Navi Mumbai airport: Aviation NOC requirement opposed

Navi Mumbai: The redevelopment activity in Navi Mumbai has come to a standstill as the aviation department has still not earmarked the funnel area (the area where the aircrafts land or take-off) for the Navi Mumbai airport. This issue was raised by NCP corporator Raju Shinde in the general body (GB) meeting of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation held on Friday. Corporators cutting across party lines supported Shinde.
"The aviation department has made it mandatory to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from them for any redevelopment," Shinde said. He added that the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) should ask the aviation department to demarcate the funnel area for the airport at the earliest.
Even the other corporators raised questions about the need for every construction in the city to obtain an NOC. "One can understand aviation ministry making NOC mandatory for high rises. But making it compulsory for redevelopment of ground plus one structures is ridiculous. The civic body should get it resolved at the earliest," said Vaibhav Gaikwad, NCP corporator from Vashi.
30/11/13 Sanjeev Shivadekar/Times of India

Read More

Industry objects to new plan for Coimbatore airport

Coimbatore: With the new plan of Airports Authority of India (AAI) to acquire 1,566 acres for Coimbatore airport expansion under consideration by the state government, industrial associations in the city have urged the central government to stick to the original plan which requires only 613 acres. "The government should opt for the original plan as it is more feasible than attempting to acquire 1,500 acres in a single locality close to the city," said Ravi Sam, vice-chairman of CII Tamil Nadu state council.
He said that only when the airport expansion is completed, the city would be able to keep up with the growing demand. AAI has already written to the state government stating that to cope with future traffic demands there should be parallel runways. According to Ravi Sam, the city needs better air connectivity and any further delay in expansion, would affect growth of the entire Coimbatore region.
30/11/13 Times of India

Read More

HC rejects HDIL plea on Mumbai airport slum clearance contract

The Bombay High Court has rejected an appeal filed by Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) against the court's earlier order upholding termination of the contract between HDIL and Mumbai International Airport Ltd for the airport slum re-development project. The court also imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on HDIL for filing the case. MIAL, which won the contract for privatisation of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, had signed an agreement with HDIL in October 2007 to clear slums on the fringe of airport land. The slum-dwellers were to be rehabilitated and the work was to be completed by October 2011. But MIAL terminated the agreement in January 2013, saying not a single slum had been cleared, following which HDIL filed an arbitration petition. The developer blamed change in government policies for the delay, but the court did not accept its plea.
30/11/13 PTI/Indian Express

Read More

Some flight timings to change owing to repair work of Chandigarh runway

Chandigarh:Timings of some flights operating from Chandigarh for various destinations such as Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur have undergone change following the announcement that Chandigarh Airport would remain closed on the first and third Sunday of every month after 1 pm due to maintenance and repair work of the runway.
While some operators have cancelled the flights that are scheduled for departure after 1 pm and are providing tickets to the passengers for the next flight, some airline operators are providing connecting flights to the passengers.
Passengers who have booked their tickets in Jet Airways flight from Chandigarh to Jaipur which has a scheduled departure at 6.10 pm will be given an alternative option to get their bookings done in the Chandigarh-Delhi Jaipur connecting flight. The connecting flight has a scheduled departure of 8.10 am.
29/11/13 Indian Express

Read More

AAI plans to charge lease rental on six airport assets

New Delhi: Six airports that are on the block in the second phase of airport privatisation are likely to pay lease rental for using assets created by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
"These lease rentals will be a fixed charge to be paid monthly and spread over the concession period to recover the cost of construction of the respective airport. We are working to add this clause in the model concession agreement (MCA) that we are compiling," said a senior AAI official, who did not want to be identified.
Airports in Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati and Ahmedabad are up for privatisation. The AAI's Key Infrastructure Division (KID) is preparing the concession agreement for the award of these airports.
The agreement is being prepared afresh after the civil aviation ministry decided to do away with the Planning Commission's draft of the MCA.
29/11/13 Mihir Mishra/Indian Express

Read More

PMA takes Mopa airport issue to Rane

Mapusa: Congress's meeting attended by AICC's Goaobserver AICC secretary Dr AChella Kumar witnessed disturbing scenes after leader of opposition Pratap Singh Rane allegedly refused to accept the memorandum by ' People for Mopa Airport' (PMA) - the NGO formed in support of the Mopa airport . Earlier AChella Kumar had accepted the memorandum and also gave a peaceful hearing to the activist of the PMA.
Mandrem block congress had organised a convention for the party workers and supporters at Agarwada in Pernem on Sunday evening attended by AChella Kumar, Rane, Ramakant Khalap and other congress leaders.
"We wanted to meet AChella Kumar so that our demands reaches the centre, he met us at the entrance of the hall, accepted our memorandum and listen to our requests, so do Ramakant Khalap" said PMA convenor Devendra Prabhudesai.
Prabhudesai further said that the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly, Pratapsing Rane had gone on record saying that Mopa airport is not an immediate necessity and that a decision on the project could wait for a later date, which was the irresponsible statements and therefore PMA specially wanted to convey him the sentiments of the people of Pernem on Mopa airport.
28/11/13 Keshav Naik/Times of India

Read More

Boost for diamond trade as AAI approves cargo on flights

Surat: Trains have been the conventional mode of transport for angadias to deliver precious diamonds from Surat to Mumbai and other destinations for last many years. This may soon be history as Airport Authority of India (AAI) has approved cargo services on passenger aircraft of SpiceJet from Surat. This would ensure that at least 30 per cent of diamond parcels are delivered in Mumbai in passenger cargo.
Around 30 courier boys employed with 12 angadia firms in the city carry diamonds worth over Rs 500 crore in the night trains namely Gujarat Mail and Saurashtra Express to Mumbai.
Though the courier boys are escorted by railway police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel in the trains and at the railway stations, the fear of attacks by robbers is always there.
If the angadias are to be believed then the joint raids by the income tax (I-T) department and National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July 2013 have forced the angadias to think of delivering the valuable diamonds through other mode of transports.
29/11/13 Melvyn Reggie Thomas/Times of India

Read More

CCTV eye on roads to IGI airport

New Delhi: To counter threat to IGI airport and surrounding areas, security agencies-along with the airport operator, DIAL-plan to instal CCTV cameras on all approach roads from the city to the airport terminal. The proposal, which was mooted in June this year, aims to map all entry and exit points from the airport and also assist Delhi Police in securing Aerocity hotels and complex.
Sixty cameras will be placed at 14 different locations at the airport terminal. Areas like the Central Spine Road; public transport centre near Centaur hotel; spot near Radisson; and cargo complex have been identified to be put under CCTV surveillance. The proposal has "almost got clearance from BCAS (bureau of civil aviation security)", said an official connected with the security plan, adding that the blueprint of phase one is almost ready.
28/11/13 Suhas Munshi/Times of India

Read More

Airport-affected people seek Opposition's support

Panvel: Dismissing reports that appeared in a section of the media, project-affected persons (PAPs) from six villages, who are opposed to the state government’s ‘best offer in the country’, said they have not mellowed down their agitation and are still sticking to their demands. They are also approaching leaders from the opposition parties, such as BJP and Shiv Sena, to garner support for their agitation.
“We are firm on our stand that we will not let the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) project materialise, if our demands of cash compensation of Rs6.25 crore per hectare along with 35% developed plot are not accepted by the state government,” sarpanch of Pargaon, Mahendra Patil, said. When asked about the news about PAPs accepting the offer, Patil said, “Some people are spreading wrong information through media. In fact, we have decided to intensify our agitation and have taken some major steps to fight for our rights.”
28/11/13 Bhalchandra Chorghade/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Land acquisition for Gannavaram airport expansion turns critical

Vijayawada: Land acquisition has yet again turned into a critical parameter for taking forward the proposed expansion of Gannavaram Airport with Machilipatnam MP Konakalla Narayana Rao seeking clarification from the Revenue Department on the rate of compensation to be offered for the lands to be acquired.
At the first-ever Airport Development Committee meeting organised in the city on Wednesday to ascertain the viewpoint of stakeholders on the proposed expansion of the Airport runway and taking up other construction works in the wake of Revenue Department issuing a Draft Notification for 492 acres needed, about a week ago.
Chevvuri Hari Kiran, Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner representing the Krishna Collector, said amount was sanctioned by the State government through a Government Order and the funds would be released at the time payment was supposed to be made to farmers, whose lands were acquired.
28/11/13 The Hindu

Read More

'New Dabolim terminal to begin operation in 2014'

Vasco:  Though the civil aviation ministry has said that the new Dabolim airport terminal building would be made operational within 10 days of its inauguration on December 3, the airport advisory committee has expressed doubts over whether this will be possible. On Wednesday afternoon, the committee held an inspection of the new terminal building to check the progress of work.
Francisco Sardinha, chairman of the committee, said, "There will be a soft inauguration on December 3, but the building will be made operational only in the new year."
The civil aviation ministry had ordered its Dabolim airport officials to make the new building operational within 10 days, at least by December 13.
28/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Customs duty revenue at Madurai airport increases exponentially

Madurai: The Madurai airport has been operating flights to a sole international destination — Colombo — for the last 14 months until it got connected to Dubai on Friday.
Yet, revenue earned by Central Board of Excise and Customs through levy of customs duty on valuables carried by inbound passengers has increased exponentially.
According to informed sources, the Customs officials had collected a duty of Rs. 26 lakh from the day of introduction of the first international flight from here to Colombo on September 20 last year to March 30 this year. But the revenue nearly tripled in the last seven months with the officials having collected Rs. 74 lakh from April 1 to November 21 this year.
28/11/13 Mohamed Imranullah S/The Hindu

Read More

Mahindra Reva and Bangalore Airport partner to setup electric vehicle charging infrastructure

Bangalore will have India’s first airport electric vehicle charging infrastructure thanks to an agreement entered into by Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).
This new electric vehicle charging station will offer facilities exclusive to Mahindra e2o customers and will be completely free of cost. Besides availing these free services, Mahindra’s EV customers will also get a 20% rebate on parking charges at the airport premises.
Bangalore is the most electric vehicle friendly market in the country and hence the need for efficient charging infrastructure. While most customers resort to charging at home, the company has ensured over 100 convenient charging stations at strategic locations across the city for customer conveniences.
27/11/13 Pearl Daniels/Rushlane

Read More

Man held with foreign currency worth Rs 27 lakh at airport

New Delhi: A man was today arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle out foreign currencies--Euros and US Dollars--worth about Rs 27 lakh at the international airport here.
The accused, who hails from Delhi, was to board a flight to Bangkok. As soon as he arrived at the airport, his movements were watched and he was intercepted by customs officials.
"On examination of his baggage, it was found containing foreign currency in Euros amounting to 23,300 and USD 12,500 (equivalent to Rs 27.20 lakh)," a press release issued by the customs said.
28/11/13 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Gold worth Rs 3cr seized as intelligence officers take calculated risk

Mumbai:  Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) allowed a smuggler with more than 5 kg of gold to walk out of Jaipur airport on Tuesday to ensure that his gang member, to arrive the next day with a similar quantity of the metal, did not change his plans. The first smuggler was arrested and the other, along with an airport staffer and another person, were detained on Wednesday. The haul stood at 11 kg of gold, worth nearly Rs 3 crore.
The DRI had information that Abdul Arman was to arrive at Jaipur from Dubai on Tuesday with gold. Upon landing, he walked into a toilet as planned and handed over a bag containing the gold to the airport staffer. Arman confirmed the latter's identity with the serial number of a Rs 10 note that acted as a code. Then, after clearing customs and immigration checks, Arman booked himself into a hotel. The staffer walked out of the airport without any checks and handed over the bag to Arman later.
The DRI also had information that another smuggler, Dinesh Naik, was to arrive at Jaipur from Dubai on Wednesday with the same quantity of gold.
28/11/13 C Unnikrishnan/Times of India

Read More

Customs seize 400 grams of gold at Madurai airport

Madurai: Within days after catching a passenger who had stuffed two gold biscuits in his anus, the Customs officials at Madurai airport caught another passenger on Wednesday for attempting to smuggle four gold biscuits by tying them with a handkerchief under his left armpit.
Joint Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs A.S. Meenalochani said that her team of officials recovered the four gold biscuits, each weighing 100 grams and costing approximately Rs. 12.3 lakh from an Indian passenger who landed here from Colombo in a Mihin Lanka flight.
She refused to disclose the name or other details of the passenger on the ground that the investigation was at the initial stages. However, the local police personnel identified the passenger as Naina Mohamed from Kanchipuram and said he was a frequent air traveller.About 10 days ago, the Customs officials had caught another passenger for attempting to smuggle two gold biscuits by stuffing them inside his anus.
28/11/13 The Hindu

Read More

Spiti airstrip project to get fresh impetus

Manali: With China strengthening its infrastructure along its border with India, fresh efforts are being made to build a military-cum-domestic airstrip near the 12,000-feet-high Rangrik village of Spiti valley. After confirming the feasibility of developing an airstrip on a hilltop in the cold desert, the matter is being taken up with the defense ministry, which is mulling to put all possible efforts to execute the plan, sources said.
National Commission for Scheduled Tribe, which is concerned about the safety of people close to border areas of tribal Spiti and Kinnaur, has discussed the matter with the state government and defense ministry. Sources said that Spiti and Kinnaur, which have been used for cross-border smuggling for years, are easy target for China.
27/11/13 Suresh Sharma/Times of India

Read More

Making sense of new airports

Mumbai’s international air traffic is set to more than double in the next decade, mounting enormous pressure on the state government to fast-track the much-delayed second airport project.
While 30.21 million passengers travelling on international routes graced the Mumbai International Airport during 2012-13, the airport has seen 18.28 million international passengers in the first half of this year (April-September), according to data from Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the developers of the airport.
The figure, civil aviation ministry data shows, is set to rise to 40 million by 2015 and 80 million by 2026, making it one of the busiest airports of South Asia.
“Mumbai needs a second airport. It is a critical national issue’, Kapil Kaul, CEO, CAPA (South Asia).
However, the construction of a second international airport, whose first phase was to be operational by 2014, has been delayed due to land acquisition problems.
27/11/13 Rhik Kundu/Financial Express

Read More

Lankans as carriers show new trend in gold smuggling

Kochi: The seizure of 10 kg of smuggled gold from 54 Sri Lankans arriving from Colombo at Kochi airport on Sunday indicates that the smuggling racketeers are frequently changing their modus operandi, senior Customs official say.
Because of the series of gold seizures in the recent past from those arriving from Dubai at the three international airports in Kerala, Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials had intensified their scrutiny of passengers from the Gulf sector. This seems to have forced the smugglers to look for airports in other countries and different airlines to dodge the enforcers.
Since all air passengers arriving from Dubai are natural suspects, Colombo is an easy alternative. Dubai-Colombo-Kochi seems to be the least risky smuggling route.
27/11/13 KPM Basheer/Business Line

Read More

AAI approves drawings for Madurai airport

Madurai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved the civil engineering drawings for converting the old terminal building at the Madurai airport into an International Cargo Complex. The drawings have been forwarded to the Airport Director here for execution, according to T.S. Chandramouli, Regional Executive Director of AAI at Chennai.
Mr. Chandramouli told The Hindu over phone that instructions had been issued to the Airport Director to execute the work on a “war footing basis” as it was nearly seven months since the Union Finance Ministry issued a notification on May 28 permitting international cargo movement from here.
Confirming that he had received the drawings, Airport Director K. Sangiah Pandian said that works were underway to prepare the estimates, get them approved by the AAI, call for tenders and then award the civil contract to a reputed contractor. “We are working with a target of three months and hope to complete the works on time,” he said.
27/11/13 Mohamed Imranullah S./The Hindu

Read More

Air India won’t get nod to fly Dreamliners in thick fog?

New Delhi: After overheating, the Boeing-787 Dreamliner aircraft of Air India and other airlines is now facing cold-related issues in Delhi! Japan Airlines (JAL) will from Monday stop using the Dreamliner on the Delhi-Tokyo route and replace it with the Boeing-777 after being warned of ice crystals forming on the aircraft's General Electric (GE) engines.
And, the aviation regulator has said that Air India is now unlikely to get permission to use the plane in dense fog using instrument landing system category-III. AI's B-787s may at best be certified for use in Cat-II or shallow fog this winter.
27/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Airport operators in 7 countries vie for P17.5-B Mactan-Cebu project

Manila: Operators of international airports in the United States, France, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and India will vie for the first airport project being auctioned off under the Aquino Administration’s public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.
Today’s opening of bids for the P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Development Project will serve as an “acid test” on the Philippine government’s PPP projects that the world will keep an eye on, according to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
Operators of the Houston Airports System in the US, Aéroports de Lyon in France, Changi Airport Saudi Ltd. in Singapore, Incheon International Airport in South Korea, Malaysia Airports Berhad in Malaysia, Zurich Airport in Switzerland, and Indira Gandhi International Airport in India have teamed up with local and foreign entities in a bid to bag the transportation infrastructure project.
27/11/13 Kris Bayos/Manila Bulletin

Read More

Odisha woos private airlines in Delhi

Bhubansewar: The state government is going all out to woo private airlines to start international operations at Biju Patnaik Airport that was accorded international status on October 30. Senior government officers, led by chief secretary J K Mohapatra, interacted with officials of various domestic and international airlines at a meeting in Delhi on Tuesday.
"The objective of the meeting was to invite airlines to commence international operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport. We want to start flights to South Asia, South East Asia and Middle East countries," Mohapatra told mediapersons in Delhi.
Senior executives of many airlines, including Fly Dubai, Air Asia, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Go Air and Thai Airways, attended the meeting.
27/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Tulihal international airport

Imphal: Along with issuance of an official notification regarding recognition of Tulihal Airport as an international airport, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has reportedly intimated about the official status to the Government of Manipur today.
According to an official source, the Civil Aviation Ministry having issued the notification on November 14 also directed Tulihal Airport's Station Director to inscribe Tulihal International Airport on the Airport's signboard.
27/11/13 E-Pao

Read More

‘New strategic power play uses aviation as driving force’

Recently Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the state was looking at an alternate site for the proposed Navi Mumbai airport. This was because some villagers were still resisting land acquisition at the current site. This meant that the airport will be delayed further. In an interview with FE’s Rhik Kundu, aviation research firm CAPA’s CEO South Asia Kapil Kaul discusses the need for the airport, a policy on bilaterals and other issues. Excerpts:
Does investing in a second international airport in Mumbai, and international airports in tier-2 cities and smaller towns like Mangalore, Bagdogra, Kannur (proposed), Aranmula (proposed), Nagpur, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Lucknow, and Varanasi, make sense?
27/11/13 Financial Express

Read More

6 villages accept Navi Mumbai airport land deal

Navi Mumbai:  Six of the eight villages which had opposed the compensation package for land to be acquired for an airport here have now agreed to the deal.
Another boost to the project came with the Centre agreeing to remove the land earmarked for resettlement of project-affected persons from the high-tide zone, a Cidco official familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The decision was taken at a meeting with the Centre and senior state officials, including chief secretary Jayant Banthia, on Monday in Delhi.
The two villages still opposing the compensation package are expected to agree to it soon as local leaders are holding discussions with them, said senior Cidco officials familiar with the matter.
27/11/13 Chittaranjan Tembhekar & Sanjay Banerjee/Times of India

Read More

100 flyers sit inside plane for 1 hr as airline waits for ladder

Mumbai: Over 100 passengers of an Indigo Airlines flight from Delhi had to remain on board for 65 minutes after it landed in Mumbai on Tuesday morning, as the step ladders could not be connected.
Officials said the air traffic controllers were forced to reassign the Indigo flight a different bay because of the late push back of an earlier Air India flight. The ladders, which were still at the earlier bay, could not reach on time due to congestion on ground.
"The rapid exit taxiway was changed at the last moment. Passengers of flight 6E-179 had to wait till the ladders could reach the aircraft from the earlier bay," an airline official said.
27/11/13 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror

Read More

US Sikhs to report airport abuse by app

Sikh activists, fed up with being singled out at US airports, today launched an updated smartphone application to make it easier for passengers to file complaints.
The free, downloadable app called FlyRights lets travellers instantly send their concerns to the US Transportation Security Administration, which would then respond through its own channels.
Launched ahead of Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel periods in the United States, the updated "FlyRights 2.0" also allows passengers to send copies of their complaints to their members of Congress, and it features maps that show which airports have the most troubling records.
27/11/13 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Air India decides to lift cargo from Trichy

Trichy:  The Air India Express has finally decided to lift cargo from Trichy airport, though in small quantities. The national carrier's Chennai-based general manager (commercial) Ramaiah Radhakrishan who was briefly in Trichy on Tuesday told TOI that the first consignment would be officially lifted in the AXB-611 taking off for Dubai around 1.10 am on Wednesday.
Exporters from the region have been demanding Air India Express to lift cargo for long, and after the grounding of Mihin Lanka from April this year, the cry for cargo became strident. Traders are unhappy over the cancellation of Mihin Lanka because it gave the much-needed gulf connectivity from Colombo. Since most of the exports are perishables, the Sri Lankan is the preferred carrier since it is the only airline that connects to most of the destinations in Europe and the Middle East.
27/11/13 Times of India

Read More

AAI to survey air traffic possibility at Nashik

Nashik: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to survey air traffic possibility at Ozar - about 20km away Nashik city - to use the space as a parking facility closer to Mumbai and also reap the benefits of lower taxes on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).
"In its meeting with the senior state government officials in Mumbai on Monday, the AAI has decided to survey Nashik with respect to using the space as a parking facility for aeroplanes and also consider it for hopping flights from Nashik," Nashik collector Vilas Patil said on Tuesday.
The meeting was held in the office of the additional chief secretary (aviation), P S Meena, where the AAI officials agreed in principle to survey the possibility of traffic between Mumbai and Nashik and through Nashik to other areas.
27/11/13 Abhilash Botekar/Times of India

Read More

MIAL wants airport land cleared of slums, seeks state govt help

Mumbai: With lack of clear policy for rehabilitation of slum families living around Mumbai airport coming in the way of its modernisation plans, the GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) Tuesday approached the state government for removal of encroachment on the airport land.
MIAL representatives met Suburban Collector Sanjay Deshmukh to press for the demand. Sources said the MIAL has insisted that slums obstructing flight path be removed on priority.
However, with the state government yet to conduct a survey to identify slumdwellers eligible for rehabilitation, senior government officials said the chances of an eviction exercise in the near future were bleak. Sources said Deshmukh, while showing willingness to carry out the exercise, asked MIAL officials to obtain directives from higher-ups in the state government.
27/11/13 Sandeep Ashar/Indian Express

Read More

Malabar group director has direct links with gold smuggler, says DRI

Kochi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Tuesday submitted before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offences) that Malabar Group director T V Muhammad Ashraf has direct links with Shabas, the first accused in the Karipur gold-smuggling case.
It filed a report before the court arraigning Ashraf as the sixth accused in the case. The DRI submitted the plea before the court while it was considering the petition for Shabas’ custody.
DRI Special Prosecutor C P Udayabhanu submitted before the court that during the interrogation of Shabas, when he was intercepted in Bangalore, he named three persons who had purchased the gold and were involved in the case.
27/11/13 New Indian Express

Read More

First flight from Kannur Intl Airport expected by Dec 2015

Thiruvananthapuram: The first flight from Kannur International Airport is expected to take off on December 31, 2015, Kerala Minister in-charge of Aviation K Babu said here today. According to the present agreement, work to the tune of Rs 694 crore would be carried out, said Babu on the occasion of handing over site document to construction major Larsen and Toubro , who won the work contract for the airport project. Work on the run-way has started and construction of terminal building would begin in May next year, he added. Larsen and Toubro General Manager K V Praveen and Kannur International Airport Managing Director G Chandramouli signed the MOU for the contract. The total project cost is estimated at about Rs 1,800 crore. The airport will come up in an area of 2,000 acres at Moorkhanparamba, about 25 km from Kannur and about 1,200 acres of land has already been acquired. The Airport will have a runway length of 3,050 mts initially in phase one.
26/11/13 Moneycontrol.com

Read More

Individuals can apply for shares in Kannur airport: Minister

Thiruvananthapuram: Larsen & Toubro Tuesday signed a contract with Kannur International Airport (KIAL) to construct runway and airside at the Kannur airport, scheduled to open Dec 31, 2015.
The contract for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work was awarded to L&T Nov 5.
Ports Minister K. Babu, who also handles the aviation portfolio, told reporters here that 49 percent of the Rs.1,000 crore authorised share capital of KIAL has been kept aside for individuals, who can now apply for buying shares.
Babu said investing in airports in the state has proved to be successful, as in the case of the country's first airport under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, Cochin International Airport.
The equity of the airport includes 26 percent for the state government, 23 percent has been given to state and central public sector units, two percent to INKEL (Infrastructures Kerala Limited, a Kerala government company) and the remaining 49 percent would be for individuals.
Airport managing director G. Chandramouli said those individuals who wished to subscribe to the shares can log on to the www.kannurairport.in and inform their interest.
The Kannur airport is coming up in an area of around 2,000 acres and is expected to cost Rs.1,800 crore.
26/11/13 IANS/Business Standard

Read More

Environment ministry backs Juhu runway's sea extension

Mumbai: The Juhu airport expansion project is all set to get a major boost with the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) on Monday expressing its "favourable" support to extend runway into the sea.
The approval of the MoEF is being sought by the civil aviation authorities to build the runway on the stilt. The decision over the runway, said a source, might also expedite the state government proposal to build a coastal road from Versova to Bandra.
At the meeting held on Monday, civil aviation authorities sought the state government's help to resettle slumdwellers and create an underpass on the roads adjacent to the Juhu airport to facilitate the runway's extension into the sea.
26/11/13 Chittaranjan Tembhekar/Times of India

Read More

Guwahati airport slashes charges to take on Kolkata

New Delhi: Kolkata airport could soon face stiff competition from Guwahati airport in attracting international flights.
Guwahati has announced a uniform set of charges for both international and domestic passengers and airlines to make more use of the capacity of the airport.
Sector regulator Airports Economic Regulatory Authority has approved the new rates last week, which will come into effect from January 1, 2014, in the first year.
"This is the first time in India that any airport has kept uniform charges for both international and domestic passengers. As part of our endeavour to promote regional connectivity in the country, we had asked for uniform charges to bring in more international airlines to Guwahati. The airport is also strategic in terms of its location," said a senior Airports Authority of India (AAI) official, on condition of anonymity.
26/11/13 Mihir Mishra/Indian Express

Read More

Madurai-Singapore flight possible only if Indian carriers evince interest: MP

Madurai: The Centre would permit air travel from Madurai to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Muscat only if Indian carriers evince interest in operating flights on this route and not otherwise, according to Virudhunagar Member of Parliament B. Manickam Tagore who is also a member of the consultative committee on civil aviation.
His statement is contrary to the claims made by a few trade bodies here that the decks had been cleared for operating Madurai-Singapore flight from January next.
Speaking to The Hindu over phone from Tiruchuli, he said that the Civil Aviation Ministry was particular in encouraging Indian airline operators to fly more international flights so that the country could earn foreign exchange.
“Our first priority goes to Air India followed by other Indian private airlines. We have been persuading Air India to operate the Chennai-Muscat flight via Madurai. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan and I are keen on improving connectivity from Madurai to international destinations,” he said.
26/11/13 Mohamed Imranullah S/The Hindu

Read More

AAI has a team plan to cut through fog

New Delhi: In an attempt to reduce delays during the coming fog season, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Delhi International Airport (DIAL) have integrated collaborative decision-making (CDM) procedure with each other. CDM involves airport operators, airlines, ground handlers and air traffic control (ATC) collaborating and sharing data through an automated system.
I Prabhakar Rao, chief executive, DIAL, said: “The combined decision-making will help in improved use of ATC resources, runways and taxiways, translating into less workload for controllers and minimum ground delays. Trained officers are also being deployed by AAI at our operational centre to work in close coordination with officers and airlines.”
A senior AAI official said, “This (integration of CDM) will improve aircraft turnaround time and pre-departure sequence process, particularly after lifting of dense fog.” The integration of CDM, together with prediction of better visibility conditions by the India  Meteorological Department, is expected to result in minimum disruption of flights this fog season, said experts.
26/11/13 Sharmistha Mukherjee/Business Standard

Read More

Surat could be a potential hub for AirAsia India

Surat: Surat could possibly get air connectivity to Chennai. Budget carrier AirAsia India, which plans to initially operate in South India with Chennai as its operational centre, is seriously considering the Diamond City as a potential satellite hub. A team of AirAsia India led by its CEO Mittu Chandilya is expected to visit the city in the first week of December and hold a series of meetings with the industry bodies and the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGabout the potential of air traffic from the Diamond City towards the destinations in Southern India. Recently, SGCCI received a letter from AirAsia India CEO Mittu Chandilya urging the SGCCI president to line up his meeting with chief minister Narendra Modi.
26/11/13 Melvyn Reggie Thomas/Times of India

Read More

Automatic storage system at Chennai airport offers speed, but what of volumes?

Chennai: An 8,000-tonne Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) at Chennai airport is expected to speed up cargo clearance and drive volumes. But freight forwarders and industry representatives are sceptical as glitches in the system prevent full capacity utilisation.
Chennai airport now has the largest ASRS system, fully automated and capable of storing and retrieving tonnes of cargo in a matter of minutes, a process that would have taken hours if done manually.
At the cargo terminal, it is just past lunch and and workers are busy loading cargo. Inside the terminal, 17-m tall ASRS and four automated horizontal carousels move on a circular track with cargo bins sorting the cargo.
Once the import cargo is received from the aircraft, it is stored in 1.3-tonne capacity ASRS bin. An operator keys the bin number and the carton’s barcode and specifies the cell’s location for storage. The carousel picks up the bin and stops at an aisle where a fixed-aisle stacker crane takes the bin to the vertical storage system and places the bin with the cargo in the designated cell.
26/11/13 Business Line

Read More

Cidco, villagers to begin joint measurement of land acquisition process starts

Navi Mumbai:  The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) will start joint measurement of land for the airport project after obtaining endorsements from landholders.
The planning and development body will start sending the details of the finalised compensation package to some 5,000 'khatedars' (landholders) through the village sarpanchs. "We will start sending it this week," said a Cidco officials. They added that they will follow a transparent method for initiating joint measurement of the land of those landholders who have endorsed the package.
The move comes in the backdrop of the parallel Sunday meeting in which two separate gatherings of villagers had diametrically opposed views. The meeting, convened by the Antar Rashtriya Vimanthal Prakalpgrast Badhit Samiti led by MLAs Prashant Thakur (Congress) and Vivek Patil (The Peasants and Workers Party), claimed to have most villagers participating.
26/11/13 Sanjay Banerjee/Times of India

Read More

Smuggling bust casts pall on jeweller

Kochi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has made a breakthrough in a gold smuggling case, after it arrested a director of a jewellery chain in Kerala.
It informed the additional chief judicial magistrate, or ACJM, economic offences, Ernakulam, that evidence had been found against the chain.
Ashraf, director of the Kozhikode-based Malabar Gold, told sleuths he had bought 10 kg of gold from Shahabas, the kingpin of the smuggling racket. Shahabas, who had smuggled 39 kg through carriers, was arrested in Bangalore recently. The ACJM on Tuesday sent Shahabas to DRI custody for five days.
On Monday, DRI had raided the corporate office of Malabar Gold at Kozhikode. C P Udayabhanu, DRI advocate, said the group had been dealing in smuggled gold.  
26/11/13 George Joseph/Business Standard

Read More

Kerala govt, KGS misled Forest Ministry over airport: AHVAC

Pathanamthitta: The State government and the KGS Group, a private company, managed to obtain environment clearance for the Aranmula airport project by furnishing totally misleading and false information to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Aranmula Heritage Village Action Council (AHVAC) has alleged.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, AHVAC chief patron Kummanam Rajashekharan called upon the Union Ministry to cancel the clearance granted for the proposed private airport project. He also asked the Ministry to send its expert team to Aranmula for site inspection to gather first hand-information on the ground reality there.
Mr. Rajashekharan said the MoEF order granting environment clearance contained details of the information provided by the KGS and the State on the project site as well as the need for such an airport at Aranmula.
He alleged that various key points concerning land, water sources, environment, paddy farming, etc, were totally false and misleading.
26/11/13 The Hindu

Read More

IndiGo may cancel two flights during runway re-carpeting work

Nagpur:  Re-carpeting of Nagpur airport runway might result in cancellation of two IndiGo flights that operate during block timing of 10.30 am to 4.30 pm. The two flights are flight 6E 135 Nagpur-Pune that departs at 11.15am and flight 6E 196 Nagpur-Delhi via Mumbai that takes off at 1.20pm.
The airline officially maintains it has not arrived at a decision yet and that the matter is under consideration. This delay seems strange since the airline has already effected a change in some other flights from Nagpur airport for changes to happen in January 2014 following a notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued at Pune. As the re-carpeting work begins on December 15, if the airline does cancel the flights, passengers already booked on the flights will have to be informed sufficiently ahead so they can make alternative arrangements.
26/11/13 Aparna Nair/Times of India

Read More

500 fliers stranded as storm in Andaman grounds flights

Chennai: Several passengers who were hoping to make it to Port Blair had to make other plans, as all flights to the Andamans were cancelled owing to stormy weather.
Four flights from Chennai, operated by Air India, Go Air, Spicejet and Jet Airways, were cancelled and close to 500 passengers are waiting in the hope that they may be able to fly to Port Blair at least on Tuesday.  Similar situation prevailed at airports in Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar as well, when flights to the Veer Savarkar Airport were eventually cancelled.
As reported, a severe cyclonic storm with windspeeds exceeding 110 kmph, lashed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands through Sunday night. People were evacuated from low-lying coastal areas as a safety measure. Though the storm was expected to move towards the Indian coast by mid-Monday, stormy conditions and thundershowers remained for the most part of the day.
26/11/13 New Indian Express

Read More

Chandigarh airport to remain closed on two Sundays each month

Chandigarh: To carry out maintenance of its 20 year-old runaway, the Chandigarh Airport will remain closed to all flights after 1 pm on the first and third Sunday of every month. This is likely to continue till the airport gets a runway re-laid which, according to sources, is at least a year away.
Sources at the Air Force Station said the decision had been taken after a meeting with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in which it was pointed out that the runway was severely "damaged" and needed constant repair and maintenance to keep it operational. The choice was between shutting down the airport completely for over a month or carry out need-based repairs for which two Sundays have been set aside every month.
26/11/13 Indian Express

Read More

BHP cancels mine opening as Western Australia airport closes

AAP reported that global miner BHP Billiton has cancelled the opening of its Jimblebar iron ore mine due to the closure of Newman airport in the north of Western Australia.
Mr Andrew Mackenzie CEO of BHP, WA Premier Mr Colin Barnett, dignitaries and media were scheduled to travel to the Pilbara mine opening. But six Newman bound Qantas and Virgin Australia flights were cancelled after an emulsion treatment applied to the tarmac failed to dry and became sticky in the heat. A Newman Airport spokesman said the curing process had not occurred as quickly as planned and flights were cancelled to prevent a build up of emulsion on plane tyres and fuselages.
26/11/13 Steelguru

Read More

Flyer caught with gold bar in rectum

Mumbai: A flyer was intercepted at Mumbai airport on Monday for attempting to smuggle in gold from Sri Lanka. He had concealed the gold in his rectum to hoodwink the Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs. He was intercepted on suspicion. The accused is an Indian who had flown in from Colombo. The flyer, whose name was withheld by AIU, was detained for checks. The metal detector gave him away. When quizzed, he confessed to carrying a gold bar in his rectum.
26/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Smuggling on despite tight security

Trichy: The airport officials are leaving no stone unturned in catching lawbreakers, including smugglers. Recently, the airport acquired a special sniffer dog team comprising four dogs to boost security.
The senior officials from the customs department said the security at the airport is on par with the bigger ones. They pointed out that untoward incidents, including smuggling, could be averted if vigilance is high. Last year, a woman who tried to smuggle drugs into the country from Malaysia, was caught by intelligence officials, he said. On the issue of security nothing could be compromised. We follow the guidelines of Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the airport authorities to maintain stringent security, they explained.
26/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Smuggling picks up in Trichy airport

Trichy: The airport here may not be drawing a large number of travellers as larger ones in metros, but it is witnessing a steady rise in smuggling cases. The regular seizure of contraband items, including drugs, of late points to a spurt in smuggling through the airport which serves the central districts of the state.
Senior officials from the customs department said gold smuggling is showing a steady rise after the government imposed severe restrictions on the import of gold.
Since March this year, at least five incidents of drug seizures were reported from the airport. Interestingly, most passengers caught with drugs were either proceeding to or coming from Malaysia, the officials said. A 25-year-old man was arrested at the airport on Sunday for possessing 1.75 kg of amphetamine, a psychotropic drug.
26/11/13 Harish Murali/Times of India

Read More

Bangalore Airport to be renamed Kempegowda International Airport on Dec 14

Bangalore: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the promoters of Bengaluru International Airport, said they would change the name of the airport to Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, with the opening of the new Terminal 1A on December 14.
The new terminal will be inaugurated by chief minister Siddaramaiah and Union civil aviation minister Ajith Singh. "The new name honours Kempegowda, the founding father of Bangalore, and the renaming is being timed with the opening of the T1A where the facilities, interiors and exteriors mirror the rich culture of Karnataka and the vibrant colours of the Garden City," said G V Sanjay Reddy, MD, BIAL.
The expanded terminal, which spans over 150,500 sq meters, will more than double the floor space area of the current terminal.
24/11/13 Anshul Dhamija/Times of India

Read More

Airports Authority of India eyes Rs 1,500 crore profit this fiscal

New Delhi:  Airports Authority of India is expecting a net profit of Rs 1,500 crore this fiscal on account of increase in revenue after the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) revised the airport tariffs.
"We have seen improvement in our bottomline because of new increased tariff regime of AERA. We expect to earn a net profit of Rs 1,500 crore," AAI Chairman V P Agrawal said here.
Speaking on the sidelines of a function organised by AAI Officers Association, he claimed that the state-run airport operator would not lose any revenue on account of privatisation of six airports, including Kolkata and Chennai which were recently modernised by it.
"We will not lose any revenue due to privatisation of airports, as they are being leased out" for a period of three decades.
AAI employees and several major political parties have been opposing the government's attempt to privatise the AAI- run airports.
25/11/13 PTI/Economic Times

Read More

Jet Airways, SpiceJet to clear Airports Authority of India dues partly by weekend

New Delhi: Prodded by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to pay off their dues, Jet Airways and SpiceJet today promised the state-run airports body to make part payments by this weekend, official sources said.
While SpiceJet would pay up Rs 25 crore by November 29 to clear its outstanding dues, Jet Airways has agreed to pay Rs 80 crore by November 29 and another Rs 12 crore of its dues by December 10, official sources said here.
Jet owes AAI a total of Rs 165 crore and SpiceJet Rs 119 crore, they said.
The two airlines informed the AAI about their readiness to settle part of their outstandings at a meeting today, as the airports body threatened to put them on a cash-and-carry arrangement if dues were not settled by month-end.
The sources said SpiceJet has paid another another Rs 15-18 crore which was not accounted for earlier.
25/11/13 PTI/Economic Times

Read More

Winter schedules out, Biju Patnaik Airport not on 'international' map

Bhubaneswar: The winter schedules of international airlines are out but Biju Patnaik Airport, which was accorded international airport status recently, has not found a place among the tourist destinations yet.
The November-February period is when the international tourists head to Odisha given its tropical climate but the international airport status has not apparently enthused many of the airliners yet. Major tour operators were disappointed not to find Biju Patnaik Airport as destination in the computer reservation system (CRS).
In fact, a few days after Biju Patnaik Airport was accorded international status, the airport authority had claimed that four international airlines had sought permissions to operate directly from Abu Dhabi (Qatar Airways), Singapore (Silk Air), Bangkok (Indigo) and Dubai (Fly Dubai).
25/11/13 New Indian Express

Read More

7 villages affected by Navi Mumbai airport plan reject payout deal

Navi Mumbai: Seven of the eight villages who had opposed the compensation package offered for their lands to be acquired for the airport here, have formally rejected it at meetings held during the weekend, terming it not enough.
"We had a meeting of our village panchayat comprising three villages and all of us are united behind the demand for a better compensation package," said Mahendra Patil, sarpanch of Pargaon village and leader of the rebel villagers. Four villages of the Owala village panchayat had on Saturday rejected the deal agreed between the Antar Rashtriya Vimanthal Prakalpgrast Badhit Samiti, representing project-affected people, and the government.
Patil said people from Kundewahal village will hold their meet on the deal soon. He claimed that the two breakaway panchayats together account for about 500 of the 700 hectares that still need to be acquired for the airport. Cidco had said that it needs to only acquire some 270 acres more.
25/11/13 Sanjay Banerjee/Times of India

Read More

Flight movements recorded rise at Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: The record growth in passenger movement at the city airport has been the consequence of the increased flight movement this year.
In August, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport recorded a growth of 45.2% in international aircraft movements compared to August last year. Against 416 flights last year, 604 flights transited through the city airport this August.
In the period from April-August 2013, international aircraft movement increased by 46.5% in comparison to the same period last year. Against 2,070 flights in April-August 2012, as many as 3,032 flights either took off or landed at the Ahmedabad airport. The growth at the city airport is third highest behind Mangalore (86.8%) and Port Blair (62.4%) among all international airports.
25/11/13 Piyush Mishra/Times of India

Read More

Mahindra Reva partners with BIAL

Bangalore: Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles has partnered with Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) to set up an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at the airport.
With the tie-up, BIAL will become the first Indian airport to have EV charging infrastructure in the country. The facilities are offered exclusively to Mahindra e2o customers, free of cost with an additional benefit of 20 per cent discount on parking charges.
25/11/13 Business Line

Read More

Contraband drug seized from passenger at Trichy airport

Trichy: A 25-year-old man was arrested at the Trichy airport on Sunday for possessing 1.75 kg of amphetamine, a psychotropic drug. He had arrived at the airport to take a Kuala Lumpur-bound flight on Sunday morning.
The arrested person has been identified as Umar Farooq. He was caught by the personnel of Central Industrial Security Force after they found the contraband drug while scanning his bags.
Farooq was caught when he was about to board an AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur in the morning, airport officials said. The contraband was found after the immigration check was complete.
During questioning Farooq said he received the package from a few people who promised to pay him for taking the bag to Kuala Lumpur. Desperate for money, Farooq agreed to the terms of the smugglers and took the baggage.
25/11/13 Times of India

Read More

AAI dumps garbage near Srinagar airport, risks flight safety

Srinagar: Airport Authority of India(AAI), which looks after airports in the country has been accused of dumping tons of garbage near the Srinagar International Airport –the  allegedly negligence –feared to cause bird strike, a deadly threat to flight safety vis-à-vis life and property of people.
 The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Monday said it has found some 400 metric tons of garbage dumped in the vicinity of Srinagar airport and accused the AAI of the offence.
 An official handout from the SMC said: “On a specific complaint that the Airport Authorities of India have been dumping solid waste and debris in a deep gorge falling between Indira Gandhi Airport Road and Police Headquarter at Humhama, the Chief Sanitation Officer, SMC along with the representatives of State Pollution Control Board conducted a joint  inspection of Humhama area.”
 “During inspection, it has been found that more than 400 metric tons of solid waste has been dumped on the slopes of deep gorge mostly consisting of non-biodegradable material.”
25/11/13 Greater Kashmir

Read More

August records maximum international fliers in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Extended weekends coupled with Janmashtami, Eid and Independence Day in August spurred passenger movement to the maximum at Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport.
Compared to August 2012, the city airport recorded a growth of 46% in terms of international fliers in August, 2013. According to AAI data, this year saw 74,844 international fliers, up from 51,251 passengers last year.The airport also witnessed 2,98,612 domestic passengers in August, up from 2,36,081 passengers in August 2012. Both international and domestic passengers' movement in August is the highest in current year since April.
25/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Better vision but no flights

Ludhiana: After the DVOR started functioning at Sahnewal airport, people expected frequency of flights to and from the city to improve. But many flights have been cancelled even after the operationalization of the instrument.
DVOR or Doppler Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Range, is an instrument which reduces the visibility requirement for landing from 5,000 meters to 2,400 meters improving the chances of landing even during inclement weather when the visibility is low. Earlier, the lone flight operator, Air India, cancelled flights saying the visibility requirement of around 5 kms left them with no option but to cancel flights due to low visibility. But now that the DVOR is working, flights are still being cancelled and that too at a time when there is not much fog.
25/11/13 Shariq Majeed/Times of India

Read More

Another gold haul at Kolkata airport

Days after 24 kg gold was recovered from an aeroplane in the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here, customs officials Saturday made twin seizures, confiscating Rs 1.29 crore worth of the metal.
"We recovered 5 kg of gold, valued at Rs.1.19 crore, kept inside a plastic bag from a Mumbai-bound cargo plane while in an another case we seized Rs. 10 lakh worth of gold from man holding a Danish passport," said Assistant Commissioner of Customs R.S. Meena.
25/11/13 SME Times

Read More

Now take this: An International Airport where only ATR-42 can operate

The recent awarding of Environmental Clearance for the controversial airport project at Aranmula, Kerala, is nothing less than a joke.
The gist of the proposal, M/s KGS Aranmula Airport Ltd had placed before Ministry of Environment & Forests was this:
“Development of Airport at Mallappuzhasserry, Aranmula and Kidangannur villages, Kozhencherry Taluk, Patthanamthitta District, Kerala on a plot area of 500 Acres to cater to air bus A – 300 aircraft. The length of the run-way in the first phase will be 2800 mtr. x 45 mtr. Construction will have G+1 floor of terminal building of 1250 sq.m. in phase I and 15000 sq.m. in phase II.”
And what the Ministry now permits to build?
From the approval letter the ministry has sent to the promoters:

10. SPECIFIC CONDITIONS:
(iii) Though the site is not a wetland, in view of the presence of various plants species, Proponent shall fill only minimum area required for runway, apron,taxiway etc and the remaining area will be preserved in its natural form as committed. Only the area required for runway 1000 x 150 mts shall be filled with 1 mt height…”

That is, the total length of the runway basic strip is only 1000 m.  Because it is mandatory to leave 90 m on both ends of the runway as RESA (Runway End Safety Area),  the total effective length of the runway  will be 180 m less.
So what is the length of runway  KGS people are actually getting instead of the 2800 m they asked for ?
Just this much: 1000-180 = 820 m
And what kind of an aircraft will be able operate from this 820 m runway?
That is the most difficult question the promoters will have to find an answer for themselves- that is, if they really are determined to build an airport at Aranmula.
The smallest aircraft scheduled airlines have in these parts of the world is ATR-42-300. The minimum runway length (Take off field length) required for this 45 seater turbo prop aircraft is 1040 m. But this is for a runway at sea level altitude, with no wind along the runway and with an atmospheric  temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. When the temperature and elevation are higher, runway length required would be more. With wind also, the aircraft would require to run longer.
So the only option left for the airlines would be to operate the ATR with a load penalty – that is with reduced capacity.
24/11/13 Jacob K Philip/Decision Height

Read More

Study on for Navi Mumbai Airport's Plan Sea

Belapur: Even as ‘uncertainty’ prevails over the viability of the proposed international airport in Navi Mumbai, thanks to opposition from a section of project-affected persons (PAPs), City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has finalised another option for the mega project. The body, however, maintained that its priority is to ensure that the proposed airport comes up at the original location.
“As announced by the chief minister, a Netherlands-based company has been entrusted with the job of conducting a feasibility study for a project along the Panvel creek by setting up an island there. The company in question has been instrumental in turning such projects into reality in other countries, and has confirmed that it is feasible in Navi Mumbai also. The Dutch company conducted a preliminary study and an advanced study pertaining to setting up an island along the creek will be over in the next six months. It will take 3-4 years for the company to set up the island, after which the construction of the airport will begin. But, this is just an alternate plan since we want the project to come up on land,” Bhatia added.
24/11/13 Bhalchandra Chorghade/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Flying blind: Weather radars fail, pilots look out for clouds

Chennai:  Cruising at more than 30,000 feet at a speed of more than 700kmph in the middle of night a fortnight ago, the captain and first officer of an Air India's A320 aircraft took turns to look out for patches of clouds on the flight path as the plane's weather radar had conked off. And then, the captain spotted a white patch reflecting moonlight. They diverted the flight just in time to avoid a possible turbulence.
This scenario has been repeating in cockpits of a few Air India flights at night, as weather radars of almost 17 aircraft have been erratic for the last two months. Under pressure to maintain schedules, flight engineers run a test on the ground and clear the aircraft for service.
An Air India official said, "There were problems with weather radars on a few aircraft. Antennas were changed as and when pilots complained. The snag may also be due to change in weather radar technology. The equipment may not be compatible. Several of our old planes have been phased out. Air India will soon get 19 new A320 on dry lease." Director general of civil aviation Arun Mishra told TOI that the matter had not come to his notice.
24/11/13 V Ayyappan/Times of India

Read More

Fine-tune aeropolis study, agency told

Thiruvananthapuram: The government has asked Knight Frank India Ltd., which is carrying out the feasibility study for the aeropolis project around the Thiruvananthapuram international airport, to fine-tune the study.
The directive to fine-tune the study and to submit a report on January 24 comes in the wake of the assessment of an interim report by a high-level team headed by the Vice-Chairman of State Planning Board K.M. Chandrasekhar here on November 19.
The interim report had mooted a Centre of Excellence; more role in the aeropolis for the maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility of Air India Charters near the airport; and setting up of ancillary industries. Official sources told The Hindu that the agency had been asked to elaborate on the Centre of Excellence.
24/11/13 S. Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

Read More

Imphal airport upgraded

Imphal: Tulihal airport in Imphal, which had been upgraded to an international one to facilitate the arrival of the foreigners participating in the ten day tourism festival, will have regular international flights. Necessary infrastructures including immigration and customs offices will be opened.
Making this announcement at the sidelines of the inauguration of an international polo tournament in Imphal on Saturday Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said that elected representatives from Myanmar were the first foreign visitors to land at the airport on November 21.
24/11/13 Iboyaima Laithangbam/The Hindu

Read More

Chandigarh airport remains closed for second day

The Chandigarh airport remained closed for all commercial flights for the second day Sunday owing to repairs, putting air travellers to a lot of inconvenience.
The runway of the airport, which is controlled by defence authorities, is undergoing repairs due to which it was closed Saturday and Sunday, said officials.
The Indian Air Force (IAF), which operates several flights from this airport for frontier areas, particular to Leh (Ladakh), is carrying out the repairs on the runway.
All commercial flights to and from Chandigarh stood cancelled from 10 a.m. Saturday due to the repair work. Only three commercial flights landed and took off from here prior to that time Saturday.
24/11/13 IANS/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Staff feel the heat as Madurai airport traffic grows

Madurai: On an average, the Madurai airport handles about 17 flight departures and an equal number of arrivals every day. On Friday, it began night operations with the commencement of a daily flight to Dubai at 11.35 p.m. Though the air traffic has increased manyfold, the number of employees managing the airport remains stagnant.
According to informed sources, 108 staff members are managing the operations and ministerial works in the airport at present. Until recently, these employees were working on two eight-hour shifts as the airport used to be open only between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. The commencement of night operations has necessitated creation of one more shift, but without any increase in the staff strength.
An officer, seeking anonymity, said as per norms, 17 employees should be present in the fire section of the airport on each shift.
24/11/13 Mohamed Imranullak S/The Hindu

Read More

Elections deter politicizing of airport deal

Navi Mumbai: The gram panchayat election to be held on December 22 has acted as a deterrent to the airport issue from being politicized due to the enforcement of election code of conduct.
The issue has assumed importance due to the continuing impasse over the compensation deal for the airport project. The deal was sealed by two MLAs, villagers and the state government but a section of villagers are still opposed to it.
Two parallel meetings are scheduled on Sunday where the residents of 18 villagers will discuss the impasse.
Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) MLA, Vivek Patil said, "There is a meeting and we will try to resolve it.''
24/11/13 Sanjay Banerjee/Times of India

Read More

Man held at airport for multi-crore bank fraud

Mumbai: An accused in an alleged fraud case who landed up in Mumbai from Dubai on early Saturday was arrested after his name was flashed in the Lookout notice (LOC).
Brian Castellino, a resident of Vashi was arrested by the immigration department on early Saturday and alerted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which was looking for him in connection with a cheating case. Castellino who was charged with cheating, breach of trust and forgery was remanded to police custody.
According to the CBI sources, RP Arora deputy general manager of Corporation bank, Thane had filed a complaint early this year alleging that castelino and his wife Rajini,directors of R-Tec systems private limited had cheated the bank's Nerul branch by availing undue financial benefits in form of post shipment finance against 28 fake software export bills covering 35 invoices, without the software having actually been exported. Thereby causing a wrongful loss to the bank tune to Rs 6.82 crores.
24/11/13 S Ahmed Ali/Times of India

Read More

3 kg gold seized from Lankan at Kochi airport

Kochi: Three kg of smuggled gold was seized from a Sri Lankan national at the Kochi airport on Sunday.
The Sri Lankan had arrived by Sri Lanka Airlines from Colombo this morning.
The three international airports made a series of gold seizures this month, most of them from Keralites returning from Dubai.
24/11/3 Business Line

Read More

I-T seizes Rs 20 lakh from Jaipur airport

Jaipur:In its bid to curb the flow of black money during the upcoming assembly elections in the state, the AIU (Air Intelligence Unit) of Income Tax department on Saturday seized Rs 20 lakh from Jaipur airport's terminal 2.
Acting on a tip off by AIU Pune, which said that a woman passenger travelling to Jaipur from Pune was carrying Rs 20 lakhs in cash, Jaipur's AIU team intercepted her and took her statement.
24/11/3 Times of India

Read More

89 kg of red sanders seized at Kochi airport

Kochi: Small logs of red sanders weighing 89 kg were seized from three Chinese nationals at the Nedumbassery International Airport here early on Saturday morning. The Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs Department here seized the logs worth around Rs.86,000 from Sheng Welping, Zheng Kaihong, and Xiao Fuyao.
Customs officials said the three foreigners had arrived in Bangalore on tourist visa and made their way to Kochi. They were scheduled to depart for Malaysia by a flight. The red sanders were kept in six bags in their checked-in baggage.
All three men had visited the country at least three times before. Customs officials are unsure whether they had smuggled red sanders on their previous trips as well. Department officials said that the foreigners did not speak English and thus, could not be interrogated. They were asked to pay a penalty of Rs.20,000 and the red sanders were confiscated by Customs.
24/11/13 The Hindu

Read More

GVK in race for Navi Mumbai airport project

Mumbai: The GVK Group, which operates the Mumbai International Airport, will bid for the Navi Mumbai Airport, a senior GVK official told FE. The Hyderabad-based group holds the first right of refusal for the development of the proposed airport in Navi Mumbai.
Other infrastructure companies like Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Infrastructure are also said to be interested in bidding for the project.
If GVK’s bid falls short of the highest bid by 10% or less, it will have the right to revise its offer to match the top bid to operate the airport.
Maharashtra government had recently approved a feasibility study for an alternate site for the airport, which will be conducted on an island located 1.5-2 km from Panvel Creek, after locals resisted its land acquisition drive. However, this hasn’t put brakes on the plans as the government still continues to negotiate with the resenting villagers.
23/11/13 Rhik Kundu/Financial Express

Read More

Air India Express flight to Mangalore makes emergency landing

Mumbai: An Air India Express flight from Bahrain to Mangalore with 44 passengers on board, apart from crew members, made an emergency landing at the city airport this evening due to technical problem.
"There was an emergency landing of an AI Express flight in the evening following technical glitches. There were 44 passengers and the crew on board and the plane landed safely at the airport at 6.45 pm," airlines sources told PTI.
According to sources, a new flight will take off to its destination, Mangalore.
23/11/13 PTI/New Indian Express

Read More

Assembly panel chief terms MoEF decision unfortunate

Pathanamthitta: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has granted environmental clearance for the Aranmula Greenfield International Airport in Kerala sidelining the recommendations submitted by the Kerala Legislative Assembly Committee on Environment.
Talking to The Hindu on Friday, C.P. Mohammed, chairman of the committee, said it was unfortunate that the MoEF had failed to consider the pertinent points raised by the Assembly panel relating to environmental implications before issuing clearance for the project. The chairman, Congress legislator from Pattambi, had written to Union Minister for Environment Jayanti Natarajan on September 27.
The Assembly committee comprising nine members had unanimously prepared its report with recommendations, after holding detailed hearing and taking evidence from the people, government officials, and various organisations.
23/11/13 Radhakrishnan Kuttoor/The Hindu

Read More

Exporters livid after junking perishable cargo

Trichy:  Exporters in Trichy region are livid as their perishable goods had to be returned for lack of phytosanitary documents. For instance, a consignment of 2.5 tonnes of assorted vegetables from Madurai was sent back, while two tonnes of export quality vegetables from Karur were sold in the local market at throwaway prices on Friday.
The question that was raised in cargo circles on Friday was why a replacement was not sanctioned in time after plant quarantine officer G S Giri was transferred to Coimbatore on Monday. Since there is no definitive notification coming from the directorate of plant protection, quarantine and storage in Faridabad, authorizing anyone to sign the quarantine papers, exporters of perishables were in further dilemma because the perishables had to be exported within a given time frame.
23/11/13 Dennis Selvan/Times of India

Read More

Madurai Malli on maiden flight to Dubai

Madurai: The maiden flight from Madurai to Dubai took off at 11.35 p.m. on Friday and what it carried apart from 158 elated passengers is something that provides the authentic scent of the soil – ‘Madurai Malli,’ a jasmine variety with Geographical Indication tag.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) could not have chosen a better day to inaugurate a stall to sell ‘Madurai Malli’ at the departure end of the airport terminal building than Friday when the airport was all set to begin night operations with the introduction of a direct flight to Dubai.
Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan inaugurated the stall given on lease to S. Nagarathinam and Sons, one of the leading exporters of jasmine from here. The firm had obtained rights to sell the flowers inside the terminal building for three years.
Passengers could purchase 1.5-metre flower strand packed in a colourful box for Rs.100 each.
23/11/13 Mohamed Imranullah S/The Hindu

Read More

Customs seize 3.5 kg of gold valued at Rs 1.19 crore

Kolkata: The customs authorities today seized 3.5 kg of gold valued at Rs 1.19 crore at the N S C Bose International Airport here. Assistant Commissioner of Customs R S Meena said the gold was wrapped in packets and was being illegally sent through a courier company to Mumbai.
The customs authorities, while checking the cargo of the courier company, got suspicious of the packets and on opening it found 3.5 kg of gold, Meena said.
23/11/13 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Shimoga, Gulbarga airport promoters may exit

Bangalore: The failure among existing promoters of Shimoga and Gulbarga greenfield airport projects to reconcile their positions with one of them suing the other for compensation of Rs 3,300 crore in two separate cases could well lead to the Karnataka government handing over the projects to new entities.A source at the infrastructure development department (IDD) of the state government that is monitoring the two projects, told Deccan Herald, “We have initiated the process to look at replacing the existing promoters, given the fighting between the two promoters.”
Chairman of Regional Airport-Holdings International (RAHI) Umesh Kumar Baveja said, “It is highly unlikely that the stalled projects will be revived, termination looks like a fait accompli.”
The legal consultant to the two projects, V G Hiremath declined to comment on the state government mulling termination.
22/11/13 S V Krishnamachari/Deccan Herald

Read More

Navi Mumbai airport tender process in December

Navi Mumbai:  The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) on Friday said that it will go ahead with the global tender for the Rs 15,000-crore proposed Navi Mumbai airport project in the first week of December despite eight villages rejecting the compensation package offered for their land.
Cidco MD Sanjay Bhatia said that the project monitoring and implementation committee had approved the report and it was being forwarded to the Union civil aviation ministry to initiate the bidding process by issuing a request for proposals. He stressed that the compensation package offered to the villagers will not change, and added that "if everything goes as planned, the first phase of the airport will be ready in December 2017".
Cidco has already acquired 2,288 hectares of land and has to get 271 hectares. But eight villages have rejected the deal that was finalized between their representatives and the government on November 11.
22/11/13 Sanjay Banerjee/Times of India

Read More

AAI considers pulling plug on credit to Jet, SpiceJet

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) might stop all credit facilities to Jet Airways and SpiceJet, putting both in ‘cash-and-carry’ mode if they fail to clear unpaid dues, of a combined Rs 250 crore.
A meeting between the managements of Jet and SpiceJet with senior AAI officials is scheduled for Monday.
Both airlines have struggled to meet operational costs, with a sharp increase in those on fuel and in dollar-denominated expenses. Sources in AAI say SpiceJet has been inconsistent in clearing airport dues over the past six months, while Jet has not been making timely payments over the past year.
SpiceJet, however, ruled out the possibility of being put in ‘cash-and-carry’ mode as its dues were covered within the bank guarantee. “It is business as usual. Our outstanding is within the credit policy of AAI. We regularly meet AAI as part of our normal business,” said Sam Isaac, chief financial officer, SpiceJet. Isaac said the airline has never been put on ‘cash-and-carry’ by AAI. Jet Airways did not comment on the matter.
22//11/13 Sharmistha Mukherjee/Business Standard

Read More

Nod for runway extension at NDA

Pune: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the project to extend the runway length from the existing 3,000 ft to 4,500 ft at the National Defence Academy's (NDA) Air Force Training Team (AFTT) facility at Khadakwasla.
"Work on the project will start soon after the tendering process," NDA commandant Air Marshal Kulwant Singh Gill said. He added the runway extension will enable the NDA to land small and medium-sized transport aircraft for training purpose.
The AFTT head Wing Commander S K Singh said, "Five new Austrian-make Super Dimona aircraft will soon join the existing fleet of five similar engine-powered two-seater aircraft, also known as powered gliders, which will strengthen the team's training activity. The aircraft have arrived by sea at the Mumbai port and are expected to be serviceable in a week's time at AFTT," he said.
The NDA, a unique tri-services defence training academy, demonstrated the various training activities for the army, navy and air force cadets during the visit by a team of media persons on Thursday.
22/11/13 Vishwas Kothari/Times of India

Read More

Bangalore airport ready for satellite navigation

Bangalore: Passengers from Bangalore airport will get to depart and arrive on time on almost every flight as a satellite-based navigation system, as against a ground-based system, will ensure there are no delays in landing, long queues of aircraft to land or take off, delays in take-off and extended hovering.
Bangalore airport is ready for the system, GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GAGAN, which is set to begin operations December-end. The system is being implemented both by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Isro. AAI and Isro both confirmed the December target for GAGAN.
Isro, which is implementing this satellite-based navigation, has said tests are currently underway by AAI to check information flow between Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the flights to ensure that the satellite signals coming to an aircraft are being received correctly. The airport too will receive signals from the satellite and so it will be a three-way communication - between satellite, airport and aircraft.
21/11/13 Prashanth G N/Deccan Herald

Read More

Mumbai main runway shut only for 2 hours

Mumbai: The main runway at the Mumbai airport was closed only for two hours on Thursday. As per the notice to airmen ( NOTAM), the runway is supposed to be shut for operations everyday from 9am to 5pm for construction of rapid exit taxiway. The closure is supposed to last till first week of June. Airport officials said that the visibility on the secondary runway, which was in use during the closure, deteriorated during the day, forcing airport officials to hand the main runway back to the air traffic control (ATC). The instrument landing system (ILS) on the secondary runway was unavailable, sources said.
22/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Connecting flight hours away? Rent a 'bedroom' at international airport

Mumbai: Waiting for your connecting international flight? Now, no need to need to yawn or break your neck nodding off on the airport benches. The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) has placed ‘sleeping cubicles’ at the T-2C Mezzanine.
Airport officials said the cubicles, which have been made in Germany, have a noise-proof mechanism, which will cut down the chaos and hustle-bustle inside the airport so that passengers can relax or work in a comfortable environment before continuing the journey.
Passengers will have to pay for the time spent inside a cubicle, apart from certain minimum fees.
A similar system is already in place at other airports in the world, such as at Munich in Germany.
22/11/13 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

IGI airport implements pro-active steps to minimise fog delays

New Delhi: Authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport Friday said that they have implemented pro-active measures to minimise inconvenience to passengers due to the upcoming fog season.
"The true game changer this fog season would be the introduction of Delhi Airport Collaborative Decision Making (DA-CDM)," said I.Prabhakara Rao, chief executive of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the company which manages the IGIA.
"A move that would allow us to recover much faster at the time of flight disruptions during low visibility condition."
The DA-CDM is a system which works by collating all the stake-holders inputs like that from airport operator, Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), through an automated system to increase overall airport efficiency.
The data is then used to plan optimum utilisation of ATC resources, runways for reducing workload of ATC controllers and ground delays.
The information is also passed on to airlines and passengers.
22/11/13 IANS/Business Standard

Read More

Export operations hit in Trichy airport

Trichy:  The export activities at Trichy international airport came to a standstill all of a sudden on Friday morning due to the unavailability of plant quarantine officer at the cargo section. After the officer, who issues the mandatory phytosanitary certificates for export, was transferred to Coimbatore on November 18, the airport is yet to get a replacement.
Though, G S Giri, the last incumbent at Trichy airport, was relieved on last Monday, perishables were exported as usual to Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and to Singapore from Monday to Thursday, though there was no one to sign the quarantine papers. However, the fact that exports continued for four days without certification documents came to light when the export operations came to a standstill on Thursday morning.
22/11/13 Dennis Selvan/Times of India

Read More

Jet Airways cancels its daily service from Chennai to Colombo

Colombo: India's largest domestic airline Jet Airways announced today that it will cancel its daily service between the Southern hub at Chennai and Sri Lanka's Colombo international airport.
The longstanding daily one hour-twenty-minute flight operated with Boeing 737-800 equipment will be cancelled from 3rd January, 2014.
However, the domestic carrier will continue to serve Colombo from its largest hub at Mumbai.
India's aviation observers say the Jet Airways' decision is a bit of a surprise, given that the India-Sri Lanka market, especially with regards to inbound medical tourism at Chennai, remains robust.
However, Sri Lanka's souring relations with India, especially with the state of Tamil Nadu, has seriously affected the number of Sri Lankans travelling to Chennai for tourism.
22/11/13 ColomboPage

Read More

DIAL armed with infra, tech for efficient flying

New Delhi: IGI airport operator Delhi International Airport (Private) Ltd has announced full preparedness to tackle the fog season that is scheduled to reach the capital between the third and fourth weeks of next month.
Senior officials of DIAL and Air Traffic Control said they have initiated a number of measures including installation of new Runway Visual Range devices, an additional 300 seats at the terminal and a cross-platform portal (Delhi Airport Collaborative Decision Making, DA-CDM) to ensure that inconvenience for Delhi airport passengers is minimized.
DA-CDM will be DIAL's biggest bet for this fog season, it being introduced for the first time in India. Officials claim the turnaround time for the aircraft is reduced translating into lesser delays and fewer cancellations.
22/11/13 Times of India

Read More

First flight from Myanmar lands in Imphal

Imphal: Imphal on Thursday put itself on the global aviation map with the landing of Myanmar's private airliner, Golden Myanmar, at Tulihal airport.
Adding glory to the historic flight, a 10-day Manipur Sangai Festival kicked off here showcasing the state's rich cultural heritage, indigenous food, sports and packed with a bunch of entertainment programmes. This is the biggest tourism festival in the state.
The Union cabinet had recently given its nod for upgrading the Tulihal airport in the Imphal West district to the status of an international airport and the new global air route operation is a part of the bilateral air service agreement inked between India and Myanmar last year.
Carrying around a hundred delegates, including chief ministers of Myanmar's Saigang and Mandalay regions, Tha Aye and Ye Mint, and cultural troops of the neighboring country, the charter flight from the eastern sky landed here around noon amid heavy security.
22/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Birds pose threat to aviation safety at Coimbatore Airport

Coimbatore: With nearly five incidents of bird hit in the last one month and two during the last one week, threat of bird hit seems to be looming large for flights landing and taking off at Coimbatore Airport.
An international flight scheduled for mid-night departure was delayed for nearly three-and-a-half hours during this week, while another domestic aircraft was also delayed because of bird hit. Unusually, there was a bird hit menace at night in the recent times, sources in airport said.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials at the Coimbatore Airport have been managing the situation by firing more crackers and with extensive use of gas powered Zone guns (that emits sound at frequent intervals) to scare birds, says D. Paul Manickam, Coimbatore Airport Director.
He added that additional bird chasers have been deployed along the runway to chase the birds when the flights land and take off. The measures are closely co-ordinated with the Air Traffic Control, officials said. In addition, all agencies concerned have been requested for sterilising the areas in the periphery of the airport.
22/11/13 V S Palaniappan/Karthik Madhavan/The Hindu

Read More

Six airlines likely to operate from Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: Six airlines, including four from abroad, are completing the formalities to operate flights to and from Thiruvanthapuram international airport.
The first among the six to operate to the State capital will be Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The airline will resume its direct flights from December 15 in the Bahrain-Thiruvananthapuram-Bahrain sector after a gap of over three years.
Air Asia; RAK Airways, the national airline of Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE; Malindo Air, based in Malaysia and headquartered in Petaling Jaya; had approached the Airports Authority of India (AAI) expressing interest to operate to Thiruvananthapuram. The Bangalore-based ABC Airways and Vijayawada-based Air Costa had also approached the authorities seeking permission to fly to the city.
Gulf Air, which suspended its flights to the State capital in July 2010 citing low profitability in the Thiruvananthapuram-Bahrain- Thiruvananthapuram sector, will operate five weekly flights in the sector.
22/11/13 Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

Read More

Dense fog to hit air operations at IGI between Dec 23-Jan 7: IMD

New Delhi: Dense fog conditions are likely to hit the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) between December 23 and January 7, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
To ensure passenger convenience and minimise flight delays, the IGIA will, for the first time, have a Delhi Airport Collaborative Decision Making (DA-CDM) system, which will display the exact time when the fog will lift so that aircraft in queue for take-off and arrival can be informed in advance. This will help solve boarding issues at the terminal, officials said.
Director-in-charge of IMD (IGIA) R K Jenamani said, “This year, dense fog conditions are likely to hit IGIA between December 23 and January 7. The fog conditions will prevail only for 15 days as opposed to 20 days last year. Flight operations will be affected during this period.”
22/11/13 Financial Express

Read More

Direct flight to Dehradun on the cards

Allahabad: After the introduction of a direct flight between Allahabad and Mumbai recently, the focus has now shifted to starting another direct flight from the city to Dehradun, the capital of hill state Uttarakhand. This is in the wake of poor rail connectivity between the two cities and unexpectedly large number of commuters, claimed Samajwadi Party (SP) national general secretary and Allahabad MP, Reoti Raman Singh.
Talking to TOI, he said that he has held talks with union minister for civil aviation, Ajit Singh and chairman, Indian Airlines in this connection, and they give favourable overtures towards the proposal. This means a direct flight between Allahabad and Dehradun may become a reality soon.
He said until now, the two cities are connected by the lone train Sangam Express which takes more than 22 hours to cover the distance of around 700 km.
22/11/13 Mrigank Tiwari/Times of India

Read More

Madurai - Dubai flight service to take off on Friday night

Madurai: After a long struggle, Spicejet's daily flight to Dubai will take off from Madurai Airport at 11.35pm on Friday night. This is the second international flight service to be launched, after the Mihin Lanka services between Madurai and Colombo launched last year.
The Madurai - Dubai flight will land in Dubai at 2.20am the following day and the return Dubai - Madurai flight will take off from Dubai at 3.50am and land in Madurai airport at 9.45am on Saturday. To mark this new flight service, a 36 member tour delegation from Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry will fly to Dubai on the launch flight and tour Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Cairo. The delegation will participate in the SIAL Middle East Food Processing Exhibition in Abu Dhabi later. They have also planned an interaction with Emirates Airways at Cairo to promote two-way tourism, said S Rethinavelu, senior president of the chamber.
The chamber has been persistent in its efforts to introduce direct flights from Madurai to Singapore, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and other international destinations.
22/11/3 Times of India

Read More

2 AAI officers arrested for taking ‘bribe’ in Rajkot

Rajkot: Two senior officers of Airport Authority of India (AAI) posted in Rajkot were allegedly caught taking Rs 46,000 bribe in their offices by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday.
Acting on a complaint filed by Kashyap Parikh, a contractor for civil work at the Rajkot airport, ACB officials laid a trap and caught the two officers. The AAI officers were identified as Adheram Bhagvan, assistant general manager (civil) and Snil Kumar, assistant manager (civil).
"Parikh is doing civil work at the airport. But the two officers demanded three per cent each of total bill amount for speedy clearance. The officers had earlier cleared some bills and were demanding Rs 15,000 each from Parikh. When the contractor sought clearance for another bill worth Rs 8 lakh, they demanded Rs 8,000 each plus their dues from earlier bills," ACB Police Inspector Himanshu Doshi said.
22/11/13 Indian Express

Read More

Gold seized in Thiruvananthapuram airport, customs suspect insider’s role

Thiruvananthapuram: A passenger from Dubai was detained at the airport here with two kilograms of gold on Thursday.
The seizure has led to the suspicion that the man, Basheer Shamsudheen, was operating in connivance with an airport insider, officials said.
Kozhikode resident Shamsudheen who arrived by an Emirates flight headed to a washroom exclusively set aside for use by customs and immigration officials oblivious of the fact that he was being watched.
Officials intercepted him when he left the customs area. On frisking they found two gold bars each weighing a kilogram each concealed in mobile phone covers.
Shamsudheen reportedly told his interrogators that a contact whose identity he was unaware of was to approach him in the washroom. The contact, he was told, would ask him, Are you Kunhali? He was then supposed to hand over the gold to the contact which made the customs suspect that the contact could be an insider.
22/11/13 Times of India

Read More

Gold seized at Coimbatore airport

Coimbatore: Customs officials seized gold estimated to weigh 1.42 kg and worth about Rs. 40 lakh, from a passenger from Sharjah at the Coimbatore airport on Thursday.
The passenger, aged around 30 and a native of Kerala, had travelled to Coimbatore on the Air Arabia flight from Sharjah that landed here at 3.30 a.m.
Customs officials said that the passenger was stopped and his baggage searched, based on intelligence inputs.
The gold had been concealed in various ways. The officials said aluminium-coated 24-carat gold moulded in the form of beading, inch-tape roll and belt buckle were found.
The officials said 109 gm gold, with aluminium coating to avoid detection, was in an inch-tape case, nearly 120 gm in the shape of a horse shoe in the watch that the passenger was wearing, another 109 gm as the belt buckle and the rest as two rows of beading inside the suitcase.
22/11/13 The Hindu

Read More

2 Indians held with 5.5kg gold at Dhaka Airport

Two Indian nationals were arrested with smuggled gold bars weighing 5.5kg and foreign currencies at Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday morning, said officials from the Customs Department. The arrested are Jignesh Kumer and Dinesh Mongi Lal. Qamrul Hasan, assistant commissioner of the Customs Depart said the Indian nationals were arrested after they arrived at the airport at 4:30am on an Etihad Airways flight, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. Customs sources said Jignesh was arrested around 5:30am in the Green Channel area while Mongi Lal was arrested at around 7:30am. Later on customs officials also seized 86,000 Dirham and 36000 Indian Rupees from their possessions. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Customs official Qamrul said, “The detained Indians had boarded the flight which was on the Dhaka to Kolkata. They might have arrived in Dhaka to hand over the gold bars to somebody else.”
22/11/13 Kailash Sarkar/Dhaka Tribune

Read More

India - people resist airport land grabs

Rural communities all over India are battling against a land grab of epic proportions. And one of the biggest causes of land grabs is for airports to support India's domestic aviation boom. Rose Bridger reports from Kerala, where four new 'green field' airports are meeting stiff local resistance.
One important aspect of the land grab is airport expansion, and new airports. There are ambitious projects at various stages of planning, approval and construction all over India. New airports on undeveloped sites, are called 'greenfield' airports. The requisite road network and associated land developments often extend the airport footprint over a far wider area.
Three greenfield airports are planned in Kerala, one of the smallest states in India - at Aranmula, Wayanad and Anakkara. All three sites consists of biodiverse wetlands and paddy fields where farmers cultivate rice and other crops. Plans for a proposed airport at Aranmula encompass four villages - Aranmula, Mallappuzhasserry, Mezhuveli and Kidangannur.
Fertile, biodiverse wetlands which would be paved over are surrounded by densely forested hills, which would be levelled off. More than 40 hectares have already been filled in, using earth from a nearby hillock.
Satellite images show the pale brown strip in sharp contrast to the vast expanse of lush green surrounding it. The disruption caused to irrigation and flood control is an indication of the disastrous ecological consequences should the airport be built.
About 3,000 families may face eviction. The campaign against the airport is led by the Aranmula Heritage Village Action Council and there have been major protests for more than two years, including rallies, fasting, an attempt to storm into the developers' office and a human chain of hundreds of people.
21/11/13 Rose Bridger/The Ecologist

Read More

Tendering for Navi Mumbai airport project may be delayed

Navi Mumbai: The global tendering process for the proposed international airport project, which is scheduled for the first week of December, may be delayed because of the existing face-off between villagers and the committee over land acquisition.
A source said, "The process looks doubtful now, as bidders won't be encouraged till all the hurdles are cleared."
Even 10 days after the villagers and the committee arrived at a consensus, there has still been no breakthrough in the impasse with people from eight of the villages opposed to the compensation.
The government's stand of 'take it or leave it' is now juxtaposed with "no new deal, no land," as pointed out by Mahendra Patil, sarpanch of Pargaon village panchayat, who is spearheading the opposition.
21/11/13 Sanjay Banerjee/Times of India

Read More