Airport expansion: Rs 2,000 crore sought for land acquisition

Coimbatore: Buoyed up by 90% of owners agreeing to give their land for the Coimbatore International Airport expansion, the district administration has asked the state government to release a fund of Rs 2,000 crore to pay as compensation for the land owners. The administration has shot off a letter to the state government last month seeking the fund.
In total, 627.89 acres of land, including 137 acres of defence land and 28 acres of poromboke land, would be acquired for the airport expansion.
The district administration has fixed a price of Rs 1,500 per sq ft for housing land and Rs 900 per sq ft for agriculture land. This would be the highest compensation to be given to the general public by the state government. The authorities have to raze down 634 houses for the land acquisition. Over 90% of the land owners have agreed to accept the compensation and 10% people are fighting against the acquisition.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has been trying to expand the Coimbatore International Airport for more than 10 years. Land acquisition has been a major bottleneck for the district administration to implement the expansion project. The AAI plans to expand runway from 9,500 feet to 12,500 feet. It has demanded the state government to acquire at least 1,000 acres of land. However, residents of Chinniyampalayam and Irugur panchayats were up in arms when the expansion plan was announced a decade ago.
Two years ago, the district administration decided to acquire 627.89 acres of the land in the eastern side of the airport to expand the runway and terminal buildings.
A senior officer from the revenue department said: “The Indian Air Force (IAF) has 122 acres of land, army has 5.82 acres and the Indian Navy has 6.38 acres allotted to them in 1944. We promised them to provide 134 acres of land in Kanchipuram district and a proposal was sent to the defence ministry by the special district revenue officer (airport land acquisition) Radhamani. We have 28 acres of poromboke in the eastern side of the airport. We have to acquire 465.89 acres, including agricultural lands and house sites, from 4,399 people.”
20/03/18 Times of India

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Razing of old airport building gets underway, third terminal likely soon

Chennai: Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started demolishing the old domestic terminal located between the new domestic and international terminals at Chennai airport. The work will be completed in63372326three months.
This is the first step of starting the Rs 2,000 crore phase 2 expansion of the Chennai airport which is expected to last for the next three years. A series of works is included in the new phase of expansion. These include: demolishing the old terminal building and constructing a new integrated terminal on its place, building of multi-level car park, straightening of taxiway, building a few new rapid exit taxiway and others. The authorities will also complete the ongoing work to build a walkalator inside a tube linking the terminals with the airport metro rail station.
A senior official said that the old domestic terminal is being demolished by a company based on a contract. "The work is expected to be completed in three months. A new contract for building a new terminal will be finalised by the time the plot is ready. Pulling down a building at a working airport is a challenge; it has to be done without hampering flight operations."
He also said that the work was being carried out after discussions with the airlines and other airport stakeholders.
The company which bagged the contract based on their expertise in the field inspected the site and has assessed the risks involved. The work has begun after the study. Precaution has to be taken to prevent movement of earthmovers and trucks from inconveniencing the passengers, while steps need to be taken to prevent spread of dust from debris during the work.
20/03/18 Times of India

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No takers for airport pharmacy

Visakhapatnam: The biggest and busiest airport in the state — the Visakhapatnam International Airport — still has no pharmacy in its premises.
The authorities concerned have floated tenders for the setting up of a pharmacy in the airport, but surprisingly, there have been no takers so far. Since August 2017 till date, tenders have been floated thrice and had to be cancelled each time as not even a single bidder came up.
According to sources, the first tender was published in the e-government portal in August last year and after finding no takers within the deadline, the authorities extended the deadline, only to meet with the same response. A fresh tender was floated in October 2017, and again there was no response.
In an effort to attract bidders, a third tender was issued with some changes. Keeping in view the requirement of a medicine store in the airport, the reserve licence fee was also reduced. The tender was again published in the e-government portal in December 2017. Since there were no bidders within the stipulated time, the dates were extended but the end result was the same and the tender had to be cancelled for the third time in five months.
Speaking to TOI, airport director G Prakash Reddy said, “The airport has been witnessing a steady growth of passengers over the last two-three years. A pharmacy has become a necessary requirement, both for visitors and passengers. Although we have been trying to set up a pharmacy in the concorde area for visitors, there has been no response so far from prospective bidders.”
20/03/18 Times of India

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Vadodara to get enhanced domestic air connectivity

Vadodara: Barodians can look forward to get more domestic connectivity from the new integrated terminal building of Vadodara airport. Sources in the Airports Authority of India (AAI) suggest that Jet Airways will be starting two new flights from August 1 connecting Vadodara to Delhi and Bengaluru.
The airline on March 8 started a flight Mumbai-Vadodara-Mumbai which is running thrice a week. With the new flights, air connectivity to domestic destinations from Vadodara will see a jump after a long time. “As per the schedule we have received, the airline is starting one flight from Delhi to Vadodara to Bangalore which will run on daily basis. At the same time, there will be another flight from Bangalore to Vadodara to Delhi from August 1,” said Vadodara airport director Charan Singh.
“With the new aircrafts, the total movement from Vadodara airport will increase to 26,” he said, adding that after the introduction of the new aircraft on March 8, the total movements at the airport have increased to 22. Jet Airways already operates two morning and two evening flight to Mumbai.
Interestingly, compared to the last financial year, the airport isn’t witnessing traffic growth. Last year, the airport had witnessed growth in number of passengers as many flights were diverted to Vadodara airport due to the re-carpeting work of runway at Ahmedabad airport.
20/03/18 Prashant Rupera/Times of India

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365 obstacles for aircraft around IGI airport: HC told

The Delhi High Court was today told by the operator of the IGI airport here that there are 365 obstacles around the aviation hub that may pose a threat to aircraft safety.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar directed the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) which runs the airport, and the local authorities to give a list of the obstacles, their nature and the action taken to remove them.

The court asked the aviation regulator DGCA how it granted permission for a runway at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport when there were obstacles around it.

It also made the Delhi government a party as the District Collector was the authority who would ensure demolition of the obstacles on receipt of information on it from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The observations and direction from the bench came on a PIL by Kerala-based lawyer Yashwanth Shenoy who said the Aerocity, which has several high rise hotels, near the international airport was major threat to security and safety of the aircraft flying over it.
He said it was easy for any terrorist to bring down a plane from these hotels as they do not have bullet-proof windows, a requirement for being allowed to come up there, neither sufficient security personnel at these establishments.

He said the hotels at the Aerocity have not used bullet-proof windows, saying these were not financially viable for them.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation, in its affidavit, has said that the hotels at Aerocity were required to have bullet-proof windows. It has also said that these hotels have their own security mechanism to prevent any untoward incident.
20/03/18 PTI/Economic Times

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Change in flight timings at Kadapa

Kadapa: Starting from March 25, the Trujet has altered its flight timings at Kadapa airport. According to a release, the flight services would be extended to Salem in Tamil Nadu.

The changes are as follows: Kadapa Vijayawada flight service would leave at 9.25 AM and arrive at Vijayawada by 10.30 AM. Similarly, Chennai-Kadapa flight would leave at 1.30 PM and would leave for Hyderabad at 1.55 PM.
Kadapa-Hyderabad service would leave at 3 PM and reach Kadapa at 4.25  PM.From Kadapa it would leave for Chennai at 4.35 PM.
19/03/18 Srikanth Reddy

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570 acres will be acquired for airport expansion: Collector

Salem: The airport at Kaamalapuram on the outskirts of the city will be expanded and about 570 acres will be acquired for the same, said District Collector Rohini R. Bhajibakare.

The Collector inspected the airport on Sunday in the wake of the re-introduction of flight services under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik) scheme. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami is expected to inaugurate the inaugural Salem – Chennai flight service on March 25.

The Collector told presspersons that order for launching the works for the expansion of the airport had already been received. The district administration had taken initiative for acquiring as much government land as possible for the expansion works.
At present, the preliminary work of conducting survey of the lands needed for the expansion work alone was being done.

The Chief Minister had directed the district authorities to ensure maximum compensation as per the government norms for the private lands being acquired for the project.

The Collector said that the district administration would soon hold discussion with the farmers and the residents of the villages surrounding the airport to seek their views for acquiring the land for the expansion project.
The views of the farmers would be considered sympathetically.

Sithanathan, Airport Director, V. Panneerselvam, MP, S. Semmalai, MLA, Senthil Raja, head-commercial, Turbo Megha Airways Private limited, were present on the occasion.

The Trujet, Hyderabad-based Turbo Megha Airways, is all set to connect Salem to Chennai. According to the timings available here, the flight will leave Chennai at 9.50 a.m. and will reach Salem at 10.40 a.m. In the return direction, the flight will leave Salem at 11 a.m. and will reach Chennai at 11.50 a.m.
19/03/18 The Hindu

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Chennai being challenged as it is poised to break 20m passenger milestone; IndiGo is #1 carrier

Chennai was India’s fourth busiest airport in 2017, behind the country’s two major hubs in Delhi and Mumbai, as well as Bengaluru. Despite a robust annual traffic increase of 11%, Chennai was behind the average growth curve experienced across all Indian airports last year, which grew by 15% from around 255 million to 294 million. In the period April-December 2017, the airport was also the fourth busiest in India for movements (but growing at the slowest rate of the top five airports), but it is the third largest (and growing faster than all of the top five airports apart from Mumbai) in terms of cargo throughput in the same period, according to Airports Authority of India data for last year.

The airport is currently served by 35 airlines (based on OAG schedules for w/c 15 March), a result which has increased by two since the same week in 2017. There has also been growth in the number of non-stop destinations served from Chennai up to 52, comprising of 30 domestic and 22 international routes, which has risen from 42 in the same week last year (20 domestic and 22 international).

Year-on-year growth since 2012

With the exception of 2012, Chennai’s traffic has grown every year between 2010-2017. The plateauing of the airport’s traffic in 2012 was presumably as a result of the demise of Kingfisher Airlines in October of that year, which at the time was the airport’s fifth-largest serving carrier. The Indian airport was the now defunct airline’s fourth most important in its network in terms of annual seats (around 430,000 one-way) in 2012. That said, Chennai’s passenger numbers have plotted a steady upward trajectory, averaging a respectable 7.8% annual growth in the period 2010-2017. It should be noted that the gap between Chennai and the fifth largest Indian airport (Kolkata) has reduced over the last 12 months, as the latter’s traffic increased by 29% to 18.88 million. In fact in the last three months of 2017, Kolkata’s monthly passenger figures have outstripped those achieved at Chennai, with the East Indian airport potentially poised to take over fourth position this year.
Although it is of course early days, Chennai has slipped behind the Indian average growth for 2018 so far, with its January passenger increase being just 9.3% compared to 15.3% across the whole country. Perhaps more importantly, Kolkata’s monthly traffic increase in the first month of this year was a more impressive 26%, making it the fastest growing across India’s top five airports. However, if Chennai maintains its average level of annual growth throughout the next 12 months, the airport should easily break the 20 million annual passenger figure for the first time in 2018.

SVID says “Excellent” for Chennai

When using anna.aero’s SVID calculator, Chennai delivers a score of 0.39, which means it gains an “Excellent” rating. Comparing this seasonal performance against those of its nearest domestic rivals – India’s third largest airport Bengaluru and fifth largest Kolkata – Chennai performs better than both. While both competing airports also score “Excellent” results, Bengaluru has the most seasonal traffic profile (scoring 1.29) of the three airports, while Kolkata’s more year-round appeal means its monthly passenger figures yield it a very healthy score of 0.85.
When looking at the 2015 and 2016 seasonality scores of Chennai’s monthly throughput, the airport has made some progress in flattening the profile of its traffic. In 2015, the airport still achieved an “Excellent” rating with a score of 0.47, and then slightly improved on this in 2016 to deliver a result of 0.39, a tally it maintained in 2017. Looking forward to this year’s SVID score for Chennai, the anna.aero data elves are predicting a further flattening of its score in the “Excellent” category, with an anticipated result of around 0.37.

IndiGo #1, and growing fast

The top 12 airlines at Chennai command 88% of the total weekly capacity at the airport, with their combined share up marginally (+1%) on the same period last year. According to OAG schedules, the number of weekly seats available from Chennai this year is 18% higher than the same seven days in 2017. The top 12 has five overseas carriers registered (highlighted in light green). Unsurprisingly, IndiGo, India’s #1 carrier, is also the biggest airline at Chennai, which is the LCC’s sixth largest operation in terms of its weekly capacity. Its weekly one-way seat tally is up a whopping 27% higher versus the same week last year, with IndiGo now nudging close to 100,000 weekly seats at the airport. However, this capacity increase is not the biggest at Chennai, with SriLankan Airlines (+72%) and India’s GoAir (+44%) both posting larger rises than IndiGo.
Last year, the above top 12 airlines graph would have boasted Air Carnival (10th; 2,450 weekly seats), Air Costa (11th; 2,352 seats) and Scoot (12th; 2,345 seats). Unfortunately, the removal of the first two – Air Carnival and Air Costa – are as result of the former ceasing operations in April 2017, and the latter in February 2017 (clearly the airline’s schedules for March were already held by OAG). Scoot, which claimed 12th position last March, has been ousted by three newcomers to the top 12, seeing it fall to 13th spot for March 2018. The new additions to the rankings, and also to the airport, were AirAsia India (which has started flights to Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar), Vistara (started flights to Delhi and Port Blair) and Batik Air (started flights from Medan and Denpasar via Kuala Lumpur).
19/03/18 anna.aero

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Two flights diverted to other cities due to poor visibility

Raipur: Poor visibility caused by misty conditions affected the air-traffic operations at the Swami Vivekananda Airport here on Saturday morning, with two flights diverted to various cities. “The visibility was poor in the morning hours due to unseasonal rains that lashed the Capital yesterday. The visibility required for landing of an aircraft was 2000 meters but it was around 1500 meters on Saturday morning till 8.30 am,” Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials here in Raipur said.

In normal weather conditions, according to AAI officials, 1200 meters visibility is quite enough for manning the air-operations. However, the shifting of Instrumental Landing System (ILS) is presently underway at Raipur Airport and thus 1500 meters visibility is always needed for air operations. “So in the absence of ILS, the visibility requirement goes to 2000 meter, which was not available on Saturday morning,” the AAI official explained.
18/03/18 Hitavada

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Delhi flight from March 25, Bangalore flight also on cards

Trichy:  A Jet Airways flight between Trichy- Mumbai – Delhi is most likely to be inaugurated from March 25 on a daily basis, said airport director K Gunasekaran here on Saturday. He also said that as a separate commercial space has been allotted to IndiGo, the carrier has plans to commence a service between Trichy and Bangalore.
The Jet Airway flight (9W358) would depart at 9 am in Delhi and reach Mumbai at 11.20 am. From there the flight would depart at 12.25 pm and would arrive at the Trichy airport at 2.10. While returning, the flight (9W311) would depart from Trichy international airport at 2.40 pm and reach Mumbai at 4.50 pm and would take off from there after 1.10 hours and would reach again Delhi at 8.20 pm.
The Trichy airport sees good patronage for the Jet Airways flight to Chennai operating four days a week. So, the airport authorities were persuading the career operator to launch new services in such a way that Trichy is connected with major cities in the country. Now, as Jet Airways has obtained the clearance from DGCA, the plan has been finalised, authorities said.
18/03/18 Times of India

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Fly directly to Ahmedabad from March 25

Ahmedabad: The Airports Authority of India on Saturday announced direct flights to Ahmedabad and Dharamshala from the Chandigarh international airport from March 25.
In the summer schedule, GoAir has announced its connectivity to Ahmedabad with Chandigarh and Srinagar. A GoAir flight will depart from Chandigarh to Ahmedabad on a daily basis at 3.35 pm after it arrives from Srinagar at 3pm. The flight will arrive from Ahmedabad at 12 noon and depart for Srinagar at 12.30 pm. The flight will operate six days a week, said Chandigarh international airport spokesperson Deepesh Joshi.
However, Air India is yet to announce its flight schedule for summer, but Air India airport manager R K Negi confirmed from March 25, it will fly its 70-seater ATR aircraft to Dharamshala. Negi said, “This will be first-ever direct flight to Dharamshala from Chandigarh. The fare, timings and frequency will be announced later.”
However, there has been no relaxation of Sunday closure of the airport in the summer schedule.
Other flight operators are starting the additional operations of flights to Bengaluru, Jaipur, Srinagar and Pune. Joshi said Jet Airways has announced the inaugural flight to Pune as earlier Air India is already operating a flight between Chandigarh and Pune.
18/03/18 Times of India

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As Congestion Soars At Airports, A Race Against Time For The Government

Mumbai: Airports across the country are struggling to cope with a massive surge in passenger numbers and billions of rupees must be spent to boost their capacity, analysts have warned. India is witnessing a huge boom in air travel as a growing middle class increasingly takes to the skies but experts say infrastructure is failing to keep up.

"There's an urgent need for capacity building in major Indian airports as they are bursting at the seams and close to saturation," Binit Somaia, South Asia Director at the Centre for Aviation (CAPA), said.

India has witnessed a six-fold increase in passenger numbers over the past decade as citizens take advantage of better connectivity and cheaper fares, thanks to a host of low-cost airlines.

Indian airports handled 265 million domestic passengers in 2016 and will cross 300 million this year, according to CAPA. The country's entire airport network is only capable of handling 317 million passengers, it says.

According to data compiled by the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there were just 44 million Indians travelling by plane in 2008.

Now CAPA predicts India will overtake Britain as the world's third-largest market by 2025 and will have 478 million fliers by 2036.

Aviation experts say the government faces a race against time to build the infrastructure to handle the soaring congestion.
"Some top airports have reached saturation. In the next five to seven years, the top 30 to 40 airports in India will be performing beyond their capacity," said Somaia of the Sydney-based CAPA.

Flights have increased by 20 per cent every year over the last three years, stretching many airports to breaking point.

Travellers can snap up tickets sometimes for as little as a base fare of Rs. 1,000 rupees -- cheaper than some train tickets.

Ten airports -- including Dehradun, Jaipur, Guwahati, Mangalore, Srinagar and Pune -- are already operating beyond their capacity, CAPA said in a report released last month. Others are nearing their limit.
18/03/18 AFP/NDTV

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AAI prepares for higher capex; eyes Rs 1,500 cr loans

New Delhi: Airports Authority of India (AAI) is looking to raise Rs 1,500 crore as term loan to fund capital expenditure in the next fiscal, wherein work is to commence on new terminal buildings at various aerodromes. The state-owned airports operator, which has a healthy balance sheet, is going in for borrowings for the first time. For 2018-19, the capital expenditure is projected to be around Rs 4,100 crore, compared to Rs 2,500 crore for the current financial year ending on March 31. The domestic aviation market is growing at high double digits and to meet the rising demand, infrastructure capacity needs to be ramped up.

AAI — which operates more than 120 airports in different parts of the country — is scouting for rupee term loans to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore, according to a recent public notice. “Since we have a healthy balance sheet, we are confident of raising funds at more competitive rates,” AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra told PTI. Going forward, he said, most of the projects would be implemented on “60:40 ratio”, which means that 60 per cent would be the debt component and the rest would be equity.

“This would allow us to take up more projects, especially at a time when lot more spending is required for the aviation infrastructure,” he said. For the next three years, AAI plans to make capital expenditure to the tune of Rs 15,000 to 17,000 crore, he added.
18/03/18 Financial Express

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Global aviation honour for airport boss

Patna: Patna airport director Rajender Singh Lahauria has been invited to speak at the Passenger Terminal Expo-2018 in Stockholm, Sweden, which is being held from March 20 to 22.

"The world has many critical and constrained airports and Patna is one of them. However, working here is the most challenging experience due to a very short runway length, very few parking bays, small terminal building, the number of flights daily and the rush of passengers," Lahauria said.

"Despite all odds, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at Patna tried the best with its limited resources and space constraints to manage the situation well, keeping the well-being and safety of passengers as its first priority," he added.

The airport is counted among critical and constrained airports because it has a short runway of 2,072m.

However, the practical usable length of the runway gets reduced to 1,938m from the eastern approach path and to 1,677m from the western approach path due to various obstructions like the clock tower of the state secretariat and railway track along with its overhead high-tension electricity lines on the west.
At present, the airport has just four parking bays, but caters to 38 arrivals and 38 departures every day. Its terminal building has a capacity to accommodate just around 600 passengers at a time, including around 200 in the check-in area and 350 in the security holdup area. But more than 8,000 passengers arrive daily and the airport caters to over 30 lakh passengers annually.

"It becomes an everyday challenge for everybody working at the airport to manage the huge gathering in a small building that was constructed in 1973," Lahauria said.

The situation becomes nightmarish during winter and monsoon, when weather plays spoilsport leading to delay or cancellation of flights resulting in thousands of passengers getting stuck at the airport, which is in an area where there is no hotel nearby.
18/03/18 Dev Raj/Telegraph

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Airport gets modernised toilet units

Tourism in the state is expanding and Goa International Airport, Dabolim, is growing phenomenally said panchayat minister and Dabolim MLA Mauvin Godinho on Saturday. He was chairing a meeting of the airport advisory committee.
The minister also inaugurated new toilet units at the airport premises. “There was a demand for modernisation of the toilet units and it has been done,” the minister said, adding that automatic sanitary napkin vending machines have also been setup for the comfort of lady passengers,
Addressing reporters he said that while nearly Rs 250 crore has already been spent on the airport, an additional Rs 250 crore will be invested. “This shows there is nothing to fear about the upcoming Mopa airport,” he said.
18/03/18 Times of India

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Multi-level parking at Dabolim airport to be commissioned in July

Vasco: Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho on Saturday ensured the members of the Airport Advisor Committee that the parking issue of the airport taxis at Dabolim airport will be resolved soon with the Chicalim comunidade in the process of completing formalities of handing over land next to the Raj Hans Theatre and another land leading to Assoi Dongri to the Airports Authority of India.
Godinho was speaking to media after inaugurating the washroom facility including a special automatic sanitary vending machine facility at the female wash room at the integrated terminal building of Dabolim airport on Saturday. Earlier, AAC held its first meeting of the year in the conference hall in the new administrative building of the Airports Authority of India at Dabolim airport and the same was chaired by Godinho.
Godinho disclosed that earlier the Indian Navy had staked claim over the open land located next to the Raj Hans Theatre and the land leading to Assoi Dongri. “It is now established that the land on which the Indian Navy had staked claim belongs to the Chicalim comunidade. The land has been taken over by comunidade authorities and is in the process of being given to the AAI which will be developed as a modern parking facility for airport taxis”, added Godinho.
He assured that the multi level car parking facility which was gathering dust for the last several years due to security reason would be commissioned in July thus resolving the parking issue to a great extent.
18/03/18 Goa News

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GR on compensation model for airport soon

Pune: The state will soon issue a government resolution (GR) for the land acquisition and compensation models for the proposed Purandar airport.
District collector Saurabh Rao shared this information with TOI after meeting chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday. “We need at least Rs 2,300 crore for the project and the state government has assured me that there would be no shortage of funds,” Rao said, adding that a GR on the land acquisition and compensation models for the project-hit villagers is expected soon.
Nearly 3,000 hectares of land needs to be acquired from seven villages for the proposed airport. Of this, 2,367 hectare will be utilized for the project.
“Once the GR is issued, the district administration can start talks with the project-affected people as there will be clarity on the models of compensation. The administration has offered nearly four models of compensation, besides the direct purchase plan. The compensation and rehabilitation model has been worked on the lines of the Amravati model,” the collector said.
The main airport will come up on 1,100 hectares of land and the remaining land will be used for ancillary purposes, such as convention centres, commercial establishments, cargo hub, among others. “For all this, the GR needs to be issued by the state,” Rao said, adding that everything will be done after dialogue with the locals.
18/03/18 Nisha Nambiar/Times of India

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Delhi glare on police's ATC entry

Salt Lake: The civil aviation ministry will be seeking a detailed report from the airport on two police officers entering the air traffic control (ATC) tower on Friday and staying put till chief minister Mamata Banerjee's flight from Bagdogra landed.
"We have to assess (what has happened) against protocol. If any action is required, we will take action," Jayant Sinha, the minister of state for civil aviation, told journalists on the sidelines of a programme at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre in Salt Lake.
Sinha said protocol was meant to be followed by everyone and that any breach was unacceptable. "We have to look at what is the protocol (in this case). It doesn't matter who it is (behind the breach)," he said.
The minister did not elaborate what "action" might be initiated and against whom.
The two officers from the Bidhannagar police commissionerate had entered the control room, a high-security zone, ostensibly to ensure a hassle-free landing for the chief minister's flight. They were there for more than an hour, sources said.
This was the second time in less than a month that the ATC tower had visitors from the police department. Four cops had entered the control room, three of them allegedly without permits, on February 23, when Mamata was flying back from Bagdogra.
18/03/18 Subhajoy Roy/Telegraph

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AAI officials to hold meet on building height issue

Surat: Senior officials from the headquarters of Airports Authority of India (AAI) in New Delhi and authorities of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) will be meeting on March 19 here to discuss the height of the buildings that are obstructing the flight path of runway of Surat airport.
Official sources said AAI officials will be arriving on Monday morning and they will meet municipal commissioner M Thennarasan at SMC headquarters. The agenda of the meeting includes discussion on the issue of buildings’ height on Vesu and Magdalla sides and the proposed extension of the runway at Dumas side of the airport.
Sixteen highrise buildings obstruct the landing path at the airport: 15 highrises on runway 22 (Vesu and Athwalines side) and one building on runway 4 at Dumas.
Interestingly, civic authorities claimed that the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) had given no objection certificates (NOCs) to realtors many years ago when development of the airport was at nascent stage. The realtors claim that they had constructed the buildings only after DGCA had given its approval.
Last year, AAI authorities had written to SMC asking it to take immediate measures to remove obstacles identified in the approach chart in the survey by AAI in March 2017.
A list of around 92 obstacles, including trees, electric light poles and buildings penetrating the obstacle limitation surface of runway 4 and runway 22, was provided to it. The letter further stated that no procedure was established by the concerned authority to carry out regular inspection of the areas around the airport. AAI had requested setting up of a team of officers of SMC, Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) and revenue department for carrying out regular inspection of the surrounding areas of the airport.
18/03/18 Times of India

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Finally, IndiGo to partially shift to T2 of Delhi airport

After lots of dilly- dallying and court battles, the largest airline IndiGo has agrreed to relocate a chunk of its operations to the revamped terminal 2 of the Indira Gandhi airport in the national Capital from March 25.

Another budget carrier SpiceJet too had announced yesterday that it would move 22 of its flights to seven destinations from March 25 to the T2. GoAir had already moved its entire operations to T2 last October.

The IndiGo decision comes after the Supreme Court had last month dismissed its petition against the airport operator GMR Group which had asked these low-cost carriers to partially move to the T2 which has been revamped at a cost of Rs 100 crore.

As part of the move, IndiGo will operate as many as 10 sectors--Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Raipur, Srinagar, Udaipur, Vadodara and Vishakhapatnam--with 6E2000-6E 2999 flight numbers, Delhi International Airport said in a statement today.

SpiceJet will relocate seven sectors--Ahmedabad, Cochin, Goa, Gorakhpur, Patna, Pune and Surat--to the new terminal with SG 8000 to SG 8999 flight numbers, it said.

The shifting of partial services to the new terminal, which has been refurbished at a cost of Rs 100 crore, from the existing terminal T1 will pave the way for expansion work at T1, the airport operator said.

There are three operational terminals--T1, T2 and T3. While IndiGo and SpiceJet operate their domestic services from T1, GoAir flies from T2.

State-run Air India and private carriers Jet Airways and Vistara have their operations from the international terminal T3.
17/03/18 PTI/moneycontrol.com

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Bengal police enter Calcutta air traffic control room (again) to ensure timely landing of Mamata's flight

Calcutta: The air traffic control room at the city airport had two outsiders on Friday afternoon - cops sent by the Bidhannagar commissionerate to ensure hassle-free landing of chief minister Mamata Banerjee's flight from Bagdogra, sources said.

This was the second time in less than a month that police entered the ATC - a high-security zone - before the touch-down of the chief minister's flight from Bagdogra.

In November 2016, a delayed landing of Mamata's flight from Patna, and the pilot's complaint that the aircraft was running out of fuel, had prompted Trinamul to allege a conspiracy to murder the chief minister.

On Friday, two officers of the Bidhannagar commissionerate sat in front of the official in charge of the ATC for the entire duration of the chief minister's flight.

"They entered the control room before the CM's flight had taken off from Bagdogra and stayed there for more than an hour, till it landed. The ATC team was extremely uncomfortable at the presence of the policemen," an airport official said.

Both cops had entry passes, he said.

Four policemen had entered the control room when Mamata was flying back from Bagdogra on February 23. Three of them allegedly did not have an entry permit.
17/03/18 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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Anti-hijacking mock exercise performed at airport

Anti-hijacking mock exercise was done at Raja Bhoj Airport on Friday. In this exercise, hijacking efforts were foiled through the better co-ordination between the officials of Airport Authority of India, security agencies and officials of other concerned department. This type of exercise is held once in a year in sync with the guidelines issued by Bureau of Civil Aviation. Officials of Airport Authority of India, Army Intelligence Bureau, Madhya Pradesh Police and administration took part in Friday’s exercise.

Airport Director Akashdeep Mathur informed that to combat with hijack-like situation, all type of necessary resources and trained manpower is available at Bhopal airport. During the exercise, armyman, armed with guns and binoculars, displayed the acumen over how to deal with hijack-like situation.
17/03/18 Hitavada

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AAI to replace PBTs, chairs at Dabolim airport

Vasco: As part of its continuing efforts in enhancing customer experience at Goa International Airport, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has decided to replace all the existing old passenger baggage trolleys (PBTs) with new ones in a phased manner in the next few months. Under this initiative, the first batch of 250 new PBTs has reached Goa airport and will be put into use very soon.
In addition to replacing the old PBTs, AAI has also decided to replace most of the old three-seater passenger chairs from inside the terminal building particularly from security hold area where the passengers spend maximum time before boarding their flights. The first lot of approx 200 new three-seater passenger chairs is expected to reach Goa in April, informed AAI Director BCH Negi.
17/03/18 Herald

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Lost Baggage at Airport? Now Track Complaint Status Through Mobile App

A mobile application to help air passengers track the status of their complaints of items lost at airports across India with just a click on their Android phones has been launched, a CISF official said.

The EDP Cell of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), in collaboration with Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) team of National e-Governance Division (NeGD), has developed the mobile application of "Lost and Found" as well as a technical consultancy.
"The main advantage of this mobile version is that passenger can directly register complaints and get status of the complaint immediately. In this application, the user can also request for technical consultancy," CISF Assistant Inspector General Hemendra Singh told IANS.
Launched on the raising day of the CISF on March 10, the application has three facilities - "Lost and found items at airports", "Tracking complaint/request status" and "Technical consultancy in security and fire services".

"In 2015, the CISF had started a passenger friendly "Lost and Found Web Application" on the CISF official website for items and valuables left behind by the commuters at airports, but it did not have facility to take a complaint by user.
17/03/18 News18.com

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PMC demolishes 14 illegal buildings around airport

Pune: Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has demolished 14 bungalows as part of its demolition drive against illegal constructions built within 100 metres of Lohegoan airport, which is a restricted zone.
Property owners, whose buildings have been demolished, have cried foul against the action.
“Action is being taken against these building following a high court order,” Madhav Jagtap, head of PMC’s anti-encroachment department, told TOI.
The court, while hearing a PIL in June 2015, had ordered demolition of all illegal constructions built after the date of filing of the petition, i.e. October 3, 2003. A survey of the properties was conducted by the Air Force and PMC following the order of the high court in Vadgaonsheri, Kharadi, Kalwad, Khese Park, Ahmednagar Road, Khulewadi and Forest Park areas.
“A total of 147 properties will be demolished.” stated a PMC official.
He said that the owners of these properties had gone to court for a stay order. Stay has been granted only for some properties.
17/03/18 Prasad Kulkarni/Times of India

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Former Air India Chairman returns for third term at Kerala's Kannur International Airport

Thiruvananthapuram: The government reappointed former Air India Chairman V Thulasidas as the Managing Director of Kannur International Airport (KIAL) for a third term. He will replace P Bala Kiran who also holds the post of Tourism Director. The appointment order issued on March 14 states Thulasidas is appointed for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Thulasidas was the first MD of KIAL and his reappointment comes at a time when the airport is set for a formal launch.

Considered an expert in the aviation sector, successive state governments have been keeping the chair warm for him.  However, his previous appointments were fraught with controversies and he had quit the post twice. He relinquished the MD post last year after facing a CBI investigation on deals he had made as Air India head, during his tenure between 2003 and 2008. The CBI probed the purchase of 111 aircraft for `70,000 crore as well as the alleged irregularities in the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines.

He had then also resigned from Executive Director post at the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology. Thulasidas, as founding MD, offered to quit in September 2012 following controversies over KIAL signing consultancy agreement with a blacklisted firm STUP Consultants.
16/03/18 New Indian Express

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IndiGo, SpiceJet shift over 120 flights to Delhi airport's Terminal 2 from March 25

After a four-month long legal battle, IndiGo Airlines and SpiceJet have finally agreed to abide by Delhi International Airport Ltd's (DIAL) directive to partially shift their operations to Terminal-2 (T2) with effect from March 25. India's largest airline in terms of market share announced on its website that from March 25, flight numbers 6E2000 to 6E2999 will operate from T2.

A whopping 102 IndiGo flights have been shifted out, including flights connecting the capital to smaller cities like Bagdogra, Visakhapatnam, Udaipur, Vadodara and Srinagar. Basically, IndiGo has prefixed '2' to all flights that have been shifted out to make it easier for passengers. For instance, flight 6E 273 from Delhi to Bangalore has now become 6E 2273 and Chennai-Delhi flight 6E 3752 has changed to 6E 2752.

Just a day ago, SpiceJet had announced that it will shift 22 flights serving seven domestic sectors - Cochin, Ahmedabad, Patna, Pune, Goa, Surat, and Gorakhpur - out of Terminal-1 (T1) of the Indira Gandhi International airport to T2. The airline said that all its remaining domestic flights will continue to operate from T1.
16/03/18 Business Today

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Kannur International Airport to a glorious take-off

Kannur International Airport, situated 25 kilometers from Kannur and Thalaserry railway stations, arguably is the most modern airport under construction in India. Although it is situated on the northern tip of Kerala, it serves Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. With 6 aerobridges, 48 check-in counters, 16 immigration and customs counters, KIAL is equipped to handle one million passengers in the first year. This is expected to go up to 5 million passengers by the year 2025. On the sidelines of "Wings India" 2018 at Hyderabad, K S Shibu Kumar, the Chief Project Engineer of KIAL, spoke to Gautam Sen and answered his questions with elan.

So how did it all begin?

KIAL is a company formed by Govt. of Kerala in 2010. Chairman of the company is the Chief Minister. I came in from Airports Authority of India on deputation and started working on the mandatory clearances from MHA, MOD, IMD, DGCA and the biggest challenge of clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forest. It's a PPP project on BOO model. 30 per cent is owned by Govt. of Kerala, 25 per cent BPCL and other small PSUs, 10 per cent AAI, balance 35 per cent is open to public. Another Rs. 892 crore came as consortium of Canara Bank, South Indian Bank & Federal Bank. We are short of Rs. 400 Crore which will be put up for IPO at a later date.

What was your personal experience, in choosing your team and how did your past experience help you?

My experience of 8 years at Delhi airport trained me a lot on international airports. Another 8 years in Tiruvanthapuram allowed me to interact with the aviation industry closely. My colleagues, who are now heading various airports in India were consulted during the project. The team shortlisted from AAI workforce, has done a grand job in 4 years, considering that effectively we work half the year due to heavy rains.

Why was Kannur chosen for an International airport?

Apart from the tourist point of view, it was a strategic decision for defence. We have a defence Enclave within KIAL. Spaces of 10 acres each has been earmarked for Airforce, Navy and Coast Guard to operate out of Kannur Airport. This has the shortest distance from the Gulf.

With so many modern airports constructed and under construction, what is the USP of Kannur Airport?

There is not one but many USPs of KIAL. Truly an International Airport constructed on 2300 acres of land, KIAL is equipped to operate Code - E aircrafts (like B-777) and compatible with Code - F aircrafts (such as A-380). We have a parking stand and a double-decker aerobridge ready for Airbus A-380 to land and park. The runways are designed to expand to accommodate A-380 when required. KIAL is going to be a hub for cargo in Kerala. Emirates has already scheduled 2 wide bodied aircrafts for Kannur Airport each day, one in the morning and the other in the evening. KIAL has 9,553 sqm of international air cargo complex, on modular format, expandable when required. This airport is going to be the second international airport of Karnataka. Coorg is 45 minutes and Mysore is 4 hours from KIAL. From tourist standpoint, 50 per cent catchment is from Karnataka and other 50 per cent Kerala and Tamil Nadu combined. It also connects Bekal and Wayanad. The Terminal building is built in a way that it integrates passengers from both domestic and international sector under one roof. The swing glass door allows the arrival section to be compartmentalized into international arrival when an international flight lands. Otherwise it is open to domestic passengers at other times.
15/03/18 Gautam Sen/millenniumpost

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Airport projects: The sky’s the limit

When it comes to construction projects, airports are right at the top of the list when it comes to complexity and risk. According to data provided by the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) US$1.1 trillion is spent on airport construction globally – this is broken down by US$255 billion being invested in new (greenfield) airport projects around the world and US$845 billion in projects such as new runways and terminal buildings, runway and terminal extensions.

This investment, though, is by no means spread equally around the world, with North America and Canada only spending US$3.6 billion between them on a total of 11 airport projects. It is the Asia Pacific region which is the most active when it comes to aviation projects, spending just under US$400 billion.

One project which accounts for some of that spending is Beijing’s 80 billion Yuan (US$12.6 billion) new airport, which will be one of the world’s largest when it opens in October 2019. The contractors for the project are Beijing Construction Engineering Group, Beijing Urban Construction Investment and Development Co. Ltd and China Construction 8th Engineering Division Co. Ltd.

The project is part of the large infrastructure drive overseen by President Xi Jinping. The ‘Beijing New Airport’ is made up of 1.6 million m3 of concrete, 52,000 tonnes of steel and spans a total area of 47km² including runways.

It is expected to serve an initial 45 million passengers a year with an eventual capacity of 100 million, as China seeks to boost its profile as an international aviation hub. The airport will be connected to Beijing by a high speed train with a top speed of 350 km an hour, as well as an inter-city train and an expressway. It is hoped that the new airport will relieve pressure on Beijing’s existing international airport.

India is looking to boost its connectivity by establishing 100 airports – doubling the current number – in the next 15 years at an estimated cost of RS 4 trillion rupees (US$62.2 billion). The Regional Air Connectivity Scheme will split the investment between building 70 airports at new locations while the rest of the money will be allocated to second airports or expanding existing airfields. There has already been approval given for 18 new airports.

In an interview Jayant Sinha, minister of state for aviation in India, said: “Airport planning in the past was such that an airport is saturated by the time its development work is completed. We need to get out of that incremental trap and think for the future and take a long-term view. We will need to add about 100 new airports, as aviation in India grows.”

Information from the Centre for Aviation suggests that India’s aviation industry will be the third largest for departures by 2019. One of the flagship new airports will be the Greater Noida airport at Jewar, approximately 60 km from Delhi and 2,378 acres of land has already been acquired to develop the airport. Catering to around 30 to 50 million passengers every year over next 10-15 years, the project will eliminate the current dependency on Delhi airport for air travel.
15/03/18 Andy Brown/International Construction

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AAI conducts international workshop for utilising GAGAN

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) conducted an international workshop for utilising GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN).

In the two-day workshop that concluded on Friday civil aviation representatives from SAARC and Southeast Asian nations were provided training about GAGAN.
In keeping with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's objective of using technology as a means of development and co-operation, the AAI has offered GAGAN to SAARC and Southeast Asian countries in order to allow them to reap the significant benefits that accrue from such an advanced navigation system.

The workshop was inaugurated by R. N. Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation with Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI delivering the Key Note address. A. K. Dutta, Member (Air Navigation Services), AAI along with S. V. Satish, Executive Director (Air Traffic Management), AAI and in charge GAGAN, set the context for the workshop by providing an update on the GAGAN programme.

During the workshop, AAI, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as equal partners in implementation of GAGAN shared their perspective and learnings from the development, deployment and certification of the system along with Raytheon, which has provided the ground equipment necessary for GAGAN operations.

Leading aircraft and receiver manufacturers such as Airbus, Bombardier, BELL helicopters, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins and Accord also provided information to the SAARC and Southeast Asian nations regarding readiness of solutions for GAGAN enablement in various types of aircraft. KPMG also presented how a business case was built to prove to the stakeholders that GAGAN was not only a viable alternative to the current land-based navigational aids, but is a highly efficient option.
Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI stated that the system had been designed with adequate capabilities to be able to cater to the needs of the Asia Pacific region. He hoped that the countries across the region collaborate to operationalize Asia's SBAS in a time bound manner.

The conference was followed by a visit to the Master Control Center at Nangloi, Delhi on the second day of the workshop. The representatives of neighbouring countries were shown the infrastructure that has been built to ensure operational integrity of the GAGAN service. The visitors not only appreciated the efforts being made by AAI to push the boundaries of safe, reliable and cost-efficient air navigation services, but they also expressed sincere intent that their countries can collaborate towards making GAGAN not just a reality in India but also across a larger region.
16/03/18 ANI/Business Standard

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Diamond City may get third airline operator in Air Asia India

Surat: If all goes well, the Diamond City may get a third airline operator in Air Asia India in the next couple of months.
Senior officials from Air Asia India Private Limited led by head of commercial Kiran Jain visited the city and organized a series of meetings with the stakeholders from the trade and industry, private organizations, non-governmental organizations and airport groups crusading for the increased air connectivity from Surat on Thursday.
The visit of Air Asia India team is credited to the ‘We Work for a Working Airport at Surat’ (WWWAS), a Facebook group, crusading for the increased air connectivity and international airport from the past many years. The group members were constantly in touch with senior officials in Bengaluru and they convinced them to visit Surat to explore traffic and business potential.
Talking to TOI, WWWAS member Sanjay Jain said, “We have given a detailed presentation to the Air Asia India team on the potential routes and air traffic. We have also shared the passenger traffic data of the last two years and the team members were impressed with the kind of phenomenal increase.”
Jain added, “The airline has shown its interest in operating on the destinations, including Indore, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Pune. They will be submitting a detailed report to the group CEO in Bengaluru for final approval.”
16/03/18 Times of India

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Jet Airways to fly to Amritsar, Patna from Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Jet Airways, Jet Airways flight to amritsar, jet airways flight to patna, jet airways flight to bangalore “The service will be on five days a week to Amritsar via Delhi, six days a week to Indore and daily to Patna starting from the week of March 25,” said Jet in a statement here.
Jet Airways will soon fly to Amritsar, Patna and Indore from Bengaluru, the carrier announced on Friday. “The service will be on five days a week to Amritsar via Delhi, six days a week to Indore and daily to Patna starting from the week of March 25,” said Jet in a statement here.

“With the addition of these flights, Bengaluru, the fastest growing metro, will have its position reinforced as Jet’s third upcoming domestic hub, after Mumbai and Delhi,” it said.
16/03/18 IANS/Financial Express

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AAI gets hold of 16 acres for airport expansion

Pune:Airports Authority of India officials in Pune on Thursday said they have got the official possession of 15.84 acre land belonging to the Indian Air Force (lAF) and the construction on the plot will begin soon.
A tweet on Thursday by the Pune airport authorities said, “The IAF has given permission for work on the 15.84 acre land. This will speed up the projects of the airport.”
Former defence minister Manohar Parrikar in 2016 had said that the IAF will give the land to the Pune airport for expansion. An airport official, when contacted on Thursday, said,” We got the official letter from the IAF today and we can start construction on the plot.”
The airport authorities have been saying that a new terminal building, at a cost of Rs 500 crore, will come up on the plot with the facility expected to be ready by 2021. Last year, the IAF provided additional 16 acres of land to the AAI for expansion. The IAF has asked for land in lieu of the plots.
“The state government is working on the matter and infrastructure committee chairman and Union minister Nitin Gadkaro has already told the state to provide 15 acres of land to IAF and additional 10 acres to the AAI. Earlier this week, there was a meeting about this between Pune MP Anil Shirole and the PMC and next week the PMC will have a meeting with the IAF authorities. More land under IAF which is unused has been sought,” another official added.
16/03/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Chandigarh International Airport To Remain Completely Shut For 20 Days in May 2018

Chandigarh International Airport is all set to lose its aerial connectivity by remaining completely shut for 20 days in the month of May this year. Due to major expansion works and projects, Chandigarh International Airport has scrapped the flight schedule for May 2018. Losing over 1 lac travellers along with a great deal of monetary loss to the airlines, the Airports Authority of India, i.e. AAI has informed them well in advance about the same.

So, for all those who were planning their itinerary via Chandigarh International Airport, it is time to re-schedule your plans. Know details about Chandigarh International Airport being closed along with dates and details herein.

As the airport shall be completely shut for at least 3 weeks, travellers now shall have to plan their outings in the peak summer travel season again. The Chandigarh International Airport shall remain closed from May 12, 2018 to May 31st this year. The airlines have been have been notified about the closure of Chandigarh International Airport in advance for them to be prepared for the same.

Serving as the air base for Indian Air Force along with civilian flights, Chandigarh International Airport was previously shut in February this year. This was done to enhance the 9000 ft runway to 12000 ft. Although some of the expansion work was completed in February. The pending remaining work of expansion of Chandigarh International Airport shall be accomplished in the next closure of May 2018 now.
16/03/18 Oberoi Aneesha/Chandigarh Metro

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Maple's duty-free store at Mumbai airport offers 20% discount on Apple products

Passengers taking flight from the Mumbai airport can now take advantages of exclusive discount son apple products.

The country's first duty free Maple store at T2, CSIA departure at the Mumbai airport is offering discount upto 20 per cent on all Apple products.

The new Maple store at the airport offers a range of Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple watches at duty free prices along with a wide range of phone accessories.
At the opening of a store, Maple Head of Retail and Marketing Vinayak Kamath said, “We’re very excited to open a new store at the International airport where our focus is to give travellers the best experience while they shop for Apple products and accessories at the Maple store."

“We offer a superb range of accessories from the best brands across the world. These include Adam Elements, Zifriend, Xmini and Quick brown fox leather bags," he added.

Meanwhile, in a tie, both, the Mumbai and Delhi Airport have been rated as the World's Best Airport for Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards, 2017 for customer experience, announced by the Airport Council International (ACI).
15/03/18 DNA

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Chennai airport put on high alert after bomb threat call

Chennai: Chennai airport officials were put on high alert following a bomb threat call to an airline, hours before the arrival of the vice president and defence minister to the Tamil Nadu capital.

The call was made to an airline operating flights between here and Hyderabad, and security measures have been put in place, officials said.

Twenty flights are scheduled through the day between the two cities.

Security was stepped up at the airport in view of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visit today.
16/03/18 PTI/Indian Express

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Hastakshar art gallery launched at Kolkata Airport

Kolkata: A one of its kind art gallery 'Hastakshar' was launched at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, commonly known as the Kolkata Airport on Friday, introducing art in its various forms to the commuters. The unique project initiated by Airports Authority of India seeks to bring the vision and talent of artists out of galleries and museums, out to the community at large through the airport terminals. The Art Gallery at the Kolkata Airport is in partnership with Hastakshar Art & Craft, an enterprise involved in the recognition and promotion of art amongst people and art collectors and providing a platform to the local and regional artists.
16/03/18 millennium post

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Stranded after touchdown, cabbies fleece at RGI

Hyderabad: The lack of affordable and frequent transport facilities connecting the Hyderabad airport to the rest of the city has irked many passengers, who are left at the mercy of expensive private cab aggregators to reach their respective destinations.
“Despite the fact that there is the Outer Ring Road (ORR) which directly connects the airport and Gachibowli, I am forced to pay more than ?850 for a ride to my apartment in Gachibowli from RGIA. The main reason for the high fares is the high parking fee charged at the airport which is above ?200,” said Ankith M, a resident of Gachibowli.
While the high fares being charged has emerged as the top concern, the wait-time for cabs has also gone up by more than 10 minutes, say commuters.
Another commuter Gourav Gupta said “It has become very costly to get a private cab from the airport to my home. The available pre-paid taxi service always reports non-availability of cabs. RGIA authorities must consider reducing the parking fee for cabs or doing away with it entirely, at the airport to ease commuters woes.”
Commuters now point to the opening of the Metro line-—between Biodiversity Park and Shamshabad airport, as one of the only solutions to the issue. The airport Metro line, which will be part of the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project, will be an elevated corridor which will allow passengers to travel at an average speeds of 100 km/hr.
“Building low-cost connectivity between the Hyderabad airport and other localities in the city is the need of the hour. Many times, even with long wait times, the private cab drivers cancel the trip at the last minute and commuters are forced to pay the cancellation fee.
“The pre-paid taxi services, meanwhile, is marked by nonavailability of cabs at most times of the day.
15/03/18 Swathy Iyer/Times of India

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Airport slum dwellers to be rehabilitated in situ: CM

Mumbai: In a big relief to lakhs of slum dwellers living on the land near the Chhatrapati Shivaji International (CSI) airport in Andheri and the Juhu airport, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced that they would be rehabilitated in situ (in the same place). Fadnavis made the announcement in the state Assembly.

Fadnavis’s announcement has put an end to fears that owing to objections from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), slum dwellers housed on the land near the airport would have to be moved out. Opposing any move to evict them, the slum dwellers were demanding in situ rehabilitation.

Last month, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) began carrying out a biometric survey of the residents of a slum on Juhu airport. A section of slum dwellers had believed that the survey was for ex-situ (off site). The CM clarified on Wednesday that all rehabilitations will be in-situ.
The SRA had sought permission to carry out the survey in May 2016. In two letters to the SRA’s chief executive officer, the AAI consented to “a feasibility study on ex-situ rehab”.

“The decision for in-situ rehabilitation of slum dwellers on airport land has already been taken. Earlier, there were some issues related to rehabilitation since many slum dwellers were ineligible. Only a third of the people were eligible. But due to our new dispensation of covering them under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana with a recent amendment, that issue is resolved. Once the amendment receives assent from the President, we will begin the process for in-situ rehabilitation,” Fadnavis told the Assembly.

Last month, the supervisor of a slum survey team was arrested for extorting money from residents of Nehru Nagar slum settlement on Juhu airport, which is spread over 30 acres of the airport’s 385-acre sprawl. The slum survey team was part of MahaOnline, a private agency appointed by the SRA to carry out a biometric survey.
15/03/18 Chaitanya Marpakwar/Mumbai Mirror

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Trial runs for Kalaburagi airport to begin soon

Kalaburagi: The decades old dream of the residents of Kalaburagi and neighbouring districts of getting an airport at Kalaburagi is becoming a reality as the runway is getting readied for operations from March 14.

District Minister Sharanaprakash Patil told The New Indian Express here on Tuesday that the officials have informed him that the 3,260-metre runway of the airport would be ready by Wednesday evening. Other works would be completed within 10 days.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has given permission to the state government for ‘trial landing’ in Kalaburagi airport. Kalaburagi MP Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha, will land in Kalaburagi in a special flight to be arranged for the purpose.
The cabinet meeting held last week has accorded sanction for enhancing grant from `109 crore to `175 crore for the completion of Kalaburagi airport.

The state cabinet has also decided to invite tenders for the contract of maintaining the airport. The government order would be issued in this regard within a day or two. After the trail landing, the state government would write to AAI for allotting airline operations.
15/03/18 Ramkrishna Badseshi/New Indian Express

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5 flights delayed due to poor visibility at Kolkata airport, blame it on non-seasonal fog

Five domestic flights were delayed due to poor weather conditions at Kolkata airport. Departure of as many as five domestic flights was hindered while three more flights saw diversion from Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Thursday.

The delay and diversion happened due to the poor visibility conditions triggered by non-seasonal fog. This further disrupted the air traffic, according to an airport official.

The disruption in flight services took place between 5 am to 8 am on Thursday as visibility at the city airport was less than 50 metres at that time.
15/03/18 India Today

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Buildings around Mumbai airport, defence land to get construction bonus: Govt

Buildings facing height restrictions, owing to their proximity to the airport or defence installations, in Mumbai may soon be in a position to avail of a huge construction bonanza. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced in the state’s Legislative Assembly Wednesday that the government had plans to provide a “special dispensation” in Mumbai’s proposed new development control regulations to push for the redevelopment of these buildings.

This will be the first time in India, when a state government has proposed special concessions for buildings impacted by the restrictions around the airport and defence lands. “The height restrictions have impacted the viability of such redevelopments. In order to overcome the hardship faced by residents, provisions of conferring additional building rights for such redevelopments in the form of transferable development rights (TDR) or additional floor space index, and relaxations in town planning norms are being considered,” Fadnavis informed the Assembly.

He said further hinted that the town planning concessions to be offered for such developments could be in the form of dilution of norms required to be maintained for side margins around the plot, and permitting clubbing of two or more plots. TDR is a kind of floating floor space that can be utilise elsewhere in the city.

According to information, close to 6,000 buildings located near the airport in suburban Vile Parle, Khar, Santacruz, Kurla, and Ghatkopar, which house over 3.6 lakh people, attract height restrictions as they are situated in the airport’s imaginary “funnel” zone or the approach path of a low-flying aircraft. Another 1,500-odd buildings, especially those in the far-off suburban belts of Kandivali, Malad and Borivali, meanwhile face development restrictions due to the close proximity of defence-owned lands. The Chief Minister made the announcement during a discussion of Mumbai’s proposed new development control regulations, which are likely to be unveiled before the end of the month.
15/03/18 Sandeep Ashar/Indian Express

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From March 25, SpiceJet shifts 22 flights to Terminal 2 at Delhi airport

Mumbai: SpiceJet will shift 22 flights connecting seven domestic destinations from Delhi's terminal 1 (T1) to terminal 2 (T2) from March 25. This includes flights to Kochi, Ahmedabad, Patna, Pune, Goa, Surat and Gorakhpur.
All remaining domestic flights will continue to operate from the terminal 1.
The shift comes in the wake of Supreme Court dismissing rival airline IndiGo's challenge of Delhi airport order to partially shift the operations from T1 to T2. Currently, GoAir operates all its flights from Delhi from T2.
SpiceJet said that all new flights operating to and from T2 will have a four digit number starting with “8”.
“SpiceJet has taken all possible measures to ensure smooth and seamless operations and minimal inconvenience to its customers.

Arrangements for regular bus service between the terminals for passengers for use by transit flyers as well as those who might come to the wrong terminal for their flight have also been made,” the airline said in a statement.
15/03/18 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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IndiGo, SpiceJet to continue operations from Delhi Airport’s T1 for three key routes

New Delhi: Budget carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet will continue operations from the T1 terminal on three key routes — Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata — as Delhi airport operator GMR looks to finalise proposals to shift other sectors to the newly-built Terminal 2 of the IGI Airport. As per the Delhi High Court order of February 13, which was upheld by the Supreme Court, the airlines were given liberty to suggest other sectors for shifting from T1 to T2 with a condition that it should be one-third of their passenger traffic volumes at T1. “Several alternative routes have been sent by airlines to the operator as per the supreme court directions. A final decision fulfilling the one-third traffic volumes criterion will be out in a few days,” a person aware of the matter said. Delhi International Airport (DIAL) has received over eight proposals from IndiGo and around six from SpiceJet for moving to T2 in place of the three major sectors. “These could be all different routes for both the airlines,” the source said.

The operator last year had asked IndiGo and SpiceJet to shift operations on the Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru and Delhi-Kolkata routes to T2 owing to congestion and proposed expansion work at the overburdened T1. GoAir, on the other hand, was asked to move its entire operations — an arrangement it complied with with effect from October 29, 2017. “The airlines will have to comply with the supreme court directions of collectively meeting the yardstick of one-third passenger traffic volume of their operations at T1. Several other routes will have to be moved out for these airlines if they don’t want to disturb these prime sectors,” it said.
15/03/18 Financial Express

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Zaha Hadid Architects to design Navi Mumbai Airport in India

Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIAL) has appointed Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to design the Terminal 1 and air traffic control (ATC) tower of Navi Mumbai International Airport in India.

The London-based architect firm was selected following a 12-week fast-track design competition among leading international architecture firms. The Navi Mumbai contract will be its first major project in the Indian sub-continent.
Under the terms of the contract, ZHA will be responsible for the design and build of the new NMIA terminal building, an ATC tower, and associated landside access.

ZHA project director Cristiano Ceccato said: “We are very proud to have been awarded the Navi Mumbai International Airport that will be a much-needed addition to Mumbai’s infrastructure and an additional gateway to India.”

The NMIAPPP venture comprises GVK-led Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) and Maharashtra government agency CIDCO, which have a 74% and 26% interest respectively.

GVK founder and chairman and NMIAL chairman GVK Reddy said: “Our vision is to establish one more landmark airport that would exceed the benchmarks that GVK had set through MIAL whilst creating Terminal 2 at Mumbai Airport.”
15/03/18 Airport Technology

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Suresh Prabhu for benchmarking Indian airports to world standards; looks to fast-track major projects

Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu today held back-to-back meetings with various allied bodies of the ministry within days of assuming charge. “Conducted back to back meetings with officers from various departments, allied bodies of Ministry of Civil Aviation. Discussed various initiatives being taken by the Ministry, challenges involved and the roadmap ahead. We shall all work together with the mission to transform air travel in the country, make it more pleasurable, augment air connectivity under leadership of Hon. PM Narendra Modi ji,” Suresh Prabhu shared on his social media handles. FinancialExpress.com learns that multiple strategies to expedite major AAI (Airports Authority of India) airport projects, improve passengers experience and promote skill development in the sector were discussed.

“The meeting focused on many areas – from fast-tracking airport projects in the pipeline like Navi Mumbai, Jewar, Mopa (Goa) among others to benchmarking airport service standards of Indian airports to those around the world,” sources tell FE Online. Prabhu also stressed on the need to encourage skill development in the sector, sources said adding that the minister believes the aviation sector can provide jobs to thousands if the necessary skills are taught. Yet another crucial aspect that found attention was airport security. Suresh Prabhu, who is also the Commerce Minister, took charge of the Civil Aviation ministry on March 12. The development comes at a time when the government is planning to sell off the aviation giant Air India.

The step to fast-track major airport projects around the country and also benchmark service standards to those around the world is likely to cheer passengers. Interestingly, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport were ranked the world’s best airports in the over 40 million per annum passengers category. In the 15 to 25 million passengers category, Bengaluru airport was rated the best, while Chennai airport was third. Hyderabad airport was adjudged the best in the 5 to 15 million passengers category and Kolkata, Pune and Cochin bagged the third spot in the same category.
14/03/18 Smriti Jain/Financial Express

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34 flights likely to operate from Chandigarh airport this summer

Chandigah: A total of 34 flights are likely to operate from Chandigarh International Airport during its summer schedule, which will start from March 25 and continue till October 27.

Currently, 30 flights are operating at the airport. Meanwhile, IndiGo’s morning flight to Delhi (6E455) will remain cancelled on Wednesday.

The watch hour timings at the airport, which is currently from 5 am-4 pm, will also change by March end. The Indian Air Force has said that the watch hours will be from 7.20 am-5.30 pm.

Sources told Chandigarh Newsline on Tuesday that the highest number of flights in the summer schedule will be to Delhi. More than 10 flights will operate from Chandigarh to Delhi as per the schedule.

Indigo and Jet-airways are expected to operate majority of the flights.

Sources said that Air India is also considering flights to Jammu, Jaipur and Dharamshala from the Chandigarh airport. Other destinations, which have been included in the tentative schedule include Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, sources said.
14/03/18 Adil Akhzer/Indian Express

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3 phase plan prepared to develop Hisar Aerodrome as Int'l Airport: Ram Bilas Sharma

Chandigarh: Haryana Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that in order to develop Hisar Aerodrome as International Airport, a three phase plan has been prepared including domestic airport under the Regional Connectivity Scheme in Phase-I, Small scale MRO, Fixed base operations, Defence Manufacturing and Defence MRO in Phase-II and Aerospace Manufacturing, Aviation Training Centre and Aviation University, International Airport, Aerotropolis - Commercial and Residential in Phase–III.
Replying to a question regarding the proposal to develop Hisar Aerodrome as International Airport in the ongoing budget session of Vidhan Sabha here today, Mr Sharma said that international consultant, M/s Frost and Sullivan was engaged in March 2016 to get a feasibility study regarding development of an integrated aviation hub including an international airport at Hisar. Apart from this, an Expression of Interest was floated on February 17, 2017 and a meeting was held with interested parties to gauge interest and obtain feedback.
He said that a piece of land measuring 4200 acres contiguous to the existing airstrip has been identified. A meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary was held on June 30, 2017 in which all relevant departments agreed to transfer land to Civil Aviation Department.
13/03/18 UNI

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Passengers concerned about security at Hubballi airport

Hubballi: Even though the upgraded Hubballi airport claims to have state-of-the-art facilities, safety of passengers is a big concern as vehicles are not scanned thoroughly. Shockingly, they are allowed to park right next to the new terminal.
The airport has been upgraded and air service to Bengaluru and Mumbai has been started. Soon, there will connectivity to other parts of the country under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik). The airport claims to have been developed as per international standards. However, passengers allege there are several security lapses
Ramesh Patil, a businessman and former president, Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who often travels from the airport, said: “Security personnel at the entrance ask passengers for ID proof and check the boot of vehicles. There is no thorough search to check for any object which can pose a security threat. There is no scanner to detect explosives. What if a Glasgow-like attack occurred at Hubballi airport? Who will take responsibility? When politicians arrive at the airport, their followers enter in large number. What if terrorists also enter the place?”
It may be recalled that at Glasgow airport in 2007, a propane gas cylinder-laden jeep rammed the airport departure area when over 4,000 passengers were in the terminal. No passenger died as the SUV hit a concrete pillar.
Passengers who take flights from Hubballi objected to the parking of vehicles, especially two-wheelers, right next to the new terminal. “What if a two-wheeler is fitted with explosives?” a passenger said. Passengers alleged that though there is parking facility, there’s no shelter for vehicles and passengers are forced to park their vehicles under the scorching sunlight.
14/03/18 Marx Tejaswi/Times of India

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Airport infrastructure: Case for expediting growth

With its rapidly-growing economy, the fact that India needs significant investments in airport infrastructure cannot be overemphasised. While Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and privatisation of airports have been attempted to some extent, the time has come to accelerate the pace on this front.

The broader trend seen in infrastructure, of attracting global capital, applies as much to airports as to any other sector. As they say, "All Roads Lead to Rome" (implying that there are few roads to Rome). There are alternative ways of creating and financing airport infrastructure.
"Asset recycling" -- a strategy of monetising existing assets to generate capital -- eminently applies to airports. Asset recycling of existing airport assets will allow the government to monetise financially-viable projects to generate capital with which to finance other economically useful -- but not financially viable -- airports. This is an alternative to a viability gap fund strategy or a strategy of financing new assets using extra charges on air tickets. The asset recycling strategy needs to be looked at in greater detail, especially with a view to developing airports in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Airport operators and regulators also need to start thinking in terms of capital structure innovation around airport businesses. In terms of generating financing, the airport business can be listed through an IPO. This is an idea that has been around for a while in India. Globally, airport operators such as Corporacion America Airports are also looking at IPOs.
The cash liquidity that an IPO route provides without having to deal with the contingent liabilities of a debt structure can be useful in pursuing high-growth projects for airport operators. On the other end of the spectrum are financial instruments such as revenue-backed airport bonds. This would be a big step for airports and airport operators in India.
14/03/18 IANS/Economic Times

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Forget CISF, city airport lacks enough cops

Surat: Despite increase in passenger traffic from Surat airport to more than 60,000 passenger per month against 10 times increase in the flight frequencies, the airport still lacks adequate security arrangement. Forget, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deployment, even the state police deployment is short of staff. Against the required strength of 114 personnel, only 95 are stationed at the airport.
In a letter to the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) western region in 2017, the Surat airport director had stated that the traffic movement was almost 10 times compared to what it was in 2015. Though the deployment of CISF is a policy matter, considering the present scenario, it is requested that the matter may be brought to the knowledge of higher authorities for being a security issue.
It is to be noted that the resurvey for deployment of state police was conducted and forwarded to higher authority, but so far no approval is received and the show is managed with available 95 security personnel against the required strength of 114. During the resurvey of the state police, it was proposed to deploy 208 personnel.
RTI activist Rajesh Modi said, “The airport needs 208 security personnel to provide full-proof security to the passengers and the airport, but it is running with just 95 personnel. Surat is the economic capital of Gujarat and the government and its agencies are seriously overlooking the security aspect at the airport.”
14/03/18 Times of India

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Idukki, Wayanad airstrips: Cial to conduct pre-feasibility study

Thiruvananthapuram: The airstrip projects planned at Idukki and Wayanad that were shelved due to local protests have received a fresh lease of life. In the latest order issued by the transport department, the government has asked Cochin international airport Ltd (Cial) to conduct a pre-feasibility study for the projects.
The new move is part of the government’s idea to have airstrips in all districts that can promote tourism.
The Idukki airstrip project, which was subsequently scaled up to a medium-size airport project, was shelved after local protests intensified during previous UDF regime.
The idea of an airstrip at Anakkara, close to Thekkady, got a fillip during the previous LDF’s rule in 2008. A two-member Airports Authority of India (AAI) team had visited the location and given clearance for a facility spread across 500 acres with 1,500m runway that can cater to ATR aircrafts.
Later, when the project gathered steam, an agitation under the aegis of anti-airport agitation council forced the government to shelve the project. “Before going on to the next step of a feasibility study, the government wants to know whether the projects deserve the go-ahead and so the pre-feasibility study was ordered,” said government sources.
Earlier, the airstrip at Wayanad also met a similar fate in the wake of strong protests . The project was given AAI clearance and sites extending to 500 acres at Panamaram and Cheekkallor were identified , after conducting feasibility studies. Though the area identified is paddy land, the latest amendment of paddy land and wetland act that empowers the government to overcome the restrictions if the project is in public interest would make things easier.
The project was shelved for the past seven years. At present, the only air connectivity facility available in Wayanad is at Kalpetta, a school ground.
14/03/18 KP Saikiran/Times of India

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Rajasthan govt puts cap on height of high-rises near the airport

Jaipur: In a bid to check the construction of high-rises in the periphery of Sanganer airport and state hanger, the government has fixed the height slab of such buildings within a radius of 500 metres from the airport.
The 500 metre distance has been fixed after considering state hanger as a centre point. Following the state government’s direction, the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) will issue notification and frame the new bylaws. The building permission in the surrounding area will be provided as per the norms which will be fixed.
An official said, while only 10 metre height of a building will be allowed in areas up to 200 metres, it will be up to 30 metre after a distance of 450 metre to 500 metre. Beyond 500 metre, the height of the building up to 34 metre will be allowed.
A senior official at JDA informed, “Civil aviation and intelligence officials inspected the site to fix security parameters and height of the buildings. The new rules will be framed following their recommendations,” he said.
Sources in the department claimed, “Three high-rise buildings near the state hangar, adjoining the Jaipur International Airport, which pose a security threat to VVIPs using the airstrip, will remain sealed.”
The construction of high-rise buildings near the Jaipur airport was halted after objections were raised by chief minister Vasundhara Raje claiming them to be a 'security threat'.
14/03/18 Times of India

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Airports owe CISF big time: Privately run airports yet to clear dues amounting to Rs 800 crore

New Delhi: When it comes to security services, the top five privately run airports owe Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) quite a lot. Not to mention some big money.

The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home -- Kiren Rijiju -- said in Lok Sabha that seven privately run airports owe a whopping sum of Rs 800 crore to the CISF for the deployment of its personnel on security duties.

Ironically, the biggest "defaulter" is Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) which has been ranked number one in the world on airport service quality ranking.

Operated by the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the airport alone has a massive amount of Rs 737.37 crore which it owes CISF.

The security provided by CISF at the Delhi airport was awarded the 'Best Airport Security' by the World Quality Congress (WQC) recently. The airport service quality (ASQ) rating had found that security at the Delhi airport was better than Heathrow, Dallas, Los Angeles, Dubai and Paris airports.
14/03/18 Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu/India Today

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Sabarimala airport: Study report ready by Mar 31, says Ker CM

Thiruvananthapuram: The report on the techno-financial, feasibility and environmental impact study for the proposed Sabarimala greenfield airport would be ready by March 31, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here today.

Kerala government would take further steps on the airport after receiving the report of the Louis Burger Consultant Private ltd, who was appointed as consultant for the project, Vijayan told the assembly.

Vijayan said Cheruvally estate close to Erumelly, one of the major base camps of devotees visiting Lord Ayyappa temple at the hillshrine of Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta, has been identified for the airport.

The government would take further steps on the project after getting the necessary clearance from the concerned Central agencies, Vijayan said.

Nearly 2,263 acre Cheruvally estate was identified for the project by a team of the state government officials headed by Chief Secretary.
13/03/18 PTI/India.com

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DIAL may get exchequer help to clear over Rs. 700 crore dues

The Civil Aviation Ministry is looking at possible funding from the exchequer and other options to help Delhi airport operator DIAL clear outstanding dues worth over Rs. 700 crore to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), said a senior official.

“Otherwise, the Passenger Service Fee [PSF] might have to be increased and we don’t want to walk that road right now,” said Civil Aviation Secretary R. N. Choubey on Monday.
A PSF of Rs. 154 is collected from each passenger flying out from the airport.

Last week, the CISF had said that Delhi International Airport Limited’s pending security fee amount is about Rs. 737 crore.

The CISF is the government-mandated paramilitary force that guards 59 civil airports in the country and charges a security fee in lieu of protecting these sensitive facilities against terror and sabotage threats.

To a query on outstanding dues of DIAL, Mr. Choubey said: “As far as shortfall is concerned, the main thing to be kept in mind is that if the shortfall is to be made good it will require some increase in PSF”. He, however, added that the Ministry is working on other options too.
13/03/18 PTI/The Hindu

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IGI airport wins sustainability award

New Delhi: Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), a GMR-led consortium today announced that it has been conferred with two accolades for their Environment related initiatives.
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) Airport has won Wings India Award for ‘Most Sustainable and Green Airport’, held in Hyderabad between March 8-11, 2018. The award was part of Wings India 2018 organised by Ministry of Civil Aviation, and FICCI.
Under ‘ACI Asia-Pacific Green Airports Recognition 2018’, Delhi Airport has won silver recognition for its sustainable waste management initiatives. The Green Airports Recognition Ceremony will be held in Japan on April 24, 2018.
13/03/18 Tribune

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Airport authority to chalk out revised master plan

Bengaluru: The Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority (BIAAPA) has decided to engage consultants to prepare a revised master plan for the area around Kempegowda International Airport in Devanahalli and other areas in the region.
The move is to ensure orderly de velopment in the local planning area with the BIAAPA master plan 2021 nearing completion of its tenure. L S Pawar, member secretary, BIAAPA, said they have set April 28 as deadline for submission for tenders after which the agency will be finalised to prepare the master plan.
The BIAPPA jurisdiction, spread over three taluks -Devanahalli, Doddaballapura and Bengaluru North (Hesaraghatta and Jala hoblis)- has undergone rapid changes in terms of population and land use in the last 10 years. "There is exponential growth in other conurbation areas namely Devanahalli, Vijayapura and Doddaballapura. We have to analyse the growth pattern and plan for the next 20 years," Pawar added.
13/03/18 Times of India

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Now, Azgaonkar says Mopa airport is needed

Mapusa: A day after he stopped work of the greenfield international airport at Mopa, local MGP MLA and tourism minister Manohar ‘Babu’ Azgaonkar allowed resumption of work by offering a coconut saying that Mopa airport is needed for Goa and for the country and prayed that the work be completed soon.
Azgaonkar and his supporters marched to the airport site at Mopa, but this time they offered flowers, coconuts and blessings for the commencement of the work which he had impeded a day earlier.
“We have talked to the company representatives and they assured first preference in employment to locals from the affected villages, the land losers, the people from Pernem and then to Goans. This word given by company officials has been accepted by us. Having faith in their word, we have held back our agitation and allowed commencement of the work,” Azgaonkar said.
13/03/18 Times of India

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CM Mamata Banerjee trip hits airport passengers

Bagdogra: Hundreds of passengers often run into trouble when it comes to boarding flights or even entering the premises during VIP movement at north Bengal’s only airport at Bagdogra.

The scene was no different on Monday as the airport witnessed unprecedented security arrangements for chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s visit.

Passengers have been complaining of the “acute problems” they face in boarding scheduled flights due to the heavy rush vehicles, often belonging to party leaders and followers in the airport area, it is learnt.

Party leaders and followers often reach the airport to welcome Miss Banerjee, who frequently visits north Bengal, through Bagdogra Airport.

Departing passengers were seen running helter-skelter and confused as they tried to enter the airport terminal on Monday. Passengers who had arrived from different destinations also bore the brunt as most of the cars that had come to pick them up were not allowed even inside the airport gate.

“The police told me they have arranged for parking outside the gate, far from the even the main gate and the national highway. How can the arriving passengers walk all the way to the highway with the luggage they carry?” lamented a man who was not allowed to enter the gate to pick his relatives.

Once inside the airport premises, passengers were also barred from moving normally, thanks to the barricades and ropes that the police used to “sterilise” certain areas.
13/03/18 Statesman

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Expansion of Jaipur airport; two buildings to be constructed soon

To cope up with the increasing passenger traffic, Jaipur airport will be going into an expansion mode. Plans are being made to expand the terminal horizontally and for this, it has been decided that two new buildings will be made.

There will be a separate building for arrival and departure. Sources informed that the contract has been awarded and work will start next year for this purpose. Currently, the airport is spread in 18000 square meter area and the expansion will make it spread in 1.25 lakh square meter area.

With separate buildings for arrival and departure, less passenger traffic will be there and will be easy to be managed by the airlines and security agencies. Jaipur had recently fallen in the airport ranking issued by an international body thanks to its current state wherein passenger rush can be seen early morning with major international airlines arriving and departing early morning along with many domestic flights.  All major big airports of the country have different entry points for arrival and departure which makes them look less congested.
One more international flight has stopped its operation from Jaipur International airport. Now two international flights have stopped their operations in less than a months time. Scoot airlines has stopped its Jaipur Singapore flight from Tuesday. The flight used to come from Singapore at 11:35 pm and used to fly back to Singapore at 12:35. Sources informed that due to less passenger load the airlines has stopped its operations.Before this, from March 1, Etihad airlines had stopped its Abu Dhabi flight from Jaipur. A lot of passengers used to take this flight for going to Dubai or USA, In less then a month’s time air connectivity to Dubai and Singapore has suffered.
13/03/18 DNA

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Bhogapuram airport: New request for proposal likely by month-end

Hyderabad: The new RFP (request for proposal) is being readied to be floated by the month-end for the development of the Bhogapuram greenfield airport in Andhra Pradesh.

“This time, the RFP covers not just the development of the airport but also related infrastructure, making it an integrated airport project. They include an aviation academy, MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility for aircraft, and aerotropolis,” Ajay Jain, Principal Secretary, Energy, Industries and Infrastructure, said.

“The State government is keen to develop an integrated airport so that a larger ecosystem gets created for the growth of the aviation sector in the State. This is one of the reasons that the earlier proposal to award it to Airports Authority of India was cancelled so that new RFPs could be floated,” he told BusinessLine.

In addition to about 2,500 acres earmarked for the project, another 200 acres were added to meet the requirements of the upcoming RFP, which is under finalisation and likely to be released by the month-end, he said.

In the earlier RFP, the AAI had pipped GMR by bagging the mandate to develop the airport.

In the financial bids opened in August 2017, AAI had offered a revenue share of 30.2 per cent against GMR’s 21.6 per cent.

After the Empowered Group of Secretaries presented the details of the financial bids and offers by AAI and GMR, the State government decided to invite fresh RFP for the project, making it an integrated airport.
13/03/18 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

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