HAL to invest Rs 1cr to develop immigration infra at Ozar

Nashik: Defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is investing Rs 1 crore to create infrastructural facilities for dedicated immigration facilities at the Nashik airport (Ozar), which the PSU manages.

A team of officials from the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, had recently visited the Nashik airport for inspection as part of the procedure before giving permission of Immigration Checkpost (IMC).

The BoI teams discussed the facilities and provided proper plans that HAL has to make available at the airport. According to the sources at HAL, establishing immigration facilities will pave way for international flight operations from and to Nashik. It will also help bring the airport under the international Udan scheme. Moreover, there is scope for special haj flights to Saudi Arabia.

HAL sources said while the company will create the infrastructure, the IT-related works will be handled by the BoI. The BoI has set a deadline of January for HAL to create the infrastructure.

“We have already started creating basic infrastructure like immigration counters, a customs office, security office etc. at the Nashik airport,” said the sources.

The BoI is also creating a dedicated information technology network for broadband and other services at the airport for the immigration desk on its own. The IT-related investment will be made by the BoI itself.

Local MP Hemant Godse, who has been working hard for the commencement of air service from the Nashik airport, said the Centre has already announced the setting up of an international courier terminal (ICT) at the airport. Now, setting up an immigration checkpost at the airport will boost both international passenger as well as cargo flights in the future.

30/11/20 Tushar Pawar/Times of India

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Four months after the tragedy, large aircrafts remain banned at Karipur airport

Kozhikode: Four months after the plane crash, the Director-General of Civil Aviation is yet to give permission for large planes to land at the tabletop runway of the Karipur airport. The ban continues in the wake of the tragedy that claimed the lives of 21 people on August 7. According to the Department of Civil Aviation, it is unable to give permission as the agencies investigating the accident did not submit a report so far.

A 2200 meter runway is enough for large planes to land at the airport, whereas the Karipur airport has a 2750 meter runway. Inspections by the Airports Authority of India, the Indian Pilot Club, Air India Express and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Team revealed that there was no technical impediment landing large aircrafts.

A team of experts from foreign airlines such as Saudi Arabian Airlines and Emirates Airlines, which place great importance on passenger safety, also the airport and found no problems. They had all volunteered to start services from Karipur.

30/11/20 Kerala Kaumudi

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31 acre land needed for permanent civil enclave at Darbhanga airport

Patna: The officials of state government, Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) discussed several pending issues related to Darbhanga airport at a meeting held on its premises on Saturday.

Principal secretary (cabinet secretariat department) Sanjay Kumar said issues related to land acquisition for a permanent civil enclave and installation of instrument landing system (ILS) were taken up at the meeting. Officials of Darbhanga district administration were also present to discuss the short-term and long-term measures required to be taken for smooth commercial operations at the airport.

“Lots of issues related to Darbhanga airport need to be resolved. First, the state government has to acquire 31 acre land and transfer it to the IAF, who in lieu of that would transfer the same chunk of land to the AAI for the construction of a civil enclave. We can acquire land anywhere, but the IAF has to give a no-objection certificate,” Sanjay said.

“The proposed civil enclave requires a four-lane connectivity from the National Highway. Some land has to be acquired for direct connectivity to the enclave. Besides, there is one road on one side of the runway and, because of that, the airport surface is slightly below the road. A person standing on this road can see what’s happening inside the airport. A view cutter is required to give security cover to the airport,” Sanjay said.

The AAI officials have also raised concern over the blue bulls (nilgai) living in the green cover on the airport premises. “To prevent the bulls from coming near the runway, barbed wire fencing is needed on its either side as a short-term measure. On the southern side of the runway, fencing was done by the IAF and work is in progress on the northern side,” said the principal secretary.

For long-term planning, the officials of environment, forest and climate change department have been asked to tranquillize the blue bulls and shift them to some other area. According to AAI officials, the blue bull population has increased over the years on the Darbhanga airport premises as it was non-operational for a long time.

30/11/20 Faryal Rumi/Times of India 

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GHIAL touches 3 mn mark for domestic oprs, continues to be second best connected Airport

Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) has touched three million mark for domestic operations and continued to be second best connected Airport after Delhi. 

 With the relaxation of quarantine norms by both the Central and the State Governments under the Unlock 5.0, Indian aviation sector is gaining strength steadily. 

 The guidelines on the medical profile of the passengers and RT-PCR medical report are still being asked by many states but thanks to the new Covid-19 testing facility at the GHIA is making Air travel the safest way to travel, a release here said on Monday. From about 3000 domestic passengers daily in the first few weeks post recommencement of domestic operations from May 25 onwards, now the passenger footfall has increased to over 30,000 daily in November, which over 10 times from the re-start.

 The Airport has handled over 3 Million domestic passengers from the day of recommencement till November 23. Hyderabad has also seen uptick in the Air Traffic Movement (ATM) from about 40 daily ATMs in the first few weeks of the restart, to over six times growth having handled over 260 domestic flights daily in November 2020. 

Over 35,000 domestic flights were handled from the day of recommencement till November 23. The number of domestic passengers in a single day touched 37,000 mark recently, the highest since the recommencement of domestic operations. The ATMs also crossed 284 mark on a single day. (in the month of November 2020). Hyderabad International Airport has regained its 51 destinations out of pre-covid 55 domestic destinations. With three new domestic destinations – Kozhikode, Imphal and Jagdalpur, RGIA is now connected to 54 destinations in the domestic sector.

 30/11/20 UNI

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Mumbai airport preparing team to manage Covid-19 vaccine cargo: Report

Mumbai: Mumbai airport, India’s largest gateway for pharmaceutical import and export, is gearing up to facilitate the shipments of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine distribution in India.

The facilitation entails collaborating and performing advance planning with stakeholders similar to airline clients, provide chain companions, regulatory and governmental our bodies, and vaccine distributors, said a Mumbai Worldwide Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson, as cited in the Times of India report.

According to the TOI report, the main challenges with the shipment are temperature administration and time spent in transit.

For this, Mumbai airport authorities are planning to create Digital Devoted Pharma Corridors linking India with aviation hubs in Europe and the Center East. This will be carried out to accelerate transportation and cold storage of the Covid vaccine for distribution.

“The duty drive will work at temperature administration, cut back dwell time (the length that cargo containers spend inside short-term storage services in transit, like at airports) with prior particular approvals from regulators with a purpose to guarantee an unbroken chilly chain for vaccine motion from the manufacturing facility to the tip distributor,” the spokesperson added.

The airport aims to plan round the clock customer support cell for Covid-19 vaccine EXIM (export-import) consignments to deal with buyer queries, pre-alerts, and standing updates.

“The Mumbai airport is well-positioned to help, preserve, and optimize pharma-dedicated corridors around the globe. We’re additionally working carefully with airports in Europe and Centre-East to roll out totally Digital Devoted Pharma corridors, significantly for the transportation of the Covid-19 vaccine,” mentioned MIAL.

30/11/20 Prashant Awasthi/Business Line

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MIHAN project created 54,000 jobs - TCS, HCL to Air India open hiring doors; more to come

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Jobs creation is one of the toughest tasks for any government to do even as it is the biggest demand by the public. So, when a huge number of jobs gets created for the common man, everyone sits up and takes notice. This is exactly what is happening right now, at least as far as Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is concerned. Nitin Gadkari, through his endeavours, has created 54000 jobs. In fact, that is the exact number of people who have actually got jobs.

It is called the Nitin Gadkari model and it has been implemented in his parliamentary constituency Nagpur. This initiative by Gadkari has led to over 54,000 people getting jobs in companies. This Gadkari initiative has been named MIHAN - Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur.

The MIHAN project was created for Nagpur and the Vidarbha region when development projects were initated there. This project helped in generating employment for the local people. Importantly, this also fulfilled the promise made by the BJP leader to the people in 2014. Gadkari had vowed to generate 50,000 jobs in this region.

Gadkari started the MIHAN project to make Nagpur and the Vidarbha region the hub of economic activities and work started in 2009. Nagpur is an important city for air and rail traffic due to its special geographical location and this project looked to boost that position further.

Gadkari set up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Nagpur. After winning the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Gadkari became an MP from Nagpur and eventually a cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi-led government, after which he focused on working on his dream project.

The best part was that it generated much interest, in both private and public sector. Gradually, some big companies showed interest in the MIHAN project. Thereafter, many companies came forward for investment to take advantage of the benefits on offer.

Among these companies, Air India has provided jobs to at least 4,500 people in Nagpur, HCL has employed around 2,500 people and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has given employment to 7,500 people, according to IANS. Similarly, investment opportunities of more than 170 companies have provided employment opportunities.

Gadkari's office said that 54,868 people got jobs in Nagpur in the last six years. These jobs were created following the establishment of industries and development projects in Nagpur.

A total of 36,407 jobs have been generated in SEZ and 16,162 in the non-SEZ area. At the same time, 2,299 people got jobs through the Central Facility Building MIHAN SEZ.

30/11/20 ZeeBiz

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Goa''s domestic air passenger traffic returning to normal: Official

Panaji: The domestic passenger traffic at Goa Airport is getting back to normal as the facility has recorded about 75 per cent footfalls so far this year compared to the same period last year during pre-COVID-19 times, a senior official said on Sunday.

Talking to PTI, Goa Airport''s Director Gagan Malik said the number of domestic flights are also increasing amid the unlock process, even as scheduled and chartered international travel continues to remain suspended.

After the lockdown in March this year due to the pandemic, India resumed its scheduled domestic passenger flights from May 25.

Malik said since the Goa Airport reopened for domestic travel, the passenger flow has returned to 70-75 per cent now compared to last year, and is expected to pick up further next month, which is the peak tourist season in the state.

"The domestic passenger footfalls are expected to cross 80 per cent in December," he said.

On an average, 11,000 passengers arrive and depart from the Goa Airport on weekdays, while on weekends, the number reaches about 13,500, the official said.

Goa has been witnessing an inflow of visitors as hotels, restaurants and other places of tourist interests have opened up as part of the unlock process.

Malik said 50 per cent of the domestic flights have resumed, and are likely to go up to 60-65 per cent next month.

29/11/20 PTI/Outlook

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Soon, Bengaluru's Kempe Gowda International airport will be connected by train services

Bengaluru: Bengaluru residents will soon be able to reach the city's International airport by taking a train service which will be provided by the Indian Railways' South Western Railway zone.

The Rs 3 crore halt station, equipped with various amenities, near Kempegowda International Airport, is finally ready.

KIA halt station, built by Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), is coming up between Doddajala and Devanahalli stations. The station, which is just 3.5 km from the airport terminal, is expected to benefit 28,000 airport employees as well as passengers. The BIAL will operate shuttle services between the halt station and airport terminal which will be based on train schedules on this route.

Today, the Indian Railways took to Twitter to provide a glance of the newly constructed railway station which will connect the Kempe Gowda International Airport to the city. In its tweet, it said: "Rail Connectivity to Bengaluru Airport will significantly reduce travel time and provide better commuting facilities. Halt stations on this stretch are developed with modern facilities. Catch glimpses of one of the halt station coming up near Bengaluru airport."

28/11/20 ETNowNews.com

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Jewar airport in mind, YEIDA readies 20-year master plan

Greater Noida: How much population will settle down along the Yamuna Expressway in the coming years? For the first time, the Yamuna Expressway Authority will have a realistic population estimate as it is getting its master plan ready to meet the region’s future demands, keeping in mind the Jewar airport project.

YEIDA’s present master plan is drawing to a close since it had been prepared to handle the needs of the city up to 2021. Preparing for the next two decades, the Authority will shortlist a town planner and an architectural consultancy firm next month to prepare Master Plan 2041.

Established in 2001, YEIDA launched its first plotting scheme in 2009. Sitting over the largest land bank spanning across six districts at that time, the then town planner had estimated that by the end of 2021, about 21 lakh people would settle down in the colonies and apartments being developed along the expressway.

However, only a handful of apartments remain inhabited and a residential colony is yet to be developed. The present urban population staying under YEIDA’s jurisdiction is estimated to be under 25,000.

Officials said the failure of the Jaypee Sports City and delayed payment by the group took a toll on the long-term planning of the area. However, the buzz around the Jewar international airport has reignited the hopes of the Authority.

YEIDA’s CEO Arun Vir Singh said, “Developers who had been allocated land along Yamuna Expressway to develop apartments did not pay up their dues. Without money, development work came to a halt and projects floated by the Authority had to suffer.”

“Since land had been allocated, the population estimates for 2021 were based on the timeline of such projects. But things have been moving at a fast pace due to the Jewar airport. Our residential and industrial schemes floated in the past are nearing completion,” he added.

29/11/20 Shalabh/Times of India

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2 flyers, 3 rail passengers found positive

Nagpur: Two flyers and three rail passengers were found positive following their Covid test on arrival at Nagpur airport and railway station respectively. The flyers had arrived on Friday and were asked to take RT-PCR test at the airport itself as per the state government’s SOP on incoming travellers from hotspots like Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Goa.

On Saturday, it was the first time after implementation of the SOP that any rail passenger was found positive. They had arrived from Amritsar-Bilaspur Chhattisgarh Express. The civic and railway health teams had screened 1,717 passengers. Of these, 17 were asked to take rapid antigen test. The rest of the 14 passengers were found negative, the NMC press release stated.

The three positive passengers have been permitted to stay in home isolation. The NMC has also kept the option of isolation at Pachpaoli police quarters open for passengers. It is running a Covid Care Centre and testing centre at the quarters.

On Friday, three flights from Delhi and one from Ahmedabad had landed in the city. Fifty seven passengers from both destinations didn’t have a Covid report.

29/11/20 Times of India

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Airlines again seek daily Calcutta flights from six cities

At a meeting on Thursday, the airline operators’ committee requested the director of Calcutta airport to take up the issue with the state government once again.

Flights to Calcutta from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur Chennai and Ahmedabad — the cities that have high Covid prevalence — have remained suspended since July 6 following a request from the state government. From September 1, the state government allowed flights to arrive from these cities thrice a week. Now, the flights are arriving from these cities on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“The airlines requested me to take up the issue with the state government. I had earlier raised it with the state officials and will do it once again now,” airport director Kaushik Bhattacharya said on Saturday.

However, a senior state government official said there was no plan to resume daily flights from these cities now. “There are fresh spikes in number of Covid-19 cases in Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat. So, we have to be careful,” said the official.

Civil aviation ministry officials said some airports had restrictions like Chennai was not allowing more than a particular number of flights to operate and Mumbai had asked all passengers arriving from some cities to get RT-PCR tests for Covid done before boarding the flight. “But there are no restrictions on flights from any particular city,” said officials.

An official of a private airline said they were continuing to lose revenue because of the state government decision and also facing operational problems.

Airport officials said they were also facing problems because on the days when flights arrive from the six cities there was huge overcrowding causing chaos. “If the traffic was spread through the week, this chaos would not happen,” said an airport official.

29/11/20 Telegraph

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Adampur-Mumbai flight leaves without passengers

Jalandhar: The first domestic flight connecting Mumbai and the Doaba region took off from Adampur airport on Saturday, but sans passengers.

The Adampur-Mumbai flight was supposed to take off from Adampur airport on November 25 but could not.

The flight, however, came on Friday, but could not return due to some technical fault and it left the Adampur airport on Saturday without any passenger.

As per sources, the 72-seater flight arrived here with 10 passengers and 41 passengers were scheduled to board the flight to Mumbai from Adampur on Friday. Owing to minimal bookings, there was no certainty over the active resumption of Mumbai-Adampur flight for the time being.

After Amritsar, Adampur was considered the second option for air travel to Mumbai and the announcement regarding the same was made on November 14. The flight was scheduled to take around three hours to reach its destination. The airfare for an economy class is Rs4,197, which is dependent on route, booking time and availability.

28/11/20 Tribune

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Airport power outage affects 40 outgoing flights

Calcutta: The city airport’s terminal remained without regular power supply for more than 24 hours since Thursday evening and at least 40 outgoing flights were delayed, 30 of those on Friday morning.

A 33kV power supply line of CESC got snapped during construction work for Metro Rail. Diesel generators were used as back up, but those were tripping frequently, which led to conveyor belts stopping, said officials. Airlines said many baggage could not be sent because of malfunctioning of conveyor belts.

Water supply was affected, too, and large parts of the building were dimly lit. Airport officials said this was the longest period the terminal did not have regular power supply.

The problem had started around 6pm on Thursday, when the 33kV line got damaged, and continued till late on Friday. Airport and CESC officials said it would take till Saturday morning to repair the cable and restore power supply.  

The airport, CESC sources said, has two points of supply from the utility, both 33kV. One of them powers the air traffic control, runways and allied infrastructure. The other powers the terminal lights, passenger facilities, escalators, elevators, conveyor belts, etc.

The first point was unaffected. The second point — comprising a main feeder, an alternate feeder, a communication cable — was damaged on Thursday night. “The alert came immediately. A Metro project is underway there…. Work began on a war-footing… and has been on all night, even through the day,” said a source in CESC.

He said the condition of the site was such that a drain had been overflowing and inundating the lines with water, which had been delaying work.

28/11/20 Telegraph

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October fliers’ figure crashes 62% in Ahmedabad

 Ahmedabad: The Navratri season spurred no increase in the footfalls at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport in Ahmedabad, though the flight frequency had been boosted a month earlier, in September.

Owing to apprehensions about flying during the pandemic, fliers’ footfalls continued to remain low at the airport in October. Approximately 3.58 lakh domestic as well as international passengers travelled from SVPI airport in October this year against about 9.4 lakh in the same month last year — a slide of 62%. Tour operators suggested that while tourism did pick up pace after Navratri, most people preferred destinations they could reach in private cars.

“People are scared of flying because of the pandemic. This is bound to impact passenger movement at airports,” said Manish Sharma, secretary, Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI). With overseas travel hampered, merely 15,856 persons travelled on international flights in October. They were mostly foreign nationals and expats returning to their home countries. Very few people travelled for business despite the air bubble agreement with a few countries, confirmed sources.

28/11/20 Times of India

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Minister’s flight to Chennai cancelled

Trichy: Chennai-bound Indigo flight from Trichy airport with 58 passengers, which included health minister C Vijayabaskar, had to be cancelled at the last minute due to operational reasons on Friday. The flight, scheduled for 8.45am, had to be cancelled after some of the passengers had boarded the flight.

According to the airport authorities, the flight had to be cancelled due to operational reasons and alternative arrangements were made for the passengers.

Vijayabaskar was supposed to travel to Chennai to receive the award from the Union health ministry for Tamil Nadu being the best among other states in organ donation through an online meeting in Chennai. He attended the meeting from Pudukottai district administration office. 

28/11/20 Times of India

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Greenfield link to Jewar airport: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said his ministry will take up building of a greenfield link to the upcoming Jewar airport in Uttar Pradesh to cater to the future needs of travellers. He also said the work on the new link from Delhi to Dehradun via Baghpat and Saharanpur is being expedited.

“We have decided to build the new link to Jewar. If the Uttar Pradesh government can get us the land, we will bear the expenses for the construction of this link,” Gadkari said, after virtually inaugurating a number of highway projects in UP.

The new link to Jewar airport will be built to connect the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (at Ballabhgarh) to the airport. TOI on December 12 last year had first reported the plan for construction of this access controlled corridor by 2024 when the airport is likely to be operational. Gadkari said the road link was important as the upcoming airport would be bigger than IGI airport in Delhi.

“We had a few rounds of meetings with the UP government officials and they are on board for this road link. This project is crucial to provide faster connectivity to the airport,” said an NHAI official.

Sources said this road link would be around 30 km and nearly 80% of the stretch will fall in Haryana. The rest will be under UP. The NHAI has already awarded the work for extending the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway from Sohna to DND flyway via Ballabhgarh.

On the Delhi-Dehradun new link, Gadkari said this will reduce the distance between the national capital and the capital of Uttarakhand. The NHAI has already received bids for the first two packages of this project, Akshardham to Delhi Border and Delhi Border to Eastern Peripheral Expressway intersection in Baghpat.

27/11/20 Times of India

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Flying to Mumbai? Check if you Need a Negative COVID-19 Test to Enter

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has created a dedicated zone for domestic passengers arriving from Delhi, Goa, Gujarat and Rajasthan who are required to undergo the RT-PCR test upon arrival at the airport. Passengers will be directed to the test zone located near the baggage carousel before exiting the airport.

The Maharashtra government has made it mandatory for those entering its borders from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa to be carrying a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test report. The report should not be more than three (four in the case of rail passengers) old.

The regulation was introduced a day after the government mulled over the possibility of restricting movement of people from the aforementioned states. There have been fears that the post-Diwali phase may trigger a fresh wave of Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, which currently has over 84,000 cases. 

According to the latest rules rolled out by the Maharashtra government, passengers need to take an RT-PCR test after arriving at the airport. Only then, they will be allowed to enter the city.

Mumbai International Airport Ltd released a statement saying that passengers arriving from Delhi, Goa, Gujarat and Rajasthan will be directed to the test zone that has been set up near the baggael carousel. “In keeping with the latest edict from the State of Maharashtra, passengers arriving at CSMIA from Delhi, Goa, Gujarat and Rajasthan are required to provide proof of a negative RT-PCR test prior to boarding their flight or undertake the test upon arrival at Mumbai,” the statement said.

Since the implementation of the new directive on 25th November 2020, CSMIA has tested over 200 passengers who have arrived from these earmarked regions, of which none have tested positive for COVID-19.

27/11/20 Outlook

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India’s first IoT enabled Smart Trolleys at GMR Hyderabad International Airport

New Delhi: GMR Hyderabad International Airport has gone digital by envisioning an airport platform using the Internet of Things (IoT). Walking on the steps of the Government of India's flagship Digital India Programme, it has modified its services and operations making Hyderabad a harbinger of Smart Airport City.

The GMR Hyderabad has deployed 'IoT enabled smart baggage trolleys', for the comfort of passengers. It will make it easier for the passengers to track and maintain the baggage trolleys in real-time across the airport.

The GHIAL has installed LoRa (Long Range) IoT platform for the project of Airport Baggage Trolley. The IoT technology adapted for a total of 3000 baggage trolleys will reduce the passenger waiting time substantially.

Trolley management and replenishment will be done on the basis of the requirement at various areas across the airport, thus increasing efficacy and making the whole process smoother enhancing the experience of the passenger.

This IoT-enabled Smart Trolley management will come as a solution to the various challenge faced by passengers and airport staff such as retrieval and replenishment by locating trolleys at the right time and at the right spot. Not only this, but it will also help in tracking the theft of trolleys.

27/11/20 India Today

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Over 200 passengers arriving from 4 states tested at Mumbai airport; none positive

Mumbai: The Mumbai airport on Thursday said it has tested over 200 passengers arriving from Delhi, Goa, Gujarat and Rajasthan since Wednesday as part of the Maharashtra government''s order, and none of these passengers was tested positive.

The private airport operator also said it has created a dedicated zone for domestic passengers arriving from these places who are required to undergo the mandatory RT-PCR test.

In its revised standard operating procedures on preventive measures to check the spread of COVID-19 in the state issued on November 23, the state government made it mandatory for all persons entering the state from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa to carry RT-PCR negative reports.

"In keeping with the latest edict from Maharashtra, passengers arriving at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) from Delhi, Goa, Gujarat and Rajasthan are required to provide proof of a negative RT-PCR test prior to boarding their flight or undertake the test upon arrival at Mumbai," the private airport operator said in a statement.

However, the cockpit and cabin crew of airlines have been exempted from this rule.

"Since the implementation of the new directive on November 25, CSMIA has tested over 200 passengers who have arrived from these earmarked regions, of which none have tested positive for COVID-19," it said in the statement.

26/11/20 PTI/Outlook

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Naming Mangaluru airport after Koti Chennaya will wash BJP's sins - Akshith Suvarna

Mangaluru: “District MP Nalin Kumar Kateel led BJP government which is selling the government-owned organizations to private parties ever since it came to power, should at least name Mangaluru’s international airport after Koti Chennaya and wash their sins,” stated Akshith Suvarna, president of Yuva Janata Dal in the district.

“Narendra Modi led BJP government has not only assigned the contract of the airport to Gujarat based Adani company, but named it Gautham Adani airport, cheating the people.

"BJP which is always giving speeches about the history of the district has sold prestigious organizations to Gujarat’s businessmen and returned the help received when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat. Vijaya Bank, Syndicate Bank and Corporation bank which were born in the coast and running on profit were merged with loss-making banks insulting people in the district. But Nalin Kumar Kateel despite being the MP in the district remained indifferent.

"The international airport in Mangaluru was constructed by the efforts of former MP Srinivas Mallya, but his name is kept hidden and the name of Adani who gives money to BJP for elections is given to it. How the district MP who justifies the action faces the people. The MP should change the name of the airport to Koti Chennaya airport by means of an official notification from the government. The people should be alert about such MPs as he will not hesitate to sell the district to others one day,” stated Akshith Suvarna in a press release.

26/11/20 Daijiworld

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Bengaluru Airport records 26-month high cargo exports

Bengaluru: Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BIAL/ KIAB) exported 34,339 metric tonnes (MT) of cargo in October 2020, recording a 26-month high in tonnage. Bengaluru airport witnessed a highest-ever domestic outbound tonnage of 8,117 MT in October, largely driven by e-commerce shipments. Perishable commodities, which have been the major growth driver for Bengaluru airport in FY 2020-21, continued to be the top international commodity, accounting for 12% of total exports in October. Doha emerged as the top destination in October 2020, with 1,095 MT. After becoming the first airport in India to record positive growth in September this year, the trend continued in October 2020 as well, registering a 0.1 % increase against October 2019. The record single-day Air Traffic Movement (ATM) was 52 ATMs on October 22, with the day witnessing a volume of 1,359 MT of cargo.

26/11/20 Hans India

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Covid cloud hits Bhopal airport; rebates to keep business afloat

Bhopal: With the Covid cloud hitting the aviation, the airport authority is taking several initiatives to help retail businesses and travel at the Raja Bhoj airport.

In last few years, a lot of private retail shops were opened at the city airport. In fact, Bhopal airport was selected among the 12 airports for master concessionaire scheme two years ago.

These were Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Lucknow, Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Srinagar, Guwahati and Goa. Under the scheme, companies, for using space at the airport, had to pay (Airport Authority of India) AAI a concession fee equivalent to the quoted monthly amount over and above the minimum monthly guarantee (MMG) with annual escalation or particular per cent of fixed revenue share of the monthly net sales.

After Covid-19 hit, several retail companies have either surrendered their licenses or refused to continue.

When contacted, director Anil Vikram said, “AAI waivedoff fee of all the commercial licences from during the duration of ‘No Passenger Movement”. Moreover, a huge rebate was given based on reduction of passenger movement post lockdown to all the licensee in the coming months.”

27/11/20 Ramesh Singh/Times of India

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Flights cancelled, but airlines charge Rs 500 to issue refunds

Chennai: Airlines are charging Rs500 if passengers want a refund of tickets on domestic flights cancelled because of adverse weather at Chennai airport. They give two options -- to change the ticket to another date for free or cancel and get a refund.

However, those who opted for refund were surprised to learn that a cancellation charge is being deducted. And those who tried to change their travel date for free are not able to get a convenient date allotted.

V Darshan, who wanted to cancel his ticket from Chennai to Mangalore after IndiGo airlines cancelled the flight, was told that they will deduct Rs500 before refund. “I wanted to change my travel date but then they told me that I should fly out within two days. It’s unfair to have such conditions. I cannot travel in two days.”

GoAir too is deducting money before giving refunds for flights cancelled because of the cyclone. A passenger commented on social media, “When asked for refund, you are deducting cancellation charge. Pl give full refund.”

Passengers are facing many inconveniences regarding tickets after the flights were suspended on Wednesday. A passenger said date selection has been disabled for alternate flights on SpiceJet. IndiGo has given a passenger four options for the same day as flights are full for the subsequent days. To queries, IndiGo said alternative flights are shown depending on the availability.

Airline executives are telling passengers to approach customer care. However, there are complaints that it takes time to get a response from the call centre.

26/11/20 Times of India

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Surat-Sharjah flight to remain suspended till March 27

Surat: The wait for the high-flying Surtis to fly directly to Sharjah is getting longer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Air India Express on Wednesday announced that the international flight services between Surat and Sharjah will remain suspended till March 27, 2021. However, the operations will resume once the coronavirus situation in the country gets under control.

Official sources at the Surat airport said that the authorities sent an official communication on Wednesday stating that the flight operations has been suspended till March.

The announcement regarding the normal operations will be made in the fourth week of March.

The flight was cancelled after the first lockdown was announced in the country to contain the spread of Covid-19 in March.

According to the figures available from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), about 4,000 passengers would travel to and from Sharjah to Surat per month.

The lone international flight between Surat and Sharjah commenced operations in February, 2019. In December, 2019, the number of passengers has gone up to about 5,500 per month.

26/11/20 Times of India

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Plea in HC against Centre's decision to allow flower imports only through Chennai airport

New Delhi: A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court challenging a central government notification which prevents import of fresh flowers from all airports in the country except Chennai.

The petition by an association representing traders of fresh fruits, flowers and vegetables has challenged that the July 9 notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) permitting import of flowers from Chennai airport only.

The association has contended that the decision is arbitrary.

The matter was listed before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan on Thursday.

However, as the bench did not sit, the matter has been adjourned to December 18.

26/11/20 PTI/Outlook

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New export cargo terminal will open at Bengaluru airport in January

Bengaluru: An export cargo terminal, supposed to be the first in the country, will be unveiled at Kempegowda International Airport cargo complex in January 2021 alongside an all-new digital platform for cargo operations, thus eliminating paperwork completely.

Satyaki Raghunath, chief strategy and development officer, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), announced the dedicated cargo terminal to facilitate operations of key players, including DHL and FedEx, inside Bengaluru airport cargo complex.

26/11/20 Times of India

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Uttarakhand Wildlife Board de-notifies Shivalik Elephant Reserve for expansion of Dehradun airport

Dehradun: In the face of opposition from activists and environmentalists, the Uttarakhand State Wildlife Board on Tuesday decided to denotify the Shivalik Elephant Reserve. The decision was taken during the 16th meeting of the board chaired by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to make way for the expansion of Dehradun's Jolly Grant airport.

In addition, the Uttarakhand State Wildlife Board also gave its approval to four new trek routes in Nelang Valley in the Gangotri National Park in a bid to boost tourism in the state. The newly approved trek routes include Dumku-Chorgad (18km), Jaspur-Brahmikhal (14km), Jhala-Avan meadow (10km) and Nadung-Janaktal (10km).

Chief Wildlife Warden JS Suhag told news agency PTI that the withdrawal of the 2002 notification on Shivalik Elephant Reserve will allow authorities to initiate development activities in an area spread across 5,405 sq km falling under a dozen forest divisions across the state of Uttarakhand. This will include the expansion of the Dehradun airport, he added.

"The notification on Shivalik Elephant Reserve had no legal sanction as it was just a government order which did not have the Cabinet's approval," JS Suhag went on to add.

Referring to the newly approved trek routes, the Chief Wildlife Warden said that the limit of five vehicles and 30 people per day has now been increased to 20 vehicles and 100 people per day.

26/11/20 India Today

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Flyers to pay Rs 1,400 for RT-PCR test at airport

Nagpur: The district and civic authorities will start screening and if need be perform rapid antigen test (RAT) on rail, road passengers and RT-PCR on air travellers coming from Delhi, Gujarat, Rajashtan and Goa from Wednesday morning.

RAT, which gives the results in 30 minutes, would be free of cost while the domestic flyers, who arrive with a Covid -ve report, will have to bear the expenses of the test.

Some labs have offered to do the RT-PCR test at the airport at Rs1400 per passenger. As per state government orders, home visit charges are Rs1600 for RT-PCR sample collection. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has instructed labs to charge as per the order.

Airlines have made it compulsory for flyers to obtain a Covid negative report through RT-PCR test before boarding the flight. Officials of three different airlines operating from Nagpur told TOI that even travellers for urgent reasons with last-minute tickets will be denied boarding without the certificate.

A GoAir representative shared a note which reads that travellers will have to carry a certificate and on failing to comply, the test will be undertaken at the concerned airport at their own cost. The official, however, stressed that boarding will not be permitted without the certificate. Indigo Airlines also shared a note. It was about a tie-up with a private lab for the tests.

Municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B told TOI that airport and railway station authorities would screen and help segregate passengers from these worst-affected states. “Four teams, each comprising a doctor, nurse and data entry operator, would be deployed at the airport and railway station for testing and recording details round the clock,” he said.

Only passengers arriving without a test and showing symptoms like cough, cold or fever would be tested. “Symptomatic rail passengers testing negative will be asked to isolate at home and the NMC team will later do the RT-PCR. Residents of the other states testing positive would be put up at the Pachpaoli Covid care centre (CCC) for 14 days,” he said.

25/11/20 Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shishir Arya & Vijay Pinjarkar/Times of India

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Cyclone Nivar: 26 flights cancelled after heavy rains batter Chennai

Over two dozen flights arriving and taking off from the Chennai airport have been cancelled after heavy rains and strong winds battered the city as cyclone Nivar approached. According to news agency ANI, the Chennai Airport in a statement said that a total of 26 scheduled flights have been cancelled. 

Meanwhile, Indigo airlines has cancelled 24 flights from and to Chennai due to heavy rain triggered by the Cyclone Nivar. Cyclone Nivar, which is expected to intensify into a “very severe cyclonic storm” is all set to make landfall around Puducherry on Wednesday night.

26 flights -- bot arrivals and departures have been cancelled as heavy rain lashed Chennai ahead of Cyclone Nivar landfall. Most of them are flights using small aircraft ATR-72. In total 49 flights have been cancelled.

IndiGo flights to or from in the southern region, mainly Chennai, have been disrupted. "Forty-nine flights that were scheduled for tomorrow have been cancelled. We will monitor the situation and decide on the further course of action for November 26," said IndiGo.

Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India has urged passengers to contact the airline for details.

SpiceJet also issued an alert saying that the cyclone Nivar might impact flight operations from Chennai and Vijayawada and cancellations will be intimated to passengers through sms/email.

25/11/20 India TV

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Andhra Pradesh Government starts Dagadarthi airport works

Nellore: The YSRCP government finally resumed works on the Greenfield Airport at Dagadarthi by inviting tenders for the Detailed Project Report. The Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (Incap) invited tenders for commercial operations of passenger and cargo aircraft. The last date for filing bids was November 24 and the date for opening them is December 2.

The district administration earmarked 3,407.77 acre land under Damavaram, Dagadarthi, Velupodu , and K Kourugunta villages for the airport in 2013, and subsequently, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had expressed its nod for initial acquisition of 614 acre and the Union government had accorded clearance in December 2015. Government of India enterprise RITES prepared the feasibility study also.

The airport would be a low-cost, no-frills airport under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode and will be developed at a cost of Rs 368 crore. The government had spent around Rs 20 crore on compensation to the farmers who provided lands. But the Principal Secretary of Infrastructure and Investments Ajay Jain informed in 2017 that they had dropped the proposal owing to the huge compensation demanded by the farmers.

The TDP government had inked an MoU with the SCL Turbo, a consortium of Nellore International Airport Private Limited, for developing the airport and a cargo hub and subsequently there was a concession agreement in 2018. Last August, minister for industries and IT Mekapati Goutham Reddy announced that the AAI is going to construct the airport and the state government had expressed interest in handing over lands to the aviation ministry for proceeding with the plans. But the proposal failed to gain momentum.

25/11/20 Hans India

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Kerala seeks stay on handing over of Thiruvananthapuram Airport to Adani Group

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government on Tuesday moved a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an interim stay on the Centre’s move to hand over the Trivandrum International Airport to the Adani Group.

Challenging the Kerala High Court order which rejected the state government’s petition questioning the Centre’s decision to lease out the international airport here to Adani Group, C K Sasi, who appeared for the state government, sought an interim stay on the High Court order of October 19 which allowed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to let Adani Enterprises Limited take over the operation, management and development of the airport for 50 years.

While arguing that the winning concessionaire Adani Group has no previous experience in running or managing airports, the state said the Centre’s decision to hand over the airport to Adani is arbitrary. The state government has enough experience in managing airports by handling Kochi and Kannur airports.

Further, the tendering process for the airport was in violation of the provisions of the Airports Authority of India Act, the state contended. The petition also said the state government had suggested a proposal to run the airport on a revenue-sharing basis after forming a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

Further, the state was ready to pay the price quoted by the winning concessionaire if the airport was handed over to it. Ignoring all these proposals, the Centre had moved ahead and awarded the airport to the private entity, the state said.

25/11/20 New Indian Express

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Patna-Amritsar SpiceJet flight makes emergency landing, passengers stranded for 8 hours

New Delhi: An Amritsar bound SpiceJet flight from Patna had to make an emergency landing on Sunday owing to a technical error in the flight's engine, while all the passengers on board were safe, as per media reports. 

A News18 report said that SpiceJet flight SG 3723, which had taken off from Patna airport at 11.30 AM on Sunday had to make an emergency landing at Patna airport after it developed the engine issue. 

All 65 passengers on board the flight were stranded at the Patna airport for over 8 hours, during which plane was inspected and was deemed fit to fly again. The flight, took off again from Patna airport, after due diligence for its scheduled destination to Amritsar, News18 report added.

In September this year, SpiceJet had announced the launch of daily flight services connecting Darbhanga with Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Darbhanga, was bagged by SpiceJet under UDAN II and marks the airline’s 13th destination under the Aviation Ministry’s Regional Connectivity Scheme and 55th destination on the airline’s domestic network.

SpiceJet will operate daily direct flights on the Delhi-Darbhanga, Bengaluru-Darbhanga and Mumbai-Darbhanga sectors starting November 8, 2020. SpiceJet will be the first and only airline to operate flight services on these sectors and the airline will deploy its Boeing 737-800 on all these routes. Darbhanga is the fifth largest city of Bihar and is also known as Heart of the Mithilanchal. The airport serves various districts of Mithila Region including Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Samastipur, Sitamarhi, Champaran, Saharsa, Purnea and Mithila region of Nepal including Janakpur, Biratnagar, Saptari, Mahottari etc.

23/11/20 Zee News

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BIAL invites RFP from design consultants for two metro stations at airport

Bengaluru: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has invited a Request for Proposal (RFP) from Detailed Design Consultant (DDC) for developing two metro stations at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA or BIAL) as part of the 37-km Bangalore Metro Phase 2B project. BIAL is expecting the consultant to coordinate with the stakeholders and develop detailed design deliverables from the schematic drawings that are already completed.

Recently, the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) and BIAL signed an MoU to develop the roughly 4.5 km at-grade section within the airport's property. It's learnt that BMRCL will construct the airport metro section, along with civil, electro-mechanical, other associated facilities, works and related assets, while BIAL will develop, manage, and maintain the two metro stations that will be located within the airport boundary. According to the reports, both these stations at Airport City and BIAL Terminals are at the northern-end of the elevated 56-km ORR-Airport Line (Line-5 / Blue Line) which will connect the airport with Silkboard through 30 stations.

24/11/20 Nischith N/Hans India

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GMR-Megawide submits key docs for P109-B NAIA rehab bid

Cebu City: The consortium of Megawide Construction and India’s GMR Infrastructure Ltd., which operates the Cebu airport, announced Monday it has complied with the additional requirements necessary for its PHP109-billion unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate and transform the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) into a world-class airport.

 The submission of additional documents to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which includes the statement of joint and solidary liability from the Megawide-led consortium as required by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), meets a key milestone by the Megawide and GMR partnership towards its goal of starting the long-hoped-for rehabilitation and transformation of the NAIA complex.

 “The financial documents we submitted are sufficient to exclusively support the requirements of the NAIA project. With this, we are hopeful our proposal to rehabilitate and transform NAIA into a first-world airport complex can now be elevated to the Cabinet committee for approval and proceed to Swiss challenge,” Louie Ferrer, Megawide’s managing director for transport, said in a statement disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange. 

 “Infrastructure investment is critical for our country to build back from the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. We at Megawide are ready to do our part by providing employment and enhancing the Philippines’ competitiveness in infrastructure, especially airports,” he added.

23/11/20 Carlo Lorenciana/Philippine News Agency

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Fog effect: Airlines asked to reduce flights at Patna airport

Patna: The number of flights at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport is likely to be reduced next month in view of foggy conditions likely to prevail in the coming weeks.

Airports Authority India (AAI) officials at Patna, after a meeting with city airport director Bhupesh CH Negi, other stakeholders, airlines executives and the officials of local weather office on Monday, requested the airlines to withdraw some of the flights in view of prediction of shallow foggy conditions in the city during the morning and night time in the coming weeks. The revised winter schedule would be released next month.

“Operating late night and early flights would not be possible in December,” said an AAI (Patna) official, adding that another meeting would be held next week.

Patna airport is presently operating 50 flights per day, including 20 of IndiGo, 16 of SpiceJet, eight of GoAir, four of Air India and two of Vistara.

The airport is working on the extension of approach light up to 720m from present 420m on the eastern side of the runway. But it is likely to be ready by next winter. The AAI team would visit the airport on Tuesday to see the areas where the lights will be installed.

The Airport Environment Management Committee (AEMC) will also hold its meeting next week to see the preparedness of Patna airport to tackle the flow of passengers in winter by following the safety protocols amid Covid-19 pandemic.

24/11/20 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

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Chennai rain: Airlines announce flight cancellations

Chennai: IndiGo cancelled three flights to and from Chennai on Tuesday because of heavy rain triggered by cyclone Nivar.

Two arrivals --Kochi-Chennai IndiGo scheduled at 9.15pm and Trichy-Chennai IndiGo scheduled at 11.25pm -- have been cancelled. Chennai-Trichy IndiGo scheduled at 8.35pm is also cancelled.

TruJet cancelled Chennai-Salem flight and IndiGo has cancelled Chennai-Mangalore flight, scheduled for Wednesday.

Though some flights are getting cancelled, flight operations are going on at Chennai airport.

24/11/20 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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UP to rename Ayodhya airport as Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram Airport

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has approved the proposal to rename the airport in Ayodhya district to Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram Airport, Ayodhya.

In this regard, the article of the proposed resolution for passing in the state assembly has also been approved. It has also been decided to forward this resolution approved by the Council of Ministers from the State Legislative Assembly to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India.

Earlier this month, the city of Ayodhya celebrated the first Diwali after the foundation-stone ceremony for Ram Temple's construction which was conducted on August 5 this year.

24/11/20 Shivendra Srivastava/India Today

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On the wings of delay: Halwara airport is yet again caught in red-tapism

Ludhiana: The construction work of the international airport at Halwara may get delayed further: despite floating tenders for the construction of boundary wall, the public works department (PWD) is yet to open the same, as they are yet to get mandatory approval from Airport Authority of India (AAI). Meanwhile, AAI officials are waiting for mutation of the acquired land at Aitiana in favour of the Authority before giving go ahead to state government department for start of work on boundary wall.

The PWD officials said the tenders for construction of about 2,300m boundary brick wall, with a height of 10 feet and 2 feet wide, were to be opened in the first week of November.

Executive engineer PWD (building and roads (B&R) wing), Rakesh Garg confirmed that they are yet to get approval for the construction of boundary wall from AAI. He indicated that tenders will be opened after they get the necessary approval.

PWD officer said the estimated cost of construction of boundary wall is around Rs 3 crore. He added that it might take about six months for construction of the boundary wall once the work begins.

An AAI officials, meanwhile, said permission might not be granted without mutation of acquired land for Halwara airport in the name of authority.

An AAI officer asking not to be named said the state government has got mutation of land of Sahnewal Airport in the name of AAI, but it is yet to transfer the ownership of land at Aitina, where land has been acquired for Halwara airport, in the name of AAI. He added that it was in the memorandum of understanding between AAI and the state government that land will be transferred to AAI but despite that it has not been done.

23/11/20 Shariq Majeed/Times of India

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Rush at airport as many fly back to workplaces

Patna: Heavy rush was witnessed at the city airport and bus depots on Sunday as people were heading back to their workplaces after the Chhath festival, which concluded on Saturday.

Many people preferred flights, buses and private or rented vehicles to return from home as many trains were either not running amid the Covid-19 pandemic or had no berth available.

Flyers at the airport complained of being stuck in long queues for security checks due to slow process and following the Covid-19 safety norms and protocols. Some of them reported late for boarding due to this reason.

Ankur Kumar Singh of Kadamkuan, an IT professional working in Mumbai, said there was a long queue for security check at baggage counters and frisking without maintaining any social distance. “The airport needs to increase the facilities owing to huge rush amid the pandemic,” he said.

Ravi Bhardwaj flying to Delhi said, “I had anticipated the rush to resume work from Monday. So, I reached almost 2 hours before my scheduled flight time.”

Smriti Kumari, a banker heading to Hyderabad, said, “Due to Covid, many people prefer flight to travel. The airport also has less number of counters to get boarding passes and space for security check-in.”

Amritansh, who missed his flight, tweeted: “Worst experience with GoAir flight Patna to Bengaluru. They moved my flight to morning without prior intimation. No email, SMS, phone (sic).”

The airlines executives at Patna airport claimed that all the outgoing flights were full. The number of flights at Patna airport increased from 44 to 50 before the Chhath, giving more options to flyers to travel from Patna to Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The revised schedule will remain effective till December-end.

23/11/20 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

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APADCL Moots Aircraft Repair Centre at Orvakal Airport in Kurnool

The State Airports Development Corporation (APADCL) hopes to set up an Aircraft Repair and Maintenance (MRO) Center at Orvakal Airport in Kurnool. The proposals for setting up an MRO center will be implemented after the commencement of commercial activities from here. The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation will issue the necessary clearances to start commercial services from Kurnool Airport after the completion of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) scrutiny in the first week of December. In addition, APADCL hopes that the establishment of the MRO Centre will enable it to make full use of the infrastructure.

It is learnt that currently they had to rely on Bangalore and Shamshabad International Airports to operate flights. Due to the increase in the number of services at these two airports, the congestion is high. This makes clearance not available quickly. Maintenance charges are high. APADCL therefore hopes to set up a centre in the state. As it is a newly established airport the services will not be large. Officials said immediate clearance would be found and maintenance costs would be lower. It has sought tenders from companies to set up a pilot training center here.

23/11/20 Pavan Kumar Bandari/Hans India

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Search for new private partner to operate Nagpur airport soon

Nagpur: After GMR’s bid to take over Nagpur airport was cancelled, there are now plans to appoint a fresh private partner for the airport on per passenger revenue sharing model. This is in line with the method adopted by Airports Authority of India (AAI) for privatizing the airports in its possession. Earlier, a fixed share of total revenue was offered by the private partner for Nagpur airport.

GMR Airports had emerged as the highest bidder, offering 14.49% of the total revenue in bulk for operating the Nagpur airport. The tender was cancelled in May this year. This was because Nagpur airport’s current earnings itself are more than what it would have got as revenue share from GMR as a private partner.

“Now, the process of appointing a fresh transaction consultant for the airport privatization is expected to start from next month onwards,” said airport director Abid Ruhi of Mihan India Limited (MIL), the current operator.

MIL is a joint venture between Airports Authority of India (AAI) and state government’s Maharashtra Airports Development Company (MADC). It plans to offload stake to a private partner, which in turn will invest for the airport development by bringing in new infrastructure.

Ruhi told the transaction consultant will formulate the privatization process. Ernst & Young was the consultant in the earlier round.

The new per-passenger model is different from the old plan. Under the new plan the revenue will be pegged on per passenger arrival and departure. The revenue to be received by MIL will increase in direct proportion to the passenger traffic, said Ruhi.

Sources said under the per-passenger model, the private operator will have to pay a fixed charge on the basis of each passenger using the airport in a given period of time.

“There may be fixed space for leasing out on rent. However, the number of passengers can always increase with time. With this, the per passenger share for MIL can always vary from period to period,” he explained.

Appointing the transaction consultant will be the first step towards roping in the private partner, he said.

Meanwhile, the passenger traffic at Nagpur airport remains around half of the pre-lockdown levels. The airport had shut on March 26 and reopened on May 23.

23/11/20 Shishir Arya/Times of India

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Runway expansion: Govt urged to move fast on Madurai underpass

Madurai: The state government should take an expeditious decision on expansion of the Madurai airport runway in the wake of Airports Authority of India informing that proposal to construct an underpass for Ring Road through the runway is financially unviable, various stakeholders have said.

Ring Road, which connects various southern districts, passes through the proposed place where the runway expansion was planned. It will have to be diverted to circumnavigate the area or an underpass built. Observers point out that although such a diversion would cost far less, it could be unrealistic considering the additional 160 acres of land acquired. This may lead to litigation and the process could drag on for years. It has been 12 years since the acquisition of 615 acres of land for runway expansion was proposed, but it is yet to be completed.

"Although Mysore and Varanasi airports are getting underpass, AAI has refused it for Madurai citing the cost factor. State government should come forward to take up the project in the best interests of the development of the southern districts," said an official at Madurai airport.

At present, Madurai airport’s runway length is 7,500 feet which is proposed to be expanded to about 12,500 ft, which means it will have to be expanded for about one-and-a-half kilometres. This will facilitate the landing of wide-body aircraft.

23/11/20 V Devanathan/Times of India

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Cops intervene after airport cabbies overcharge

Ahmedabad: Instead of ferrying passengers home without any trouble from SVPI airport on Sunday, a number of cabbies overcharged them. The malpractice came to the fore after personnel from the SVPI Airport Police Station intervened in a heated argument between cabbies and passengers outside the domestic terminal on Sunday afternoon.

R R Desai, inspector, SVPI Airport Police Station, said: “We went to the airport when we were informed about a prolonged argument between drivers and passengers over fares.” Desai added: “We held a meeting with the cab drivers’ association and instructed them clearly to charge only what is due, especially in such unprecedented circumstances.”

23/11/20 Times of India

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Kempegowda International Airport sees 81.6 per cent dip in flyers in first half of fiscal year

Bengaluru: The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) saw 35,47,644 domestic and international flyers from April to October this year as against 1,93,06,980 last year, a dip of 81.6 per cent. 

In October, it had 11,46,474 passengers as against 27,83,484 last year, a fall of 58.8 per cent, as per data released by the Airports Authority of India on Saturday.

Domestic flight operations in the country restarted on May 25 after a stoppage of two months because of Covid. Regular international operations have not yet commenced except repatriation Vande Bharat Mission flights which started on May 7. Flights are being operated to the US, the UK, France and Germany where special air bubble arrangements in place. 

KIA had 31,446 international passengers in October, as against 3,98,280 last year, a fall of 92.1 per cent. In the first half of this financial year, 1,25,379 international passengers used the airport, as compared to 28,30,003 in 2019. BIAL CEO Hari Marar reserved comment. 

The only other international airport in the state at Mangalore had 12,157 international flyers in October as against 48,028 last year, a dip of 74.7%. Airports across the country showed an overall negative growth of 62.2% in October compared to the same period last year.

23/11/20 New Indian Express

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Airports to have flexible slots, temperature-controlled zones to transport Covid vaccines

New Delhi: Major Indian airports will provide flexible slots and separate temperature-controlled zones while air cargo operators would run multiple flights in a short time span to transport COVID-19 vaccines that are expected to become available in India early next year.

The Indian government is in touch with Moderna, Pfizer, Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila over the progress of the clinical trials of each of the vaccine candidates.

The CSMIA (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport) in Mumbai is the “largest pharma gateway in the country” and it will provide flexible slot allocation for ad hoc freighter operations for transportation of COVID-19 vaccines, a spokesperson of the airport told PTI.

A slot is a date and time at which an aircraft is permitted to depart or arrive at an airport.

The CSMIA will provide “round the clock green channel with dedicated truck docks, X-Ray machine, ULD (unit load device) buildup workstation” and key account managers will be deployed for “round the clock monitoring of vaccine operations”, the spokesperson said.

On the topic of COVID-19 vaccine transportation, a spokesperson of air cargo operator Blue Dart — which has six Boeing 757 freighter aircraft in its fleet — told PTI that the company’s air capability “has various scalability options including charters as well as variable timing options”.

“We have eight pharma grade conditioning rooms at eight strategic locations like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune. These rooms are at close proximity to our Blue Dart aviation station which increases our turnaround time and will aid in speedy delivery, he added.

On the topic of COVID-19 vaccine transportation, a spokesperson of air cargo operator Blue Dart — which has six Boeing 757 freighter aircraft in its fleet — told PTI that the company’s air capability “has various scalability options including charters as well as variable timing options”.

“We have eight pharma grade conditioning rooms at eight strategic locations like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune. These rooms are at close proximity to our Blue Dart aviation station which increases our turnaround time and will aid in speedy delivery, he added.

A senior official of another major air cargo operator in India said the transportation of COVID-19 vaccines for as big as a population as India’s will be a “massive undertaking” and his company is readying to operate “multiple flights in a short time span” whenever the demand arises.

Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India’s CEO Adar Poonawalla had on November 19 said at a summit that the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine should be available for healthcare workers and elderly people by around February 2021 and by April for the general public in India.

22/11/20 PTI/Print

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AAI virtually opened the celebrations of Aviation Safety Awareness Week

New Delhi: Shri Arvind Singh Chairman of AAI, Airports Authority of India today virtually opened the celebrations of Aviation Safety Awareness Week. Shri Maneesh Kumar, DDG, DGCA shared his views on better management of Aviation Safety. Sh B.K. Sarkar, ED (Aviation Safety) further detailed the event agenda.

 "During COVID19 in spite of reduced flight movements, wildlife/bird menace is high at the airports compared to previous years. Safety preventive measures should continue unabated irrespective of traffic volume," said AAI Chairman while inaugurating the week-long event. ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization.

The Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020 will observed from 23rd November to 27th November 2020. The week-long celebration is being observed at all airports and ANS locations managed by AAI across India. 

 Shri Arvind Singh, Chairman, AAI, requested all Regional Executive Directors & Airport Directors to be proactive and to devote time personally for monitoring safety performance of their respective region/station. Shri Singh further stressed that during Covid-19 situation in spite of reduced flight movements, it has been observed that wildlife/bird menace has increased at airports. Safety preventive measures should continue unabated irrespective of traffic volume. 

To raise awareness on Aviation Safety, AAI will undertake various employee engagement programs at the airports and ANS stations like reviewing of documents and facilities, Mock exercises, preventive maintenance etc. Various social campaigns too will be rolled out to raise awareness on the issue. Banners and posters are being displayed across AAI offices and operational centres to educate both external and internal stakeholders on the significance of the Safety Awareness Week. 

23/11/20 PSU Connect

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Ludhiana-Delhi flight again rescheduled to afternoon hours

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Ludhiana: More than two months after the lone flight operator had rescheduled the Ludhiana-Delhi flight to morning, fulfilling a long-standing demand of the local business community, it has changed the timing again to the afternoon hours. This has not gone down well with many businessmen as the timing doesn’t suit them.

As per the recent revised schedule that will be effective from December 1 to February 28 next year, the lone Air India flight to the city will take off from Delhi at 2pm and reach Sahnewal airport at 3.15pm. The revised schedule suggests that the flight from Ludhiana will take off at 3.45pm and reach Delhi by 4.55pm.

Earlier, Air India had announced change in timings from afternoon hours to morning hours from September 10 and at that time Air India had said that it was being done on demand from the business community. As per that schedule, the flight will depart from Delhi at 9am to reach Ludhiana at 10.15am and fly back at 10.45am.

Even as the flight timings have been changed as per the latest schedule, the flight will continue to operate on four days a week, which include Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The airport officials said that the flight timings were being changed to afternoon hours as there were cancellations and delays in the flight due to visibility issues because of fog/smog in the ongoing winter. They added that since the flight needs a visibility of 1,500m for landing, so it usually gets cancelled or delayed due to fog/smog, etc. at the airport in the morning hours.

Meanwhile, the data of cancellations and delays from October 20 to November 7 suggests that on four days the flight was cancelled due to bad weather in Ludhiana while on four days it got delayed. The data with TOI suggests that occupancy of the flight continues to be low. Even as the occupancy for arrival flight is between 20-30%, for outgoing flight, it is between 18% to 29% for incoming flights.

23/11/20 Shariq Majeed/Times of India

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Big aircraft: DGCA check on Karipur airport

Kozhikode: An expert team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will visit Calicut International Airport for an inspection in connection with resumption of wide-bodied aircraft services that were suspended following the crash of Air India Express flight after it overshot the runway in August.

Kozhikode MP MK Raghavan said that DGCA deputy director S Durairaj will visit the airport on November 25 for inspection. He added that during a recent telephone conversation DGCA chief Arun Kumar had informed him that there were no practical difficulties for resumption of wide-bodied flights from the airport. “We are hopeful that operations of wide-bodied airlines can be resumed from the airport after inspection by DGCA team,” he added.

The MP said that once operation of wide bodied aircraft resumes, jumbo flights by Saudia, Air India , Qatar Airways will be possible along with reinstatement of Haj embarkation point at the airport.

MP K Muraleedharan, who is also a member of the parliamentary consultative committee on civil aviation, too had taken up the matter with Union civil aviation authorities.

22/11/20 Times of India

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Now, fly between Mysuru and Mangaluru in one hour

Mysuru: In a big boost to the tourism activities in the entire southern region of Karnataka, much-awaited Mysuru-Mangaluru air service will start from December 10.

"It is the result of continuous efforts. There was a huge demand for this service. I thank all for realising this dream" Mysuru MP Pratap Sima told TOI. "This flight will operate four days in a week initially," he said.

According to the sources, Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India Limited is commencing direct flight operations from Mysuru to Mangaluru and on return direction. The flight will operate on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Flight 9I 532 will depart from Mysuru at 11.15 am and arrive in Mangaluru at 12.15 pm. Flight 9I 533 will depart from Mangaluru at 12. 40 pm and arrive in Mysuru at 1.40 pm.

22/11/20 Shrinivasa M/Times of India

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Belagavi Airport sees high traffic at cost of Hubballi

Hubballi: The airport in Belagavi has emerged as the next most high traffic airport in the state, after Bengaluru and Mangaluru airports.

Hubballi Airport, which was the third busiest airport in the state in 2018 and 2019, has now witnessed a drastic fall in the number of passengers between April to October 2020, according to statistics released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Friday. Hubballi is pushed to the last place among domestic airports, under AAI in the state.

Commenting on the development, Naveen Jha, a serial entrepreneur and frequent air traveller, observed that uncertainty of flights increased at Hubballi Airport, while it’s almost zero at Sambra Airbase in Belagavi. “This uncertainty has disturbed Hubballi air passengers a lot. Many a times we are forced to travel via Belagavi. Another issue is that people in Hubballi are kept in the dark on when airlines will withdraw their flights, and when they will resume. A recent instance is the flight service to Delhi. It was launched with much fanfare, and was withdrawn suddenly, after which it resumed again. Such uncertainty makes people opt for travelling via other airports,” he analysed.

Santosh Huralikoppi, a frequent traveller and an IT entrepreneur, noted that the fear caused due to Covid was more in Hubballi. “Another reason for air traffic reducing in Hubballi is that flights were resumed at Belagavi Airport and not Hubballi Airport, after the lockdown period. However, as more flights are now being resumed or launched, things may get streamlined by January,” he said.

A Kendriya Vidyalaya teacher recalled that he had booked his ticket from Hindon to Hubballi after Dasara. “As the airliner cancelled its service and informed us two days before the journey date, we travelled to Belagavi and then went to Hubballi to carry out our work the next day. Belagavi Airport has seen higher air traffic, probably due to Hubballi passengers like us,” he said.

22/11/20 Sangamesh Menasinkai/Times of India

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New aprons being built at Coimbatore airport

Coimbatore: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is speeding up construction of seven new aprons at the Coimbatore International Airport to attract airlines to operate more base flights from the city.

The new aprons (aircraft parking area) under construction are in addition to the nine existing ones at the airport.

Airport Director R. Mahalingam said that the works of the new aprons are expected to be completed before March.

“Of the seven new aprons, five are designed to accommodate narrow-body aircraft like the A320. The two other are made for ATR flights. The works were expected to get over in December which got delayed due to the COVID-19 situation,” he said.

The existing nine aprons can accommodate narrow-body aircraft. For the new aprons, AAI converted some of the existing unused lands at the airport which are away from the terminal building.

“We expect that the COVID-19 situation will ease by March and the aviation sector will function normally as before. Availability of more aprons will be an advantage for the airport when an airline plans to operate new base flight,” said Mr. Mahalingam.

21/11/20 Wilson Thomas/The Hindu

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Tamil Nadu: Passengers from cities with high Covid-19 cases go unmonitored

Chennai: Covid-19 cases may be surging in Delhi, but close to 3,000 people who arrive by flights and trains daily go almost unmonitored as checks have been relaxed following unlocking of restrictions. Temperature check is done at the airport but follow-up tracking is not done while at railway stations arriving passengers are not checked.

Delhi reported around 6,000cases in a single day. Chennai receives around 12 flights and two trains every day from the national capital.

An airport official said that a temperature check of arriving domestic passengers is being done but then the vigil has gone down because of the unlock mode and passengers are allowed to arrive and depart without much of a restriction as part of encouraging travel. However, the temperature check cannot be considered as foolproof as it will not be able to screen people who do not show symptoms. Two people — one from Delhi and another from UP — tested positive on Friday and one passenger from Karnataka tested positive after they showed symptoms on arrival on Saturday.

"The sudden increase in cases in Delhi is baffling. The cases should have subsided by now but it is shooting up. Airline staff are taking precautions as patronage of flights has increased. Delhi-Chennai route is one of the most popular routes," said an airline official.

The Maharashtra government is considering limiting the number of flights from Delhi. But the Airports Authority of India (AAI) or the airlines have not got any such advice from the Tamil Nadu government.

Better screening and testing of domestic passengers at the airport and at the railway station is a huge challenge as the number of passengers has increased.

22/11/20 Times of India

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Sangamner gets bus link to Mum airport

Nashik: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has started buses on two new routes on a trial basis.

The buses have been started on the route connecting the Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar district to the domestic airport in Mumbai via Nashik city, and between Nashik and Dapoli in Ratnagiri.

An MSRTC officer from the Sangamner depot said, “This is a Shivshahi bus, which originally ran between Shirdi and Borivali. But as the temple was closed, we decided to start the bus between the Sangamer depot and the domestic airport. The bus is getting very few passengers from Sangamner to the airport as air traffic is yet to normalise. But we are getting many passengers from Nashik,”

Similarly, in the return journey, most of the passengers get on the bus between Borivali and Nashik.

Now, the MSRTC is running the Shivshahi bus service on this route.

The bus starts from Sangamner depot at 3.15 pm. It reaches Nashik Mahamargh bus stand at 5.15 pm and Borivali at 9.30 pm before the journey comes to an end at the airport at 10.45 pm.

The return journey starts from the domestic airport at 6 am. The bus reaches Borivali at 7 am and arrives in Nashik at 11.15 am before reaching its final destination in Sangamner at 1.15 pm.

The bus fare between Nashik and the domestic airport is Rs 389 for an adult.

22/11/20 Abhilash Botekar/Times of India

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Flights to Kuwait from Vijayawada likely

Vijayawada: In a significant development, international flights will soon be operated from Vijayawada airport in Gannavaram to Kuwait and either to Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways has expressed its interest to operate flights to the above mentioned countries from the city. 

Official sources said the airline took the decision after examining the airport terminal’s ability to handle passengers flying in from Arab countries under the Vande Bharat Mission. Over 200 chartered flights have landed at the airport runway (which is spread over 3,600 square metres), bringing back thousands of stranded Indians during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

The airport has also handled the passengers arriving through chartered and direct services—from France, Germany, Singapore, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Oman, Bahrain, US and UK—arranged by the Central and State governments. 

22/11/20  Sistla Dakshina Murthy/New Indian Express

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Hansal Mehta Slams Airline For Packing Airport Shuttle Bus With No Social Distancing

Director Hansal Mehta on Saturday took to his Twitter handle to slam Indigo airlines after they packed the airport shuttle bus violating the social distancing norms amid the ongoing pandemic. Calling the disembarkation from the airline a 'nightmare', Mehta said such airlines deserve a 'shutdown'.

Tagging the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mehta wrote that the public sure 'deserved' a lockdown after such 'irresponsible' behaviour by the airline amid Coronavirus pandemic. Mehta shared a few pictures of the shuttle bus where the passengers were seen wearing face shield and masks but did not maintain social distance.

21/11/20 Chetna Kapoor/REpublicworld

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IAF’s familiarisation exercise for pilots at Kolkata airport

Indian Air Force trainer Hawk jets landed at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here in a familiarisation exercise for pilots, IAF sources said on Friday.  Much to their surprise, flyers at the airport witnessed the IAF aircraft land and take off from the busy airport on Thursday.

This was a part of a routine annual exercise for familiarising newly inducted pilots with civilian airports to prepare them for any exigency during war or other emergencies, the sources said. The one-day training exercise did not affect the schedule of passenger flights, an airport spokesperson said.

20/11/20 PTI/The Hindu

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Citizens demand naming Mangaluru International Airport as Tulunadu airport

Adding to the host of names for Mangaluru International Airport, a group of citizens on Saturday demanded naming it ‘Tulunadu Airport’.

Ritesh D’Souza, secretary, Yuva Tulunadu, said erstwhile Tulunadu-covered regions from Kasaragod in Kerala to Barkur in Kundapura taluk. “As this airport serves people in Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Kasaragod taluks who are part of Tulunadu, it will be good to name it ‘Tulunadu Airport’,” he said.

Social activist and bus fleet operator Dilraj Alva said different names suggested by people, including Koti Chennayya, Rani Abbakka and U. Srinivas Mallya have led to controversies with political parties blaming each other. “But nobody will question naming the airport after Tulunadu,” he said.

Umanath Kotekar, convenor, Swachh Mangaluru Abhiyan, questioned the Adani Group’s act of prominently displaying ‘Adani Airports’ on the welcome arch of MIA. “This gives the feeling that the airport is owned by Adani Group. This has not been done by any of the private firms managing airports in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Ahmedabad,” he said, and claimed the norms do not allow a lease holder to prominently display its name.

22/11/20 The Hindu

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Air India Subsidiary Alliance Air to Commence Mumbai-Goa Flights From December 4

New Delhi: Air India subsidiary Alliance Air has announced to commence daily direct flight operations from Mumbai to Goa and vice-versa from December 4 to expand its presence.  “To cater to the upcoming festivities, the airline has introduced this new flight on the route to add to the convenience of the flyers who will be travelling to meet their family and friends in the festive season,” a company statement said. 

According to the airline, the all-inclusive one-way inaugural fare for Mumbai to Goa starts at Rs 2,957 and for Goa to Mumbai at Rs 3,171. 

Besides, the airline said that it is adhering to all the government guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Required precautionary measures are being taken within the aircraft as well at the time of check-in, boarding and arrival at the destination,” the statement said. 

“The aircraft are being disinfected after each flight to eliminate any risk of contagion,” it added.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier announced that regular flight operations will resume like pre-COVID era by the end of December or by the beginning of 2021.

22/11/20 India.com

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Kalaburagi airport turns fastest growing in the state

Kalaburagi: While the air traffic at domestic airports of the nation has fallen by 65.1% compared to September-2019, the Kalaburagi Airport, which is celebrating its first anniversary of inauguration on November 22, has witnessed thrice the number of passengers this month when compared to December 2019, the first month of the operation.

According to the statistics released by Airport Authority of India (AAI) released on Friday evening, 5,828 passengers had travelled through Kalaburagi Airport by October 2020, while the figure stood at 1,643 December 2019.

Number of operated flights has also increased from 34 to 124 in the same period. As on October 30, a total of 37,016 passengers have travelled by 924 flights through the airport. The average number of passengers per flight is over 40, according to the data.

It may be recalled that the airport did not operate in April 2020 in the wake of the pandemic-induced lockdown.

Sunil Kulkarni, president, Kalyan Karnataka Grahakara Vedike, Kalaburagi noted that the Kalaburagi airport is one among the fast growing airports in India and the fastest growing airport among tier-2 cities of Karnataka.

“In less than a year, it has proved the potential of Kalaburagi. In spite of the pandemic, the airport is growing in terms of passengers,” he added.

22/11/20 Sangamesh Manasinakai/Times of India

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Domestic flyers at Kempegowda International Airport top one million for first time after lockdown

Bengaluru: The monthly passenger numbers at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) have crossed 1 million for the first time after domestic flights were restarted on May 25. The milestone was achieved in October.

But the figures are nowhere near the levels recorded during the same festive period last year. In October 2019, when flight operations were normal, Bengaluru airport saw over 23 lakh domestic passengers.

Commercial air travel was suspended across the country on March 25 this year as the coronavirus pandemic unfolded. After resumption of domestic operations with new health-safety rules in May-end, the passenger traffic took a couple of months to pick up. In September, it crossed 8 lakh and last month, it hit 11.1 lakh, according to data from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Aircraft movement in October was 10,775. The October figure for international passengers was 31,446 as against 3.9 lakh seen during the same period last year.

Industry experts say the signs are encouraging as more people are feeling confident about taking a flight. The month-wise statistics of domestic passenger travel at KIA show a steady rise in numbers from July.

22/11/20 Petlee Peter/Times of India

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Darbhanga airport takes off, Deoghar lags behind

 

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Ranchi: Of the two regional airports scheduled to begin flight operations from the first week of November, Darbhangha in neighbouring Bihar has taken off before  Jharkhand’s temple town of Deoghar.

Several infrastructure gaps have delayed Deoghar’s debut on the country’s aerial map by at least a few more months, even though Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri, after conducting an on-site review of the two airports, had promised to launch flights from the first week of November.

Bihar managed. On November 8, flight services began from Darbhanga, part of the Mithila belt, under the centrally sponsored regional air connectivity scheme UDAN.

But Jharkhand couldn’t. Deoghar deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri said the state government was working to make the airport project a reality soon. “Deoghar airport is also among chief minister Hemant Soren’s priority projects and we are trying to speed up the work by addressing causes behind its delay,” said Bhajantri, who took charge on November 18 replacing Kameshwar Prasad.

Bhajantri said he had held a detailed review meeting with officials of Airport Authority of India (AAI), forest department and other stakeholders to speed up the process. Detailing on a few shortcomings, he said, “Work on construction of approach roads around the airport is to be done. This will require relocation of those living in its vicinity. District and AAI officials have been asked to work in tandem and begin the relocation project. This apart, some trees have to be replaced or cut, for which the forest department has been sounded out.”

The deputy commissioner did not specify timelines but said all stakeholders had been activated to complete pending work in a time-bound manner.

An airport official had claimed earlier that more than 90 per cent of the construction work was complete. This included the terminal building with six check-in counters, ATC tower, fire station, power station, airport station, among others. Currently, work related to drainage systems, power, communication facilities and police posts is underway.

22/11/20 Telegraph

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Carrier seeks rollback of flight curb

Kolkata: Private carrier SpiceJet has written to the state chief secretary, requesting for a rollback of the curbs on flights from six high-traffic cities to airports in Bengal — Kolkata, Bagdogra and Andal.

Flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Nagpur can currently fly in only three days a week.

Sources in the government said there was no immediate plan to allow daily flights from these cities, especially when Covid cases are on the rise in Delhi.

SpiceJet vice-president (regulatory and government affairs), Debashis Saha, said passengers faced severe problems on those days of the week when direct flights were not allowed to operate from these cities to Bengal. At Kolkata airport, SpiceJet is worst-hit as it is able to operate only 50% of the flights on the days when the embargo is in place.

21/11/20 Times of India

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Flight services pick up at Hubballi airport

Hubballi: Flight operations are slowly gaining momentum at the Hubballi airport and private airlines are resuming their services to various destinations.

Indigo and Star Air airlines are now operating flights to Mumbai, Kunnur, Chennai, Hindon, and Bengaluru from Hubballi. Now, Star Air is planning to resume service to Tirupati from January.

Airport director Pramod Kumar Thakare told TOI that flight activities, which were stopped following Covid-induced lockdown, are now picking up. All safety protocols including thermal screening and social distancing measures are being strictly followed at the airport ans flights and the measures have gained appreciation from passengers, he said.

He said IndiGo is operating two flights a day to Bengaluru and Kannur three days in a week, Chennai seven days, Bengaluru six days and Mumbai three days in a week.

21/11/20 Basavaraj Kattimani/Times of India

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Chennai airport readies to receive Covid-19 vaccine consignment

Chennai: The city airport is gearing up to receive Covid-19 vaccine consignments which are set to be transported across the country through major airports.

Being a gateway airport, Chennai will get consignments of Pfizer vaccine and Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is already equipped to handle pharma consignments, may be fine-tuning its facilities or cargo handling procedures based on inputs from the headquarters.

An AAI official said: “The cargo terminal is equipped to handle the vaccine consignments. We have temperature-controlled zones with separate cool chambers with different temperature settings for handling pharma products.”

The terminal has chambers for storing or handling products at -15 ºC to -30ºC, 2ºC to 8ºC, 8ºC to 15ºC, 8ºC to 12ºC. Most of these are used for pharma products.

A new facility was also opened recently as part of enhancing the infrastructure as the number of pharma consignments increased during the lockdown period.

However, when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccine, the airport is likely to clear the load faster because Pfizer says that it may require a -70ºC temperature zone.

“A procedure that needs to be followed is likely to be issued from Delhi, most probably to clear the consignment and load it from the plane to the refrigerator trucks at the parking bay itself or set up separate low temperature chambers,” said an official.

This means the time taken to unload it into the refrigerator containers and then move it to the terminal for clearance and then loading it into the trucks can be saved, he said. In all probability, refrigerator trucks can be called in when a consignment lands so that it can be driven out soon after unloading from the planes.

21/11/20 Times of India

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'Rename Mangalore International airport after Koti Chennaya'

MLC and District Congress Committee president Harish Kumar urged the Central and state governments to rename Mangalore International Airport after Koti Chennaya — the twin cultural folk heroes of Tulu Nadu.  

“The DCC will continue its fight till the Airport is renamed. The Malavoor Gram Panchayat had passed a resolution to rename the Airport after Koti Chennaya four years ago, and had sent it to the DK Zilla Panchayat, which too had passed a resolution and sent to the state government to be sent to the Centre for approval,” he told media persons here, on Friday. 

 “In spite of it, when I raised the issue in the Council in March, the government stated that there was no proposal before the state government. Later, on May 26, 2020, the principal secretary to Department of Infrastructure Development sent a circular to Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner stating that the state government has no role to play in the renaming of the Airport as the airports in Kalaburagi, Hubballi, Mangaluru and Belagavi come under Airports Authority of India and have been given for maintenance to the private firms,” the MLC said.

Further, he urged Dakshina Kannada MP and State BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel to inform the residents of Mangaluru on the status of the proposal that he had sent to the Centre on naming the Airport after Koti Chennaya. Adani Group which has taken up maintenance of six airports in India has not changed the name of any airport to Adani Airport except that of Mangaluru. “It is a hidden agenda to name the Airport,’’ he alleged.

21/11/20 Naina JA/Deccan Herald

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AAI team inspects Rourkela Airport

Rourkela: With the Rourkela Airport set to start commercial flight services soon, a two-member team of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) visited the airport for an inspection on Friday.

The team, including senior officials of a few private air carriers, inspected the infrastructure and other facilities of the airport, which is run by Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP). The airport has a fuel centre and a VIP guesthouse. Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan, Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) Commissioner Dibyajyoti Parida, MP Jual Oram and senior RSP officials accompanied the AAI team.

Rourkela has been included in phase-4 of bidding process under Udey Desh Ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN) scheme.

21/11/20 Pioneer

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Madurai airport sees 61% pre-Covid passenger traffic

Madurai: As many as 65,161 passengers used the Madurai airport in October, which is around 61% of the total number of domestic passengers handled by the airport in pre-Covid-19 times.

Madurai airport used to handle around 1.2 lakh passengers, including one lakh domestic travellers in a month before the pandemic broke out.

Ever since the airport was reopened on May 25 for domestic operations after two months of closure, the number of people using the airport has been increasing steadily. Flight movement is also getting busier to cater to the demand.

According to data available with the airport authorities, there is an increase of 35% in passenger movement in October compared to its previous month. Similarly, there is an increase of 28% flight movement.

Officials said that 26 flights, including 13 arrivals and 13 departures connecting destinations like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai, are being handled on an average in a day at present. They are witnessing increased seat occupancy, especially in departing flights.

21/11/20 V Devanathan/Times of India

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Vistara Commences Flight Services From Delhi to Doha

Part of the Central government’s Vande Bharat Mission phase VIII, full-service carrier Vistara on Friday announced that it has started flight services to and from Doha under the air bubble agreement between India and Qatar.

Notably, Vistara is the only airline to offer the choice of Premium Economy class of travel on the route, in addition to Business class and Economy class. 

As per updates from the airline, the inaugural flight departed on Thursday from Delhi at 8PM and landed in Doha at 9:45PM. The flight returned from Doha at 10:45PM and landed in Delhi at 5:10 AM. 

The airline said it will operate special, non-stop flights twice a week between Delhi and Doha. Vistara said it will accept all eligible customers meeting visa or entry requirements in both the countries, as specified by the respective government bodies.

20/11/20 India.com

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SpiceJet starts Hyderabad-Nashik flight under Udan scheme

SpiceJet on Friday started operating flights on the Hyderabad-Nashik route under regional connectivity scheme Udan, an official statement said.

“The airline will be operating four weekly flights and will deploy its 78-seater Q400 aircraft. Nashik is the 14th destination to be connected under Udan by SpiceJet,” the statement issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

Under the Udan scheme, financial incentives from the Centre, state governments and airport operators are extended to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports, and keep airfares affordable.

“The Hyderabad-Nashik route received a massive demand from the passengers owing to the trade and tourism opportunities possessed by the Nashik city,” the statement said.

Post the successful launch of flight operations by Alliance Air on the Hyderabad-Nashik route in June, SpiceJet has become the second airline to commence direct flight operations on this route.

20/11/20 PTI/Financial Express

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Indian airlines, airports are all set to handle distribution of temperature-sensitive COVID-19 vaccines

New Delhi: As some of the coronavirus vaccine trials across the world are in their final stages, Indian airports and airlines have geared up to handle the distribution of temperature-sensitive vaccines in the country.

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and GMR Hyderabad airport's cargo are set to play a pivotal role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as they are equipped with the state-of-the-art time and temperature-sensitive distribution system.

"Delhi Airport has two cargo terminals with world-class infrastructure that provides GDP (good distribution practices)-certified temperature-controlled facility for handling temperature-sensitive cargo. With the capacity to handle over 1.5 lakh MT per annum, this facility has state-of-the-art temperature-controlled zones with separate cool chambers ranging from +25 to -20 degree Celsius, which would be extremely conducive for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines," a Delhi International Airport Limited spokesperson said.

"There are Cool Dollies at the airside that ensure unbroken cool chain during temperature-sensitive cargo movement between terminal and aircraft. The terminals have separate gates dedicated for fast movement of vehicles carrying vaccines in and out of the airport," he added.

The emphasis has been laid on quick and efficient transportation and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines whenever they are available.

GMR Hyderabad airport said the terminal is equipped with various temperatures ranging from -20 to +25 degrees Celsius with state-of-the-art equipment and cool containers to cater to product-specific requirements.

"GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) boasts of India's first Pharma Zone with GDP-certified temperature-controlled facility for handling temperature-sensitive cargo... The Freighter Parking stands are just 50 metres away from the terminal thereby minimizing the ramp exposure timing and ensuring quick turn-around of the aircraft.

"We have recently launched the latest Cool Dollies -- which is a Mobile Refrigeration Unit for Airside Transportation designed to eliminate any temperature excursions and to maintain the Unbroken Cool Chain. The GHAC also boasts of one of India's largest storage facility for Cool Containers like Envirotainer, C-Safe, Unicooler, and Vaqtainer within our premises to make sure the service is available for customer 24x7," Hyderabad Airport said.

An official of SpiceJet said the airline is fully prepared and ready to handle the COVID-19 vaccine.

20/11/20 ANI/ETNowNews.com

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