Showing posts with label Airports May 2021. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports May 2021. Show all posts

Monday, May 31, 2021

Demand has taken off for aircraft parking slots

Ahmedabad: Flight movements have drastically reduced as the number of people preferring air travel has sharply dipped due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The wave has gradually begun receding now. But with reduced demand, a large part of the aircraft fleet of every airline tends to remain idle, pushing up parking occupancy at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad.

At any given point, at least 7-8 aircraft operating scheduled flights are seen parked at the city airport. This is over and above the state-owned, privately owned, and other non-scheduled aircraft parked here. Increased parking occupancy at SVPIA has been seen since mid-April.

“At least 50% of the fleet of each airline is lying idle. The demand has taken a major hit due to the second wave and the restrictions imposed to curb the virus spread,” said a senior official of an airline. “While corporates have imposed restrictions on travel, leisure travel has also nosedived because of a slew of territorial shutdowns, restrictions, and the protocol mandating travellers to show the negative RT-PCR report while entering the state.” The official said that often it is not viable for airlines to operate flights.

“With few flights operating, aircraft are bound to remain idle and parked,” the official explained. “While airlines tend to prefer airports in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru due to the easy availability of maintenance services, aircraft operating scheduled flights are also parked at other airports.”

Sources in the aviation sector said that the situation is similar at other airports such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. Earlier this year, SVPI airport operationalized an additional eight parking stands, taking the total number of aircraft parking stands to 42.

31/05/21 Times of India

Mangaluru: Biggest transport aircraft lands at city airport

Mangaluru: On Sunday May 30, Boeing C-17 strategic transport aircraft, said to be the biggest in its class, landed at the airpor there. The C-17 globemaster aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force made news by landing at the airport here.

This is a military transport aircraft having four engines. It got down at the airport here in order to carry the emptied oxygen cylinders that had come to the New Mangalore Port Trust from Kuwait, back to that country.

The oxygen tanks which were received from Kuwait earlier too had been sent back by the Air Force aircraft. C-17 aircrafts are meant to handle huge consignments like tanks and other vehicles form one place to the other. These aircrafts have been carrying emergency goods from one corner of the world to the other under emergencies. These aircrafts can easily land in small airports without proper facilities.

31/05/21 Daijiworld

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Covishield arrival in Kolkata a worry as airlines pull out Pune services due to low load

Kolkata: Transporting consignments of Covid-19 vaccine Covishield manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) to Kolkata is proving to be a logistical nightmare with all airlines that operated direct flights between the two cities suspending them citing viability issues.

“Flying in Covishield vaccines was always tough due to the restriction on flights from Maharashtra that has been in place for nearly a year now. Flights are allowed to operate between Pune and Kolkata only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. But now it has become even more difficult with airlines suspending the flights due to poor passenger load,” said an official of a private hospital that has placed orders for Covishield.

On Friday, three consignments of Covishield doses weighing 1.2 tonnes arrived from Pune via Delhi on the IndiGo flight 6E 755. On the other hand, the Covaxin consignment of 591kg from Hyderabad was flown in directly by the Air India flight AI 525. On Saturday, another 285kg consignment containing Covaxin doses was flown in from Hyderabad on the IndiGo flight 6E 6358.

"It will now be easier to ship Covaxin consignments than Covishield because there are multiple flights operating between Kolkata and Hyderabad against none between Kolkata and Pune. We hope the issue is resolved soon so that vaccine movement gets streamlined,” a health department official said.

According to sources, the state health department was even contemplating easing the restriction on flights from Pune when the flights went off the air. Last week, only the Air Asia flight I5 320 had operated once. GoAir, IndiGo and Spice-Jet, which had daily flight schedules, have cancelled the flights citing lack of viability because of poor loads.

30/05/21 Subhro Niyogi & Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

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Saturday, May 29, 2021

Cyclone Yaas: Flights resume at Patna airport after 14 hours

Patna: Flight operations at the Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport resumed on Friday morning after being suspended for nearly 14 hours due to bad weather conditions under the impact of the cyclone Yaas.

IndiGo’s Delhi-bound flight was the first that landed at Patna airport at 10.46 am after the Airports Authority of India (AAI)- Patna got the green signal for the commencement of flights following a review meeting of the regional executive director eastern region with the airport officials (including operations) and meteorological department at seven in the morning.

The airport’s deputy general manager (air traffic management), Santosh Kumar said the flight operations were resumed at 9 am, following which no disruption in aircraft movement was seen on Friday. “As far as the rescheduling of cancelled flights is concerned, the airlines have merged few flights due to low occupancy in aircraft due to pandemic and lockdown,” he told this newspaper.

The airport officials had announced the suspension of all air services on Thursday evening due to heavy rainfall, which led to the cancellation of four aircraft and the diversion of two flights.

Altogether 18 flights operated at the city airport on Friday, however, no aircraft was diverted or cancelled due to inclement weather. Three flights suffered delays, including SpiceJet’s Ahmedabad- Patna aircraft, which got delayed by more than five hours while two flights of IndiGo to Bengaluru suffered minor delays.

Several flyers had to face hassles owing to the rescheduling of flights and delays. Amit Ranjan, who was travelling to Ahmedabad, said the airline kept changing its scheduled time due to the climatic conditions. “Flight is getting delayed again and again citing bad weather, however, another airline’s flight for the same route was on time. In the Covid pandemic, passengers had to wait for 5 hours at the airport,” he said.

29/05/21 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Waterlogged roads hinder access to Kolkata airport

Kolkata: Stretches of the road leading to the airport were inundated on Friday morning, slowing traffic movement. Though cars were comparatively fewer as only a handful of flights are currently in operation, the waterlogging caused by rain on Thursday evening and Friday morning has raised concerns. Multiple agencies chipped in to drain the water by afternoon.

Airport authorities and Bidhannagar City Police’s traffic department blamed the waterlogging on Metro construction around the airport, alleging it choked gully pits and blocked drainage lines. “We faced a similar issue two weeks ago when it had rained heavily. But then the issue did not lead to passengers reporting late for flights,” said an airport official.

Cops said they called up multiple agencies, like Kolkata Metro and Public Works Department, to arrange for submersible pumps to drain the water.

“We called up the officials and both agencies provided pumps. Although traffic was a bit slow, there was no major chaos,” said an officer.

29/05/21 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

IAF Aircraft carrying 500 Oxygen Cylinders reaches Guwahati Airport, now en route to Shillong

Shillong: The Indian Air Force aircraft that carried 500 oxygen cylinders has reached Guwahati Airport on Saturday and is en route to Shillong. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has posted on his Twitter account about the information. He tweeted, "The @IAF_MCC aircraft carrying 500 Oxygen Cylinders has touched down at Guwahati Airport and is en route to Shillong."

Prior to this, Sangma informed on Saturday morning that 500 Rama Cylinders were loaded at Ahmedabad Airport by Indian Air Force aircraft and are on their way. He tweeted, "500 Rama Cylinders loaded at Ahmedabad Airport today by @IAF_MCC and are on their way." 500 Rama Cylinders loaded at Ahmedabad Airport today by @IAF_MCC and are on their way.

He further said that 20 oxygen ventilators, 15 concentrators, and 30 oxygen cylinders meant for Meghalaya, were air lifted by the Indian Air Force aircraft from Vizag and have touched down at Guwahati, and are on their way to Shillong. Also Read - Three-time Mr Meghalaya Pynshngnain Langpen dies of COVID-19

29/05/21 Sentinel

Friday, May 28, 2021

More than 70% staff at Trichy airport take jab

Trichy: Trichy International Airport has vaccinated more than 70% of its staff over the last few weeks at the vaccination drives conducted there.

While Trichy being one among the nine districts registering daily cases in four digits, the airport authorities are planning to make the airport safe for the air passengers.

International passengers are allowed only if they carry a test negative report. No such strict norms are there for the domestic passengers though there are precautionary measures. Though vaccination isn’t mandatory, the airport authorities have been encouraging their staff to get vaccinated.

Airport director S Dharmaraj said that they have conducted six vaccination drives on the airport premises for the staff. Around 83% of the employees of the Airport Authority of India have been vaccinated. About 69% of the stakeholders including flight operators and 68% staff in the project side were also vaccinated, he said adding that he is hopeful of achieving 100% vaccination in the next few days.

28/05/21 Sampath Kumar/Times of India

Adani Group all set to takeover managerial responsibilities at Jaipur Airport very soon!

As the wave of privatisation envelops the country, the Jaipur International Airport is the latest entity, all set to administered by a privately-owned firm. Reportedly, the central cabinet has approved the privatisation of Jaipur Airport and it will soon be managed by Adani Enterprises. As per reports, the Airport Authority of India has already decided the date for the transfer of managerial powers to the business giant, which supervises the proceedings of some other major airports too.

Reportedly, the Civil Aviation Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Adani Enterprises. Based on this agreement, the Adani Group will take over the operations at the airport on July 18, which is termed the Commercial Operation Date (COD), in technical vocabulary. It is to be noted that the privatisation of 6 airports across the country was finalised in February 2019. Of these, Lucknow and Ahmedabad airports have been handed over to the Adani Group already.

A team of officials from the Adani Group are supposed to observe the day-to-day dealings at the airport, before the company takes over the managerial responsibilities. This will be done by establishing a control room to make note of the commercial and operational dealings at the airport.

Given the fact that the employees of Adani Group haven't reached Jaipur Aiport till now due to various circumstantial reasons, it can be expected that COD may be extended further. While the air travelers will witness no significant changes in the first few days, reports state that the fees for lounges, parking lot, food court and placement slot for airlines may be increased later.

28/05/21 Ankur Verma/Knocksense

Six new parking bays at Visakhapatnam airport

Visakhapatnam: Six new parking bays and a taxi track will soon be ready for operation at Visakhapatnam International Airport, paving the way for movement of more flights.

The airport has overcome procedural delays and is ready for airspace management. Once these facilities are operational, movement of flights will cross 100 from the existing 76 on most days. At present, movement of flights has come down to 14 in view of the Covid-19 situation.

The airport has got all clearances including security, safety and naval clearances and international publication of the new facilities, giving ample space to enhance flight movements through new slots.

“Airportside infrastructure is ready, terminal building expansion would be completed in a month and cityside infrastructure, that is, car parking area has veen extended to accommodate passengers of new flights. We have got all clearances. We have to fix the date for operations,” airport director Raj Kishore told TOI.

Operational planning and coordination with Navy and Airport Authority of India (AAI), besides a joint meeting and trials, are required for commencement. The new parking bays and taxi track have been pending since 2016. Construction has been completed at an an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore.

So far, Vizag airport has been disadvantaged by its lack of slots for new flight movements. The airport has Narava hill to one side that restricts landings and take off. “If we have arrival on one side and departure on the other, we can save time. But it is not possible here. Runway occupancy time is high due to one-side operation,” the airport director said.

28/05/21 Siva G/Times of India

Flight operations at Patna airport suspended till 9am Friday

Patna: Fight operations to and from Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport remained disrupted for the second consecutive day on Thursday due to inclement weather under the influence of cyclone Yaas. Flight operations at the city airport were suspended after 5pm, leading to cancellation of four flights. Airport officials said the flight operations would remain suspended till 9am on Friday.

Amritsar-bound flight of Air India (AI-726) was the last aircraft that landed at Patna airport around 4.32pm on Thursday. One Air India flight (AI-764) between Delhi and Patna was diverted to Kolkata around 6.20pm while Vistara’s Delhi-bound flight (UK-715/716) was returned to Delhi from midway due to the bad weather conditions in Patna.

Airport director Bhupesh C H Negi said flight operations were stopped at Patna airport in the evening under the impact of cyclone. The situation will be reviewed before resuming flight operations,” he added.

28/05/21 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Chartered flights up 50% at IGI since September

New Delhi: The current Covid wave has seen a sharp rise in the number of private jets and charters being handled at the Delhi airport’s separate general aviation (GA) terminal that opened last September. Till the onset of the second wave, it used to handle over 20 flights a day, but now this number is almost 50% higher at 35.

The key reasons behind this jump are air ambulance movement, suspension of schedule commercial flights by some countries and the super rich preferring the safety and enhanced hygiene of leaving on their own jet plane instead of taking regular flights to places where the option is still available.

This is in sharp contrast to the massive fall in both domestic and international travellers that’s forced Delhi and Mumbai airports to shift all their passengers to just one terminal each.

“India’s first exclusive GA terminal for private jets was opened last September. On average, it witnessed 35 aircraft movement (ATM) per day during April as compared with 24 ATMs at the time of opening of the terminal. It saw about 1,000 aircraft movement last month,” said Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL). The operator of IGI Airport added its GA terminal had handled over 100 air ambulance flights since April, “contributing to the surge in demand”.

Rajan Mehra, CEO of Club One Air and former India head of Qatar Airways, said India had seen a significant growth in charter travel since last October. While earlier charter business used to be 70% domestic and 30% international, the restrictions on foreign flights has now changed it to 50:50.

28/05/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Pilots slam call to keep airports open in cyclone

Mumbai: The central government decision to keep airports of Mumbai and those in Gujarat operational till the very last moment during cyclone Tauktae has met with criticism from the Indian pilot community, which applauded the way cyclone Yaas was handled.

"Closing the airports of Kolkata and Bhubaneswar well in advance are examples of good and timely decision-making which benefits all as safety is paramount as aircraft are not designed to fly in such unforeseen drastic cyclonic storms,’’ said a senior A320 commander.

On Tuesday night, after an update on weather condition it was announced that the Kolkata airport and some other airports along the eastern coast will remain shut for 11 hours from 8.30 am upto 7.45 am on Wednesday.

Contrast that to the morning of May 17 when the Mumbai airport remained open and an announcement to suspend flight operations came only after strong cyclonic winds had arrival flights into Mumbai divert to other airports. Even as cyclone Tauktae raged about 150 kms off the coast of Mumbai over the Arabian sea, it was announced that the Mumbai airport will remain shut from 11 am to 2 pm.

"Hundreds of passengers were left stranded, not only in Mumbai, but other airports like Delhi, Kochi, Bangalore etc as they waited for the Mumbai airport to reopen at 2 pm,’’ said an official from a low cost airline. ``But we in airlines knew there was no way the airport could open at 2 pm as the weather report showed that Mumbai airport would remain affected by severe cyclonic waves for most part of the day. However since airport closure was announced only for 3 hours, airlines had to wait and watch,’’ he said. Then the closure was extended to 4 pm, then again to 6 pm and then 8 pm and finally at 10 pm, the airport opened again.

28/05/21 Manju V/Times of India

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Flyover, Metro line to affect Aerodrome: Study

Bengaluru: A survey conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) indicates obstacles to the Jakkur Aerodrome due to the proposed flyover on the National Highway and an elevated Metro rail line in front of it.

According to the report placed before the division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj in response to directions issued with regard to a PIL filed by Ajoy Kumar Patil, the prominent obstacles are the flyover, Metro line, airport boundary wall fencing and trees, etc. 

In was stated in the report that the obstacles are infringing the aerodrome, and therefore, its operator, the Government of Karnataka, is required to decide on ‘either to reduce the height of the obstacles infringing the surfaces within permissible limit, or to adopt mitigation measures as suggested or recommended by the AAI by reducing the length of runway’.

27/05/21 New Indian Express


Jewar airport construction work deferred due to Covid, MLA says primary focus on bringing Covid cases down

Jewar (Greater Noida): The construction work for the Jewar international airport in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida has been delayed due to the second wave of Covid-19 and the restrictions in the state to tackle it. The bhoomi pujan or foundation stone laying ceremony for the upcoming airport at Jewar has been deferred and will be held as soon as the lockdown is relaxed, sources said on Thursday.

The Uttar Pradesh government is mulling to start the construction of Jewar airport before the upcoming state assembly election scheduled early next year.

Although monetary compensation against their acquired land has been provided to the villagers, many continue to live in their homes and carry out farming activities on their fields.

Taling to India Today, Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh said, “Due to the pandemic, the process is halted. The primary focus of the government is bringing down the cases and vaccinate everyone in the state. As soon as we are able to control the pandemic, the construction of Noida international airport will begin. It is still the top priority of CM Yogi Adityanath."

“Currently we are working on the upliftment of the primary health centres (PHCs) and the sub-primary health centres (SPHCs) at the villages as the pandemic has reached the hinterland. We have roped in many private hospitals for a while to run these centres at the villages as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and get the villages Covid-free,” said Singh.

27/05/21 Abhishek Anand/India Today

Homes being built at airport rehab township

Greater Noida: More than 100 families from Nagla Ganeshi have started building their houses in the new township developed at Jewar Bangar for families who will shift from the villages that have been acquired for Noida International Airport. Gautam Budh Nagar district administration and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) have held several rounds of talks with the villagers and half the residents from the area have started the shifting process. Plots had already been allocated to the families affected by the Jewar airport project.

Delayed because of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the deadline for the township with more than 3,000 plots is June 30. “The allotment process is over. Some pockets in the township are ready and people are being asked to start construction work in those areas,” said the officer on special duty, YEIDA, Shailendra Bhatia.

The administration had started the process of plot allocation for 238 families from Nagla Ganeshi in March this year. The former pradhan of the village, Rohtash Thakur, said: “Gradually, the entire population of the village will shift. Of the 238 families here, 110 have already started constructing houses. We have raised some pending issues with the authority. The other villagers will start shifting once officials address those issues.”

He added that those building houses, however, are finding it difficult to get workers and construction material because of the curfew.

“People are demanding a premium to send construction material to the site and getting labourers is also difficult. The villagers will be given at least three months’ time to shift after the entire township gets ready,” Rohtash said. Officials said that only those who have been allocated plots in the complete section of the township are being asked to shift now. “We are giving them adequate time to finish work,” Bhatia said.

The sizes of the plots varies between 50 sqm and 500 sqm and they were allocated according to the size of the original houses of the villagers and open courtyard used to keep cattle, store agricultural tools and animal fodder.

Bhatia added that 3,003 plots are yet to be handed over to the villagers.

27/05/21 Shalabh/Times of India

Airport operations restart early as storm spares city

Kolkata: Kolkata airport authorities withdrew the suspension of operations an hour before schedule on Wednesday, after strong cyclonic winds and heavy rainfall gave Kolkata a miss. At 5pm, Kolkata airport issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM), announcing the airport’s reopening at 6.45pm. The airport had closed down at 8.30am to ride out the turbulence and was supposed to reopen at 7.45pm.

“The airport received a fair degree of rain during the night. In the morning, there were gusts of wind but nothing strong enough to cause damage. We carried out an inspection around 4pm and decided to reopen. Though it was not possible to operate commercial flights before 7.45pm, the airport was made available for emergencies and cargo operations,” said airport director Pulla Hezekiah.

This is the third instance in which the airport was shut down due to a cyclone warning but didn’t suffer any damage. In November 2019, the airport was shut down to bypass cyclone Bulbul. In May 2019, it was closed for cyclone Phani, but again escaped major damage. Only during Amphan last year did the airport get inundated and an old hangar collapsed. While the airport remained empty all day, the air traffic navigation wing worked as usual, offering services to 500-plus flights.

27/05/21 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

Mumbai Airport cancels six flights due to Cyclone Yaas

Mumbai: In the light of the developments around Cyclone Yaas in the Bay of Bengal, Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has cancelled flights between Mumbai to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata.

According to a statement released by the CSMIA, approximately six flights, consisting of three arrivals and three departures, have been cancelled so far. Flights to other regions continue to operate on schedule. The airport officials have requested passengers to contact their respective airlines to check the schedule in advance. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that Cyclone Yaas is currently crossing the Odisha border south of Balasore and will reach Jharkhand on Thursday morning.

27/05/21 Free Press Journal

Kolkata, 4 other airports partially shut due to cyclone Yaas

At least five airports in eastern India have been partially shut as Cyclone Yaas, the latest natural calamity, blew over the Bay of Bengal causing death and destruction in West Bengal and Odisha.

The airports include Kolkata and Durgapur in West Bengal and Bhubaneswar, Rourkela and Jharsuguda in Odisha, an official at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said.

“They have been partially shut for the day, but we are constantly monitoring the situation and may extend it,” said the senior official who didn’t want to be named.

Cyclone Yaas has led to loss of some lives, apart from destroying barricades and shops in the coastal areas of West Bengal and Odisha. Several flights have been cancelled.

“In the light of the developments around Cyclone Yaas in the Bay of Bengal, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has witnessed the cancellation of flights from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. Approximately six flights, consisting of three arrivals and three departures, have been cancelled so far,” said a spokesperson at the airport.

Ports too are on high alert.

“As the Cyclone Yaas approaches the east coast, we are prepared with all precautions to tackle this severe cyclonic storm. We are working in close coordination with the local authorities. The vessels have been moved outside the port by port authorities and floating crafts to inner anchorage,” said Ajayy Singh, CEO of Essar Ports.

27/05/21 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Air connectivity in NE India expands further

Guwahati: To further expand air connectivity in the northeastern region under the Regional Connectivity Scheme-Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (RCS-UDAN) scheme of the central government, a new private airliner on Monday started flight operations between Assam's Guwahati and Arunachal Pradesh's Pasighat.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials said that a flight of the private airliner Flybig on Monday started the direct flight services from Guwahati to Pasighat.

A water cannon salute was accorded to the flight at Pasighat.The AAI official said that this is the second flight services to Pasighat from Guwahati after Alliance Air had started direct flight services between Guwahati-Pasighat in 2018, an RCS-UDAN route.

Commercial operations of flights from the newly developed Rupsi Airport in western Assam began earlier this month under the RCS-UDAN scheme.

AAI officials said that the Rupsi airport would cater to the needs of air travellers from four western Assam districts and the neighbouring states of Meghalaya, West Bengal and parts of Bhutan as well.

25/05/21 IANS/Sify.com

Mumbai Int''l Airport sets up vaccination centre for employees

Mumbai: Mumbai International Airport on Wednesday said it has established a dedicated vaccination centre for all its employees.

The facility is equipped with all the basic infrastructure and amenities such as vaccination counters, separate waiting areas for pre and post-vaccination and a help desk.

To conduct the vaccination drive at the airport, the operator has partnered with a multi-speciality hospital, it said.

The airport had commenced the first phase of its vaccination drive, in line with the state regulations, on March 29 at Seven Hills Hospital for all employees at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) above the age of 45 years, including those of its supporting agencies, concessionaires and other stakeholders, the private airport operator said in a statement.

The second phase of the vaccination drive commenced on May 2, organised through the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) at the Airport Health Organization, it stated.

In its third phase of the vaccination drive, the airport has established a dedicated workplace COVID vaccination centre within the airport for its employees and will administer the vaccine to all employees above the age group of 18 years, it said.

26/05/21 PTI/Outlook

Delhi's IGI Airport handles record 100 flights carrying COVID aid material in a month

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has handled a record number of flights ferrying COVID-19 relief materials from across the globe, which were distributed across the states in India, in a month.

Around 1,750 metric tonnes (MT) of relief material such as oxygen generating plants, oxygen generators, oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, masks, ventilators, Remdesivir injections, hospital beds and other medicines Veklury and Tocilizumab arrived at the Delhi airport from more than 36 countries, including Canada, Ireland, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Australia, Singapore, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Doha, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Taiwan, Kuwait and UAE.

The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the GMR-led consortium operating the facility, set up a dedicated logistic facility - Jeevoday warehouse - for interim storage and effective distribution of the consignments.

26/05/21 New Indian Express

Bengaluru airport handles over 650 tonnes of coronavirus-related cargo since April

Mumbai: Fairfax-backed Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru has processed over 650 tonnes of coronavirus-related cargo, including 107.60 tonnes of domestic inbound cargo, since April this year, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

The relief cargo included oxygen concentrators, ventilators and Zeolite among the major import commodities; while COVID-19 vaccines and PPEs were the top domestic inbound cargo, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said in the statement.

The Bengaluru airport has processed 6,50,225 kg (5,42,620 kg of imports and 1,07,605 kg of domestic inbound) of COVID-19-related relief material from April 1 to May 19, it stated.

As many as 200 shipments came in April, while the first 20 days of May received nearly 800 shipments, accounting for an overall 25,891 pieces of COVID-19-related cargo, it said.

During this period, the airport recorded a total of 136 flights (101 international and 35 domestic) carrying the cargo. The flights were operated by 21 different carriers, including international airlines, BIAL said.

The company said its cargo terminal operators, Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore and Air India SATS, have jointly demarcated 1,000 sq ft within their respective premises for handling and faster clearance of COVID-19-related shipments.

25/05/21 PTI/Outlook

FlyBig commences Guwahati-Pasighat flight service

Guwahati: Direct flight service between Guwahati in Assam and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh by FlyBig airlines began on Monday as part of the Centre’s regional connectivity scheme.

A trial flight with an ATR 72 aircraft landed safely at Pasighat airport in East Siang district on Sunday, a FlyBig release said here.

The direct flight service will link Pasighat, Guwahati and Kolkata.

In the next stage, Pasighat will be directly connected with Shillong in Meghalaya, while Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh will be linked with Guwahati making it convenient for travellers, the release said.

The civil aviation ministry said on Sunday that direct flights under the UDAN scheme will significantly boost the economic opportunities in the region.

FlyBig will be operating flights between Guwahati and Pasighat four days a week which will reduce the travelling time between these two destinations and also provide swifter travelling options to other places such as Rupsi in Assam and Kolkata in West Bengal, it said.

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu said it was a significant milestone in building air connectivity.

25/05/21 Press Trust of India/East Mojo

Hyd airport handles over 11K O2 concentrators

Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) has handled more than 11,000 oxygen concentrators and over 100 tonnes of Covid vaccines so far.

Starting from May 1, more than 11,500 units of oxygen concentrators have been brought into Hyderabad from across the globe and from other cities in India, GHAC said on Wednesday.

The shipments have arrived on both scheduled flights as well as special charters as nations, governments, airlines, airports, customs, freight forwarders, ground handlers and all stakeholder joined together to rush the much needed equipment into India.

GHAC has constituted a special task force comprising customs authorities, airlines, freight forwarders and other stakeholders to ensure speedy clearance and handling of Covid relief material consignments.

Recently, GHAC facilitated a large shipment of oxygen concentrators which were donated to Telangana government by a private organization. Telangana's minister for municipal administration & urban development, industry & commerce and information technology, and Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar received them at the Cargo terminal.

GMR Ever since the Covid-19 breakout, GHAC has been in the forefront in the fight against the pandemic. It has been continuously working towards efficient handling and distribution of Covid relief materials. It seamlessly handled several freighters carrying Vaccines, medical equipment and Covid relief material like PPE Kits, masks, sanitizers etc.

Of late there has been a big surge in the movement of oxygen concentrators into Hyderabad to meet the medical demands due to the pandemic.

26/05/21 IANS/Daijiworld

Bhubaneswar International Airport To Be Closed Till May 27 Due To Cyclone Yaas

Bhubaneswar: In view of the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Yaas, flight services to and from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) have been suspended till tomorrow (May 27).

Due to cyclone Yaas, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that Bhubaneswar  Airport will be  closed from 11 pm on Tuesday till 5am on Thursday (May 27).

The closure will be reviewed as per weather. Airports have been directed to carry restoration to restart operations as soon as possible, the AAI tweeted.

As the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are expected to witness wind speed of 70 to 80 kmph during the landfall so the airport will be closed, informs Director General of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

26/05/21 Kalinga TV

Patna airport braces for Cyclone Yaas impact

New Delhi: Flight operations at the Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport is likely to be impacted due to cyclone Yaas. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has put several airports in the eastern region, including Patna, on alert.

"Keeping the safety of airport infrastructure and flight operations during inclement weather, the AAI-Patna has taken all the precautionary measures as per the guidelines," said airport director Bhupesh CH Negi. “To handle the situation, we are following the set of standard operating procedure (SOP),” he added.

Officials at Patna airport said all scattered construction materials are covered, banners and hoardings removed from the airport premises.

Drainage lines at Patna airport have been unclogged to ensure no water-logging on the premises. AAI-Patna officials have also reviewed the status of electrical and civil work.

Santosh Kumar, the airport’s deputy general manager (air traffic management), said 4-5 portable pumping sets will be used to drain water from the airstrip and parking bays.

“We are in touch with officials of the Patna Meteorological Centre, and according to them, the city would witness heavy rainfall. Accordingly, we have made preparations to drain out water from airport premises in case of overflowing sewers,” he said.

26/05/21 Times of India

Cyclone Yaas: Kolkata & Bhubaneswar airports resume commercial flights

New Delhi: Kolkata and Bhubaneswar airports resumed operations on Wednesday evening. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will on Thursday decide to reopening Jharsuguda Airport for schedule commercial flights while airports in Bihar and Jharkhand will remain on alert due to Cyclone Yaas.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday evening, AAI said its chairman Sanjeev Kumar reviewed the situation at various airports in impacted areas due to the severity of the cyclone.

“Inspection of operational areas like runway surface check, communication and navigation services facilities and other ground equipment (was) carried out. After ascertaining that all facilities are okay, it has been decided to resume scheduled commercial flight operations.”

Accordingly, AAI said Kolkata and Bhubaneswar airports resumed normal functioning from 6.30 pm and 7 pm, respectively, on Wednesday.

“Decision on resuming normal flight operations at Jharsuguda to be taken after reviewing situation tomorrow. Jharkhand-Bihar airports on alert,” AAI said.

26/05/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Yaas cyclone: Flight operations resume at Kolkata airport after 11-hour closure

Kolkata: The Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBI) in Kolkata resumed operations on Wednesday evening following an 11-hour closure due to cyclone Yaas.

An an IndiGo flight from Ahmedabad was the first arrival at the airport at 7.44pm after resumption of services.

IndiGo also operated the evening's only departure to the Gujarat's capital city.

There were four domestic flight arrivals and one departure in the evening and three departures in the morning as flight operations were suspended at the airport between 8.30am and 7.30pm.

In fact, as cyclone moved away from the city, runway operations were handed over an hour before the actual operations resumed to accommodate an extra arrival.

But even as the flights operations were suspended and the terminal building was shut, there were some 30 odd passengers who had reached the airport. Some had reached the airport a day ago fearing cyclone-inflicted disturbances in the midst of a lockdown-like situation.

“I had a 6pm flight to Qatar from Delhi on Wednesday and thus had reached the airport early to catch the connecting morning flight to Delhi from Kolkata. But the airport was closed and I ended up missing my international flight,” said Sheikh Hussein, a resident of Taltala who was found sitting outside the airport terminal.

A group of seven labourers from South Dinajpur were also there among a cluster of flyers sitting outside the airport manager’s office on Wednesday morning.

The group were booked on an Air India flight to Ahmedabad on Tuesday which got cancelled. They were booked on another flight on Wednesday which too got cancelled.

The group had started from their homes on Monday night in an air conditioned bus – the solitary emergency transport available from the district at present.

26/05/21 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Delhi International Airport handles 100 COVID-19 relief flights in last month

GMR group-run Delhi International Airport has handled 100 COVID-19 relief flights in the last one month, which have carried 1,750 metric tonnes (MT) of relief cargo from over 36 international destinations. During the second wave of the pandemic, the airport ensured efficient and swift handling of medical aid being received from across the world, with active support from its stakeholders, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a release on Tuesday.

The country's busiest airport is the largest cargo hub airport of south Asia region, with two integrated cargo terminals having an annual handling capacity of 1.8 million MT, which is scalable to 2.3 million MT.

With the handling of 100th relief flight on Tuesday, the airport recorded the highest movements of COVID relief aid among all domestic airports amid the pandemic, DIAL said.

Delhi International Airport handled 100 COVID-19 relief flights between April 27 and May 25 this year with 1,750 metric tonnes of relief material from over 36 countries. The 100th flight carrying 10 metric tonnes of medical aid from Russia arrived on Tuesday, DIAL said.

During this period, the airport successfully handled some of the largest military and commercial aircraft, which include Antonov-124, C-130 Globemasters, C-5, C-17, and IL-76 among other freighters, it said.

These planes brought in consignments of various relief materials such as oxygen generating plants, oxygen generators, concentrators and cylinders, ventilators, Remdesivir injection, patient beds, and medicines like Veklury/Toclizumab, among others.

These flights arrived from several countries such as the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Australia, DIAL said.

25/05/21 PTI/Economic Times-

SpiceJet suspends D’sala-Delhi flights

Palampur: SpiceJet has suspended its flights between Delhi and Dharamsala till June 5 and cancelled the reservations during the period. The airlines has conveyed its decision to the director, Gaggal airport, Kishore Sharma.

The cancellation amount would be maintained in a credit shell and could be used to make fresh bookings. “We are cancelling the reservations till June 5. The amount will be maintained in a credit shell and may be used to make fresh bookings for the same passengers,” sources added.

Before Covid, three flights of SpiceJet operated daily. Air-India was also operating two flights between Delhi-Dharamsala and one between Dharamsala-Chandigarh.

Now, only one flight of Air-India is operational between Delhi-Dharamsala via Chandigarh. There were a total five flights between Delhi-Dharamsala, while one flight was connected with Jaipur. There were a number of heli-taxi services from Shimla and Hisar to the airport.

24/05/21 Tribune

Cyclone Yaas: Kolkata airport waits before taking service suspension call

Kolkata: City airport authorities will take a shutdown decision only after Tuesday morning’s briefing by the meteorological office. Airlines are keen that the decision is taken soon thereafter, so that they get time to inform flyers who would otherwise be braving restrictions and inclement weather to land up at the airport and find themselves stranded.

The indecision by the Airports Authority of India till late on Monday evening appears to have been influenced by the possibility of the cyclone skirting Kolkata. Airline operators said that even if the city experienced consistent cyclonic winds of 60-80kmph with the possibility of gusts at 90kmph, operations will not be possible.

“An early decision will help everyone, particularly passengers who can then reschedule their journey. Airlines will also need to fly out smaller ATR and Q400 aircraft weighing around 20-22 tonne,” an airline official said. There are around 10 small aircraft stationed in Kolkata. There is no such issue with the Boeing B737 and Airbus A320 aircraft that weigh 45-50 tonnes. They just need to be secured with chocks to prevent them from rolling.

With the cyclone set to make landfall at noon on Wednesday, the impact on Kolkata should be between 2pm and 6pm. If the cyclone’s trajectory and timeline remains constant, airlines want to wind up operations by maximum10am so that they have a lead time to clear out the operational area and secure tractors, luggage carts, step ladders and other ground equipment.

Sources said that unless the course of the cyclone shifted further west and moved farther from Kolkata, the airport is likely to suspend operations from early Wednesday morning and resume operations on Thursday.

“We have issued warnings for Kolkata, Durgapur, Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda airports,” said airport met office in-charge GC Debnath.

25/05/21 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

Cyclone Yaas: AAI reviews safety measures at airports

New Delhi: While flight operations to and from airports in West Bengal and Odisha are likely to be affected by Cyclone Yaas, airports in Ranchi, Patna, Raipur, Jamshedpur, Bagdogra, Cooch Behar, Vizag, and Rajahmundry have also been put on alert. 

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are closely monitoring the situation with regular review meetings. Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday chaired a meeting to take stock of the preparedness at the airports that are likely to be impacted by the cyclone. The virtual meeting was attended by Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman of the Airports Authority of India. 

Keeping the safety of airport infrastructure, human resource, and flight operations in mind, airports have been advised to ‘anticipate, plan and protect’, the AAI said. Secretary (Civil Aviation) has instructed the concerned airports to put in place all preventive measures to minimize any damage.

The AAI and the Indian Meteorological Department are constantly monitoring the situation at all airports in southern and eastern India.Heavy rain and winds of 20-25 knots gusting up to 35 knots forced scheduled civil flight operations to be suspended at Port Blair Airport on Monday.

25/05/21 New Indian Express

Airports across South, East India gear up in wake of Cyclone Yaas

Ahead of Cyclone Yaas, Ministry of Civil Aviation chaired a meeting on Monday to take stock of the preparedness of various airports that may likely be impacted by the cyclone.

The virtual meeting was attended by Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman, Airports Authority of India, Member (Ops) and Member (Planning), Regional Executive Director (Eastern Region), AAI, Director (Eastern Region), Indian Meteorological Department, Station Commander and Senior Meteorological Officer, Indian Navy and Airport Directors of airports from Eastern and Southern Regions.

Due to heavy rain and winds of 20-25 knots gusting up to 35 knots, scheduled civil flight operations at the Port Blair Airport in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been suspended for today.

Senior management at AAI, along with IMD, is consistently monitoring the situation at all other airports in Southern and Eastern India.

Secretary (Civil Aviation) instructed that all preventive measures be in place at all airports that are likely to be impacted by the Cyclone, to minimise any damage.

Keeping safety of airport infrastructure, manpower and safe flight operations in mind, airports have been advised to ‘anticipate, plan and protect’ to safeguard the airport infrastructure and civil aviation services.

As per the latest Weather Bulletin by IMD, after laying practically stationary over East-central Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Yaas is very likely to move slowly north-northwestwards, intensify further into a Severe Cyclonic Storm during next 24 hours and into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during subsequent 24 hours. It would continue to move north-northwestwards, intensify further and reach Northwest Bay of Bengal near north Odisha and West Bengal coasts by May 26 early morning.

24/05/21 EastMojo

Cyclone Yaas: Flight ops at Port Blair airport suspended

New Delhi: Civil aviation operations at Port Blair airport have been suspended due to the inclement weather conditions unleashed by Cyclone Yaas.

According to the Airports Authority of India, the move was necessitated due to heavy rain and winds of 20-25 knots gusting up to 35 knots.

"Scheduled civil flight operations at the Port Blair Airport in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been suspended for today, 24th May, 2021," AAI said in a statement.

"Senior management at AAI, along with IMD, is consistently monitoring the situation at all other airports in Southern and Eastern India. Secretary (Civil Aviation) instructed that all preventive measures be in place at all airports that are likely to be impacted by the Cyclone, to minimise any damage."

According to the statement, flights operations at Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Jharsuguda and Durgapur airport are likely to be impacted by the cyclone.

Besides, Ranchi, Patna, Raipur, Jamshedpur, Bagdogra, Cooch Behar, Vizag and Rajahmundry airports have been instructed to be on alert in case the cyclonic winds change path.

As per the latest IMD weather bulletin, after laying practically stationary over East-central Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Yaas is very likely to move slowly north-northwestwards, intensify further into a 'Severe Cyclonic Storm' during next 24 hours and into a 'Very Severe Cyclonic Storm' during subsequent 24 hours.

24/05/21 Daijiworld

Bengaluru airport processes 6.5 lakh kg of Covid material

Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru has processed 650,225 kgs (542,620 kgs of imports and 107,605 kgs of domestic inbound) of Covid-19 related relief material from April 1 to May 19, the airport said in a press release

Of the total, a significant 567,791 kgs were processed from May 1 to May 19, with imports at 507,820 kgs and domestic inbound cargo at 59,971 kgs. While 200 shipments came in April, the first 20 days of May accounted for nearly 800 shipments, accounting for an overall 25,891 pieces of COVID-19-related cargo.

During this period, the airport recorded a total of 136 air traffic movements, including 101 international ATMs and 35 domestic ATMs, carrying Covid-19 related cargo. This included 21 different carriers (7 Indian and 14 international carriers). Wuhan and Singapore are the top importing origins.

Oxygen concentrators, ventilators and Zeolite were the major import commodities, while Covid-19 vaccines and PPEs were the top domestic inbound cargo.

25/05/21 Economic Times

Chennai airport taxiway, terminal works pick up pace

Chennai: With air traffic down, Chennai airport has yet again got an opportunity to speed up work on the airside and also on the terminal as there will be fewer hindrances to carry out the work.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) completed most of the work on the integrated terminal building, carried out glass cladding and also installed truss for the roof during the lockdown last year.

Now, as the number of flights has dipped from around 250 per day to 60 handling around 3,600 passengers per day, the airside and the space near the domestic and international terminals are not congested, making it easier to carry out construction work.

The airport is building a parallel taxiway for the main runway, three rapid exit taxiways for the runways and rebuilding a taxiway for bigger planes, parking bays for cargo planes and has other airside work to increase runway capacity and to reduce the time taken by planes to move out of second runway soon after touchdown. The ongoing works cost ₹2,467 crore.

A source from AAI said, “The construction has not been halted because of the lockdown. We have workers at the site. Having fewer flight services helps us as it means less hindrance to work and it is also easier now for us to work at night as international flights are not there. Though work is going on at the expected pace it will be easier if flght operations were not there.”

Low footfalls and meagre transfers between domestic and international terminals has helped in movement of heavy machinery and trucks in front of the existing terminal buildings without affecting movement of cars that arrive to pick up passengers.

25/05/21 Times of India


Warehouse, logistics hub may come up close to Noida airport

Greater Noida: Tappal Bajna, some 7km from the upcoming Jewar international airport, could become one of the region’s largest logistics and warehousing hubs, if Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) moves ahead with its proposal for the same under its Master Plan Phase-II.

A preliminary report submitted by consultant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India engaged in preparing the feasibility study and the detailed project report has recommended rail connectivity of the hub — proposed across 465 hectares — with the Delhi-Palwal route. Once ready, it will be a major point of industrial goods offload, officials said. “We have proposed the logistics and warehousing hub in Tappal Bajna Urban Centre under the Master Plan Phase-II. We have appointed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India for preparing the feasibility study-cum-DPR of the proposed logistics and warehousing hub in the area,” said Monika Rani, additional CEO of YEIDA .

While the inception report has been submitted by the consultant, it has also recommended that the logistics and warehousing hub be well connected via road and rail. The report suggests connecting this hub with the Delhi-Palwal rail road, with 16km of track laid for the purpose.

"There is Chola railway station near Tappal. But specific proposals for rail connectivity shall be made by the consultant with justified recommendations in the draft DPR, which is yet to be submitted,” she said.

25/05/21 Meenakshi Sinha/Times of India

BIAL handled 650,225 kg Covid relief material in 40 days

Bengaluru: Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, (KIA/BIAL) has processed 650,225 kg (542,620 kg imports and 107,605 kg from domestic source) of Covid-19 relief material from April 1 to May 19. Of the total, a significant 567,791 kg was processed from May 1 to 19, consisting of 507,820 kg imports and 59,971 kg relief from domestic sources. While 200 shipments came in April, the first 20 days of May accounted for nearly 800 shipments, accounting for an overall 25,891 pieces of Covid-19-related cargo.

During this period, the Bengaluru airport recorded a total of 136 Air Traffic Movements (ATMs), including 101 international ATMs and 35 domestic ATMs, carrying Covid cargo. This included 21 different carriers (7 Indian and 14 international). Wuhan and Singapore are the top importing origins.

25/05/21 Hans India

Monday, May 24, 2021

New runway at Jammu Airport likely to commission in August

Jammu: To facilitate night landing in days to come, the newly constructed runway is likely to be commissioned in the month of August here at Jammu Airport.

Official sources told UNI that the target to complete the new runway was May 31 and it is almost complete, adding, “it is a full length runway and the operation may be commissioned on the directions from the Indian Air Force (IAF) by August ending.”

The routine flight operations, which were suspended in view of runway expansions and other allied works, resumed from April 20 at Jammu Airport.

“Runway at Jammu Airport is not under DGCA and the final call has to be taken by the IAF after holding deliberations with concerned authorities but as per inside reports, the runway may get commissioned in August,” they said.

Pertinent to mention that flights from Jammu Airport were earlier regulated from March 10 to April 19 to enable the Indian Air Force (IAF) to carry out resurfacing and other allied works after the Centre shot down its proposal for a complete closure of the strategic airport from March 6 to 20.

Earlier in March, in a communication to Airport Authorities and Airlines, Senior Air Traffic Controller has written that the complete closure of runway at Jammu towards laying of final two top DAC-II layers on runway surface was approved by Air HQ and the same has been intimated to ED (Operations) Airport Authority of India, New Delhi.

24/05/21 UNI

Flybig connects Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh with Guwahati

Guwahati: After foraying in the northeast airspace and flagging off its first flight from Guwahati to Rupsi in the second week of May, Flybig airline has expanded its operations to the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh, connecting Pasighat with Guwahati.

Flybig’s first flight to Arunachal arrived at the Pasighat airport on Monday morning from Guwahati. This is the second airline to operate in Pasighat airport which is maintained by the Indian Air Force and the state government.

Airport officials said direct flight connectivity with Guwahati, which has daily flights with major cities of the country, can give a major boost to tourism in the state. “In the next stage, Pasighat will also be directly connected with Shillong, while Tezu will get connected to Guwahati, making it convenient and quick to travel between these cities,” said a Flybig spokesperson.

Congratulating Flybig on the launch, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu said the government of India and the state government are working tirelessly towards improving transport and communications sector in Arunachal Pradesh under PM Narendra Modi. “With connectivity will come opportunities. Our people can take advantage of this and get connected to the world — be it for commerce, health or higher education,” Khandu said.

Direct flights between Guwahati and Pasighat will start with a frequency of four flights per week. Aviation industry sources said this has not only reduced the travel hours significantly between these two destinations but also provided swifter travelling options to other regions like Rupsi in Assam and Kolkata in West Bengal. The airline began operations in January 2021 and is focused on connecting Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities within India.

24/05/21 Kangkan Kalita/Times of India

Cyclone Yaas: Port Blair airport shut for today; more likely to be impacted

New Delhi: Scheduled commercial flight operations at Port Blair airport was suspended on Monday due to heavy rain and wind of 20-35 knots (37-65 kmph), says the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

This is a fallout of Cyclone Yaas that is expected to make landfall on the eastern coast on Wednesday.

According to Met department’s latest weather bulletin issued by IMD, Cyclone Yaas is very likely to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm.

While flight operations at Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Jharsuguda and Durgapur airports are likely to be impacted; Ranchi, Patna, Raipur, Jamshedpur, Bagdogra, Cooch Behar, Vizag and Rajahmundry airports have been instructed to be on alert in case the cyclonic winds change path, says an AAI official.

“It would… reach Northwest Bay of Bengal near north Odisha and West Bengal coasts by Wednesday (May 26) early morning. It is very likely to cross north Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar islands around Wednesday noon as a very severe cyclonic storm,” AAI said in a statement.

Aviation secretary P S Kharola on Monday reviewed preparations for this cyclone with AAI management, along with chairman Sanjeev Kumar, Indian Meteorological Department, Station Commander and Senior Meteorological Officer, Indian Navy and airport directors of airports from eastern and southern Regions.

24/05/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Covid-19 second wave to put a brake on passenger traffic recovery at Indian airports: ICRA

The domestic passenger traffic which witnessed a steady ramp-up post resumption of airport operations from May 25, 2020, reaching 64% of the previous year levels in February 2021 has again suffered a setback. As per ICRA note, the spike in Covid-19 infections towards March-end and April 2021 has resulted in several state governments implementing fresh restrictions, resulting in marginal de-growth in traffic in March 2021 (-0.7% M-o-M) compared to February 2021 (+1.4% M-o-M). The average daily number of departing passengers during March 2021 stood at 2.49 lakh and declined by 28% M-o-M in April 2021 to 1.79 lakh.  There was a further dip of 56% from May 1, 2021 to May 16, 2021, compared to the average of April 2021.

Giving more insights, Mr. Shubham Jain, Senior Vice President, Corporate Ratings, ICRA, says “In addition to the passengers being apprehensive for air travel, increase in infections forced many state governments to implement strict covid-19 restrictions during last two months on air travel. The second wave of Covid-19 infections is likely to delay recovery in traffic. The passenger traffic growth is now estimated at 80%-85% Y-o-Y in FY2022 as against our earlier projection of 130%-135% Y-o-Y. This is factoring in the assumption that majority of population (above 18+ years) will be vaccinated by December 2021, in line with the GoI’s vaccination policy targets, and impact of third wave (if any) to be minimal due to mass vaccination. ICRA expects domestic air travel to recover back to pre-Covid levels by FY2023 and the international sector by FY2024.”

The international traffic remains limited to countries with special flights under the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) rescue operation flights and bilateral ‘Air Transport Bubble (ATB)’ agreements. Many countries like the US, the UK, Singapore, Kuwait, France, Canada, Australia, Iran, Indonesia and the UAE, which had ATB arrangements or under the VBM, have temporarily banned flights from India, citing the increasing coronavirus infections.

24/05/21 India Infoline

Gujarat: Second corona wave slows passenger movement at airport

Ahmedabad: Apprehensions on travelling triggered by the nastier second wave of Covid-19 infections have impacted passenger movements at the city airport significantly. However, Air passenger traffic remained relatively unaffected in March 2021 with a marginal 6.3% decline year-on-year, according to data by Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Passenger movement including both domestic and international traffic stood at 5.56 lakh passengers in March 2021 against 5.93 lakh during the same month last year. Sources at the city airport estimated that passenger traffic dropped significantly in April as the second wave of Covid-19 infections intensified. AAI, however, has not yet released exact passenger movement data for April this year.

Explaining the trend, a travel industry expert said, “In Gujarat, restrictions mandating a negative RT-PCR report were executed in March-end which did not affect passenger traffic to a great extent. The same in Maharashtra was implemented much earlier. Moreover, due to the second wave, travellers had serious apprehensions to move out of their city unless there was a pressing emergency. Therefore, passenger movement was expected to take a hit.”

The protocol making it compulsory to give RT-PCR negative reports upon arrival in a given state varies from state to state and according to travel industry experts, it was a dampener for impacting travel.

24/05/21 Times of India

Raipur airport handled transportation of 530 oxygen cylinders between April 9 and May 17: AAI

New Delhi: The Raipur airport has handled the transportation of 530 oxygen cylinders by the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft between April 9 and May 17, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on Monday.

India has been badly hit by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and hospitals in several states have been facing shortage of oxygen, beds, drugs, vaccines and equipment.

The AAI''s statement said, "To overcome the oxygen crisis in the country, a total of six empty oxygen tankers (90 tonnes), 1,108 pieces of oxygen concentrators, 350 filled oxygen cylinders and 180 empty oxygen cylinders were transported by the IAF aircraft like C-17, C-130J, AN-32 from April 9 and May 17."

A total 171 boxes of COVID-19 vaccine have also been transported through various airlines till May 17 through the Raipur airport, it mentioned.

The Centre-run AAI owns and manages over 100 airports - including the Raipur airport - across the country.

24/05/21 PTI/Outlook

Karnataka makes negative COVID-19 test mandatory on arrival: A look at all states with entry restrictions

As some states report high numbers of daily COVID-19 cases amid the second wave of coronavirus, Karnataka has now announced that a mandatory negative RT-PCR report would be needed for people from outside the state to enter.

With this, Karnataka has become the latest state to seek test reports for incoming domestic passengers. Here’s a look at all the states in India where test reports are needed to enter.

Amid this wave, several states have closed their borders or placed restrictions on movement of people to prevent the spread of the virus apart from the normal thermal screening process. 

Here are all the states that have mandated testing on arrival of passengers >>


Sunday, May 23, 2021

Arunachal''s Pasighat to get new flight service

Bhtanagar: FlyBig airlines will on Monday start a direct flight service between Pasighat in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, and Guwahati and Kolkata, officials said.

The newly-launched airlines operated a trial flight with an ATR 72 aircraft on Sunday and it landed safely at the Pasighat airport, FlyBig regional head Manima Baruah said.

"A trial flight operated by @flybigairlines landed safely at Pasighat Airport. The scheduled civilian operations will commence 24th May onwards. Direct flights under #UDAN will significantly boost the economic opportunities in the region," the Union Civil Aviation Ministry tweeted.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu said it was a significant milestone in building air connectivity in the state.

Barua said the fare would be cheaper than other airlines operating in the region.

23/05/21 PTI/Outlook

Friday, May 21, 2021

PPP airport operators seek ‘cash support’ from government to pay staff and 'sustain operations'

New Delhi: India’s private airport operators, including those in four metros, have sought "cash support" from the government "to sustain operations." The urgent SOS, among other things, is to seek "salary support for airport employees to avoid any possible loss of employment due to sustained low level of operations for such a long period."

The Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO) earlier this week sent an 11-point communication to Union aviation ministry amid the Covid catastrophe in India that has dealt a body blow to aviation as both international and domestic air travel have crashed. "Struggling to sustain operations, concerned for a much deeper financial impact this year. It has now come to the brink, to ensure sustenance of safe and secure airport operations and are in dire need of cash support to survive," it says.

APAO represents PPP airports at Mumbai and upcoming Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru (part of Adani Group); Delhi, Hyderabad and upcoming in Goa (GMR Group); Bengaluru and Kochi. Indian airlines are also in dire straits and had a meeting with aviation ministry on Thursday to seek elusive support.

The APAO representation to the government speaks of suffering "catastrophically in terms of traffic, revenues and cash balance for the entire last year. The recent surge of cases has again raised serious concerns for the future." Due to the vaccination fiasco in India, it says, "going by the current pace it will take much longer to vaccinate a sizeable Indian population" required for safe travel to resume.

Citing impact of the second wave, it says Delhi airport had recovered to nearly 1.1 lakh daily domestic passengers (about 60% of pre-covid level) in February before slipping to 20-25,000 by mid-May. Mumbai airport had recovered to 60,000 daily domestic passengers by mid-February, before crashing to 12-15,000 by-May 2021. Other airports have also seen their traffic fall off the cliff.

The 11-point relief sought is for things like "extending GST input tax credit; reduction in GST rate from 18% on output services to 12%; disbursement of overdues from Air India; salary support for airport employees; special line of credit or working capital loan on an unsecured basis at subsidised rate with a moratorium of at least 2 years. The credit amount should cover the cash flow gap for a period of at least 24 months or till business comes back to normalcy."

It has also requested a "moratorium on debt servicing obligations and extending suspension of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code till March 31, 2022."

21/05/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India


Facing shortage, DGCA to take in safety inspectors from Airports Authority of India on deputation

Chandigarh: To meet the shortfall of specialized staff required for carrying out safety oversight functions in the civil aviation sector, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to employ additional inspectors from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on a secondment basis.

DGCA is responsible for ensuring that Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) services and Air Traffic Management (ATM) services provided by the AAI are following the specified Civil Aviation Requirements.

For this DGCA carries out regular surveillance and audits.

“The Air Space and Air Navigation Services Standards Directorate in DGCA, which is presently assigned this responsibility, is not adequately staffed to carry out the desired level of oversight functions,” a memorandum issued by the DGCA this month states.

“In order to augment the specialized manpower, it has been decided, as an interim measure, to utilize the services of the trained manpower available with the Airports Authority of India for the purpose of carrying out the oversight functions in an effective manner,” the memorandum adds.

21/05/21 Vijay Mohan/Tribune

Handled over 100 air ambulances for Covid +ve since April: Delhi Airport

New Delhi: The Delhi airport on Friday said it has handled 100 movements of air ambulance services for Covid-19 patients since April, as Indian in abroad opting for medical charter flights to carry their loved ones has increased the growth of private jets.

“With around 12 aircrafts currently permitted to operate from the airport, nearly 100 movements of Covid positive patients have been registered during the past month. These aircraft are available with medevac operations,” Delhi airport said.“At this time of need, Delhi Airport has been tirelessly supporting the Government in its fight against the pandemic. The GA Terminal with adjoining Aircraft Parking Stands has been handling air ambulance service to all Indian airports and several International destinations like Germany, Dubai, Zurich, Kathmandu, Dhaka, etc.,” A Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) spokesperson said.

While handling Air ambulance flights, airside Follow-Me Inspectors of DIAL escort the outside ambulance vehicles from airside gates up to the respective aircraft parking bays/apron and vice-versa. Airports and FBO staff are operating 24x7 with a backup plan of manpower and resources to handle such Air ambulance flights on priority. 

21/05/21 Pioneer

250 oxygen cylinders arrive at Silchar Airport

Silchar: Two IAF AN32 aircrafts shipped a consignment of 250 D type cylinders to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at Silchar airport on Friday.

Sources said this consignment was handed over to the officials of Government of Manipur and were transported to Manipur by road. Credible sources at AAI Silchar Airport informed that AAI extended all necessary support, ensured smooth handling and quick delivery of the cargo.

Sources further informed that Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh intimated that these 250 type D cylinders are the first consignment out of the order of 2000 cylinders placed by Government of Manipur. He also stated that the expenses for these 250 cylinders is borne through the CSR contribution of NHIDCL, sources added.

21/05/21 Assam Tribune

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Trivandrum airport handles transportation of 9.76 MT COVID-19 vaccines, 180 oxygen cylinders till Wednesday

The Trivandrum airport has handled the transportation of 9.76 metric tonnes COVID-19 vaccines, 300 oxygen concentrators and 180 oxygen cylinders till Wednesday, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on Thursday.

India has been badly hit by a second wave of coronavirus infections, and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of vaccines, oxygen, drugs, equipment and beds.

"To overcome the oxygen crisis, a total of 300 oxygen concentrators, 180 oxygen cylinders were transported by Indian Air Force aircraft like C-17, AN-32 till May 19 in Kerala via Trivandrum," the AAI's statement noted.

The Centre-run AAI owns and manages more than 100 Indian airports, including the Trivandrum airport.

"A total of 313 boxes (9.76 MT) of COVID-19 vaccines have been transported through various airlines till May 19 through the Trivandrum airport," the AAI stated.

With 2,76,110 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,57,72,440 while the daily deaths were recorded below 4,000 after four days, taking the toll to 2,87,122, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

A total of 3,874 fatalities due to COVID-19 were registered in a span of 24 hours.

20/05/21 PTI/Business Today

Monkey enjoys the buffet in New Delhi airport's Air India lounge, old video goes viral

New Delhi: A hilarious yet concerning video has surfaced on the internet. Despite it being shot in 2018, it found its way on YouTube thanks to a popular page called 'ViralHog.'

The viral clip has been taken at the Air India lounge in the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. In it, a monkey is seen enjoying the buffet that was otherwise set up for the passengers traveling in that airline. 

First, he is seen sitting in the sweets section where he is eating a Gulab Jamun in full glory. Then, he hops towards the salad section to devour the vegetables. After being satisfied with what he ate, he goes out while grabbing a banana on his way while others just watched by. 

20/05/21 Akanksha Saxena/TimesNowNews.com

IAF barters land for expansion of Jodhpur airport

Jodhpur: In a major development towards expansion of Jodhpur Civil Airport, 37 acres possessed by the Jodhpur Air Force Station was handed over to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Tuesday. In exchange, the IAF has been allotted a similar size of land parcel by Jodhpur Municipal Corporation.Defence Estate Officer (Jodhpur Circle) Abhinav Singh said the Air Force dismantled all its establishments on this land before finally handing over this land parcel to the civil airport for expansion.

“In all, 2.42 acres is forest land and for the diversion of this land, the AAI would be undertaking procedure according to the conditions of MoU,” said Singh.

This land will facilitate the airport to further expand its facilities to accommodate more passenger planes.

This transfer of land is the result of an MoU signed in 2017 among various stakeholders as per which, 37 acres of land was to be transferred by the IAF to the airport in return of same size land to the Air Force by JMC.

Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who contributed in accelerating the process of the transfer of land so that the required expansion of the civil airport could be done fast, said that taxiway and apron have already been built and with this transfer of land now, the AAI will begin the construction of a terminal building.

“This expansion will help in the parking of 9-12 passenger planes as against four planes currently and about 500 passengers at the airport at a time,” Shekhawat said.

20/05/21 Times of India

150 oxygen beds at Bengaluru airport; state aims to vaccinate all by November

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday inaugurated the 150-bed oxygenated COVID-19 treatment centre at Kempegowda International Airport, in  Bengaluru.

COV-AID@BLR is a COVID-19 treatment centre located near the Cargo Terminals of Bengaluru Airport, open for the public and employees from the Bengaluru Airport ecosystem.

“Patients can get admission at the Centre by contacting the Nodal Officers (Sannappaiah -9448116661) and Dr. Sanjay -9538279991) or through recommendation from a Referral Hospital. The patient must carry an Aadhar card, prescription provided by the Referral Hospital and relevant medical documents,” Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) said in a statement.

The facility is designed to treat patients who are asymptomatic, with mild hypoxia (a condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level).

“It is designed to be a transit oxygen delivery centre, which would provide much-needed relief and treatment for patients requiring oxygen support until they are able to get admission in a hospital. This facility is not equipped to treat pregnant women or moderate cases and those requiring high flow oxygen support / ICU beds,” the statement added.

The centre would be equipped with a pharmacy, pathology unit, nurses’ station, rest rooms, dining area and drinking water facilities. An ambulance would be on standby 24×7 to cater to emergencies. According to airport authorities, all necessary arrangements would be made for safe disposal of waste, including bio-waste.

According to BIAL, the treatment at COV-AID@BLR would be free of cost, while charges for medicines, tests and self-arranged ambulances would be borne by patients.

20/05/21 Darshan Devaiah BP/Indian Express

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Covid relief poured in from 20 countries: Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Over 387 tonnes of Covid relief supplies from about 20 destinations arrived into India through the Mumbai airport in the past three weeks on 110 flights, said a Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson on Wednesday.

"The first shipment arrived on April 26 and till now, the Mumbai airport has registered the arrival of approximately 110 flights originating from 20 destinations across the globe," siad the spokesperson. That included over 17,700 oxygen concentrators, 3,19,800 vials of Remdesivir injections and 1,13,900 vials of Tocilizumab injections approximately in the period between April 26 and May 14 to cater to the increase in demand of these goods for the treatment of patients in India.

The airport has achieved an overall processing time of 15 minutes, including offloading and storage, for essential medical supplies, the official said. Aid has poured in from 20 destinations including Singapore, Mauritius, Netherlands, Indonesia, China, Scotland, South Korea, Malaysia, England, France, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Poland, Turkey, Germany, Dubai, South Africa, Thailand, California, and Hong Kong.

19/05/21 Manju V/Times of India

Covid relief poured in from 20 countries: Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Over 387 tonnes of Covid relief supplies from about 20 destinations arrived into India through the Mumbai airport in the past three weeks on 110 flights, said a Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson on Wednesday.

"The first shipment arrived on April 26 and till now, the Mumbai airport has registered the arrival of approximately 110 flights originating from 20 destinations across the globe," siad the spokesperson. That included over 17,700 oxygen concentrators, 3,19,800 vials of Remdesivir injections and 1,13,900 vials of Tocilizumab injections approximately in the period between April 26 and May 14 to cater to the increase in demand of these goods for the treatment of patients in India.

The airport has achieved an overall processing time of 15 minutes, including offloading and storage, for essential medical supplies, the official said. Aid has poured in from 20 destinations including Singapore, Mauritius, Netherlands, Indonesia, China, Scotland, South Korea, Malaysia, England, France, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Poland, Turkey, Germany, Dubai, South Africa, Thailand, California, and Hong Kong.

19/05/21 Manju V/Times of India

Gujarat: Major airports suspend operations

Ahmedabad: Major airports across Gujarat suspended all operations on Tuesday, due to the heavy rainfall caused by the cyclonic storm that battered the state. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad had suspended operations for nine and a half hours from 7.30pm on Monday till 5am on Tuesday.

Flight operations continued as scheduled at the international airport, however, as heavy rains lashed Ahmedabad, airport authorities once again suspended all operations from 3pm on Tuesday.

According to an update from the SVPI authorities, where operations, maintenance and development is handled by Adani Airports, “All operations at SVPI airport would remain suspended till 10pm on Tuesday.” Similarly, Surat airport which announced its closure till 6pm on Tuesday also revised its decision later and extended the suspension till 10pm on Tuesday. Rajkot airport had suspended operations from 4pm on Monday.

“We have already suspended airport operations from Monday evening and will resume operations only from Wednesday morning,” said Diganta Borah, airport director, Rajkot International Airport.

19/05/21 Times of India

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Glimmer of hope in domestic airport traffic, but true revival long way off

The busiest airport in the country at Delhi bounced back into the black in March this year reporting a growth of 5.6 per cent. It catered to 2.9 million domestic passengers as compared to 2.7 million in March last year. March is the latest month for which passenger traffic data is available in the public domain with the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Delhi airport was not alone in turning the corner since the pandemic hit domestic aviation leading to a complete ban on domestic flights for two months till operations resumed on May 25 last year.

Another large airport, Hyderabad also turned the corner and reported a 10 per cent growth in domestic passengers handled in March this year at just under one million (9.9 lakh) as against 9 lakh domestic passengers handled in March 2020. Even Bengaluru showed some signs of revival as it reported a marginal loss of 0.7 per cent at 1.4 million domestic passengers as compared to 1.41 million in March 2020.

These large airports joined the growing number of airports in smaller towns and cities which returned to the positive zone beginning with Belgaum airport in Karnataka which was the first airport in the country to report a turnaround in terms of passengers handled in September last year (after May 25 when the COVID lockdown was partially lifted).

In September last year, Belgaum handled 23,170 domestic passengers as against 21,339 domestic passengers in the same month in 2019, a growth of 8.6 per cent.

However, promising though these numbers are, domestic aviation’s revival still seem a long way off as the sector has been battered by a fresh COVID wave sweeping the country. Given the situation, analysts and industry watchers are not too optimistic about the near future as well.

For example, in a little more than a month after turning the corner, Delhi airport announced that it was shifting all its operations to a single terminal from May 18 because of fewer flights and flyers. The airport has three passenger terminals.

Domestic traffic in March 2021 was still 33 per cent below pre-COVID January 2020 levels, says a report on Indian Air Traffic Recovery conducted by ICF India. "Recovery strengthened in February but is slowing down going forward,” Pulkit Kapoor, Senior Consultant Aviation and Sharad Gambhir, Manager, Aviation, ICF India say in their report.

17/05/21 Ashwini Phadnis/Moneycontro.com

As footfall drops, T2 suspends operation

New Delhi: Delhi airport’s Terminal 2 has been shut down for operations from Monday midnight. All the flights will now operate only from Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, an official said. The move comes keeping in mind the drop in footfall, following the restrictions and lockdown curbs in several states.

Around two months ago, the airport was mulling opening Terminal 1 in addition to the already functioning Terminal 2 and 3. However, footfall began dropping as cases began rising countrywide.

An airport official said the footfall had crossed around 1 lakh passengers per day at the start of the year, however, it was currently down to around 35,000 passengers per day. “We have decided to close operations at Terminal 2 to make it easier for airlines to operate and manage their staff. It will also be easier for passengers to fly from one terminal,” said the official.

Once the footfall returns to a significant figure again, T2 will resume operation and passengers will be given prior notice, in case their flights were booked in advance, the airport said.

“All flight operations at #DelhiAirport will be shifted to T3 effectively from May 10 00:01 hours. All passengers are required to complete their web check-in at home for a contactless journey,” Delhi airport tweeted on Monday.

18/05/21 Times of India

All major airports in Gujarat shut

Ahmedabad: With Tauktae — an extremely severe cyclonic storm — predicted to make landfall along the Gujarat coast late on Monday, all major airports across the state including those in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara and Kandla remained shut for a few hours.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad was to remain closed for about 10 hours. Adani Ahmedabad International Airport Limited (AAIAL), which handles the operations, management and development of SVPI airport, issued a statement on Monday that the city airport was to remain shut from 7.30pm on Monday to 5am on Tuesday.

“Ahmedabad airport is fully prepared for Cyclone Tauktae. As a precautionary measure, our operations will remain suspended from 7.30pm on May 17 to 5am on May 18,” states AAIAL, through a social media post.

A total of 18 incoming and outgoing flights were cancelled from the SVPI airport on Monday in the wake of the cyclone warning. That apart, during the day, flights to Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Jaipur, among others were cancelled due to operational constraints, bad weather as well as inadequate passenger movement.

Vadodara airport is likely to remain closed at least till Tuesday afternoon in view of the cyclone. Airport operations were initially closed from 11 am to 6 pm except for emergency and relief flights. However, later it was decided to keep the airport closed for all flights till 1 pm on Tuesday. The district administration has also asked the airport authorities to keep de-watering pumps and diesel generation sets ready at the airport to meet any emergency.

18/05/21 Times of India

Cyclone Tauktae precautions: Surat, Vadodara airports suspend operations

Vadodara: As part of precautions owing to the cyclone Tauktae, the operations at Vadodara and Surat airports were suspended by the respective authorities till Tuesday 1 pm.

The Vadodara airport initially suspended its operations from afternoon to 6 pm on Monday, but later extended the suspension until 1pm on Tuesday, Airport Director K Gupta told The Indian Express.

According to Gupta, in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, several private airlines had already suspended their operations and only two civilian flights have been operating from the airport for a few weeks now.

Gupta said, “We have about six to eight scheduled flights usually but owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, Indigo has suspended all its flights to and from Vadodara until May 31. Therefore only Air India has been operating two scheduled flights between Vadodara and Delhi — one that lands early morning and another one in the evening. The flight of Monday morning landed about 6:15am and took off around 7:30 am. Post that, the operations were closed as the weather conditions were unsuitable and unpredictable. The management has decided to extend the suspension of operations owing to the building cyclone until 1pm on Tuesday since the impact is expected to happen between 8 pm and 11 pm.”

Authorities of Surat airport also suspended operations for Monday after one flight of Air India from Delhi landed in the morning.

Sources in Surat airport said that Air India, Indigo, and Star Airways run two flights each from Surat.

Surat Airport Director Aman Saini said, “Except morning flight of Air India from Delhi, other flights arrival and departure had been presently cancelled due to the cyclone. We are keeping tabs on the movement of the cyclone and we are in contact with our top authorities and later in the evening we will decide our further decision. We have also intimated to the air flight service providers and they also agreed seeing the present situation of cyclone.”

17/05/21 Indian Express

Many flights suspend in Dimapur Airport

Kohima: The Airport Authority of India of Dimapur has suspended many flights to and from the lone airport of Nagaland in Dimapur till May 31 next, due to increasing surge of COVID-19 cases in the state and the resultant total lockdown.

Official sources informed today on its Twitter handle that Dimapur Airport shared the current flight schedule by the Dimapur Airport Authority of India informed that the suspended flight included daily flights, bi-weekly as well as two flights scheduled to start from May 23. The red coded flight included both ATR as well as Airbus A319 Aircraft.

According to the flight schedule, the days of operation for ATR were daily flight from Kolkata and Dibrugarh. Three Airbus 319 flights, from Indian Airlines, including two that were proposed to start operation from May 23 have been suspended, it informed.

However, there two AT7 (Alliance Air) daily flights – one from Gauhati and other from Dibrugarh – are in operation, AAI informed.

In addition, the tri-weekly IndiGo flights from Delhi and Kolkata as well as another IndiGo flight which arrives four times a week were also in operation, it added.

18/05/21 UNI

Covid positive man caught at Imphal airport, fined

Imphal: A 19-year-old man, who had tested Covid positive, was caught by on-duty doctors at the Imphal airport while he was trying to board a Kolkata-bound flight on Saturday.

As a penalty for violating the guidelines under The Manipur Epidemic Diseases (Enforcement of Covid-19 guidelines) Regulations, 2020, the individual, identified as Bholakumar, has been slapped with a fine of Rs 2000. Imphal East district surveillance officer reported that Bholakumar, a resident of Tellipati, had tested Covid positive on Sunday at the Babila Lab, an order issued by the deputy commissioner of the district stated.

In spite of knowing his result, he was trying to board the flight to Kolkata but was caught and detained at the Imphal aiport by the on-duty doctors there. His act is a “clear violation of the protocol of Covid-19 positive patients as he was supposed to isolate himself either at home isolation or community isolation centre or Covid care centre”, said the order.

17/05/21 K Sarojkumar Sharma/Times of India

Monday, May 17, 2021

Cyclone Tauktae effect: Mumbai airport to remain shut till 6 pm

Mumbai: The Mumbai airport has announced suspension of all flight operations from 11 am to 6 pm on Monday, with cyclone Tauktae currently routing off the western coast of Maharashtra.

About 30 departures and 27 arrivals are scheduled to operate from/to Mumbai airport in these three hours, said sources. Airlines have cancelled some of the flights, while others will be rescheduled.

The morning began with SpiceJet flight SG 678 from Chennai being diverted to Surat around 8.15 am, said a Mumbai International Airport Ltd spokesperson. The Boeing 737 circled over the city for over 30 minutes before it diverted.

Aviation weather report issued at 9.30 am, showed a southeast wind with a speed of 40 mph with gusts going up to 60 mph. The sky over Mumbai is overcast at 8000 feet. The forecast showed thunderstorm and rain showers.

17/05/21 Manju V/Times of India


Delhi airport to shut operations at T2 terminal from Monday midnight

New Delhi: The Delhi international airport will shut down its T2 terminal from Monday midnight as the number of flights have reduced significantly due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, sources said.

From Monday midnight, all flights will be handled at the T3 terminal only, they stated. Currently, the Delhi airport is handling around 325 flights per day, they mentioned. Before the pandemic, it used to handle around 1,500 flights per day.

The sources said average passenger traffic at the Delhi airport was around 1.15 lakh per day in February, which has reduced to around 30,000 per day right now due to the second wave.

The Delhi airport's decision has come at a time when India and its aviation sector have been badly hit by the second wave. During the last few weeks, the number of daily domestic air passengers in India has come down from more than 2.2 lakh to around 75,000 right now, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry's data. Similarly, international air traffic has also been affected by the second wave of the pandemic.

17/05/21 PTI/India TV

AirAsia India announces free cancellation, rescheduling for West Bengal flights amid lockdown

Budget carrier AirAsia India on Monday announced free cancellation and rescheduling for flights to and from West Bengal in the wake of a 15-day lockdown in the state.

A 15-day lockdown came into force in Bengal on Sunday, with the government putting in place a host of stringent measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Further, the Bangalore-based private carrier said it was extending the similar facility, announced earlier for flights to and from Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu as well for the current duration of the respective state lockdowns.

While the lockdowns in Karnataka, Delhi and Tamil Nadu are in force till May 24, West Bengal will continue to be under lockdown till May 30, while in Maharashtra, it will last till June 1.

All AirAsia India guests who booked their flights before the announcement of the lockdown can opt to cancel or change to another flight without incurring any change fees or cancellation charges, the airline said in a release.

Flights can be changed or cancelled seamlessly in less than a minute by AirAsia India's new chatbot, Tia, available on airasia.co.in or on WhatsApp Chat at +91 63600 12345 as well as by entering flight details on ‘Manage' on airasia.co.in, it said.

17/05/21 PTI/Economic Times


Saturday, May 15, 2021

Mumbai air passenger traffic in May plunges 68% from Jan

Mumbai: The average daily passenger traffic at Mumbai airport has dropped to about 17,600 passengers this month —a 68% decline as compared to the 55,800 handled by the airport daily in January. The second Covid-19 wave has brought along a second despondent May for the airline industry.

Last year, airline flights stayed suspended till May 25 and then passenger traffic saw a slow but steady rise till February this year. With the second Covid wave hitting in April, though, passenger traffic has again troughed—once again in May, the most important month in the airline calendar.

Conventionally, May is about peak fares, long airport queues and packed aircraft cabins. It was the month schools closed for summer vacations and India travelled while airlines raked in profit to last the lean season that monsoon brought in.

Pre-pandemic, the Mumbai airport handled about 1.4 lakh passengers per day (January 2020), said a source. “For the month of January, Mumbai airport had registered a passenger traffic of 17.3 lakh, which crawled up to 17.8 lakh in February, then dropped to 15.8 lakh in March,” according to Directorate General of Civil Aviation data. The number dropped to 10.4 lakh in April, the source added. This May, India’s airports are largely deserted. According to the UK’s aviation data firm OAG, Indian airlines removed 2.4 million seats this month as compared to last. “In South Asia seats have fallen by 15.1% this month as a result of the significant increase in Covid cases in India,’’ said OAG.

According to the source, between January and April this year, about 61 lakh passengers travelled to/from the Mumbai airport, which included about 54 lakh domestic passengers.

“The passenger traffic was on a steady rise and in March we moved domestic operations to terminal 1 at Vile Parle in preparation for the coming summer rush. The state government had capped flight movement at the Mumbai airport to 300 flights per day and so back then that seemed to be a concern,” said an official from a low-cost carrier. Today, that is no longer a hurdle. The Mumbai airport used to handle over 980 flights on an average in a day, but currently handles an average of about 200 flights per day, said an air traffic control source.

15/05/21 Times of India

AAI taking all precautions in view of cyclone Tauktae

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Saturday announced suspension of scheduled flight services at Agatti Airport in Lakshadweep till 10 am on May 16 due to heavy rains.

The Authority has directed all airports concerned to take all precautions and plan preparedness in view of cyclone 'Tauktae' approaching the western coast of the country, AAI said in a statement.

The airport will be made operational as and when cyclone passes the area, AAI said.

The AAI senior management earlier on Saturday took stock of the situation with the southern and western region airports at a virtual meeting.

The AAI senior management earlier on Saturday took stock of the situation with the southern and western region airports at a virtual meeting.

Keeping safety in mind and to minimize damage to the airport infrastructure, airports are advised to plan as per the SOP and guidelines, while precautionary measures are being ensured by airports concerned, AAI said.

15/05/21 New Indian Express

Friday, May 14, 2021

New travel regulations catch many flyers on the wrong foot

Pune: The new regulations announced by the state government, which mandate a negative RT-PCR report not older than 48 hours for flyers coming into Maharashtra, has caught many travellers off guard.The regulations, released on Thursday, said that any person entering the state by any mode of transport needed to have the negative RT-PCR report. “All restrictions that have been made applicable to persons arriving from places of ‘sensitive origin’, as per the earlier order (April 18), will be applicable to anyone arriving from any part of the country into the state,” the order stated.

Pune airport director Kuldeep Singh confirmed the change in regulation. Pune airport sees 30 flight movements on weekdays.

Earlier, passengers arriving from states apart from Delhi, Rajasthan, Kerala, Goa, Gujarat and Uttarakhand needed to have an RT-PCR negative report not older than 72 hours. Sources at the airport said that the changes have added to the pressure on passengers. Pune airport has direct flights coming in from Patna, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, among other cities.

“Instructions pertaining to the two changes are being shared with the airlines concerned so that they can further inform their flyers. The airport has a swab collection facility in the arrival area for those not having the report. We expect many flyers without reports older than 48 hours in the next few days,” another airport official said.

Passenger traffic at the airport has drastically reduced to 1,400 from 2,500, each day.

Shiva Kumar, who plans to travel from Bhopal to Pune on business next week, is quite confused by the new regulation. “It is less than a week before I travel. How am I supposed to get an RT-PCR negative report? I am worried as no lab will give me a report in time. Although there is a testing facility at the Pune airport, it just adds to the hassle as I might have to wait for long. I hope I will be allowed to board the flight because many airlines are not allowing boarding if a flyer doesn’t have the report,” said Kumar.

14/05/21 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

Passengers queue up as Calcutta airport Covid testing facility provides report in 48 hours

Calcutta: The Covid testing facility at the Calcutta airport has many passengers queuing up every day because very few diagnostic centres in the city are giving test results within 72 hours of sample collection. 

The local authorities at many domestic and international destinations have made it mandatory for fliers to have a Covid negative report, obtained not more than 72 hours before, while boarding the flight. 

Airport officials said they had asked Suraksha Diagnostics, which conducts the tests, to give the results of those with air tickets within 48 hours.

The facility was started about a month ago and can be accessed through gate number 3C on the departure level, near the airline counters. 

“Many passengers were complaining that they had to cancel their tickets because the RT-PCR test reports were not available within 72 hours. So we had decided to set up the testing facility at the airport,” an official of the city airport said on Thursday. 

Apart from passengers, residents of nearby localities are queuing up for the test, said officials of Suraksha. 

“We are collecting 200 to 250 samples every day for the RT-PCR test at the airport, of which 80 to 100 are of air passengers. The airport authorities and airline officials have requested us to prioritise testing of samples of fliers. We are delivering their reports within 48 hours,” said Niren Kaul, vice-president, operations, Suraksha Diagnostics. 

He said samples were collected every day from 10am to 6pm. The standard fee of Rs 950 is charged for the test, he said.

“Passengers from far-off places like Burdwan are coming to get the test done here before departure,” said Kaul.

14/05/21 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

Pandemic grounds flight operations from Rajkot

Rajkot: From May 15, the Rajkot Airport was expected to handle 12 flights daily. But with Covid-19 restrictions imposed in most part of the country that looks a distant dream now. At present, the airport witnesses zero traffic, which means no flight operations, on three days in a week.

The situation has resulted due to two private airlines’ decision to temporarily halt their operations from the Rajkot Airport.

Last week Spice jet had informed the airport authority that they have suspended their operation from Rajkot till May 31. Indigo, on the other hand, has decided to stop operating Rajkot flights for a week. Earlier, these two airlines used to operate on the routes like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. A flight to Goa was also scheduled to start operating from May 15.

14/05/21 Times of India