Showing posts with label Airports Nov 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Nov 2010. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tall coconut trees threat to planes

Kolkata: If you get a window seat on a flight into or out of Kolkata, you are unlikely to miss the massive coconut groves just before touchdown or takeoff. These groves in Barasat area of North 24-Parganas appear like a wide strip of green carpet spread along the northern end of the airport. The green cover is giving airport authorities sleepless nights.
For, lurking in the thicket are some trees that are taller than the rest and stick out into the flight path, posing a deadly threat to planes.
The latest cartography surveys done by Airports Authority of India at Kolkata reveal that 19 coconut trees had grown beyond the average height to hinder the landing or takeoff path at the Madhyamgram-end. While the average height of coconut trees in the region is 45-50 feet, the survey discovered that some trees had grown beyond 60 feet. That is as high as a six to seven storey building in a zone where construction isn't allowed beyond two levels.
"...We have handed over the aerial survey map to the district administration so that the owners of the particular trees can be identified and action initiated to cut them down," said a senior airport official.
However, the delay in identifying and cutting the trees down to size is a worry for airlines as it comprises flight safety, particularly during winter fogs. "..when an aircraft approaches the runway in poor weather, the pilot flies nearly blind. Any obstruction in the flight path can damage the aircraft, leading to a crash," said a veteran captain.
30/11/10 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

‘By Dec 31, set up radar to map movement on airfield’

Mumbai: Pulling up officials from the Airports Authority of India for the delay in setting up the Surface Movement Radar at the city airport, the civil aviation ministry has set a deadline of December 31 for the installation. The ground-based radar is crucial for the Mumbai airport because it shows a
digital map of anything from a dog to a jumbo jet moving on the tarmac even during low visibility.
Air traffic controllers have a similar map to track aircraft movement in the air, but there is no visual assistance to monitor traffic on the ground.
“We have given them a final deadline of December 31 to make the radar functional,” said Alok Sinha, joint secretary with the civil aviation ministry.
The Airports Authority of India had procured the radar in February but failed to install it before monsoon.
30/11/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

In South India only Chennai and Calicut airports made profit last year

Chennai: Chennai airport was the most profitable among the nine airports in the South under the Airports Authority of India (AAI) that were in the black in 2008-09. In a written reply to Parliament last week, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, said that Chennai airport reported a profit of Rs 399.18 crore in 2008-09.
Calicut airport was the only other airport with the AAI in southern India which reported a profit, notching up Rs 20.73 crore in 2008-09, bettering its Rs 11.51-crore profit reported the previous year. The airport had recorded a profit of Rs 18.79 crore in 2006-07.
Coimbatore airport reported a marginal loss of about Rs 5 lakh in 2008-09 although it had reported profits of Rs 9.84 crore in 2007-08 and Rs 6.27 crore in 2006-07.
The Minister's reply shows that Bangalore airport, which was earlier with AAI but is currently with a private consortium, reported a loss of Rs 12.55 crore in 2008-09, though it had reported profits in the preceding two years.
29/11/10 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

Gone with the wind

Mumbai: Standing on the terrace of a tall building in Juhu, you cannot miss a marvellous view of a large tract of land with lush surroundings, where rare species of birds can be heard chirping.
You start wondering if you are in Mumbai at all. Yes, we are talking about, what many consider as, Juhu's best-kept secret - one of the biggest wetlands in Mumbai, sprawling over 60-odd acres.
Inhabited by migratory birds and various life forms (both flora and fauna), it is also one of the very few surviving wetlands in Mumbai. This wetland is sandwiched between the rapidly expanding Nehru Nagar slum and the Pawan Hans Flying Club in Juhu.
However, in a tussle between the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the slum dwellers, this green cover might become a casualty.
The huge marshland is owned by the AAI , which is coming up with a plan to commercialise the whole area and if sources in the AAI are to be believed the wetland area will not be spared. " ..Once the clearance is obtained we will use the area for hangars and aircraft. Going by the master plan we will leave the wetland area as it is but eventually we will secure that area for our own purpose," explained an official from the AAI.
The AAI authorities claim the wetland poses a bird hazard to the aircraft. That's one of the concerns, which is prompting the AAI to swallow up the entire wetland area.
29/11/10 Sudeshna Chowdhury/MiD DAY

Delay in upgrading Ludhiana airport deliberate on part of govt: Tewari

Chandigarh: Ludhiana MP and Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari has accused Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal of making false claims on upgrading Ludhiana airport.
“The state government is deliberately delaying the installation of DVOR equipment for better visibility by not cooperating with the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Badal is trying to take false credit for getting flights resumed from Ludhiana airport whereas his government is sitting over plans to expand it and improve facilities,” Tewari said in a statement issued here on Monday.
To substantiate his charges, Tewari quoted a letter from the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to the state government for transfer of 150 kanals of land to the AAI for upgradation of Ludhiana aerodrome besides removal of various obstructions and provision for approach road.
30/11/10 Indian Express

Indian Customs arrest 2 Maldivians with drugs

Male: Two Maldivians trying to traffic illegal drugs to the Maldives were arrested in India on Sunday.
Haveeru learned from a reliable source that the two suspects arrested from Trivandrum Airport were Mohamed Waheed Adam, 24 and a 14-year-old. The Maldives High Commission in India confirmed the report.
High Commissioner Abdul Azeez told Haveeru that the Indian government has not officially informed the matter to the High Commission. However, it is investigating the matter through the Maldivian Consulate after an Indian Malayalam newspaper reported the arrest, he added.
Consul Mohamed Rasheed said the two Maldivians, boarding the 12.30pm flight on Sunday, are still held in airport customs as illegal drugs were confiscated from them. Drugs worth 2500,000 Indian Rupees (about Rf700,000) were reportedly seized.
29/11/10 haveeru online

Monday, November 29, 2010

AAI sees need for second airport at Chennai

New Delhi/Chennai: The Airports Authority of India is expected to shortly submit a detailed report to the Tamil Nadu Government for a greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai.
It is convinced that the city needs a new airport and the report is expected to make out a case for this, and also include the cost of constructing the airport, according to sources.
“Depending on what the State Government decides, the airport can either be developed by the Airports Authority of India or by the private sector. If a decision is taken that AAI should take up the project, then, the State-owned airport operator is likely to go it alone for the first six-eight years, after which it may consider inducting a strategic partner,” a source said.
According to sources, despite the ongoing modernisation at the Chennai airport, the city will need a new airport in a few years.
“The existing airport has structural limitations which will allow only limited expansion to cater to growing traffic projections. Hence a second airport is necessary. It can be left to the airlines to decide which airport they would like to operate to,” a source said.
28/11/10 Ashwini Phadnis/N. Ramakrishnan/Business Line

AI flight delay hits Pune, Delhi passengers

Pune: A large number of Pune-bound passengers were held up for almost two-and-a-half hours at the Delhi airport on Sunday evening owing to a technical' problem in the aircraft of the Air India's (AI) Delhi-Pune flight IC-849. Consequently, the Delhi-bound return flight IC-850 also got delayed and was rescheduled for take-off from Pune at 9.10 pm.
AI operates an A-320 airbus, which has a seating capacity of 160-odd passengers, on the Delhi-Pune-Delhi route on a daily basis. The flight's official take-off time from Delhi is 4 pm and it lands at the Pune airport at 6 pm, before taking-off for the return journey at 6.40 pm. However, on Sunday, the Pune-bound passengers were able to board the flight at the Delhi airport only around 6.30 pm.
When contacted, an AI staffer at the Pune airport confirmed that the flight had taken off from Delhi around 6.30 pm. "Our airport manager Ashok Chandanshive is presently busy attending passengers," he said, adding, the Pune-Delhi flight would take-off at 9.10 pm.
29/11/10 Times of India

Flier misbehaves with airhostess

Kolkata: A middle-aged Kolkatan, who was on a Bangkok-Kolkata Kingfisher Airlines flight, was arrested at NSCBI Airport on Sunday evening for misbehaving' with female crewmembers.
Sarajit Deb, who is with a private consultancy firm, was taken into custody as soon as the flight landed. He will be produced in court on Monday.
Police sources said Deb was already a little intoxicated when he boarded the flight in Bangkok. After the plane reached cruising altitude, he asked for complimentary drinks. After two drinks, he insisted on having more but the crew members told him the rules do not allow it.
According to the complaint lodged with police, Deb then started behaving rudely with crew members and insisted on more drinks. When they refused to give in, he allegedly caught hold of an airhostess by her hand and started shouting.
Sarajit Deb was handed over to police as soon as the Bangkok-Kolkata Kingfisher Airlines flight landed, around 5.25pm.
29/11/10 Times of India

Flying? Queue up for 90 mins

Calcutta: Come to Calcutta airport with a cushion of two hours and queue up quietly or quarrel with co-passengers while trying to dodge the line in desperation — the choice is yours.
So chaotic is the everyday rush-hour scene in front of each counter — from baggage scan to boarding — that even airlines operating flights to and from the city have become queue-phobic. On an average, four to five flights are being delayed by 15 minutes during peak hours every day because passengers who have already checked in are waiting for security check.
As the clock ticks away and the pressure to maintain schedules piles up, worried airline staff move around with walkie-talkies seeking out passengers stuck in the queues. And when they try to help those passengers beat the queue, others protest.
“Fliers as well as airline ground staff face trouble for no fault of theirs while those responsible for the mess remain unaffected. How long can this go on?” protested the operations manager of a low-cost carrier that runs over 15 daily flights to and from the city.
Not a single terminal traffic survey has been conducted over the past few years to even check whether infrastructure and manpower match the growth in numbers.
29/11/10 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

Sunday, November 28, 2010

UN agency to study viability of proposed GNoida airport

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India is planning to soon appoint global aviation body ICAO to conduct an air traffic feasibility study of the proposed greenfield airport near Greater Noida.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN body, is likely to be given the mandate by AAI to conduct a viability and air traffic feasibility study of the proposed airport, an official source said.
The airport, also the dream project of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, is slated to be christened as the Taj International Aviation Hub and would come up on a 3,700 acre area at Jhevar near Greater Noida, located about 60 km from central Delhi and 120 km from Agra.
The source said AAI and ICAO have already held talks on the issue and the formalities would be cleared very soon. Besides studying feasibility, the ICAO uses its expertise to help airport operators around the world in upgrading airports, in their master planning and even financing of construction projects.
AAI's decision comes in the backdrop of the Group of Ministers on Jhevar airport finding major differences in air traffic projections given by the Uttar Pradesh government and the Delhi International Airports Limited that runs the IGI Airport.
Observing that "realistic figures" were needed to take a decision, the GoM, in its last meeting in August, had asked Civil Aviation Ministry to prepare a report on the projected passenger traffic at the proposed airport within the next three months, before its next meeting.
28/11/10 PTI/Economic Times

ILS at Coimbatore airpotrt awaits nod, flight safety at risk

Chennai: Flight safety is at stake at Coimbatore airport where the Airports Authority of India is unable to use the instrument landing system relocated to the extended end of the runway because the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is yet to certify it. Now, flights are diverted when visibility is poor.
An ILS at Tuticorin airport is also awaiting DGCA clearance.
The ILS includes devices that help an aircraft home in on the runway along a pre-set glide path for a precision touchdown. Onboard instruments pick up signals from the ILS to approach the runway, helping pilots to land at night and also when visibility is low.
Smaller airports like Madurai, Coimbatore and Tiruchi have ILS.
On Saturday, when visibility was very low a Kuala Lumpur-Coimbatore Air Asia flight had to be diverted to Calicut. With ILS unavailable, the pilot was not able to make a visual approach by looking at the runway lights, said an AAI official. The visibility was around 1,000 feet.
The ILS was relocated along with the PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) when the runway was extended. Once ILS and PAPI are relocated, DGCA should check if the alignment of both the instruments is correct and that they are safe to use.
As there is no approach radar to monitor and guide flights to land and take off at these small airports, ILS is the only help for pilots.
28/11/10 V Ayyappan/Times of India

Flying to London? Shell out 25 dollars extra for green seat

Mumbai: Passengers flying from India to any airport in the European Union (EU) including London's Heathrow Airport, may have to shell out an additional carbon emission surcharge of roughly $25 dollars on their air tickets from January 1, 2012, according to well-informed sources.
"Airline companies will have to pay up, and they are expected to collect this amount from passengers. Each airline will have to pay according to its carbon dioxide emission levels, while airlines themselves can be expected to charge passengers a surcharge of around $25 per seat.
Emissions of passenger aircrafts and per passenger kilometres vary with variables like aircraft size, number of passengers, altitude and distance of the journey. So an airline emitting more carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases would probably charge passengers more," says Vishwajit Dahanukar, managing director of Managing Emissions Pvt. Ltd., a carbon credit trading company.
It's not merely Indian airline companies that will be affected, because the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) legislation will force all airlines flying to, through, or from the EU, to pay for permits for all carbon dioxide tonnes that they emit from 2012.
28/11/10 Bobby Anthony/MiD DAY

Air India passengers hit by baggage woes

Ahmedabad: It seems that problems are here to stay for Air India flyers arriving at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. As if flight delays were not a problem enough, harried passengers of Air India can now be seen inquiring about the luggage too.
The national carrier started two new flights, Delhi-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Ahmedabad as a part of their winter schedule on November 1. But both the flights have only left the passengers worried and agitated.
While passengers coming from Delhi are plagued by frequent flight delays because AI has shifted its domestic operations to Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport, passengers coming from Mumbai could not find their baggage when they landed at Ahmedabad.
Nearly 50 US passengers who boarded the AI flight from Mumbai did not receive their baggage as it was not collected from Mumbai airport on Friday. According to airport sources, passengers have been facing this problem right since the day the flight was introduced.
Mirror spoke to a few passengers who landed in the city on Friday night but received their baggage only on Saturday afternoon.
28/11/10 Akshay Kaushal/Ahmedabad Mirror

GMR secures US$369 million loan from Singapore AXIS Bank

Male: Singapore AXIS Bank has granted a US$359 (Rf4.9 billion) loan to GMR Male International Airport Private Limited (GMIAL).
A company press release estimated that the development cost of the airport would reach US$511 million.
GMR said AXIS Bank would cover 70 of the cost while the company will cover the remaining US$152 million.
The company further said the loan should be repaid within 7-12 commencing from 2015. State Bank of India (SBI) Male Branch will manage the loan account for the company.
The government leased the airport to GMR for 25 years on June 29. The Indian company formed a joint venture with Malaysia Airports Holdings and registered GMR Male International Airport Private Limited at Trade Ministry.
27/11/10 haveeru online

Cardiac arrest lands plane

New Delhi: An Air India Chicago-Delhi flight had to be diverted to Toronto on Saturday after a 70-year-old passenger on board suffered a cardiac arrest. The Air India flight left Chicago, US, at 2.40pm local time with 287 passengers, but had to land at Toronto at 6.32pm local time after N. Rodrigues suffered a cardiac arrest almost two hours after the take-off.
An ambulance with full medical assistance was kept ready at Toronto airport and Rodrigues was rushed to hospital. The flight resumed its journey to Delhi after taking off from Toronto at 8.21pm local time.
28/11/10 Hindustan Times

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Pushback rule a bane for air passengers

Mumbai: The woes of air passengers seem to have grown with the introduction of the new pushback rule.
On November 19, a Jet Konnect Mumbai-Ahmedabad flight (9W 2049) which was to take off at 1.25pm, missed its slot and got delayed by more than an hour.
“The airline made us board the flight at 12.45pm saying that they did not want to miss the allotted slot. But even after 45 minutes, the flight did not move,” said Anita Malhotra, 35, a passenger.
“They announced that we had missed the slot. It didn’t end there; then they told us that we were actually waiting for a group of 20 passengers who were to arrive from London and this was their connecting flight.” The passengers were made to wait for another half an hour before the flight took off.
On November 15, a Spicejet Mumbai-Kolkata flight (SG 804) was to take-off at 6.50pm but left at 11pm. All the 350 passengers who were seated inside the aircraft had no idea that they would be stuck for five hours. Sometime after boarding, the pilot announced that they would not be able to take off due to bad weather. Later, however, the delay was attributed to the airline missing its slot.
According to Air Passengers Association of India (APAI), there has been an increase in such cases since the past few days. Reddy added that the new pushback rules whereby airlines have to stick to the slots allotted to them are harming the passengers.
“With the main runway 09-27 at Mumbai airport undergoing repairs since November 1, only one runway, 14-32, is available for operation. In such a scenario, the airlines which miss their slots have to wait for hours together for their turn. They cannot afford to deplane the passengers as they can get the slot within 20 minutes or it can extend upto an hour,” said an official from a private airline.
27/11/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

Navi Mumbai airport: AAI keen on stake, not to bid

Mumbai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is interested in partnering the recently cleared Rs 10,000-crore Navi Mumbai international airport project, if the Maharashtra Government approaches it with a proposal.
The airports operator is willing to “hand-hold” through equity participation if required, but bidding for the project might not be possible at this stage as the authority has “enough work at hand”, an AAI official told Business Line.
Nevertheless, if AAI shows reluctance to invest in the airport project, the Maharashtra Government is willing to step in and pick up 13 per cent equity, said a senior official at the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO).
CIDCO is the lead developer of the project and by February 2011 it hopes to get remaining environment-related clearances and call for bids on a public-private partnership basis for the project that, after much back and forth, got a ‘green' signal from the Environment Ministry only recently.
Private players will have to invest 74 per cent equity in the project, the CIDCO official said. The responsibility of constructing and running the airport for the concession period will also rest with the private partner.
26/11/10 Shubhra Tandon/Rahul Wadke/BusinessLine

Fog forces diversion of eight flights at Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: The dense fog on Friday morning forced the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to divert eight flights, including two international flights, out of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here. The fog also delayed the landing of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's flight by 90 minutes, who was arriving here on a day's visit.
Officials said that the visibility was down to barely 100 metres. "Usually human eye can see up to five km and visibility clearance of one to one-and-a-half km is required for flight landings," said an AAI official.
"By 9.30 am, the visibility increased to 2-2.5 km. Only then permission was given for landing Gandhi's flight," said officials.
AAI staff said that the Friday morning fog was one they had never seen in the past five years. Meanwhile, weather officials said that the fog was due to the combination of four factors, including high moisture, low temperature, light winds and clear sky.
26/11/10 Times of India

Terrorist held at airport day before 26/11 anniversary

Mumbai: A terrorist wanted by the Coimbatore police was apprehended at the international airport in Mumbai in the early hours on Thursday following a lookout notice (LoN) against him. The police are baffled about the possible purpose of his visit to the city a day before the second anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The arrested person has been identified as Shabbir Kochi PKD, and is alleged to be associated with the terrorist outfit People Democratic Party (PDP). He is a native of Kannur district in Kerala.
According to the police, Shabbir was involved in a 2002 Arms and Explosives Act case in Coimbatore and a lookout notice was issued against him after he had absconded. "A case under various sections of the Indian Explosives Act has been registered at the Race Course police station in Coimbatore against Shabbir," said additional director general of police (ATS), Rakesh Maria.
26/11/10 Somendra Sharma/NDTV.com

Friday, November 26, 2010

Commissioning of terminal: AAI, State lock horns

Thiruvananthapuram: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the State Government locked horns over a pre-inaugural commissioning of the new terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram Airport.
Though the AAI was planning to commission the new terminal on December 12, the State Government has expressed its displeasure over commissioning the airport terminal before a formal inauguration.
“Earlier there was a move to go for a commissioning before inauguration as the election model code of conduct was in force. But now there are no technical hindrances for a formal inaugural function. Hence there is no need to go for a hasty commissioning,” Law Minister M Vijaykumar told Express.
“Since the Prime Minister had laid the foundation-stone for the new terminal, we feel that the Prime Minister himself should formally inaugurate it,” the Minister said.
26/11/10 ExpressBuzz

Fog disrupts air travel in Delhi

At least six domestic flights were delayed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Friday due to heavy fog.
Domestic flights coming to Delhi from Bangalore, Pune, Jaipur, Mangalore were delayed due to poor visibility at the airport in the early hours.
Due to lack of visibility, some flights were diverted and asked to land at other airports.
"Mist and heavy fog early morning, but it will be mainly clear sky with sun shining bright today (Friday)," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told the reporters.
26/11/10 SamayLive

Emergency landing, technical snag at IGIA

New Delhi: An Air India flight made an emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Thursday afternoon. According to airport sources, flight IC-407 from Delhi to Patna took off from the Delhi airport at 11:50am and developed a technical snag within an hour. “The pilot developed a technical snag 50 minutes after taking off from Delhi. But he decided to return as emergency handling is better at the Delhi airport as compared to the Patna airport,” said an airport source.
There were 120 passengers onboard the aircraft.
“The aircraft made a safe landing at the Delhi airport at 12:40pm. The passengers were moved to the terminal and sent to Patna by another aircraft at 4pm,” said an Air India official.
Meanwhile, Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) continues to be saddled with teething problems. On Wednesday, its check-in system developed a snag.
On Tuesday, too, flights were delayed due to a problem in the check-in system.
26/11/10 Hindustan Times

One airport vs. 20,000 flamingos

The annual migration of birds and beasts around the world has begun. Wildebeest herds in Kenya, spawning salmon on the Kamchatka peninsula, Gentoo penguins in the Antarctic. In Mumbai, we await the arrival of our own migratory guests: 15,000-20,000 lesser flamingos that each year head for the mudflats off Sewri, on the eastern shore front.
Their arrival, between November and June, is reassuring to Mumbaikars, who fear that the excessively polluted waters, or a proposed bridge, may one day put an end to this migration. Flying in from the Rann of Kutch and elsewhere, the sea turns pink for months.
The lesser flamingo is the smallest in the flamingo family but the largest in population. Found in Africa's Great Rift Valley they spread across to northwest India and are an endangered species.
Mangrove lined, the mudflats off Sewri form a perfect breeding ground for the birds with brackish water and mud mounds for them to lay their single chalky-white eggs. The shallow, sheltered bay has enough food for the many months the flamingos stay.
Sunjoy Monga, naturalist, writer and photographer, has been observing the flamingos since they arrived in the early 1990s. The grim reality, he says, is that "a lot of avifauna today is actually thriving because of the non-pristine; in garbage dumps, in polluted waters ... There's so much organic richness in these surrounds and birds, ever the incredible opportunists, are just making the most of conditions and circumstances provided by us."
26/11/10 Deepika Sorabjee/CNN GO

GMR Group achieves financial closure for Malé airport

Bangalore: GMR Malé International Airport Private Limited (GMIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL), on Thursday said it has achieved financial closure for the project to modernise, expand and operate the Malé International Airport. Earlier this year on June 24, the consortium led by GIL with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) had won the concession for the Malé Airport for a period of 25 years.
GMIAL is the special purpose vehicle formed in Maldives pursuant to the concession in which the stake of GIL and MAHB is 77 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.
The total cost of the modernisation and expansion project, estimated at USD 511 million, is being funded through a combination of debt and equity in the ratio of 70:30.
25/11/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

Male opposition to hold protest against airport lease

Male: The opposition coalition is to hold a mass protest on Thursday evening against leasing Male International Airport to India’s GMR Infrastructure.
Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, who is organising the protest, said leadership officials of coalition members would take part in protest to be held at 9pm Artificial Beach area.
The opposition coalition consists of DRP, People’s Alliance (PA), Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and Jumhooree Party.
25/11/10 haveeru online

Thursday, November 25, 2010

DGCA pulls report on Kingfisher mishap

Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) pulled its report on a Kingfisher aircraft skidding at Mumbai airport a day after it was put online.
In a bid to be more transparent, the DGCA had made public two reports on Tuesday , the first of which was about a Dubai-Pune Air India Express flight that plunged several thousand feet on May 26 this year as the first officer froze at the controls. The second report was about a case that occurred last November when a Kingfisher aircraft skidded off Mumbai runway while landing.
The DGCA report, as TOI reported on Wednesday, classified the second case as a "serious incident" even though it fell under the 'accident' category according to definitions drawn by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Indian Aircraft Rule, 1937.
According to ICAO, an accident is an occurrence in which "the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component" . An incident, meanwhile, "is an occurrence ... associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect the safety of operation" .
Though the DGCA report admitted that the aircraft was substantially damaged, it skirted ICAO definitions and called the occurrence only 'a serious incident' . "From an airline's point of view, having a recorded accident increases the insurance premium on the entire fleet of aircraft. So a 'serious incident' is better any day," said an insurance official.
25/11/10 Manju V/Times of India

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Loose light shuts runway

Mumbai: Mumbai airport was shut 40 minutes for “operational reasons” during morning peak hours, disrupting schedules to and out of the city.
Departures were halted and several incoming flights told to hold over Mumbai airspace. Also, a Delhi-Mumbai Jet Airways flight was diverted to Ahmedabad. This brief, unscheduled closure, resulted in delays that continued several hours after operations had resumed.
The closure happened after the airport safety team, during a routine inspection, found that an inset light at the intersection of the two runways had turned loose. “As a safety precaution, this was taken up for urgent repair and neither runway was operational from 9.47 am to 10.27 am. Jet Airways flight 9W308 (Delhi-Mumbai) was diverted to Ahmedabad,” said a Mumbai airport spokesperson.
“Only one flight was diverted; around 10 incoming flights were asked to hold,” said M G Jhungare, general manager, Mumbai ATC.
“At the Mumbai airport, if there is a closure, then the effect is felt for many hours. In this case, it was not a scheduled closure,” said an airport official.
25/11/10 Indian Express

Rescheduled flight stresses passengers

Mumbai: The cancellation and then rescheduling of a Lucknow-Mumbai GoAir flight this week inconvenienced some passengers, including a 60-year-old woman. She returned to Mumbai via Delhi after a 12-hour-long stopover.
However, GoAir's top official Kaushik Khona told TOI that this grievance is misplaced , as the lady passenger had herself asked for the flight via Delhi, after the rescheduling took place due to fog-related problems.
The passenger's daughter, K Vrinda, said that two days before departure, her mother and some other copassengers received an sms from GoAir customer service saying the flight had been cancelled due to "issues beyond the control of the airline" .
For re-booking or refund, passengers were asked to call up the helpline.
They then received another sms saying it had now been scheduled to depart at 6.45 pm on November 22.
25/11/10 Vijay Singh/Times of India

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Computer problem delays departure of eight flights from T3

New Delhi: Eight domestic flights from terminal 3 of IGI airport here faced minor delays on Wednesday due to a technical problem in the computer system.
Air India check-in systems on counters were erratic due to some problem in the AI host link at T3, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) sources said.
This led to minor delays in flight departures and caused inconvenience to passengers but, during this period, manual check-in was done for the eight flights, they said.
24/11/10 Press Trust of India

UAE threatened not to let AI aircraft take off

New Delhi: The UAE air traffic control had recently threatened Air India that it would not give take-off permission for its aircraft at the Dubai airport as the national carrier had not updated the navigation database system, Parliament was informed today.
"Yes Sir, the UAE airspace had changed certain terminal procedures, which were effective in the NAV (air navigation services) data base cycle June 03, 2010 to July 01, 2010," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
He was replying to a question on whether the UAE air traffic control had threatened recently that it would refuse Air India permission to take off its aircraft from Dubai Airport as it had not updated the navigation database system.
He, however, did not mention on what date the incident took place.
The navigation database which should be updated every 28 days includes flight path of the aircraft.
Patel said the aircraft was dispatched under a provision of Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which allows a grace period of 7 days in updating the navigation database.
Air India was using the grace period when the aircraft entered Dubai terminal area, the Civil Aviation Minister said.
23/11/10 ZeeNews

Navi Mumbai airport finally gets green signal

New Delhi: The country's financial capital will have a second international airport at last, with the Union ministries of environment and aviation and Maharashtra government's Cidco shifting their positions to meet each other half way.
The direly needed and much-delayed project has finally got the green clearance from the environment ministry and the tendering for the project will start soon.
The Rs 8,722-crore Navi Mumbai airport project, which will handle 60 million passengers per year, will take off soon, with civil aviation minister Praful Patel saying that the project could be clubbed into two phases, instead of the originally planned four, to try to make up for some of the lost time.
The project is expected to handle 25 million passengers per annum by the end of the second phase. "I think phases I and II will have to be taken up together due to the capacity crunch at the Mumbai airport. The first phase should be completed by 2014-15 at the most...One runway at the existing airport will be under daily repair from next year," Patel said.
23/11/10 Times of India

Second Mumbai airport takes off

New Delhi: Paving the way for the construction of a second international airport in Mumbai, the Environment Ministry today finally cleared the long-pending infrastructure project at the proposed site in Navi Mumbai which it had been opposing for several months citing ecological reasons.
While announcing the clearance — at a joint press conference with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel — Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said that the decision was a “major, major compromise” for his ministry.
“The biggest compromise is the Navi Mumbai site itself,” Ramesh said. He said the Navi Mumbai location had become a fait accompli in view of the fact that there was no viable alternative site available in and around Mumbai and that a majority of the land at the present proposed site was already in the possession of project developer CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra) and the state government.
“The construction of the Navi Mumbai airport can technically start from today,” Ramesh said.
23/11/10 Indian Express

Bangalore man held at Dabolim with live bullet

Vasco: Vasco police on Monday arrested Suhas Suresh, 25, a resident of Bangalore, for possessing a live bullet. Suresh was arrested at the Dabolim airport.
Investigating officer, PSI Prashal Desai said, "Suresh told us that the live bullet belongs to his uncle and that he has been carrying it for a year now. He doesn't have any valid documents for it though."
Suresh was arrested around 2.30pm when the Jet Airways flight to Bangalore was boarding. The CISF found the bullet in his wallet. The CISF PI immediately informed the Vasco police, who later arrested Suresh.
Desai said that Suresh told the police that he had come to Goa four days ago with three friends on holiday.
23/11/10 Times of India

Always late: AI’s Amritsar-Delhi flight

Amritsar: When Air India decided to discontinue its direct Amritsar-Toronto flight service from October 31, diverting it via Delhi, locals had staged large-scale protests in anticipation of inconvenience. They did not know their fear would come true from Day One of the new arrangement, with the flight never taking off or landing on time in the last fortnight.
At times, the delay is up to five hours, leading to agitations by passengers at both Terminal-3 of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi and the local Sri Guru Ram Dass International Airport. The worst affected are the passengers who have to catch various other international flights from Delhi.
Earlier, Canada-bound passengers used to board the plane here after completing all immigration formalities. But now they have to change the plane in Delhi, losing hours in transit. “It is a nightmare to travel by this flight. I travelled to Delhi twice in the last one week and on both occasions the flight was late by three to four hours,” said Sukhjinder Singh Heir, a local resident.
23/11/10 Dharmendra Rataul/Indian Express

Monday, November 22, 2010

T3-hit Air India withdraws four winter flights

New Delhi: With the staff and crew shortage yet to be sorted out, delays continue to plague Air India’s domestic operations at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, forcing the national carrier to withdraw at least four flights from its winter schedule within a month of its launch.
While independent sources said at least six flights have been withdrawn by the airline, an airline spokesperson said four flights from its winter schedule would be withdrawn with effect from December 1, due to reasons like foggy weather and low-visibility conditions over Delhi and other domestic destinations. “Of the 107 flights operating in the winter schedule, four are to be withdrawn from December 1 to locations like Patna, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata,” an AI official said.
Having witnessed several stormy scenes at T3 since the shift, the flight to Patna is being withdrawn due to connectivity issues and weather conditions at the Delhi Airport. One flight each to Patna and Kolkata would also be withdrawn by the airline from December 15 to January 31.
“Others include a flight to Mumbai and the 6 am flight to Jaipur,” said an official. These are also the flights that use smaller aircraft, which are not Category-III compliant, to operate in the dense fog conditions of Delhi that usually prevail after December 15.
22/11/10 Geeta Gupta/Indian Express

After lost luggage, lock-up threat

Calcutta: Im at the Air India lost luggage dept. I have been at this office since 1.30pm, I need your help. At exactly 4.30pm this office will close for the weekend. The person in this office has threatened to lock me up in this office. I need your help. My luggage has been missing for 7 days. Nobody here wants to help or assist me.
American Jauhar Hashmi, 55, sent this SOS to Metro from his BlackBerry at 3.31pm on Saturday from the Air India office at Calcutta airport, where he had gone to enquire about a registered bag missing since his arrival last Monday.
Jauhar, who had taken an Air India flight (AI 680) from Delhi, said: “I had six bags with me. But I couldn’t locate one duffel bag though I stayed at the airport till 1.45am on Tuesday.”
If not getting back the bag — containing medicines, food items and some important documents — wasn’t enough trouble for Jauhar, a woman employee of Air India allegedly threatened to lock him up in the lost luggage department and leave if he insisted on staying put there.
Jauhar had told airline officials on Saturday that he wouldn’t leave their office till they gave him a satisfactory explanation for failing to trace his bag.
Jauhar needs the bag mainly for the medicines. “I have had multiple spine surgeries and am on medication. My medicines are all in that bag. There are also some clothes, protein bars and sugar-free snack bars, which I need because of my restricted diet,” said Jauhar, who is in the city to meet his mother.
Air India officials declined comment on Jauhar’s allegation about being threatened, but did promise to try their best to trace the lost bag.
22/11/10 Subhajoy Roy/The Telegraph

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Work on Kannur airport to take off on December 17

Thiruvananthapuram: Not leaving it to vagaries of coalition politics, the Left Government in Kerala has at last marked December 17 to lay the foundation for Kerala’s fourth international airport in the northern Kannur district.
It’s early days to say who the main investors are but it’s been decided that the Rs10bn airport would be developed at Mattannur, near Kannur town, on the private-partnership model.
According to an agency report from New Delhi, the majority stake of 51 percent would be held by Kerala Government and it’s agencies while the remaining 49 percent would be open to public, including NRIs.
The State Government would keep 26 percent, leaving 23 percent to state-owned public sector units and two percent to agencies in which the State Government has minor stakes.
The State Government stake would be the value of the land that it has been acquiring for the venture since 1998. It has already acquired 1,300 acres and another 700 acres is in the pipeline.
Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told media persons in Delhi yesterday that the work would be completed in two years and it would be the largest airport in the state. Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and Federal Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel would be guests of honour at the stone-laying.
Former Air India chairman V Thulasidas has already taken over as the managing director of the new company — Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL). A study says close to 1.3 million passengers would use this airport annually and it would boost exports of textiles and perishables, earning huge cargo revenue.
21/11/10 John Mary/The Peninsula, Qatar

Get ready for flight delays this winter

Mumbai: It's not just delays due to fog that will make your plane journey uncomfortable this coming winter, but also the fact that you will not receive any compensation for delays. This, because the rulebook of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) states that airlines are exempted from granting compensation to passengers due to delays caused by meteorological conditions.
Fifty six Delhi-bound flights leave from, and 54 flights arrive in Mumbai every day; the largest number for any sector in the country. But with the onset of winter, flights have started getting delayed due to poor visibility, both in the morning and afternoon slots. Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson Manish Kalghatgi agreed, admitting that the average flight delay was about "45 minutes" on Saturday.
It's not just delays due to fog that will make your plane journey uncomfortable this coming winter, but also the fact that you will not receive any compensation for delays. This, because the rulebook of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) states that airlines are exempted from granting compensation to passengers due to delays caused by meteorological conditions.
Fifty six Delhi-bound flights leave from, and 54 flights arrive in Mumbai every day; the largest number for any sector in the country. But with the onset of winter, flights have started getting delayed due to poor visibility, both in the morning and afternoon slots.
21/11/10 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

Frankfurt to Mumbai: AI flight takes 24 hours

It took almost a day for 140 passengers of an Air India flight to travel from Frankfurt to Mumbai via Delhi. The aircraft, AI 120, took off at 2pm from Delhi airport only to return after an hour. For the 140 passengers, the onward journey to Mumbai could only be started at 8pm, almost 10 hours after they had landed in Delhi.
AI 120, which was travelling from Frankfurt to Mumbai via Delhi, had landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 11am, said sources. One hundred and forty passengers were thereafter supposed to fly to Mumbai. The flight, however, could only take off at 2pm, after a delay of more than three hours. Trouble started when the flight, after being in the air for an hour, had to return to Delhi due to a technical snag. Officials said the passengers were taken to the transit lounge, and asked to wait there.
According to sources, the plan was to board these 140 passengers on another AI aircraft coming from Jeddah to Delhi. "We wanted to put the passengers on this flight to Mumbai," said the official. The passengers were accordingly informed. However, after hours of waiting in the transit lounge without food and other sustenance, passengers complained about the inordinate delay.
21/11/10 Times of India

Flyers create ruckus as flights go off schedule in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Chaos prevailed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Friday, as close to ten flights from the city were delayed during the day. Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the airport as passengers of the delayed flights created a ruckus at the airport.
According to airport officials, flights to several destinations from the city were delayed due to various reasons. SpiceJet flight SG 104, going from Ahmedabad to Delhi, scheduled to take off at 7.00 am, took off at 11.20 am after a four-hour delay due to a technical fault in the aircraft.
More than 100 passengers, seated in the plane from 6:30 am, were deplaned after 8:00 am, and had to spend almost three hours at the airport. The flight finally took off at 11:20 am, and landed at Delhi by 12:45 pm.
In another incident, Indian Airlines’ IC 982 flight to Hyderabad was also delayed by several hours due to a technical fault in the aircraft. The flight was slated to leave at 7:50 in the morning, but was yet to take off till 3:00 in the afternoon.
Disgruntled passengers demanded alternative arrangements for their travel. Airline sources said that some passengers were accommodated on other flights.
20/11/10 Daily News & Analysis

Thasmeen, Shahid deny meeting GMR officials

Male: Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid Saturday denied reports that they met with India’s GMR Infrastructure officials and took US$1 million per person.
An anti-government website, which also reports against the opposition, recently claimed that Thasmeen and DRP council member Shahid met GMR officials in New Delhi and took US$1 million per person. The website further claimed that they travelled to India via Sri Lanka.
Thasmeen, however, told Haveeru that they went to Sri Lanka to share information with the diplomats and denied travelling to India.
“I have not met GMR officials so far. But I am not saying that I would not meet them in the future. I do not find any problem in meeting them and seek information about their plans for the airport,” he said.
The government leased Male International Airport to GMR for 25 years on June 29. The Indian company formed a joint venture with Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) and registered GMR Male International Airport Private Limited at Trade Ministry.
The GMR-MAHB consortium proposed to pay US$78 million (almost Rf1 billion) upfront, one percent of the total profit in the first year (until 2014) and 10 percent of the profit from 2015 to 2035. It also agreed to pay 15 percent of fuel trade revenues in the first four years and 27 percent from 2015 to 2035.
20/11/10 haveeru online

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Serb pilots blame 'pressures' of working in India for Dubai-Mangalore AI plane crash

Denying media reports that a sleepy captain was responsible for an Air India plane crash in May that killed 158 passengers, the Serbian Pilots Association has said that pilot fatigue caused by working conditions in India should be blamed for the mishap.
The Globe and Mail quoted the Serb pilots as saying that the captain, Zlatko Glusica, must not be "victimized" because the accident could have happened due to the fatigue caused by "pressures" while working in India.
"The individualization of guilt ... is intended to shift the responsibility from those who have driven the crew and the passengers to death," the group said in a statement.
The crash report added to growing concern worldwide about the dangers posed by exhausted pilots working taxing schedules. Pilot unions are fighting efforts by budget-strapped airlines to get pilots to work longer hours, the paper said.
However the Serbian pilots association said that the Indian panel "created an ugly picture about the Serbian pilots ... without taking into account the circumstances" that led to the crash.
20/11/10 ANI/Sify.com

Compromise deal on Navi Mumbai airport

The deadlock over the Navi Mumbai airport project, stuck in a wrangle over environmental issues, is set to be broken next week, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said on the sidelines of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
“Next week we will announce the final decision,” Ramesh said. “And you will see we have got a compromise.” Ramesh also sought to dismiss the perception that as a minister he’s acting as a stumbling block to investment and development. Edited excerpts:
Do you feel the debate between environment and development is spiralling out of control, more polarized than ever before?
The debate should not be seen as environment versus development or conservation versus growth. I have always believed the terms of the debate are based on ‘do you want to follow laws or do you want to circumvent them?’ Because the industry has been used to a certain way of ‘managing’, or ‘navigating the regulatory system’. But that has changed in the last 18 months. And what I am saying is that my job in this industry is to implement the laws Parliament has passed. Those laws were passed in the 70s and 80s. And the job of any minister in any ministry is this. So I am not doing rocket science or any Nobel Prize-winning effort.
So now the debate is of the guys who manage to keep within the laws, the 95% who don’t complain, and the 5%, the high profile, rich, powerful, politically very connected, who never had to have any problems or any impediments, who have not had any compliance and have ridden roughshod. And now they have to find that they have to answer uncomfortable questions. So the debate is between those who believe in following the law and those who have been comfortable circumventing them.
20/11/10 Padmaparna Ghosh/Live Mint

A shopping mall called T3

New Delhi: The sellers of the India story would have us believe that Delhi's new airport has somersaulted us into the big league. But let me spoil the party.
The fact is that the swank club-class airport of Delhi is just that – show and no substance. To me, the new airport symbolizes what we are doing so wrong. It is about our desperation to make it big, using small, tried and discarded ideas.
Clearly today's imperative is to construct green buildings – functional, compact, designed to conserve materials and energy. But the new terminal of Delhi is precisely the opposite. This airport, unlike the current definition of a modern airport, does not reduce time from our entry into the building and into the aircraft.
Instead, it is deliberately designed to be massive, so it takes time to walk to the aircraft; it takes time to bring baggage from the aircraft to the terminal. And I am not even talking about the awful carpet, which makes it impossible to drag your bag. It is a common traveller's nightmare.
But more importantly, it is a costing-nightmare. Just think of the millions of square inches of built-up space inside the airport that need to be cleaned, serviced, cooled, heated and lighted. Just think: the connected load of the two (old) terminals, 1 and 2 was 12mw of power, which catered to 25 million passengers a year. The new terminal already uses some 60mw, to cater to the same or even less number of passengers. It needs 146mw by 2012.
19/11/10 Sunita Narain/Economic Times

Farmers in Mysore protest land acquisition

Chennai/Mysore: While the Yeddyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka is embroiled in a land scam, farmers are up in arms against the acquisition of their lands for industrial use in Mysore district. They have alleged that the government was acquiring 25,000 acres of land.
Dismissing their allegation, authorities have come out with a statement saying that they were acquiring 8,520 acres in the district as a mutual consent of farmers.
The clarification has come in the wake of protests by farmers that the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) was acquiring huge stretches of land, including fertile lands, in the taluks to create a ‘land bank’.
Farmers and pro-farmers’ organisations which are vehemently opposing the acquisition moves, have been voicing their protest. The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, the Raitha Krishikara Sanghatane and the All India Democratic Students’ Organisations are among those opposing the move.
The Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM), the latest to join the issue, has strongly criticised the Government’s decision and submitted a memorandum to the governor questioning the need to acquire 25,000 acres when ‘a large number of industries were either shut or sick in Mysore’.
The Development Officer and Special Land Acquisition Officer of the KIADB and the District Industries Centre Joint Director maintained in a joint statement on Thursday that only 991.11 had been acquired so far since 2006. These lands had been handed over to various industrial units. Another 7,007.21 acres of land were being acquired in the four taluks of Nanjangud, Hunsur, Mysore and H D Kote.
20/11/11 Business Standard

Fog problems in north hit flights across India

Mumbai: The annual problem of delays caused by fog in the northern parts of the country has become so acute that flyers are doomed to undergo the trauma even if they stay away from the region.
The reason for these pan-India delays of several hours is that flight schedules thrown out of gear by fog in the north have a cascading effect on all airline routes.
Just like it happened on Friday. At Mumbai airport, the average delay for arrivals and departures was around 45 minutes. For several flights arriving from Delhi, though, the delay stretched to over an hour with the trend continuing at the time of going to press.
Almost all the evening and night arrivals at Mumbai from Delhi (9W 334, IC 863, 6E 191, 9W 363, IC 810, SG 119, IT 314) were delayed by over an hour. Jet Airways 9W 354 which was scheduled to land at 9.24 pm is expected to land at 11.20 pm.
Consequently, Delhi departures were affected too, with flights leaving over an hour behind schedule.
The ones who were caught by surprise were the passengers flying on southern routes.
For instance: IC 174 from Chennai which was scheduled to land in Mumbai at 7.40 pm was rescheduled for an 11.20 pm touchdown.
"It seems there is no way one can escape delays these days. When my parents flew to Chennai last week, their flight was delayed by an hour and a half," said Monisha Chandran, who was waiting at the airport for their return.
20/11/10 Times of India

Airport promises cleaner loos, cheaper parking

Nagpur: The Mihan India Private Limited (MIPL) officials looking after Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport of city woke up after TOI reported on dirty toilets at the airport and directed the cleaning contractor to immediately clean all the toilets and urinals, sources at airport informed.
TOI had reported how despite Nagpur airport becoming an international one, it still lacked proper toilet facilities for visitors and people coming to receive or see off passengers. Visitors and vehicle drivers could often be seen relieving themselves in the open around the terminal building. Senior airport director and CEO of MIPL V K Yadava informed that both the toilets inside terminal building were regularly cleaned and maintained. The toilet facility for visitors, currently available in one corner of the terminal building, may have some problems but it would be sorted out. As of now, priority was being given to facilities for the passengers, he added.
Two more public toilets on both sides of the approach road (just near parking stand) as well as near the new terminal building were also ready. "We are planning to start 'Pay and Use' facility here which would also be helpful for operation and maintenance. They would be made available to public in next two months," he added.
20/11/10 Sachin Dravekar/Times of India

Passengers suffer as flights delayed

Patna: A large number of air travellers were stranded for several hours at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport here on Friday as most of the flights coming from Delhi were delayed.
Air India flight, IC 409, which is scheduled at 8.20 am, arrived here about two hours late. This delay has caused harassment to about 90 Delhi-bound passengers here at the airport.
Chaotic situation prevailed during afternoon as many as 300 Delhi-bound and Mumbai-bound passengers were kept waiting for their flights which were delayed for nearly two hours.
Indigo flight (6E-180), which comes here from Mumbai via Delhi was also delayed for two hours. The scheduled arrival of the plane here is 2 pm and it returns to Mumbai just after 30 minutes. Delhi-Patna Air India flight, (IC 407), which is scheduled at 1.55 pm, also arrived two hours late. Agitated passengers complained to the airport authorities that adequate seating arrangements were not available for them.
20/11/10 Times of India

Friday, November 19, 2010

SC reserves order on airport development fee

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today reserved its order on the dispute over airport development fee (ADF), charged by private airports in Delhi and Mumbai from outgoing domestic and international passengers.
A Bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and Justice A K Patnaik reserved its order on the petition filed by two NGOs challenging ADF charged by Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and Mumbai International Airport (MIAL).
The apex court also granted 10 days to DIAL, MIAL, Airport Authority of India and the Center to file their additional written submissions before it in this matter.
At present, passengers departing from Delhi airport have to pay a fee of Rs 200 for domestic flights and Rs 1,300 for international flights. Fliers departing from Mumbai are charged Rs 100 for domestic and Rs 600 for international flights.
The NGO, Consumer Online Foundation, challenging the ADF contended that the fee was illegal, as it was not approved by Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA). However, this was opposed by the counsel appearing for DIAL, MIAL and the Centre.
18/11/10 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

What's wrong with Air India, asks court

Mumbai: While hearing a petition filed by an airhostess challenging her dismissal from Air India (AI) a fortnight before her retirement, the Bombay High Court wondered what was wrong with the airline. A division bench of Justice PB Majmudar and Justice Mridula Bhatkar was hearing a petition filed by Rani
Radhakrishnan.
On July 15, Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director of AI, had issued an order dismissing Radhakrishnan from service without full retirement benefits. She was due to retire on July 31 on attaining superannuation.
The case is ostensibly related to a complaint filed by one Soman Alappat alleging that Radhakrishnan's husband Sebastian Felix, who ran a travel agency, and two others had cheated him of Rs 5.74 lakh by promising to assist his brother-in-law get a job visa to the UK, but got it for South Africa.
The complaint said Radhakrishnan had accompanied her husband to the house of Alappat in Cochin in 2004. An FIR had been filed with a local court at Ernakulam.
The airline issued a charge sheet on October 11, 2006, and placed her under suspension. But the complainant withdrew the case saying it was mistakenly filed and she was reinstated after a warning on July 7, 2008.
19/11/10 Hindustan Times

Air India to sell four aged freighter aircraft

New Delhi: State-run national carrier Air India (AI) on Thursday said its board of directors has approved the sale of four Airbus A310 freighter aircraft that are almost 20 years old.
"These aircraft are nearly 20 years old and we will release crew and engineering manpower for the new type of fleet," said the company in a statement.
The statement further said that the directors took note of the software up-gradation programme SAP-ERP software application which would help in improving operational efficiency and productivity of the business processes.
According to an airline official, the agenda of the meeting was to accept the annual report for 2009-10 and discuss the financial results of the first half of the current fiscal.
"We have reviewed the financial results of the airline and have taken that into consideration," said E.K. Bharath Bhushan, joint secretary and financial advisor in the civil aviation ministry.
The meeting was also attended by two independent directors including Amit Mitra, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and M.A. Yusuffal, managing director, Emke Group.
The other three independent directors -- Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra, Industrialist Harsh Neotia, and Air Chief Marshal (retd) Fali H. Major -- did not attend the meet.
18/11/10 Economic Times

India air crash families angry over crash report

A spokesman for victims of the crash told the BBC that he wanted the airline to take immediate steps to protect passengers' lives in the future.
The Air India Express flight crashed near Mangalore, killing 158 people.
There has been no detailed response from the airline or the government into the report.
On Thursday, the airline repeated that it would not comment on the crash until the report is officially released - and then it would respond to the Indian government.
On Wednesday the airline pointed out that the media had reported on only a small part of the report.
Correspondents say that the full version may well reveal other factors contributing towards the crash, including a short runway and the fact that the pilot allegedly ignored his co-pilot's advice not to land.
"Air India is morally responsible for the crash," Air Crash Victims' Families Association Secretary Dr Jayasimha Shetty said.
"Actually we are not surprised. We heard immediately after the crash that it could be pilot error," said Dr Shetty, who lost his sister and brother-in-law in the crash.
"They [the pilots of Air India] are overworked. This is something they should take note of now the inquiry report has been submitted."
He said that the shortage of Air India pilots was causing them to work overtime.
India's Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters his ministry had received the report on Tuesday and the government would study it before taking any action.
18/11/10 BBC.co.uk

New airport to boast aero bridges for 80% aircraft

Mumbai: Mumbai's proposed second airport envisages that more than 80% of the aircraft will have aerobridges for passengers to walk into terminals and board aircraft. And, if all goes as planned, hovercraft and catamarans will take Mumbaikars across the eastern water front right inside the Panvel creek to reach close to the airport.
With a formal announcement of the environmental clearance to the Navi Mumbai site for airport construction expected in the near future , on November 21 or 22, the state and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) are busy finalizing their blueprint for the airport.
The first phase of airport, which expects to handle 10 million passengers per year, will see 25 aerobridges come up in the terminal building and one runway by 2014-15 . A total of 77 aerobridges and 27 remote gate terminals (from where one would have to walk down or board a bus up to the terminal or aircraft) will be built by 2030. This means, 104 aircraft will be able to park at a time to help passengers board or disembark the aircraft.
19/11/10 Chittaranjan Tembhekar/Times of India

Mumbai Airport Has Power Outage; Operations Normal

Mumbai airport, the gateway to India’s financial capital, had a power outage that lasted for about 15 minutes, forcing activation of back-up electricity supply, said Manish Kalghatgi, a spokesman for the airfield.
“Essential services such as lights on the runway and X-ray machines functioned as usual,” he said. The outage affected air-conditioning at the international and domestic terminals briefly, he said by telephone today.
Parts of Mumbai’s western and eastern suburbs and sections of the airport were affected by an outage because of a grid problem, IANS reported, citing unidentified officials.
The cause of the power failure in suburban Mumbai hasn’t been ascertained, Tata Power Co. said in an e-mailed statement today without referring to the airport outage.
18/11/10 Bloomberg

IAF exercise delays over 30 flights at IGI

New Delhi: Over 30 flights were delayed by 30 minutes to three hours and a few cancelled at IGI Airport on Thursday after the air route over central India was closed due to an Air Force exercise.
Aircraft from Maharashtra and southern India were made to take a detour towards Lucknow and then fly to Delhi, leading to massive congestion around the capital.
Airport sources said the first Air Force exercise began over Khajuraho and the second went on over Gwalior and Agra. "The entire route was affected and no flights could move over the area between 9 am and 4.30 pm. All flights that take this route were first diverted towards Lucknow from where they flew to Delhi. This also affected those flights which use the Lucknow route and several delays were reported through the day," said an airport source.
With a crucial part of central India closed for commercial flights, those coming into Delhi and going further north from places like Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Nagpur etc were especially affected. The route diversion also created problems for flights coming from the northeast and other eastern international routes. The cancelled flights included an Indigo flight to Goa, two international flights, one to Kathmandu and the other to Tehran, two Jet Airways flights to Gorakhpur and a couple of Air India flights to Mumbai.
19/11/10 Times of India

Technical snag grounds Air India Kuwait flight

Ahmedabad: Air India Kuwait-Ahmedabad-Hyderabad- Chennai flight was grounded at Ahmedabad airport after its arrival at 7.50 am due to a technical problem.
Sources said, the spare parts were being flown in from Delhi for repair, after which an empty flight was flown to Chennai.
As many as 90 Chennai-bound passengers were taken via Delhi on Indian Airlines flight at 9.30 am.
While some of the Hyderabad-bound passengers cancelled their tickets, the remaining were flown via Mumbai in a Air India flight that took off at 4.30 pm from the airport.
As per the original schedule the flight would have departed from Ahmedabad at 7.50 am, reached Hyderabad at 9.30 am and Chennai at 11.15 am.
20/11/10 Ahmedabad Mirror

Drug peddler dodged airport security

Hyderabad: Producing the duo at a press conference here on Thursday, Hyderabad police commissioner A K Khan said following the series of arrests of peddlers selling cocaine for the past one month, a special team of city police began keeping watch on the possible customer pools like colleges, pubs and hukka joints.
After a close surveillance, a trap was laid and the duo caught red-handed when they were trying to sell the drug to a west zone police decoy party led by Banjara Hills SI Khaleel Pasha. Police seized 45 grams of cocaine from Chima and 35 grams from Akeel. The contraband was stored in small plastic bottles.
They were nabbed while waiting near a green Maruti Zen for a customer.
The duo confessed to the cops that they are here to sell cocaine to customers at Rs 3,800 to Rs 4,200 per gram. The commissioner said the case will now be transferred to Central Crime Station (CCS) police to pin down national and international players of the cartel.
According to the commissioner, the two have been selling cocaine across all metros by taking orders from their local agents. After taking orders, the duo personally deliver the cocaine to customers at pre-designated spots including hotels, pubs, marriage halls, resorts and farmhouses.
19/11/10 Times of India

Sri Lankan airlines officials visit Madurai airport

Madurai: Sri lankan airlines officials held talks with Airport authorities here to explore possibilities of starting flight operations between Madurai and Colombo, officials said today.
Madurai airport sources said officials, including Regional Manager (Tamilnadu and Karnataka) Samantha Naghawatte and Area Manager Ahamad Mazahim visited the terminal yesterday to know about the facilities available there.
19/11/10 PTI/MSN.com

AAI, IAF agree on ILS commissioning

Srinagar: If all goes as planned, a vital landing instrument, worth Rs 2 crore, may soon be calibrated at the Srinagar International Airport for easy landing of the aircraft in low visibility conditions. The calibration of the equipment would mark the end of a year old discord between the Indian Air Force and the Airports Authority of India over the issue.
Top sources disclosed to Greater Kashmir that the two agencies have jointly agreed to go ahead with an ‘action plan’ with regard to operationalising the Instrumentation Landing System (ILS), which has been installed at the aerodrome two years back.
The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting between the Srinagar-based officials of the AAI and IAF on November 18.
To begin with, the two agencies would be doing the ‘ground work’ for calibration of the equipment which would be followed by its complete functioning in a phased manner. “Things have begun to roll. All the issues between the AAI and IAF have been sorted out and action plan has been formulated with regard to functioning of the ILS,” said an airport official, who was part of the meeting.
Sources said among other things the ‘ground work’ includes demolition of a room located adjacent to the ILS. “The calibration is a sophisticated task. It has to be done in a careful manner. But first the ground for that is to be cleared. There is a room near it which has to be demolished before calibration and some other things also have to be done,” they said.
19/11/10 Faheem Aslam/Greater Kashmir

Three-yr-old injured in baggage belt incident

New Delhi: A three-year-old child, who had just landed with his parents at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, was reportedly injured when his hands got stuck in an oversized baggage belt on Tuesday. The child’s father, an Indian Foreign Service officer posted at the Indian Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, was also injured while coming to his rescue.
In a complaint to airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Sumit Seth, Second Secretary at the mission in Bogota, stated: “... while collecting the baby stroll at the conveyor belt, the hand of my son got trapped between the conveyor belt and the steel rods. There was neither an emergency button nearby to stop the belt immediately nor any personnel on duty. In order to save the entrapped arm of my son, I — along with two-three other persons near the conveyor belt — got injured due to moving of the said belt.”
“The purpose of this letter is to bring to your immediate attention that an emergency stop button must be installed both at the entry and exit of the OG belt, so that incidents like this don’t occur in the future,” it added.
19/11/10 Geeta Gupta/Indian Express

Terminal 1D of IGI airport gets shut partially

New Delhi: With Jet Airways and Kingfisher shifting to Terminal 3, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), has closed a portion of the existing domestic Terminal 1D. According to sources, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), responsible for the security of airports across the country, was finding it difficult to manage 1D.
"Almost half of T1D needs to be shut as the number of passengers using this terminal has fallen. Only three low-cost carriers—Indigo, Spicejet and GoAir—are operating from here and they don’t need so much space," said a CISF official.
T1D was constructed at a cost of Rs 500 crore two years ago for domestic carriers. "Old domestic terminals, 1A and 1B had the capacity to handle only five million passengers while traffic was nearly eight million. Keeping the growing demand in mind, T1D was constructed,” said a DIAL official.
19/11/10 Faizan Haider/Hindustan Times

Second Screening of Turbans Now Mandatory at U.S. Airports

Three civil liberties organizations say the rights of Sikhs in America are being further trampled upon as the Transportation Security Administration rolls out a new policy which will mandatorily require all turbaned Sikhs to undergo three levels of security screening at U.S. airports.
The new policy was first unveiled at a Sept. 21 meeting with representatives from the Sikh Coalition, United Sikhs and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Kimberly Walton, TSA Special Counsel, and Margo Schlanger, officer for civil rights and civil liberties at the Department of Homeland Security.
That meeting was ostensibly held to discuss new advanced imaging technology scanners – also known as backscatter x-rays - that are being rolled out throughout the nation’s airports. More than 750 such devices will be installed by next year, and allow TSA screeners to view a full-body, nude image of each passenger.
Advanced imaging technology enhances security by detecting both metallic and non-metallic threat items concealed under layers of clothing, says the TSA in an advisory to travelers displayed on its Web site. Scanners are designed to be able to detect explosive devices under several layers of clothing.
But the civil rights organizations learned at that meeting that all turbaned Sikhs would now have to undergo two additional compulsory screenings in addition to the body scan, including examination by a hand-held metal detector and a turban pat-down.
18/11/10 Sunita Sohrabji/indiawest.com

Cochin Airport Flights Delayed Due To Shortage Of Emigration Staff

The Cochin International Airport on Friday faced a shortage of staff at the Emigration wing, which led to an inordinate delay in processing the travel documents. The passengers who arrived at the airport to board flights to various ai, were delayed due to the shortage.
According to sources, many foreign bound flights like the Air Arab to Sharjah, Air India to Daman, Emirates to Dubai and many such flights were delayed due to the delay in travel documents processing. Meanwhile the problem is aggravating due to the increase of passengers.
Sources say that the Emigration personnel at the Kochi airport were forced to work over time, without giving them any leave. Thus the continuous work had affected the performance of the staff. The staff at the Kochi airport resided in faraway places like Kozikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod. After working in double shifts the staff used to take the day off and go home, but now nothing as such is allowed.
20/11/10 Thatsfamous

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Mumbai airport employee stole gold, dollars from cargo

Mumbai: Suresh Narsingh Kamble (27), an employee of ARK Aviation at Sahar International Airport, was arrested on Tuesday for an airport robbery and two related murder cases.
Kamble apparently masterminded the robberies with his gang of hoodlums, of which two were also arrested along with him.
The other accused were identified as Rajendra Ganseh Yelanna and Vijendra Suryabhan Kamble.
Kamble worked with the missing luggage department which made his job easier. He usually targeted the luggage of wealthy people, according to crime branch sources. Sources said that he stole mostly dollars, gold and electronics goods. All his loot was sold to Dhoorsingh Solanki (58), a scrap dealer residing in Sahar.However, on August 18, 2010 Kamble allegedly killed Solanki.
On May 25, 2009, around 11.30 am, Kamble with his three accomplices entered the Air India cargo booking area. At the time, Pidilite Industries officials were booking six parcels of gold and silver coins weighing 145 kg and worth Rs. 35 lakh. The accused managed to flee with four parcels. They also fatally shot security guard S Bhosle who had tried to interrupt them.
18/11/10 MiD DAY/NDTV.com

Security at cargo complex beefed up

Mumbai: Following the heist at the domestic airport on May 25, 2009, in which four masked men stole gold and silver coins, the security at the Air India cargo section has been beefed up.
At the main entrance of the cargo area sit two security persons. Here, all vehicles and persons are scrutinised and allowed to enter only after producing a valid identification. A few metres ahead are barricades.
Several armed guards could be spotted inside the cargo terminal. The security men said they were trained to manage any situation.
Another guard at the terminal, while refusing to detail the security measures, said: “There have been major changes in the security set-up.”
18/11/10 Hindustan Times

AAI asked to set up separate aerodrome directorate

New Delhi: To enhance aviation safety in the aftermath of the Mangalore air crash, government has set a deadline of June next year for licensing of all airports across the country and directed the Airports Authority of India to set up a separate aerodrom e directorate under it.
These were among a series of decisions taken by the high level Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council (CASAC), which met here earlier this week. CASAC is headed by Director General of Civil Aviation, Mr SNA Zaidi.
At the meeting held in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel, it was also reported that all 11 airports, designated as ‘critical’, have been inspected and their operators directed to comply with safety regulations.
These airports are Agartala, Calicut, Jammu, Kullu, Latur, Leh, Lengpui, Mangalore, Patna, Port Blair and Shimla.
The CASAC also recommended barring pilots, who have tested positive in breath analyser (BA) tests, from becoming Training Captains. It also decided that those Training Captains, having positive BA reports, should be debarred from their positions for thre e years.
The CASAC recommended detailed regulations for temporary authorisation of foreign aircrew, including carrying out detailed background checks and medical standards.
A special drive for licensing of all airports was already underway. While licensing of 16 airports would be completed by November 30, 29 by December end and the rest before June 30, 2011, an official spokesperson said.
In another significant move, the CASAC decided that a Board be set up by DGCA for initial approval, renewal and proficiency of Training Captains and it should also include independent experts.
18/11/10 Business Line

One hurt after Air India passenger coach hits terminal building girder in Mumbai

Mumbai: On Wednesday, an Air India (AI) passenger coach accidentally hit the terminal building at Mumbai airport. One passenger was injured. Air India Express flight IX 502 Trivandrum-Mumbai landed at Mumbai airport at 9.35am.
“All the disembarked passengers got into the coach, which was driving down towards international terminal 2B, Sahar, of Mumbai airport,” said a source from AI. “When the coach neared the terminal, its side door hit the girder of the terminal building,” he said.
At that time the hydraulic door of the coach opened and hit a passenger Sunil Kumar Paswan, 34, who fell inside the coach. The airport doctor was immediately called in to give him first aid as his leg got hurt.
The spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Limited said that the driver of the coach is absconding.
18/11/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

Unexpected rain grounds flights

New Delhi: Bad weather coupled with air traffic congestion at Indira Gandhi International Airport resulted in large number of flight delays on Wednesday. Almost all flights that landed at IGIA between 3pm and 5pm were delayed by at least an hour. Departures, too, got delayed during that period. Though
the airport only recorded a trace of rainfall, high wind speed that accompanied it affected flight movement at the airport. Some flights, such as Jet Airways' Guwahati-Delhi flight (9W 2280) was delayed by more than three hours.
In the past one week, the airport has reported several weather-related delays. On Saturday, heavy rain, high-speed wind and squall resulted diversion of 12 flights and as many as 50 flight were delayed.
18/11/10 Hindustan Times

Commissioning of Thiruvananthapuram terminal: New deadline set

Thiruvananthapuram: Setting yet another deadline, a meeting of officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), various airlines and other agencies concerned has decided to commission the new terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram Airport latest by December second week.
Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Civil Aviation Ministry E K Bharath Bhushan had convened a meeting on Tuesday which directed the airlines and other agencies concerned to expedite various measures for commissioning the new terminal.
The commissioning of the new terminal had been postponed a couple of times owing to the lack of preparedness of various agencies in setting up the required facilities. Former Airport Director V N Chandran was even shifted, allegedly following strong lobbying by various quarters.
It was decided at Tuesday’s meeting that in the initial phase, only international services would be operated from the new terminal.
‘’.. for the time-being we are going ahead with international services only. Any decision on shifting the domestic services to the existing international terminal, as planned initially, was also not taken,’’ said an official.
18/11/10 ExpressBuzz

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Managlore air crash: Plane landed after 5200 ft

New Delhi: Pilot error caused by “sleep inertia” on the part of the Serbian-born British commander, Capt. Zslatko Glucika, was the cause of the crash of Air India Express’ flight IX-812 at the Mangalore airport on May 22 this year that led to the death of 158 persons on board, sources said, while citing the report of the government-appointed inquiry into the crash.
The court of inquiry, set up in the first week of June, submitted its report on Tuesday evening to the civil aviation ministry after making a presentation to the civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel. The report will be made public only after it is placed before Parliament, sources said.
The pilot had slept in the cockpit for about one hour and forty minutes during the flight from Dubai to Mangalore that lasted a little more than three hours. Just before descent, he woke up and took control of the aircraft. Capt. Glucika was also warned by his co-pilot, Capt. H.S. Ahluwalia, thrice to go-around and a fourth time that the descent was an unstabilised approach. But the Serbian-born pilot did not heed the warnings probably on account of the sleep inertia which led to loss in situational awareness and alertness. Capt. Glucika overshot the touchdown zone of the runway and landed on the 8,000-feet-long runway after overshooting 5,200 ft. On realising the plane was going to crash into the gorge beyond, he swung the throttle and tried to take-off but failed.
17/11/10 Deccan Chronicle

Aircraft touched down after 5000 ft, Pilot suffered from sleep inertia

New Delhi: The Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the Mangalore air crash has concluded that the pilot in command was at fault, including the fact that he was sleepy. The inquiry into the country's worst air tragedy of the decade that claimed 158 lives has established that Captain Z Glusica, the pilot in command of the Air India Express flight IX-812 from Dubai to Mangalore on May 22, reacted late and also, many standard operating procedures were not followed during landing.
The report has stated the plane touched down at Runway 24 of the Mangalore airport, which is approximately 8,000 feet long, when it had already crossed over 5,000 feet of the tabletop runway. With less than 3,000 feet of runway left, the pilots tried to take off again --only to crash into a gorge.
Experts have concluded that despite the limited runway left, had the pilot applied emergency brakes and not attempted to take off again, the plane could have been brought to a halt. The plane's takeoff gear was found activated.
The CoI has stated Glusica, an expatriate, was asleep for over 1 hour 40 minutes of the three-hour flight and "disoriented" at the time when the plane started to descend. Sources said Glusica was suffering from "sleep inertia".
The report was submitted to civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Tuesday and would be tabled in the Parliament. It has suggested several steps including "hard landing" and medical check-ups to avert such mishaps.
16/11/10 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

Probe panel confirms pilot error caused M’lore crash

New Delhi: Pilot error caused the Air India Express plane crash at Mangalore airport which killed 158 people, an inquiry has found.
The final report of the inquiry committee which probed the incident says that the flight commander of the ill-fated Air Indian Express, which crashed on May 22,2010, ignored the warnings of his co-pilot. The panel submitted its report to the Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday.
The Air India Express IC 812 Boeing 737-800 carrying 166 people, including the crew, from Dubai crashed while negotiating the tricky landing at Mangalore’s “table-top” airport overlooking a ravine. It burst into flames after overshooting a table-top runway and plunged into a nearby forest.
The inquiry found that the pilot Captain Zlatko Glusica, slept for over 90 minutes during the flight. The report is said to have quoted the American National Transportation Safety Board saying it was the first instance of snoring recorded on a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).
Sources also said the pilot realised too late that the plane was at a higher altitude than the flight path.
In the CVR, co-pilot Captain HS Ahluwalia is heard telling Captain Glusica thrice to go around as the plane could not land. The sources also say the pilot tried to pull up but it was too late.
As the pilot did not take-off in time, the aircraft had rammed into the boundary-wall of the table-top runway before falling into the deep gorge on the other side of the airport, they said.
Data retrieved from the CVR had shown that the captain was on the wrong flight path and had also delayed in taking corrective measures.
16/11/10 DHNS/Deccan Herald

Indian Airlines owes 300 cr as arrears to AAI: Govt

New Delhi: National Carrier Indian Airlines owes Rs 312.35 crores as arrears to Airports Authority of India (AAI), while private domestic carrier Go airlines has to pay just over Rs six crore.
These details were tabled before the Rajya Sabha by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in reply to a question.
Among the national carriers, AI owes Rs 192 crores and Alliance Air nearly Rs 30 crore respectively to AAI as arrears payable on account of landing, parking charges.
Patel added in the reply that among private domestic carriers, Indigo owed Rs3.04 crore and Jet Airways was yet to pay nearly Rs30 crores for the services.
Among the foreign airlines, Air Arabia owes Rs2.55 crore to the regulatory authority, while Air France has to pay Rs1.48 crore.
16/11/10 PTI/Economic Times

Air India employees arrested for assaulting colleague in Juhu

Mumbai: The Juhu police on Monday arrested two Air India (AI) employees for assaulting one of their colleagues at Hotel Novotel in Juhu in October. The arrested duo has been identified as Girish Tandel and RY Bankar.
Tandel and Bankar allegedly assaulted Pravin Gangurde, 53 on October 26. Gangurde is the general manager, administration, industrial relations and system of AI. Two other accused, Prabhakar Koli and Kailash Bidwaan, are also wanted in the case.
On October 26, the parliamentary committee for the welfare of scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) was at the hotel to meet members of the SC/ST association of the airline.
The committee was investigating allegations of submission of fake caste certificates by as many as 242 employees of the airline.
At 8.35pm that day, Gangurde went to meet the committee. “He told the committee that many senior officials, including LP Nakwah, who is the president of the association, had not submitted a caste certificate in past 15 years for verification,” said the officer.
There were at least 150 members of the association who were present at the hotel at the same time. “When Gangurde went to make a presentation to them, they hit him,” he added.
17/11/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

Airlines gear up to fly to foggy Delhi

Chennai: Airlines are gearing up to fly into a foggy Delhi as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA) has permitted flights to land and take off when visibility is as low as 125m as against the 150m last year.
In Delhi, fog often reduces visibility considerably, forcing pilots to depend on intruments to land on runways equipped with Cat III A or Cat III B landing system. The months of November and December are usually the season for fog in the national capital while Chennai airport experiences low visibility for a couple of days close to Pongal in January.
Foreseeing trouble, airlines have started training their pilots while flying scheduled flights after the procedure was allowed by the aviation regulator. "Earlier, pilots were trained only on simulator. Now we have started landing using auto pilot at airports even when visibility is 6km. Rules say that a pilot should make six or more such landings and two successful attempts on simulator before getting cleared for duty on the Delhi sector," said a pilot.
Though statistics are not available, apart from Air India, not many airlines are completely geared up to fly in reduced visibility conditions at Delhi, said an airport official. Last year, Air India's schedules were the least affected when fog disrupted traffic at Delhi airport.
Private airlines fear that shortage of trained cockpit crew may come in the way of smooth operation of flights if schedules go haywire from Delhi. Dense fog is a nightmare for airlines because disruptions throw schedules across the country into a disarray.
17/11/10 V Ayyappan/Times of india

Mumbai-Delhi airfare soars to Rs 35,000

New Delhi: If you are planning to fly from Delhi to Mumbai at short notice, get ready to shell out more than you would for a return ticket to, say, Dubai or Bangkok . Passengers buying tickets on the date of travel or a day or two earlier on this sector in the past few days have seen one-way fares on full service carriers skyrocket to Rs 16,000-20,000 in economy, and Rs 20,000-35,000 for business class!
While airfares across the domestic network are 15-25% higher this peak travel season, the Delhi- Mumbai sector has seen a 200-300% jump thanks to a number of factors plaguing the two airports that together account for almost 70% of all domestic flights.
Low-cost carriers are only marginally cheaper with spot or day before travel date fares (one way) ranging from Rs 13,000-17,000; some budget players, however, are charging even up to Rs 22,000. Only tickets being bought at least three to four days before travel date on this sector begin at a slightly more normal rate of Rs 6,000, but with only a few seats available, even that gets sold out fast.
17/11/10 Saurabh Sinha/Economic Times

Last-minute booking? Pay 10 times the usual air fare

Mumbai: Last-minute travellers are in for a rude shock as low-cost airlines are charging almost 10 times the usual fare.
“I had to shell out Rs34,000 on a JetLite Delhi-Mumbai flight on Monday evening,” said Jayant Jagtap, who is in the construction business. Usually, the air fare for this route is Rs3,500 on a low-cost airline.
Air tickets for Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Ahmedabad were anywhere between Rs21,000-Rs34,000 for one-way travel. Ironically, the fare on a Mumbai-London-Mumbai flight is Rs32,000.
“We have observed that air fares are the highest on low-cost carriers. For instance, a one-way ticket to Ahmedabad, an hour-long flight, on SpiceJet was Rs21000 on Tuesday,” said Rajesh Rateria, chairman, Travel Agents Association of India.
“A Mumbai-Bangalore ticket was Rs19,000 last week, while Delhi-Bangalore was Rs21,000. This is because people are returning from their Diwali holidays and a lot of business travel is happening,”Rateria explained.
17/11/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

Flyers stuck for 5 hours inside aircraft at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Cooped up inside a stuffy Kolkata-bound Spicejet aircraft, stalled for five hours at Mumbai airport on Monday, four passengers cancelled their trip after an abusive brawl with the pilot. Around 200 passengers sat cramped inside the aircraft allegedly without food, water or air-conditioning.
The flight was scheduled to take off at 8.30 pm but was held up due to bad weather and operational reasons. The flight took off at 11.30 pm.
Passengers said the crew forced them to wait inside the aircraft. A few passengers abused the pilot and even manhandled him.
17/11/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times