Showing posts with label Airports Mar 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Mar 2011. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

AI flight grounded after bird-hit

Air India's Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai-Bangalore flight from Thiruvananthapuram international airport on Monday had to be grounded following a bird-hit while the A-319 aircraft was turning around the taxiway in the airport for the take-off to Chennai.
The commander of the AI 507 flight that was carrying the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and BJP leader Arun Jaitley, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and 111 other passengers immediately stopped the aircraft and alerted the Air Traffic Control. The incident took place around 10 a.m. Aircraft maintenance engineers who carried out a detailed inspection of the engine following the suspicion of a bird-hit found feathers in the engine and damage to the blades of the engine.
As the authorities did not want to take any chance and wanted to carry out a trial, the flight was cancelled. Mr. Jaitley and Mr. Karat, who were in the city for campaigning on Sunday, were accommodated in the flight of a private airline that proceeded to Chennai later.
04/04/11 The Hindu

Thursday, March 31, 2011

4,000 passes for ground handlers withheld

Chennai: With a view of implementing the new ground handling policy from April 1, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has stopped issuing passes to the ground handlers of various airlines, putting the operations on tenterhooks. As many as 4,000 passes are now pending at the airport with many operators fearing that ground handling jobs would come to a standstill next month.
A release from the AAI in Delhi said the new policy was aimed at beefing up security and improving quality of services. “Quality of services will also improve in a big way with battery-operated vehicles replacing ageing diesel-run tractors and buses. The ground handling agencies selected by the AAI have been asked to use new equipment, which will not be more than five years old. Thus, the passengers will get better quality of service at the Chennai airport,” the release said.
However, no such sign of new equipment was visible at the Chennai airport. In a closed door meeting between the AAI officials and the ground handling licence holder Bhadra International (India) Limited’s top honchos, the latter reportedly had admitted that some of the critical equipment were still in transit.
“We are all willing to go ahead with the new policy as security is our prime interest. But in Chennai’s case, there are many lacunae,” an airline official informed.
31/03/11 Mamta Todi/Express Buzz

AAI finds no fault with ATC for near-collision

Patna: An enquiry by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has found no fault with the air traffic control (ATC), whose reported lapse almost caused a disaster at Patna airport on Friday. The AAI, while examining the role of the air traffic control officer (ATCO), has instead shifted the blame to the pilots of IndiGo and Kingfisher, the two airlines involved in the episode.
However, the directorate general of civil aviation, the body responsible for air safety in the country, is conducting a full-fledged probe into the matter.
The two aircraft, together carrying 336 persons, came within 1,800 metres of each other after the ATC supposedly gave clearance to an IndiGo plane to take off and asked a Kingfisher flight to land here on Friday evening. But the AAI report has indicated the IndiGo pilot, an expat by the name James Randell, delayed the takeoff. Though a plane normally takes off 30 seconds after the line-up, the report said the IndiGo pilot took 2-3 minutes on the runway. This resulted in an incoming Kingfisher aircraft closing in and climbing down to 50-100 feet above the runway before deciding to go in circles above the airport.
30/03/11 Ruchir Kumar/Hindustan Times

Airlines cold-shoulder ground handling policy

New Delhi: Private airlines like Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir have defied the government’s decision to implement the new ground handling policy which they have successfully delayed for the last four years. The carriers have so far not signed third-party commercial agreement with ground handling companies and have refused to give any undertaking on the timeline for the same.
The aviation ministry’s decision to not renew the airport entry passes of airline staff has also failed to deter the airlines.
31/03/11 Nirbhay Kumar

Busy watching match, AAI officials miss crucial meet

Kolkata: Blame it on the Wednesday's high-voltage Indo-Pak encounter, that India beat Pakistan in Mohali for the first time to reach the World Cup finals for the third time, if you are unable to fly out of the city on Friday.
Top officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the scheduled airlines felt the match was more important to attend than the meeting to resolve the impass' over who would provide ground handling facilities at major airports.
With just a day to go for the AAI and the airlines to agree on modalities for a shift to single agency operation from multiple agencies that exist now, flight operations face the possibility of being disrupted as there will be no personnel on the ground for baggage handling, cargo, aircraft cleaning, catering and other vital operations.
Speaking to TOI, the airlines' top brass expressed dismay over the postponement of a crucial meeting convened by the AAI.
"The agency operating airports believes it is more important to watch the match than resolve a pressing issue that threatens to derail air travel," said a senior official of a private carrier following the cancellation of the meeting in Delhi.
In Kolkata though, AAI officials met with airlines staff but failed to break the deadlock.
The AAI is determined to shut out JP Construction, JSM Construction, Star International, Ideal Engineering, Global, Chowdhury Enterprise and MK Enterprise that operate here along with Air India.
But airlines are in no mood to comply, alleging that Bhadra International, the agency shortlisted for the job, has neither manpower, nor equipment to provide services at such short notice.
31/03/11 Times of India

AAI gets a wake-up call

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI), it seems, required a little chiding from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to wake up from its deep slumber over passenger woes at the Chennai airport.
A study report by the CAG earlier this year had pointed out that the AAI had failed in planning the airport expansion works without taking into consideration the convenience of the travellers.
“The report cited how the AAI had no transition plan in place -- a basic requirement for any busy airport. On the contrary, it was only reactive to the problems,” an airport official said.
Immense discomfort was caused due to reduction in the number of entry/exit points, shifting of alighting points, banning public transport and, more importantly, doing away with a dedicated fire service lane.
Before the airport project started, peak hour passenger traffic was about 1,080 with about 900 parking slots. But shortly after that, the peak hour passenger traffic rose to 1,438, reducing parking slots to 484, and thus aggravating the problem. “The CAG officials also noted how there was no logic in removing auto stands and allowing autos and buses up to one km and 1.5 km away, respectively, from the entry point.
31/03/11 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

Fliers unhappy about lack of amenities at Birsa munda airport

Ranchi: A well known medical practitioner of the city Dr P S Rohatgi was shocked to find on his arrival at Birsa Munda airport from Kolkata that the Jet Airways did not provide the bus which ferry passengers from the aircraft to the terminal. The doctor in his late 50s had to carry his luggage to the terminal.
Similarly, Sishir Jha, a senior executive in a multinational company posted in Dubai who came here via Mumbai by the Kingfisher flight, had a long list of complaints including poor condition of the toilet and a high floor bus with a narrow entrance that creates problem while getting into the bus or alighting from it.
"Passengers literary have to push each other to come out of the bus due to a narrow entrance. There is also risk of some one falling if he or she is in a hurry and did not notice the high floor of the bus when compared to other airports," said Jha.
29/03/11 Sanjay Ojha/Times of India

Cargo aircraft suffers tyre burst while landing

Chennai: A freighter aircraft landing at Chennai airport suffered a tyre blast on Wednesday morning as chief minister M Karunanidhi was waiting on board another flight which was about to take off to Coimbatore. There was no other damage to the aircraft.
The Blue Dart freighter was landing on the main runway at 8.20am when one of the tyres on the main carriage burst. The pilot brought the aircraft under control. An Indigo Airlines flight from Delhi was told to go round because the authorities wanted to clean the runway of tyre pieces. An Air Arabia flight which was about to depart was delayed by 30 minutes.
Sources said that the Blue Dart flight vacated the runway by itself and was later towed to its bay in the cargo terminal of the airport.
30/03/11 Times of India

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Traffic jam over Mohali as honchos fly in on pvt jets

India Inc's scramble to fly to Chandigarh in their fancy jets and be counted on the tarmac of the otherwise sleepy airport in Chandigarh will make it as busy as the Delhi or Mumbai airports on Wednesday. At last count, 96 aircraft would be flying in India's who's who for the high-voltage semis. Of these, just 20 would be commercial aircraft (scheduled flights plus special flights for the semifinal) and the remaining 76 VVIP IAF flights, private jets and charters!
Only the aircraft carrying Sonia Gandhi, her family and entourage and the prime ministers of India and Pakistan will land and take off in a jiffy. The rest, which includes likes of Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Ambani brothers, the Mittals, the Hindujas, and Bollywood glitterati, might come in Hawkers and Bombardiers but will have to wait for landing at the crowded airport and takeoff.
Those who have obtained permission to fly in their planes are the lucky ones, for, the airport has conveyed that it's up to its gills and can't take any more planes. Hence, even those with private aircraft are now seeking to hitch a flight with their friends.
All incoming flights will land between 6am and 1pm and after the match is over, these charters would take off after 11.30pm onward. The last one could get the clearance to fly as late as 1-1.30 pm.
30/03/11 Saurabh Sinha & Ajay Sura/Times of India

India plans airport at holy city Deoghar

Ranchi: India’s Civil Aviation Ministry is planning to air link holy town of Deoghar in Jharkhand by 2014. It will be developed on the lines of one constructed in tourist town of Bodh Gaya in Bihar.
The Centre has of late in principle agreed to launch the process of acquiring land for the purpose. It will be the second airport in the State after Ranchi which will be developed by the Ministry.
The pilgrim city Deoghar has been included among the 31 towns where the Centre has proposed to develop new airports or strengthen existing ones.
The city on an average receives about one crore tourists from across the globe every year.
Officials of the Airport Authority have visited the town a couple of months ago and inspected the sites for proposed airport. The district administration has identified 200 acre land in Kunda area of the town. However, the authority officials have suggested relocating the spot to reduce the cost of construction.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has allocated Rs 5 lakh in the outcome budget tabled in Parliament recently as initiation amount to start the process for identification of suitable land in Deoghar.
29/03/11 Chandrabindu/iGovernment

Delhi HC hears plea on night flying aircraft

New Delhi: Keen to ensure that the "right to sound sleep" of citizens is not disturbed by the booming noise of aircraft landing or taking off, the Delhi high court on Tuesday took stock of noise-reduction measures being implemented near the airport.
Hearing a plea filed by residents of Vasant Kunj and adjoining areas, seeking a ban on night flying on the newly-opened third runway as it disturbs their sleep, a division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna saw a powerpoint presentation organized by all the stakeholders on the issue, including the NGO, Chetna, that filed the petition.
The in-camera presentation was an attempt by the residents to apprise HC about the high decibel levels in their colonies due to the movement of aircraft, even as Airports Authority of India and DIAL showcased steps taken by them to reduce noise.
Appearing for the civil aviation ministry, additional solicitor general A S Chandhiok informed HC that already steps were underway to bring noise levels down as an expert committee was looking at the issue. Some of these include clamping a night curfew on landing and take off, phasing out of older aircraft, installation of sound barriers at key points, etc.
30/03/11 Abhinav Garg/Times of India

Rs.1.5cr wasted on airport gadgets

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will incur unnecessary expenditure of around Rs.1.5 crore on two very high frequency omnirange (VOR) navigation devices at Chennai Airport when it could have done just as well with the present one.
Officials apparently ignored the existing VOR device while charting the airport expansion plans and constructed a near new taxi track nearby.
The VOR will pose a threat to aircraft taxiing on the new track to parking bays near the secondary runway.
A VOR device is used by pilots to navigate in a local area within a radius of up to 48 km and for a terminal to guide aircraft during approach ahead of landing.
A senior pilot said the need of a VOR device as a navigation tool could soon be a thing of the past as most aircraft now use GPS systems. “We no longer depend on ground navigation tools to land,” he added.
He noted that the existing VOR, which is now near the intersection of two runways, could have been moved a short distance instead of it being completely pulled down and replaced with two new devices.
“That would have allowed it to be equidistant from all the four departure points on the two runways,” he said.
Others say the VOR could have been shifted to the Meenambakkam end of the airport where four NEPC Airlines aircraft are parked.
30/03/11 S. Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle

From April 1, pay your way to airport

Bangalore: If paying huge taxes, commuting on bad roads and unbearable traffic were not bad enough in Bangalore, motorists heading for the Bangalore International Airport (BIA) will now have to cough up a toll tax from April 1.
Karnataka is already among the states with the highest taxes on automobiles and petroleum.
The decision of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to place a toll booth just a few kilometres before the airport (on the city side) on NH7 will force motorists heading for the airport to shell out money.
The density of traffic has increased a lot after the opening of the new airport.
While the road falls under the NHAI, street lights and other maintenance work are carried out by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on the stretch.
A top official from the NHAI said the location of the toll booth and the cost are decided by the Central government and approved by the state government.
“This is a wrong move and it definitely burdens the common man. I will write a letter to the Central government to reconsider the location of the toll booth,” said R Ashok, State Transport and Home Minister.
The 22.12-km-long stretch was built by the NHAI at an estimated cost of `700 crore, but the tax payer, who has provided the funds for the road, would have to continue paying more for its maintenance.
Many residential layouts have also come up around the airport and there would be no concession even for the residents of this area.
29/03/11 ExpressBuzz

Airlines now want entire metro airport stretch underground

Chennai: A part won't do; push the entire airport stretch of the Metro Rail underground. That is the new demand of airlines.
Metro Rail had earlier decided to sink into the ground a portion of the OTA-airport line as it fell under the approach path of the secondary runway. But, airlines now feel the whole line should be underground as it cuts across the approach path of main runway on the Guindy end too. They also fear Metro's high voltage power line may be a future hazard.
Airlines raised the concern over power cable at a preliminary safety assessment meet for the project last month. The demand to make the entire airport stretch underground came up when Metro officials told airlines and airport officials that they might build a small stretch of the line underground as it passed under the approach path of secondary runway. Sources said airlines wanted the line from Alandur station under the ground. However, Metro told them it was not possible as works had already begun.
A senior official of Airports Authority of India said a no-objection certificate was given for the project considering all safety aspects.
29/03/11 V Ayyappan/Times of India

Plane makes priority landing in A''dabad; all passengers safe

Ahmedabad: As many as 143 passengers on board a Jaipur-Mumbai Spice Jet flight had a close shave today after their aircraft made a priority landing at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Airport here, after reporting a drop in cabin pressure.
"The aircraft made a safe landing here and passengers were accommodated in another aircraft and have left for Mumbai," an Airport Authority of India(AAI) official said.
29/03/11 IBN Live

Pilot files complaint against CISF

Mumbai: The Jet Airways pilot, who was arrested last week for assaulting a security official at Mumbai airport filed a counter complaint on Monday saying that he and his brother were beaten up by the CISF. On Thursday, pilot Tauseef Ahmed Kiledar had got into a scuffle with a CISF official after allegedly refusing to move his vehicle, which he had parked at the departure point. Kiledar was travelling to Toronto as a passenger. Sahar station police sources said that in their application, the brothers claimed the CISF personnel beat them up after Kiledar pushed an officer during the altercation.
30/03/11 Times of India

Trial check-in facility from Airport express to start

New Delhi: The airport metro express concessionaire, Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL) started trials for baggage check-in facility from Tuesday.
The trials, which will go on for a month, are to be undertaken in association with the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety (BCAS) and various airlines.
Said a DAMEPL spokesperson, "The trials were started with DIAL, and now will be conducted with BCAS and the airlines. The entire exercise will take a month to be perfected."
As part of the mock check-in process, boarding passes will be issued and baggage checked in at the Metro stations of New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium. Passengers who get boarding passes and check in their baggage at three city airport terminals - New Delhi, Shivaji Stadium and Dhaula Kuan - will not have to pay anything extra for the facility.
The DAMEPL spokesperson added, "The check-in facility is being started with three national airlines that are on board - Air India, Jet and Kingfisher. More will be added as the facility is opened." The check-in facility is expected to become available from May 1.
30/03/11 Times of India

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Once bitten, Air India shies away from Europe

New Delhi: After a bad experience with a hub in Frankfurt, which Air India had to dismantle in just 17 months, the government carrier does not plan to make any new one in Europe.
The Irish civil aviation minister had been quoted as saying AI was thinking seriously in terms of a hub for Europe in Dublin.
“We do not plan to make any hub in Europe, or Dublin for that matter, because it does not make sense for a carrier like us, which has direct flights to the US. All our flights are doing well,” said a top AI official, who did not want to be identified.
He added the earlier hub in Frankfurt did not prove beneficial and wasn’t worth the cost. “We are saving ¤30 million (Rs 190 crore) per year by dismantling our Frankfurt hub. A hub in Delhi is doing well for us,” he said.
The airline made Frankfurt its hub in June 2009; this was dismantled in October 2010, after deciding a large number of flights could not be launched through the hub, apart from the expense. “Lufthansa, with its base in Frankfurt, being a very strong airline, also hampered our plans to develop Frankfurt as our hub,” said an AI official.
On a recent visit to India, Ireland’s minister for transport, tourism and sports, Leo Varadkar, had told journalists an AI team would be visiting there in the next six to eight weeks to study Dublin airport, selecting this after a study of around 10 airports in Europe.
29/03/11 Surajeet Das Gupta & Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

Probe ordered into possible mid-air collision

Patna: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started an enquiry into a possible mid-air collision involving two Airbus 320 aircraft and 336 passengers on Friday at Patna airport. The incident took place at 6:47pm, when an IndiGo flight was rolling for takeoff and a Kingfisher plane was on its way to land. Both had received clearance from the ATC.
The DGCA has asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to look at the air traffic control (ATC) tape having the recorded conversation between the ATC duty officer and the pilots of the Kingfisher and IndiGo planes.
28/03/11 Ruchir Kumar/Hindustan Times

Fake pilot license scam triggers worry at Srinagar Airport

Srinagar: Is your plane in safe hands? Does the pilot have an authentic license to fly it? These are among the volley of questions that the commercial airlines at the Srinagar ‘International’ Airport have to face from the flyers before they board the planes. And those who pose the questions are mostly politicians, bureaucrats and frequent flyers.
According to airline officials, the fake pilot license scam, which the Civil Aviation Ministry is probing, has triggered safety concerns at the Airport here too, primarily in the wake of “sensitivity of the aerodrome.”
“The flyers have all of a sudden turned conscious about their safety. We would never face questions on flying safety, but today almost every flyer inquires about names of pilots, their experience and licenses,” said station manager of a commercial airline, insisting not to be named. “We saw many flyers noting down these details, which would ideally never be a case.”
The fake pilot license scam is making headlines in almost all newspapers in India these days, with people expressing concern over the safety standards.
Sources at the Srinagar Airport disclosed to Greater Kashmir a couple of central ministers, who visited the Valley recently, also inquired about the pilots and the safety standards.
According to observers, the Airport is not an ordinary aerodrome. “Srinagar Airport is a very sensitive. Here the landing process happens to be quite peculiar given the topography of the place. Also there is a factor of weather, when mostly the flights land in low-visibility conditions. So all this calls for operation of flights by highly qualified pilots,” said a former Civil Aviation Department official, wishing anonymity.
28/03/11 faheem Aslam/Greater Kashmir

Metro Rail to reduce runway in Chennai airport

Chennai: The alignment of Metro Rail inside the airports authority’s land at Chennai is perceived to create operational limitations for the secondary runway currently being expanded to allow landing of bigger aircraft.
While the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is expanding the secondary runway, by constructing a bridge over Adyar river, experts say that the construction of Metro Rail will reduce the runway utilisation area by 330 metres.
The secondary runway, which is 2,085 metres long now, is being extended by 1,032 metres, but the displacement of 330 metres for landing and take-off will put a question mark on the usage of the runway for bigger aircraft, say experts.
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s safety specifications include an eight feet compound wall with 1.5 ft tall concertina or barbed wire around the airport perimeter area. It means AAI will have to construct another wall after it hands over the land to Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL).
As per CMRL plan, metro rail will enter the AAI land after it crosses the defence land and deviate into GST road just before the new customs office.
29/03/11 S. Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle

More flights to Chandigarh on offer

Mumbai: Airlines operating direct flights on the Mumbai-Chandigarh sector are busy trying to add more flights to their Wednesday schedules to cash in on the demand for seats ahead of Wednesday's cricket match in Mohali.
Presently GoAir (8.45 am departure), Jet Airways (9.40 am) and Kingfisher (1 pm) are the three airlines offering direct flights to Chandigarh. Sources said GoAir has already begun accepting bookings for two extra flights, departing at 2 am and 6.30 am, while Jet has asked for permission to operate an extra flight. The extra flights would be operated only on the day of the match. Jet Airways has made a similar request for the Delhi-Chandigarh route.
Though GoAir would not confirm the addition of two flights from Mumbai for match day, tour operators and sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that bookings for these flights had opened online. "We are in touch with ministry (of civil aviation) officials and are awaiting a nod,'' said a GoAir spokesperson.
GoAir's 2 am flight would land at Chandigarh at 4 am and the 6.30 am flight would land at 8.40 am. Tour operators making online bookings said that business-class seats on these flights had sold out by Sunday evening. They said economy tickets for the 2 am flight were going for around Rs 13,000 and 6.30 am flight around Rs 22,000. "The airline is operating early morning flights so that cricket lovers can reach in time for the match, which will begin in the afternoon (2.30 pm). The fares are very high, but passengers who couldn't find seats will be relieved,'' said Rajesh Rateria, managing director, Cirrus Travels. Sources said under normal circumstances, late bookings to Chandigarh are usually in the range of Rs 6,000 to 7,000.
29/03/11 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

Smuggling racket: Search on for AI worker

New Delhi: The Customs department has arrested three people, including one Air India employee, in connection with a smuggling racket operating from Terminal 3 of the IGI Airport. The Customs also seized goods worth Rs 40 lakh in various searches conducted across the city, officials said.
The search for another Air India worker, also allegedly involved in the racket, is still on.
The arrests came after the CISF had apprehended two persons on suspicion on March 24 outside T3. A check revealed that one of the persons, a passenger who had arrived from Singapore, had goods worth Rs 27 lakh in his possession.
A review of the CCTV footage showed that the suspected passenger, Sanjay Nangia, never crossed the Green Channel with the contraband. The Customs also found that two Air India employees, both of whom are Nangia’s nephews, had helped him avoid the mandatory check.
29/03/11 Geeta Gupta/Indian Express

Now daily Kingfisher flight to Dharamsala

With the growing rush of international and domestic tourists to the resort town of Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh,Kingfisher Airlines has started a second flight between Delhi and Dharamsala.This will be a daily flight,airline officials said.
“The new flight IT 4355 will be an ATR aircraft and will leave Delhi at 3 P.M. and arrive at the Kangra airport at 4:25 P.M. The flight began operating on Sunday,”said Prakash Mirpuri,Vice president Corporate Communications,Kingfisher Airlines.
“The return flight IT 4356 will depart Kangra at 4 :55 P.M. and land in Delhi at 6 : 25 P.M. ” he said.
28/03/11 Baldev S. Chauhan/My Himachal

Monday, March 28, 2011

New airport ground-handling policy from Friday

Mumbai: The ministry of civil aviation has asked all airport operators to initiate steps to implement the new ground-handling policy from April 1 in a bid to enhance safety and improve services at Indian airports.
The Delhi high court had earlier rejected a plea by airlines to stay implementation of the policy.
State-owned Air India (AI) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) would be major beneficiaries of the new policy. Being the national carrier, AI has the right to do ground-handling at all Indian airports while AAI will get additional revenue of at least Rs350 crore each year as authorised ground-handling agencies nominated by it would start work at important airports like Chennai and Kolkata from April 1.
At a recent meeting, the ministry met officials of AAI and private airport operators like GMR and GVK to review the preparedness for implementation of the new policy.
Under the new policy, only authorised agencies can do ground-handling at Indian airports. This means airlines cannot deploy outsourced manpower for doing ground-handling on their own.
Instead of outsourced manpower, airlines have to now deploy full-time employees or hire the services of ground-handling agencies that have been given security clearance.
28/03/11 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

Airlines fear chaos as new agency to take-over ground handling

Chennai: A new agency is set to take over ground-handling operations at the passenger terminals at the city airport on April 1 but airlines fear there could be chaos.
Bhadra International, they say, is not fully prepared for the huge task. They have demanded that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) conduct a preparedness audit before allowing Bhadra to take over. Earlier, 14 agencies were doing the task that Bhadra has won the contarct for.
An airport official said that the agency on Saturday handled its first flight a Thai Airways freighter that departed from cargo terminal.
Airlines have been demanding a preparedness audit for long. On March 24, a facilitation committee meeting decided to audit Bhadra's preparedness. Airlines presented their check-list but the agency said its senior staff were busy and said the job could done in the first week of April.
"We cannot sign a contract with the new agency without an audit. No airline has signed a contract," said an airline official.
Sources said "Airlines are in the dark about the equipment available with Bhadra, its manpower position and also the services it is capable of doing. We fear there will be cancellations if Bhadra is unable to handle the works by April 1."
28/03/11 V Ayyappan/Times of India

Implement new ground-handling policy: AAI to airports

New Delhi: In a bid to enhance safety, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has asked all airports to take steps to implement new ground-handling policy from April 1 that bars airlines from outsourcing manpower for such jobs.
Airlines will now have to deploy full-time employees at airports for ground-handling jobs or hire the services of security-cleared ground handling agencies, an AAI statement said.
"This means airlines cannot deploy outsourced manpower for doing ground-handling on their own," it said.
Earlier this month, the Delhi high court had rejected a plea by airlines to stay implementation of the policy.
However, airlines have approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the new ground-handling policy. The matter is expected to come before the apex Court on April 4.
Civil aviation secretary had met AAI officials and private airport operators to review the preparedness for implementation of the new ground handling policy recently.
AAI is expected to generate additional revenue of at least Rs350 crore every year as the authorised ground-handling agencies nominated by it would start work at important airports like Chennai and Kolkata from April 1.
The authorised ground handling agencies have been asked to hire only security-cleared employees, the AAI said adding that the move is also expected to result in enhanced safety for passengers and prevent pilferage of baggage and cargo.
The civil aviation ministry had proposed to introduce the new ground handling policy from 2007, but implementation has been delayed due to resistance from airlines and manpower supplying agencies.
27/03/11 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Fresh airport tariff structure in August

Hyderabad: The airport regulator expects a formula for determining tariffs that can be levied at the airports to be ready next month and made effective in August.
“We plan to complete the consultation process and roll out the new tariff structure by August or so,” Yashwant Bhave, chairman,Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) said.
“We will follow capital-asset pricing model to determine the tariff so that the return on investment for airport operators will be commensurate with the risk,” he said on the sidelines of an aviation security summit organised by GMR.
The capital-asset pricing model would take into account parameters specific to each airport to set tariff, he said.
It would also take into account the viability of each airport based on the quality of services they offer and the concession agreements they signed with the respective state governments.
The regulator is learnt to be keen on excluding the cost of the land while crunching the numbers since the inclusion of land value in operational costs would only peg the tariff at higher levels imposing significant burden on the passengers.
For instance, airports operated by private entities like GMR and GVK have been taking the land value too while assessing the viability of the airports. However, the land banks that are available with the airports are also being simultaneously monetised for improving the revenues. Exclusion of the land value is believed to be the right model for identifying the tariff structure to be passed onto the passengers.
28/03/11 KV Ramana/Daily News & Analysis

Summer heat on fliers & fires

Patna: Flying in winter is a pain because of frequent flight delays. The summer is no better, at least for Patnaites. Fewer seats will be available in planes taking off from the city airport as the temperature soars.
The airlines will cut the seating capacity of their aircraft operating from the city in summer months for load penalty factor. Under this norm, the operators have to reduce the weight of planes by leaving some seats vacant for smooth take-off when the temperature is high.
“The aircraft engine has to create a certain minimum thrust while taking off. As the air becomes thinner during summer, the flight captains prefer to reduce the aircraft load for a safe take-off from a short runway so that the necessary engine thrust is available. With reduced weight, the engine requires less thrust. That is why full load flights do not operate during the summer months, especially in the day when the temperature is higher,” said a source in the aviation industry.
The load penalty factor plays a major role at Patna airport because of its short runway. Against the total runway length of 2,286m (7,500 feet), only 1,954m (6409 feet) remains available at the time of take-off because of location constraint of the airport.
Over 12 passengers booked on Jet Airways’ Patna-Mumbai flight (S2 721) today had a taste of trouble the load penalty factor can lead to. They were not allowed to board the plane despite having boarding cards when fight captain Tina Updhayaya told the airline officials that she would not be able to take-off with full load flight as the temperature was high.
28/03/11 Sanjeev Kumar Verma/The Telegraph

AERA to initiate consultation process for new tariff structure

Hyderabad: Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) is set to initiate consultation process for putting a new tariff structure in place for airports next month and it roll out by August, the Authority said today.
AERA chairman Yashwant Bhave said the regulator will follow capital-asset pricing methods to determine tariff and it will be different for each airport.
"The new structure will be effective from July or August. We will follow capital-asset pricing model to determine the tariff so that the return on investment for airport operators will be commensurate with the risk. It will be different for different airports," Bhave told reporters on the sidelines of the GMR Aviation Security Summit here.
He said they would take into consideration the viability of airport, quality of services and concession agreements signed with respective governments while determining the tariff.
"All these factors will come up for discussion in the consultation paper and everybody will have a chance to comment," he said.
GMR and GVK, operators for Delhi and Mumbai airports, respectively, approached the appellate tribunal against the AERA's recent order to regulate airport revenues.
27/03/11 PTI/Economic Times

Air India Calicut-Riyadh flight cancelled after freak accident

Kozhikode: Air India 923 Calicut-Riyad jumbo flight, which was scheduled to depart from the nearby Karippur International Airport at 1600 hrs today, was cancelled due to a freak accident shortly before departure, airport sources said.
The incident happened when the step-ladder, which was being moved out after the 342 passengers boarded the flight, hit the left wing of the aircraft and damaging it, they said.
27/03/11 PTI/msn.com

Jet leaves passengers in lurch

Patna: Over 50 passengers booked on Jet Airways' Delhi-Patna-Delhi afternoon flight 9W-2287 and evening flight 9W 727 had a tough time as the airline refused to allow them to board the aircraft due to sudden unfavourable weather conditions due to extensive heat on Sunday.
Both the flights had about 150 passengers booked on it. Sources said the airline refused to let the passengers board the aircraft because air had more than normal level of heat.
27/03/11 Alok/Times of India

AAI to develop Gannavaram airport

Vijayawada: Gannavaram Airport controller, Mr B.G. Patil, said the Airports Authority of India is ready to built an international terminal and develop the Gannavaram Airport by investing Rs 200 crore if the government acquires 361 acres land. He said the AAI entered into an MoU with the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 2007 for the development of the Gannavaram Airport with all passenger amenities. Mr Patil briefed the media representatives at the Gannavaram Airport after launching of Jet Airways flight services between Viayawada and Hyderabad on Sunday.
He said proposals to acquire 361 acres land to extend the runway up to 10,000 metres is pending for a long time due to land acquisition problem.
The AAI is planning for landing of even bigger aircraft like Boeing and Airbus without any difficulty at the Gannavaram Airport.
28/03/11 Deccan Chronicle

Chandigarh may get its first international flight

Chandigarh: The airport here may witness its first international flight with the expected arrival of Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan cricket semifinal on March 30 at Mohali.
Sources confirmed that an aircraft with Pakistan prime minister and other VIPs on board would be landing directly at the Chandigarh airport.
The Pakistan PM would land at the technical airport, which is controlled by the Indian Air Force, sources said. The entire command and control of the local airport, including air traffic control (ATC), is with the IAF. It would be the first international landing at the Chandigarh airport.
The local airport is operating around 11 flights daily for various domestic destinations only. Director of Chandigarh airport Captain H S Toor said the construction work of the new airport terminal is expected to be completed soon. ''We are looking forward to start international flights from it.''
Sources said flight operations would be suspended for about half an hour during the landing and take-off of the VIP aircraft on March 30. Officials of various airlines said all Chandigarh flights were full and that there are no seats available till Wednesday.
28/03/11 Ajay Sura/Times of India

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Air India, Indigo have a narrow miss over Delhi

New Delhi: A major aviation disaster was averted when two aircraft came frighteningly close to each other while landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The near collision, which could have been even more catastrophic than the 1996 crash over Charkhi Dadri village in Haryana, occurred over the thickly populated colony of Dwarka.
The two aircraft involved in the near miss were Air India’s 840 Shamshabad-Delhi and Indigo’s 192 Mumbai-Delhi. The incident occurred at 9:26 pm on March 2, when both flights were coming in to land at IGIA, putting about 400 lives of passengers at stake.
A senior Directorate General of Civil (DGCA) Aviation official involved in the probe said a major tragedy was averted. “Lateral separation between the two aircraft was about one kilometer and vertical separation was less than 200 feet,” he told DNA. Less than five kilometers of lateral separation and less than 1000 feet of vertical separation is considered alarming.
“When the inter-space arrival distance reduced to a dangerous level, the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) on duty directed Air India 840 to take a left turn. While taking left turn, it crossed approach path runway and came close to Indigo 192, which was given a go-ahead to land at runway 11,” a senior probe official told DNA.
The aircraft should have been directed to turn right.
An air traffic controller has been shunted out for the lapse. This is not the first time the ATC has committed an error. On an earlier occasion, the same officer was given a warning and de-rostered for negligence but escaped harsher punishment as she is an executive member of the Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild.
27/06/11 Pradip R Sagar/Daily News & Analysis

In flight path, Vasant Kunj flats a full floor over norms

New Delhi: Some 1,900 flats built by the Delhi Development Authority at Vasant Kunj violate height clearances by as much as four metres – almost an entire floor — despite being in the landing path of aircraft using the third runway of the city airport at Palam.
Not only were the flats not constructed in time for the Commonwealth Games – they were meant to be provided as three-star accommodation for technical experts – they do not adhere to the height sanctioned by the Airports Authority of India even after it relaxed norms.
The Shunglu committee probing games irregularities found flats that are part of the "ground plus 8" scheme of the DDA exceeded height restrictions. In its report on city infrastructure, the committee said, "The committee finds as against 27 metres, the actual height is 30.8 metres and the DDA has therefore violated the AAI norms."
While not coming on record, DDA sources said, "The height of the Vasant Kunj flats is only around 1.6 metres more than the permissible height of 29 metres. This observation was made by AAI last year but DDA assured the authority that it would demolish the extra portion after the games."
Terming the upgrade of the DDA flats in Vasant Kunj 'prohibitively expensive', the V K Shunglu committee report highlights that not a single foreign tourist stayed there while it cost the exchequer Rs 1.43 lakh per night to lodge 671 technicians at the flats. The flats were upgraded to a three-star tourist accommodation facility at a cost of Rs 108 crore.
27/03/11 Rajeev Deshpande & Ruhi Bhasin/Times of India

Air India's direct Delhi-Chicago flight route doing well

Chicago: Air India (AI) has tasted success with its direct New Delhi- Chicago flights, which were launched on October 31 last year.
"There has been an increase in the number of passengers travelling," Jude Crasto, the manager of Air India in Chicago, said at a news conference here.
"There has also been an increase in first class and business class customers. The flight has been very well received and the public is very happy," he said.
The flight no longer stops at Frankfurt, Germany, and travel time has been reduced to 15 hours and 10 minutes.
"For the New Delhi to Chicago flight, our European hub has been dismantled to give quicker flying times and ongoing service is unparalleled," he said.
Air India also operates direct flights from New Delhi to New York and New Jersey.
Crasto said that no other airlines has achieved such progress in such a short time and large space.
"Air India has had a huge impact and we have taken positive steps and are progressing forward," he said.
"The next milestone is to enter into the Star Alliance," he said. "It is the next agenda for us," he added.
He said the success of the non-stop flight was proof that AI was doing well.
The manager said that AI has spacious seating, wide and luxurious business class seats and the best onboard food and.
27/03/11 PTI/Economic Times

Chennai bosses over southern skies

Chennai: For the first time in the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has embarked on a centralised air traffic control with Chennai being vested with the authority to manage the entire southern airspace due to which all aircraft flying above 26,000 feet will be controlled by air traffic managers in the metropolis.
The integrated system is all set to take off soon, said an AAI official.
“Based on the success of this pilot project, we will replicate it in the other three metros,’’ he added. In future, AAI would control the entire Indian airspace from a single facility, he added.
An aviation expert told this newspaper that controlling the airspace from a single location would increase efficiency of air traffic management and help operators economically.
“In the current system, we don’t know the traffic operated by subsequent airspace. So, we need to take decisions at the final moment and it slows down the traffic, leading to congestion.”
27/03/11 S. Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle

Re-opening HAL airport: HC leans on Karnataka to seek Centre’s approval

Bangalore: The high court on Saturday reserved its judgment regarding public interest litigations (PILs) seeking the re-opening of HAL airport for civil and commercial operations.
City advocate GR Mohan, social activist RK Misra, Bangalore City Connect Foundation, Airport Authority of India Employees Union, and others have filed PILs seeking the re-opening of the HAL airport.
They had contended that the 142nd parliamentary committee on transport, tourism, and culture also recommended the re-opening of the airport, which was closed for commercial operations on May 23, 2008.
According to the agreement signed by the Union government with Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), no airport could be allowed to operate within 150-km radius of BIA.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar directed all petitioners to file a joint memo on Monday, if they desire to urge the central government to consider re-opening of the HAL airport.
The bench will then issue directions to the central government to consider the re-opening of the airport. Otherwise, the judgment will be passed on merits of the case.
Individual petitioners have contended that the HAL airport, belonging to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, is the only airport in the city that can cater to the requirement of civilian air traffic, apart from meeting its obligation to handle defence aircraft.
27/03/11 Odeal D'Souza/Daily News & Analysis

DGP hunts for bags at airport

A policeman doesn’t only track down the lost property of other people. Sometimes he has to go hunting for his own things.
Tamil Nadu director-general of police (elections) Bhola Nath was frantically searching for his baggage at Kamaraj Domestic Terminal at the Chennai airport late Friday night on his arrival from Delhi where he had met with Election Commission officials.
It later transpired that Air India staff at the New Delhi airport had failed to load his baggage on the aircraft. Reporters hoping to meet the DGP for comments about his meeting with the EC officials noted that police officers waiting for Mr Nath grew increasingly frantic when he did not exit the terminal even an hour after his flight landed.
The worried cops spoke to airport officials and learnt that he was searching for his baggage.
27/03/11 Deccan Chronicle

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Airports Authority of India (AAI) estimates its valuation at Rs 80,000 crore

Hyderabad: Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is planning to become a corporate, estimates its valuation to be nearly Rs 80,000 crore with strong business plans in the pipeline, its Chairman V P Agrawal said today.
AAI, the largest airport developer of the country, however, was valued at only Rs 20,000 crore by auditing and consulting firm KPMG which was appointed to study its corporatisation plans in 2009.
"KPMG did the valuation (without factoring a strong business plan). It did the valuation to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore that time. I think our valuation should be close to 80,000 crore with a business plan. Without strong business plan, valuation will not be high," Agrawal told reporters on the sidelines of GMR Aviation Security Summit , a two-day conference which began here today.
He said the AAI is seeking the government approval for corporatisation and it may take a year before it came up with an IPO .
"Corporatisation of AAI is a good idea. We did our internal evaluation. And you know AAI is an authority. We have to go to the government again. Seek necessary permission for corporatisation. Seek business plans. Once the Government gives those clearances, then we will go for it. We are in the process. It may take one more year," the AAI chief said.
Former Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel , in 2009, had said that plans for corporatisation of AAI were on the cards and the move would help the Authority raise funds for developing various airports in the country.
25/03/11 PTI/Economic Times

Airports Authority of India IPO next year

Hyderabad: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will come out with its initial public offering (IPO) sometime next year, said its Chairman V. P. Agrawal.
Speaking on the sidelines of a two-day GMR Aviation Security Summit, he said consultant KPMG had valued its assets at Rs.20,000 crore, while the authority per se estimated that the valuation should be a minimum of Rs.80,000 crore.
The mismatch, while being unacceptable, did not apparently take the business plans of the AAI to add value for its assets, he said.
Only when the right evaluation came through could they go ahead with having a strong business plan in place, ahead of the IPO.
For AAI to be made a company, the AAI Act had to be amended in Parliament, he said, adding that they would go through the government and obtain the required permission after getting the business plan in place.
“The listing process may take about a year,” he said.
The IPO proposal comes at a time when revenues from airports are dipping due to the decline in air passengers and aircraft movement. Its proceeds could help AAI to part-fund development of the two major airports at Chennai and Kolkata, apart from 35 other non-metro airports, each of which needed Rs.400 crore, he said.
Of the 35 other airports in Tier-II cities being developed as part of the XI Plan, he said 22 were completed and the remaining were in various stages of commissioning. “We will complete them in a year and the expansion will be six to eight times bigger than the airports' original size,” he said.
25/03/11 The Hindu
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Close-shave-for-air-passengers/articleshow/7789343.cms


Close shave for fliers at Patna airport

Patna: About 250-odd fliers at the Jaya Prakash Narayan International (JPNI) here had a close shave on Friday when two flights avoided a head-on collision.
IndiGo's evening Kolkata-Patna-Bangalore flight (6E-342) had almost started moving from the airport when Kingfisher's Kolkata-Patna flight (IT-4579) started approaching the same runway, sources said.
About 140 passengers were aboard IndiGo's 6E-342 flight. Around 150 passengers, including 90 foreigners, were on the Kingfisher's IT-4579 flight.
Airport sources said the IndiGo flight was taking off from its designated site after its pilot obtained permission from the air traffic control (ATC). At the same time, ATC officials also reportedly allowed the Kingfisher flight to land once it started hovering in the sky.
City airport's air traffic officials declined to comment when TOI asked about the reported goof-up.
Sources said the accident was averted because of the quick decision taken by the ATC officials here. The Kingfisher flight was approaching towards the runway when the ATC officials detected the problem and directed the Kingfisher flight to continue hovering in the sky for some more time till the IndiGo flight took off.
The Kingfisher flight hovered in the sky for about 30 minutes till the IndiGo flight took off successfully.
Sources said the IndiGo pilot was a few minutes late in taking off. Officials of the IndiGo airlines refused to comment.
26/03/11 Times of India

Sting on the ground at Mumbai airport

Pune: The airport is an unlikely place to contract malaria or dengue, but that is exactly where the bearers of these diseases are breeding. A recent report found Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has a high presence of Aedes Aegypti larvae, the vector that transmits diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria.
While there were hardly any disease-causing mosquitoes at Pune and Goa airports, the two seaports in Goa were found to be potential pockets of infection. The survey was carried out by the Pune regional office of the Union Health ministry in November last year and the report was released this month.
"We have directed the concerned airport/seaport authorities to initiate measures to curb the mosquito menace. We will review the situation within the next three months," S B Nadoni, senior regional director, Union ministry of health and family welfare, told TOI on Friday.
Post-monsoon Aedes larval surveys were carried out to record breeding in and around 400 meters of airports/seaports in Mumbai, Goa and Pune to assess the disease threat and suggest preventive measures. The parameter of container index - the percentage of containers where larvae are found - was used to detect the presence of disease causing mosquitoes.
26/03/11 Umesh Isalkar/Times of India

Toll booth near Bangalore airport is daylight robbery: Cabbies

Bangalore: Taxi owners and drivers in the city have threatened to go on a strike protesting against the newly constructed toll booth at the Bangalore International Airport entrance.
Calling it a “daylight robbery”, GR Shanmugappa, president of the All India Motor Transport Congress said, “Nearly 40,000 to 60,000 vehicles go to the airport every day. Instead of constructing the toll booth at the main road, it has been constructed closer to the airport as the collection will be much more here. This is not fair as those travelling to the airport will actually use only about 6 km to 7 km of the entire stretch.”
According to RK Holla, general secretary of the Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owners’ Association, the toll being collected by Navayuga Constructions Pvt Ltd has flouted many rules.
“According to the rules of the NHAI, toll can be collected every 60 km from the city. The Sadarahalli gate, where the toll booth has been constructed, is only 30 km from the city. The 60th km is actually nearer to Chikkaballapur. Moreover the road work will actually take another three years to be completed, but the company has already started collecting toll. Apart from this, service roads or overbridges need to be provided which has also not been done,” he said.
Pointing out a number of problems with the toll booth, he said that the toll will only add to the burden on passengers as well as the tourist community.
25/03/11 Merlin Francis/Daily News & Analysis

Rs 57 lakh in bag, Trinamool MP is stopped at airport

New Delhi Just over a week after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) directed the authorities to keep a “strict vigil” over “movement of cash” in view of the upcoming elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry, a Trinamool Congress MP, Kanwar Deep Singh, was stopped and questioned at Delhi airport on Tuesday after cash adding up to Rs 57 lakh was found in his bag.
Singh, Rajya Sabha member and owner of the Rs 10,000-crore Alchemist Group, was stopped at the general aviation lounge of Terminal 1D at the Indira Gandhi International Airport after CISF officials found a large amount of cash while scanning his bag.
He was taken for questioning by officials of the Air Intelligence Wing of the Income-Tax department, who found Rs 57 lakh in the bag, said sources.
Singh, accompanied by seven others, was on his way to Guwahati in a private jet belonging to the GMR group, which had been hired by his Alchemist Group. After being questioned for over three hours, Singh was finally allowed to leave at 6.30 pm.
When contacted, Singh told The Indian Express: “It must have been a routine check, the I-T department wanted to check and they did their job.”
25/03/11 Geeta Gupta/Express India

Trying to smuggle out cameras, man caught outside IGI

New Delhi: Random profiling by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) outside Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport led to the arrest of a man who was trying to smuggle out 14 professional digital video cameras on Thursday morning, even as he managed to dodge the Customs officials inside the terminal.
Sanjay Nagia (48) had arrived from Singapore (SQ-406) at about 7.30 am and was waiting for a taxi outside the terminal when a CISF official stopped him on suspicion. Waiting with Nagia was his nephew, an Air India employee. “The Air India official had liquor bottles with him, which raised suspicion. When Nagia was questioned about his baggage, he fumbled for words,” a source said.
25/03/11 Indian Express

Friday, March 25, 2011

New collector will take Chakan airport talks forward

Pune: The new district collector is keen on taking forward talks on the proposed Chakan airport project stalled over land acquisition issues for long and says there have been no direction to the district administration over any change of “land status” .
District Collector Vikas Deshmukh, interacting with Newsline on Tuesday, said, “As of now, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) is supposed to acquire the land though there are protests from locals. We have no instructions on the change of site as of now.”
Deshmukh said he was not aware of any alternative sites either. “As of now, the Chakan-Rajgurunagar site remains.”
When contacted, MADC officials, too, said they had no initimation of any new development. “With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clearly mentioning that no loan be given towards acquisition when a proposal is mooted, the money proposed two years back as seed capital will not hold water in the present scenario,” said a senior MADC official. Now, for the acquisition process to begin, the government needs to give a good amount as seed capital.MADC had earlier mentioned that no work had been initiated for land acquisition in the villages.
25/03/11 Nisha Nambiar/Indian Express

Pilot, brother arrested for assaulting CISF jawan

Mumbai: A Jet Airways pilot and his brother were on Thursday arrested for allegedly assaulting a CISF jawan deployed at the Mumbai International airport following an argument over parking of their vehicle, police said.
Jet Airways pilot Zahir Abbas Killegar (28) and his brother Tauseef Ahmed Killegar (29) had a brawl at 12.30am with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan when the latter objected for parking of the accused's vehicle near Departure Gate A, said Dilip Patil, Senior Inspector at Sahar Airport Police Station.
24/03/11 Times of India

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Airlines body to move SC over ground handling ban

New Delhi: The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) would appeal to the Supreme Court against a decision of the Delhi High Court which bars carriers to undertake ground-handling activities at the country’s top metro airports including Hyderabad and Bangalore.
“The lawyers have drafted the application. There is a laid down court procedure and it would come for hearing in due course,” FIA secretary general Anil Baijal said.
The Delhi High court recently upheld a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) decision restricting airlines like Jet Airways, Kingfisher and IndiGo from activities like baggage handling, cargo scanning, taxing, refueling and cleaning of the aircraft among others.
The airlines have maintained that such restriction would affect their ability to distinguish themselves from rivals and render ground-handling equipment worth hundreds of crores useless.
The civil aviation ministry had formulated the new ground handling policy based on the security concerns in the face of terror attacks. The policy, however, could not be implemented as airlines lobbied against it and argued that it would add to the cost of already bleeding industry.
24/03/11 Nirbhay Kumar/Financial Express

Mial eyes higher passenger levy beyond March 2013

New Delhi: Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd (Mial) has asked the airports regulator to extend a levy on passengers beyond March 2013 to fund the modernization of the country’s second largest airport.
The regulator has asked Airports Authority of India to conduct a financial and technical audit of the project by appointing an independent consultant, said a person familiar with the matter who declined to be named. The operator is seeking to raise funds from passengers as it hasn’t been able to garner funds by developing Mumbai airport land, which houses the nation’s biggest slum, to fund the modernization project.
Mial needs to raise Rs.2,826 crore more to fund the Rs.9,800-crore project. It has tied up the rest of the funds by borrowing Rs.4,231 crore, charging an airport development fee amounting to Rs.1,543 crore and equity infusion of Rs.1,200 crore.
In October, Mial’s slum rehabilitation contract awarded to Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd to clear 276 acres of slum area is likely to be completed and the airport operator said it has prepared a strategy to get funds from land lease to hotels and other avenues.
“Unlike in the case of Delhi, the land prices in Mumbai are not comparable,” said the first official. “That should constitute a significant portion. All this will need to be examined.”
A Mial spokesman declined comments for the story.
The New Delhi airport operator, GMR Infrastructure Ltd -led Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd, had secured about Rs.1,400 crore from lease of 45 acres land to hotels for the $3 billion (Rs.13,500 crore today) project.
24/03/11 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

180 days later: GMR at the helm of Male’ International Airport

Rising prices for aviation fuel and increased ground handling charges made by GMR, the Indian infrastructure giant that is now managing and developing Male’ International Airport, are in line with international prices, the airport’s CEO Andrew Harrison has told Minivan News.
The price of fuel at the airport has increased 35.39 percent at the airport and 35.67 percent internationally, Harrison said, in an update on progress at the airport during an initial 180 day strategy period following the company taking the reins.
“We are not even passing over the full increase in prices of fuel – we’re sensitive to airline customers and what the price of fuel means to them,” Harrison said. “The escalating price is affecting the whole global economy, and affects airlines directly not just here but at all other locations.”
Harrison sought to head off concerns aired recently that the cost of fuel at Male’ International Airport was impacting airlines’ willingness to fly to the destination.
“No airline has come forward and said they are unhappy with our pricing, but they are concerned about the global price of fuel,” he said. “With all the volatility there are challenges there.”
“We are working on some strategies to reduce the cost of providing fuel to them. We’ve spent the last six weeks meeting airlines – some want credit terms, others a set supply criteria – we are trying to meet the need of the majority.”
“The pricing of fuel is not something we compare one place to another, because there are many variables including the method of delivery and the volume you’re buying. The size of the berth we have limits the size of vessel we can charter, and these factors affect the price we can buy and supply fuel at.”
GMR had signed a US$140 million contract with the State Trading Organisation (STO) to supply fuel, he added, switching the contract over from Dubai-based Galana Petroleum.
23/03/11 JJ Robinson/Minivan News

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

AAI, govt in tug-of-war over flying club

Chennai: The tug-of-war between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the state government over relocation of the Madras Flying Club (MFC) has reached a deadlock.
Last week, the government asked the AAI to provide an alternate site for the club in response to an AAI eviction notice telling the club to vacate the building on the airport campus by April 5. "We approached the state government for a solution. It informed AAI that the club cannot be vacated till another site is provided," said MFC secretary Captain K Sebastian Joseph.
According to the AAI, the club building has to be demolished to straighten a taxi track used by aircraft to reach the Guindy-end of the main runway. However, this has allegedly not been mentioned in the eviction notice.
The taxiway parallel to the main runway takes a sharp turn north and runs close to the main runway to avoid the apron of the old airport terminal, now used as a cargo terminal. "The AAI had promised at a high-level meeting attended by government officials in October 2010 that status quo would be maintained till an alternative location is handed over," Captain Joseph added. But the AAI is yet to allot an alternative space or building and the club has opposed the move.
23/03/11 V Ayyappan/Times of India

Turban row: India plans to move UNSC resolution

New Delhi: India has decided to move a resolution at the UN General Assembly stating that the turban was a symbol of Indian religious sentiments and has to be respected by all. "We attach highest level of importance to the series of incidents where disrespect has been shown to turban, which is a symbol of our
religious sentiment that has to be respected,” a government official said.
With its present clout in the world body where it is a non-permanent member, New Delhi hopes to get the resolution passed soon. "The kind of acceptability India enjoys among the member states, we are hopeful that the resolution will be passed,” he explained.
The move comes after top Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh’s coach Amritinder Singh was on Tuesday forced to remove his turban by security officials for the second time at the same Milan airport where he had to endure a painful ordeal last week. Amritinder was rudely told on March 15 by Milan airport security officials that he could either remove the turban or not board the flight.
23/03/11 Jayanth Jacob/Hindustan Times

Morari Bapu among 168 stranded at airport

Ahmedabad: Spiritual leader Morari Bapu was among the 168 passengers who were stranded for nearly two hours at the city airport on Monday morning after a delay in arrival of a flight.
Airline officials said that the SpiceJet aircraft reportedly got delayed because of maintenance work on the runway. Officials at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport said that the Mumbai-Delhi flight via Ahmedabad (SG-106) was scheduled to depart from the city airport at 10am but actually arrived only at 11:50am from Mumbai. The flight eventually took off at 12:10pm, causing a delay of over two hours.
The delay left the passengers furious who complained that they were left unattended for a long time. They also alleged that the airline officials informed them about the delay 15 minutes before the scheduled departure.
22/03/11 Daily News & Analysis

Passengers to now have a rocking time at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) is looking at innovative ways to increase revenue. Despite space constraints, it has hit upon the idea of having rock bands perform for passengers on airport premises. Last weekend, it got a rock band — Blakc —to perform at one of the city-side food joints outside the domestic terminal I A arrivals, which drew around 100 people, a MIAL representative said.
“It was the first time that a music band performed on the premises of an airport in India. We have initiated discussions with other bands to perform at CSIA and their response has been encouraging,” said a MIAL spokesperson.
The airport’s commercial team hit upon the idea after speaking to some passengers, as part of feedback surveys regularly conducted at the airport.
The airport said the event was planned and executed within the estimated budget and the break even will happen over a period of time.
23/03/11 Ranjaniraghvan/Indian Express

Metro goes under at airport

Chennai: With concerns being raised over alleged compromises in safety in Metro Rail’s elevated structure near the airport, Chennai Metro Rail Ltd has decided that the transit system now under construction will go underground for around 400 metres near the airport.
The underground stretch, on a portion that overlaps the air funnel area of the secondary runway, will
increase the cost of constructing the portion by three times from the cost according to the original plan.
“We will take care of the concerns and fears expressed by airlines by going underground despite the Airports Authority of India giving us a no objection certificate to construct anything 3 metres high near the aircraft approach area,” said a senior Metro Rail official.
Chennai Metro Rail Ltd has revised the cost of the project and the final draft of the modified proposal is being prepared.
23/03/11 S. Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle

Customs agents foil destructive beetle at airport

Atlanata: U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the world's busiest airport say they've foiled a destructive beetle from entering the country, where it could have done massive damage to crops.
Customs officers at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport said Tuesday they recently intercepted the khapra beetle in the luggage of two passengers arriving from India.
The agency's agriculture specialists noticed a small beetle larva slightly larger than a pinhead. They made the discovery while inspecting a small bag of dried beans, authorities said.
Experts at a federal lab confirmed it was the khapra beetle, one of the world's most destructive pests which attacks stored seed and grain products. Atlanta customs officials said they destroyed the beans to prevent the insect from entering the U.S.
Customs officials said that a khapra beetle outbreak in the U.S. could cost millions of dollars in cleanup efforts. They said the damage could lead to tremendous economic losses to seed and grain producers because other nations would likely impose quarantine restrictions on contaminated exports of U.S. grain.
An outbreak of the beetle occurred in California in 1953, leading to an estimated $15 million cleanup effort and years of eradication, customs officers said.
23/03/11 Jeff Martin/Associated Press/Sacramento Bee

GMR donates Rs 1,540cr to charity

Hyderabad: The GMR group’s chairman, Mr G.M. Rao, has donated Rs 1,540 crore, equivalent to his entire personal share in the company, to the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, the company’s non-profit based arm set up to serve the underprivileged sections of society. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Rao said, “Since my initial years in business, I have always believed that we have a responsibility to give back to society in which we thrive and to which we owe our success.”
Regarding the signing of legal documents pertaining to the family, Mr Rao said, “It has been a long journey and a most satisfying one to see one’s vision of building an institution in perpetuity coming to fruition. Personally, it is even more satisfying than winning the bid for making India’s most iconic project, the Delhi T3 (airport terminal).
22/03/11 Deccan Chronicle

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Bangkok Airways flies to and from Mumbai

With sizable India-Thailand traffic -- nearly 800,000 Indian tourists in 2010 and growing at 15-20 percent -- it makes good sense for boutique airline Bangkok Airways to start picking up customers directly from Indian cities.
A new service between Mumbai and Bangkok took off this month, with a frequency of six flights a week.
It's an Airbus 319 with 12 seats in business class and 106 seats in economy which departs from Mumbai at 1.50 a.m. and arrives in Bangkok at 5 a.m..
A return economy class ticket starts at Rs 12,500 and a business return is Rs 25,000 and upwards.
"Demands are there," says Bangkok Airways president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osot. "We expect to carry an average load factor of 60 percent."
21/03/11 CNN Go.com

New flights from Pune yet to be finalised

Pune: Officials at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) here are keeping their fingers crossed over the possibility of new flight services going operational from the city's Lohegaon civil enclave during the summer schedule for airlines beginning March 29.
"We are expecting an approved schedule of flights anytime this week from our New Delhi head office," a senior AAI Pune official told TOI on Monday. "There are several proposals for new flights, time adjustment, re-routing, etc., but it all depends on what finally gets approved during the ongoing joint consultation between the AAI and the Indian Air Force (IAF) in New Delhi," he said.
The IAF controls the Lohegaon civil enclave, which currently handles 38 passenger flights every day to destinations like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Chennai, Indore and Goa, besides a couple of international flights to Dubai and Frankfurt, which operate three and four days in a week, respectively. On an average, more than 6,000 passengers daily fly in and out of Pune city.
Usually, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approves the domestic flight schedule taking into account the country-wide operation of flight services. For civil enclaves like Lohegaon though, a final schedule is worked out by way of joint consultation between the AAI and the IAF higher ups in New Delhi, taking into account the availability of time slots, IAF's own requirement and allied factors.
22/03/11 Vishwas Kothari/Times of India

Delhi-bound flyers wait for two hours for cockpit crew

Mumbai: More than 100 Delhi-bound passengers were stuck in a Kingfisher flight on Monday evening for two hours at the Mumbai airport because the cockpit crew did not report to duty on time. “All passengers on flight IT 309 had boarded on time but the flight was delayed because there were no pilots,” said a
Mumbai airport official requesting anonymity, as he is not authorised to talk to the media.
A Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson confirmed the delay. “The crew scheduled to operate the Mumbai-Delhi flight was coming from another flight which got delayed,” said the spokesperson.
Sudhakar Reddy, national president of the Air Passenger Association of India (APAI), a body formed by air travellers, said that he had got similar complaints from flyers in the past two months. “All domestic carriers have increased the number of flights in the recent past, the least they could do is have a spare crew of pilots and cabin crew at big airports such as Mumbai and Delhi to avoid such situations,” said Reddy.
The civil aviation ministry’s plan to review the year-old rule to cut down delays has been delayed for the second time in two months.
22/03/11 Hindustan Times

Demolition notice for Juhu building top floor

Mumbai: The BMC last week issued a demolition notice for the topmost floor of an 11-storey building on Gulmohar Road, Juhu.
Civic sources said the order was issued as the builder failed to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), mandatory for any building in and around the airport.
R B Hardas, deputy chief engineer (western suburbs) building proposal, said the notice was issued under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act. "We have given them a month's notice to reply to the notice and produce the NOC from the AAI failing which the top floor will be demolished,'' said Hardas. Juhu is very close to the airfield.
The BMC had earlier sanctioned 386 car parks for just 33 flats in the same building. This included three parking decks for each flat on every floor. The building has been designed with three wings, with one flat per floor in each wing.
Gulmohar Residents Association in the area had used the Right to Information Act to obtain details on the various concessions granted to the building. Ashok Pandit, secretary of the residents' association, said the file had moved with lightning speed.
22/03/11 Clara Lewis/Times of India

Eviction blockade near Ranchi airport

Ranchi: Fearing displacement for the construction of a new terminal of Birsa Munda Airport here, hundreds of residents of seven villages on Monday blocked Airport Road and vandalized several vehicles demanding compensation and rehabilitation for them.
Armed with traditional weapons, the residents of Hundru, Hetu, Kutte Toli, Hinoo, Chanda Ghansi and Kalyan Pur villages gathered near the entrance to the airport and started shouting slogans against the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the district administration around 11am. The protest was organized under the banner of Airport Vishthapit Sangarsh Samiti.
Under the Birsa Munda Airport Extension Project worth around Rs 1 crore, the new terminal of the airport is to be built and a 15 feet road will be constructed till Hetu village behind the airport.
Around 12.30pm, the agitated villagers vandalized several vehicles including that of judicial commissioner S H Kazmi, who had gone there to receive Madras high court Chief Justice M Y Iqbal.
21/03/11 Times of India

Parcel creates bomb scare at city airport

Ahmedabad: A parcel carried by an Indigo cargo flight which landed at Sardar Patel Airport sent the officials into a tizzy on Monday evening as a ticking was heard during a routine check. The officials heaved a sigh of relief when bomb disposal squad found a gas meter inside.
The bomb squad was informed and called at 9.35 pm.
The parcel was then surrounded by sandbags and bomb disposal experts got on to the job. However, after opening the parcel, they discovered the harmless equipment that the consignee had forgotten to switch off before handing it over to the cargo staff in Delhi.
22/03/11 Ahmedabad Mirror

Monday, March 21, 2011

Mumbai Airport to begin testing new air traffic system in May this year

Mumbai: Mumbai Airport's Air Traffic Control (ATC) office will begin testing an advanced air navigational set up, Auto Trac III, from May this year. Auto Trac III, a computer-based air traffic management system, has in-built components that enable air traffic controllers to access a flight's exact arrival time even when it is a few hundred miles away from the destination airport. According to a report in Hindustan Times, if the new system reaps positive results, flight delays to and from Mumbai Airport will reduce and enable the airport operator to increase the number of daily flights. "The Airport Authority of India (AAI) headquarters last week gave their approval to conduct trials on the new system from May this year,” said a senior ATC official.
Similar trials were conducted at the Delhi Airport last year. “Too many flights circle above the airport during peak hours. Using the new navigational structure, we could eliminate such bunching of flights and can also accommodate more flights," added the ATC official. More flights translates to cheaper air tickets.
The move to improve the airport's air navigation structure has come at a good time because the airport operator too is trying to increase its flight-handling capacity. Last year, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) engaged a UK-based service provider, NATS, to conduct a study on ways to increase the number of daily flight operations (take-offs and landings).
21/03/11 TravelBizMonitor

Mumbai doctor saves life aboard Hong Kong flight

Mumbai: Until a few weeks ago, Dr Rahul Gujar was just another doctor, but everything changed for him on February 24 when he saved the life of 36-year-old Sunil Kumar 10,000 feet above sea level on a Hong Kong flight returning to the city.
In the early hours of February 24, when the pilot of Cathay Pacific flight-CX 709 announced if there was a doctor on flight, Dr Gujar made his way to the seats ahead and saw Kumar had fallen unconscious.
"I immediately checked his pulse and examined him. I suspected some internal bleeding. I asked the crew members to fetch me the emergency medical box and put him (Kumar) on an IV-drip and performed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)," said Gujar, a gynaecologist at St Elizabeth Hospital in Malabar Hill, Mumbai.
Kumar almost immediately regained consciousness after CPR was conducted on him.
However, for Dr Gujar, the next worry was getting Kumar hospitalised.
"When the pilot informed me that we would not be landing for another two-and-a half-hours, I knew it would be too long a time and requested the pilot for an emergency landing."
The pilot made an emergency landing at Chennai airport, which was only an hour away. "Once the flight landed in Chennai, a team of doctors from the airport authority of India took over," added Gujar.
Dr Gujar said that during the situation, he noticed that several passengers were nervous and were praying for a miracle. "Even though we diverted from Mumbai to Chennai, there were no complaints from the passengers. In fact, they prayed for Kumar's survival."
21/03/11 NDTV.com

WW II ghost over land near Sahar

Mumbai: Residents of Air Cargo Complex in a tussle with airport authorities over a piece of land the former claims was taken over by the Raj during World War II
The ongoing tug of war between residents of Air Cargo Complex and Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) over possession of a prized plot near Sahar is the legacy of the British Raj.
The trigger of the latest conflict between the warring parties is a borewell on the controversial plot close to the airport.
A tanker water supplier admitted to filling water from the borewell from the disputed land and supplying the same to corporate offices
Residents, who claim that the land was taken over by the British government for defence purposes during World War II only for six months, pump out thousands of litres water from there every day.
"The British government took over the land from us for a short period after the notification of World War II was announced in 1942.
The notification mentioned that the land would be given back to the owners after six months.
But Mumbai airport is making a false claim on the land, it solely belongs to us," said Roy A Creado, a local resident who claims to be the owner of the land.
21/03/11 MiD DAY

New airport near Chennai to have four runways

New Delhi/Chennai: The proposed greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur near Chennai will now have four runways, instead of the two planned earlier.
The decision will see the number of passengers and aircraft being handled by the new airport increase manifold.
Official sources told Business Line that the master plan for the airport was being changed to accommodate four runways. “Land is already available for the proposed airport. So, it has been decided to make an airport which will take care of future growth needs of the sector,” the sources said.
The Airports Authority of India will shortly submit the project report to the State Government. Sources indicated that despite the on-going modernisation of the existing Chennai airport, a new airport will be required.
The airport, which is expected to become functional in the next few years, will see Chennai join select cities such as Mumbai and Goa which will have two airports.
However, State Government officials say that they are not aware of any such proposal by the AAI to increase the number of runways.
20/03/11 Business Line

‘Mumbai airport work has damaged cross’

Mumbai: Residents of Sahar village have filed a criminal complaint with the metropolitan magistrate saying that construction debris from the Mumbai airport modernisation project has damaged a 100-year-old cross worshiped by local residents and has blocked their access to the shrine.
The complaint filed on Friday at the Andheri metropolitan magistrate against Mumbai International Airport Pvt Limited (MIAL) and an engineering company that has contracted civil work in the project, has said that the cross which belongs to the Peres family who stay in the village, has been damaged.
The complainant, Nicholas Almeida, a resident of Church Pakhadi in Sahar, said that the cross was worshiped by families staying in Sahar and Marol. It is situated next to Ambassador Flight Kitchen near the Sahar terminals. A religious ceremony is held at the cross every May.
Almeida’s complaint said cement and construction waste has been dumped around the cross making it difficult for residents to access the shrine. The complainant has asked the court to issue process against the accused for committing an offence under section 295 of the Indian Penal Code for defiling a place of worship.
20/02/11 Manoj R Nair/Daily News & Analysis

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Runway repair at Ahmedabad airport to hit summer travel

Ahmedabad: When air traffic peaks in summer due to holiday rush, maintenance work at the SVP international airport may disrupt the travel plans of Amdavadis from April to June.
Business travel will be hit the most because airport authorities plan to partially close the runway for carpeting between 10.30am and 5pm everyday from April 1. Airport authorities say schedules of many Mumbai- and Delhi-bound flights will be changed. Flight operations will be fully suspended at Ahmedabad airport between May 15 and June 15 from 10.30 am to 5pm. Last year, the airport witnessed an average of 106 flights daily from April to December.
Authorities told TOI that during this period a major part of the 3,599-metre runway will be carpeted. "The runway will be shut down for six hours daily. Initially, around 10 flights will be rescheduled. We have held meetings with airline operators and have asked them to announce the details of rescheduled flights so that those getting affected can plan accordingly," said Ahmedabad airport director Anuj Aggarwal.
20/03/11 Ankur Jain/Times of India

'Reverse decision on Dabolim land acquisition'

Margao: Irked by the cabinet's decision to drop the acquisition of part of the land meant for Dabolim airport's expansion, Benaulim MLA Francisco 'Mickky' Pacheco on Saturday demanded that the state reverse its decision and continue with the acquisition. He stressed he would support the demands of the people.
Taking a potshot at his bete noire Churchill Alemao, he said, "The Airports Authority of India's request has been turned down by the state government. The so-called leader of the masses of South Goa, who has been championing the cause of Dabolim airport, was present at this cabinet meeting. He not only remained a mute spectator but even supported the cabinet decision."
While Alemao was not available for a comment, deputy speaker Mauvin Godinho told TOI on Saturday that the government's decision to drop 36,000 sq m from the land acquisition is justified as it would have been used for CISF barracks. Instead the state has recommended acquisition of 70,000 sq m of land near the airport. He said no central government agency can be allowed to "usurp" land belonging to local people when alternatives are available.
20/03/11 Times of India

HC stays AAI circular on benefits to officers

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed the operation of the corporate HRM circular issued by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) directing to recover the benefits that were already paid to the officers of airports, based on the incentive scheme on acquiring professional additional qualification.
The order was passed by Justice Siri Jagan on a petition filed by R Harikrishnan and 20 other officers at various airports. The AAI, on March 3, had ordered that the monthly increments granted to officers under the scheme of 98 would be stopped with immediate effect. It was also stated in the order that the existing scheme of granting one or two incentives, increments for acquiring professional qualification in respect of employees, whose pay scales have been revised with effect from January 2007 would be replaced by lumpsum incentive.
19/03/11 ExpressBuzz

Radar Math runs airport?

Kochi: There are no main radars at two of its three international airports and the lone one at Thiruvananthapuram airport is well past its expiry date.
The situation is alarming as close to 300 aircraft, including international carriers overflying Kerala, use this air space daily.
Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, suffers the most as air traffic controllers rely on their primary school mathematics to calculate the expected time of arrival (ETA) of an incoming aircraft.
And in Thiruvananthapuram, the existing radar caused some anxious moments when it conked out as Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s aircraft was approaching to land recently. Sources told Deccan Chronicle that the main radar should have been installed in Kochi airport the day traffic crossed the 30 aircraft/day (including those landing, taking off and overflying) mark.
“But today we handle 129 aircraft any given day,” sources pointed out.
“This is four times more than the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) regulation.” Though Kochi was in the list of 10 airports identified by Airports Authority of India where new radars were to be installed, the exercise has come to a stand-still following an objection filed by the company that had quoted the second lowest rate in the bidding.
20/03/11 Manoj K. Das/Deccan Chronicle

Is it Sheikh-ul-Alam (RA) International Airport?

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government might be hesitant in ensuring that the Srinagar “International” Airport is renamed as the Sheikh-ul-Alam (RA) International Airport, as had been proposed years back, but in official parlance of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the aerodrome is already named after the 14th century Muslim saint.
The website of the Civil Aviation Ministry refers to the airport as the Sheikh-ul-Alam Airport, though the name is missing on ground. Even the famed Search Engine, Google, has a number of links which name the aerodrome after
The Civil Aviation Ministry’s website mentions the name of the saint in its “Domestic Airports in India” section, on the following link: http://civilaviation.nic.in/domesticairportlist.html.
Three years back, the coalition government led by PDP had mooted the proposal of re-christening the airport after Hazrat Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani (RA), also known as Sheikh-ul-Alam (RA).
While the proposal is lying with the Civil Aviation ministry since then, the state government has failed to take up the issue with New Delhi.
19/03/11 Faheem Aslam/Greater Kashmir

Saturday, March 19, 2011

No radiation checks at Mumbai airport for passengers travelling from Japan

Mumbai: While extensive screening of passengers, bags, cargo and even aircraft from Japan, which is in the midst of a nuclear meltdown, is being carried out at airports in countries like the United States, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan, no such provisions have been made at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
This, despite the countries reporting instances of passengers and cargo being exposed to high levels of radioactivity in the past week.
26 people arriving from the quake-hit country tested positive for unsafe levels of radiation exposure in Taiwan and authorities in South Korea reported unusually high radiation levels on three passengers.
Malaysia, which has been screening air passengers, bags and aircraft since Monday, said it will begin screenings at seaports as well.
In the US, a trace of radiation was found on cargo aboard a United Airlines jetliner from Tokyo on Wednesday, but officials said the amount was not harmful.
The US Customs and Border Protection said it was monitoring developments in Japan and checking for radiation contamination on aircraft entering the United States.
Speaking to MiD DAY, Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said, "The Union Home Ministry has already instructed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to carry out extensive screening of passengers flying in from Japan and that similar screening should be done in Kolkata, Bangalore and other airports."
Union Civil Aviation Secretary Naseem Zaidi said in a text message, "NDMA is coordinating with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Mumbai and Delhi for passenger coming directly from Japan. Ministry of Civil Aviation is providing assistance at airports."
However no such screening is being conducted at any airport in the country except for Delhi, where officials from the NDMA are doing it.
19/03/11 Vinod Kumar Menon and Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

Radiation counter opens at Chennai airport but yet to hear a bleep

Chennai: Some 15 airline passengers who have travelled from Japan have been screened for radiation at Chennai airport on Thursday. EP Hareendranath, director of Chennai airport, said that a dedicated counter has been opened for radiation screening at the international arrival terminal and officials will be available there round the clock. "The screening procedure is on and no suspected cases have been reported," he said.
Thirty-one trained officials from the CISF's Recruit Training Centre have been deployed at the airport since Thursday night following a circular issued by the ministry of civil aviation to all international airports in the country. The screening mission, coordinated by National Disaster Management Authority, has designated eight officials to screen passengers at a time.
A senior airport official told TOI that the core team of CISF specially trained in radiation detection and similar emergencies is closely watching all the passengers flying from the eastern region. " We are mainly screening passengers arriving in Chennai from Hong Kong and Singapore sectors. Though we do not have a direct service connecting Japan, we are tracing passengers' travel log as they might be taking a connection flight from the above destinatons to reach Chennai," said the official.
A CISF official who was present at the screening counter on Thursday night told TOI that a few passengers have been traced as flying from Japan, either coming directly or had been there during the disaster.
19/03/11 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India

Counsel settles claims of 30% AI crash affected

Mangalore: Ten months after the horrific Air India Express IX-812 crash which resulted in the death of 158 passengers, the legal counsel for Air India - Mulla & Mulla - Mumbai, has settled claims of 30% of the families affected by the accident.
Kapil Aseri, chief finance officer, Air India, said that till date a total of 52 cases have been settled for an overall amount of Rs 36.78 crore, including that of three of the eight survivors.
Advocate and solicitor Hoshang D Nanavati from Mulla & Mulla, told The Times Of India that even though 52 cases have been settled, they have had discussions with many more families. "We were making good progress. Unfortunately, a writ petition filed in Kerala High Court claiming Rs 1 lakh Special Drawing Rights (SDR) was the minimum slowed the process. The case will come up for hearing on March 23," he said.
The Carriage by Air Act, 1972 serves as the legal regime governing passenger compensation in the event of air accidents in international carriage. Both damage on account of death and bodily injury are covered under the scope of the Convention.
Under this Act, which has been amended as per The Montreal Convention, a kin of each victim is entitled for up to Rs 1 lakh SDR which, as per the present exchange rates, is worth about USD 1.6 lakh.
Nanavati said the amount arrived at during the final settlement after counselling, was paid minus the interim amount already paid to victims' families.
18/03/11 Stanley G Pinto/Times of India