Response for Chennai flight encouraging

Mysuru: The suspension of the Mysuru-Chennai flight service a few days ago was only temporary and there will be no such problem in the future, said T A Gurunath, manager, Mysuru Airport.
Initiated under the UDAN scheme, the flight between Mysuru and Chennai was restarted from September 15. The service was suspended for nearly five days due to operational problems. According to airport authorities the flight has been receiving good response. On an average nearly 45 to 50 people are travelling in the 72-seater flight every day.
"There is good response for the flight. The contract under UDAN is for three years and there is no need to worry about the functioning of the flight. There was some operational problem and hence the flight was suspended for a few days, but now the service has been started again and there is good response," Gurunath said.
30/11/17 Times of India

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Airport lab hacks into terror minds

Dum Dum: Calcutta airport is hosting a global aviation security lab that takes Hollywood-like but highly plausible scenarios like air traffic control, check-in and baggage check systems being hacked so that answers can be found before terrorists pose questions.

"A cyber attack can bring an airport to a grinding halt. You can't check-in and the ATC won't work," said Pierre Coutu, programme executive at the Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme.

The two-day tabletop exercise involving 24 delegates from airports across the world is only the second one of its kind anywhere. The first such lab was held in Munich, Germany, in 2015.

Calcutta was apparently chosen because it is one of the few large airports still dependent on manual systems, which although dated could be a virtue in terms of security. Inline baggage screening at the city airport is restricted to the international wing. In the domestic section, fliers need to get their check-in baggage scanned at standalone X-ray machines.

The check-in process is, of course, manual at most Indian airports. Web check-in too requires a flier to go through the process of depositing registered baggage in a counter. In many other countries, self check-in with little or no manual intervention is the norm.

"Now imagine the check-in system of an airline being hacked. An unauthorised person can sneak into a flight that way. If the inline baggage check-in system is hacked, explosives and banned items can be put on an aircraft without the scanner being able to detect it. If terrorists are able to hack the air traffic control system, there will be a disaster in the skies," said an aviation security expert.
30/11/17 Telegraph

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Note warning of ISIS attack found at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, security tightened

Mumbai: A note was found at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport warning of an ISIS attack on the cargo area on Republic Day next year.

Soon after the discovery, as a precautionary measure, the security personnel evacuated those working inside the cargo division of the airport.

The message said that the dreaded terror group ISIS would blow up the cargo area on Republic Day next year.

The security agencies which have taken charge of the premises and are probing the matter. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) has also been summoned to scan for any explosive amongst the tons of cargo parcels lying there.

The security agencies are not ruling out any possibility on the scribbled messages though they are also looking into the messages possibly being the handiwork of pranksters.

The situation is reminiscent of a similar threat message found scribbled on airport toilet wall in January 2015 on two occasions, warning of an ISIS attack on Republic Day.

The sources in the security agencies claim that since the arrival terminals are used by a host of people including fliers, airport staff and airline crew, it was difficult to spot the culprit.

The Mumbai airport has a high level of security following multiple terror alerts. Interestingly, the multiple intelligence input reported that the attack could take place by a smaller air strip.
30/11/17 DNA

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High Alert at Mumbai Airport After Bomb Threat

New Delhi:  Security authorities have sounded an alert at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai following a bomb threat message. According to reports, the message was found in one of the washrooms of the airport.
A massive security check has been launched at the  airport after the message was found. Bomb disposal squad, CISF personnel and other security agencies are scanning every nook and corner of the airport.
“A note was found in toilet at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, warning of an attack on cargo on January 26, 2018 by ISIS. Cargo evacuated and people being given an entry only after screening. Police and CISF are doing their job,” a statement issued by the Mumbai airport said.
Luggage of passenger are also being scanned. So far, there is no report about flight services being affected due to the security scare.
29/11/17 India.com

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Respite for Indian travellers as Bali airport resumes operations

The three-day ordeal of around 8,000-10,000 Indian travellers stranded in Bali ended on Wednesday as the Ngurah Rai Airport said it had resumed operations after smoke and ash spewing from Mount Agung, Bali’s active volcano, led to a nearly three-day airport shutdown.

But the developments are likely to lead to cancellations of future bookings as Indians are likely to settle for other destinations like such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Dubai and Singapore over Bali for their new year celebrations.

The popular resort island has been steadily gaining in popularity, and is usually teeming with tourists from India around new year time. According to industry estimates, about 600-800 Indians arrive in Bali every day and spend roughly 7-8 days there.
MakeMyTrip, an online travel company, said over 1200 people had booked flights to and from Bali and were scheduled to travel during this period when the airport had to be shut down due to volcanic activity.

“We are also providing round-the-clock support and assistance to our consumers in helping re-schedule their travel and accommodation plans during the period, and are working closely with multiple airlines to ensure there are no charges for cancellations and rescheduling of flights. Bali is one of the fastest growing international outbound destinations among Indian travellers in South East Asia,’’ said Mohit Gupta, COO, online, at MakeMyTrip.
30/11/17 Anumeha Chaturvedi/Economic Times

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Throw away that lighter before you enter an airport or face police detention

Carrying a lighter to the airport can now lead to you missing your flight courtesy of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) who have decided to refer any cases of passengers sneaking in lighters into an airport, to the police.

Reports suggest that the CISF encounters as many as 10 cases on a daily basis of passengers carrying lighters hidden in their luggage or on their person. Up until now, the Force in-charge of security at all of the country’s airports followed the practice of securing a written apology from passengers who tried to sneak in lighters inside an airport.

However, CISF has now decided to hand over such passengers to the local police authorities, reported Indian daily Hindustan Times.

Hoping that the delay caused by the temporary detention will deter passengers from sneaking in inflammable items, the Force has clarified that though no FIR will be registered in such cases, a diary entry of all such incidents will be maintained.
28/11/17 Mirror Now

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Delhi-NCR may get second airport soon as civilian flights planned from IAF's Hindon air base

Ghaziabad: In a bid to tackle the problem of congestion at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, plans are afoot to have a second commercial airport near the national capital soon.
Woman passenger slapped Air India official four times at Delhi's IGI Airport - DETAILS and FIRST PICS here
As per a report in The Times of India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has identified seven acres of land at Sikandarpur village adjacent to the Indian Air Force's Hindon air base in Ghaziabad.
The ministry plans to launch civilian flight operations from the IAF base.
This would mean that the National Capital Region would get a second airport for commercial flights as soon as the base is ready for civilian flights.
The ministry is mulling to use Hindon air base for civilian flight operations in order to lessen the load on the IGIA till the time the Jewar international airport in Greater Noida becomes operational.
The Hindon air base currently houses IAF's heavy lift transport aircraft Globemaster.
The ministry has already got a go ahead from the Air Force to use the air base for civilian flights as part of the government's regional connectivity scheme (RCS).
While the civilian flights would use the existing runway, a separate gate and a seating area would be developed as part of the plans.
29/11/17 Times Now

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Bali airport remains shut, airlines waive cancellation fee

New Delhi: Airlines operating to Bali have waived cancellation fees for passengers booked on flights after the international airport of the Indonesian tourist hub remained shut for the second day in the wake of plumes of ash coming out from a rumbling volcano.

Scores of frightened people have fled their homes near Mount Agung with Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre upgrading the alert status to the highest level, fearing a major eruption.

Jet Airways is among the major Indian carriers that offers flights to Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport via its codeshare partners.

Jet Airways has Garuda Indonesia and Hong Kong Airlines among its codeshare partners for Bali and is allowing passengers to reschedule their flights apart from waiving cancellation fee.

Singapore Airlines is transporting passengers from Bali to Surabaya via coaches and ferries and flying them to Singapore for their onward connections.

AirAsia too has issued a travel advisory informing passengers that they can reschedule their flights. Passengers are also allowed to retain the value of their fare in a credit account for future travel.

Travel portal Yatra.com said in a statement that tourists who had booked a holiday package and are scheduled to return from Bali to India will be offered complimentary hotel stay.
26/11/17 PTI/Economic Times

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Flights from steel city by December

Jamshedpur: Private operator Air Deccan will start regular flight services between Jamshedpur and Calcutta from the last week of December, the commercial viability of the operation this time hinging on the government's scheme of subsiding airlines for flying in an out of hitherto unused airports.

"We have got a 20-seater plane on lease from South Africa. We had expected to start the services in November, but due to things beyond our control we could not. Now, hope to start the service anytime between December 26 and December 31," said Captain Madhu K Valsaraj, the president and chief pilot of Deccan Charters, a subsidiary of Air Deccan.

Valsraj said they have held talks with Tata Steel aviation unit officials - Sonari Airport is owned by Tata Steel - and that the airport papers had also been submitted to DGCA. "We expect all formalities to be cleared in the next two weeks," he said.

Flight services were introduced in the steel city for the first time in 2007. It was Air Deccan then too, starting ATR flights to Calcutta. But, the service was stopped after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed load restrictions on the flight owing to the short runway of the Sonari airport.

Other operators came in, but none could sustain the service due to lack of commercial viability. By 2013, there were no flights operating out of Jamshedpur except for the ones used by Tata Steel purely for company staff.

But this time expectations are high that the service would sustain itself primarily because of the Centre's intervention.

Under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, the Centre will be subsidising losses incurred by airlines flying out of dormant airports. Passengers won't be charged more than Rs 2,500 for an hour's flight. Around 80 per cent of the subsidy is to be collected by charging a levy of up to Rs 8,500 on each departing flight of a domestic airlines. The remaining 20 per cent will come from respective state governments.
29/11/17 Animesh Bisoee/Telegraph

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Improve amenities at airport, Vizag chamber urges AAI

Vizagapatam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has appealed to the Airports Authority of India to take concrete steps to improve amenities at the Visakhapatnam International Airport.

Regretting the ranking of the airport at the bottom in the survey conducted by Airports Council International recently, VCCI president A.V. Monish Row stated in an e-mail to the AAI Chairman that the airport, which had witnessed jump in number of flights under operations and traffic should get priority in improving the facilities.

He sought improvement in parking, passenger queuing time, amenities like restrooms, shopping and eating options, faster luggage retrieval and other improvements to give better experience to the people. This would enable better ranking of the airport, which has flights to international destinations like Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Colombo.

Mr. Row said the demand for air travel over the next two decades was set to double. Enabling people and nations to trade, explore, and share the benefits of innovation and economic prosperity would make the world a better place.
29/11/17 The Hindu

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UDAAN deferred for Rourkela until January as delay in modification of airport

Rourkela: With the delay in infrastructure development and modification of Rourkela airport, the commercial flight services to the city under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) ‘UDAAN’ is likely to be deferred till January next year.  Once the project is completed, the city will initially be connected to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata by the aerial route.  Rourkela BJP MLA and former Union Minister Dilip Ray on Monday inspected the development works at the airport of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL.
Quoting the Union Civil Aviation Minister and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman, Ray said he hoped that Rourkela will get a full-fledged airport by January next year, after the execution of MoU with the RSP.
Earlier, the RCS scheme was expected to be implemented from August this year. But, the project got delayed gradually.Director of Jharsuguda airport Manoj Kumar, who has the additional charge of Rourkela airport, said the upgradation work would be completed by December 15. “The Rourkela airport will be upgraded further in the later phases,” he said, while refusing to indicate any tentative schedule for launching of the commercial flights. Sources said a 5-kilometre long wall was being built in accordance with the guidelines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, besides the construction of a portable cabin passenger building and other required facilities, including development of communication and security systems.
29/11/17 New Indian Express

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International cargo terminal at Madurai airport to become operational by Dec 15

Coimbatore: The international cargo terminal at Madurai airport is expected to become operational from December 15.

Coming as it does almost seven years after the airport was declared customs airport by the Union Finance Ministry in December 2010, the commencement of international cargo handling at Madurai airport after all these years "will be a boon to the region", S Rethinavelu, Senior President, Tamilnadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Madurai, said.

"We at the Chamber have been persistently following up with the government to permit exim cargo handling as there is abundant scope for cargo export from this region.Sizeable quantities of vegetables, flowers, fruits, textiles/made ups, handloom products, engineering goods, medical equipments, granite icons and other products are exported regularly from the southern districts of Madurai, Dindigul, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari through other airports.
29/11/17 LN Revathy/Business Line

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Flights delayed, diverted as dense fog engulfs Bengaluru airport Tuesday morning

Bengaluru: A thick blanket of fog over Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) resulted in the closure of airport operations on Tuesday morning, between 4.44 am and 5.27 am. A total of 74 flights were delayed during the period.

According to sources, as many as 44 departures and 25 arrivals scheduled for the period were affected. Additionally, five flights, including a British Airway flight, were diverted to Chennai due to fog.

KIA, which is yet to upgrade to a CAT III instrument landing system, sees regular delays every year during winter due to thick fog covet over northern areas of the city.
28/11/17 New Indian Express

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Resolution on airport name bid to woo Ravidassias

Jalandhar: By passing a resolution in the state assembly to name an upcoming domestic airport at Adampur after Guru Ravidass, Punjab government has taken a major step in pleasing the Ravidassia/Adi-dharmi community, which has strong presence in Punjab, especially in Doaba region.
In fact, all parties appeared to have one voice on the issue and there appeared even a sense of competition among leaders of different parties to support the move once Dera Sachkhand Ballan first raised the demand by convening a meeting of current and former Scheduled Caste MLAs and MPs in July at Sant Sarwan Dass Charitable Hospital at Kathaar village. All former and current MLAs and MPs supported the move and the then minister of state, Vijay Sampla, and Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary wrote to the Union government for naming the airport after Guru Ravidass.
Sri Guru Ravidass Sadhu Sampardai Society head by Sant Nirmal Dass had also raised the demand. However, the Congress government has now sought to score a major political goal by getting a resolution passed in the state assembly and pushing the ball in the court of BJP-led Union government. "Now, the entire responsibility for naming the airport after Guru Ravidass is on the Union government and SAD-BJP leaders will be answerable if any delay happens," said a Congress MLA from Doaba region.
29/11/17 IP Singh/Times of India

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Resolution to rename Adampur Airport passed

Chandigarh: The Punjab Vidhan Sabha today unanimously passed a resolution to mandate the state government to take up the issue of renaming the domestic terminal of Adampur Airport after Guru Ravidas with the Centres department of civil aviation.
The resolution was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra on the second day of the winter session of Assembly. Members of the ruling as well as opposition parties welcomed it.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA from Adampur, Pawan Kumar Tinu, and AAP MLA from Dakha, H S Phoolka, lauded the initiative to rename the Adampur Domestic Airport after legendary spiritual saint Guru Ravidas.
Hailing the initiative of Captain Amarinder Singh in this regard, Chamkaur Sahib MLA and Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the move would go a long way in promoting the ethos of communal harmony, brotherhood and amity - values promoted by Sri Guru Ravidas.
28/11/17 PTI/India Today

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Bali volcano: No respite for Indians stranded at airprot

Mumbai: There has been no respite for several Indians stranded in Bali, as the Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar remained shut for second consecutive day yesterday. Massive columns of thick grey smoke that have been belching from Mount Agung since last week have now begun shooting more than three kilometres into the sky, forcing flights to be grounded. Most tourists were trying to leave Bali and move towards the alternative airport at Surabaya in East Java.

The Indian Consulate has set up a desk at the Denpasar airport, and has also extended its services to Surabaya, even as Air Asia gave several tourists, such as Kolkata-based Shilpa Agrawal, the option of re-routing flights from the Surabaya airport from December 1or refunding the tickets.

"The Indian Consulate officials told us to leave Bali as soon as possible. Air Asia said the flight will depart from Surabaya only on December 1. Many of us opted for the refund, paid for buses organised by the Indian Consulate, and left for Surabaya in uncertainty.

"India has an embassy in Jakarta, but nothing in Surabaya. Even if we manage to reach Jakarta, the air fares have shot up to Rs 50,000 per ticket," Agrawal said.

She claimed the Chinese Consulate was more active, and had ensured all Chinese nationals were out of Bali. "Why can't the Indian government send an aircraft to Surabaya or Jakarta to bring us back?" she asked.
Goregaon resident Ajinkya Thombare, 30, and his wife went to Bali on honeymoon, and have opted to wait for a rescheduled flight from Surabaya on December 2.
29/11/17 Satish Nandgaonkar/Mumbai Mirror 

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Land identified for civilian flights from Hindon IAF base in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad: Seven acres of land next to the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad have been identified to start civilian flight operations from the Indian Air Force (IAF) facility, which will effectively turn it into the second airport for commercial flights in Delhi-National Capital Region.
The civil aviation ministry is looking at the Hindon air base - home to IAF's heavy lift transport aircraft Globemaster - as a supplementary facility to reduce the heavy burden on Delhi's IGI airport till the Jewar international airport in Greater Noida takes shape.
In August, the air force had agreed to allow the use of the air base for civilian flights under the government's regional connectivity scheme (RCS).
The land on which the government plans to build infrastructure for civilian flights are in Sikandarpur village, next to the base's perimeter wall. Officials said a separate gate for passengers and a seating area would be developed in this part. Passenger flights can use the existing runway. The Hindon air base is around 10km from DMRC's Dilshad Garden Metro station on the Red line.
29/11/17 Abhijay Jha/Times of India

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Nearly 1000 flights a day, but has Mumbai's CSI airport improved in on-time performance?

The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) at Mumbai reached a new record of handling 969 flights in a day on Saturday. What is not known is how many of those flights departed or arrived on time.

The airport used to previously close in on 935 flights, a report by Times of India said.

"We hope to cross 1,000 aircraft movements per day soon,'' a Mumbai International Airport Ltd official said.

It has also been named in the league of a busy single-runway airport category, the report added.

CSIA works on single-runway operations in that it has just two runways which intersect each other and hence only one can be used at a time.

However majority of flight traffic in India is directed toward metro cities. And these airports have been positively bursting at the seams.

Untimely flight operations cannot only be attributed to airlines that register a higher OTP in other metro cities than in Mumbai.
On–time performance of airlines like Vistara, IndiGo, Go Air, Spicejet, Air India, Jet Airways and Jet Lite was the worst at Mumbai airport, as per Directorate General of Civil Aviation data for October.

Reasons for delay were analysed by the DGCA as mostly attributed to ‘reactionary,’ with 63% of all flights being delayed due to this reason.

nternational Air Transport Association (IATA) defines reactionary reasons as late arrival of aircraft from another flight or previous sector.

It also includes passenger or load connection, awaiting load or passengers from another flight, protection of stranded passengers onto a new flight, check-in error, aircraft rotation, cabin crew rotation, operations control, rerouting, diversion, consolidation, aircraft change for reasons other than technical, industrial action within own airline and industrial action outside own airline.
27/11/17 ZeeBiz

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Air Connectivity Soon in Tezu

Air connectivity to Tezu is likely to become possible by next year with the construct ion of airport which is currently under construction.

The development of the airport, at a cost of Rs 79.00 crore, was approved during the financial year 2009-10. The project is being implemented by the Airports Authority of India and was expected to begin operations by March 2012.

Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu who was in Tezu to inaugurate a new monastery at the Tibetan refugee camp, inspected the ongoing construction of the airport.

Officials informed him that the work on the runway, boundary walls, parking lot and drainage system has been completed. The construction of a passenger terminal building is currently underway.
27/11/17 Northeast Today

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Trying to sneak in cigarette lighter at airport? You may land in trouble

If you are trying to sneak in lighter at the airport, you may even end up even missing your flight next time. Though carrying lighter on flights is prohibited in India, but some passengers manage to dodge checking at the airport and board flights, taking them along. 

The CISF is responsible for the security of airports across the country and often have to control passengers who have turned unruly mid-air. So far, the CISF used to take written apology from the passenger but looks like the incident in the pasts continue unabated. The CISF has now decided to hand over such passengers to the local police in order to deter travelers. "This way we are trying to deter the passengers from sneaking in lighters. If a lighter is detected in a bag, we will confiscate it and let the passenger go but if we feel that passenger is deliberately hiding it, we will refer the matter to the police," Hindustan Times quoted a CISF officer as saying.
The police will register an FIR and only maintain a diary entry of such incidents. It has been found that the passengers sometimes carry a matchbox or lighter which does not get detected in the hand baggage. Even the aviation safety experts and crew members have also expressed apprehensions about lighters making their way into the cabin, and said this may pose a great security threat to the aircraft.
27/11/17 Madhuri Adnal/One India

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Visakhapatnam airport stands last in national survey

Visakhapatnam: Vizag airport has scored the least and stands last among the 17 airports in the country being surveyed quarterly in terms of various service quality parameters. The third-quarter report of the Airport Service Survey being conducted by the global body of airport operators, Airports’ Council International (ACI) on behalf of Airports Authority of India (AAI) on a quarterly basis rather than half-yearly for 17 airports including Vizag from this year, has been released.

The report shows that the scores against most  have fallen in comparison to the first two quarters. The airport has received 4.04 (Jan-March), 4.17 (Apr-June) and 3.97 (Aug-Oct) out of five in the first three quarters respectively, which is never above the average score of the 17 airports. 
Ironically, the port city is hosting a meeting of international and national significance, but its rating instead of improving is deteriorating. More-over, the cleanliness rating of the washrooms and airport terminal of the airport in the city, which boasts of a third cleanest tag and cleanest railway station, have also seen a negative growth in the third quarter. 
Of the 33 parameters, 23 such as parking facilities, value for money of parking facilities, restaurant/eating facilities, availability of baggage carts/trolleys, waiting time in check-in queue/line, efficiency of check-in staff, courtesy and helpfulness of check-in staff, waiting time at passport/personal ID inspection among others are also not satisfactory as per the report. When contacted, Vizag Airport director G. Prakash Reddy said he would not make any comment as he was on leave.
27/11/17 Sumit Kumar Onka/Deccan Chronicle

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Water leaks in airport as rain lashes city

Chennai: As heavy rains lashed the city on Sunday night, passengers inside the Chennai airport too felt the impact.

There were leakages in the domestic terminal at a few places from the roof, sources said. Officials denied damage to the false ceiling and consequent leakage. “There was a small gap in the roof and water leaked in through it. We have already started the repair work and it will be sorted out soon,” an official said.

Sources said, the baggage conveyor belt got wet due to water leakage.

According to Meteorological department, Meenambakkam recorded 10cm of rain in the past 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Monday.

One flight from Frankfurt that had to land by 12.30 a.m. on Monday was diverted to Bengaluru as the aircraft could not land during heavy rains. It subsequently returned by 3 a.m. Landing of several flights from destinations including Paris, Mumbai, Kuwait, Thiruvananthapuram and Doha were delayed by half hour to an hour. Similarly, the departures too were delayed at the airport.
27/11/17 The Hindu

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In 24 hours, Mumbai airport handles 969 flights; sets new world record

Mumbai:  Creating a new world record for single-runway operations, Mumbai airport handled 969 take-offs and landings in 24 hours on Friday. It broke its own record of 935, said a Mumbai International Airport Ltd spokesperson (MIAL).
Mega cities such as New York, London, Dubai and Delhi have airports with two or more runways that operate simultaneously. Though Mumbai has two runways, they criss-cross each other, so only one runway is used at a time. Technically this puts Mumbai in the single-runway airport category. So it's in the league of busy single-runway secondary airports of cities like London (Gatwick, Stansted airports), Istanbul (Sabiha Gokcen airport) and major airports of smaller cities like San Diego (US), Fukuoka (Japan) and Xiamen (China).
Mumbai handles over 900 airline flights per day. The record high air traffic movement (take-offs and landings) happen on days when the number of unscheduled flights-charter aircraft, private aircraft-go up, like it did on Friday. These flights are banned during the morning and evening peak hours, so when the load goes up during non-peak hours, new records are set. "We hope to cross 1,000 aircraft movements per day soon,'' the MIAL official said.
In civil aviation, the norm is to record time in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, same as GMT) and Indian Standard Time is five-and-a-half hours ahead of UTC. The feat was achieved from 5.30am on Friday to 5.30am on Saturday.
26/11/17 Manju V/Times of India

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Elderly cancer patient refused wheelchair at Indira Gandhi International Aiport

A 79-year-old cancer patient was allegedly denied a wheelchair at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on Thursday, after he arrived from Kathmandu for his treatment, along with his 75-year-old wife. The septuagenarian couple had to wait for more than an hour and a half, before they chose to walk out of the airport.

Narrating the incident to DNA, Ravi Kedia, son-in-law of the cancer patient, Deoki Nandan Surekha, said that the couple landed at Delhi airport by an Air India flight AI 216, on Thursday. After this, Deoki’s wife Chanda Surekha, requested the airline staff for assistance, mentioning that her husband would need a wheelchair.

“The airline staff then informed the couple that they would get assistance from the airline’s ground staff, once they got down from the aircraft. However, when my in-laws got down they were denied a wheelchair.”

“A man on ground duty said that the airline was not informed prior to their landing, as a result of which they could not make arrangements. My father-in-law showed them the ticket on which it was mentioned that they are both senior citizens and that a wheelchair would be required,” said Kedia, an Indian citizen living in Kathmandu.

He added that Deoki is a cancer patient and had undergone a major surgery few weeks back. “Even if they were not informed, they must prioritise according to the situation. An almost 80-year-old cancer patient cannot be made to walk at the airport, especially when he is here for treatment,” Kedia said.
26/11/17 Anvit Srivastava/DNA

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No VIP culture in airports at all: Aviation Minister

New Delhi: Aviation minister Jayant Sinha today denied that "VIP culture" was prevalent at Indian airports, saying that leeway given is only for security reasons.

Speaking days after tourism minister Alphons Kannanthanam was confronted by a passenger at the Imphal airport who alleged delay in her flight to Patna due to VIP movement, Sinha said that the distinction among passengers at airports was merely for security purposes.

"Let me be very clear, there is no VIP culture in airports at all. Ministers just purely from a security point of view who are in the Union council of ministers and a variety of other people whose names are on the list don't have to go through security screening.


"Otherwise by and large anybody else is treated in the same way as business class passengers and no different," Sinha said while responding to a query at a literary festival here.

In India, there are 32 categories of VIPs and VVIPs exempted from pre-embarkation security checks at airports.
25/11/17 PTI/Economic Times

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Hyderabad airport growth soars, overtakes Mumbai, Delhi

Hyderabad: Nine years after it made a 'landing' in the city, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has whizzed to the top of the growth chart, leaving all major airports, including Mumbai and Delhi (those built on PPP model), lagging behind. At least that's what records of this fiscal — the first half spanning April to September — suggest.
The facility in Shamshabad clocked a massive 18% growth during that period in comparison to the corresponding period last year. Better still, in October 2017 the airport saw passenger footfall of over 1.5 million — the highest monthly traffic since its inception in 2008. Of the total, domestic passengers comprised over 1.2 million, while the international traffic count hovered around 0.3 million. The reasons being festive rush coupled with increased connectivity. "The marriage season that has coincided with a host of corporate events in the city is pulling massive crowds.
During December to January, the arrival figures are expected to be high as well with NRIs from the US, travelling on their winter break," said Abdul Majid Faheem, chairman, Travel Agents Federation of India (Telangana and AP chapters). This steady growth in footfall was recently mapped in a survey conducted by CAPA - Centre for Aviation as well. While reiterating how passenger movement through the GMR-run international facility has increased, it indicated that the airport will need an expansion, "to 55 million capacity", as it is headed towards a point of saturation over the next decade. It also suggested a "second airport" to tackle the growth.
26/11/17 Sudipta Sengupta/Times of India

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Amenities at airports are your right

Airports around the country are being modernised and expanded to cater to the increasing number of travellers. Many of them today look very good, but lack some basic amenities. For example, I need to walk long distances to reach the boarding gate with my hand baggage and being a 76-year-old man, I find that tough. How do I ensure better facilities for myself and others like me?
I would like to quote for your benefit, a recent circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on this issue. Titled “Facilities/courtesies to esteemed travelling public at airports” and dated August 31, 2017, the circular, addressed to all airlines as well as airport operators, says: “Airline/airport operator shall ensure provision of automated buggies free of charge for all senior citizens, expectant mothers and disabled passengers in the terminal building to facilitate their access to boarding gates located beyond reasonable walking distance at all airports having annual aircraft movement of 50,000 or more. This facility may be extended to other needy passengers on demand basis free of charge.”
The circular also says: “Airport operators shall provide small trolleys after security check for carriage of hand baggage permitted as per regulation, up to the boarding gate. Airport operators shall adequately display information regarding availability of automated buggies and small trolleys in the terminal building at prominent locations…” So please demand that the airport or the airline provide you with automated buggy. Of course, these instructions are not new. They were also in a similar circular issued in 2014 (the recent one supersedes the 2014 circular). So, airlines and airport operators cannot say that they need time to comply.
The circular categorically tells these service providers: “It is imperative to strengthen customer service skills at airport level, especially in areas of courtesy and behaviour by all stakeholders to mitigate passenger inconvenience and make air travel a pleasant experience.” It directs airlines and airport operators to ensure that their ground staff engaged in passenger handling “extend an extremely polite and courteous behaviour towards the travelling public” and ask them to ensure that the ground staff engaged in passenger handling “undergo periodic soft skill training for sensitisation, courtesy, behaviour and procedures for assisting passengers.”
Where can I complain about these issues?
Please remember that you have a right to a buggy to travel long distances at airports and the service providers have to provide this facility. Failure to do so constitutes negligence on part of the airline/airport operators. You can seek compensation from the consumer court for such negligence in service. The failure of the airport authorities to provide automated buggies as directed by the DGCA also constitutes violation of the mandate of the regulator and, therefore, constitutes deficiency in the service provided by them.
I would suggest that you first seek redress of your grievance through the regulator. In fact, the circular that I mentioned earlier also asks airlines and airport operators to have a proper system of passenger grievance redress. It says service providers should immediately acknowledge all complaints and resolve them at the earliest, but not later than a month.
26/11/17 Pushpa Girimaji/Tribune

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‘Low visibility during winter months at Srinagar Airport’

Srinagar: With the foggy weather conditions leading to frequent disruption of flights at the Srinagar Airport during winter months, the government has asked the Airport authorities and airline companies for better coordination during winter months.
Sources said that the government has asked the airlines and Airport authorities to closely monitor and plan the flights as per weather forecast with proper coordination.
Flight operations are disrupted every winter with visibility often dropping below 500 metres in December and January. The ripple effect of any fog-induced delay in the morning often lasts for hours.
As per Airport officials, there is further need for installing/ upgrading ILS as the Valley mostly witnesses foggy days during winter months. “Most of the airports outside have upgraded landing facilities which facilitate operation of flights even during visibility of only 500 metres. We need the same facilities for smooth operation of flights in low visibility,” said a senior official.
Meanwhile the night landing at Srinagar airport has been in doldrums after the former government led by Omar Abdullah announced it. The Indian Air Force and Defence Ministry gave a nod to the operation of night flights at Srinagar Airport following public pressure and the state government decided to start night operations from lone airport in the summer capital from February 2016.
However, for the last around 20 months, the authorities have failed to install the facilities at the airport for the night flights. The flights often get cancelled at the Srinagar Airport during winters when there is poor visibility as authorities have failed to install facilities for night flights.
26/11/17 Kashmir Monitor

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No Kullu-Chandigarh flight during winter

Kullu: Air India will not operate its regular flights between Kullu and Chandigarh during December and January. Kullu Air India station manager Dinesh Bhardwaj said from December 2 to Januray 31, the flights would not operate due to unfavourable weather conditions.
He added that bookings would be done only if weather would be favourable in the last week of January. Bhardwaj said seats would be available after February 1. Regular flights to Delhi would continue depending on the weather.
Air India had started daily flight operations between Kullu and Chandigarh from October 13, except on Sundays. The operations were being carried out using the same 70-seater ATR-72 aircraft that was operating between Kullu and Delhi. The lowest airfare for one-way travel was Rs 3,600, while the tickets were generally available for around Rs 5,000. The highest fare was Rs 18,000 for one-way travel between Kullu and Chandigarh.
During the inaugural flight to Chandigarh on October 5, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had stated that Kullu-Chandigarh sector would be included in the second version of UDAN scheme and the fares would be reduced further. Dinesh said the load on the flight between Kullu and Chandigarh was less that 50 per cent.
The 70-seater aircraft is allowed to ferry around 30 passengers while departing from Kullu due to load stipulation because of the short runway.
26/11/17 Tribune

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Foreign national creates ruckus at Delhi airport

New Delhi: A passenger set to travel to Norway was on Sunday denied boarding at the international airport here due to “abnormal behaviour”, according to CISF and police officers.

Panasenko Olena was to take a Finnair flight to Norway through Helsinki. However, she was not allowed to board the aircraft after she created a ruckus in the check-in area of the terminal building around 10 a.m. Ms.Olena was later handed over to the Delhi Police, they said.
She was taken to Safdarjung Hospital for medical test, a Delhi police officer said, adding that the Embassy of Norway was informed.

An Indira Gandhi International Airport spokesperson here confirmed the incident and added that the passenger was administered basic medication to calm her down.

The Delhi Police officer said the passenger has been admitted to the hospital as she was found “mentally disturbed” after the medical examination.

“We have not registered any case as she is mentally disturbed. We are trying to gather more information about her,” the officer said.
27/11/17 PTI/The Hindu

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Travelator at airport by March

Work on building a travelator connecting the two terminals of the Chennai airport has finally begun and passengers may be able to use it by March next year. The travelator facility with a length of 600 m is expected to cost ₹40 crore.

Officials of the Airports Authority of India said that the prefabricated material for the travelator was now being assembled step by step. “There are several such prefabricated segments. Along with this, we also will build a walkway alongside the travelator. People who don’t want to use the travelator can use it. Both these will be covered facilities with a false ceiling roof,” an official said.
Passengers from the entry point of the terminals can use the lift or the stairs to get the mezzanine level and then take the travelator, he added. “This facility will also be connected to the Metro Rail station at the airport. An escalator was installed recently in that station,” he said.
26/11/17 The Hindu

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15m-high parking lotto come up at airport

Pune: A 15.35 metre parking lot, almost as tall as five-storeyed building, will come up in the vicinity of the Pune airport. The facility will cater to the hundreds of vehicles coming to the airport throughout the day.
Sources said the Indian Air Force has approved the height of the building and the structure would come up in the parking lot number one that is near the entry gate to the airport.
The project was okayed based on the conceptual plan for the development of the facility to cater to around 11,000 passengers on a daily basis.
"The parking lot will serve several purposes. Once the building is constructed, it will take far less space compared to now and the number of vehicles that can be parked will increase. However, many matters about the project, which come under the Pune airport development and expansion plan are yet to be decided. A decision will be taken on whether the existing parking will be discontinued once the new structure is ready. Egis India, originally a French company, has been appointed as consultant for the project. The firm is working towards the finalization of the conceptual plan for the development of the airport. There are many aspects about the project which are under review at present," a senior airport official said.
27/11/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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CM likely to head new Mopa PDA

Panjim: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is likely to head the Mopa Planning and Development Authority (PDA) once it is constituted. The PDA has been planned to fast track the work of the new international airport at Mopa.
Also, the chairmanship of much awaited Mormugao Planning and Development Authority (MPDA), will remain with the BJP, as Goa Forward Party (GFP), which had initially staked claim over it, has now backed out.
The Town and Country Planning (TCP) Board, which met on Thursday under Minister Vijai Sardesai recommend the formation of new PDA for Mopa area, wherein around 81.29 lakh sq mtrs of area will be brought under the planning authority.
In April 2016, the then TCP Board had proposed to bring the Mopa airport area under PDA and accordingly, it is now decided to form a new PDA.
Highly placed sources confirm that the Mopa PDA will be headed by the Chief Minister, with TCP Minister Sardesai and Tourism Minister and Pernem MLA Manohar Azgaonkar as members.
“Chief Minister himself said that he would like to chair the Mopa PDA to ensure that the airport project is fast tracked,” sources said, adding that the PDA will not consist of any private members.
It is very clear that Sardesai, the MLA from Fatorda, would not like to take any decision on second airport, as he has been an anti-Mopa supporter.
25/11/17 Herald

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Airport development: 75 families need to be evicted, says study

Thiruvananthapuram: The first phase of the Social Impact Assessment Study for land acquisition of development of Trivandrum International Airport has identified 75 families for eviction. That means around 300 people will have to be evicted from Vallakkadavu-Vayyamoola region soon for development works.
Loyal College of Social Sciences, which has been entrusted with the study of the rehabilitation of the affected people in Vallakadavu, Pettah and Muttathara has completed the first phase in which the number of residents to be evicted has been finalized.
The airport authority was allotted 18.53 acres in Vallakadavu, Pettah and Muttathara for development of the international terminal in 2014, but, they were unable to initiate land acquisition.
The government gave the directive for SIA study following demand from the residents. The demarcation of the land to be acquired for airport development was completed by the agency in August. The survey began last month after district collector K Vasuki visiting the area and assured locals of proper rehabilitation measures.
"There are on the average four to five members in a family. And also there are people who do not have title deeds on the land, where they are staying for past many years. We will include all these details in the final draft, which will be presented to the residents," said Father Sabu P Thomas, vice-principal of Loyola College who leads the social impact study team.
After the approval of final draft by the residents, the agency is likely to submit the full Social Impact Assessment study report by January, 2018 to the government.
As part of the next phase, the agency will conduct a meeting with the land owners of an uninhabited portion of the allotted 18.53 acres on December 2. A total of 27 people, who own the uninhabited area of 6 acres had submitted consent to surrender their property for airport development.
25/11/17 Times of India

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Sabarimala counter opened at airport

Kochi: The Travancore Devaswom Board has begun a counter at the Cochin International Airport to provide help to Sabarimala pilgrims in the arrival area of the domestic terminal.

It will be operated by Dhanalakshmi Bank and was inaugurated on Friday by board member K.P. Sankara Das. Apart from guiding pilgrims, coupons for appam, aravana and neyyabhisekham will be available at the counter.
25/11/17 The Hindu

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GMR Airports reveals new technology and innovation lab plans

GMR Group, which operates Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, and Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines, has been making a concerted effort in recent years to channel its innovation as it continues to implement new technologies to help future-proof its airport facilities.

Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Innovation Officer at GMR Airports, who delivered a presentation at FTE Asia EXPO 2017 in Singapore earlier this month, revealed to FTE which forward-thinking projects have either been recently completed or are currently ongoing.

Among them is a successful trial of biometric-enabled kerb-to-gate processing. “This will be completely operational for domestic passengers by early 2018 at Hyderabad,” Raghunath said. “Once this is done, we will progressively roll it out for international passengers and deploy the solution at Delhi and eventually at Goa International Airport (which is due to be in operation by 2020).”

Meanwhile, A-CDM has been deployed at Delhi and Hyderabad airports, cameras and sensors are being used for queue measurement at airport immigration and check-in areas, and Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, beacons, facial recognition and analytics are being used for retail and passenger dwell time analysis. GMR has also self-developed a common use self-service (CUSS) solution at Delhi airport, and is actively exploring the potential of the Internet of Things.
25/11/17 Futue Travel Experience

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Art upgrade for Gaya airport

Gaya: Paintings related to the Jain, Sikh, Sufi, Ramayana and other circuits of spiritual importance and not only the Buddhist circuit may soon adorn the walls of Gaya airport.

The paintings will display the ancient rich culture of Bihar. Moreover, Madhubani paintings, Sikki art, terracotta and other paintings will also compete to grab the eyeballs of tourists from the airport walls. Work on the paintings is likely to start soon.

"There is also a plan to highlight the heritage sites of different circuits with their routes on the map of the state. The tourists will come to know about culture and the heritage of the state through these paintings," said Gaya airport director Dilip Kumar.

Work on implementation of the art plan has already started. "We are going to appoint an art curator who will prepare a detailed plan to slot the paintings according to suitable places. When tourists come to know about the featured places of Bihar apart from Bodhgaya, they will be tempted to visit those. It will ultimately boost tourism, earn revenue for the state and attract tourists," said the airport director.
25/11/17 Alok Kumar/Telegraph

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3 airlines ready to operate big aircraft from Calicut

Emirates, Saudia, and Air India have expressed their willingness to operate wide-bodied aircraft at the Calicut International Airport subjected to the approval and conditions of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Representatives of these airline companies gave their suggestions at a meeting with AAI officials at the airport on Thursday.

Emirates and Saudia had ceased operations following the ban on wide-bodied aircraft since May 2015. “Both had said that they would resume their flights to the most sought-after destinations in the Middle East,” Calicut airport director J.T. Radhakrishna told The Hindu .

The meeting was held on the compatibility study and safety assessment for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft at the airport. Already the DGCA had given the green signal for the operation of Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

Boeing 777-200 aircraft has been permitted since the aeroplane reference field length for this baseline aircraft is within available runway length at the airport.

Mr. Radhakrishna said all three airlines that operate jumbo aircraft wanted to operate Airbus 330-300, Boeing 777-200 Longer Range, and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a mid-size wide-bodied aircraft. Incidentally, the AAI-DGCA team which inspected the table-top runway had refused to give clearance to the Airbus 330-300, another competing aircraft with Boeing 777-200. At the same time, the majority of the airlines now operate the modern version of the Boeing aircraft.
Air Traffic Controller in-charge Mohammed Shahid, Safety Manager M.V. Sunil, and Deputy General Manager (ATC) O.V. Marxis took part in the deliberations with the airline companies.
24/11/17 The Hindu

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Feasibility study under way for free trade zone at Kempegowda airport

Bengaluru: Creation of a free trade area (FTA) or a special economic zone (SEZ) on the sprawling premises of Kempegowda International Airport is being considered to make the airport a cargo hub for the region. Currently, a feasibility study is being undertaken.

While the fresh focus on creating a hub is being taken up as cargo business at the airport has been on the rise in the last three years, this would be a second attempt by airport operator Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL). According to a PTI report in March this year, the Union government had cancelled the approval since not much progress had been achieved on this front.

“At this point we are exploring multiple options. We know that we have to start thinking of what next when the current cargo facility reaches its capacity (5.7 lakh tonne annually). Whether we want to expand by scaling up the current facility or setting up a multi-model logistic hub or a free trade zone is currently under consideration,” Raj Andrade, vice-president (Business Development, Marketing & Strategy) of BIAL told reporters here on Thursday.
About 100 acres has been earmarked in the master plan for setting up a FTA or SEZ and that would be in line with the airport expansion plan, involving construction of terminal-2 and a second runway, he added.

According to statistics provided by the airport, the cargo operations from May 2008, when the airport started commercial operations, has grown by 142%. This fiscal, cargo handling at the airport is set to reach 3.5 lakh tonnes, up from 3.2 lakh tonnes last fiscal. Cargo business is growing at over 8%, a release from BIAL said.
24/11/17 The Hindu

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Revenue officials survey lands for Salem Airport expansion

Salem: Revenue officials have commenced collecting the needed details about the lands to be procured for the Salem Airport expansion project.

Both the Centre and the state government are involved in the work of expanding the Salem airport which at present stand on about 160 acres in Kaamalapuram village on the outskirts of the city. The airport has been lying defunct for the last few years.

The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has taken efforts for reviving the airport and has already accorded permission for the introduction of flight service from Salem airport under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). The flight services in the Salem – Chennai route are expected to be introduce by next month.

A team of revenue officials commenced the work of surveying and measuring the government poramboke lands in the villages of Thumbipadi, Sikkanampatti, Pottiyapuram, Kaamalapuram.

They also collected the details of the households, trees and private buildings under the survey numbers on patta lands.
24/11/17 The Hindu

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Land acquisition poses major challenge to airport expansion

Aurangabad: The state government has cleared a proposal for acquiring land admeasuring 182 acre for the proposed expansion of Aurangabad airport but the district administration has a major task ahead while actually taking possession the identified land.
The administration will have to remove over 1,200 homes and other properties, besides taking control of over 80 acre of agricultural land for making way for the expansion. Since the land in question is within the city limits and is urbanised in several parts, the authorities are likely to face stiff opposition from people whose land has to be acquired.
A senior official from the district administration said more than 85% of land to be acquired has private ownership. "The airport expansion needs acquisition of over 155 acre private land, along with portion of land owned by the local civic body and CIDCO. The land acquisition involves both agricultural and non-agricultural land. Even if the best financial deals are offered to the owners while doling out compensation, we cannot rule out possibility of stiff opposition," the official said.
In June, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had held a special review meeting on expansion of Aurangabad airport that involves widening of existing runaway to make it at par with international standards. Earlier, during a state cabinet meeting in October last year, Fadnavis had announced funds worth Rs 250 crore for development of the airports at Aurangabad and Nanded. However, voices of dissent started coming with a section of stakeholders opposing the development as things started progressing.
24/11/17 Prasad Joshi/Times of India

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CISF personnel at IGI airport to get body-worn cameras

New Delhi: The level of security at IGI airport is likely to go a notch higher with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) planning to use body-worn cameras on personnel stationed at the entrance and checking points.
The move comes after a successful trial run conducted by the CISF at two of its major airports - Delhi and Mumbai — with plans to use them at other airports as well. The devices were procured recently on a trial basis to assess how effective they could be in monitoring and detecting people from a close range — their ability to capture audio an added advantage. CISF officials said the trials proved very satisfying with the devices recording high quality audio and video, which could be downloaded later.
"The plan was initiated by the DG so that more surveillance could be provided at the airport, especially in the form of close watch. The device can be checked later for both audio and video evidence in case of any dispute or security threat. It will also allow the CISF personnel to carry out their duties without any hindrance," a senior CISF official told TOI.
In the initial phase, around five such cameras were tried and tested by CISF personnel. Officials said the procurement of more such cameras is now being initiated for airports across country.
24/11/17 Jasjeev Gandhiok/Times of India

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Activist demands tree survey at airport site

Navi Mumbai: Cidco has started pre-development operations in the core aeronautical activity area of the Navi Mumbai international airport project without conducting a survey of the trees located in the acquired villages to be rehabilitated, alleges an RTI activist Sanjay Surve.
An RTI reply by Cidco's horticulture department has stated that they do not have any information about the trees in the airport area. However, Cidco officials have claimed that a survey of trees is being carried out simultaneously with the airport project work.
RTI Activist Sanjay Surve said, "Cidco is wrong in carrying out pre-development work in the core activity area of the Navi Mumbai International Airport project as they have not conducted a survey of the trees, which needs to be replanted as they will be destroyed in the construction activity."
Surve plans to approach the national green body "I will be filing a petition before the National Green Tribunal seeking a stay on Cidco's construction activity at the Navi Mumbai International airport project, till Cidco conducts the survey of all the trees to be affected by the airport project and ensures their protection and preservation."
24/11/17 George Mendonca/Times of India

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CIDCO aims at 2019 start for Navi Mumbai airport

Mumbai: The first flight from the Navi Mumbai International Airport is expected to take off in December 2019, which is when the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) expects Phase 1, which includes the terminal and runways, to be ready.

“While this is the target we have set for ourselves, even with delays the airport will be ready before the monsoon of 2020,” said Joint Managing Director Prajakta Lavangare, CIDCO.

The corporation, which is the nodal agency for the airport, is working on developing the land at the site. The work has been divided into two phases. The first involves creating a flat land 5.5 metres above sea level, for which the Ulwe hill will be cut down to 8 metres, and the earth from the hill would be used to level the rest of the area. The second phase involves raising the height of the land from 5.5 metres to 8 meters above sea level, which will protect the runway from flooding. Utility lines such as storm water drains and sewage would also be put in place by Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL).

“The long monsoon prevented us from starting work sooner, but we are confident of meeting the target. We are also seeking permission for three shifts in order to increase the pace of work,” said Ms. Lavangare.

One of the biggest concerns among local villagers is the fear that blasting a hill would affect their homes. CIDCO officials say they have adopted a controlled blasting technique to prevent damage and have appointed the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CSIR-CIMFR) as technical advisor. “We are ensuring that the vibrations are under 10mm/sec, which will be felt only within a radius of 300 metres,” said a scientist from CSIR-CIMFR. CIDCO officials say most of the villages lie outside this periphery.
24/11/17 Ajeet Mahale/The Hindu

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Civil aviation ministry in touch with distt admin for airport

Ghaziabad: The civil aviation ministry is in touch with the district administration here for acquiring land for building an airport terminal near the Hindon airbase for operation of domestic flights, a top district official said.

In August, the Indian Air Force had agreed to allow the use of its Hindon airbase for civilian flights under the government's regional connectivity scheme (RCS).

It would help to take the load off Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport which is facing slot constraints with Hindon serving as the "second" airport in the national capital region for flights operating under the scheme.

Representatives of the civil aviation ministry and the district administration today visited the land at Sikanderpur village near the airbase, District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari said.

Flights will operate from the runway of airbase. But, keeping in mind the security of the Hindon airbase, a separate gate for passengers would be built, she said.
24/11/17 PTI/New Indian Express

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Jaipur-Abu Dhabi flight to be discontinued from March!

Jaipur: The Jaipur to Abu Dhabi flight may be discontinued from March next year. February 28 will be the last operational day for the flight. It will be a major setback for international traveler as it was used as a connecting flight for people traveling to Europe and USA. Reportedly, the airlines operating this flight is planning to provide connecting flights via Delhi or Mumbai after March 1.

The flight started operations in April 2014 with a 7-day service. However, due to the decrease in the number of passengers, the airline decided to operate this flight for 5 days. Presently, the flight operates 4-days a week and this will change to 3-days a week from January 2018.
23/11/17 Pink City Post

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Northeast becomes the new hub for development, air connectivity projects on pipeline

New Delhi: As northeast becomes the new hub to perform and prove, the BJP government wouldn't leave any stone unturned. President Ram Nath Kovind on the occasion of North East Development Summit listed out the initiatives taken by the ruling government to improve the connectivity in the North eastern part of India.
In a two day summit sources say the Manipur government has reportedly signed thirty nine memorandums worth Rs 4000 crores with various firms. Improved connectivity of the north eastern states with other parts of India can encourage economic and social integration.
Union Civil Aviation minister Jayant Sinha announced few initiatives by civil aviation, among them 19 new airports or will be worked on underserved airports which include Rupsi airport in Assam, Meghalaya and Tura will be added to the aviation network of the country.
Imphal will get a direct flight service to Delhi from 2018 January. 17 new heliports will be opened in the region.
The DoNEAR Ministry is also planning to introduce a helicopter-based dispensary, OPD service in far-flung areas of the region by the beginning of the next year. It will start from Imphal and Shillong, places which have premier medical colleges from where doctors can move with equipments in remote areas in the whole region.
"The Government of India's approach to the development of the Northeast is an urgent and speedy enhancement of connectivity. This is a multi-modal programme, across land, water and air," the president said.
24/11/17 Parbina Purkayastha/India Today

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New facilities at LGBI Airport

Guwahati: AK Dutta, Member (CNS), Airports Authority of India today inaugurated the new ASR/MSSR at the LGBI Airport, Borjhar.DK Kamra, Regional Executive Director, North East Region, BK Tailong, Airport Director, LGBI Airport, and Venketeshwara L, General Manager (CNS), Airports Authority of India, attended the inaugural ceremony.
With continuing focus on upgrading ANS infrastructure to meet the anticipated air traffic growth, the Airports Authority of India has taken up installation of an Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System at the airport, which will enhance the ground surveillance, leading to improved access and enhanced safety of aircraft operations.
23/11/17 Assam Tribune

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Brands Leveraging Passenger Traffic at Coimbatore & Trichy Airports

Times OOH has recently acquired the advertising rights of Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) International Airports. The media has been strategically placed at two of Tamil Nadu's high potential domestic and international travel hubs giving brands an excellent opportunity to advertise their product portfolio and enhance customer connect.

Being the 2nd largest airport in Tamil Nadu (in terms of passenger and cargo traffic), Coimbatore has witnessed a growth of 24.4 % YOY with the passenger traffic of 2.1 Million FY17.

The advertisement rights of the airport, were acquired in the month of June 2017 for a tenure of 10+ years. Times OOH has put a total of 60 Media units by far in an area of minimum 10,558 sq. ft. to cater to 100% travelling audience in locations with high dwell time. Type of formats to be found at the airport consists of Back-lit, Digital Screens network, Scrollers, Dropdowns, FSU, Front lit hoardings, Back lit hoardings, Iconic structure, Aerobridge, Trays branding, etc. These media units are proposed and approved by the respective Authorities, however, are expected to be installed and fully functional by November and December starting for Trichy & Coimbatore airports respectively. This allows a never-before opportunity for advertisers to target not just the itinerant Indian, but also, the NRI & global audience to get maximum brand visibility.
With a passenger traffic of 1.3 Million FY17, Trichy Airport is the 2rd largest International airport serving Tiruchirapalli (Tiruchirappalli) in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, catering to both International & Domestic passengers.
The advertisement rights of the airport, were acquired in the month of May 2017 for a tenure of 10+ years. With a total area of minimum 2460 sq. feet, it is the second largest airport in international passenger traffic after Chennai and third largest in terms of total passenger traffic next to Chennai and Coimbatore.
Times OOH has put a total number of 20 substantially large media units by far at the airport, the type of media formats of which are Back-lit, Scrollers, Dropdowns, FSU, Front lit hoardings, etc. Besides, the strategic positioning of Times OOH media units is one of the USPs for advertising at the airport giving maximum exposure to brands.
23/11/17 Economic Times

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Air cargo operations from Vizag bring cheer to Brandix

Visakhapatnam: The recent launching of air cargo operations from Visakhapatnam International Airport has brought cheer among the top officials of Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC), developed on an area of 1,000 acres at Atchutapuram, about 50 km from here, with an aim to make it global sourcing hub for apparels.

Popularly known as Brandix Apparel Park, it has so far employed 18,000, mostly from the villages in the neighbourhood and 16,000 of them women from poor background. Developed on ‘fibre to store’ concept, it is now home for 14 units.

Close on the heels of introducing a direct flight to Colombo by SriLankan Airlines, air cargo operation was launched sometime ago after a lot of dilly-dallying over clearances and other issues.

The air cargo operation will bring significant impact on the logistics cost now incurred by BIAC, an Indian arm of apparel major Brandix Lanka. At present, the finished products, mostly intimate apparels, are transported to the United States and the Europe via Chennai/Hyderabad airports.
24/11/17 Santosh Patnaik/The Hindu

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2 buildings near airport demolished

Jaipur: The enforcement wing of the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) demolished two multi-storey buildings around the airport area for violating height permission.
A team of about 50 personnel were deployed to demolish the building. JDA SP Rahul Jain informed TOI that the two buildings were demolished. "These buildings were illegal. The owners had not reconstructed the buildings and they did not have permission for commercial activities either," Jain said.
He added that height violation was also one reason. The petitions filed by the owners of the buildings were earlier rejected by the court, following which some time was given to the builders and on Thursday the two buildings were demolished.
The officials informed TOI that a notice was also issued prior to demolishing the buildings.
24/11/17 Times of India

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Cops to offer de-addiction courses to airport cabbies

New Delhi: : In a unique initiative by Delhi Police, taxi drivers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport who work long hours and lead stressful lives, will be given a de-addiction course for shunning pornography and alcoholism. Many taxi drivers have been seen to resort to alcohol and pornography, in an attempt to cope with work related stress, as well as bond with their peers. This has serious implications on their health and well-being, as well as the safety and security of passengers.
Cases of drunk driving and assault on women are some of the adverse consequences of developing an addiction to alcohol and pornography. In an attempt to tackle this issue, Special Commissioner of Police for Airport and Women's Safety, Sanjay Beniwal, launched an Awareness Programme for Women's Safety and Prevention of Drunk Driving for taxi drivers stationed at IGI Airport on Friday.
24/11/17 millenniumpost

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Int’l airport to have own radio station

Mohali: The Chandigarh international airport and Radio Indigo, India’s first international radio station, announced a partnership to launch the Chandigarh International Airport Limited Radio (CHIAL Radio), which is expected to formally commence from next week.
In the tie-up, Radio Indigo will now play international music at the airport. Passengers at the airport will be given flight-related information via the radio besides the playing of carefully curated music, making flying a better experience. Satyanaryana Murthy, CEO of Radio Indigo, said, “An international airport like that of Chandigarh deserved an international music station. We have always tried to go beyond the identity of a terrestrial radio station.”
24/11/17 Tribune

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Only CNG Taxis And Buses Will Ply at Delhi International Airport: NGT

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday ordered that only CNG buses and cabs will be allowed to ply at the Delhi International Airport. The green court said  that the taxi service rendering companies like DIAL will have to upgrade its vehicles to run on Compressed Natural Gas in next six months. The latest order comes in the wake of a slew of measures  being taken to combat rising levels of pollution in the national capital region.
Delhi witnessed a gas chamber-like conditions earlier this month when the air pollution index deteriorated rapidly. The NGT also ordered the government of Haryana and Punjab to come out with workable solutions for stop stubble-burning. The Delhi government, on its part, told the court that it may consider implementing the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme again.
The tribunal asked states to recommend a mechanism for transportation of agriculture residue, excluding the residue left in the field for manure, and the incentives which could be provided to the farmers.
“Every State would submit a list before the Secretary of Agriculture of the thermal power plants or biomass-based energy plants which are being run or are proposed to be constructed in the respective states,” the bench said.
24/11/17 India.com

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Air connectivity boost for North East on cards as India looks east

 Dimapur: Announcement of a massive augmentation of air connectivity in the northeastern region set the tone for the first North East Development Summit which was inaugurated by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind in Imphal on Tuesday. Addressing potential investors and sending across a reassuring message to the northeastern states, Ram Nath Kovind harped on the region, and particularly Manipur, being the “gateway to India linking with the Indian subcontinent and the ASEAN (countries)”, and listed out the initiatives taken by the Centre to improve connectivity by modes of road, railway and air.
The two-day summit seeks to boost trade and investment and is being attended by national and foreign investors and international finance agencies. The Manipur government has reportedly signed 39 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), worth INR 3500-4000 crore with different firms/companies.
Manipur is a strategic point to connect the North East with Southeast Asian markets. Moreover improved connectivity of the northeastern states can end the region’s geopolitical isolation, boost social and economic mobility and market integration.
“The Government of India’s approach to the development of the Northeast is an urgent and speedy enhancement of connectivity. This is a multi-modal programme, across land, water and air,” the president said.
19 “new airports or underserved airports”, including More in Manipur, Rupsi in Assam, and Tura in Meghalaya will be added to the country’s civil aviation network. Further 17 new heliports will be opened in the region. Imphal will get a direct flight service to New Delhi from the first day of the coming year. Union civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha, making the announcement at the Summit said the flight will be operated by Air India twice a week and it would gradually be converted into a daily service.
23/11/17 Kallol Dey/Indian Express

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Retired troops for airport duty

New Delhi: The Centre has decided to recruit over 500 retired paramilitary personnel to ease the rush at immigration counters at Delhi airport following reports of delays.

Last week, the Union home ministry had set up 10 new counters at the airport after flyers complained about long queues for getting immigration clearance.

"The 500 retired paramilitary personnel will be primarily deployed at Delhi airport but their services can be utilised at other international airports in the country depending on the situation," a ministry official said.

Ministry sources said it would be the first time that paramilitary personnel, who retired as sub-inspectors, would be hired because such post-retirement offers were earlier limited to defence personnel.
Candidates need to have good knowledge of English and basic computer operations to be recruited. They will be hired on three-year contracts and paid Rs 36,000 a month.
23/11/17 Telegraph

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Sri Lanka PM meets PM Modi today, to hold talks on Mattala airport, bilateral ties

New Delhi: With an eye on China, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, days ahead of the joint venture between China Merchants Port Holding Company and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) starts operations of Hambantota Harbour on December 8.
Wickremesinghe, who arrived in Delhi on Wednesday, was received by Indian envoy to Sri Lanka Taranjit Sandhu. He will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind, besides attending a conference on cyber-security. He leaves on Friday. The meeting assumes significance since India has expressed interest in investing in Mattala airport in Hambantota district. Once finalised, it will be a strategic investment for New Delhi to enter a project which has been Chinese turf on Lankan soil.
Described as the “world’s emptiest airport” by Forbes, the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport in Mattala was built by the Chinese during the previous President’s regime. The present government, led by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe, has found it difficult to run the airport. In August this year, India had proposed to “operate, manage, maintain and develop” the airport through a joint venture, with India holding 70 per cent of the equity for 40 years. India is supposed to invest $205 million, with Sri Lanka contributing $88 million.
The Indian offer had come within weeks of a Sri Lanka-China agreement on development of Hambantota port, in which the state-run China Merchants Port Holdings will have a 70-per cent stake in a joint venture for a period of 99 years. The Hambantota port and airport projects are part of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, and Delhi has been worried about Beijing’s rising influence in Sri Lanka.
It is learnt that the joint venture between the Sri Lankan Airport and Aviation Authority and an Indian firm to run the Mattala airport would come into operation by March next year. Sources said this issue and other bilateral projects will be discussed in the meeting between Modi and Wickremesinghe.
23/11/17 Shubhajit Roy/Indian Express

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From April-October, Bagdogra airport recorded 60 per cent increase in footfall

Kolkata: Bagdogra Airport in Darjeeling district has seen a 60 per cent jump in passenger footfall from April to October 2017, despite the violent Gorkhaland agitations. Airport director Rakesh Sahay said that this is the biggest jump in passenger traffic so far. Bagdogra connects not only Darjeeling but Terai, Dooars, Sikkim and Bhutan to the rest of the country. Sahay said that from April to October 2016, the airport recorded 7.83 lakh passengers. During the corresponding period between April and October 2017, the airport recorded 12.48 lakh passengers.
“Surprisingly the Gorkhaland agitation and Darjeeling shutdown did not affect the passenger traffic at all. There wasn’t even a slowdown of passengers. This is because most of the passengers who come to this region don’t usually come as individual tourists. The most popular thing is to take tour packages with travel agencies. What the agencies did was reconstitute the packages shifting the tourists from Darjeeling to Dooars,” said Sahay.
The airport director said there were several reasons behind the steady increase in footfall at Bagdogra. “One of the reasons is that if you were to book your tickets even 15 days in advance, the flight prices are just slightly higher than train tickets. Merely Rs 200-300 more. We have noticed that there has been a shift and people who had earlier been travelling by train are now opting to travel by air,’’ he said.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) is also the cheapest in the country at Bagdogra airport. The state government had removed the tax on aviation fuel at the airport to boost tourism in the region. “Zero VAT on fuel makes Bagdogra an extremely attractive destination for airlines and so more and more airlines are coming here. Three years ago we used to run 12-13 flights a day. The number has now gone up to 21-22 flights a day. Even Kolkata airport continues to have a 20 per cent VAT on ATF as do all the other neighbouring airports like Guwahati and Patna. Uttar Pradesh has last week reduced the tax on ATF, but even so , t is not zero like it is here,” Sahay pointed out.
23/11/17 Indian Express

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Confusion over change in parking fee at Indore airport

Indore: The proposal to offer parking on airport premises for 30 minutes at Rs 25 has created a lot of confusion among people visiting the city airport. After a word about the proposal went around on Wednesday, more than half a dozen visitors including taxi drivers started arguing and fighting with the parking staff claiming that the new parking fee is Rs 25 instead of Rs 55.
Airport officials said that they had sent a proposal in this regard, but a final decision would be taken only after approval from the headquarters. "It is only a proposal which we have sent to headquarters of Airport Authority of India (AAI). The report published by local media has created trouble for us as many passengers argued with our parking staff and alleged that the charges collected from them are illegal," airport director Aryama Sanyal told TOI.
She further said the reports led to confusion among visitors over existing parking charges. "As of now there is no confirmation about approval of this proposal, so we are not sure whether it will be implemented or not," she added. The matter was bought into notice of airport officials by the parking staff when many visitors started arguing with them claiming that the fee has been reduced to Rs25. Pankaj Kumar, incharge of airport's parking facility said, "Around 10 people including taxi drivers have so far argued with the parking staff over collection of parking charges.
23/11/17 Times of India

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Quick response recorded at Juhu airport mock drill

Mumbai: An emergency  mock drill conducted at Juhu airport on Wednesday, supervised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), saw a 20 second response time from the airport authorities in reacting to a situation, which was termed as “surprisingly quick”.
“There was effective co-ordination between the respective forces during the drill at Juhu airport on Wednesday. The response time, which means the time taken for the concerned parties to be present at the accident site, was twenty seconds. This is surprisingly good,” said a safety official from the DGCA team who inspected the mock drill at the airport.
S K Bandgar, assistant divisional fire officer, however, said things could be improved further. “Sufficient communication system should be developed between the security forces guarding the airport and ambulances that reach the site. The security force at the main gate of the airport did not have a walkie talkie with them. Also, there should be more than one emergency vehicles to guide other vehicles in line to reach the accident site,” he said.
Senior officials from the fire department also suggested that airport authorities should carry out mock drills without giving them prior information about the time of call. This could improve their preparedness for a reaction to the incidence. “Officials are informed in advance to sensitise them better on the incidence. The ambulance moving from the Juhu airport was provided with a walkie talkie to communicate with others. These are only suggestions and a report would be prepared by the DGCA on the scope of improvement at the airport,” M K Bimal, Juhu airport director said.
23/11/17 Indian Express

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Hyderabad Airport Becomes First in India to Install Recycling Machines for Garbage

In a way to tackle the amount of trash discarded in airports, Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has begun installing water recycling machines.

The Hyderabad airport is one of the busiest airports in India and has a daily crowd of around 40,000 passengers and a staff of 5,000 working each day. The amount of trash they produce, and particularly the bottles, can only be calculated in estimation.

These newly installed machines will help crush not only PET bottles but also aluminium or tin cans and plastic bags in an eco-friendly way. Currently, two such machines are installed in strategic locations at the airport.

The airport’s programme called #PassengerisPrime prompted the authorities to install these machines that will help recycle bottles and bags.
23/11/17 Tanvi Patel/The Better India

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Pune airport betters rank by a notch, slow growth a concern

Pune:  The airport here has been able to move only a notch ahead in terms of quality of services provided to passengers in the third quarter of the year from the second quarter.
This was revealed in the survey carried out by the Airports Council International (ACI). The airport had raced nine slots ahead from the first quarter to bag the 35th position. In the third quarter (July-September), the airport was ranked 34th. The ACI has been conducting the survey for around five years on airports willing to participate in it.
"There are various categories of airports on the basis of passenger traffic. Pune airport comes under the category of facilities catering to 2-5 million passengers a year. The ratings are worldwide," an Airports Official of India official from New Delhi told TOI. Sources said that the ranking of the Pune airport was among 300 facilities across the world coming under the category.
An airport official described the third quarter rating as "good". He said, "The airport is trying its best to meet the passengers' requirements with additional facilities. We believe that our rating will improve further with more add-on facilities."
However, frequent flyers and aviation experts do not appear much convinced. Atulya Parashar, a frequent flyer, said, "The situation might have improved, but still many problems exist. I have experiences of waiting in the aircraft for long as parking bays were not available... not to talk about the chaos while collecting luggage from the conveyor belts."
23/11/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Indian passengers using technology to skip queues at airports: SITA survey

As India’s passenger growth is choking key airports in the country, air passengers are resorting to technology to skip queues and minimize their travel time, shows a 2017 SITA Passenger IT Trends Survey, a global survey released by IT provider SITA and co-sponsored by Air Transport World.

“While the use of technology among Indian airline passengers remains high at check-in (87%) and booking (52%), 2017 saw tremendous growth in other usage points in the journey. The research showed while adoption remains low, self-bag drop usage climbed to 21% from 12% in 2016,” shows the survey, conducted across seven Indian airports, representing 71% of passengers in the country.

Passengers are also demanding new mobile services with 83% saying that they would definitely use flight updates on their mobile. And they would use their mobile for baggage services too: 82% would report mishandled bags and 79% would track their bags in real-time. This comes as no surprise with more than one billion Indians using at least one mobile device in 2016 of which 300 million are using a smart device, the survey adds.

The research also shows 54% of passengers would rather opt to use self-bag drop than go to an airline check-in counter, compared to 33% globally and well ahead of current usage.

The research also shows 54% of passengers would rather opt to use self-bag drop than go to an airline check-in counter, compared to 33% globally and well ahead of current usage.
23/11/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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New flights likely from Bhopal for Delhi, other major cities

Bhopal: Four new flights are expected to start from Bhopal from February ensuring better connectivity with major cities. These flights would connect Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Nagpur.

This information was given by the airport officials at the meeting of Rajabhoj Airport Environment Management Committee on Tuesday. According to the airport officials, the private airlines would start four new flights and would connect Nagpur as well as Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The meeting chaired by the commissioner Ajatshatru Shrivastava also discussed issues related to garbage management around the airport area. Special instructions were given to the officials of Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) to make appropriate arrangements to stop birds in the area around the airport.

BMC officials were told to ensure that garbage is cleaned everyday to keep the area clean. The BMC were told that they could use crackers to shoo away the birds from that area. Birds are a big nuisance and danger for the aeroplanes, said commissioner.
22/11/17 Central Chronicle

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Get ready to enjoy Aadhaar-linked seamless air travel from next year

Air passengers flying out of Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Vijayawada will be able to enjoy Aadhaar-based seamless travel from the next year under the government's “DigiYatra” programme.

AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra told Times of India, "Under the Aadhaar-based system, flyers will use stored biometrics to prove identity to enter terminals; their Aadhaar-linked airline database will show what flight they are booked on and similarly linked airport databases will show they have been security screened and allowed access to boarding gate closer to the flight departure time.”

Linking Aadhaar with air tickets is expected to cut down the amount of time a passenger spends in airport queues.

One can avail the seamless journey by feeding Aadhaar number while booking the flight ticket. At airport entry, an E-gate will read the ticket's bar code containing ticket information and Aadhaar information.

This will help the system in authenticating the travel details. For authentication a passenger will have to present biometric for Aadhaar. On successful authentication, the E-gate will open.
22/11/17 ZeeBiz

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Delhi Airport May Become First in India to Get Bulletproof Vehicles

If a proposal of the Central Industrial Security Force gets nod, the Delhi airport may soon get a fleet of bulletproof vehicles as part of the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) to minimise the damage in case of an attack.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides security to 59 of the 98 operational airports in the country, has asked for bulletproof vehicles at Delhi and other sensitive airports, said a CISF official.

The CISF recently deployed Sherpa, an armoured vehicle that can withstand 10kg of explosives and numerous bullets, on trial basis, but wants a smaller vehicle for the QRT fleet.

"In case of an attack, we need to respond swiftly to minimise the damage. A bulletproof vehicle will help us in neutralising the suspect without exposing our personnel to the possible threat. We need such vehicles for round-the-clock patrolling. Right now we have Gypsy, which is open and the commandos cannot hide behind anything and fire," CISF's additional director general for airport MA Ganapathy said.
22/11/17 Faizan Haidar/Mcclatchy/AviationPros

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Jet Airways launches daily nonstop from Bangalore to Amsterdam

Jet Airways organised a press conference to announce its daily nonstop service from Bangalore to Amsterdam launching on the
29 October 2017.This flight will be Jet Airways’ third daily service between India and Amsterdam and will complement its existing direct daily operations to Amsterdam from Mumbai and Delhi.

The new service will be operated in codeshare with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France and Delta Air Lines, with each airline placing their respective codes on the service.

• Jet Airways 9W 236 will depart Bengaluru at 02h25 (LT) and arrive in Amsterdam 08h35 (LT).
• Jet Airways 9W 235 will depart from Amsterdam at 10h50 (LT) and will arrive in Bengaluru at 00h40 (LT).

On the occasion of the event, H.E. Alphonsus H.M. Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, said –“ Holland is a hub
for India and this connectivity will connect multiple destinations in India and Europe. The Dutch traders felt at home in India four hundred years ago. Already 400 years ago, Netherlands was Asia’s hub in Europe and is India’s hub in Europe. Today again, India and Netherlands are very important economic partners for each other. The number of visas we issue to Indian citizens is increasing at 25% per year."

“A lot of Indian companies consider Netherlands to be an ideal location for setting up their head office in Europe like Tata Steel Factory. Today again, Netherlands is the hub for Europe and India. Netherlands as a destination is a hub for India and also a hub for travellers. We will be opening a consulate general in Bangalore which will be the second consulate opened in India after Mumbai. One week before Jet Airways launches the Bangalore to Amsterdam flight, we will organise a Holland meets Bangalore event a weeklong event,” he added.
22/11/17 Irene Susan Eapen/Voyeger's World

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Someswara Rao thanks Civil Aviation Minister

Port Blair: Mr. R. Someswara Rao, Councillor, Ward No.2 of Port Blair Municipal Council expressed his gratitude to the Civil Aviation Minister Mr. Ashok Gajapathi Raju Garu for his efforts for introducing flight services to Port Blair- Vishakapatnam Sector. He also thanked Lieutenant Governor, Member of Parliament and the local youths of Haddo, Ward No. 02 for their struggle for the same. The matter was kicked off after the visit of a team of civic body members of the PBMC  which included Mr. B. Eswar Rao (Ex-Chairperson), Mr. Someswara Rao (Councillor, Ward No.02), Mr. Azizur- Rahman (Ex-Councillor, Ward No. 6 and State General Secretary, T.D.P), Ms. S. Usha (Councillor, Ward No. 16) and Ms. Protima Banerjee (Councillor, Ward No. 6), who had met the Civil Aviation Minister to put forth the grievances of the Islanders on December 2016 during their visit to Delhi to witness Andaman Day Festival.  Air India will operate regular flights to Vishakapatnam on 7 days a week and 3 days a week flight from Vishakapatnam to Port Blair from 1st of January 2018 till 24th of March 2018.
22/11/17 Port Blair/Echo of India

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More flight services from Hubballi on cards

Hubballi: MP Pralhad Joshi has stated that discussion is on with a major airlines company which has shown interest to introduce air service from Hubballi to Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
"Meanwhile, the much-awaited Hubballi-Mumbai flight service by the Air India will be launched most probably on December 1, as a slot for Hubballi-Mumbai air service has been allotted for three days a week, at Mumbai airport," he said.
He told media persons here on Sunday that attempts would be made to get upgraded Hubballi Airport inaugurated and lay the foundation stone for IIT-Dharwad building construction, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after Gujarat Assembly elections.
Hubballi-Haveri Road (NH 4) six-laning work, inauguration of KIMS super-speciality hospital, and upgradation of Tadas-Kalghatagi-Dharwad-Hebsur-Annigeri Road into a national highway would also be clubbed with that function, which is likely to be organised next month, after December 18. If the prime minister cannot come, a Union minister would be invited, he said.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, around 23,000 LPG kits have been distributed so far in the district, he said.
When asked about Union minister Anantkumar Hegde's controversial statement about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he stated that all should maintain decency, irrespective of their political affiliation.
Compensation
On behalf of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Mr Joshi handed over Rs 12.82 compensation cheque to daughters of Prabhu Betadur and Ratna Betadur who were killed in LPG cylinder blast at Kamadolli in Kudgol taluk last year.
19/11/17 Deccan Herald

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