Showing posts with label Airports May 2018. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports May 2018. Show all posts

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Night flight for Bengaluru from June 4

Patna: A new IndiGo night flight (6E-239) will begin operating from the Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport from the intervening night of June 3 and 4. It will arrive at Patna at 12.05am and take off for Bengaluru at 4.10am.
The flight, which is set to operate daily on the Bengaluru-Patna-Bengaluru route, will complete its one-way journey in two and a half hours.
A Jet Airways flight (9W3557) is also likely to begin operations between Patna and Allahabad thrice a week from June 14. It will reach Patna at 9.40am and leave for Allahabad at 10.10am on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The journey will be covered in 1 hour and 35 minutes.
As of now, only one Jet Airways night flight (9W 2540) operates on the Pune-Patna-Pune route six days a week.
According to JPNI director Rajender Singh Lahauria, bookings for both the flights have already started.
An executive officer of Jet Airways claimed the response of passengers to the new flight was good. “Earlier, there was no direct flight from Patna to Allahabad. While connecting flights are available for Rs 11,000, the new Allahabad- Patna- Allahabad flight costs anywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,700,” said the officer.
Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken several measures in view of the second night flight from the Patna airport.
31/05/18 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

J'suguda airport may operate from July 5

Bhubaneswar: Ending uncertainty over functioning of the Jharsuguda Airport, regional flights under the UDAN scheme are likely to be operated from the newly-licensed airport from July 5.

Source said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the much-awaited airport on July 5 in Jharsuguda.

Although the construction work of the airport is almost completed, the inaugural programme has been fixed for July 5 in view of the work schedules of PM Modi, the source said.

The airport was built in an area of 909.22 acre at an expenditure of Rs 175 crore, out of which the state has provided Rs 50 crore.
31/05/18 Pioneer

Jam slows down flyers, but airlines tweet relief

The accident on NH-8 on Wednesday not only led to chaos and a huge traffic jam, but also delayed flyers rushing to the Delhi airport.
Airlines took to twitter to inform passengers to plan their journey in advance and said they would be adjusted in subsequent flights if they were unable to reach on time.
The important stretch, which connects Delhi to Gurgaon and also leads to the IGI airport, saw a huge jam from 7.15am onwards, after a truck toppled. Sources said people making way to the airport made frantic calls to the airline enquiring about the check-in situation.
“Passengers flying out of Delhi on Wednesday are advised to plan their travel in advance due to heavy congestion on NH-8. Those reporting late due to this will be accommodated in the next flight as per availability,” IndiGo tweeted.
Vistara Airlines also used twitter to inform passengers about the accident, reassuring that those reporting late will be accommodated in the next available flights. “Due to road accident, there is heavy traffic congestion on the road to the airport, which is impacting both crew and customers. We will accommodate those who miss their flight, on seat availability basis in the next flight with no additional fee or fare,” the airline tweeted.
31/05/18 Times of India

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

SpiceJet To Add Kanpur As Its 7th Destination Under UDAN

SpiceJet has announced the launch of its operations from Kanpur, its seventh destination under UDAN, effective 3rd July, 2018. SpiceJet was awarded Kanpur under the first round of UDAN. The route will be served by Bombardier Q-400 aircraft.

Tickets for the RCS seats on this flight will be available at INR 2,313 (all in). With the introduction of the daily direct flight services on the Delhi-Kanpur-Delhi route, passengers from Kanpur can now conveniently travel to a host of other cities both on SpiceJet’s domestic as well as international network via multiple onward connections from Delhi.

Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales & Revenue Officer, SpiceJet said, “SpiceJet is delighted to announce the launch of its much awaited flight services from Kanpur – a city which we firmly believe has tremendous potential for air travel. With the launch of this flight, Kanpur will be connected with multiple domestic and international destinations on our network that will immensely benefit both business and leisure travelers.”
30/05/18 T3

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Robot to assist Vistara passengers at IGI airport

New Delhi: Come July and passengers of full service carrier Vistara will be assisted by a robot at its lounge in IGI airport here, helping them address their queries, scanning boarding passes and providing flight status and weather conditions of the destination city.
Capable of moving around in a predefined pathways. the robot named 'RADA"will also greet customers and interact with them using basic hand movements.
Additionally, it can engage with kids and adults by playing games and other multimedia content such as songs and videos, said a statement issued by the airline.
The robot will be placed at Vistara's Signature Lounge at Delhi Airport's Terminal 3 from July 5, it said.
It will be further developed over a period of time in terms of functionality and features for future use cases, after gauging customer feedback.
The robot has been envisioned and incubated under Vistara's Innovation initiative.
It is conceived, designed and engineered by its team of technology experts and apprentices from Tata Innovation Lab with support from students of reputed institutions.
The statement claimed 'RADA' is one of India's most economical robots completely made of indigenous components and a compelling 'Make in India' story.
The robot is built on a chassis of four wheels, enabling it to rotate 360 degrees, and has three in-built cameras for cognitive interaction.
29/05/18 PTI/Times of India

Monday, May 28, 2018

Amadeus launches its Airport Common Use Service (ACUS) for India

Amadeus introduced the ‘Airport Common Use Service’ (ACUS) to key stakeholders in the Indian aviation industry at India’s first Common Use Roundtable, an event hosted by Amadeus and Bird Group.

Imagine being checked-in for your flight at the hotel or at your congress center before you leave for the airport. These are just some of the options that Amadeus’ Airport Common Use Service (ACUS) offers to improve the way airports and airlines serve their passengers.

India has experienced a six-fold increase in air passenger numbers over the past decade as its citizens take advantage of better connectivity and cheaper fares[1].  With this hike in travelers comes more congested airports.  The architecture of Amadeus ACUS allows ‘fixed’ check-in counters to be rapidly redeployed anywhere within the terminal, and to ‘off airport’ locations, to enable the airport to access additional passenger capacity on demand to meet short notice or seasonal fluctuations.

To mark the launch of ACUS in India, Amadeus and Bird Group held India’s first Common Use Roundtable on May 17th and 18th in New Delhi, the event brought together India’s senior airline and airport industry leaders to share insights, learnings and to create a vision for the future of Common Use in the country.
28/05/18 APN News

GMR, GVK in the race for airport contract in Philippines

GMR and GVK are among other firms in the race for a contract of Clark International Airport (CIA) in the Philippines. The contract bids are for operations and maintenance (O&M) of the airport. A pre-bid conference was held on May 21 to find prospective bidders in Taguig city, according to a statement released by Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) of Philippines. A total of 30 prospective bidders reportedly attended the pre-bid conference. Clark International Airport, formerly known as the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, is about 100 kilometre from the capital Manila.

Clark International Airport last year awarded a GMR group company, along with its partner, a $250 million EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contract. BCDA in a statement said, “Among those procured bid documents for the airport’s O&M include Megawide-GMR Consortium, Metro Pacific Investment Corporation (MPIC), Filinvest Development Corporation, GVK Airport Developers Ltd, and Groupe ADP.”

GMR is a major player in the Infrastructure Sector, with many big projects in India and abroad. Headquartered in New Delhi, the infra major has been developing projects in high growth areas such as airports, energy, transportation and urban infrastructure. GMR Group currently owns and operates Delhi International Airport and Hyderabad International Airports. The Group is developing Goa’s greenfield airport at Mopa. GMR Group is also the only Indian airport developer to have developed and operated airports outside India.
28/05/18 ZeeBiz

L&T Construction wins order for modernization of Chennai Airport

The construction arm of Larsen & Toubro has won orders worth INR 2112 crore. Buildings & Factories Business has secured orders worth INR 1565 Crore. An order has been secured from Airport Authority of India for the Modernization of Chennai Airport, Phase-II, Chennai, Tamilnadu. This brown field project is to be completed in two phases within stringent time lines and involves the construction of 2.1 Million Sq. ft. of passenger terminal building including basement, finishing works, electro-mechanical works and airport Systems.

Another order has been received from a leading developer for the construction of Multi Level Car Parking with an integrated commercial mall at Chennai airport. This project involves the construction of 1 million Sq. ft. of Multi Level Car Parking Building including 2.5 lakhs Sq. ft. of commercial mall on design and build model.
28/05/18 Steel Guru

AAI eyeing more revenuefrom commercial spaces

Coimbatore: Airport Authority of India (AAI) expects to tap more revenue from existing commercial spaces at the Coimbatore International Airport, with the completion of a slew of renovation works.

The renovation works inside the terminal building are over and eight shops are operational now.

Airport Director R. Mahalingam said that a leading vegetarian restaurant chain would soon open its outlet in the terminal. Another restaurant chain would follow suit with hot and cool beverages, snacks and bakery items.

At present, AAI is earning a revenue of ₹11 lakh per month from the shops operating inside the terminal.

“Unlike previous years, the whole commercial space available inside the terminal was given on rent to a single contractor through proper channel, a practice followed in main airports. The contractor will find clients and sell the space,” said Mr. Mahalingam.

He said that AAI does not have plans to create more commercial space inside the existing terminal as it would further reduce the space available for checked-in passengers.
28/05/18 Wilson Thomas/The Hindu

Wait for international flight services from Gannavaram gets longer

Vijayawada: :  The wait for international services from Gannavaram airport seems to take a little more time as the Air India has not yet finalised its plan for the same. In fact, Air India withdrew its proposal to start international services from Gannavaram airport a week ago due to some hurdles in getting security clearances. But with the intervention of Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu during his recent visit to Vijayawada, things have started rolling again.  Though the Gannavaram airport received international status in May 2017, international services are yet to take off. 

Early this year, Air India has given nod to start services to Dubai with a Boeing carrying 160 passengers in each trip. However, fearing low passenger traffic, Air India wanted to operate a hopping flight through Mumbai, but it didn’t get security clearances from the Ministry of External Affairs.  The ministry said that both the domestic and international passengers will be in Mumbai from the originating place (Vijayawada) and it will pose a security threat.  Meanwhile, airport authorities have initiated talks with other airline companies like Singapore-based Silkair and Dubai-based Emirates and flydubai.

In March, a Silkair team visited and examined parking bays, runway, terminal and immigration and customs sections. They discussed the viabilities and business options with Airport Director G Madhusudan Rao. It is said that the State Government has assured minimum seat guarantee for the services. The airways are expected to operate services to Singapore and Malaysia, which is in the pending stage.
28/05/18 New Indian Express

Sri Lankan flight carrying 227 passengers hit runway lights during take off at Cochin airport

New Delhi: A major mishap was averted after a Sri Lankan flight made had a close shave on the runway on Sunday. Flight number UL-168 had a narrow escape after hitting the runway at Cochin airport during taking off. Following the incident, the Sri Lankan airline got cancelled as the wheels had to suffer damages, according to a report by ANI. The airport authority had closed the runway for operations for a short period. No passengers were injured in the mishap, the report added. The runway was closed for a brief period of time, after which the operations were resumed. No passengers were injured in the incident.

Earlier, last week, an Air India flight en route from Goa to Mumbai made an emergency landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. The aircraft made an emergency landing due to snag in the hydraulic at 08:36 PM.  The aircraft landed safely at 09:18 PM and the runway was handed over for operations at 09:40 PM. A spokesperson from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport spokesperson commenting on Air India‘s emergency landing said: “Everyone is safe, no injuries reported. Aircraft is parked safely.”
27/05/18 Financial Express

Good news for flyers! Bhubaneswar airport gets two departure gates

Bhubaneswar:  In good news for air travellers who often get irritated while standing in long queue, one more departure gate was opened today at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Odisha capital.

The new departure gate at Terminal 1 of the airport in order to reduce the traffic congestion, an airport official said.
Gate 1 is for Air Asia and Air India and it will remain open from 6 AM to 9 PM, while gate 2 is for GoAir, IndiGo and Vistara, which will stay open throughout the day and night, the official informed.

“We have opened two departure gates at Terminal 1 in order to reduce traffic congestion at the airport and travellers can save a lot of time,” said BPIA Director Suresh Chandra Hota.

He said the airport witnesses maximum travellers arriving and departing between 6 am and 9 pm. The facility, which is not available in all domestic airports in the country, will be immensely helpful as the airport records tremendous growth in the recent years, Hota added.

The airport sees movements of around 40 flights between 6 am and 9 pm, the director said.

The airport, which was started operations in 1962, registered a 39.4% growth in air passenger traffic in 2017-18 fiscal as compared previous years.
28/05/18  Odisha Sun Times

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Flying to small towns easier but costly from Chennai

Chennai: Flying to small towns from Chennai has become easy because of direct flights, but the last-minute fare continues to be high.
If you are travelling by flight to Mysore, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Vizag, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry on Sunday or Monday, the air fare is in the range of Rs3,000 to Rs7,200, which is similar to or even higher than the fare to Delhi.
Though the government is promoting regional connectivity, the fare remains a stumbling block to attract flyers to these small towns. However, airline officials say that the fare remains high because of the demand.
For a 50-minute flight on the Chennai-Salem route, the ticket was priced at Rs11,000 a few hours before the departure of the flight on Saturday. The fare is Rs4,699 for travel on Sunday and Rs4,100 for Monday. The service to Salem was started under the regional connectivity scheme, which offers a fare cap for the first few seats. A ticket to Mangalore is priced at Rs7,248 while the fare to Tuticorin is Rs6,767, which is costlier than the maximum fare to Delhi. The fare is in the range of Rs4,282 to Rs5,681 on the Chennai-Delhi route for travel in the next two days.
Though airlines have been planning schedules so as to enable travellers to return the same day, the fare remains an impediment. An airline official said only a few seats were sold at cheaper rates. “More flights will be added to some of the routes based on the demand. Airlines will look at the patronage and then decide to add flights,” he added.
Basheer Ahmed of Metro Travels said, “The fare is high because of the demand for travel and fewer flights. There are only one or two flights to many small towns. The number of seats is also less because airlines use 70-seater planes. The fare will come down when the frequencies increase.”
27/05/18 Times of India

UNEP chief appreciates Cochin International Airport Ltd’s solar power plant

Kochi: Cochin International Airport Ltd’s (CIAL) solar power plant may get UN recognition soon, said Erik Solheim, executive director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), during his visit to the airport on Saturday. Solheim’s visit is aimed at spreading the word about the success of the solar power plant in Kerala across the world.

“The UN will be happy to recognise CIAL as the first fully solar energy-powered airport,” said Solheim.
“Last year was the first time in human history when we got more solar energy in the global grid than oil, gas, coal and nuclear combined. This is a big airport in the global scale which caters to around 10 million passengers. It was nice to see they are using the grounds in the solar plant to grow vegetables,” said Solheim.

Following his first stop in Kerala, Solheim will continue his visit to more states in India to check the different experiments the governments adopt in developing green farming techniques. He urged the government and the people to reduce the use of plastic which causes pollution that affects all creatures on earth.

He said he will be speaking with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers on June 5, in Delhi, where he will discuss the concerns over the rise of plastic pollution across the country. “The driving change developing countries like India and China make are very important to the world,” he added.
27/05/18 New Indian Express

Multi-modal transport hub on the anvil

Bengaluru: Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) completed 10 years on Thursday. Over the past decade, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has introduced various facilities to improve the passenger experience, including KSRTC Flybus, taxi zones, free baby stroller services and heli-taxis. Hari Marar, managing director and CEO, BIAL, spoke to TOI about the airport expansion plans and challenges lying ahead. Excerpts:
What are the major achievements of KIA in the past decade?
From serving 10 million passengers in 2008 to 26.9 million in 2018, we have steadily grown to become the third largest airport in the country. To keep up with such unprecedented growth and at the same time enable a seamless passenger experience is our greatest achievement.
What facilities can air passengers look forward to in the next 10 years?
Having partnered with Accenture to set up a digital roadmap for the airport, BIAL aims to introduce innovative services and products. Passengers can expect a multimodal transport hub at the airport. The need of the hour is to integrate airport access into city planning to improve the transport system. The second terminal with a garden will blend with the ethos of Bengaluru as a Garden City.

Will there be separate terminals for domestic and international flights once T2 is ready?
T2 is being designed as an integrated terminal to handle both domestic and international passengers. The final allocation of airline slots and traffic will depend on how the scenario evolves.
27/05/18 Christin Mathew Philip/Times of India

Land for Karnal airport on voluntary basis: Hry govt

Chandigarh: After protest by a section of farmers against land acquisition, Haryana Government on Saturday said land for Karnal Airport is to be procured purely on voluntary basis and that there is no question of any discrimination or coercion in this matter.

An official spokesman of the Civil Aviation Department described reports expressing concerns regarding acquisition of land as factually incorrect and divorced from truth.

He clarified that 280 acres of land had already been notified by the Civil Aviation Department on the e-Bhoomi portal of the state government under the policy for purchase of land voluntarily offered to government for development projects.

The two objectives of the policy are: A farmer is assured of approaching the government as a potential buyer for its projects; and the government can elicit if some landowners would be so keen about the benefits of a particular project that they would be willing to sell their land to Government for it.

This makes it clear that the land is to be procured purely on voluntary basis and there is no question of discrimination or coercion in the matter, the spokesman said.

He explained that the state government had decided to extend the existing airstrips in all five aerodromes of the state to leverage this infrastructure to take maximum advantage of the booming opportunities in the Civil Aviation sector, in view of the initiatives taken by the Central Government.

While Hisar Aerodrome is being developed as an International Aviation Hub, the other four airstrips at Karnal, Pinjore, Bhiwani and Narnaul shall be extended up to 5,000 ft. to accommodate medium-sized aircraft for various activities like parking, sub-basing, MRO, flying training as well as adventure sports for which the Civil Aviation Department shall be publishing an expression of interest very shortly.
27/05/18 Pioneer

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Mumbai: Flight forced to abort landing amid 'confusion' on runway

Mumbai: An Air India (AI) aircraft that was less than two minutes from touchdown at the Mumbai airport was told by air traffic control (ATC) to pull up and do a go-around after ATC noticed that an IndiGo plane on the ground, waiting to depart, had begun moving to enter the runway.
The civil aviation regulator is investigating the incident, which occurred around 9.45pm on Tuesday, during the evening peak hour. The congested Mumbai airport handles about 950 takeoffs and landings in 24 hours, all on a single operational runway. Since May 17, a navigation aid called the Instrument Landing System (ILS), which eases the workload of air traffic controllers and pilots during landing, has remained switched off for an upgrade.

9.42pm on Tuesday, an Alliance Air ATR aircraft for Bhavnagar was holding on taxiway N3, while the IndiGo A320 aircraft for Kolkata was holding on taxiway N1. Both aircraft were holding short of runway 27. Both pilots were awaiting ATC’s instruction to enter the runway for takeoff. At the same time, an AI A321 aircraft flying in from Ahmedabad was on final approach to land. ATC asked the Alliance Air commander to enter the runway, line up and wait. Pilots read back instructions given to them from ATC. “But both pilots read back the instruction, one after another,” said a source. Seconds later, ATC saw both aircraft moving to enter the runway. “ATC asked the IndiGo commander whether his A320 had left its holding point on taxiway N1.
The pilot replied in the affirmative and said the controller had instructed him to do so.” Meanwhile, the Alliance Air aircraft was given takeoff clearance, while the IndiGo aircraft was asked to hold. But by then the Air India aircraft on approach to land was about 4km from the runway’s threshold. ATC instructed the AI commander to do a go-around, climb and turn left. “When the Alliance Air flight was passing 800 feet, the AI aircraft was at 1,400 feet, about 5km behind. The AI aircraft then turned left as instructed by ATC. A minimum vertical separation of about 1,000 feet and horizontal separation of about 5.5 km is required to be maintained between two aircraft,” said the source. RK Saxena, general manager (air traffic management), Mumbai airport denied that there was a breach of separation between the Alliance Air and Air India aircraft at any point. “Both aircraft were in visual contact of the tower controller.
Aircraft that go around turn left over the runway, while the one that takes off flies straight ahead. There was no question of a breach of separation,” he said.
26/05/18 Manju V/Times of India


Will Navi Mumbai International Airport's first flight be on time?

Twenty-one years after the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) was conceived, the civil aviation ministry said earlier this month that meeting the December 2019 deadline for making NMIA operational would be tough. But the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which is executing the project, say they would be able to meet the deadline for the metropolitan's second airport.

The CIDCO officials said they are working day and night towards the end. They are carrying blasting activities daily for two hours to level Ulwe hill.

A visit to the construction site of the airport bears this out. One can see hundreds of workers pegging away at pre-development activities.

Villagers residing near the airport site claim the busy Uran-Panvel road, known for handling cargo traffic heading towards Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), is now seen lined with more than 100 dumpers and trailers moving up and down Ulwe hill, carrying construction debris and material from one place to another.

The pre-construction activity for the airport started last year but has seen several ups and downs owing to protests by local villagers over rehabilitation. Furthermore, monsoon-related works have slowed down the pace of construction work.

Lokesh Chandra, vice-chairman and managing director, CIDCO, said, "We are very well on track to meet the December 2019 deadline. We are working very hard day and night. Blasting is being carried out for two hours daily. In the afternoon, blasting is done between 1 pm and 2 pm, then between 5 pm and 6 pm for levelling Ulwe hill for the runways."

During these time windows, the least number of people are found near the site: labourers are on a break either for lunch or rest.

"Parallelly, river diversion work is also being executed," Chandra said.

CIDCO had roped in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-B) as a consultant, along with the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR), which is assisting with the explosives work.

Chandra added, "We have completed around 54 per cent of pre-development activity and as per our plan, we are very well on track. Though the monsoon will slow things down, we are sure of starting the first phase of the airport by December 2019."
26/05/18 Mehul R Thakkar/DNA

DGCA approves 2,290 metre runway at Surat airport

Surat: There is good news for flyers in the Diamond City. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved the use of 2,290 metre runway for landing of aircraft from Vesu-end of the airport.
Official sources said pending approval from the DGCA, the aircraft landing from Vesu-end of the airport were able to use only 1,905 metre runway, which has been increased to 2,290 metre. The approval for the 2,290 metre runway will end the issues of load penalty for airlines and dynamic airfares for passengers.
“We have received approval from DGCA for operating the full-length runway, except the displaced portion of 615 metre. The aircraft landing from Vesu-end will be able to use 2,290 metre runway, while the aircraft landing from Dumas side will be able to use full-length runway,” said airport director Dilip Sajnani.
Airlines operating from the Diamond City were facing a unique problem, especially during the summer months, known as ‘load penalty’. This means booking seats less than available.
26/05/18 Times of India

Shortage of material for runway repair, HC told

Chandigarh: Uncertainty looms over the completion of runway repair work at the Chandigarh International Airport, following shortage of material. As a petition filed in public interest on making the airport fully operational for international flights came up for resumed hearing, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was informed about the shortage.
Appearing before the High Court Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa, Assistant Solicitor-General of India Chetan Mittal submitted that procurement of aggregate material needed for runway construction was posing a problem.
Elaborating, he said a ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal on mining activities in some riverbeds in Haryana had aggravated the problem. The samples collected from Pathankot and Yamunanagar did not withstand the test. He said the material had to be taken from riverbeds of the Ghaggar.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation also presented its feasibility report on the construction of an underpass to the airport from the Zirakpur side. However, the Air Force said it was required to study to the report in view of the sensitivity of its location. The case will now come up for hearing on May 29.
The airport is scheduled to remain closed from May 12 to May 31 for ongoing runway upgrade work. The Indian Air Force had initially requested for the closure of the airport between May 12 and May 31, or May 14 and June 2 for laying final layers during the recarpeting process.
25/05/18 Tribune

A journey on board flight of success: Kempegowda International Airport celebrates its 10th year

Bengaluru: May 23, 2008. It was a perfect cool Friday night in Bengaluru, but for a group of people huddled around an air traffic control centre, the tension was palpable. A flight was due to land at the newly inaugurated Bangalore International Airport, which is now known as Kempegowda International Airport, located about 30 kilometres from the heart of the city.

An Air India flight IT 609 from Mumbai which touched down at 10:40 PM and took off at 12:05 AM was the first air traffic movement that the airport witnessed. And it was possible due to efforts of several staffers involved.“I had not slept for 72 hours. We were on the verge of achieving something remarkable. While worldover, airports were transitioned in a phased manner, here we had to pick up the mantle of handling 300 take-offs and landings and 10.2 million passengers, overnight,” said Hari Marar, Managing Director and CEO at the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). At the time of the Kempegowda International Airport’s take-off to a remarkable journey ahead, he was the Director of Operations.

However, the journey of the airport, which completed 10 years of operations on Friday, has witnessed many ‘turbulences’ so far. It was commissioned in the midst of protests. The first flight to the airport was operated even as employees of the HAL airport, the city’s travel hub till then, were protesting on the streets.

Over the years, the airport has been criticised for slow expansion, its distance from the city and other factors. From facing pressure to allow the HAL airport to operate to seeing strikes because of high toll rates collected outside its premises, the airport has seen many hiccups through the last decade. But the airport authorities have struggled against all these odds to provide excellent facilities at KIA, which now handles above 25 million passengers every year.

“Our first goal was to work together to increase the efficiency of the airport. Once this was achieved, we started looking at value addition and providing entertainment for passengers. Today, the airport experience itself is a memorable part of the vacation for many travellers,” Marar said.

“The planning in the initial stages was lopsided in terms of estimation. But all said and done, BIAL has done a reasonably good job. Along with the airport, the Air Traffic Controllers must also be thanked for the amazing job they have done of ensuring flight movements without any incidents,” said brand consultant and frequent flyer Harish Bijoor.

Bijoor, however, cautioned BIAL against complacency as well.“We have an airport that caters to today’s needs but not tomorrow’s requirements. With a large floating population entering and leaving the city daily, the airport must fast track its forward estimates,” he said.
26/05/18 New Indian Express

Air India flight overbooked, leaves passengers in Delhi airport

New Delhi:  Some passengers of an Air India Delhi-Rajkot flight were left aggrieved on Friday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi after the airline denied boarding to them on the ground that the flight was overbooked.

The airlines did not allow some passengers to board the Rajkot-bound flight scheduled for around 5 pm from Delhi.

Confirming the incident, an Air India spokesperson said it was a "rare occurrence" and that only two passengers were affected.

They are being send to their destinations through an alternative flight. The passengers are believed to have protested the incident at the airport terminal, the spokesperson said.
26/05/18 PTI/Asian Age

Karnal airport may hit land acquisition wall

Chandigarh: The Karnal airport project, recently announced under the regional connectivity scheme of the Central Government, may run into rough weather with farmers up in arms against the land acquisition for the project.
In the eye of the storm is the recent notification to acquire 280 acres of land in Karnal to extend the runway of the proposed airport under the new Direct Purchase Policy of the Haryana Government which the farmers alleged was “discriminatory and illogical”.
“The state government’s land acquisition policy is discriminatory and unfair to the farmers, especially from Kalvehedi and Neval villages, whose land the state government intended to acquire for the airport,” alleged Inderpreet Singh, a farmer from Kalvehadi.
Farmers of Kalvehedi village are virtually being forced for part with their land through the government-appointed land aggregators under the new policy while Section 26 of the Land Acquisition Act made it mandatory for the state government to pay collector rates for the acquired land. “The collector rates in neighbouring Budha Khera, Chapra Khera and Phusgarh villages is over Rs 1 crore per acre,” said another farmer Bhavneet Singh Kalyan.
While the BJP-ruled states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa were paying the compensation four times the market rate to the farmers for the acquired land, the Haryana Government was giving a raw deal to the farmers as far as compensation for the acquired land was concerned, alleged Inderpreet Singh.
25/05/18 Pradeep Sharma/Tribune

AAI Chairman Visits Umroi Airport To Take Stocks Of Obstacles

Shillong: The chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Guruprasad Mohapatra and his team would hold a meeting with Meghalaya Chief Secretary on Monday to discuss about the removal of obstacles near the airport to pave the way for the expansion of the runway of the airport.

The AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra  who arrived at  Umroi airport here on Saturday, gave  a power presentation about the obstacles surrounding the airport.

In addition, the technical team of the AAI was also here gave  a similar presentation on the obstacles near the airport.

“Removal of obstacles is important for making the airport functional   and before installing ILS, several obstructions in terms of hills, tree and power lines in and around the airport have to be removed.

“Once the obstacles are removed, the runway expansion will start simultaneously and there are no issues with funding,” the AAI Chairman said.
26/05/18 Shillong Times

Police record statement in case against builders, SMC and AAI

Surat: City police have recorded the statement of Surat Airport Action Committee (SAAC) president Sanjay Ezhawa in connection with his complaint against realtors of 18 residential projects and officials of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Public Works Department (PWD) accusing them of criminal negligence by illegally constructing buildings in violation of terms and conditions of no-objection certificates (NOCs) issued by the AAI, on Friday.
SAAC president pointed out that the RTI data given by SMC and AAI revealed that 18 residential buildings toward Vesu side of the runway at Surat airport were obstructing the landing of aircraft. The builders and architects provided proper data to all the authorities, including AAI for obtaining NOCs, but the coordinates at the time of obtaining NOCs were different when the original sites were surveyed in 2017.
The NOCs of the 18 projects were issued between 2007 and 2013. The AAI did area inspection in 2007 and the next inspection was done in 2017. However, the illegal construction of the buildings took place in the gap of 10 years when no survey was done. As per the terms and conditions of the NOC, if the builders, developers or architects provide wrong information, the NOC stood cancelled and that the structures need to be demolished.
The AAI, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Civil Aviation Ministry kept mum on the building obstacles to the airport in Surat. The obstruction of 12.30 metre is actually hampering the development of the airport. Recently, the DGCA displaced 615 metre of runway due to building height obstruction, bringing the runway length from 2,905 metre to just 2,290 metre.
26/05/18 Times of India

Lohegaon airport’s new food dispenser gets robotic touch

Pune: In a first across all Airports Authority of India (AAI) facilities in the country, the Lohegaon airport on Friday started a robot-assisted food dispensing machine and outlet for passengers.
“The state-of-the-art machine will enhance the customer experience,” said Pune airport director Ajay Kumar. TOI had first reported about the machine to be set up at the facility in early April.
Apart from the food dispensing machine, the solar power plant at the airport, which was delayed by nearly three weeks, was also inaugurated. Officials stated that the plant is capable of generating 300KW of power.
“AAI’s regional executive director Keshav Sharma inaugurated the food dispensing machine. He also inaugurated the solar power plant at the airport on Thursday. Food sourced from different city outlets will be available at the outlet. It is a modern machine that dispenses food once the customer makes a selection on an iPad connected to it and pays the amount through a debit/credit card or cash. A robotic arm delivers the food after heating it in the microwave oven,” Kumar said.
26/05/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

Friday, May 25, 2018

Sanjoy accuses Rijiju of sabotaging airport project

Itanagar:  Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Takam Sanjoy on Thursday alleged that MoS for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju was using his (Sanjoy’s) name to stop the establishment of an airport in Itanagar.
In a stinging statement, Sanjoy alleged that Rijiju instigated people to file cases in court to stall the airport project and also gave the whole project a political colour.
“One reason for the delay in the airport project is cited to be that Takam Sanjoy is going to get plenty of compensation money. Am I not Indian? Am I not APST? Why deny the right to compensation to me? If bills are fake and false, go and check in the DC’s office. I bought my land in Hollongi 30 to 35 years ago, that too from local Nyishis. The best way to get me out from getting compensation is to remove my land at the airport area from the Indian map and build the airport,” the APCC president said.
“Compensation in any centrally-funded project is a must, whether it is airport, railways, trans-highway, army or defence establishment, etc, as per the law. In fact, at Hollongi the rates should have been two to four times higher than the floor rates as per the new Land Acquisition Act. But local people agreed for lower rates,” he said.
He further added: “Some BJP workers go to Kiren Rijiju, complaining that the opposition will get money and therefore don’t sanction the project. Kiren forwarded those complaint letters to the civil aviation minister a long time back. What is the justification for this act? When I was member of parliament, I managed to get Rs 126 crore as compensation for the Nechipu-Bana-Seppa-Pake Kessang-Leporiang-Sagalee-Hoj road project, and all the beneficiaries are local tribal. I did not get any benefit from it.”
24/05/18 Arunachal Times

AAI hopes to curb flight delays with launch of new airport system

Chennai: Soon, the city airport can cut delays and add more flights as Airports Authority of India (AAI) launched the Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) system on Thursday. The system, which will be introduced on a trial basis in the first week of June, will help in better planning of departures, turnaround time of planes, route planning by sharing information between airport staff, airlines, ground handlers, security service and air traffic control.
A senior AAI official said that the airport would be able to handle planes efficiently leading to an eventual increase in aircraft handling capacity. “The primary focus is on reducing aircraft holding delays at the end of the runway. This results in substantial saving of aviation fuel. Planes will be allowed to pushback and taxi to the runway as per a sequence decided automatically based on runway capacity at a given time,” he added.
Congestions occur because planes pushback and taxi towards the runway but have to wait for permission to enter the runway for take-off. This wait, though not longer than at airports abroad, leads to waste of time and fuel. Inputs from Airport Operations Control Centre will be processed and shared with airlines, groundhandling staff and air traffic control automatically so giving clearance for planes is easier for the air traffic control. Clearance will be given based on realtime information about the prepardness of the plane to depart. This reduces the workload of the ATC and pilot while maintaining optimum runway capacity, said a statement.
A K Dutta, member, Air Navigation Services, and I N Murthy, member, Operations, inaugurated the system at the airport on Thursday.
25/05/18 Times of India

Almost 3,000 flights delayed in a week from Mumbai Airport

Around 3,000 international and domestic flights arriving or departing from Mumbai airport were delayed in the past one week as the Airport Authorities of India (AAI) is upgrading the runway equipment known as the instrument landing system (ILS). The ILS helps pilots with navigation while landing at the airport. In the same period, there were several cancellations and diversions too.

The runway equipment upgrade work is expected to continue up to June 5. However, the number of flights getting affected has come down in the past two days. "Wednesday and Thursday were better than the previous days," an airport official said. "There will be improvement in terms delays going down in the coming days at the airport."

According to Flightradar 24, the air traffic monitoring portal, on Thursday, around 55 arriving flights were delayed up to 8.15 pm as compared to overall 173 arriving flights delayed on Wednesday. Furthermore, around 220 departing flights were delayed on Thursday up to 8.15 pm compared to 348 on Wednesday.
25/05/18 DNA

Jet Allahabad flight from June 14

Patna: Jet Airways will connect the city with Allahabad from June 14.
The flight is being launched under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme.
The new flight will leave Allahabad at 8am and reach Patna at 9.40am. For the return journey, the flight will take off from Patna at 10.10am and touch down at Allahabad at 11.50am.

The flight will operate thrice a week -Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Jet Airways will use a 72-seater aircraft for this service.

With Allahabad on the map, Patna will now have direct flights to 11 cities. At present, direct air service from Patna is available to 10 cities -New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Lucknow, Pune, Varanasi, Ranchi, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Also, Indigo will start a flight between Patna and Bangalore from June 3.

This flight will leave Bangalore at 9.40pm and reach Patna at 12.05am. After four hours of stay in Patna, the flight, on its return journey, will leave Patna at 4.10am and land in Bangalore at 6.40am.
25/05/18 Nishant Sinha/Telegraph

UN Environment head to visit Cochin international airport

Kochi: UN Environment head Erik Solheim will visit Cochin International Airport, which is the world's first completely solar-powered airport, tomorrow, the agency said in a release here.

More than 10 million people travel through the airport each year, and it has made considerable monetary savings through its solar power plants (present installation capacity 30 MWp).

The power plant is accompanied by a solar farm, with vegetables grown below and between solar panels.

Ahead of his first visit to the state, Solheim, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, said, "Kerala has long been a leader in human development and I am excited to be visiting the state and learning more about environmental innovation."

Many countries in the world have much to learn from the state's experiences with the first fully-solar powered airport in the world, a clear example that being environment-friendly is now a conscious business decision for many, a UNEP release quoting Solheim said.

During his a day-long visit tomorrow, Solheim will also use the opportunity to learn more about other green initiatives in the southern state.
25/05/18 Outlook

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Jet Airways to set up office at Ozar airport

Nashik: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has allotted space at its swanky airport in Ozar to the private airline operator Jet Airways to set up its office.
The airline is also in the process of finalising the staff and appointing a station manager.
The airline would kick off its Delhi-Nashik flights from June 15. The flight will operate thrice a week.
HAL sources said it has allotted space to Jet Airways to set up office space at Ozar airport, 20 kms from the city.
Jet Airways officials said that as HAL has allotted space at Ozar airport, the airline is in the process of establishing its new office.
“The airline is also in the process of finalising the staff for operations at the airport to man that office,” added the official.
Jet Airways will appoint a station manager at the airport from the first week of June.
In January, the union ministry of civil aviation announced the second phase of Udan, in which five airline operators, including Jet Airways won the bids for connecting to total seven cities- Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Goa, Bhopal and Hindan.
Jet Airways has already announced to launch of its Delhi-Nashik return flights from June 15. It has started bookings for the flights from May 14. The airline will deploy 168-seater aircraft Boeing 737-800 for the services from Nashik airport.
24/05/18 Tushar Pawar/Times of India

Air India Express commits to launching int'l Surat ops

Air India Express has committed to launching international services out of Surat in Gujarat in northern India within two months of the airport getting the customs notified status, The Times of India has reported.

"Air India Express is waiting for Central Government to approve the customs notified status for Surat airport. Within one month after the customs notified status is given to the airport, Air India Express will launch a Surat to Kochi Int'l flight and in two months from Surat to Sharjah," Surat Airport Action Committee (SAAC) President Sanjay Ezhawa has said.

In February 2018, the Indian government allocated INR10 million rupee (USD146,500) in order to equip Surat airport with the necessary immigration facilities to allow international services out of the airport.
23/05/18 ch-aviation

Two aircraft delay at RGIA leads to passengers protest

Two aircrafts failed to take off as per the scheduled time from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Shamshabad following which passengers registered their protest.

The two separate flights set to take off on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning failed to take off due to technical reasons.
The airline officials said that the authorities pressed into service, aircraft maintenance engineers and sorted out the issues.
The Saudia airlines flight bound to Jeddah was scheduled to depart from the Hyderabad airport at 12.50 pm on Tuesday but took off around 12 am on Wednesday. The other flight - SpiceJet SG 511 bound to Bangalore from Hyderabad was supposed to depart around 10.40 am on Wednesday but it took off at 2.55 pm.
22/05/18 ANI/Hans India

‘BLR Airport Habba’ on May 26

Bengaluru: The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year by organising a "BLR Airport Habba" on Saturday.

The event, which will begin at 2 pm at the Haj Terminal of the airport, will have performances by top artistes, music concerts and workshops, besides food and beverage stalls, flea market and a gamers' paradise. Playback singer Shaan, DJ Jasmeet, city-based musician Sagar Shastri and others will be performing.

In a first, employees of Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) will also be performing. "Workshops such as lahe lahe, aero modelling, clay pot, Dream Catcher, Decode X&Y and paper marbling will also be part of the event which will continue until midnight," a statement from the airport authorities said.
The airport began operations in May 2008 and it is currently the busiest airport in south India and the third largest in the country. Last year, 25 million passengers used the KIA.
24/05/18 New Indian Express

Govt plans to hand over O&M of Ahmedabad, Jaipur, three more airport terminals to private players

New Delhi: The aviation ministry is revising the terms of handing over operation and management (O & M) of airport terminals at Ahmedabad and Jaipur to private players after failing to do so under the old terms. Aviation secretary R N Choubey said earlier O & M of only the terminal and car parking was sought to be handed over to private player. Now, the management of airside and cargo is being added to the list. And on the same principle, O & M of three more airport terminals — which are yet to be decided — will be offered to private players.
“Under the revised terms, bids for Ahmedabad and Jaipur will be issued by June 15 and then by July-end, bids for three more airports will be floated,” Choubey said. Under the previous bid terms, Ahmedabad and Jaipur had got one valid bid. Being a single bid, the government had decided not to hand over the terminals to them.
“The ownership of these airports will remain with the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The revenue share model has also been tweaked from sharing gross revenue to a per passenger revenue now,” Choubey said. The government is tightlipped which are the three other airports terminals that would be bid out.
23/05/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Airport runway lights fail; flights diverted, delayed

Vasco: Few Goa-bound evening flights were either diverted or delayed following electrical faults in runway lights at Dabolim Airport, forcing Naval ATC to issue NOTAM to close the runway.

According to a senior AAI official at Dabolim International airport, the naval ATC issued NOTAM in evening stopping all landing at the airport till 10.30 pm. “They say that runway lights have been closed due to some electrical faults. I don’t know what the actual fault is, but flights are being diverted and delayed,” the officer said under the condition of anonymity.
24/05/18 Goacom

AAI to add new conditions in bids for Ahmedabad, Jaipur airports

New Delhi: The Airport Authority of India has decided to revise bid conditions for Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports to include airside operations and cargo business in its partial privatisation model, a senior government official said.

A fresh tender will be floated next month with these two new conditions as part of privatising operations and management of terminal building and parking side area at Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports. “Only GVK-MIAL was found to be a valid bid. To avoid a single-bid scenario, we have decided to re-tender operations and management of Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports. The tender document is likely to be issued by June 15,” civil aviation secretary RN Choubey said.

The modernisation process of these airports started in 2016 but failed to generate interest among large players. After several extension in deadlines, bid conditions were liberalised last year following which Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports received three and four bids, respectively.
24/05/18 Financial Express

Leh airport’s expansion

Leh airport, world’s unique airport in terms of its location at highest altitude, decidedly assumes much importance and its expansion and modernization is much required. The urge was felt and  an impulse got generated for its expansion several years back, looking to the increase in the passengers and the flights,  planned by the Union Government but strangely enough, became a victim of uncertainty of administrative clarity,  procedural wilderness and absence of decisions taking abilities. These all, pathetically have resulted in “no take -off” of the development and expansion of this airport. It sounds quite paradoxical that Airport Authority India’s local officers even feign innocence about the likely date of the work on this project getting started.
Existing passenger handling capacity being inadequate, no provision for new parking bays, absence of terminal building and associated dearth of facilities, necessitated start of the work on the project at an early date and with the requisite speed but nothing of the sort has taken place as yet. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Develop-mental Council Leh and District Administration have expressed concern over the inordinate delay over the start of the project.
To start with,  a large chunk of land was required to be acquired and the process took a long time than required since the land, though belonging to the State Government, was under possession of the Indian Air Force. They could not part with the land unless alternate piece of land was provided to them as they had to shift their utilities before vacating it.  Could all this system of avoidable procedures not be evaded or circumvented? It is today’s reality that passengers do not mind paying extra, which they do , provided they get better facilities on airports including more flights to accommodate surge in the number of travelling people preferring to fly especially in the instant case.
24/05/18 Dailyexcelsior

Airport staff seek safe take-off, landing

Visakhapatnam: The Airfield Environment Management Committee meeting was chaired by Joint Collector G Srijana here on Wednesday. During the meeting, officials of the airport informed the issues in operating flights and asked the committee to take immediate steps for safe landing and take-off the flights.

The officials also brought to the notice of the committee that they are facing tough times due to various reasons to ensure safe landing and take-off the flights. Airport, INS Dega, Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam Port, GVMC, Irrigation, Police and Pollution Control Board officials were present at the meeting.
Responding on the issues, the Joint Collector directed the officials to clear all the issues raised by the airport administration. She directed the officials to clear the bushes, debris and garbage close to the airfield. Due to the garbage and other waste material being dumped close to the airport, eagles and birds flying close to the runway and creating troubles to the pilots.
The officials should conduct awareness camps to educate the residents in and around the areas of the airport, Srijana directed. While speaking about the flood waters from the Meghadrigedda reservoir and heavy rains, the waters entering the airport, the Joint Collector directed the irrigation officials that there is a need to construct permanent drainage system in and around airfield to divert the flood waters.
24/05/18 Hans India

Administration gears up for Bhuntar airstrip expansion

The district administration has initiated steps to submit a report related to the expansion of the Bhuntar airport runway. A team of officers reviewed the land around the airport to seek feasibility of its expansion.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, during his sojourn in Kullu and Manali, had talked about the proposal to expand the runway after which the administration has started its preparations for the feasibility report related to land acquisition for the expansion of the runway.
Kullu SDM Amit Guleria said the land required to expand the runway by 300 metres in the first phase of expansion was reviewed. The administration had started preparations to send its report to the state government and the airport authorities after selecting the land. He added that the land would also be marked on the banks of the Beas using modern machinery.
The airport authorities also conducted surveys through IIT-Roorkee for the expansion of the runway.
Kullu Airport Director AA Ansari said there was proposal to expand the runway by 660 metre as per the report of the IIT engineers. He said there was a proposal to increase the length of the runway from 1,052 metres to 1,712 metres. The course of the Beas would also have to be altered to acquire the land.
Due to the short runway, the 70-seat ATR-72 aircraft, being used by Air-India on the Kullu and Delhi route, is allowed to ferry around 20 passengers from Kullu due to load stipulation. The airlines, therefore, charges a hefty fare and the seats are not available during the peak summer season by even spending over Rs 20,000 for the one-way travel.
24/05/18 Abhinav Vashisht/Tribune

Wide-bodied aircraft may not return to Calicut

Kozhikode: The chances for Calicut International Airport to resume the operation of wide-bodied aircraft in the near future look bleak, with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) disapproving the compatibility study report submitted by the Airports Authority of India on the operation of the modern versions of Boeing and Airbus at the airport.

A senior AAI official in New Delhi told The Hindu on Wednesday that the Director of Operations (Aero Standards), D.C. Sharma, had apprised the Calicut airport authorities that the compatibility study report on the operation of wide-bodied aircraft did not include mitigating measures to be taken by airline and airport operators in respect of non-compliance with the formal requirements.

This was after the Flights Standards Division of the DGCA examined the proposal to commence the operation of wide-bodied types — B-777 200 Extended Range; B777- 200 Longer Range; Boeing 787 - 800 (Dreamliner), which is long-haul and mid-size; Boeing 777- 300 Extended Range, and Airbus 330 — at the airport.
D
The official said the safety assessment done by airline companies was generic in nature, taking all aircraft into consideration, and the responsibility arising out of residual risk was not accepted by airline companies and the airport.

The DGCA decision comes even as airline companies such as Emirates, Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines), and Air India that served West Asia expressed willingness to operate wide-bodied aircraft.

The operation of wide-bodied aircraft under Code E was banned at the airport from May 2015 in the wake of a Court of Inquiry report on the Air India Express Boeing 737 crash in Mangaluru in May 2010.
24/05/18 Biju Govind/The Hindu

Srinagar International Airport, a cruel joke!

Srinagar: For a change, let us see how the airport is described in the famous online encyclopedia, Wikepedia. It says, “Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport (IATA: SXR, ICAO: VISR) also known as Srinagar Airport is an international airport that serves Srinagar, the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is owned by the Indian Air Force, and the Airports Authority of India operates a civil enclave at the airport. Although, designated an international airport in 2005, the Srinagar airport does not receive scheduled international flights as of April 2018, but has seen Hajj flights. It has an integrated terminal and one asphalt runway. The airport has bus and taxi service to the city of Srinagar, which lies 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the north”.
So, if one considers all aspects of the Airport, it appears to be an apology to a real International Airport in many respects. The Airport itself with its runway, control tower and other ancillary facilities is the property of the Indian Air Force who maintains it and controls all flying operations. The civilian side has only an enclave, an apron and outside parking area. Again, because of absence of any operations involving international flights, it is a misnomer to call it an international airport. Even the domestic flights are totally dependent upon the Air Traffic Control of the Indian Air Force unlike other civilian airports in the country. In spite of Precision Approach Radar and other sophisticated instrument landing facilities, the civilian flights get cancelled in poor visibility and fog, especially in winter.

One of the most important requirements for any tourist destination to attract high end foreign tourists is easy accessibility. The destination should be accessible to international airlines. As mentioned in Wikipedia, in 2005 Srinagar Airport was up graded and declared to be an “International” Airport. In fact, a Dubai-Srinagar flight was also started. However, the whole exercise turned out to be something in the name only and not with honest and sincere intentions. Firstly, the Airline, Air India Express which operated the flight was an Air India subsidiary meant for the labour class in the Gulf Region. It had all economy configurations with no in-flight facilities. One of the European groups which flew to Srinagar from Dubai in this flight swore never again to fly Air India! Secondly, Pakistan did not allow overflying to aircraft flying in or out of Srinagar which increased the flying time from 3 to 5 hours and made the flight uneconomical. The Pakistani objection could be overruled if the flight had an hour long stopover in Delhi ass flights from Jaipur and Amritsar have. Allegedly, even this namesake international flight was discontinued on the intervention of security agencies. Unfortunately, the “Democratic” India is suffering from a security phobia and every positive thing gets shelved for security reasons. They have the last word!
There is a way out to both maintain the name “International” and allow direct access to high end global tourists both leisure and adventure without any security apprehensions. Let International Charters from various foreign tourism markets be allowed to fly in direct to Srinagar. Pakistanis too will have to co-operate in allowing overflying to these International Charters coming from the west if they have any consideration for the well-being of Kashmiri people. The Charters from the South East Asia can come direct without any hindrance. Also Charters from Central Asia can come directly to Srinagar. Goa has a short season of about five months from November to March. It gets more than a 1000 charters from Russia, Central Asia, Europe and now even from Middle East. It is because of these Charters that the Tourism has received a tremendous boost. Why can’t we have a similar thing in Kashmir?
23/05/18 M.Ashraf/Greater Kashmir

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Navigation aid on holiday, 350 flights delayed

Mumbai: About 350 flights that operated into or out of Mumbai airport on Tuesday were delayed, with departures delayed by an average of 30 minutes and arrivals by 15 minutes. It’s the first time since the city airport began handling flights with only basic navigation aid last week that the quantum of delayed flights have gone below 500.
A total of 90 arrivals and 282 departures were reported to be delayed by flightradar24, a live-flight tracking app. With only basic navigation aid available for flights landing on main runway 27 between May 17 and June 5, the airport had witnessed severe flight delays in the initial days. On Monday, 159 arrivals and 322 departures were delayed.
23/05/18 Times of India

IIT-Madras, AAI in pact for research on navigation systems

Chennai: IIT-Madras has joined hands with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for a collaborative research on Air Navigation Systems (ANS). This will support the AAI in addressing aviation infrastructure and air traffic management challenges to benefit all the 125 airports in the country.

An MoU was signed today between Ravindra Gettu, Dean, Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research, IIT-Madras, and AK Dutta, Member (Air Navigation Services), AAI, a press release from the Institute said.

The MoU provides for transfer of knowledge and skill by IIT-Madras experts in mathematics, analytics, artificial intelligence, and data mining solutions essential to carry out research, the release said.
23/05/18 Business Line

After ICAO audit, DGCA tasked with licensing traffic control operators

New Delhi: Based on the audit of India’s air traffic control operations by the International Civil Aviation Organization in January, the civil aviation ministry has assigned the task of licensing air traffic control operators (ATCOs) to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is expected to firm up the processes to undertake the exercise by year-end. So far, the licensing and certification of ATCOs is done by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which handles the air navigation services.

“ICAO, after its audit, pointed out that the licensing of ATCOs should be done by an independent safety regulator and the civil aviation ministry has taken a view that it should be done by DGCA. The processes put in place by AAI are very efficient and we may simply adopt those but it might take till December for the regulator to start the exercise,” a senior DGCA official told The Indian Express, adding that the aviation watchdog will also be developing a surveillance system to oversee the almost 3,000 air traffic controllers in the country.

Post its full audit of the Indian civil aviation sector in November, the Montreal-based agency revised downwardly the effective implementation percentage of the ‘licensing’ aspect in India to 26.04 per cent, significantly lower than the global average of 72.88 per cent. However, in terms of air navigation services, the agency rated India’s effective implementation at 64 per cent, higher than the global 63.33 per cent.

ICAO conducted the full audit of India’s civil aviation sector in November, when it studied various aspects such as accident investigation, operations, airworthiness, air navigation, aerodromes, organisational structures, legislation, licensing patterns, policies for implementing laid down procedures, among others.

In response to an e-mail query sent by The Indian Express on the red-flags with ATCO licensing in the country, an ICAO spokesperson said: “The release of information pertaining to the outcomes of a safety oversight audit mission is governed by an agreement between ICAO and our 192 member States …”
23/05/18 Indian Express

Homage paid to Mangaluru air crash victims

Mangaluru:  The victims of Air India Express flight IX812, that crashed at Mangalore International Airport on May 22, 2010, were remembered at the memorial site here on Tuesday. A silent tribute was paid to all the 158 lives that were lost in the accident.The flight had originated from Dubai.

This year, a granite plaque resembling the tail portion of the ill-fated aircraft has been established at the memorial park, where 12 unidentified bodies of the crash were laid to rest. It was a low key-affair of silence and solitude as visitors observed one-minute of silence for the victims and offered floral tributes.
23/05/18 New Indian Express

AAIB to probe runway mishap at Shirdi airport

Mumbai: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will be initiating a probe into the incident involving an Alliance Air aircraft, which ended up in the Runway Safety Area after overshooting the runway by 117 metres during landing at Shirdi airport on Monday.

Forty-two passengers on board the flight from Mumbai to Shirdi were declared safe after the incident. Officials said a preliminary probe revealed that the aircraft, an ATR turbo-prop, had encountered strong tail winds during landing and had a long float before touching down. “After touchdown there was less runway available and the aircraft overshot before coming to a halt in the gravel,” an official said.

Shirdi airport officials said that engineers of Air India arrived from Mumbai and retrieved the aircraft on Tuesday morning following which the airport was reopened to air traffic. The two pilots have been grounded pending investigation. An Alliance Air flight each from Mumbai and Hyderabad operated as usual on Tuesday.
22/05/18 The Hindu

Central team at Utkela airstrip

Bhawanipatna: A four-member team headed by joint secretary of the ministry of civil aviation Usha Padhi visited the Utkela airstrip in Kalahandi district on Monday to review the infrastructure in place there.

Utkela is among the airports that have been listed under the Ude Desh Ka Am Nagarik (Udan) scheme - a regional airport development and regional connectivity scheme of the Centre -with the objective of making air travel affordable and getting more people to fly.

If things go to plan, the airport can be operational with daily flights to Bhubaneshwar and Raipur in September by private air service provider Air Odisha.

The team, which included managing director of the Airports Authority of India Vineet Gulati and headed by the joint secretary of the ministry of civil aviation Usha Padhi, landed at the air field in Utkela and held a review meeting with Kalahandi district collector Anjan Kumar Manik, Kalahandi police superintendent Sandeep Madkar and executive engineer of the public works department Ajit Kumar Babu.
Padhi expressed satisfaction with the available infrastructure and progress of work at the airfield. Construction of the 918-metre runway has been completed and the airport is now an A-2 category one. Aircraft with 32 seats can now land here.

Padhi laid emphasis on construction of the airport terminal, fuel station, fire tender services and taxi stands.

Utkela airfield is spread over 31 acres. The airport needs another eight acres to make the airfield included under the Udan scheme.

District collector Anjan Kumar Manik said there would be no problems in the acquisition of the eight acres for the airfield.
23/05/18 Sudeep Kumar Guru/Telegraph

Flight Delays from Mumbai Airport Come Down to 30 Minutes

The congestion at the city airport was handled better on Day 5 of the maintenance and upgrade of the instrument landing system (ILS), with the average delay time of 500 flights to and from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) coming down to 30 minutes.

On Sunday, incoming flights were delayed by 30 minutes, while departing by 50 minutes. A senior airport official said on Monday all departing flights took off on time for a short duration in the afternoon, and arrivals were delayed by 12 minutes.

According to flightradar24, a Swedish internet-based service that gives real-time aircraft flight information on a map, the average delay in departing flights was 45 minutes and arrival delay was around 14 minutes around early evening.

"Increased supervision, innovative ideas and utilisation of air traffic flow management (ATFM) system to regulate arriving flights and airport collaborative decision making (ACDM) system to regulate departures led to reduced delays in flight operations," said a senior AAI official.

ILS maintenance work started on May 17 and will go on till June 5.

According to travel portals, the most affected routes were Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
According to airport authorities, a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued to airlines as well as pilots in advance, implying they should have conveyed it to fliers. Sudhakar Reddy, president, Air Passengers Association of India (APAI), said, "Although the maintenance is crucial for safety of passengers, it is highly condemnable if passengers were not informed about the planned maintenance work in advance. As summer is the time when almost all flights are packed, opting for clubbing of passengers gets difficult owing to the load."
22/05/18 Neha LM Tripathi/Mcclatchy/AviationPros
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Here’s how you can get access to airport lounges in India for free!

India has witnessed some really good growth in people preferring flights over other conventionally preferred modes of transport. According to IATA, India is leading growth amongst markets in global passenger traffic by showing 41 consecutive months of double-digit increases.

With a rise in air traffic, air terminals have also faced problems like congestion and overcrowding. According to figures released by the Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), a whopping 34,000 passengers jostle for space in an acre at the International Airport! Overcrowding is also why airlines operating at Delhi International Airport’s Terminal 1 were asked to move their operations to T2.
Overcrowding at airports causes a lot of inconveniences. Unavailability of charging ports, lack of places to rest, queues at food stops and slow Wi-Fi connectivity are just amongst a few of the various problems faced by traveling passengers. Fortunately, airport lounges solve most of these problems. But airport lounges definitely don’t come cheap. Airport lounges in India charge for admission anywhere between INR 800 to INR 5,000 for just a couple of hours. But don’t worry, we have a way to dodge those expensive admission charges (not illegally of course) and get you in lounges all over India for INR 125 only! Yes, you heard it right! So how does it happen? Let’s get right into it.

To get access to airport lounges there are a lot of services that let you access lounges all over the world for a membership fee. Priority Pass is the most popular way to get access to over 1200 lounges all over the world. But the cheapest plan starts from $99 a year apart from a visit fee of $27 to each lounge. If you’re a frequent traveler around the globe and don’t mind shelling extra money for more comfort and convenience then getting a Priority Pass is a no-brainer for you. But for domestic travelers, the hack that we have might just make a lot of sense.

In India, Visa, Mastercard & Diners Club also give access to lounges as an added benefit on selected cards from their portfolio. But for ones who don’t have these cards getting a Paytm card will do the trick. Yes! Paytm’s Payments Bank offers its users a physical Rupay Platinum Debit card as an option. To get a physical debit card issued users have to pay a one-time fee of INR 125 and then a yearly subscription fee of INR 100 every year, thereafter.

Being a Rupay Platinum Debit card, the users are entitled to several benefits, of which, getting access to airport lounges in India is one. A Rupay Platinum Card will gain you access to 47 lounges all over India. These lounges include lounges at both, International & Domestic terminals. You can check the list of lounges involved in the program out here.
23/05/18 Prasham Parikh/Eoto

Will Bengaluru, Kochi flights slam brakes on luxury bus operations?

Tiruchy: With Tiruchy airport likely to host services to Bengaluru and Kochi next month, several long-distance luxury bus operators in the city fear they would lose a chunk of their profits.

Currently, Tiruchy-Bengaluru is one of the most preferred destinations for the luxury bus operators. The poor connectivity by rail and air to the country’s IT hub augured well for the luxury bus operators operating in this route.

But, with IndiGo planning operations in Bengaluru and Kochi a major portion of the luxury bus users would prefer air route as there is only a marginal difference in ticket fare between the two. For instance, currently, the flight fare to Bengaluru from Tiruchy is Rs 1785 (*subject to change). Meanwhile, the luxury bus operator is charging around Rs 1400 for the journey to Bengaluru. Similarly, the air-ticket to Kochi is Rs 1593 (*subject to change) whereas luxury bus ticket rate is Rs 1130.

“One can reach Bengaluru by air in one hour and minutes. But, it would take minimum seven hours by road. Like Bengaluru, a trip to Kochi by road would take almost 8 hours while by air it takes only one hour.  So passenger who is willing to pay a bit extra would definitely prefer the flight. However, the flight rate would fluctuate and a booking done closer the time of journey would be expensive. This apart, the airline has only announced only two flights. So, it would not immediately make a big impact,” said R Ramesh, a city-based travel agent.
23/05/18 Jose K Joseph/New Indian Express

Alliance Air flight not the first commercial one in Arunachal

Itanagar: With the landing of the 42-seater ATR 42 fixed-wing Alliance Airline flight at Pasighat airport on 21 May, Arunachal witnessed the start of a new chapter of improved connectivity in the state.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu and several officials from the state and central governments were the first to board the aircraft which touched down at Pasighat in East Siang district around 2.15 pm after a 1.5-hour journey from the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi airport in Guwahati.
However, it is pertinent to mention here that it was not the first commercial flight which the state hosted.
The first fixed-wing commercial flight airline in the state began in the 1980s. It was Vayudoot regional airline, a joint-venture between the two state-owned carriers, Indian Airlines and Air India.
Under the Vayudoot scheme, Dornier aircraft were used for commercial flights to Pasighat, Aalo, Daporijo, Tezu, Ziro, and Vijaynagar. However, those flights were short and did not serve food as private flights do these days.
The then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, launched the scheme in 1981 to connect the Northeastern region by air. At least 15-20 flights began to operate under the then union civil aviation ministry’s Vayudoot scheme to various Northeastern states, including Arunachal.
22/05/18 Junroi Mamai/Arunachal Times

Night flights may soon be a reality in Kashmir

Srinagar: Night flights which has been a long pending dream for Kashmir may soon be a reality. The authorities at the Srinagar airport say they are working hard to build the infrastructure for it and the flights could land by August this year. The officials are building approach lights for night landing of the flights.

The moment we have proper set up in place the airlines will be sure that the infrastructure is ready, they will start evening flights. Work is on to make the night landing facility possible sooner within a few months, said an official at the Srinagar airport.

In Kashmir most people including tourism operators have been demanding that landing and takeoff facilities should be extended till night. At the moment the first flight operates at 6 am and the last flight operates at around 6:30 pm. As per the details once the infrastructure is available initially the flights will operate till 8 pm and then subsequently till 10 pm.
22/05/18 Shuja ul Haq/India Today

Patna airport fails to satisfy flyers

Patna: Bumper passenger traffic and rapid growth of city Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport notwithstanding, the overall satisfaction of flyers has plunged over the last two consecutive quarters, the latest report based on Airports Service Quality (ASQ) survey said.
The overall passenger satisfaction at Patna airport slipped by 0.04 points, from 4.55 points in October-December quarter in 2017 to 4.51 in January to March period this year, the survey conducted by the Airports Council International (ACI) said.
ACI-ASQ survey is the only worldwide programme to survey passengers at airports on their day of travel. Every year, it measures passengers’ views on 33 key service parameters and identified services. The ACI, which is headquartered in Geneva, has been conducting these surveys for the past five years.
Of the 33 parameters used for the rating, the Patna airport’s performance declined on 22, including parking facilities, waiting time in queues, the efficiency of the check-in staff, courtesy and helpfulness of the airline staff and waiting time at the security check area.
The airport has, however, scored well in areas like flight information screens, waiting time at security inspection, ease of making connections with other flights, walking distance inside the terminal, courtesy and helpfulness of check-in staff and inspection staff, feeling of being safe and secure, thoroughness of security inspection, cleanliness of bathrooms and toilets and the overall ambience.
23/05/18 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Rupsi Airport in Assam’s Dhubri to be operational soon

The bhumi pujan ceremony for the revival of Rupsi Airport at Dhubri in Assam, which has been lying defunct for the last five decades, has finally been held in presence of the locals and officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) at the airport premises on Wednesday.

Locals, while expressing happiness at the Central government initiatives, said that the affordable regional connectivity by air could soon be a widespread reality for the inhabitants of Dhubri and its adjourning areas including the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD).
B Pandey, deputy general manager (DGM), AAI, who arrived here along with other officials of AAI said that the government has released an amount of Rs 40 crore as first instalment for revival of the airport and the work order has also been allotted to East India Company (EIC).

“The East India Company will start the foundation work for revival of the airport including cleaning of the jungles which have spread in and around the airport,” said Pandey.

“The EIC will complete its tasks within one year with effect from today and the new tender will be given for other development related works of the airport in the due course of time,” added Pandey.
23/05/18 Mukesh KR Singh/Northeast Now

NRI exposes ‘looting’ of passengers by new tourist taxi counter at airport

Vasco: In a high voltage drama outside Dabolim International Airport on Tuesday morning, an NRI exposed the alleged looting of passengers by the recently opened tourist taxi counter (Maxicab) for using its Maxicab service.
According to information, an NRI namely Saturnino Rodrigues, who frequently travels to Goa, arrived at Dabolim international airport by Oman Air flight WY 209, at around 4 am on Tuesday.

As he exited the main counter following an immigration and Customs check, he was greeted by a lady staff of the newly opened tourist taxi counter (Maxicab), offering cheap taxi service from the airport to his destination in Colva. But when he booked the service, he was shocked to receive a receipt of Rs 1,870 for travelling a distance of approximately 12 to 16 kms.

“I questioned the lady at the counter on the exorbitant charges to which she replied that it is due to night charges and increase in fuel price. Not satisfied with her reply, I sought to know other details through which I came to know of the nexus operating at the Dabolim airport in the name of taxi business,” Rodrigues stated in his email complaint to Herald.
23/05/18 Goacom

Thai Lion Air flies Mumbai four a week

Bangkok: Thai Lion Air will increase its services between Bangkok and Mumbai in India to four weekly flights, effective 29 May.

According to Airlineroute’s timetable information the new flight to Mumbai will depart Bangkok every Tuesday, using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

The other three flights depart on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Flight time is four hours and 25 minutes.
Flights depart Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport at 0225 and arrive in Mumbai at 0540. The return flights depart Mumbai at 0655 and arrive in Bangkok at 1245.

Thai Lion Air is the only airline based in Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport that offers flights to Mumbai.

Thai Lion Air’s cheapest fare on the Mumbai run is THB 14,426 with no competitor offering direct services.

Out of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport there is plenty of competition on the route with THAI, Bangkok Airways, Air India and Jet Airways all offering daily direct flights.

Bangkok Airways sells a roundtrip ticket for THB 11,321, Air India THB 11,338, Jet Airways THB 13,360 and THAI THB 21,228.

Meanwhile in April, Thai Lion Air, which is a subsidiary of Indonesia’s Lion Air, increased its Jakarta to Bangkok service from a single daily to double daily.
23/05/18 Don Ross/TRweekly
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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Unique ID to enable paperless boarding for domestic flyers

New Delhi: A unique identity number will soon let you whisk past airport processes while boarding domestic flights. A technical team representing Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the four private metro airports has finalised the format for biometric-based “digi-yatra” (DY) for all airports to enable a completely paperless boarding process for domestic flyers.
Under this, each traveller will need to get the unique ID from an aviation ministry portal which will be linked to their biometrics. People will give this unique DY ID at time of booking domestic tickets.
Only those who want a paperless boarding experience will need to get this unique ID as the existing procedure will continue to remain in place. The aviation ministry had in September 2016 created the Airsewa portal for grievance redressal.
Now this portal will be used for Digi-Yatra. “We are soon going to launch an updated version of AirSewa portal for which tenders have been issued. AirSewa-II will have a link for Digi-Yatra. Passenger will (individually) enrol themselves on this link to get a unique DY ID number. At the time of registration, they will give some ID proof like Aadhaar or four-five other things like driving licence. The details will be matched for verification,” AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra told TOI.
Airline websites will also be updated to give the option of providing the unique DY ID number by passengers at the time of booking tickets. “When a passenger goes to the airport for the first time after getting the unique ID and with a ticket where the ID has been given at the time of booking, he or she will need to take the photo ID card and a photograph with them.
22/05/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Kolkata tops Chennai air passenger traffic by 25% in 2017

Chennai: Chennai airport's annual passenger traffic may have touched the 20 million-mark, but in terms of growth percentage Kolkata has overtaken Chennai. Kolkata had 25% passenger growth last year becoming a gateway airport in the east and also attracts traffic from south east Asia headed to Delhi. Chennai had only 10% growth due to capacity constraints though the airport was expanded at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore in 2013.
1
Statistics show that Chennai's passenger traffic growth was slower than all major airports except Mumbai, an airport which is saturated, last year. Kolkata and Chennai were expanded simultaneously as part of the Airport's Authority of India plan to open modern airport in the two cities. However, Chennai has not been able to capitalise on the expansion because of constrains on the air side - runways, taxi way, apron - of the airport.
An official said that Kolkata which had always seen sluggish growth had performed well last year. "The annual passenger numbers is more than 19million. The airport has a good integrated terminal and space on the airside. This has helped the airport emerge as a hub for all small cities in North East.The airport will be able to cross the 20million passengers mark next year," He added.
Passenger movement has increased at Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi. Hyderabad showed 20% increase in passenger traffic last year though the total number of travellers still hover around 18million per year.
A senior official said that "Kolkata's growth may not have an impact on Chennai. But it has set an example of how an airport can be converted into a passenger-friendly facility. The airport has a better terminal than Chennai. Due to space constraints, the domestic and international terminals don't have depth. This limits the number of passengers handled at a time."
In terms of business, Chennai has lost to Bengaluru. The airport handled ....passengers last year. Due to absence of parking stands for planes and lack of rapid exit taxiway, airlines did not want to use Chennai as a hub andmoved to Bengaluru. Aviation experts also caution that unless AAI improves facilities at Chennai and offer incentives to airlines to fly, the airport would further loss out when Andhra open new airport at Amaravati, it's new capital.
22/05/18 Times of India

Accident bureau to probe Alliance Air's overshooting incident

Mumbai: Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Tuesday said they will be taking over the investigation of Alliance Air flight's overshooting incident.
The incident took place on May 21 at 5.29 pm, when the aircraft of Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, arriving from Mumbai overshot the runway by 117 meters during landing at the Shirdi airport.
Up to 70 passengers who were on board had a narrow escape.
According to media reports, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will also investigate the matter separately.
22/05/18 ANI

No navigation aid: 295 flights face delays

Mumbai: A total of 295 departures and 117 arrivals were delayed at the Mumbai airport on Monday, according to data collected by flightradar24, a live flighttracking website, at 10pm.
Since aircraft on hold to land are given preference over aircraft waiting to depart, departures were delayed by an average of one hour and arrivals by 30 minutes. The airport’s instrument landing system, a navigation aid that allows air-traffic control to stack arrivals close to each other, is switched off on runway 27 since May 17.
It will remain switched off till June 5 for an upgrade. With only basic navigation aid available for pilots coming in for approach to land, air traffic movement has slowed down, leading to longer circling time over the city.
“With no ILS, the separation between aircraft on approach to land has gone up and so runway 27 is not as efficiently used. But slowly the quantum of delay has been going down,” said an air traffic controller.
22/05/18 Times of India

Why Arunachal Pradesh being on India's aviation map is crucial

New Delhi: A 42-seater ATR aircraft landing may not attract much attention in most parts of the world but when the Alliance Airlines plane touched down at Pasighat, it was a historic moment for Arunachal Pradesh. Cut-off of sorts from the rest of the country due to scarce air connectivity, Monday's flight signalled the arrival of regular commercial flight operations - bringing the state and its people closer to the rest of the country.

The aircraft, belonging to Alliance Airlines - a subsidiary of Air India, took off from Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport and completed an epic 1.5-hour journey to land at the Pasighat airport at around 1415 hours. It was epic because on board were not just Arunachal CM Pema Khandu, Deputy CM Chowna Mein, Assembly Speaker TN Thongdok and other cabinet ministers and legislators, but also dreams, hopes and aspirations of people of an entire state. "Today is a historic day and I congratulate the people of Arunachal in general and people of Pasighat in particular for this new milestone that would remain engraved in history as a huge step in the development of our state," Khandu told mediapersons. "With Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm and his concern in the sector of connectivity for the northeast has enabled us to fulfil a dream," he added.

PM Modi's government has indeed played a leading role in helping smaller centres of the country come onto the aviation map. Launched in 2017, the NDA government's UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme has not just envisaged developing existing regional airports to make them bigger hubs but to also bring aviation to smaller towns across India and make it financially viable. Commercial flight to Pasighat, for example, would be thrice a week from Guwahati and while only Alliance Air would be operating initially, reports suggest Zoom Air and Turbo Jet too would have flight operations soon.

Beyond just fulfilling dreams of people in the state, commercial flight operations here, many say, is also a daring statement to China that Arunachal Pradesh is indeed an integral part of India and no suggestions or manoeuvring contrary to it would be agreeable. In the past, China has issued maps showing Arunachal as its territory, protested PM Modi's visit here, threatened others from doing the same - including US diplomats, denied visa to sportspersons from the state and even issue stapled visas to people at large.
22/05/18 Zee Media

Sharing mini-bus, taxi options for airport

Nashik: hough the city is being connected by air to different parts of the country there are hardly any options for the fliers to travel from the airport to the city and vice-versa.
While there is no bus service at the airport, the autorickshaw drivers demand hefty amount from the passengers. Keeping the problems being faced by the travelers in mind, a city-based travel agency has started to provide taxi and mini-bus service on sharing basis.
The price set by the company for every passenger is Rs 350. The distance from airport to the city is around 20km. The travel agency is owned by the president of Travel Agents Association Nashik (TAAN).
“We are planning to provide pick-up and drop facilities to passengers travelling by Delhi-Nashik return flights from June 15. This service is to facilitate the passengers,” an official from the travel agency said.
“Initially, we will rope in two taxis and a mini bus for the transport service. We are also in talks with some other agencies for the same purpose. Initially, one side fare for city to Ozar airport will be Rs 350 per seat. But we will reduce the fare following good response from the passengers,” he added.
While Air Deccan has started its operations from Nashik in December last year, Jet Airways will deploy 168-seater aircraft on Nashik-Delhi air routes from June 15. The flight will operate thrice a week on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
22/05/18 Tushar Pawar/Times of India

Nagpur airport expansion contract to be awarded soon

Mumbai: With the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur operating at overcapacity, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) is set to award a contract to expand the airport to one of five bidders in two-three months.

Against an annual capacity of 10 lakh passengers, the Nagpur airport handled 19 lakh passengers in FY17. In FY18, this rose over 14% to 21 lakh. According to Ernst & Young (E&Y) whom MADC has engaged for the purpose, estimates are that passenger volumes will touch 25 lakh this year. E&Y has forecast passenger traffic to grow 15% year-on-year (Y-o-Y).

In order to cater to the growing passenger volume, MADC has planned to expand the airport in phases. At the end of the first phase of development by 2022, the capacity will go up to 40 lakh from 10 lakh at present.

Suresh Kakani, VC & MD of MADC, said as soon as 75% of this capacity, or a throughput of 30 lakh passengers was achieved, it would trigger the second phase of development, taking the total capacity to 70 lakh. “The presence of export-oriented industries in the special economic zone (SEZ) at the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport (MIHAN), the technology parks under construction as well as the lack of an international airport in the region are among the reasons why passenger volumes have been growing rapidly at Nagpur Airport.”
So far, five companies — Essel Infraprojects, GMR, GVK, PNC Infratech and a consortium of Tata Realty and Tata Projects — have bid for the expansion of the airport. The estimated cost for the expansion is `1,685 crore.

The airport currently has only one runway which is just over 3-km long and 30-metre wide. The plan is to construct a brand new parallel runway that will be 4.5-km long and 60-metre wide.
Besides the runway, the winning bidder will have to construct the terminal building, some hangars and a taxiway that can be used to evacuate aircraft to the two upcoming maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities. The airport currently has one MRO, run by Air India. IndaMer Aviation’s MRO is expected to be operational by December this year.
22/05/18 Rouhan Sharma/Financial Express