registration B-HWH performing flight KA-153 from Bangalore (India) to Hong Kong (China), returned to Bangalore due to an engine problem. The aircraft landed safely.
Engineers determined, that the engine needed to be replaced. A new engine was flown in, so that B-HWH could leave Bangalore as flight KA-153D on March 14th.
22/03/09 Simon Hradecky/The Aviation Herald

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Near miss incident: 'IAF chopper may not have contacted ATC'

New Delhi: The IAF helicopter in the Presidential entourage, which had a narrow-miss with an Air India aircraft at Mumbai airport last month, was under visual flight rules (VFR) instead of being instrument-guided and probably had no contact with the control tower at the airport, informed sources have indicated.
As the inquiry into the February 9 incident by a joint committee of civil and military aviation officials progressed, there were indications that the helicopter in the Presidential entourage, which was on VFR, had not established contact with the air traffic control (ATC) tower at the airport, which it was supposed to do in order to make a landing, the sources said.
They, however, said only completion of the inquiry would establish the exact reasons and circumstances and make important recommendations including enhancing the levels of coordination between civil and military aviation agencies, especially during VIP travel. Busy airports like Mumbai have controlled airspace around them and most of the air traffic is guided by instrument flight rules (IFR).
22/03/09 Noor Khan/SamyLive

LTTE threat to Kerala airports

Security has been strengthened at all three international airports in Kerala following an alert received from Mumbai about an LTTE threat to the key installations, India media reported yesterday.
The Air India security office in Thiruvanathapuram received the alert message from its Mumbai office, they said.
There were also intelligence reports that the LTTE may attack any of the South Indian airports in the coming days. Kerala has three airports Thiruvananthapuram, Nedumbassery (Kochi) and Karippur (Kozhikode). There are regular flights from Sri Lanka to Kochi and Thiruvanathapuram.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), in charge of airport security, has stepped up vigil at the airports. A special meeting was conducted by the CISF Commandant Rajiv Panth to evaluate the security measures.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport was thoroughly searched by the bomb squad and dog squad of the police. The Quick Reaction Team of the CISF also joined search operations, said a news report from the city. Similar search operations were conducted in other Kerala airports too. There has been an active operation of the LTTE in the state and of late there were reports that the LTTE is having a “loose arrangement” with certain fringe Maoist groups and some Islamist organizations in the state., reported rediff.com.
A top-ranking intelligence official said some former Naxalite leaders in the state are in touch with the terror elements in Sri Lanka, it added.
In another development, on Friday the Tamil Nadu Coast Guard and Police launched a search operation for a boat from Sri Lanka, suspected to belong to the banned LTTE, off the coast of Tamil Nadu near Cuddalore.
22/03/09 Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka

SLAF ready to help Kerala

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is ready to help India in providing whatever details it needs with regard to the `Tiger' threat to certain airports in Kerala, SLAF spokesperson, Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said.
Commenting on the threat he said that the Indian defence officials were already in close contact with Sri Lanka and the SLAF was closely monitoring the situation.
22/03/09 Ananth Palakidnar/Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka

Rs 1.5 lakh cr needed for new airports in next 10 yrs: CAPA

New Delhi: The Indian aviation sector will require about Rs 1,50,000 crore ($ 30 billion) investment for airport construction in the next 10 years, according to aviation consultancy Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
Another Rs 4,00,000 crore ($ 80 billion) would have to be invested in aircraft fleet augmentation in the next 10 years, according to the consultancy.
"There will be huge investment required in the aviation sector by 2020. While $ 80 billion would be invested for aircraft acquisition, about $ 30 billion would be needed for setting up airports and other related infrastructure," CAPA's Indian Subcontinent CEO Kapil Kaul said while speaking at an infrastructure summit organised by industry body FICCI.
Mumbai currently has one airport while another is being set up in Navi Mumbai. But Kaul said that there would be requirement of a third airport, too, in the megapolis.
He went on to add that 10-12 cities in the country would also need a second airport by 2020, with the air traffic for the whole of the country projected to go up to 225 million by then from the current 75 million.
21/03/09 PTI/Economic Times

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Mystery plane flies past

An unidentified aircraft blipped on Calcutta airport’s primary radar early on Thursday and didn’t respond to repeated queries from air traffic control (ATC) as it moved southwest before disappearing without a trace.
The ATC team was in a tizzy after the aircraft, spotted 37 nautical miles east of the airport around 3.30am, appeared not to have any transponder to link with the secondary radar that measures altitude and speed. When there was no response from the pilot either, the officials sounded a red alert.
“We tracked the aircraft till 4am but couldn’t find out what type of plane it was and to whom it belonged. We didn’t even know whether it had the standard equipment for voice communication with the ATC. So we contacted the Indian Air Force’s liaison unit,” a senior airport official said.
The mystery deepened when the IAF said that the unidentified plane was “unlikely” to be a defence aircraft on a secret mission or drill.
“We are working on the information (provided by the ATC) and trying to find out what it was,” the chief public relations officer of defence (east), Group Capt. R.K. Das, told Metro on Friday. “It couldn’t have been an IAF aircraft at that hour.”
Under normal circumstances, the secondary radar tells the ATC at what altitude and speed an aircraft is flying. But the aircraft must be equipped with a transponder for the secondary radar to be able to do this.
An ATC official said all scheduled and non-scheduled (private) aircraft pilots flying through Calcutta or any other city’s airspace were required to inform the ATC about their flight plans before takeoff. Calcutta airport had no prior information about an aircraft passing through at that time on Thursday.
Sources said if things had gone wrong the unidentified plane could have been involved in a mid-air collision with overflying commercial aircraft.
21/03/09 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

'UFO' blip leaves airport officials foxed

Kolkata: An unidentified flying object blipped on the city radar in the wee hours of Thursday, a little after mysterious objects were photograph-ed hovering in the London sky. The blip that lasted for 15 minutes on the Bay of Bengal left airport and IAF officials foxed. While some suspect an unscheduled aircraft strayed into Indian airspace, others termed it a UFO. The Directo-rate General of Civil Aviation has ordered an investigation.
The unidentified aircraft or object was spotted on the airport radar at 3.45 am on Th-ursday. Sources said there was only a Cathay Pacific overfli-ght scheduled for the time and in that direction. “But the fli-ght showed a separate blip. What’s more, we had communication problems with the Ca-thay Pacific pilot during the time the mystery blip was on screen,” said an air controller.
IAF clarified that it had no exercise scheduled over the Bay of Bengal at that hour, and that none of its aircraft in the region were airborne then.Though the blip may have been due to either a snag in the 11-year-old radar or the reflection of moonlight from a school of fish, what worries security agencies is the possibility of unauthorized aircraft entering Kolkata region.
The London sighting on Thursday has hyped interest in the Kolkata UFO. Given the 5.5-hour time zone difference between India and UK and the 11-hour flight time, science fiction buffs drew a link between London’s ‘flying saucers’ and the mystery blip at the airport.
21/03/09 Times of India

Security at airports tightened

Thiruvananthapuram: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has tightened security at all airports in Kerala following a Central Intelligence Bureau (CIB) warning on Thursday night that elements sympathetic to the cause of militant groups fighting the Army in Sri Lanka could carry out punitive bomb strikes in airports across south India.
The CIB issued the advisory to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which, in turn, alerted the CISF headquarters. Official sources said the CIB alert was not specific or sensitive in nature.
They said that certain Tamil radical groups in south India apparently believed that the Indian government supported the Sri Lankan Army’s continuing operation against the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Elam (LTTE) and operatives of such elements could be contemplating to carry out bombings at airports in the Indian Peninsular region to gain attention for their cause on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections.
The CISF personnel were screening all vehicle entering airports in the State. Its anti-sabotage teams have increased the frequency of their checks. Quick reaction teams of the CISF were also on the standby.
21/03/09 Kerala Online

Air India not to operate from new terminal at Delhi airport

New Delhi: With the newly-built departure terminal at Delhi airport set to be opened in the first week of April, India’s national carrier Air India Friday said it would not shift its operations to the new terminal. “We will continue to operate from the existing 1A terminal,” an Air India spokesperson told IANS.
Airport officials said all other airlines, including low-cost carries, have already started shifting their operations to the new terminal 1D.
The 1D terminal, set up at an investment of Rs.5 billion (Rs.500 crore), will be capable of handling all outbound domestic passengers. It was inaugurated Feb 26 by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.
A spokesperson of Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, also confirmed that Air India would continue operating from the 1A terminal. The three full-fledged carriers, Air India, Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways, are not willing to shift to terminal 1D as they will have to shift to the T3 - the upcoming integrated terminal - next year, officials said.
20/03/09 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thaindian

Indian national fails to smuggle in RM500,000 in Ketamine

Butterworth: An Indian national was caught trying to smuggle in 14.84kg of ketamine valued at RM500,000 at the Penang International Airport on Friday.
Penang Customs director Matrang Suhaili said the man, in his 50s, who had come from New Delhi via Bangkok, was nabbed at 11.30pm after Customs officers found the drugs concealed in some food items in his luggage.
He said it was the typical modus operandi used by drug smugglers from the subcontinent.
He added that records showed the suspect had entered the country several times in the last two years.
20/03/09 Bernama/The Star Online

Friday, March 20, 2009

Bomb scare at NSC Bose airport

Kolkata: An anonymous caller claiming that a bomb would explode at the NSC Bose airport this afternoon, led to a flurry of activities there. The call was received at the airport's telephone exchange at about 3.30 p.m. today. The caller, who spoke in a south Indian accent, said that a bomb had been planted in an aircraft, that would explode in the next two hours. Officials of Airports Authority of India, CISF and other units of the Bomb Assessment Committee including the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad swung into action and carried out a thorough search. Visitors' entry had to be stopped for sometime. Nothing, however, was found.
19/03/09 The Statesman

Call of bomb blasts in S India airports; security tightened

Chennai: Security at Chennai airport was tightened today following a telephone call received in Kolkata, warning of bomb blasts at airports in southern states.
According to sources, an anonymous call was received by airport officials at Kolkata, who in turn alerted their Chennai counterparts.
The security was tightened ahead of the scheduled visit of Chilean President Michelle here this evening.
Besides increased security, frisking of passengers was also intensified, the sources said.
19/03/09 Press Trust of India

MIAL gets stay order on airport land sale

Mumbai: Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), a special purpose vehicle set up to improve infrastructure facilities at the Mumbai airport, has received a stay order from the city civil court on illegal sale of land.
A company called Star Chemicals has sold the land to the city-based Goenka Infra for an undisclosed amount in February. When contacted, the MIAL spokesperson confirmed that the company received a stay order on the deal, without divulging details as the matter was sub-judice.
This is one among many instances of MIAL land being fraudulently sold off by a handful of unauthorised entities in the past two months. MIAL had received around 1,800-acre from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) three years ago. It is estimated that around 276 acres of land in Sahar, Vile Parle, Marol, Chakala and Kurla have been fraudulently encroached in the past few months.
A person familiar with the matter said MIAL has been taking legal recourses against unauthorised deals. Stringent actions, both civil and criminal, would be initiated against those involved in such illegal transactions in next few weeks, he added.
The ownership of some plots, which the government had acquired in the 1950s, remained in the names of entities other than the central government and AAI in the records of Tahsildar’s office and city survey department. AAI and MIAL have approached the authorities to make the necessary corrections, said the person quoted earlier.
20/03/09 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

Thursday, March 19, 2009

DIAL proposes closure of IGI Airport’s main runway no 28 for eight months

Mumbai: The GMR-led Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (DIAL) has proposed to close Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport’s main runway no. 28 for eight months from April 15, 2009 to resurface it. According to a report in Times of India by Saurabh Sinha, in view of the major disruption this may cause to the functioning of the airport, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has called a meeting on this issue early next week and DIAL will be asked if this job can be done in phases to reduce the complete closure period. The eight-month period includes two monsoon months when no work will be carried out. DIAL wants the work to be completed by the peak winter fog season.
“We will be seeking approval of all authorities concerned like the AAI, DGCA and ministry before beginning work on the Rs 150-crore resurfacing project. But the Ministry may insist on a phased plan, as closing runway 28 - that lies between the other two runways 27 and 29 - will create huge problems,” said an official. IGI Airport currently handles close to 700 flights (350 arrivals, 350 departures) per day, with the new runway 29 handling all arrivals and departures happening from runway 28.
Although the Air Traffic Control (ATC) has worked out a rough formula to handle the closure of runway 28 - with all domestic departures happening from runway 27 that's close to domestic terminal and all arrivals and international departures from runway 29 - it too wants the complete closure to be for least possible time.
Moreover, MoCA has just cleared DGCA's plan for banning night landing on the new runway (29) from Vasant Kunj side from 10pm to 6am following complaints of noise pollution from residential areas, meaning that night operation would have to be on runways 27 and 29. With one of them closed, the situation could get chaotic unless night curfew on runway 29 is postponed. DIAL had raised the runway closure issue last month in a meeting with MoCA.
18/03/09 TravelBizMonitor

Airlines begin shift to new terminal at IGI

New Delhi: Domestic air carriers scheduled to relocate to the new domestic departure terminal at Indira Gandhi International Airport which is to start operating from April 4, have begun the process of shifting.
All domestic airlines, except Air India and MDLR, will start operating from the new terminal 1D from next month, however, it will barely be a year before they have to relocate to the upcoming integrated terminal 3.
While almost all airlines from terminal 1B and Kingfisher from terminal 1A will be shifting to the new departure terminal for now, once the new integrated terminal is ready all full-cost airlines will move to it. Terminal 1D will then serve as the country's first low-cost carrier terminal.
“Moving from one terminal to another is a logistical nightmare for airlines. Operations should not be hampered, and shifting should take place with least inconvenience to the passengers. By the time we would be able to settle down, it will be time to shift again. We anticipate a lot of confusion during the first few months,” said a senior airline official.
Jet Airways and Jet Lite will be the first to start operating out of terminal 1D, tentatively from April 4, while the other airlines will follow suit and begin operations around April 11, sources said.
18/03/09 Indian Express

7kg of ketamine found in TV set

Kuching: A 32-year-old Indian national, suspected of being a drug mule, was arrested during a routine Customs check at the Kuching International Airport two days ago. Customs officers found 7kg of ketamine in 46 plastic bags hidden inside a television set belonging to the man.
The drug is worth about RM245,000 on the black market. While it is used in medical treatment, addicts also take it.
State Customs director Rusmani Abdul Sukur said yesterday that the man took off from Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on March 16 and arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the same day. He said the officers found it strange that someone from India was lugging a TV set all the way to Kuching.
19/03/09 New Strait Times

Air traffic resumes in LGBI Airport

Guwahati: Air traffic in the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi international airport resumed today as the instrumental landing facility could be made operational and the poor visibility condition of around 2,000 metre could be overcome. According to Director, Regional Meteorology Centre (RMC) here, H Pathak, the people of the region would have to wait for a favourable weather condition expected in April. The present weather condition will last for few more days, he said.
He attributed the present weather condition to a long period of deficit rainfall over the NE region since October, 2008 — that is covering the post-monsoon, between October and December, 2008 and winter, between January and February this year, periods. The deficit rainfall experienced by Arunachal in the post monsoon period was 38 per cent and it was 30 per cent in winter. Assam-Meghalaya witnessed a deficit rainfall of 32 per cent in the post monsoon period and that of 66 per cent during winter, while, deficit rainfall in Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram-Tripura during winter was 78 per cent.
18/03/09 The Assam Tribune

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Charges for non-existent airports?

Mumbai: Why should air passengers pay for airport infrastructure that he may or may not get to use?
The Airport Authority of India's (AAI) decision to allow Mumbai and Delhi airports to charge every passenger for future development has thrown up this question many times.
Starting April 1, every domestic passenger flying out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai will be charged Rs 100 and every international passenger Rs 600 as an airport development fee (ADF). The GMR group-led Delhi International
Airport Ltd (DIAL) is already charging its domestic passengers ADF of Rs 200 and international passengers Rs 1,300 from March 1.
The government is working on a similar fee for 35 state-owned airports that are being modernised. The government feels passengers should contribute to such large development projects.
The global airlines body, International Air Transport Association (IATA), too is opposing the government's decision.A Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson felt the Rs 100 or Rs 600 charge will not be a deterrent for air travellers. An industry observer contradicted this view and said it is not a question of passengers not willing to pay but one of precedent.
The ADF came about when DIAL approached the government to help fill the funding gap of Rs 2,739 crore out of the total Rs 8,975 crore needed for the upgradation of the airport. DIAL has already spent close to Rs 5,000 crore on the upgradation of terminals and the new runway at Delhi airport, which has been completed. The new domestic terminal is expected to be operational by April and the new T3 integrated terminal by 2010.
Delhi airport handled 21.8 million passengers in the April 2008-February 2009 period.
The GVK group-led MIAL is seeing a funding gap of Rs 2,000 crore, which it wants to fund through the ADF.
The Mumbai international airport handled close to 21 million passengers between April 2008 and February 2009, as against 25.8 million passengers in financial year 2007-08.
After the airports are developed, passengers are subjected to user development fees (UDF), too. While ADF is to meet shortfall of capital expenditure, UDF is for using existing infrastructure. GMR, which also runs the new Hyderabad International Airport, already charges domestic passengers a UDF fee of Rs 375 and international passengers Rs 1,000 at the Hyderabad airport. Every domestic passenger at the Bengaluru international airport pays Rs 260 and international ones Rs 1,070 as UDF.
18/03/09 Archana Shukla/Daily News & Analysis

Developer absorbs only 7% employees of Airports Authority

Mumbai: The fate of as many as 2,100 employees of Airports Authority of India (AAI) remains uncertain as the Operation, Management & Development Agreement (OMDA) signed between the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Mumbai airport’s private developer, the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), comes to an end this May after a provisional period of three years. And while the airport’s private developer was obliged to make employment offers to as much as 60 per cent of the AAI staff, an AAI executive confirmed that only seven per cent or 185 employees of the AAI have been absorbed by the private developer. The others face redeployment or have a choice to opt for a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) floated by the AAI.
On Saturday, as many as 2,100 AAI employees received redeployment circulars from the AAI. The employees’ union — Airports Authority Employees Union (AAEU) — has gone to court and is awaiting an order on the issue. “We’re aware of the court cases. One has been filed in the Delhi High Court and another by the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (BKS) in the Bombay High Court,” said an AAI executive who is dealing with the redeployment of employees.
The employees, on their part, are also wary of joining the private company because it does not offer them a job guarantee. Employees, meanwhile, have been asked not to fill any forms pertaining to either redeployment or the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) floated by the AAI.
Meanwhile, MIAL, according to its spokesperson, has already achieved about 90 per cent of its strength in terms of hiring to run the airport post-May 2, when OMDA expires.
The MIAL is supposed to make an offer of as much as 60 per cent of AAI employees, which it did, according to the spokesperson. According to OMDA, the private company is also under obligation to pay fo
r the VRS, if opted by any AAI employee in due course of time.
18/03/09 Shashank Shekhar/ExpressIndia

ATC eye on campaign flight plans

Ranchi: Come election season, there is always a spurt in our politicians’ flights of fancy.
Not willing to let the poll budget soar, the state’s chief electoral officer (CEO) has directed air traffic control (ATC) units to keep a tab on choppers and chartered planes being used exclusively for campaigning ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
Officer on special duty at Birsa Munda Airport Dhananjay Tiwary said that all the ATC towers in the state operating under the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had been issued instructions. “We will maintain a separate diary for chartered flights being used for electioneering,” he said.
Tiwary maintained that the ATC towers would act as a third eye for the CEO Debashish Gupta’s office. “We will not co-ordinate with agencies (chartered flight service providers) for details, but monitor the campaign flights and submit the incoming/outgoing schedule to the CEO’s office,” he said.
Where the air space is unmanned or the ATC towers are maintained by private agencies — like Tata Steel in Jamshedpur — the district authorities have been entrusted with the task of reporting the flight schedule to the chief electoral officer as well as returning officers. Besides Jamshedpur, this arrangement will work for Godda, Deoghar and Dumka among other places.
Once they get the schedule, the respective returning officers of the 14 parliamentary constituencies will ascertain whether political parties are giving the correct details of their flight expenses.
17/03/09 Amit Gupta/The Telegraph

Building runway for air travel's successful take-off

Kanpur: Why has the city in spite of being India's fifth largest metro, a crucial industrial hub, presence of IIT, Green Park stadium, RBI etc has failed to establish itself on aviation map. Kanpur has failed to record any growth in terms of passenger load or revenue generation via air travel.
A comparative study with three major cities of state reflects this sorry state. Lucknow, the state capital has huge influx of passengers from all major metros. Varanasi sits pretty on the factor of it being an important holy pilgrimage, both for Buddhists and Hindus. An international flight operates from Kathmandu to Varanasi. Agra, cashes on fame of world famous Taj Mahal which contributes for bulk of domestic and foreign tourists to Agra.
Interestingly, the passenger load at Amausi airport in Lucknow comprises 60-70 per cent from Kanpur.
More importantly, Kanpur has huge share of international passengers as well but they prefer to take the route of state capital. Prashant Shukla, media co-ordinator of Air India, talking to TOI said, "all the international flights from Gulf, US, UK start land in Delhi at mid-night after 12 and they carry a huge load of Kanpur-bound passengers. But they all prefer to take indirect route to Lucknow in absence of immediate direct flight to Kanpur."
The aviation sector in Kanpur faces a tough competition from Shatabadi Express. The scenario will brighten up if fares come down or come at comparative level.
18/03/09 Harsh Pandey/Times of India

AAI bestows Rs 500 crore to Chandigarh International Airport Project

Chandigarh: Chandigarh International airport project was bestowed with financial aid of Rs500 crore by Airport Authority of India on Monday.
According to information, The Airport Authority of India has approved the proposal of establishing an airfield and a civil aviation terminal at Chandigarh International airport along with the construction of boundary wall as well as airfield and civil aviation terminal for the upcoming international airport at Mohali.
The AAI board has decided to approach the Election Commission of India to get a final nod to the project with the formation of a joint venture company with Punjab and Haryana government.
17/03/09 Daljeet/Mera Chandigarh

Fire at Ahmedabad airport

Ahmedabad: A fire broke out at the Sardar Vallabhbhai International airport here today. The incident occurred at the building which is under construction. No casualties were reported but a domestic flight was delayed due to it.
According to airport officials fire broke out incidentally when some wielding work was being done. Fire tankers were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control. Mumbai bound Spicejet flight was delayed for over 50 minutes due to the incident.
17/03/09 Gujarat Global

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Mizo jhum fire took 4 lives, caused flight cancellations

Aizawl: Regular jhum fires have killed four persons and injured eleven others in the past two months, while all flights in and out of the state stands cancelled since March 13. State fire and emergency officials said that they have received at least 57 cases of fire during the past two months.
Airlines officials said here that Indian had stopped their flights between Mizoram's lone Lengpui Airport and Kolkata since March 11. They warned that the situation might not improve till March 19 as massive smoke still hovers in the sky.
Even the smaller aircrafts run by Indian and Kingfisher Airlines have been unable to fly due to low-visibility conditions.
Wing Commander Joe Lalhmingliana, controller of the state civil aviation wing lamented that even after all their efforts, they have not been able to bring down the level of smoke cause by jhum fires.
The state government had yesterday set a deadline of March 15 for farmers to burn their cultivation and also restricted burning of forests before 3 pm, when the flights operate.
16/03/09 ZeeNews

Flights to Assam delayed by dust storms

Kolkata: Three flights from Kolkata to Guwahati and one flight to Silchar in Assam were delayed today morning due to poor visibility caused by dust storms and fog here.
Kolkata-Guwahati flights of Jetlite (S2361), Air India (IC229) and Kingfisher (IT4569) did not take off from the Netaji Subhas International Airport here due to poor visibility at the Guwahati airport, airport sources here said.
The Kolkata-Silchar Alliance Air flight (CD 7705) with 45 passengers on board returned here after failing to land at Silchar. The flight again took off from here at 9.45AM, sources said.
The problem at the Gopinath Bordoloi Airport in Guwahati has been compounded by suspension of the Instrumental Landing System (ILS) which enables aircraft to land when visibility is poor due to various reasons, the sources said.
17/03/09 PTI/Times of India

Flier hurt in airline bus gets Rs 20k

New Delhi: The state consumer commission has directed Indian Airlines (IA) to pay a compensation of Rs 20,000 and litigation fee of Rs 5,000 to a
passenger who fractured two fingers in the airline's coach on Delhi airport. After alighting from a Varanasi-Delhi flight at the IGI Airport on September 18, 2005, the flier Alok Kumar Sinha boarded a bus to the terminal but due to callous driving he fell and fractured his fingers.
Sinha alleged when he approached the doctor on duty at Delhi airport, the matter was taken very casually and he was given a painkiller as first aid. The pain, however, become intolerable and Sinha had to consult a doctor at Diwan Chand Satya Pal Aggarwal X-Ray Clinic where he was advised x-ray. Later, he had to be treated at Fortis Hospital where his two fingers were plastered for three weeks. He also had to undergo physiotherapy.
"The passenger was provided with immediate medical aid, which he refused to accept,'' the airline pleaded, stating that there was no negligence on its part.
Quashing the plea, commission president Justice J D Kapoor said that the responsibility of passenger's safety rests with the airline from the time he boards the aircraft to the time he reaches the terminal.
16/03/09 Deeksha Chopra/Times of India

Man dies on flight from Malaysia

Chennai: A 22-year-old man who was coming from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Chennai was found dead in an Air India Express flight. The police suspect the person would have been severely ill when he boarded the flight or had a heart attack.
The flight landed around 11.30 at the Anna international airport with 147 passengers on board. Within minutes, every one got down and the crew of the flight went inside to check if someone has been left behind.
The staff found a youngster sitting still with his eyes closed. Thinking that he was sleeping, they tried to wake him up. When he failed to respond, they thought he was unconscious and alerted the airport officials.
A medical team was pressed into service and after some moments the doctors declared him dead. It is suspected that he died just minutes after the flight took off from Kuala Lumpur.
The police identified the deceased as Kannabiran Balakrishnan from Chidambaram in Cuddalore. He had gone to Malaysia looking for employment. He got a job, but as he did not like it, decided to return to his village.
On Monday morning, he boarded the aeroplane from Malaysia. According to the police, during the flight he asked the cabin crew for some water. There was no one sitting next to him and he was travelling alone.
" ...The body was handed over to the state police," said an Air India official.
17/03/09 Times of India