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

Friday, November 30, 2018

Get ready to fly abroad from Hubballi airport

Hubballi: Private airlines such as IndiGo may soon start connecting flight service to facilitate people to travel to international destinations from Hubballi airport.
IndiGo, which is operating daily flights to Bengaluru, Cochin, Ahmedabad and Chennai from Hubballi, has decided to operate ‘connecting flight’ service to international destinations from December 1.

After the airport was developed to international standards at a cost of Rs 130 crore, the city was chosen under the regional connectivity scheme, Udan, one of the flagship projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At present, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India are operating direct flights to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Mumbai, Kochi, and Mangaluru from Hubballi airport, thereby increasing the number of fliers from the city.

Currently there are no direct flights to any international destination from Hubballi. IndiGo is planning to provide connectivity to Abu Dabi, Kuwait, Doha, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other international destinations from Hubballi for the convenience of fliers.

Reliable sources from IndiGo confirmed that the airline will start connecting flights to international destinations from December 1 from Hubballi. Indigo will offer three connecting flights to Bangkok and Singapore via Chennai every day except Sunday, three flights to Dubai via Ahmedabad on every Sunday, five flights to Hong Kong via Bengaluru and four flights to Male via Cochin.

Six flights to Singapore via Bengaluru will also be run out of which three will be operated every day of the week except Sunday, while three flights will operate on Sundays.

Of the six flights to Abu Dhabi via Cochin, three will operate on every Tuesday and the other three will run on every day of the week except Tuesday. The three flights to Colombo via Chennai will be run every day of the week except Wednesdays and Sundays, said sources.

30/11/18 Basavaraj Kattimani/Times of India

Air India launches late-night cheap flight to Ahmedabad

Bengaluru: After a gap of 11 years, government-run airline Air India on Friday launched its late night plane known as ‘Red Eye’ flight. The first of the three routes planned for Friday will originate from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) and will run on the Bengaluru-Ahmedabad route, making Air India the only airline to run late flights on this sector.

This is sweet news for passengers as the fare on the A320 Airbus at night will be priced at just one-third of Air India’s day flights and will run throughout the week. ‘Red Eye’ flights are so named due to the fatigue to one’s eyes caused due to lack of sleep during these hours.

Speaking to The New Indian Express from New Delhi, a senior airline official said, “It is the first time we are going back to Red Eye flights after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines (in March 2007).”
The massive slash in fare is the biggest plus for passengers. “For us, the parking charges we pay for every hour when the flight is left idle at the airport will go down substantially,” he added.
30/11/18 New Indian Express

MP warns of mounting political pressure on AAI for international flights

Surat: Navsari BJP MP CR Paatil has warned that he would mount political pressure on the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and India’s flagship carrier Air India Express asking them to start international flights from Surat.

Addressing the meeting of airport advisory committee, which he chairs, Paatil said that the required infrastructure for the international operations is almost ready and that the airport is awaiting deployment of the customs and immigration staff. There is the issue of the time slot between AAI and Air India Express, which is a trivial thing and can be sorted out, he claimed.

Talking to TOI, Paatil said, “The wait is getting longer and people are asking me about the international air connectivity. Now, it is time to bring political pressure to get things going on a fast pace. I want to assure that the international connectivity between Surat and Sharjah will be in place very soon.”

Paatil added, “The last domestic flight leaves the airport at 9:30pm and after that the airport is empty. The Surat-Sharjah flight could depart at 11:30 pm and the passengers could be accommodated at the terminal building.”

30/11/18 Times of India

More airlines to operate from Kannur airport

Kannur: If everything goes according to the plan, more airlines would start operations from the Kannur International Airport in the Gulf sector as well as domestic destinations, and the final nod is being awaited from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said KIAL managing director V Thulasidas.

“As of now, only Air India Express has got clearance and they would be operating in the Gulf sector, but operators including GoAir, Indigo and Spiecejet are in different stages of discussion and, they are likely to start operations very soon, subject to the clearance,” he said during an interaction with the media at the airport on Thursday. Apart from Abu Dhabi, the AI Express will have services to Doha, Sharjah and Riyadh, while the service to Muscat would also start soon.

GoAir has evinced interest to have service to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Muscat and Kuwait as also domestic destinations like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. While Indigo’s focus is on domestic sector and wants to have services to Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Hyderabad, Hubli and Thiruvananthapuram. If clearance is obtained, Go Air is likely to operate its first flight on December 9 itself, while Indigo will start services by the middle of January 2019, he said.

As per the present projection, there will be 12-13 services daily from Kannur airport by January, and in due course it would go up.

Though there were some issues associated with the services under the UDAN, the regional connectivity scheme of the central government, as it would not bring any revenue to the airport for the next three years. The central government has agreed for some relaxation, and a few airlines including Indigo are likely to have service under this scheme, he added.

30/11/18 P Sudhakaran/Times of India

Works in full swing to give final touches to Kannur airport

Mattannur: The deluxe interiors of the six-storey terminal of the Kannur international airport here are in the final phase of being spruced up as preparations for the take-off of the new airport on December 9 are in full swing.

Workers are giving finishing touches to the facilities at the stylishly luxurious terminal building and its facilities that include immigration, transit launch, international and domestic hold areas, baggage make-up and break-up facilities, departure halls, three big baggage retrieval belts, customs checking counters, viewers’ gallery, lifts and elevators, among others.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu will flag off the inaugural Air India Express flight to Abu Dhabi on December 9 morning, marking the inauguration and commissioning of the greenfield airport constructed as a private-public partnership project.

“The inauguration of the new airport is the fulfilment of the dream of the people in the region,” Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL) Managing Director V. Thulasidas said at a press conference at the airport terminal on Thursday.
It was inconceivable for many people that the new airport had been completed, he said. KIAL was committed to making this airport one of the best in the country, he added.
29/11/18 The Hindu

Domestic airlines increase flights from Nagpur

Nowadays more and more people are preferring air travel compared to other means of transport. This is evident as airlines operating from the city have increased the number of flights and have also introduced new destinations this year compared to previous year. “This year the number of flights on daily basis departing from Nagpur to various destinations in the country has increased to 36 flights as compared to 24 flights during the previous year which indicates healthy growth of air traffic,” said Jatinder Nakade, Past President of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Nagpur while speaking to The Hitavada.

For instance, the Nagpur-Delhi route there are 8 flights on a daily basis compared to 6 flights as compared to previous year. In addition, there are some special flights and some flights which depart on alternate days like Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Some airlines operate Nagpur to Delhi route on all days except Saturday. Another airline has flights on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Similarly, the Nagpur to Indore route has 2 flights daily compared to 1 flight which was in the year-ago period. The Nagpur to Kolkatta route is witnessing 3 flights daily compared to only 1 flight of last year. The number of flights on the Nagpur to Bangaluru route has gone up to 7 this year compared to 5 flights last year. The Nagpur to Hyderabad route has been started from this year and has 2 flights daily. Furthermore, flights from Nagpur to Chennai and Nagpur to Kochi route have started from this year with 1 flight daily each. The Nagpur to Allahabad route has 1 flight on alternate days like Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Nagpur to Pune route has seen no changes with only 3 flights on daily basis. Also, there has been no changes in the number of flights on Nagpur to Mumbai route which still remains constant with 8 flights daily, said Nakade who also operates Travel Links an air ticket booking and travel company.
30/11/18 Hitavada

Boost to Belagavi’s air connectivity

Belagavi: The Sambra airport will be shortly connected directly with several cities including the national capital thanks to different air service providers.
Recently, the airport was selected under the Udan scheme of the central government and many airlines are in the process of placing bids to operate flights from here.

MP Suresh Angadi told TOI that Indian Airlines is already running flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai from the city and several other airlines have finalized routes to Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Chennai, Shirdi, Pune, Goa and Tirupati from Belagavi.
Angadi said that he had received information from Usha Padhee, joint secretary of civil aviation ministry, that bidding for the above routes has been finalized by Indigo, Spice Jet and Star Airline. He added that Jet Airways and Air Asia are also interested in operating from Belagavi and the ministry was working on the new routes.
“Several airlines have evinced interest in providing air connectivity between Belagavi and many destinations after the airport was chosen in the Udan scheme. The have also considered Belagavi’s potential as it is already a hub for education, is popular for health tourism and industries,” Angadi said.
30/11/18 Ravinra Uppar/Times of India

Thursday, November 29, 2018

CISF offers expertise to international agencies in aviation security in Montreal

New Delhi:  CISF director general Rajesh Ranjan and additional director general MA Ganapathy attended the Global Aviation Security Symposium 2018 at Montreal, Canada on November 27-28 during which issues like use of new technology like CT based screening system for cabin baggage, artificial intelligence and biometric control access were discussed.

The points discussed in the second global aviation symposium organized by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are usually binding on the member countries, said sources.

CISF is already exploring the use of CT scanning technology for checking laptops inside the handbags. Currently, the technology is being examined at London's Heathrow airport.

In the two day symposium, the civil aviation security experts from various countries discussed the need of effective risk awareness, robust application of enhanced security measures in the wake of emerging threats and the need for establishment of a stronger aviation security oversight regime capacity building through training of human resources etc.

The aviation experts also deliberated upon the need for risk based approach to aviation security.
29/11/18 Neeraj Chouhan/Times of India

F&B outlet inaugurated at Dabolim airport

Vasco: The airport director Bhupesh Chand Hans Negi has disclosed that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has come out with a policy to appoint master concessionaire for retail; and food and beverages (F&B) for some few airports in India and in line with this policy the Goa International Airport had floated tenders to select the best in class agencies.

He was speaking to the pressmen at Dabolim airport on Tuesday during the inaugural ceremony of F and B.

There are about 36 outlets to be commissioned at Dabolim airport wherein the Travel Food Services, India’s leading Travel, Food and Retail Company had won the contract for the next four years in a heavily contested bid wherein the company has decided to revamp the dining facilities and raise them to the international standards.

The inaugural function was attended by the chairman of Travel Food Services Sunil Kapur, executive director (commercial) corporate headquarters AAI K L Sharma and other officials of the AAI.
29/11/18 Navhind Times

Can’t control dogs, how will you tackle terrorists: Gujarat HC asks AAI

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to get rid of the stray dog menace at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport with a chastising remark.
Refusing to direct the civic body to send its dog van every day or to permit the AAI to shoot stray dogs, acting Chief Justice Anant Dave commented, “With such a huge management when you cannot control stray dogs, what will you do when terrorists storm the premises?”

After a single-judge bench rejected the AAI’s petition earlier this year, it approached the division bench seeking directions to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), its Cattle Nuisance Control Department, the Animal Welfare Board of India and the central government, to keep dogs from straying on to the airstrip, which endangers flight operations.

AAI even cited instances when flights were delayed after dogs strayed into the operational area. It even proposed killing the canines, but the court was not inclined to grant permission for the it.
AAI first approached the high court in December last year and demanded that the AMC send a dog van either every day or on their call, to control the dog menace in order “to avoid human casualty” in the operational area. The airport authority complained that the AMC’s intervention was frequently requested and its officials even agreed during meetings, but no effective step was taken.
29/11/18 Times of India

UDAN doesn't soar for regional airlines, three out of four close to shutting down

UDAN, the government's regional connectivity scheme, may have led to the development of new airports and the introduction of flights to hitherto unconnected destinations. But three out of the four airlines that were hoping to make the most of the new scheme, are close to shutting down.
The fourth one, TruJet, has managed to fly an average of 50,000 passengers a month.

While Zoom Air has not flown a passenger since July, Air Deccan and Air Odisha have managed 3,000 and 1,000 passengers, respectively, in these four months. The numbers are published by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

On  November 23, Airports Authority of India cancelled licenses of Air Odisha on two routes, Chhattisgarh and Chennai; and one route - Maharashtra - of Air Deccan. "Poor performance" has been the reason for these cancellations.
Introduced in 2017, UDAN aims at making air travel affordable, and connecting India's smaller towns and cities. As part of it, many new airports, and those that were lying idle are being developed.

And to make airlines operate flights in these destinations and make up for any losses, the government provides a viability gap funding.

But even as the smaller airlines struggle, their bigger peers like SpiceJet, IndiGo and Air India (through its unit Alliance Air) have gradually scaled up their network in destinations covered by the UDAN scheme.
29/11/18 Prince Mathews Thomas/moneycontrol.com

Indian aviation minister reaches out with an apology on Twitter after mistreatment of a wheelchair-bound woman at the Mumbai airport went viral

On Tuesday, Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, offered an apology on Twitter to a wheelchair-bound woman whose tweet about being mistreated at Mumbai airport went viral.
The woman, Virali Modi, in a series of tweets, said that she had faced insensitive behaviour during security screening by airport personnel while checking in for a flight from Mumbai to London.

According to her tweet, she was repeatedly asked to get up from her wheelchair and even after she told the security official that she could not. Due to the insensitive behaviour, she also suffered a cramp as a woman security officer forcefully lifted her leg.
Modi, also a disability rights activist, called attention to more appropriate alternatives that are in use by other airports to help with such screenings.

“Every other international airport has chemical strips to check the wheelchair and shoes, a disabled passenger doesn’t need to get out of their wheelchair. So why in Mumbai’s International Airport?” she tweeted.

In his tweet, Sinha also asked the Central Industrial Security Force to look into the matter again.
The CISF had responded to the Twitter thread saying that it was just part of the mandatory pre-departure security check and that the staff was polite to her.
29/11/18 Business Insider

IndiGo to commence services on Bhopal-Hyderabad route from January

New Delhi: Budget airline IndiGo on Wednesday said that it will introduce daily non-stop flights between Bhopal-Hyderabad and Jabalpur-Hyderabad from January 2019. "The airline is introducing daily non-stop flights between Bhopal-Hyderabad and Jabalpur-Hyderabad. In Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal and Jabalpur will be the 2nd and 3rd cities IndiGo will be flying to, after Indore," the airline said in a statement. "Additionally, the airline will also operate its 4th daily return flight between Hyderabad-Tirupati. All new services will commence effective January 2019."
29/11/18 IANS/Sify

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

AAI to pick 51% stake in Dholera International Airport

Construction of the much-awaited Dholera International Airport (DIAC) is likely to begin early next year with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) approving a decision earlier this month to take a 51% stake in the project. AAI will be inducted on the board of DIAC at the latter’s upcoming board meeting in December, Jai Prakash Shivahare, MD, Dholera Industrial City Development, told FE. While AAI will hold 51%, the Gujarat government will hold 33% and the central government, through the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC), will hold a 16% stake in DIAC.
Construction of the first phase of the airport is expected to cost roughly Rs 2,000 crore.

The airport will have a runway of 3,000 metres, a terminal building and other peripheral facilities, Shivahare said, adding that the construction is expected to begin sometime in Q1FY20. The first phase will be built to cater to a capacity of 1.1-5.5 million passengers annually which DIAC expects to reach in 2029. Shivahare said depending on the growth in passenger traffic, DIAC will build a second runway of 4,000 metres in the second phase, designed to cater to 6.5-12.5 million passengers annually, till 2035. The third phase of expansion will accommodate 13.8-25.8 million passengers annually, designed to last till 2044.

AAI is yet to decide on whether construction of the airport will be bid out via a PPP model or for a cash contract.
28/11/18 Rouhan Sharma/Financial Express

Mopa airport: 14 Dhangar families to get 2 BHK houses

Panaji: Fourteen Dhangar families in Mopa, who have been displaced with their land taken for Mopa International Airport, will get possession of 2 BHK houses built for them in Casavarnem village in North Goa. An official said each dwelling unit also has a cow shed attached.
An official said the rehabilitation project for 14 project-affected families of Mopa International Airport is scheduled for Wednesday. “This must be the first instance in the state where affected parties have been rehabilitated with such promptness,” he said.

A community hall has been built as part of the project where those rehabilitated can organise their programmes or activities.

The Dhangar community, totalling around 20,000 persons, are predominantly found in Sanguem, Dharbandora, Sattari, Quepem and Bicholim talukas.

The community is still fighting for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and is one of the most marginalised communities in the state. It is engaged in dairy farming and farming. Most are involved in goat farming as the Dhangar community reside in hilly areas of the state.
28/11/18 Times of India

GMR,GVK, Reliance and four other bidders shortlisted for Bhogapuram airport

Seven bidders, including GMR Group, GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd and Essel Infraprojects Ltd have been shortlisted for Bhogapuram Airport in Andhra Pradesh, sources told Moneycontrol.

The shortlisted bidders are Reliance Infrastructure (Reliance Airport Developers Pvt Ltd), GMR Group, GVK Power & Infra Ltd, Essel Infraprojects Ltd, Doit Urban Infranetwork Ltd, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Fairfax India Holdings.

“They have been given three months’ time to submit final request for proposals (RFP) for the greenfield airport,” said people aware of the development.

The bidders have been selected after receiving approval for their request for qualification (RFQ).
Sources said that Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been barred from participating in the bidding process. In June this year, the Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Ltd (APADCL) had issued fresh tender barring all government agencies to participate in the bidding process.

Emails sent by Moneycontrol to all the shortlisted bidders didn’t elicit any response.

Bhogapuram International Airport will be constructed at Bhogapuram, near Vishakhapatnam in AP. It will be built at an approximate cost of Rs 42.1 billion. The government had given 'in-principle' approval to Bhogapuram International Airport Corporation Limited (BIACL) for the establishment of the airport in Oct-2016. It is expected to handle more than 18 crore passengers at a time.

The government has set two years’ time to complete the project. Starting next year, the project should be complete by December 2020.
27/11/18 Nikita Vashisht/moneycontrol.com

Security tightened after threat to blow up Shirdi Airport

Ahmednagar: Security officials were on their toes after a letter threatening to blow up the Shirdi Airport was received, a top official said on Wednesday.
"We received a letter two days ago warning that a bomb had been planted in the airport premises. Thereafter, we alerted the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and other agencies," Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Kakani told IANS.
Simultaneously, a detailed search of the entire airport was carried out by security agencies, but nothing suspicious has been found, indicating it was a hoax threat, he added.
However, Kakani said the airport administration is not taking any chances and the threat, though false, had been taken as an opportunity to review and strengthen all security measures at Shirdi Airport and the vicinity.
Meanwhile, the local police on Wednesday registered a case against some unknown persons and are investigating the origin of the threat letter.
28/11/18 IANS/ZeeNews

Chinese tourist stopped at airport due to clerical error by KGMU

Lucknow: An elderly Chinese tourist was stopped by authorities before boarding flight to her country at Delhi airport. The authorities claimed that tourist visa of 69-year-old Chen Mei Ching has expired.

However, the woman claimed that she suffered a major injury in her leg while visiting Lucknow. She had to undergo treatment at the city's King George's Medical University (KGMU) due to which she could not leave the country on time.

On checking her medical prescription and other documents, the airport official spotted a major clerical error on the part of hospital staff. The hospital slip mentions her name as 'Chai My Chin' instead of 'Chen Mei Ching'.

The woman was later handed over to the embassy officials for further investigation.
The embassy officials have sought further clarification from the KGMU hospital
28/11/18 Navbharat Times/Times of India

SpiceJet gives AAI additional Rs 20 crore bank guarantee after getting notice for mounting dues

New Delhi: SpiceJet on Wednesday gave an additional bank guarantee of Rs 20 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) after getting a notice from the state-run airport operator with the low cost carrier's dues exceeding its bank guarantee. AAI had issued the notice when SpiceJet dues rose to Rs 117 crore while its bank guarantee was for Rs 104 crore.
"We have deposited an additional bank guarantee of Rs 20 crore to AAI (on Wednesday). This is over and above the Rs 104 crore bank guarantee already with AAI," said a SpiceJet official. An airline spokesman said: "Payments to AAI and other vendors are being made as per schedule by SpiceJet. We remain firmly committed to all our obligations."
Due to high aviation turbine fuel prices and the fall of the rupee, all Indian carriers are under severe financial stress with two big players - Air India and Jet Airways - struggling to stay afloat.
SpiceJet had reported a loss of Rs 389.4 crore in the July-September, 2018, period versus a profit of Rs 105.3 crore in same quarter last fiscal. This was the airline's second straight quarterly loss after 13 profitable quarters in a row.
28/11/18 Times of India

Leaving Goa? Soon, drown your sorrow with soro at airport

Panaji: Tourists looking to lift up their ‘spirits’ at the end of a holiday in Goa may soon be able to satiate their thirst with Airport Authority of India (AAI) confirming plans to serve alcohol at Goa International Airport. Officials on Tuesday confirmed that permission had been sought for two outlets to serve alcohol within the airport terminal.

Airport director Bhupesh Negi said the move was part of an effort to revamp the passenger experience at Goa’s lone airport by bringing it on par with international standards.

“Five food stalls have been launched already and by December-end all the food and beverage outlets will be operational,” Negi said. “Low cost food for taxi operators and airline staff members will also be opened outside the airport terminal.”

AAI will receive Rs 4 crore per month as the concession fee from the travel, food and retail company that has been awarded the contract for revamping the dining facilities at the airport.

“An application to serve alcohol has been made to the local excise department. AAI will go as per the local regulations of the state, which will decide what kind of excise licence can be given to an airport,” executive director, commercial, at AAI headquarters, K L Sharma said.
28/11/18 Newton Sequeira/Times of India

Charges soon for vehicles for pick-ups from airport

Pune: Vehicles entering the Pune airport to pick up passengers may soon have to pay some charges.
Pune airport director Ajay Kumar has said a new parking policy was being drafted for airports across the country managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
“As part of the policy, vehicles entering the arrival area of an airport to pick up passengers will be charged a fee. The Pune airport had, in the past, a system to charge vehicles entering the premises to drop passengers and remaining parked for more than 7 minutes. The system was, however, scrapped,” Kumar said.
Sources at the airport said while people reaching the facility have to park their vehicles in the two dedicated slots, the plan is now to charge them if they drive into the premises and stayed there for some time.
28/11/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

Passenger traffic increases at Chennai airport

Chennai: After a sluggish phase, the city airport is witnessing robust passenger traffic growth as statistics show that there has been a 15% increase in the number of passengers from April to September this year when compared to the corresponding period last year. The growth rate was sluggish last year.
However, the growth rate for the same time period has doubled in Bengaluru.
The figures showed that Chennai airport handled 83,26,307 domestic passengers and 30,04,920 international passengers from April to September this year.
A senior official of AAI said the growth rate of domestic passengers was faster than that of international passengers. The airport handled 17.5% more domestic passengers when compared to last year, while number of international passengers grew by only 9.6%.
The increase in domestic passengers could be attributed to an increase in the number of flights to small towns and also flights being operated late at night to metros and small cities to tap the increase in demand. The airport sees around 30 night flights to domestic destinations even when the numbers were not this high last year.
28/11/18 Times of India

Airport Authority of India agrees to build Cargo terminal at Kanpur Airport

New Delhi: After successful operation of the passenger services, Kanpur Airport has got another success. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has given its theoretical consent to make a cargo terminal at the Airport. According to the Jameel Khalique Director Kanpur airport, the goods can be sent up to 10 tonnes from this port. Loading-unloading of goods is expected to start from next financial year.

Under the UDAN scheme, the operation of the Kanpur-Delhi flight started in July this year. After this, the private airlines are providing direct services to Mumbai and Kolkata. There are a lot of business opportunities will be created after the start of the cargo service in view of tremendous potential in the field of trade and industry. In view of import-export data from Kanpur, it was decided to build a cargo terminal at the Kanpur Airport. The good response from the industry will start when the cargo service starts. After this the proposal was made and sent to the Airports Authority of India.

According to Jameel Khalique, the proposal has been approved by the Airport Authority of India (AAI). To implement the project a separate proposal will be sent to AAI for cargo terminal. It is not possible to start cargo services in the existing passenger terminal. To operate the cargo terminal at the airport, all staffs will be called from the Lucknow. Thereafter any airline running cargo service will be able to use this terminal for cargo services.
28/11/18 ya Shah/SurUrban Transport News

Pay Rs 20 crore by November 30, Airports Authority of India to SpiceJet on dues

Mumbai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has served a notice to Ajay Singh-controlled budget carrier SpiceJet asking it to pay Rs 20 crore by November 30 to partially clear its dues, an AAI source said.
The authority claims the airline's dues have crossed the 80 per cent threshold of its security deposit.
As per the AAI norms, all the carriers are supposed to keep their dues within 80 per cent of their security deposit with the state-run aerodrome operator.
SpiceJet's outstanding towards landing, parking and route navigation charges currently stands at Rs 117 crore, against its security deposit of Rs 104 crore, the source said.
"We have sent a notice to SpiceJet yesterday (Tuesday) to pay Rs 20 crore by November 30 to bring down their dues at par with the 80 per cent threshold of the security deposit," the source said.
When contacted, a SpiceJet spokesperson said that payments to AAI and other vendors are being made by the airline as per the schedule.
"We remain firmly committed to all our obligations," the spokesperson said.
In a regulatory filing, the airline reiterated its comments saying, "...it is making its payments as per stipulated timelines and we stand committed to all our contractual obligations."
28/11/18 PTI/Economic Times

CISF person treats wheelchair user insensitively at Mumbai airport

A Mumbai resident was recently at the receiving end of insensitive treatment by airport security personnel.
Virali Modi, who is a beauty pageant winner, model, aspiring actor, and disability rights activist, lost the use of her legs in 2006 after a bout of malaria and is a wheelchair user. She says she reached Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for her flight to London, en route to Kansas city, around 11.30 p.m. on November 26, well ahead of her flight.
At check-in, Jet Airways assigned her an attendant, the normal practice for persons with disability. The attendant took her to the security check around 12:15 a.m. on November 27, Ms. Modi told The Hindu in a private message; “He also asked a J.K. Meena, from CISF [Central Industrial Security Force, which handles security at Indian airports] to come along to verify that my wheelchair has been scanned.” There, she was lifted into another wheelchair while her personal wheelchair was scanned. After this, back in her own chair, she was wheeled in for her security check, around 12:30 a.m., with the CISF officer still with them. “Mr. Meena told the lady CISF person that the scanning of the chair had been done and that I am not able to stand.” That was when things got troublesome.
The porter took her into the curtained booth. “[The CISF person] was wearing a mask,” Ms. Modi says, “I couldn’t see her name tag. She had the audacity to ask me ‘Did you also go into the scanner with the wheelchair?’ Her tone was rude and a bit aggressive. I said ‘No.’ She then tells me that I have to stand so she can properly pat me down. I told her that I couldn’t. She kept saying, Aapko khada hona hi padega otherwise mein aapka checking kaise karongi? [You must stand, otherwise how can I check you?]’ I told her that I travel quite often, and no one has ever asked me to stand. She then goes to say, Mein aapko khada karongi. [I will stand you up.] I again said no repeatedly. She says, Aapko humare par bharosa nahi hai? [Do you not trust me?] I said, Trust ki baat nahi hai. Mere ghutne mein strength hi nahi hai to stand. Aap khada karoge aur mein giri toh aap responsibility loge? [It’s not about trust. I don’t have the strength in my knees to stand. If you make me stand and I fall, will you take responsibility?]’ I think this pissed her off even more.”

The security person then began the pat-down, and while doing so, forced Ms. Modi’s legs upwards so that she could check the backs of her thighs. Ms. Modi says she had had been sitting continuously since 8 p.m. that night, unable to stretch, so her legs were already cramping. The rough treatment sent her leg into a spasm, causing her pain. “As soon as I get out of the security check, I told the porter what had happened and that I want to make a complaint, around 12:45 a.m.. He looks around for the head of security, and tells me that he can’t find anyone and tells me to let it go.”

Ms. Modi’s flight began boarding around 1.30 a.m., she says, which left her little time to lodge a formal complaint.
28/11/18 Peter Griffin/The Hindu

Poor visibility in the city delays 12 flights

Mohali: As many as 12 incoming flights were delayed due to poor visibility on Tuesday.
With the Chandigarh International Airport yet to be equipped with advanced instrument landing system, the airline operators fear they may lose business this winter, too, as passengers will opt for other means of transport to avoid flight delays and cancellations.
Bad weather threw flight operations into disarray at Srinagar and Kullu, too. An Indigo flight, which was scheduled to take off from Srinagar airport at 9:30am, departed at 11.57am. This delayed its arrival at Chandigarh.

A Kulu-Chandigarh flight of Air India subsidiary Alliance Air was 34 minutes behind schedule. An Air India flight from Delhi arrived 46 minutes late, Air Asia Bengaluru flight got delayed by over an hour and others by 15 to 35 minutes.
28/11/18 Times of India

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Tender process begins for biometric boarding at four Indian airports

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has issued the first requests for proposals (RFPs) for four airports to deploy the Digi Yatra system to enable passengers to board flights with facial recognition, the Financial Express reports.

The government-run Varanasi, Pune, Kolkata and Vijayawada airports have been chosen for the system’s initial roll-out, with companies invited to develop the logistics and implement the system. The Financial Express reports that an AAI official said the roll-out is expected to be finished by April 30, 2019. Private airports in Hyderabad and Bengaluru are also expected to implement Digi Yatra for biometric boarding, perhaps as soon as January, and previous reports indicate those deployments would be used to test the system.

The Indian government is planning to deploy kiosks in strategic locations to enable Digi Yatra enrollment, which can be completed either with or without using Aadhaar as a means of identity verification. Digi Yatra is expected to reduce waiting times and overall costs, and does not impose additional cost on the traveler.
26/11/18 Biometric Update

Govt to offer 50-year lease to privatise six airports

New Delhi: The government is targeting to complete the privatisation of six airports — Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru — by February 28 by awarding a 50-year lease, indicating that the reforms appetite remains strong, despite general elections in less than six months.

A committee of officials headed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has recommended that the turnover and net worth of the bidders be the key criteria and the field be opened for each bidder to vie for all six airports, sources told TOI. With a three-month window available, the civil aviation ministry has been asked to kick off pre-bid consultations, with final bids to be invited by February 14.

Unlike Delhi and Mumbai, where Airports Authority of India was a joint venture partner for GMR and GVK, this time the panel has decided to allow 100% private participation for operation, development and management. A foreign investor can also be the sole developer.

To make it attractive for prospective bidders, entire non-air side development for commercial purposes, such as building hotels or malls, will be allowed, said sources. This is seen to be crucial in making the project viable.
27/11/18 Saurabh Sinha and Sidhartha/Times of India

Anti-hijack mock drill at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: A mock anti-hijacking drill was conducted on Monday at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here wherein the response time of various agencies involved in the exercise was checked, airport sources said.

The nearly hour-long exercise was conducted by creating a situation akin to a plane hijack.

“The drill was successfully conducted without causing any inconvenience to airport operations. Measures taken during any eventuality of hijacking were deliberated in a subsequent meeting,” the sources said.

Later in the day, the Aerodrome Committee and Airfield Environment Management Committee (AEMC) met and discussed issues such as waste disposal and drainage systems, presence of open meat shops around the vicinity of the airport, identifying these as they are the primary cause of attracting birds around the airport.

Airport Director Atul Dikshit requested the officials concerned to maintain a suitable garbage disposal mechanism as well as proper cleaning of the drainage system in the localities surrounding Kolkata Airport to avoid any bird hit.
26/11/18 IANS/Newsd

Air Traffic Control tower installed at Bokaro Airport

Bokaro: Bokaro airport is witnessing several activities for expanding its capacity under the Government of India’s flagship scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik).

The Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower has been recently installed and now it is technically ready, said an official adding, “But a lot of works including airstrip and infrastructure development is yet to start.” With the investment of Rs 8 crore this ATC tower has been installed by AAI. The advantage of this tower is that it is a mobile tower, can be moved at any locations while its height is also adjustable according to the requirements, said the official.

The other developmental and infrastructure development work is hindered only due to the apathetic attitude of Forest Department officials, said an official on anonymity.

At least 6000 trees will be axed while over 1000 tree would be transplanted for the expansion and development of the Bokaro airport. About 1000 trees which girth (radios) is less than 7 inches would be transplanted at some other place and it does not need any kind of permission (for the transplantation), said a forest official.

Despite getting the nod to fell the trees, district forest officials yet to decide where to keep the felled trees and the work is hindered since past120 days, he said.

The cutting of the trees has been done in two-phase, in the first phase, 4000 trees would be axed, informed an official. But the district administration and Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) authority other related departments will have to plant five trees for every tree would be felled, an official said.
27/11/18 Pioneer

Skydiving aero sports begins at Narnaul's Bachhod Airstrip

Chandigarh: In a bid to promote adventure tourism in the State, Haryana Government has initiated skydiving aero sports at Bachhod Airstrip in Narnaul.

“The Narnaul Aerodrome has the potential to be developed as an ideal adventure tourism destination and will put India on the world map for extreme adventure sports,” said a spokesman of the Civil Aviation Department.

He said that Pioneer Flying Academy Private Limited has been authorized by the Department to conduct skydiving activities at Bachhod aerodrome situated off Delhi-Jaipur highway about 153 kms from Delhi. The Pioneer Flying Academy would offer tandem skydiving and static line jumps using Cessna 172 aircraft, he said. The spokesman further said that skydiving is the sport of jumping from an aircraft and performing acrobatic manoeuvres in the air under free fail before landing with the help of a parachute.
27/11/18 Pioneer

Monday, November 26, 2018

Jeypore airstrip work delay irks civil aviation dept jt secy

Koraput: Joint secretary at the ministry of civil aviation, Usha Padhee, inspected the ongoing expansion of the Jeypore airstrip on Sunday and expressed displeasure over the delay in completion of the work.

"The expansion work was going on at a good pace but it has been delayed for some reason. I have asked the concerned officials to complete the work within the next 15 days," Padhee said. "The process to obtain a licence from the director-general of civil aviation will begin after that," she added.

Under the expansion project, the 60-year-old airstrip will see the runway widened from the existing 15 meters to 23 metres. Officials of the local public works department said a parking area, a boundary wall and a new terminal had been completed but some minor works needed to be finished.

Meanwhile, the cancellation of the Udan (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) licence of low-cost carrier Air Odisha by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has cast a shadow over the Jeypore airstrip, which is also part of the Centre's regional air connectivity scheme.
26/11/18 Satyanarayan Pattnaik/Times of India

Indigo handymen stir at Chennai airport delays passengers’ baggage claim

Chennai: As a fall-out of protests staged by Indigo Airlines’ handymen demanding pay hike, passengers of certain flights have found their baggage claim delayed at the Chennai airport over the last few days.

It is learnt that in some cases passengers have had to wait for up to half an hour to claim their check-in baggage because of lack of personnel.

“Many workers haven’t been showing up at work and so there is delay in processes,” said a handyman at the domestic terminal, claiming that this has been prompted by the management’s refusal to consider their representations.

Handymen for Indigo at the Chennai airport receive only Rs 10,500 every month while their counterparts in Bengaluru receive more than Rs 13,000 every month for performing similar responsibilities.

The handymen took to protest as the airlines is re-assigning the handymen contract to Agile Airport Services.

“Initially we were told we would lose our jobs but the new company is taking us in,” said the worker, explaining that low wages continue to remain an issue.

While an airport official said the delay caused for a flight which landed on Sunday morning was due to an “increased number of wheelchair passengers”, Indigo Airlines has not responded to a mail highlighting the issue.
26/11/18 New Indian Express

BCAS allows testing of handbag scanners where laptops, liquids need not be taken out at Delhi, Mumbai & Hyderabad airports

New Delhi: India will soon join the select list of countries like US, UK and Netherlands to test handbag scanners based on a new technology that does not require passengers to take out laptops and small bottles of liquid for being checked separately. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on Monday gave the go-ahead do a pilot project on this 3D-based computed tomography (CT) scanner at Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad airports. This technology has already been tested at international hubs like New York JFK, London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol.

BCAS DG Kumar Rajesh Chandra: “We have granted permission to Hyderabad airport (to test this technology). We have also granted permission on the basis of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) request (for the same).” CISF had sought BCAS nod to do a trial of this machine at security hold area at Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Comments from the three airports were sought to know when do they plan to conduct the same. The state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) had recently told TOI that it had been approached by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of this system for testing the same at airports here. “One of the OEM of CT checkpoint X-ray scanner has expressed their willingness to install CT X-Ray baggage scanner (as a) pilot project.… Based on pilot studies, BCAS will come out with the technical specification and other modalities of operation of CT checkpoint scanner, at Indian airports,” a senior AAI official had said a couple of months back.

Once tested and approved by BCAS, the machine could then be installed by airports in India too. Given the acute airport infra crunch in India, the use of technology to speed up passenger throughput is becoming vital. None of our cities added airport capacity, like augmenting existing airports or build secondary ones where required, as air traffic exploded in last few years. As a result, our airports like the busiest ones at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore are bursting at seems.
26/11/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Gaya the gateway to India’s Buddhist trail

Gaya: The rich spiritual heritage and cultural traditions of India make it appealing to visitors from Southeast Asia, though many of the new tourists from SEA are not your typical sightseeing holidaymakers.
During the pilgrimage season, from November to April, outside the rainy monsoon season, as many as 11 airlines operate scheduled and charter flights into Gaya, including Air India from Yangon, Bhutan Airlines and Drukair from Paro and Bangkok, Jetstar Pacific from Hanoi, Myanmar Airways from Yangon, Sri Lankan Airlines from Colombo, and Vietnam Airlines from Ho Chi Minh city. Recently Thai Vietjet Air commenced flights from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport along with Thai Smile, and from early December Thai AirAsia will fly from Bangkok’s Don Mueang to Gaya. This week Bhutan Airlines announced itwill fly to Gaya twice a week from Bangkok until the end of February.

Bodhgaya has the first ever Thai temple in India. When AirAsia announced its new direct flight four times a week from Bangkok, it was promoted as a gift to Buddhist pilgrims, with it being ‘sure to bring great merit to their longstanding faith’.

The growth of Gaya’s airport is mainly due to SEA Buddhist pilgrims, a Gaya-based taxi driver tells me. The irony is that Gaya has more flights during the season from other parts of Asia than it does from within India.
While half the ASEAN countries have direct flights to India, most of the flights each week come from the main aviation hubs of Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Cambodia and Laos signed agreements three years to open direct flights to India, but these have yet to materialise.
Gaya airport has only one domestic flight a day to the capital Delhi, with several services a week to Varanasi and Kolkata. The next nearest airport is the Bihar state capital of Patna.
26/11/18 TTR Weekly

AIE gears up to capitalise on Kannur airport opening

Thiruvananthapuram: Armed with a net profit for the third consecutive year, Air India Express (AIE), the low-cost arm of the national carrier, is gearing up to capitalise on the opening of the Kannur international airport.

AIE, which had created history by landing the first test flight at the fourth international airport of the State using a Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft, has been given the privilege to operate the first commercial flight from Kannur to Abu Dhabi on December 9 soon after the formal commissioning of the airport.

“The maiden flight from Kannur was sold out within one hour after the bookings commenced. It is nothing short of a miracle,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AIE, headquartered in Kochi, K. Shyam Sundar told The Hindu.

The airline has been granted slots to operate to and from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Doha in Oman to the Kannur airport. “The record response from the flyers was a surprise to us. It shows there is a clear pocket of people to fly out from Kannur. We will be stationing one aircraft in Kannur,” he said.
25/11/18 S. Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Soon, fog won’t hit flight operations at Patna airport

Patna: Foggy mornings won’t affect flight operations at Patna’s Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport. “We have installed additional approach lights that will allow the flights to land even when the visibility is of 1,000m,” airport director Rajender Singh Lahauria tells Faryal Rumi in an interview. Excerpts:

What is the status of Patna airport terminal building expansion project?

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started surveying the area on which the extended terminal building has to come up. The expansion work is likely to begin in January and take 42 months to be completed. The construction of a multi-level car parking lot will also begin in a month.

Flight operations are hit due to fog in the winter and, as a result, flyers have to suffer. The airport also gets overcrowded...

The security hold area has recently been extended on the first floor of terminal building and a temporary fabricated portable cabin created near the apron side. Together they can hold passengers of three aircraft. The airport now also has a fifth boarding gate. By December, we will extend the existing security hold area towards east. Once completed, it would accommodate 250 more passengers. We will soon have two more boarding gates.

What about the installation of additional approach lights, which can reduce the minimum visibility requirement from 1,200m to 1,000m?

The approach lights have been extended from 210m to 420m ahead of the runway and we are waiting for the Director General of Civil Aviation’s approval for its commissioning. Once it is commissioned by December 15, the visibility criterion would be reduced to 1,000m.

What has been the response to flight operations in night?

As of now, two daily flights take off from Patna in night for Kolkata and Bengaluru, and they remain almost full.
25/11/18 Times of India

Jammu Airport take off Still a dream

Airport of any city is the economic engine of the city as well as state but it seems that our special state of J&K does not understand this simple principle otherwise Jammu’s Civil Airport would not have been neglected by successive State Governments decade after decade.
It has daily footfall of approximately 4000 passengers with on an average 20 daily flights, first incoming at 8.45 am, first outgoing at 9.10 am whereas last incoming at 3.40 pm and outgoing at 4.10 pm despite having both CAT 1 ILS (Instrument Landing System) and ALS (Approach Light System) system installed at Jammu Airport which makes even night landing feasible but the official apathy is the only hindrance to avail these facilities. It’s very interesting that for India this airport is very strategic as such it comes under the control of both Civil Aviation through Airport Authority of India (AAI) as well as Defence Ministry and here lies the problem as Jammu Air force till date has not given permission to operate any flight after 4.30 pm from this airport as ATC is being operated by them only. It is not hard to understand the plight of a common man, be it a student or professional or for that matter a patient who cannot avail the late night flight facilities despite having the infrastructure worth crores in place. Fact is there is no direct flight with any metro city except Delhi and harrowing experience of changing terminals midnight for patients and females is itself a herculean task. But who cares?
Another bottleneck has been the length of the runway which at present is 6700ft against a minimum of 8000ft. The case was taken up by the earlier NDA Government in the year 2000 and after much delay and hindrances finally army vacated the additional land. Work on the extended runway is going on at war footing and is expected to be completed by March 2020 though it can have been completed 6 months earlier but the ILS installed on the extended runway right now which assists landing during fog/ smog cannot be moved as with winter approaching it is not worth risk to remove ILS as such AAI has no option but to wait till March 2019 when weather improves and remaining work will be undertaken without disturbing flights. Right now base of runway, water channel work, digging and boundary wall construction are in full swing. Importance of this extension can be gauged from the fact that every incoming aircraft has to apply emergency brakes during landing which can lead to tyre burst or overshooting of runway as such every landing is full of risks right now. Moreover due to short runway and application of emergency brakes every aircraft has to carry reduced payload of 60-62 tonnes only against full load capacity of 72 tonnes which effectively means less passengers resultant escalation of air fare as it is one of the highest in its segment and this steep air fare is in fact deterrent to popularity of air travel and result is though there was an increase of 25 percent in air passengers in 2017-18, this year has recorded a fall of 6 percent with many airlines withdrawing their flights. Reasons are multiple not hard to analyze but solutions are also there not much difficult to implement. With almost One crore pilgrims coming to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine every year AAI has taken the modernization of Jammu Airport seriously and recent upgradation of facilities are testimony to this. Terminal building has been expanded thereby doubling the passenger area and handling capacity, SHA big enough to handle 7-8 flights per hour with five boarding gates, 20 numbers of check in counters with additional 5 numbers of self – check-in kiosks, 3 Aerobridges at par with best airports of India at a cost of 10 crores , construction of additional link taxi track for convenience and reduction in aircraft manoeuvre time, rain water harvesting , retreatment of water , LED lights , modern facilities like escalators, separate childcare space to name a few.
25/11/18  Rajan Gandhi/Daily Excelsior

Airport parking bay a graveyard of junked planes

Chennai: The city airport is struggling to make space in its parking bays, not because it is a busy location, but because abandoned planes have been taking up most of the space for years. The airport is saddled with 13 abandoned planes — nine belonging to Kingfisher and four to NEPC Airlines.

A senior official of Airports Authority of India said while NEPC’s planes were parked in a corner the Kingfisher planes are on a paved portion of a parking bay between second runway and main runway which could be improved and used for parking new planes.

The airport at present has alloted a remote parking area away from the terminal for night parking and also for boarding and disembarking passengers, as parking space is inadequate near the terminals. The airport has around 80 parking bays. “The airport has become like a graveyard of planes. No one wants to take up responsibility to remove them. The planes do not have engines and other parts and is worth only a few lakhs that too because of the aluminium shell,” said an official. He also said the space occupied by the Kingfisher planes could be put to use. “We do not have that kind of a demand for parking space at the remote area. We need space near the terminals so that boarding and disembarking of passengers will be quicker,” he added.

There was an opportunity to remove the planes of Kingfisher airlines when the lessors wanted to take it but AAI blocked the attempt because the airline had outstanding dues to the tune of Rs300 crore. The amount is still pending but neither the lessor nor the banks are coming forward to remove the planes.
25/11/18 Times of India

Kolhapur airport likely to get licence back next week

Kolhapur: The licence of the Kolhapur airport, which had been suspended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after some objections were raised, is likely to be reinstated by next week, said Samir Seth, an airport advisory committee member, on Saturday.
He added that there were a few objections that had been raised by the DGCA earlier last month regarding the runway, air-traffic control and some obstructions in the area.

The prescribed norms have now been complied with and it is likely that the licence will be reinstated in the coming week.

Seth also said that after cancelling the Air Deccan service on the Kolhapur-Mumbai route, the same route will be now be available for other airlines. “As per our preliminary knowledge, Alliance air, Air Indigo and SpiceJet are likely to operate the flights on that route. We have suggested other routes to the airlines as well. The other routes like Kolhapur-Goa, Kolhapur-Ahmedabad are on the list. These will need confirmation from the airlines first, as they will do the survey and other formalities for the same,” he said.
25/11/18 Times of India

Birds big or small. Kannur Airport awaits them all

Kannur: Whatever be the size of the aircraft, Kannur International Airport is equipped to handle them. The ground handling facility at Kannur airport is something that matches the facilities at any world-class airport. Two imported high loaders (a type of equipment used to load baggage into wide-body aircraft) have already reached the airport and are ready for operation.

“Our experienced employees are prepared to start operations any time,’’ said Muralee Manohar, station manager, Celebi Airport Services, one of the two ground handling partners of Kannur airport. The other ground handling partner is Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL).

Ground handling plays a crucial role in airport operations. An airline company starts its service from the airport only after verifying the facilities there. Better ground handling facilities attract more major global airlines, enhance the reputation of the airport and improve its efficiency.

Ground handling operations include passenger handling right from check-in, baggage loading and offloading, and all other preparatory operations in connection with aircraft departure and arrival.
25/11/18 New Indian Express

Kannur Airport: Kerala feeling buoyant

Thiruvananthapuram: Out of the seven international airports that registered profit in the country in the last fiscal, three were from Kerala which has the highest number of international airports. And the state is set to add another feather to its cap with the opening of its fourth international airport – Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL), by the second week of December. Further, with another international airport in the pipeline at Sabarimala and over half-a-dozen airstrip projects on the anvil, the state is all poised to scale new heights in the aviation trajectory.
But the sector requires projects with far-sighted vision and investment to aid the growth or sustain the momentum especially in the backdrop of the turbulence in the Middle East economy, which is the mainstay of the state. The oil-based economy of the Middle East countries has a major role in fuelling the state’s economy in general and the aviation sector in particular. But this too is being subjected to rapid changes and if the present trends are any indication, domestic pax will overshadow the international pax volume shortly.
Though Kerala has long been a favourite destination of international airlines and the growth of international pax was much higher than the domestic passengers when it was vice-versa in the rest of the country, the state has surpassed the national growth rate of domestic aviation sector, touching a cumulative 25.34 per cent in 2017 against the national average of 23.1 in 2016. 
In this backdrop, it will be interesting to look into whether the addition of another international airport will speed up the current growth of the aviation sector or will it hot up the serene skies over Kerala, where the highly competitive airlines explore ways to attract passengers. Although experts are divided over whether it would bring any immediate change, they are unanimous in saying competition is good and customers will be the beneficiaries.
However, it raises questions about whether the new airport will take away a major chunk of passengers from the neighbouring airports such as Calicut and Mangalore.
K Srinivasa Rao, director of Calicut Airport, said the airport authorities are anticipating a drop of 20-30 per cent of passengers in the beginning. “But we are hopeful of retrieving a major chunk of its business with the airport starting the operation of wide-bodied aircraft by the middle of December as Malappuram district, a portion of Palakkad, Kozhikode and Wayanad will be depending on Calicut airport even after the opening of the new airport. Further, the advent of Malabar as a major tourist destination will help the airport regain its supremacy as the major airport in Malabar,” he said.
A senior official with Air India Express said the airline company has conducted a market analysis before announcing around 10 flights to and from KIAL in a week. As per our analysis, there is still job creation in the Middle East market. For instance, around 10-20 travellers of AIE are still first-time visa holders. It means there is still employment generation in the Middle East, hinting that the market will be buoyant at least for the next few years. And it is obvious the priorities of the airlines will be changed if there is any unexpected slide or slump in the Middle East passenger traffic in the long-run, he said.
However, VJ Kurien, managing director of Cochin International Airport, said, “The market will soon witness a shift with domestic growth surpassing international pax growth. So, we are getting prepared to stay afloat in the market by introducing better amenities for domestic passengers on par with those for international travellers. In tune with the changing market dynamics, the state government should also bring in more investment in the tourism and allied sectors which is essential for the growth of the aviation sector in a state like Kerala,” he said.
25/11/18 Dhinesh Kallungal/New Indian Express

Uttarakhand cabinet clears proposal to rename Dehradun's Jolly Grant airport after AB Vajpayee

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Sunday approved the renaming of Dehradun's Jolly Grant Airport after late BJP stalwart and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

According to ANI, a resolution to this effect will be passed during the Winter Session of the state assembly after which it would be sent to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation for its seal of approval.
The proposal to rename the Jolly Grant airport after Vajpayee was approved by the state cabinet at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, state government official said.
The Jolly Grant Airport, which is named after the area where it is situated, belongs to the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
It was built in the year 1974.
The AAI suspended the flight operations at the airport between March 2007 and March 2008 “to execute its airport modernisation plan”.
25/11/18 Zee News

Tallest tower may hit Andhra Pradesh airport plans

Vijayawada: The grandiose plan of the Andhra Pradesh government to construct a 250-metre high tower in the upcoming capital city of Amaravati may hit the proposed greenfield airport at Tadikonda village in Guntur district. Besides the tallest ‘iconic’ tower in India, the state government has also proposed five high-rise buildings to house government offices and secretariats. Each of these structures would have 50 floors each.
Civil aviation experts are of the view anyway that the topography of the upcoming capital city does not allow a greenfield airport at Tadikonda. Added to the ‘negative’ topography would be the proposed high-rise buildings and the iconic tower that would house the state assembly. Amaravati is dotted with three major chains of hills and individual hillocks that form part of the Eastern Ghats. These hill ranges and hillocks are close to Tadikonda village.

“The runway should be planned in such a way that there is no hindrance from the hills and the proposed tower for aircrafts to take off and land. Otherwise it would affect the aircraft movement. It also depends on where in Tadikonda the greenfield airport would come up,” a senior aviation official told TOI.
The iconic assembly tower and the high-rise government buildings would not impact the present airport at Gannavaram as it is about 25 km away. Gannavaram airport has been recording high passenger growth rate and aircraft movement after the division of the state. The first international flight is scheduled to take off from the city airport in the next few days.
25/11/18 Venu Lanka/Times of India

Ajith gets preferential treatment at Chennai airport?

On Friday night, an exit door at the Chennai International Airport was blocked by security, and alighting passengers were asked to use another exit. The reason? Actor Ajith, who was returning from a trip, was to use that door! The airport security personnel had been entrusted with the task of ensuring the actor had a smooth exit, while, surely, others could drag their trolleys a little further and use the second exit door. We agree this may have, seemingly, been a small ask of other passengers, but what we don’t understand is why an actor, any actor, for that matter, should get preferential treatment. Dealing with fans, their craziness, and their occasional tantrums comes with the territory of being a celebrity actor. And fans, in return, are responsible for the larger-than-life status of actors. So, why should airport authorities go out of the way for them? No one grudges celebrities their celebrity-hood, their well-deserved and well-earned fame, but we can’t have a government apparatus so blatantly discriminating between, what they think, greater and lesser mortals.
25/11/18 Times of India

Mysterious ‘bushman’ snatching purses

Ahmedabad: Once an isolated place where the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others had taken place in June 2004, Kotarpur Water Works – near Ahmedabad Airport has now become the favourite spot for a purse snatcher, who vanishes into nearby bushes every time after the crime.
According to police sources, in past 15 days two snatching incidents have taken place in the area, apparently commited by the same person. In most cases, the victims are people who stop by to watch aircraft taking off and landing at the airport.
In an incident reported on November 9 at Airport police station, Preeti Shah of Laxmikrupa Apartment of Naranpura had alleged that while she was watching planes take off and land at the airport from near the road turn of Kotarpur Water Works, a stranger aged about 20 years snatched her purse which contained gold jewellery, mobile phone and cash worth a total of Rs 37,500 and fled into the bushes of Kotarpur Water Works. The incident had taken place during the evening hours.
25/11/18 Times of India

Two detained at Chennai airport for trying to smuggle gold

Chennai: An employee of a ground handling services firm at the airport here and a passenger have been detained for allegedly trying to smuggle 1.2 kg of gold hidden in a mobile power bank, officials said Sunday.

A CISF personnel noticed the staff receiving “something” from the passenger at the international arrival. The yellow metal concealed in a power bank was seized during a check, the officials said.

The seized gold is worth Rs 37 lakh.
25/11/18 PTI/India.com

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Group of secretaries formed to see through privatisation of 6 airports

New Delhi: The government, worried over its past failures to implement key decisions in the aviation sector such as privatisation of Air India, has formed an empowered group of secretaries to ensure that the privatisation of six airports doesn’t fall through the cracks.
“The empowered group of secretaries will ensure that all issues are resolved for a successful completion of the privatisation process,” said a senior government official, who did not want to be identified. The panel will be headed by NITI Aayog CEO, and will have secretaries of aviation, expenditure and economic affairs as its members.
The Cabinet had during the first week of November approved privatisation of six airports – Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru – on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
This was decided after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) failed to award airports in Jaipur and Ahmedabad on operations and management, as they could not find enough takers. Similarly, the aviation ministry also did not find takers for Air India, where the government was trying to sell 74% to a private player.
24/11/18 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

Why flight services to Maoist-hit Bastar region have been discontinued 5 months after launch

No flights for Bastar region! Due to nonfulfillment of contractual promises, the air service to tribal Bastar region, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June this year, has been discontinued. Rakesh R Sahay, Raipur’s Swami Vivekanand Airport Director was quoted in a TOI report saying that as Air Odisha was unable to fulfil the terms mentioned in the agreement between the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the airline, the air connectivity between Raipur and Jagdalpur, which is the divisional headquarters of Bastar, had been suspended. The agreement stated that the operator will operate at least 70 per cent of the scheduled flights. However, the bidding will be held afresh, Sahay added.

In the month of June, the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh which has been battling Maoist insurgency for a very long time was added to the country’s aviation map. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the first flight service from Jagdalpur to Raipur, under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme. Bastar, which is 20 km away from Jagdalpur, got air connectivity with Raipur, which in turn is well connected to different cities across the country. With this, the distance between these two cities came down to just 40 minutes from 6 to 7 hours.

The UDAN scheme of the central government aims to connect small cities and towns across the country by air. It is a regional connectivity scheme under which the government plans to provide air connectivity to remote areas and enhance access in under-served regions of India. The UDAN scheme, under the first round, has enabled the Centre to add as many as 30 new airports on the aviation map in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) of the central government, Jagdalpur was one of the four cities in Chhattisgarh to get an airport.
23/11/18 Devanjana Nag/Financial Express

UDAN Scheme : Dispur hopes Guwahati-South East Asia flights by mid-2019

Guwahati: Dispur is pinning its hope on UDAN Scheme that by mid-2019 at least a few of the six international destinations under it will be operational from Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Internal (LGBI) Airport.

Following a formal plea from the Assam Government, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation is planning to connect Guwahati with six international destinations by air under its UDAN Scheme. The six destinations are Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal), Yangon (Myanmar), Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
The UDAN Scheme of the Union ministry provides financial assistance to airlines to improve connectivity among Indian states and international destinations. The time period for the Union ministry’s quotation seeking bids from airlines for the new routes from Guwahati expired on November 22, 2018.

The UDAN Scheme provides a per seat subsidy of Rs 2,370 to Dhaka; Rs 2,710 to Kathmandu; Rs 4,400 to Bangkok; Rs 4,770 to Yangon; Rs 7,350 to Kuala Lumpur and Rs 7,880 to Singapore. From its end, Assam is going for Rs 100-crore Viability Gap Funding (VGF). Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has evinced interest in this scheme so as to boost both tourism and industrial investment in the State. The entire plan is to make LGBI Airport one of the air hubs in South-East Asia. The State government will put forward the route proposals.
24/11/18 Sentinel Assam

Flyers on time but denied boarding at Calcutta airport

Calcutta: Domestic flyers arriving at the airport more than an hour before take-off but stuck in long queues inside the terminal are allegedly often denied boarding if the 45-minute check-in window closes by the time they reach an airline counter.

A woman who was to take a flight to Mumbai last Tuesday alleged that she was denied boarding by the airline despite reaching the airport more than an hour ahead of her flight’s scheduled departure.

“On entering the terminal, I had approached an employee of the airline to tell him that my flight was at 7.55am. He enquired if it was the Delhi flight. I told him that my flight was to Mumbai, at which he said there was still time and that I should get my bag screened and queue up for check-in,” she recounted to Metro on Fariday.

While she was in the queue, there were back-to-back announcements that passengers booked on the Delhi flight scheduled for 7.40am should check in immediately. “Several people who were behind me in the queue were asked by airline staff to move ahead. I pointed out that my flight was at 7.55am, only to be reminded that the Delhi flight was earlier. So I waited,” the woman said.

As the minutes ticked by, there was an announcement for all Mumbai-bound passengers in the queue to shift to the last counter that till then had people checking in for the Delhi flight. “I did as instructed but when my turn came, I was told that I was late for the flight. The option given to me was to take a later flight by paying the differential fare,” the woman said.
24/11/18 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

Bids invited for ground handling services at 38 airports

New Delhi:The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has invited bids for ground handling services at 38 airports, including some of its busiest airports such as Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Goa.

Ground handling activities include passenger services such as check-in and baggage handling, aircraft handling, servicing and cleaning as well as cargo handling services. In May, the AAI had invited bids for 55 other airports, most of which were airports being connected under the government’s regional connectivity scheme.
Proposals have been invited from airlines, ground handling agencies, airports and their joint ventures for a period of 10 years.

The entity that quotes the highest royalty will be the winning bidder. The bid document floated by the AAI on November 20 defines this sum as compensation or fee paid for providing ground handling services to the airport in addition to rent for space provided to the winning bidder at an airport.
“The airports for which we have invited bids include those that see high traffic as well as some airports in remote locations such as Port Blair,” said a senior AAI official. He added that the proposals sought for a different set of airports in May were being examined.
The selected bidder will have to form a special purpose vehicle to implement the contract, according to the bid document.
24/11/18 Jagriti Chandra/The Hindu

AAI officials blame airlines for info update errors on display screens

Pune: Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials have blamed airlines for not updating and monitoring information of flights on the screens.
Ever since the Pune airport became a silent facility earlier this year, passengers have to check the flight information display screens (FIDS) to know the status of their respective flights.

Earlier this month, a passenger travelling to Delhi in an IndiGo flight had complained that the FIDS in the terminal building showed that the plane was on time and even mentioned the gate number. Once he reached the gate, he was told that his flight was cancelled.

“The maintenance of the FIDS is the responsibility of the AAI. But when it comes to monitoring, we cannot do it all the time as the airport witnesses around 200 flight movements daily. The airlines have to inform the FIDS centre about the updates and changes, which they don’t do properly,” an airport official told TOI.

“The FIDS centre should have representatives from the airlines so that the screens are properly monitored and information about the flights are updated. During every meeting with the airlines, we raise this issue and request their representatives to be present at the centre,” the official said.
24/11/18 Times of India

Aeronautical Study Of Any Structure To Assess Risk To Aviation Safety Doesn’t Call For Prior Demolition: Delhi HC

A request for aeronautical study of a structure to determine if it would adversely affect the operation of aeroplanes has to be considered on a case-to-case basis and there is no rule or policy which says that aeronautical study cannot be undertaken unless the excess height of the structure as against the permissible limit is demolished, the Delhi High Court has held.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru said so while directing the appellate committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to reconsider the request of a Mumbai-based real estate company, KGA Investments, to conduct an aeronautical study in respect of its building at Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road, Powai, 4 km from the aerodrome.
The company had moved court after the Appellate Committee for Height Clearance, Ministry of Civil Aviation, on July 31, 2018, rejected its request for conducting an aeronautical study in respect of its building whose height exceeded the maximum permissible top elevation by 3.52 m and further directed initiation of action as per the Aircraft (Demolition of Obstruction Caused by Buildings and Trees etc.) Rules, 1994.
The appellate authority was of the view that the aeronautical study cannot be conducted without the structure in excess of the permissible height being demolished.
23/11/18 Akanksha Jain/Live Law

S&P revises credit outlook on GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd

New Delhi: S&P Global Ratings has revised downwards the credit outlook on GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) to 'stable' from 'positive', citing that higher spending and lower tariffs could push debt levels higher.
However, the agency has affirmed the 'BB+' long-term credit rating on the airport operator as well as its outstanding senior secured notes.

Generally, 'BB+' indicates relatively less vulnerability of defaults.

"The outlook revision reflects our view that GHIAL's expanded capital expenditure (capex) plans will result in higher leverage than we expected over the next two to three years," S&P Ratings said in a release Thursday.

It noted that regulatory uncertainties would remain elevated for the airport operator, given continuing tariff reset delays and timing uncertainty of capex recovery.
GHIAL operates the Hyderabad international airport.
23/11/18 PTI/Times of India

Drainage network of Gavier village raises a stink at Surat airport

Surat: After buried sour gas pipeline that has been obstructing expansion of the runway, Surat airport is facing yet another problem. The underground drainage network of Gavier village near Dumas has been the cause of perennial flooding in the operational area of the airport.

Be it high tide in the sea or heavy rain, the runway is flooded with drainage water as the discharge outlet near the airport gets frequently choked due to the presence of shrimp farms in the vicinity. The flooding was extreme this monsoon causing damage to the instrument landing system (ILS) at the airport.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has urged Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) to divert the drainage line from the airport’s operational area to safeguard the flight operations. Official sources said the underground drainage network passes through the airport runway to Gavier village. The network meant for the discharge of drainage water from the village into the sea is very old.
24/11/18 Melvyn Thomas/Times of India

CISF to test scanner that doesn't require laptops to be taken out of bags

India's busiest airports - Mumbai and Delhi - will soon test a new technology to scan handbags that does not require passengers to take out laptops and small bottles of liquid to be checked separately. This 3D-based computed tomography (CT) scanner has already been tested at international hubs like New York JFK and London Heathrow.
A senior Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official said, "We have written to Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) director-general for a trial of this machine at any airport of India one month back. We will prefer (to test this) Delhi or Mumbai airport."

BCAS DG Kumar Rajesh Chandra said, "I will review the same on Monday and a decision will be taken shortly."

The state-run Airports Authority of India had recently told TOI it had been approached by an original equipment manufacturer of this system to test the same at airports here.

Once tested and approved by BCAS, the machine could be installed at airports in India too. Given the acute airport infra crunch in India, the use of technology to speed up passenger throughput is becoming vital.
24/11/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

‘Rename Mangaluru airport after U S Mallya’

Bhamy V Shenoy, who runs an NGO called Mysore Grahakara Parishat, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rename Mangalore International Airport after Ullal Srinivas Mallya, who is widely hailed as the architect of modern Mangaluru.
Shenoy, who hails from Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district, is the grandson of the elder brother of U Srinivas Mallya. In the letter, he has stated that Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has already approached the government in this regard.
“In one sense, a tall leader like U S Mallya does not need any institute to be named to honour him. He is recognised as an architect of former Dakshina Kannada.
“Such projects like Bajpe Airport, All India Radio station, Mangalore Port, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, railway line between Mangaluru and Bengaluru, remind the people of his contribution. By naming the airport after U S Mallya, we are not only honouring him, but also honour India’s civilizational value of remembering the good deeds of a person and showing our gratitude,” he said.
24/11/18 Naina JA/Deccan Herald

Pakyong Airport entrance cleared with the Help of Police

Gangtok: The newly commissioned Pakyong Airport faced some disturbance on Saturday when around 30 people staged Dharna.
They sit out in front of the main entrance led to traffic jam outside the Airport as the Gates remained shut and blocked.
The protesters demanded compensation,as per the rules and rates applicable for the land sold by them for the Airport .
They claimed that the compensation paid to them is not appropriate.
24/11/18 UNI

Friday, November 23, 2018

Aviation setback: AAI cancels Air Odisha, Air Deccan licenses; UDAN flights affected

Following the poor performance of the airlines and their inability to operate flights regularly on the assigned routes, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has cancelled the operating licenses of Air Odisha and Air Deccan on various routes. Due to the cancellation, many flights under the government's ambitious project UDAN have also been affected.

A senior AAI official told ZeeBiz.com that the licenses for two routes of Air Odisha - Chhattisgarh and Chennai and one route of Air Deccan - Maharashtra, have been cancelled due to their inability to operate flights on the routes.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has sent a letter mentioning the termination clause to both the airlines. The airlines failed to operate 75% of flights in last three months.

In fact, Air Odisha has even failed to continue its flight operations from the Veer Surendra Sai Airport, which was recently inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi.

Now, Air Deccan has license to operate only on two routes - North East and Kolkata. Air Odisha has only one route left but since it has already given that to Air Deccan, it now stands grounded, revealed an official.

The AAI official informed that a fresh notice has also been sent to Air Deccan warning them of cancellation of their remaining licenses if they fail to operate flights on the remaining routes.

Air Deccan and Air Odisha had bagged as many as 84 routes under the first round of UDAN last year. The AAI has issued notices to both the airlines in March this year to maintain the continuity of the flights on routes assigned to them.
23/11/18 Akash Sinha/ZeeBiz

5 months after 1st flight, Bastar falls off air map

Raipur: The air service to tribal Bastar region, launched by PM Modi with much fanfare in June, has been discontinued due to nonfulfillment of contractual promises, allegedly by Air Odisha.
Raipur’s Swami Vivekanand Airport director Rakesh R Sahay told TOI that air connectivity between Raipur and Jagdalpur, the divisional headquarters of Bastar, had been suspended because Air Odisha “was not able to fulfil the terms mentioned in the agreement between Airport Authority of India and Air Odisha”. The agreement was that the operator will operate at least 70% of the scheduled flight. Sahay said bidding will be held afresh.
23/11/18 Nisreen Naaz/Times of India

Air Odisha loses contract to fly in 3 states for poor show in UDAN scheme

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has terminated the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (Lupin eyes product acquisition in India) contract of private airliner Air Odisha covering three states — Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha — for poor performance.

Air Odisha, through an agreement with the AAI, had to operate 70 per cent of the flights in three months. But, it hardly operated them. By invoking clause 17 of the agreement, the private flier was issued a termination letter.
“A letter (of termination) has been sent to Air Odisha issued by our corporate headquarters, who had an agreement for regional connectivity scheme (RCS) operations in these states,” said S C Hota, director, Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar.

23/11/18 Nirmalya Behera/Business Standard

AAI acquires eight mobile ATC towers for small airports

New Delhi: Jharkhand’s steel city Bokaro has become the first airport to get a mobile air traffic control (ATC) tower at its airport. The state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) has acquired eight trailer-mounted towers at a cost of Rs 64.6 crore from a Slovak company for being used at small airports for regional connectivity scheme (RCS) flights.
“With the ude desh ke aag nagrik (UDAN or the subsidised regional flying scheme where fares are capped at Rs 2,500 per hour of flying) we will see a number of small airports getting one or two flights a day. In the past also we had used mobile ATC towers but now we are doing it in a systematic manner given the demand for RCS flights. It is better to use these mobile towers at small airports,” said AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra.
The mobile towers have been purchased from MSM Martin Company Slovakia, Slovak Republic. The first eight will be used at regional airports at Bilaspur, Ambikapur, Jagdalpur, Jeypore, Utkela, Vellore, Bokaro and Mithapur (Gujarat).
A senior AAI official said: “These mobile ATC towers have been developed keeping in mind Indian ATC requirements. Technically, these mobile towers are top class and allow operations in any airport in India, enabling shipment by road on own trailer and fast deployment and setting up for operation. Mobile tower provides latest technologies including communication, navigation and surveillance and automated weather observation system equipment used for ATC.”
These towers have a lifting system for elevation of tower cabin up to 8 metre from cabin rooftop. It is configured to operate with two to four operators without being removed from the trailer. “The AC cabin is made of aluminum and has windows with 360 degree vision, anti-reflective, with fittings for anti-fogging and de-icing, blast proof double glass windows,” the official said.
23/11/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

UP Government Approves Rs.1260 Crore For Jewar Airport Land Acquisition

Lucknow/Noida: The Uttar Pradesh government has approved a fund of Rs. 1,260 crore for acquisition of land for the proposed Jewar airport in Gautam Buddh Nagar, according to an official document.
The amount, released for acquisition in the first phase of airport construction, is to be spent for land acquisition and payment to the farmers concerned, the letter stated.

A total of 5,000 hectare land is required for the development of the proposed Greenfield international airport and cost Rs. 15,000 crore to Rs. 20,000 crore, the officials said.

For the first phase of the airport- the second in the National Capital Region (NCR) - 1,334 hectare land is required. 1,239 hectare land from six villages (Rohi, Dayanatpur, Parohi, Kishorpur, Ranhera and Banwariwas).

"The Governor has approved sanction of Rs. 1,259 crore for the acquisition of land for the Jewar Airport in the financial year 2018-19," Special Secretary Surya Pal Gangwar wrote in a letter to the director of state Civil Aviation Ministry.

At a meeting held in Lucknow to discuss the progress of the project on November 14, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed officials of the Noida International Airport Limited and the Gautam Budh Nagar administration to expedite work on the airport.
23/11/18 PTI/NDTV

Ola starts cab services from Mangaluru airport

Mangaluru: Online taxi aggregator Ola started its cab operation from Mangaluru International Airport on Thursday.

A few days ago, the Airports Authority of India had issued the work order to ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. to operate its Ola cabs from the airport.

The work order was issued following its selection in the bidding process.

Airport director V.V. Rao said services of Ola would be in addition to services of prepaid Airport Taxis. “We will leave it to passengers to choose the service they want,” Mr. Rao told The Hindu.

Meanwhile, Online Taxi Operators’ Association has welcomed the start of Ola services from the airport.
23/11/18 The Hindu

Ahmedabad: Four flights diverted, six delayed as runway closed

Ahmedabad: It was a chaotic morning for passengers travelling out of the city airport on Thursday morning as the departures of some six outbound flights to different destinations were delayed, while four inbound flights had to be diverted, after the runway at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport was shut for an hour. Officials of Airports Authority of India confirmed that soon after take-off the calibration aircraft of AAI reported a jammed steering wheel and had to be brought back immediately.
Confirming the incident, Manoj Gangal, director, SVPI Airport, said, “While taking off from Ahmedabad airport, the AAI calibration aircraft reported its steering wheel had jammed. Calibrated aircraft are usually used for aiding navigation. The disabled aircraft was towed away at 11.00am. The runway remained closed for one hour and two minutes.”
“Keeping aircraft safety requirements in mind the landing of four Ahmedabad-bound flights was diverted. Flights from Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi were diverted to Vadodara while one coming from Bengaluru was diverted to Surat. Once the runway was opened, all the diverted flights from Vadodara and Surat were given clearance for landing and they landed safely one after another,” he added.
As the landing of incoming flights was of higher priority, some six outbound flights were delayed. These include three outbound flights to Mumbai along with one each to Jodhpur, Kochi and Lucknow. “Since the inbound flights had to be given precedence, the outbound flights took off at least an hour later than their scheduled departure,” confirmed an AAI source.
23/11/18 Times of India

Chennai airport terminal roof turns leaky again

Chennai: The roof of the Chennai airport’s domestic terminal has again developed a leak near the security hold area, forcing staff to place plastic trays to collect the rainwater.

A passenger shot a video of the leak and posted it on social media, after which the Airports Authority of India responded saying “pre-monsoon work including channelling and draining of water on the roof as a permanent solution is under way”. A senior AAI official said the design and panelling of the roof was such that during a heavy downpour water entered at one point and leaked out at another point. This was a problem plaguing the steel and glass building ever since it opened in 2013 as part of a 2000-crore expansion work.

Sources said engineers used to keep tabs on 30 to 40 spots where there was water seepage or leaks during rain in the last few years. "The numbers have been brought down by continous inspection and repairs. Openings were closed and welding was done to prevent water from entering the building from the sides of the roof. The security hold area had many leaks,” an AAI official said.
The frontage of the building and boarding gates used to see water seepage during heavy rain accompanied by strong winds because of the design of the building.
23/11/18 Times of India

Air traffic controllers call off stir post AAI assurance

Air Traffic Controllers on Thursday called off their agitation after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) assured them a perimeter wall would be constructed to separate New Airport Colony from the adjoining Bamanwada slum in Vile Parle. The assurance came from AAI Regional Executive Director Keshava Sharma, who met protesters at the AAI Western Region headquarters on Sahar Road.
“We have called off the protest after the management has responded positively. We will continue to monitor the implementation of the promised demands,” an ATC officer said.
After Monday’s day-long sit-in protest with families and children at the headquarters, ATC officers had intensified their agitation from Thursday morning. Two AAI unions representing had also joined the protest.
Sharma said a proposal to deploy CISF security had been already sent to AAI chairman Gururprasad Mahapatra in Delhi, and discussions were initiated with Mumbai International Airport Ltd on the modalities of the wall’s construction.
23/11/18 Satish Nandgaonkar/Mumbai Mirror

Delhi’s IGI airport sets new record! Handles 1 million metric tonnes of cargo in a year

In a record, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport for the first time handled over ‘one million metric tonnes’ (1 mmt) of cargo in one year, between November 2017 and October 2018. An airport operator was quoted in a TOI report saying that the Delhi airport also handled the highest ever monthly cargo tonnage in the month of October. The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport serves as the primary civilian aviation hub for the National Capital Region (NCR) in Delhi. The airport is spread over an area of 5,106 acres and is situated in Palam, 15 km south-west of New Delhi Railway Station.

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) claimed that this feat places the airport, which handles 29% of the country’s cargo, in the 28th position globally. In October, he Delhi IGI airport handled a monthly cargo of 1,00,091 MT which was the highest ever in a month. The increase in the number has also been due to other initiatives which have been undertaken recently, including the dedicated trans-shipment facilities, expansion of cargo, development of airport cargo logistics centre (ACLC) and digitisation and technology advancement.

A spokesperson of DIAL was quoted in the report saying that in the past 10 years, some significant investments have been made for the advancement and modernisation of air cargo handling facilities. The airport is now connected to 75 international and 67 domestic destinations and is served by 64 air carriers and 16 freighter airlines. Officials also said that a significant growth in civil aviation and air connectivity has also played a noteworthy part here.
23/11/18 Nikita Prasad/Financial Express