Showing posts with label Airports Oct 2019. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports Oct 2019. Show all posts

Friday, November 01, 2019

Minor accident on Goa airport apron leaves one injured

Panaji: A ground support staff member at Goa International Airport was injured in a minor accident involving a catering van which was loading meals onto Air India flight AI 993 on Thursday.
While the aircraft suffered no damage, the flight was delayed by 50 minutes as emergency vehicles attended to the injured individual.

The Bengaluru-Goa-Dubai flight had arrived at Goa and was docked at the terminal to embark passengers, their luggage and set meals. After loading the food, the hydraulic lift of the van was being lowered even as a tractor with the checked-in luggage was approaching on the apron. "The aircraft was docked, and the two vehicles were aligning themselves when the incident occurred. A probe has been initiated," a source said.

Passengers aboard flight AI 993 witnessed the commotion outside the aircraft and were subsequently informed that an accident had occurred during boarding operations. "The crew kept telling us to be patient as saving someone's life is more important," said a flier who was bound for Dubai.

Air India sources said that the incident did not involve any Air India assets and that the accident did not affect the aircraft. The flight finally took off at 7:48pm.
01/11/19 Times of India

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Bengaluru gets eight new flights this week

Bengaluru: Eight new flights and routes, both domestic and international, are being introduced this week from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
While Ethiopian Airlines started a direct flight to Addis Ababa in Africa from Monday, Dutch carrier KLM on Wednesday launched a thrice-a-week direct service to Amsterdam.

The new flight departed from Schipol airport at 11.10 am Wednesday and scheduled to land in Bengaluru at 12.37am Thursday. The flight is slated to depart from KIA at 2.40am on Thursday and arrived in Schipol at 8.25am Thursday. Air France has, meanwhile, upgraded its fleet on the Bengaluru-Paris and Delhi-Paris sectors with the revamped Airbus equipped with improved cabins.

GoAir added a four times a week flight from Bengaluru and Delhi, while IndiGo introduced flights between Bengaluru and Shirdi, Rajahmundry and Belagavi from October 27. IndiGo will also commence Bengaluru-Tuticorin flights from October 31.
31/10/19 Times of India

Mumbai airport runway to be closed for renovation from November 4, 2019 till March, 2020!

In the wake of major rehabilitation and re-carpeting work at the Mumbai airport (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport), Mumbai, GVK Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has issued a statement revealing that it will close a runway (RWY 09/27) starting from 4th November 2019 up to 28th  March 2020.

According to the statement, “Due to prolonged monsoon in Mumbai, the runway re-carpeting work at CSMIA has been postponed. As per the revised date, RWY 09/27 will not be available for aircraft operations from 4th November 2019 up to 28th  March 2020, 06 days of the week, from Mondays to Saturdays between 09:30 Hrs. IST to 17:30 Hrs. IST, due to major rehabilitation and re-carpeting work. However, during the closure of RWY 09/27, RWY 14/32 will be available for aircraft operations."

It further added that RWY 09/27 will be available for operations on all Sundays, and on the following dates due to public holidays and festivals. Check full list of dates below on which Mumbai airport runway will be closed:
31/10/19 ZeeBiz

Shabana Azmi tweets hilarious signboard at Chennai airport, leaves netizens in splits

Signboards are put up to guide and inform travellers. However, a particular one spotted by actor Shabana Azmi at Chennai airport seems to have left netizens amused.
Shared on her social media account, the signboard read, “Eating carpet strictly prohibited.” Installed by the Airports Authority of India, the sign is clearly a case of incorrect translation.
While the Hindi version of the sign reads, “Farsh par khaana sakht mana hai”, which translates to “Eating on the floor is strictly prohibited”, the English one, which read, “Eating carpet strictly prohibited,” clearly fails to convey the same message.
The picture was originally clicked in 2015 and has gone viral again after the actor posted it.
Once shared online, it did not take long for the picture to go viral. While many were amused with the signboard, some corrected the translation. “I think they meant eating on the carpet?” read one of the many comments on the post.
31/10/19 Indian Express

Air India launches Mumbai-Amritsar-Stansted flight for Sikh pilgrims to mark 550th Gurpurab celebrations

National carrier Air India on Thursday launched a thrice-weekly flight between Mumbai and Stansted in UK via Amritsar, officials said.
Starting in Mumbai, the flight will connect Amritsar to Stansted to facilitate Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy city on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak.
It will operate on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, Air India said, adding that a 256-seater Boeing 787 dreamliner aircraft will operate on the route.
Flight AI-165 will fly from Amritsar to Stansted and return as flight AI-166 to Amritsar. It will be the first-ever scheduled flight to India from Stansted airport and the only direct link between London and Amritsar.
Air India already connects Amritsar to Birmingham with a thrice-a-week operation.
Stansted, located at Northwest of Essex, is ideal to serve the Indian diaspora as well as the Asian community in north and east London and across the east of England and will fulfil a long-felt requirement of a direct airlink between London and Amritsar and other cities in Punjab, the airline said.
31/10/19 PTI/Business Today

No Hisar-Chandigarh flight for past 2 weeks

Hisar: The air shuttle service between Hisar and Chandigarh has come to a halt. Flights are not operating for around two weeks and there is no message about resumption of service.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated the air shuttle service on September 3. Two flights a day were planned initially, which got restricted to one daily flight five days a week. There was no flight on Saturdays and Sundays. The fare was Rs 1,674 for a one-way trip.

A travel agent confirmed that flights were not operating for about two weeks. The agent said the airline cited technical reasons for grounding the service and there was no word on resuming the flight.
31/10/19 Tribune

Jewar airport news: Four companies submit bids to develop and operate Rs 16,000-crore Jewar airport project

Four companies are understood to have submitted bids to develop and operate the Rs 16,000-crore greenfield Jewar airport project in Greater Noida till the last date on Wednesday. GMR Infrastructure and Adani Enterprises are believed to have submitted bids for the airport. However, this could not be confirmed independently till the time of going to the press.
While the technical bids for the Jewar airport will be opened on November 6, the financial bid will be announced on November 30. The Jewar project will be the second airport in the National Capital Region. It will be developed by the Uttar Pradesh government under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
According to the Noida International Airport (NIAL) officials, around 20 national and international firms had participated in the pre-bid conference and sent queries related to the project. The companies include Reliance Infra, L&T, Fairfax India, NIIF, Zurich Airport and state-owned Airports Authority of India.
NIAL, which is implementing the project, has set per passenger fee as the criterion for bidding for the project. It is offering a concession period of 90 years to the winning bidder, which will be responsible for development, operation and maintenance of the air side, terminal and land side infrastructure like car parking and retail area.
31/10/19 Arun Nayal/Financial Express

Passenger footfall down 15% at airport

Indore: Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport still seems to be facing the impact of Jet Airways shut down as monthly passenger footfall at the airport declined by over 15%. Airport officials said that Jet Airways operated around 10 flights till March, and has apparently caused the decline.
However, they expect an increase in traffic with airlines like Vistara launching flight operations from Indore under new winter schedule which came into effect from October 26.
As per official figure, there is a 15.7 per cent decline in total number of passengers flew to and from Indore airport in September this year as compared to last year. Around 2.24 lakh travelled to and from Indore airport in September 2019 while last year the figure was around 2.66 lakh in same month.
Passenger footfall has gone down by 41,814, says a survey of Airport Authority of India (AAI). The survey conducted from April to September, 2019 also shows a decline of 61,623 passengers as compared to the same period last year. Around 13.94 lakh people travelled to and from Indore airport from April to September this year as compared to 14.56 lakh last year.
31/10/19 Times of India

D’sala-Chandigarh Air India flight from November 16

Dharamsala: Air India will start operating a flight between Dharamsala and Chandigarh from November 16.

Station manager of Air India at Dharamsala Milllan Gurang confirmed that the service provider was starting flight between Chandigarh and Dharamsala from November 16. He said that a 70-seater plane would fly between Chandigarh and Dharamsala daily.
The flight was not covered under UDAN scheme of the Government of India but the airfare on the route is likely to be low.

Overall, Air India will be operating three flights from Gaggal airport in Dharamsala — existing two flights to New Delhi and one to Chandigarh, he said.
31/10/19 Tribune

‘Indian Oil Corporation Resumes Fuel Supply to Air India at Six Airports,’ Says Chairman Sanjiv Singh

New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh on Thursday confirmed that the company has resumed fuel supply to Air India at six airports. The company said it has done so keeping in mind that outstanding should not be mounted.
“Air India’s outstanding on Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) is Rs 2,640 crores. The IOC has resumed fuel supply to Air India at six airports. We had started fuel supply keeping in mind that outstanding should not be mounted,” IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh said.
The development comes days after the IOC issued a warning to Air India, asking it to clear the payments by October 18 or they will stop the fuel supply at six major domestic airports of the country.
In a letter to Air India on October 11, the three oil PSUs – Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) – stated that the outstanding has not come down considerably in the absence of the committed monthly lump sum payment”.
Prior to this, these three fuel suppliers in August this year had stated that the Air India owed Rs 5,000 crore fuel bills and alleged that the payment has been delayed by almost eight months.
31/10/19 India.com

Kalaburgi airport gets Aerodrome Licence

Kalaburagi: Kalaburgi airport has got Aerodrome Licence from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and is likely to commence operation in November, Kalaburgi Deputy commissioner B Sharat said here on Thursday.
The Kalaburagi airport which spread over 742 acres , build at a cost of Rs 175.57 crores that aims to connect one of the four divisional headquarters of Karnataka with the rest of the country is likely to commence operations in November. The state government had planned to inaugurate the airport on any time in November.
The press note released by the Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner B Sharat said that the Officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) visited the airport in October and verified all.
31/10/19 UNI

Telangana govt seeks Centre’s nod for begumpet airport utilization

Hyderabad: Telangana government on Wednesday requested the Centre to hand over the infrastructure belonging to AAI (Airports Authority of India) at Begumpet in the city to state government to run training academies.
In a letter addressing to Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri, Telangana Minister for Municipal Administration and IT, K T Rama Rao said the Telangana state had earlier MoU with Aero campus Bordeaux and Greenfiled University, UK .
AAI has agreed for utilization of infrastructure ( hangars and office buildings), but has put huge rental amount, the Minister said.
30/10/19 UNI

Amritsar airport sees 109% hike in cargo traffic

Chandigarh: At a time when major airports in the country are witnessing a decline in international cargo traffic due to slowdown, Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Amritsar, has witnessed 109% growth during April-September this year as compared to the same period previous year. Nationally, international cargo witnessed a negative growth of 7.6% during the period.
During April-September 2019, the Amritsar airport handled 676 metric tonnes of international cargo meant for different countries as compared to 324 metric tonnes during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. There were only two airports in the country which handled higher international cargo than Amritsar, namely Pune (461.5 %) and Calicut (118%).

According to officials, the growth in cargo was propelled by increase in exports of readymade garments to Dubai and Doha which contributed 40% to the total exports. However, it is difficult to ascertain whether the growth in cargo was because of increase in demand from foreign countries or exporters preferred Amritsar over Delhi airport.
31/10/19 Vijay C Roy/Tribune

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

India plans to open 100 airports in five years

India is planning to open 100 additional airports by 2024, as part of a plan to revive economic growth in Asia’s third-largest economy, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The proposal, which includes starting 1,000 new routes connecting smaller towns and villages, was discussed at a meeting last week to review infrastructure needed by 2025, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussion is private. Steps to start a plane-lease financing business in the country was also discussed, they said.
With economic activity at a six-year low and prospects of further slowdown looming, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to double down on infrastructure projects in a bid to revive growth and achieve a target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2025. Last month, the government cut corporate tax rates, putting India on par with some of the lowest in Asia, to help compete with the likes of Vietnam and Indonesia for investments amid global trade tensions.
India’s plans to expedite airport development still trails that of China’s, which has set a goal of having 450 commercial airports by 2035, almost double the number at the end of 2018. A spokesman at India’s civil aviation ministry was not immediately available for a comment.
The proposal by India’s state think tank also includes boosting the number of locally trained pilots to 600 a year and double the domestic aircraft fleet to 1,200 during the period, the people said.
30/10/19 Abhijit Roy Chowdhury and Anurag Kotoky/Bloomberg/Economic Times

Air India aims to make Delhi-Doha flight seven trips a week

Doha: India’s national flag carrier Air India, which relaunched Delhi-Doha direct service after a decade with weekly four flights, is aiming to make it seven trips a week, considering the increasing business potential between the two countries.
Although the move to extend the service to seven days a week will depend on yields and the number of passengers, the full service carrier, which is now under disinvestment or privatisation process, is hopeful of garnering sizeable share in the ‘under-tapped’ market, said Veena Negi, Air India’s country manager (Qatar) in the presence of commercial director Meenakshi Mallik and regional manager (Gulf, Middle East and Africa) Mohit Sain.
Air India, which was one of the first airlines to start operations to Qatar in 1976 and continued flying until 2009, now uses A320 Neo which comes in twin configuration of 12 business class seats and 150 economy seats.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, AI971 will depart Delhi at 7.50pm and arrive in Doha at 9.35pm. On Friday, it will leave Delhi at 8.50pm and reach Doha at 10.35pm, the website shows.
Then, AI972 will depart Doha at 10.35pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and arrive in Delhi at 5am (next day). On Friday, it will leave Doha at 11.35pm and reach Delhi at 5.50am (next day).
30/10/19 Santhosh V. Perumal/Gulf Times

Vistara begins flight to Jodhpur

New Delhi: Airline Vistara on Tuesday began its flight to the city of Jodhpur.
The airline will carry passengers from Delhi and Mumbai to Jodhpur.
The flight operations began on Tuesday.
Vistara has put up a tweet which reads, "Touchdown in #Jodhpur! We are excited to have commenced operations to this beautiful city with direct daily flights from #Delhi and #Mumbai, starting today. Book your tickets now."
30/10/19 IBNS/India Blooms

GVK raises Rs 7614 crore to buy 23.5% more stake in MIAL

GVK Power & Infrastructure Limited (GVKPIL) has raised Rs 7614 crore from three global investors to buy 23.5 percent more stake in the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL).

In a statement released by the group on Sunday announced that it has signed binding agreements with ‘Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’ (ADIA), the Canadian ‘Public Sector Pension (PSP) Investment Board’ and the Indian ‘National Investment & Infrastructure Fund’ (NIIF) to repay the debt and buy more stake in MIAL.

GVK Reddy, Chairman of GVK Group informed that they will now accelerate the efforts for developing the Navi Mumbai International Airport, monetizing MIAL’s real estate assets and building an even stronger airports business.

He welcomed ADIA, PSP Investments and NIIF as shareholders in GVK Airport Holdings Limited (GVKAHL). He emphasized the continuing efforts to create world-class infrastructure and a strong aviation hub that will provide the impetus for growth and development of Mumbai and India.
30/10/19 ITLN

Tata Group restructures GMR deal to meet regulatory norms

New Delhi: The Tata Group has agreed to reduce the stake it had proposed to acquire in GMR Airports (GAL) to about 15% from the previously announced 20%, which will likely allow the GMR Group-Tata deal to sail through, people with knowledge of the plan said.
The move is to comply with a rule that bars groups that own airlines to also hold more than 10% in an airport operator. A 15% holding for the Tata Group would keep its effective stake in Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the GAL unit that runs the airport in the national capital, below 10%.
The Tata Group, which holds a 51% stake in two airlines — AirAsia India and Vistara — is part of a consortium comprising also an affiliate of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Hong Kong-based SSG Capital Management that had agreed to invest Rs 8,500 crore in GAL.
Under the new formula, GIC will acquire an additional 5% stake in GMR Airports to the previously planned 15%, while SSG will hold about 10%, the people said. GMR Infrastructure’s stake in GAL, which also operates the Hyderabad airport, will come down to about 54% from almost 100%, while an employee welfare trust will hold about 2%.
30/10/19 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

International air connectivity sought in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: Air travellers in the capital region of Amaravati and neighbouring districts are eagerly waiting for the international connectivity from Vijayawada Airport to destinations like Dubai and Singapore. Due to lack of international connectivity, a large number of passengers are going to other cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad to board flights to travel other countries. Nearly 5 lakh people from the coastal districts of Krishna, Guntur, West Godavari and Prakasam are living in foreign countries.
Passenger traffic has increased by 400 per cent in Vijayawada Airport after bifurcation of the state. The footfall in Vijayawada Airport increased from 2.30 lakh per year in 2014-15 to 11.92 lakh by 2018-19. Flight services have also increased to many parts of the country, particularly to metros except Kolkata. Vijayawada Airport has connectivity to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and other cities.
30/10/19 Hans India

India's SpiceJet extends suspension of Pakyong flights

SpiceJet has been forced to extend the suspension of its services from Kolkata Int'l to Gangtok, the capital of the mountainous northern Indian state of Sikkim. The airline had originally intended to resume the service from October 1.

Up until the end of May, the low-cost carrier was operating the 274-nautical mile (507 kilometre) sector with a daily Dash 8-400 rotation. The ch-aviation schedules module confirms that this was SpiceJet's only service in Sikkim state.

In August 2018, SpiceJet was awarded two routes to Pakyong, one from Kolkata and one from Delhi Int'l under the regional connectivity scheme (Ude Desh ka aam Nagrik - UDAN). To date, the Delhi-Pakyong service has yet to be launched.
30/10/19 ch-aviation

Mumbai Airport sees 27% rise in passenger traffic to London in FY20

Mumbai: GVK-AAI run Mumbai Airport said on Tuesday passenger traffic to London from Mumbai is expected to rise about 27 per cent this fiscal following the resumption of services on the route by the Virgin Atlantic last Sunday.
The British carrier, which stopped flying to India's financial hub from London in January 2016, relaunched its non-stop daily flight services on the route from Oct 27 in a bid to capture demand in the wake of grounding of Jet Airways.
Jet Airways had been operating three daily flights on the Mumbai-London route before ceasing all operations in April this year.
Virgin Atlantic's first flight operated by a 256- seater Boeing 787, arrived in the city from London Heathrow on October 28, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the operator of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), said in a release.
"CSMIA through this introduction will approximately see 27 per cent boost in passenger traffic to London from Mumbai," the airport operator said.
29/10/19 PTI/Economic Times

Boeing to help boost navigation at Chennai airport

Chennai: The Air Navigation System (ANS) of Chennai is set to improve as US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is preparing a master plan on the latest technologies in the field and the forecast of the future requirements.

It is learnt that Boeing will recommend ways and means of harmonisation of ANS with the ANS systems of other countries or regions. This comes as passenger traffic, both, international and domestic, grew at Chennai airport at a phenomenal rate. It is further expected that air traffic across India, will continue to grow at a rate which is faster than the world. At present, airports are able to accommodate only constrained movements of aircraft due to infrastructure and procedural constraints, leading to overcrowding and flight delays.

Airport director S Sreekumar told Express that officials of Boeing held discussions with Chennai Airport authorities last week.”They are visualising the ground equipment present now and how much will be required.”

At present, India does not have a futuristic, systematic, integrated master plan of Air Navigation Services (ANS,) based on the international Civil Aviation Organisation requirements as specified in Regional air navigational plans. The country needs a futuristic Master Plan of Air Navigation Services, which operates automatically and is periodically self-triggered by traffic requirements. In the absence of such a plan, a mismatch between the air traffic requirements and air navigation system is likely to occur, leading to congestion and cost inefficiencies.
30/10/19  C Shivakumar/New Indian Express

GoAir adds flights to Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata sector; return fares start at Rs 5,335

Budget airline GoAir has increased the frequency of flights on its Kolkata-Delhi and Bengaluru-Delhi sectors. The enhanced frequencies became operational on October 27, 2019, with non-stop flights flying from Kolkata to Delhi three times a week. The return fares for the route started as low as Rs 5,882.
The G8 115 non-stop flight will take off from Kolkata at 09:35 hours on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and land in Delhi at 12:25 hours. The return flight -- G8 114 -- will depart at 15:10 hours from Delhi and reach Kolkata at 17:40 hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
The non-stop flights from Bengaluru to Delhi, on the other hand, were kicked off on October 28, 2019. The new flights on this route will operate four times a week and the lowest fares for a return trip will be as low as Rs 5,335.
GoAir flight G8 117 will depart from Bengaluru at 5:45 hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and touch Delhi airport at 11:40 hours.
The return non-stop flights, G8 112, will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, taking off from Delhi at 14:20 hours and arriving in Bengaluru at 17:10 hours.
30/10/19 Moneycontrol

Chennai airport sees no rise in flyer count

Chennai: At a time when the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and state government are looking for sites to build a second airport in the city, air passenger traffic for the first six months of this financial year has stagnated at Chennai airport. The numbers are marginally lower than last year’s, that the AAI has declared 0% growth for the first time in several years.
Statistics released by AAI show that Chennai airport recorded 1,13,25,821 passengers from April to September as against the 1,13,31,227 passengers it saw in the corresponding period last year. In the same period, the airport has seen a dip in domestic passengers from 83.26 lakh last year to 82.74 lakh this year, a 0.6% decline. A marginal 1.5% increase was recorded in international passengers handled.

The existing airport was supposed to get saturated next year according to growth trends seen over the past few years. But this deadline has been pushed to 2024 because of sluggish growth.

Authorities feel that the current airport may suffice if terminal capacity is added. The new terminal being planned will increase passenger handling capacity to 30 million per year. A satellite terminal is also being planned, in case passenger and flight numbers grow exponentially by 2024.
30/10/19 Times of India

Breathalyser tests start at airport

Calcutta: Drink driving is now not only a problem for Calcutta’s roads but also inside the airport’s operational area.

Breathalyser tests for those going to the airfield, including drivers of vehicles, engineers and ground handling staff of airlines and other agencies and air traffic control personnel, started at Calcutta airport from Wednesday.

The directorate general of civil aviation, the regulatory body in the country, has ordered such examinations for employees of the airport and other agencies across the country from Wednesday.

On the first day, there were no reports of anyone testing positive at Calcutta airport, according to officials. Surprise checks will be more effective instead of ones announced in advance, some officials said.

“Trial breathalyser tests have been on since the start of the month. It formally started from today,” Calcutta airport’s director Kaushik Bhattacharya said on Wednesday.

Earlier, such examinations would be done only for pilots and cabin crew.

But several incidents have been reported from various airports across the country where accidents have taken place in the apron area and the driver was found to be drunk.

“Also, for people involved in checking safety features of a plane, such tests can enhance safety,” an airport official said.
30/10/19 Telegraph

Another step towards international airport

Ludhiana: The proposed international airport at Halwara has taken yet another step forward towards becoming a reality as the stage has been set by the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA), the nodal agency for execution of the project on behalf of the Punjab Government, to hear the grievances of the affected persons and land owners at a special camp to be held at the community centre of Aittiana village on October 31.

Earlier, a notification for acquisition of 161.27 acre land of the village was issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development on July 17 under section 11 of “The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Resettlement Act 2013”.

In accordance with the statutory requirement, GLADA had issued a notification under Section 4 of the Act for ‘social impact assessment’ (SIA) in February 2019 and the competent authority (District Revenue Officer) had conducted public hearing in May 2019 to receive objections from the land owners likely to be affected from the proposed acquisition of land for the airport.
29/10/19 Kuldip Bhatia/Tribune

Airport hospitality companies keen to improve passenger experience

New Delhi: Airport hospitality service providers Plaza Premium Group, Bird Group and Travel Food Services (TFS) are shifting focus in India from opening lounges to providing facilities such as porterage and fasttrack assistance, as they look for newer avenues of growth.
Hong Kong-based Plaza Premium, which operates 19 lounges across India, said it will invest 500 crore, especially in Allways, a service that includes greeting with a welcome placard, baggage handling and escort through security checkpoints to boarding gates, and transport pick-up.
“India is the fastest growing aviation market but little has been done to improve preboarding experience of passengers," said Bhavya Kukreja, general manager of Plaza Premium. “The sector has huge potential to grow, and sensing the opportunity, we have entered into this new business.”
While privatisation of Indian airports has fuelled the growth of airport lounges, most lounge operators are seeing limited room to expand their core operations, and are taking the premium services path to boost revenue. Also, air passenger traffic in the country increased just 1.2% year on year in September, hurting revenues of operators who rely mainly on lounge services.
30/10/19 Faizan Haidar/Economic Times

With UPS using Delhi airport as hub for freighter, North-based firms may benefit

Hyderabad: GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) announced Tuesday that UPS, a global leader in logistics, will route its latest freighter aircraft to India from Delhi Airport.
This is a significant development as with this routing, businesses in North India will gain faster access to markets in the Western countries.
UPS commenced its six weekly flights from Delhi with its Boeing 747-8F aircraft, the company’s largest freighter aircraft, which came from Bangkok.
The company will operate its services with Boeing’s B747-400, B747-8 and B767 aircraft. Earlier, UPS was operating from Mumbai.
UPS will operate B747 aircraft on Delhi (IATA-DEL) and Cologne (IATA-CGN) route, which is UPS’s largest international hub, and Boeing 767 on Delhi (DEL)-Dubai (DXB)-Cologne (CGN) route.
Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO-DIAL, said: “Delhi has emerged as a cargo hub for the businesses in North India and neighboring countries. The service offered by UPS will give a boost to the cargo and logistics sector in the region. It will support importing businesses from Asia and enhance growth opportunities to markets in the West.”
Delhi Airport recently launched a Transshipment Excellence Centre, the first-of-its-kind facility created at any Indian airport for faster movement of transshipment cargo.
29/10/19 Business Line

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Patna: Trains jam-packed, airfares skyrocket

Patna: With just two days left for the beginning of four-day Chhath festival, finding confirmed flight and train tickets is a Herculean task these days. Even buses leaving the city for various destinations have stopped bookings due to non-availability of seats and berths.

Though seats are available in some flights, the airfares for Patna-bound flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai have skyrocketed. In fact, airfares for Patna-bound flights are higher than international flights in some cases.

An executive of private airline SpiceJet said flights on most routes have no vacant seat. “Tickets are not available for Chennai-Patna direct flight. Those wishing to return to places like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai from Patna after Chhath are also not direct flight tickets due to the rush. Airfares usually increase during Chhath,” the SpiceJet executive added.

Air India executives said the fare for Delhi-Patna flights has touched Rs 21,000 and it would further increase in the next couple of days. “The newly launched flights between Patna and Amritsar are also witnessing heavy rush. The fare on this route has reached Rs 10,500. The airfare for Mumbai and Kolkata-bound flights has climbed up to Rs 23,000 and 23,500, respectively,” the executives added.
Akash Kumar, a travel agent, said the international flights were cheaper than Patna-bound flights these days. “By paying between Rs 15,000 and Rs 24,000, people can have round-trip to Thailand, Malaysia and Nepal from Patna. However, they are shelling out more on domestic flights in view of Chhath,” he added.
29/10/19 Faryal Rumi & Kumod Verma/Times of India

Karipur runway to be partially closed

Kozhikode: The five-hour partial closure of the runway of the Karipur airport for widening of the fillet area of the airport taxiway will commence in 10 days. Two airlines having operations in the five-hour closure period have already changed their schedules from Sunday onwards in view of the works, which include expansion of fillet area and resurfacing of the existing taxiways and other associated works.

The runway will be closed from 1pm to 6pm for carrying out the works. Fillet is an increased area of pavement around turning points on the runway and the taxi-way to ensure that aircraft do not go off the pavement while turning.


Karipur Airport director K Srinivasa Rao said that the works would be completed by March and the partial runway closure would be in place till then.

“Though two airlines have already changed their schedule to avoid operations during the closure window, we will start the partial closure of the runway in 10 days after the contractor mobilize the material and manpower,” he added.
29/10/19 Times of India

GoAir adds more flights to Kolkata Delhi and Bengaluru sectors

Budget airline GoAir has announced the introduction of additional frequencies on its Kolkata-Delhi and Bengaluru-Delhi sectors. This new service will also enable GoAir passengers to have better connectivity to and from Singapore from Kolkata and Bangalore.

Effective from October 27, 2019, GoAir will operate non-stop flights from Kolkata to Delhi thrice a week with fares starting from Rs. 5,882 for a return trip. The flight G8 115 from Kolkata will depart at 09:35 hrs on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and will arrive in Delhi at 12:25 hrs.

The return non-stop flight G8 114 will depart from Delhi at 15:10 hrs and will arrive in Kolkata at 17:40 hrs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Starting from October 28, 2019, the non-stop flights from Bengaluru to Delhi will operate four times a week, with fares starting from Rs. 5,335 for a return trip. The flight G8 117 from Bengaluru will depart at 05:45 hrs on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and will arrive in Delhi at 11:40.
The return non-stop flight G8 112 will depart from Delhi at 14:20 hrs and will arrive in Bengaluru at 17:10 hrs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
29/10/19 ZeeBiz

Third Daily Flight To Hyderabad Takes Off

Mysuru: As a Deepavali gift to Mysureans, one more daily flight to Hyderabad began operations last night. This will be the third flight to the City of Pearls and will be a direct flight. Among the other two flights, one goes via Chennai and the other is a direct flight. The 72-seater ATR aircraft, operated by low-cost and no frill Indigo Airlines, arrived at Mysore Airport at Mandakalli at 7 pm and took off at 8 pm.
The first day arrival was, however, delayed. From today, the plane will arrive at 6.40 pm and leave Mysuru at 7.40 pm. It will take about one hour 40 minutes to reach Hyderabad and the likely touch down time is 9.20 pm. The fare is Rs. 2,650 per person.
When the flight touched down at Mysore Airport, there were 21 passengers and there were 51 passengers when the plane took off. Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji was one of the travellers on the first flight which was flagged off by Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha.
Ticket bookings are open and this flight too is operated under Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ke Aam Nagarik) launched by the Narendra Modi Government to connect smaller and medium airports across India.
28/10/19 Star of Mysore

Belagavi-Hyd flights take off

Belagavi: IndiGo started its second operation from Belagavi airport on the Hyderabad- Belagavi- Hyderabad sector from Sunday. The airline started its first operation between Belagavi and Bengaluru from September 8.
Indigo flight 6E 7966/7968 will operate daily between Hyderabad and Belagavi. It will depart from Hyderabad at 3.50pm and reach Belagavi at 4.55pm. It will depart from Belagavi at 5.15pm and reach Hyderabad at 6.40pm.
IndiGo is the second airline after Spicejet to operate flights to Hyderabad from Belagavi.
29/10/19 Times of India

Clash of the titans: Will GVK succeed in keeping Adani out of Mumbai airport?

The GVK Group’s success in elevating greater than Rs 7,600 crore to cut back the debt burden and purchase a 23.5 % stake in Mumbai Worldwide Airport (MIAL) can be a setback to the Adani Group that has been attempting for a toehold within the prestigious firm, reviews counsel. The Adani Group, that efficiently bid for working 5 airports, has been attempting to accumulate a stake within the firm that operates Mumbai airport and has gained the bid to develop the Navi Mumbai airport.

“GVK Power & Infrastructure’s subsidiaries, GVK Airport Developers (GVKADL) and GVK Airport Holdings (GVKAHL) have entered into definitive agreements with subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) supported by global airports platform AviAlliance, and the National Investment Infrastructure Fund (NIIF),” mentioned a press launch from the corporate. “They will make an aggregate investment of Rs 7,614 crore, into GVKAHL.”
29/10/19 Roshan/Herald Publicist

'Name Chandigarh airport as Guru Nanak Dev Ji International Airport'

Mohali: To commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, members of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Sewa society demanded to name Chandigarh International Airport as Guru Nanak Dev Ji International Airport.
The members of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Sewa Society said that they have written a letter to Hardeep Singh Puri, union minister of aviation and also to Prime Minister of India urging them to name the airport in the name of first Sikh Guru.
Led by general secretary Harjit Singh Sabharwal, they said that they would take this opportunity to express gratitude on the decision of the Union Cabinet to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Devji throughout the country and across the globe, in a grand and befitting manner. The proactive action of Government of India in ensuring opening of Kartarpur corridor, starting of Sarbat da Bhala Train, visit of 90 foreign envoys to Golden Temple are laudable steps.
Sabharwal said, "Mohali has a New International Airport without a proper name. It will be a befitting tribute to Guru Nanak Dev jl if Chandigarh (Mohali) International Airport is named as Guru Nanak Dev Ji International Airport."
In their letter they prayed, "We request your kind approval for the same and also request you to announce the same and make a special visit to the Punjab in connection with these celebrations."
Chandigarh International Airport has always been a bone of contention between the two governments that is Punjab and Haryana as the two states have been claiming stakes by naming Chandigarh International Airport according to their political interests.
29/10/19 Barinderjit Saluja/Times of India

Srinagar airport officials under CBI scanner

Two Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials posted in Srinagar International Airport are under the CBI scanner for causing a loss of around Rs 6.80 crore for allowing two private firms to operate a lounge as well as stalls and outlets selling dryfruits, Kashmiri handicraft and shawls among others illegally.
The CBI has registered separate FIRs last week against AAI Manager (Commercial) Praveen Kumar Kanojia, Junior Assistant Engineer Aijad Abdullah, Mumbai-based PK Global Pvt Ltd Vice President Virendra Aggarwal among others in the two cases.
According to one of the FIRs, the two AAI officials allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with PK Global Trends Pvt Ltd to allot booths and outlets for selling dry fruits, gift items, eatables, Kashmiri handicraft, shawls to the company "in highly cryptic manner without obtaining relevant documents as mentioned in the tender and also without fulfilling necessary documentation".
This led to a loss of Rs 6.33 crore to the exchequer, it said. The area allotted to the company for running booths was on "higher side" as compared to terms and conditions. "The additional area allotted to the said firm as a benefit to it could have otherwise generated additional revenue," it said.
28/10/19 Shemin Joy/Deccan Herald

Monday, October 28, 2019

13 employees of airlines, airports failed alcohol test since Sep 16 : DGCA official

New Delhi: Thirteen employees of airlines and airports have failed breath analyser tests since September 16 and they have been suspended for three months, a DGCA official said on Monday.

Seven employees of IndiGo, and one airside worker each of GoAir and SpiceJet have failed the alcohol tests since the rules were issued, the official said.

The aviation regulator in September had issued rules for the tests to be conducted at all airports for airside workers, including those handling aircraft maintenance, air traffic control (ATC) and ground handling services.
28/10/19 PTI/India Today

6 months after Jet Airways was grounded, 33% of its slots are still vacant at airports

New Delhi: Nearly 33 per cent of the airline slots vacated by Jet Airways after its closure in April this year are still lying vacant, including in tier-1 cities such as Chennai and Kolkata, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

A slot is a date and time at which an airline’s aircraft are permitted to depart or arrive at an airport.
When it went defunct, Jet Airways had 700 such slots, of which nearly 235 are yet to be filled up by other airlines. These include more than 175 domestic and 55 international slots. 

A source in the Ministry of Civil Aviation told ThePrint that the Jet Airways slots are lying vacant at 30 to 35 airports at least, of the around 100 operated by the Airport Authority of India (AAI).   
The vacant slots are at some prominent airports such as the ones in Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Jodhpur, Pune, Lucknow and Indore among others. These airports are among the ones that offer high-yield routes.
Another source in the ministry, however, said the allocation process is likely to be completed in the next three months. “The ministry is pursuing this slot allocation process and is looking forward to filling all the vacant airports in the next three months.” 
28/10/19 Ifrah Mufti/Print

Air service between Nashik and Pune gets operational

Nashik: The much anticipated air service between Nashik and Pune started from Sunday. The Alliance Air flight headed for Pune took off from Ozar airport at 10.30 am on Sunday.
This flight will be operated under the Regional Connectivity Scheme - UDAN. The route has been awarded to Alliance Air to bolster regional connectivity under “Connecting India” mission of the government. All flights will operate with a 70 seater ATR-72.
The air service has come as a great relief for commuters between Nashik and Pune given the huge rush on the Nashik-Pune highway and the absence of rail connectivity.
The inaugural flight from Nashik saw 15 passengers from Nashik to Pune, while 38 passengers from Pune travelled to Nashik informed officials of Alliance Air.
28/10/19 Times of India

More sectors to be brought under subsidised UDAN regional connectivity scheme

The federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to quickly announce new routes below its regional connectivity scheme (RCS) of UDAN, an acronym for Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (residents of a rising nation) in a significant enhance to tourism within the hills, the northeast area and the islands within the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
Beneath the scheme, the federal government needs to make sure that the comfort of air journey is accessible in underserved sectors via a demand-driven scheme subsided by the central and state governments.
The central authorities offers viability hole funding to airways and waives sure airport fees to make these providers sustainable, whereas states waive native levies on jet gasoline, a report on the Livemint web site says. Within the final three rounds, the central authorities awarded greater than 600 regional connectivity routes to airways.
“The aim is to have 1,000 well-served regional connectivity routes under UDAN. We hope to achieve this over the next few years,” the report quotes an unidentified authorities official as saying. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, the northeastern states and the islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep are the precedence within the subsequent spherical. “The interest from airlines is strong,” the official stated.
Beneath the UDAN programme, reasonably priced air connectivity has been prolonged to a number of beforehand underserved or unserved airports reminiscent of Bhatinda and Ludhiana, the report says. Nevertheless, providers from some locations are but to take off.
The regional air connectivity is predicted to spice up tourism and create extra jobs. Prime Minister Modi had in his Independence Day speech this yr promised steps to advertise tourism throughout the nation. The weak job scene is seen as hurting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP) politically.
28/10/19 Roshan/Herald Publicist

All Nippon Airways launches direct flight from Chennai to Tokyo

Chennai: All Nippon Airways, one of the largest airlines in Japan, on Sunday launched direct service between Chennai and Tokyo.
With the new service, Chennai has become the first city in South India to have the flight connectivity to the Narita International Airport, Tokyo.
"All Nippon Airways is here!!! Chennai will be the third in India and the first city in the South to welcome direct flight from Japan," Airport Authority of India said.
"The Chennai-Narita connect will operate thrice a week. Congrats @FlyANA_official," AAI said in a tweet.
All Nippon Airways, in its website, said, "Bringing a new attraction flight closer. The only direct flight from Chennai to Tokyo". As the inaugural flight from Tokyo made its touchdown at the Anna International Terminal here on Sunday, it was accorded with a traditional water salute.
Earlier in January, All Nippon Airways (ANA) had said it would commence direct flight from Japan to Chennai making it the third city in India after launching direct flights from New Delhi and Mumbai.
28/10/19 PTI/New Indian Express

GVK raises Rs 7,600 crore to pare debt, buy 23.5% stake in Mumbai Airport

New Delhi: The GVK group said it has raised more than Rs 7,600 crore from investors and the proceeds will be used to reduce debt and acquire a 23.5% stake in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL). This should halt the Adani Group’s bid to acquire a stake in the company that operates Mumbai airport.
“GVK Power & Infrastructure’s subsidiaries, GVK Airport Developers (GVKADL) and GVK Airport Holdings (GVKAHL) have entered into definitive agreements with subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) supported by its global airports platform, AviAlliance, and with National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF),” said a release from the company. They “will make an aggregate investment of Rs 7,614 crore, into GVKAHL”.
Upon completion of the transaction, GVK Airport Holdings will have four shareholders—GVK Airport Developers, ADIA, PSP Investments and NIIF—and the GVK Group will hold 20.9% of GVKAHL. The deal values GVK’s airport assets, which include Mumbai airport and the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport, at Rs 9,608 crore.
GVKAHL is the holding company of MIAL, which runs the Mumbai airport and has won the bid to develop Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) through MIAL’s 74% subsidiary Navi Mumbai International Airport (Private) (NMIAL).
“Proceeds from the transaction will be used by GVK to primarily retire debt obligations of its holding companies significantly and fund the purchase of additional shares in MIAL by GVKAHL from Bidvest and ACSA in accordance with the right of first offer already exercised by GVKAHL,” the release added.
“The amount for payment to Bidvest will be deposited in an escrow account before the end of October as advised by the arbitration tribunal,” said a spokesperson for the company.
28/10/19 Economic Times

Emirates says committed to India despite dropping proposed Karipur routes

Emirates airline has affirmed its commitment to India, despite pulling out of a decision to launch services from Karipur (Calicut) Airport in the Kerala region.
The Dubai-based carrier has come under fire for the move and was even accused of violating the bilateral agreement signed between India and the UAE.
But a spokesperson for Emirates airline told Arabian Business the decision was taken purely on business grounds.
They said: “We are always reviewing market opportunities in India to ensure that our capacity is currently deployed to best serve customer demand in India. Emirates continues to serve Kerala with multiple daily flights to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.”
Emirates currently serves nine destinations across India, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram – with 171 weekly flights.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation granted an NOC to Emirates in July to operate direct flights to Calicut. The state-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) said it was waiting on Emirates to decide when it wanted to start operations to the Kerala airport.
When contacted, K Srinivasa Rao, airport director, Calicut International Airport, told Arabian Business they were not aware of Emirates’ latest decision.
28/10/19 Gavin Gibbon/Aabian Business

Vigilance awareness week inaugurated at Mangaluru International Airport

Mangaluru: With the theme ‘Integrity - a way life’, a week-long Vigilance awareness programme was inaugurated at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), on Monday, October 28.

Arunangshu Giri, DCP, Law and Order, Mangaluru, inaugurated the awareness week by lighting the lamp. V V Rao, director, MIA and Amith Kumar, deputy commissioner, CISF, MIA, were present on the dais.

In his inaugural speech Arunangshu Giri IPS, said, “Officials have to adopt an open door policy to listen to the complaints and suggestions from people. Once general public comes to know the system of vigilance, it helps in the reduction of illegal activities. Secondly, identification of the pockets of bribe is very important. Through this, officials will get more information about exchange of bribe, corruption and illegal activities. I appreciate Air India Authority, which has taken an initiative to educate people about vigilance. Awareness among youngsters may help reduce the tendency of receiving and giving bribe and other illegal activities.”
28/10/19 daijiworld

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Delhi preferred airport for Australasia-bound travelers

New Delhi: Delhi Airport has emerged as the preferred hub for travelers from India to Australasian countries, comprising Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and other islands dotting the Pacific ocean.
Of the 19 lakh travelers to Australasia from India between April 2018 and March 2019, as many as 7.7 lakh embarked on their journeys from the Delhi Airport, taking its share to 41% of the total traffic from 28% the previous year.
Melbourne is the most preferred destination of Australasia-bound travelers from the Delhi Airport with 33% of the 7.7 lakh passengers, followed by Sydney (25%), Auckland in New Zealand (15%), Brisbane (10%), Perth (6%) and Adelaide (5%).
“Delhi Airport has emerged as the hub for traffic to Australasia. It is the only airport in the SAARC region to have non-stop connectivity with Sydney and Melbourne,” Videh Kimar Jaipuriar, CEO, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said.
Interestingly, Delhi is the only airport in India to witness an increase in passenger share for the Australasian region, whereas other major airports such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai posted a dip during the same period.
Air India operates direct flights to Sydney that takes 12 hours 30 minutes to complete the journey, as against longer hopping flights operated by other airliners.
“This route has immense potential to grow further in future and I am sure that other Indian and foreign carriers would like to operate direct flights from Delhi,” Jaipuriar said.
26/10/19 Sagar Kulkarni/Deccan Herald

Tatas begin flight from Indore after 82 years

Indore: It was a historic moment when Tata owned Vistara airlines started its flight operations from the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in the Indore-Delhi sector on Saturday.

It was Tata Airlines flight that was the first one to land in the city airport in 1937, and now the Tatas have returned to the city 82 years later, albeit in a different avatar. Tata Airlines was later turned into Air India.

Vistara flight was given water cannon salute on landing at the city airport.

While Tata Airlines offered only parcel transportation service, Vistara which is jointly owned by the Tatas and SIA Airlines of Singapore, is a commercial passenger flight.

The first Vistara flight carried 136 passengers from New Delhi at 6.55 am and landed here at 8.20 am. On this occasion Tata SIA Airlines’ senior vice president Nam Kung, local MP Shankar Lalwani and airport director Aryama Sanyal were present. The return flight Indore-New Delhi departed carrying 112 passengers at 8.55 am and reached New Delhi at 10.25 am.
26/10/19 Free Press Journal

SpiceJet, Scoot new flights from Vizag on Diwali

Visakhapatnam: Good news for Vizagites as two new flights will be launched on Diwali from Visakhapatnam. The new flight services include one international and two domestic connections. SpiceJet will be operating flight services from Chennai to Visakhapatnam and from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada.
The new international flight service is to Singapore for five days a week instead of three days earlier. Scoot Airlines will be operating the flight service from Visakhapatnam to Singapore from October 27 for five days a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). The flight will take four hours from Visakhapatnam to Singapore.
The announcement came as a major relief to the air passengers as two airlines have recently cancelled their flight services from Visakhapatnam.Andhra Pradesh Air Travellers Association representatives K Kumar Raja, DS Varma and O Naresh Kumar thanked Scoot Airlines for increasing the frequency of service connecting Vizag.
They also thanked SpiceJet, Vizag airport director and local MP MVV Satyanarayana for their efforts to get new flight services from the city.
Naresh Kumar said Scoot Airlines will connect 160 destinations from Visakhapatnam through boarding pass issued from Vizag to China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, US etc.
There will be 30 more seats on Scoot Airlines flight compared to SilkAir flight, he said. The new flights will be formally launched at a programme to be organised at the airport on Sunday. Minister for Tourism Avanthi Srinivasa Rao and MP MVV Satyanarayana will attend the inaugural programme.
27/10/19 New Indian Express

Ethiopian Airlines connects Bengaluru to Addis Ababa

Bengaluru: Ethiopian Airlines will start weekly non-stop flights between capital Addis Ababa and Bengaluru, making the tech hub its third destination in India after Mumbai and New Delhi to have direct connectivity, an official said on Sunday.

"The direct passenger flights to Bengaluru from Addis Ababa is part of our strategic plan to expand in India. We are one of the first entrants to serve the Indian market, having 48 years of operation out of Mumbai," said Tadesse Tilahun, regional director, Ethiopian Airlines (Indian sub-continent) in a statement here.

The airlines will initially operate 4 non-stop flights a week from Addis Ababa on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to Bengaluru and from Bengaluru on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to Addis Ababa.

As the largest aviation group in Africa and Skytrax certified four-star global airline, Ethiopian is the first airline to give direct connection from South India to Africa.
27/101/19 IANS/Outlook

Bengal hope soars on Assam airport

Alipurduar: The Assam government has announced that Rupsi airport in Kokrajhar district, which was abandoned by the British in 1945, is set to become operational again from December, bringing cheer in neighbouring Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts of Bengal.

The airport has been readied under the RCS-UDAN (regional connectivity scheme) of the Centre, said administrative officials in Assam.

“It is ready. Rupsi airport is likely to be functional from December. Initially, the plan is to start flights to Guwahati and Calcutta,” said P. Majumdar, the collector of Kokrajhar, over phone.

Sources in the Airports Authority of India said that to begin with, the Hyderabad-headquartered private airline TruJet would run flights from Rupsi.
“The infrastructure at the airport is ready. It can handle 70 to 72-seater aircraft. All necessary arrangements have been made at the terminal building to cater to the passengers,” said a source in the AAI.

According to the officer, the services would not only be helpful for the people of Assam, but also for the 30 lakh in the neighbouring areas of Bengal and those in southern Bhutan.

As of now, the only functional airport in north Bengal is the one at Bagdogra. The other airport nearby, Pakyong in Sikkim, remains closed most of the time because of weather conditions. Bagdogra airport is over 160km from the district headquarters of Alipurduar and Cooch Behar.

Rupsi, on the other hand, is within a radius of 70km from Cooch Behar and Alipurduar towns and doesn’t suffer the vagaries of nature like Pakyong.

“One has to travel for four-and-a-half hours to reach Bagdogra from these two districts. Rupsi airport can be reached within one-and-a-half-hours,” said Prasenjit Dey, the secretary of the Alipurduar Chamber of Commerce.

The airport, sources said, was used by the British for a decade from 1935 to supply arms, manpower and ammunition to the Allies forces during their fight with the Axis powers.
27/10/19 Anirban Choudhury/Telegraph

Gulbarga Airport to get operational from Nov 15, says Umesh Jadhav

Kalaburagi: Gulbarga Airport will begin its operation after November 15, Kalaburagi Member of Parliament (MP) Umesh Jadhav said here on Saturday.
 Talking to reporters, here, Mr Jadhav said that he had met Civil Aviation Department secretary Pradeep Singh Karola on Thursday and held a discussion to begin the commercial operation at the earliest from Gulbarag Airport.
26/10/19 UNI

Mopa International Airport to be functional by 2022: Goa CM

Kolkata: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant expects that the proposed international airport at Mopa will be functional by 2022.
 He announced from the podium of a full house Goa International Travel Mart (GITM) at Taleigao, Goa this week.
 The state presently has only one international airport at Dabolim which is military and civil dualuse airfield. But work on the air terminal has been temporarily stalled following a Supreme Court order passed earlier this year.
 27/10/19 Atanu Roy/UNI

Visakhapatnam MP urges Navy to allot more slots to civilian airlines

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam MP MVV Satyanarayana urged authorities of the Indian Navy to address issues concerning flight slots at the Visakhapatnam airport which the Indian Navy operates. The MP said that even though a number of airlines have expressed their interest in providing services from Visakhapatnam, the Navy has not been allotting enough slots.
Satynarayana observed that the Navy was not giving enough slots for civilian flights from 06:00 am to 10:00 am and 06:00 pm to 10:00 pm, which are crucial slots for buyers.
The MP further said that even though the Navy had allotted 40 movements (landings or take-offs) from 06:00 pm to 10:00 pm, they have actually given permissions for only 18 movements. He urged naval authorities to extend permissions for at least 30 movements.
MVV Satyanarayana told STOI that he had already informed the Union aviation minister and the defence minister about the issue, adding, “They responded positively.” However, he pointed that the local Navy authorities must write positively about the local demand for evening flights at the city airport.
27/10/19 Venkatesh Bayya/Times of India

AAI set to study two locations for second airport for Chennai

Chennai: The move to set up a second airport for Chennai seems to be picking up as Airports Authority of India (AAI) is set to study two locations suggested by the state government next week.
Sources said that a location between Mamandur and Cheyyur and another site near Parandur between Kanchipuram and Arakonam would be studied to find out whether an airport could be built. The locations are around 80km from Chennai. One location is closer to Kanchipuram and the other is near Arakonam.

A team of officials from AAI Delhi will visit the city next week to carry out the preliminary feasibility study.

A senior official said that the study would focus on air traffic and use of airspace. "The team will look at different aspects including obstacles and proximity to defence airfield or another airport. It will also look at the impact a no-fly zone will have on flight operations. It will be basically a study on airspace management for the new airport."

"We will be looking at both the sites and a report will be filed. There is a committee under the ministry of civil aviation in which defence officers are also included. The committee will give in-principle approval of a site of a new airport."

After the committee studies the report, it should select the best site. Once this is done, AAI will conduct further detailed studies meant to set up a new airport. These studies will look at land use and other details. This will help to decide how much land is needed for the runway and the airport, said an official.

The ministry of civil aviation is looking at 1,500 acres to 2,000acres for setting up a new airport. And AAI has been insisting the state government since last year to identify land as quickly as possible because setting up a new airport will take three to five years.

The official said that the two locations were among the few sites indicated by the state government for the second airport.
27/10/19 V Ayyappan/Times of india

Silver jubilee of Cochin Airport: India Post launches special postal cover, stamp

Kochi: India Post launched special postal cover and stamp in commemoration of the 25th year of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) on Sunday.
The postal articles were launched by Senior superintendent India Posts Archana Gopinath, by handing over a copy to Managing Director, CIAL V J Kurian here.
The company which had proposed and successfully implemented idea of building an airport in PPP model was incorporated in 1994 and it could make the airport operational on the fifth year.
27/10/19 UNI

Saturday, October 26, 2019

T20 World Cup: Delhi Airport emerging as hub for flights to Australia

New Delhi: Delhi Airport has become the preferred airport for travellers from India visiting countries in the Australasian continent, which includes Australia and neighbouring countries such as New Zealand and Fiji.

The airport has been able to take its share of the passenger traffic on the India-Australasia route from 28 per cent in 2006-07, when the airport was privatised, to 41 per cent at the end of FY19. That's a gain of 47 per cent in the share of passengers during the last 14 years. Interestingly, Delhi is the only airport in India to register a significant increase in passenger share, whereas other major airports such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai posted a dip during the same period.

India has become Australia’s fastest-growing tourist market with visitor numbers rising by 53 per cent, driven by a surge in arrivals of those visiting family and friends.

“Delhi Airport has emerged as the hub for traffic to Australasia. It is the only airport in the SAARC region to have non-stop connectivity with Sydney and Melbourne. This route has immense potential to grow further in future and I am sure that other Indian and foreign carriers would like to operate direct flights from Delhi,” said Videh Kimar Jaipuriar, CEO, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).
26/10/19 Arindam Majumder/Business Standard

Kochi airport draws up plan to ensure hassle-free movement during partial shutdown

Kochi: With the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) bracing up for partial shutdown for a four-month-long revamp, a winter schedule has been drawn up to facilitate smooth trafc and avoid the rush.
 The runway would be closed for operation from 10am to 6am from this Sunday for resurfacing works. Majority of the ights in this time slot have been rescheduled between 6pm and 10pm.
 The arrangement would see the termination of only two services in the international sector and four in the domestic sector.
 The new schedule would be effective from October 27, 2019 to March 28, 2020, a CIAL press release said here on Friday. The resurfacing work is to be held from November 20, 2019 to March 28, 2020, the release said. At the same time, there would be new services launched to Dammam in Saudi Arabia and Island of Hanimadhoo in the Maldives, it said.
 25/10/19 Manorama

Cochin International Airport announces winter schedule

Kochi: The winter schedule of Cochin International Airport Ltd will be effective from October 27 to March 28, 2020 featuring new services to Damam in Saudi Arabia and Island of Hanimadhoo in Maldives.

The total aircraft movements in a week will be 1346 with the additions of new services. Fly NAS; a budget airline from Saudi Arabia will operate three services a week to Damam giving an extra fillip to CIAL’s connectivity to Saudi Arabia with airlines such as Saudia, Air India, Air India Express are already operational to various airports in that country.

Indigo has also announced new Damam service in the winter schedule apart from their Jeddah service. Island Aviation Services; an airline owned by the Government of Island Nation of Maldives will operate new thrice a week service to Hanimadhoo. CIAL is being already connected with the Island nation with a daily service operated by Indigo.
The domestic sector is catered with new services to Delhi by Go Air, Delhi and Chennai by Air Asia India, Kolkata, Chennai and Tirupati by SpiceJet. Metros such as Delhi and Bangalore will have 12 direct daily services and cities of Chennai and Mumbai will have eight services.
CIAL boasts direct connectivity to Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Goa, Hubli, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram. The international sector is being served with the presence of direct connectivity to Middle East cities, Singapore, Colombo, Bangkok, Tel-Aviv and Kuala Lumpur.
25/10/19 Business Line

Dubai flight timing changed, fly to Dharamshala from November 16

Mohali: Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, will be commencing new flights under RCS (UDAN) scheme on Dharamshala-Chandigarh sector with ATR72 aircraft from November 16. The flight will operate six days a week, said Air India airport manager M R Jindal.
On the other hand, the timing of the Chandigarh-Dubai flight by private airlines IndiGo has been rescheduled from October 27 to March 28, 2020, owing to bad weather conditions, according to the winter schedule released by Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Friday. The flight which used to arrive at 10.20 am from Dubai will now touch down at 11am. The same flight will depart for Dubai at 4pm against the earlier scheduled departure of 3.45 pm. Five domestic flights were rescheduled for the season too. IndiGo has rescheduled its Kolkata-Chandigarh-Srinagar morning flight with a delay of 5 minutes. According to new timings, the flight will arrive from Kolkata at 7.15 am and will depart for Srinagar at 7.45 am. Air India has advanced the arrival of Leh flight by 20 minutes. According to the schedule, the Leh flight will arrive at 10.15 am.
Nanded Sahib flight timing changed
Air India has advanced the departure of Nanded Sahib flight by 35 minutes. It will now depart at 9am. The same flight will arrive from Nanded Sahib late by 10 minutes at 3.05pm.
26/10/19 Barinderjit Saluja/Times of India

One flight diverted, 2 cancelled, 31 delayed

Panaji: Air passengers to and from Goa International Airport had a tough time on Friday as several flights were affected due to poor weather conditions caused by cyclonic storm Kyaar, an airport official said.
Sources said, one flight was diverted to Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, while two flights were cancelled and 31 delayed. Flights were delayed by at least an hour as cascading delays disrupted the flight schedules, said sources.
“Minor delays were there but no major incident was reported,” said Goa airport director Gagan Malik.
An IndiGo flight from Chennai to Goa which was scheduled to land at 6.15am was unable to land at the first attempt due to strong winds and heavy showers. The flight kept circling over Goa till weather conditions improved.
According to FlightRadar24, a SpiceJet flight from Chennai to Goa was cancelled but no reason was given.
26/10/19 Times of India

Global airports join GMR Airports to light a lamp in this Diwali campaign

New Delhi: This Diwali, GMR Airports, a global airport infrastructure major has gone beyond the regular, traditional wishes and launched a beautiful campaign that is a lesson in inclusivity and togetherness. The firm has reached out to airports, airlines and nearly all aviation enthusiasts around the world to wish them a happy Diwali in a unique way- by asking them to come forward and #LightALamp from wherever they might be around the globe. 

Launched on the 18th of October, the campaign invites the global population to their microsite here they can light a lamp and spread the message of love. One click lights up the page and adds to the joy of those celebrating the festival this year, wherever they might be. The link can then be retweeted, shared on WhatsApp or social media so that friends and family can also be a part of this heartwarming campaign.

"Diwali is a global festival where families, friends and loved ones come together and light lamps to celebrate.  It's an occasion to spread love and togetherness. This Diwali, GMR Airports is bringing loved ones and families from across the world closer to #LightALamp and celebrate togetherness. We have reached out to several leading airports, airlines and renowned personalities from India and across the world and have received encouraging participation from them," said a DIAL spokesperson.

The process of this campaign is being handled via tweets by two major consortiums of GMR Airports in India - Delhi Airport and Hyderabad Airport.
Twitter, of course, couldn't keep calm about the entire campaign and joined GMR in this initiative.
26/10/19 Business Today

Timings of flights changed in winter schedule for city airport

Chandigarh: While no new domestic flights are being introduced in the forthcoming winter schedule for the Chandigarh international airport, the timings for many flights have been changed to meet operational requirements.

The winter schedule will be in force from October 27 to March 28, 2020. It will apply to a total of 36 commercial, domestic and international flights operating to and from Chandigarh.
As far as international flights are concerned, IndiGo 6E56/842 will now arrive here from Dubai at 11 am and depart for Delhi at 11.50 am. The earlier summer timings were 11.20 am and 12.05 pm, respectively.

IndiGo 6E937/55 will now arrive here from Delhi at 2.40 pm and depart for Dubai at 4 pm. The summer timings for this flight were 2.30 pm and 3.45 pm, respectively. There is no change in the timings for Air India AI 188/187, which will arrive here from Sharjah at 2.25 pm and depart for the same destination at 3.35 pm.
25/10/19 Tribune

Push for more flights from Hindon base

Ghaziabad: After Pithoragarh, flight service to Hubli in Karnataka from the Hindon civil airport will start from November 6.

Star Air, the commercial airline, will fly a 50-seater ERJ-145 plane thrice a week between Hindon and Hubli. According to airline officials, the plane will land in Ghaziabad from Hubli at 3.40 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays and depart for Hubli at 4.10 pm.
On Saturday, it will take off from the Hindon airbase at 3 pm. The duration of the flight will be 2 hours 40 minutes.

During a meeting on Friday, Star Air manager Kiran ST told the district magistrate the company was getting good response and almost 90% of seats on the Hindon-Hubli flight had been booked. At present, there is no direct flight to Hubli and passengers either have to take a flight to Goa or Bengaluru to reach there.

Besides reviewing arrangements for the upcoming flight service, district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey held a meeting with AAI’s Hindon airport director, Shobha Bhardwaj, and Star Air manager Kiran to explore new cities to where the services can be launched from Hindon.

The DM said he had requested Star Air to look into the feasibility of starting services to Lucknow, Prayagraj and Varanasi.

Officials have assured a swift decision on this, he added.
26/10/19 Aditya Dev/Times of India

11 additional flights to operate from Patna airport during winter

Patna: Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport-Patna on Friday released its winter schedule, which will come into effect from October 27 and end in March. Eleven additional flights will operate from the airport during winter, taking the total number of flights to 57. These 57 flights will cover 12 destinations across the country.
“The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) has approved the winter flight schedule for Patna airport,” said an airport official.

Santosh Kumar, assistant general manager (air traffic management) at Patna airport, said the actual flight operations would vary, depending on the requirements of airlines. “There are some new flights of new airlines for various new routes, including Amritsar and Nagpur. It depends on the airlines to start operations on allotted slots. It is not the final list,” Kumar told this newspaper on Friday.

The 11 additional flights include four of IndiGo, three of Air India, two of SpiceJet and two of Vistara. In fact, Vistara will launch its two flights between Delhi and Patna on November 3.
26/10/19 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Tirupati airport devpt work reviewed

Tirupati: A meeting of the airport advisory committee for Tirupati Airport at Renigunta was held as per the guidelines of the ministry of civil aviation in Tirupati on Friday.

Officials from the Airports Authority of India, committee chairman and Tirupati MP B Durga Prasad Rao, Srikalahasti legislator B Madhusudhan Reddy, district collector Narayana Bharat Gupta and other officials reviewed the progress of various development works under execution at Tirupati Airport.

Chairman of the airport advisory committee B Durga Prasad Rao said that Tirupati Airport had registered a 47 per cent passenger growth over the last three years, on par with some of the best airports in the country. “Runway expansion works are being executed. Officials are also addressing issues like land acquisition and boundary wall construction,” he said.
26/10/19 Raghavan Kumar/Times of India

Friday, October 25, 2019

UP minister cites aviation sector slowdown for delay in flights from Bareilly

Bareilly: Uttar Pradesh (UP) civil aviation minister Nand Gopal Nandi couldn’t refrain himself from bursting into laughter when asked to provide a date to start flights from Bareilly. The minister had no answer as the starting date for flights had been missed “twice”. Nandi has now cited the aviation sector slowdown for the indefinite delay.
The minister, while visiting Bareilly on Thursday, admitted that the slowdown has made service providers more hesitant to take up new projects and it led to the project missing its deadline “twice” to commence flights from Bareilly.

Nandi said that earlier this year Jet Airways had bagged the bid for Lucknow-Bareilly-Delhi route but things couldn’t materialise after the cash-strapped carrier failed to secure a bailout. Notably, last month, Union minister as well as local MP Santosh Gangwar has written to his Cabinet colleague, Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri, about the matter.
“Actually, Jet Airways had won the bids on most of the routes that were auctioned last year under the Centre’s regional connectivity scheme. Even the flights on certain new routes had been started but it was discontinued after Jet Airways planes were grounded. It is our commitment to connect all 18 commissionary towns with state capital and the country’s other important cities to make our Prime Minister’s Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) dream come true,” the minister said.
25/10/19 Pankul Sharma/Times of India

Star Air to Launch Flight Service From Hubballi to Delhi Hindon

Bengaluru: Star Air, part of the diversified Sanjay Ghodawat Group, while continuing on its endeavor to connect the unconnected with affordable and easily accessible services is soon going to bring smiles on the faces of millions of people. Since ages, people of Northern Karnataka were aspiring to get connected to Delhi via direct flight services. Star Air thus, by connecting North Karnataka with national capital is on its way to meet people's aspirations with realism.

On 6th November 2019, Star Air is scheduled to connect these two regions by starting its commercial operations between Hubballi (Northern Karnataka) and Hindon (Delhi) in one mega launch ceremony at Hubballi Airport.

With its successful commencement, Star Air would create history by becoming the first airline in India to connect these two geographically disperse but strategically and commercially important regions with affordable and accessible air travel services. This route would also be the longest commercial air travel route under the UDAN scheme till date.

Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri B. S. Yediyurappa is touted to grace this mega launch with his distinguished presence which is also widely speculated to be attended by many other prominent dignitaries coming from all walks of life including media barons, business tycoons, premier bureaucrats among others.
25/10/19 PRNewswire/PTI/Week

Thakur thanks PM for nod to Mandi airport

Shimla: Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has thanked the Prime Minister and the Union Government for giving in-principle approval for construction of an international standard airport in Mandi district and also for expansion of Shimla, Kangra and Kullu airports.
The Chief Minister said that expenditure of expansion of Shimla and Kangra airports would be borne by Union Civil Aviation Ministry and a team of Airport Authority of India would visit Kullu-Manali airport to conduct a survey for its expansion. He said that this would open new vistas of tourism development activities in the State.
Thakur also thanked the Union Government for according in-principle approval for bearing construction and operational cost of six proposed heliports in the state by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under UDAN-II.
24/10/19 Tribune

ATC Guild conclave held in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: The Thiruvananthapuram Airport chapter of Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild (India), a professional body of air traffic controllers of Airports Authority of India observed the International Day of Air Traffic Controller in the city on Sunday.
International Day of Air Traffic Controller marks the founding anniversary of International Federation of Air Traffic Control Associations (IFATCA), established in 1961.
MP Shashi Tharoor who inaugurated the event appreciated the Air Traffic Controllers as unsung heroes who keep 3.5 billion air travellers safe daily. “Their profession calls for mastering complexity, alertness, patience and swift reactions,” he said.
He spoke about various developments relating to Trivandrum International Airport, ranging from the need for more flights, lower passenger charges to effective professional management and also suggested that policy changes be made regarding bilateral permissions for improving flight connectivity to Trivandrum Airport.
G Vijayaraghavan former planning board member, pointed out that development of Trivandrum airport is required for the development of southern Kerala and southern Tamil Nadu.
24/10/19 Anasooya S/Times of India

By December 5, 90 flights can take off in an hour from Kempegowda

Once the second runway of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) that is scheduled to open on December 5 is operational, the airport will become the first in India to have independent parallel runways.
 A video released by the operators of the airport, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) that shows the successful completion of the validation flights, states that with the commissioning of the second runway, the airport will become the first in India to have independent parallel runways It also states that once the runway becomes operational, the two runways together will progressively able to handle up to 90 flights per hour or a take- off and landing every 40 seconds.
 Last week, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had issued an Aeronautical Information Publication Supplement to inform the stakeholders about the commissioning of the runway The Aeronautical Information Publication Supplement informed the stakeholders about the renaming of the existing RWY 09/27 to RWY 09L/27R, besides naming the second runway that will be located south of the existing runway as RWY 09R/27L.
 25/10/19 Bangalore Mirror

Airport curb on laser shows

Kolkata: Laser shows often used in outdoor parties that shoot powerful multi-coloured beams into the night sky have been banned within a 10km radius from the airport ahead of Diwali and the party season as they pose a risk during take-off and landing of aircraft.

A notification issued by the Bidhannagar commissionerate on Thursday cited several problems faced by pilots of advancing aircraft as the reason for clamping a ban on laser lights.

The use of laser lights as part of dazzling laser shows at outdoor parties and events will not be allowed in several areas surrounding the airport such as New Town, Rajarhat, Kaikhali, several parts of Baguiati, Narayanpur, a senior officer of the commissionerate said.

“Copies of the notification will be sent to police stations for distribution among establishments such as hotels and banquet halls. The strong and concentrated beams of light falling on the aircraft windshield and

cockpit windows can be blind pilots momentarily,” Kunal Agarwal, deputy commissioner, headquarters of the Bidhannagar commissionerate, said.

Aircraft often fly over Salt Lake and New Town before landing at the airport. Pilots have complained on several occasions in the past few years about laser lights creating inconvenience while landing, especially during Diwali and Kali Puja.
25/10/19 Telegraph

City airport gets more wings: Now fly direct to Nagpur and Allahabad

Bhopal: In a major boost for Raja Bhoj airport, it has now been connected with two new cities — Nagpur and Allahabad. Announcing the winter schedule on Thursday, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated that the winter schedule will be effective from October 27, 2019 to March 28, 2020.
According to the schedule, Bhopal airport will have the movement of 52 flights daily as compared to 46 earlier. Air connectivity to Jaipur has also been resumed, but flights to Shirdi and Surat have been discontinued citing poor response.

IndiGo will start both flights for Nagpur and Allahabad. For Nagpur, the IndiGo flight 6E 1226 will arrive at 8.20 pm and after 40 minutes stopover it will leave for Nagpur at 8.50 pm. Both the flights will start from November 10 daily.

From Allahabad, IndiGo flight 6E 7925 will reach Bhopal airport at 12 noon and fly from Allahabad at 10.25 am. From Bhopal, flight 6E 7926 will fly for Allahabad at 12.40 pm. The flight will Allahabad at 2 pm. At present, Bhopal is connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Raipur, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Udaipur, and Pune with 46 flights in the summer schedule. Now, there will be 8 flights for Delhi.

Till Dec 2018, it was only connected to two major cities — Delhi and Mumbai — with 10 daily flights. The increase in passenger traffic has been visible since January. As compared to 2018, in 2019 there was a 26.94% jump in passenger footfall in the first month. In January 2018, the footfall was 66,447 and in January 2019 it was 84,349.
25/10/19 Reamendra Singh/Times of India

Two flights diverted to Bengaluru

Panaji: Two flights were diverted and five delayed after poor weather conditions reduced visibility and made landing and take-off from Goa International Airport risky, officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on Thursday.
An flight from Muscat was diverted to Bengaluru at 7.30pm due to heavy rain, strong winds and poor visibility. Earlier in the day, a flight from Pune was diverted to Bengaluru for similar reasons. The flight was originally scheduled to land at 1.30am.
Several domestic flights were delayed by around an hour due to poor weather conditions in Goa and New Delhi.
25/10/19 Times of India

Mopa airport operations to begin by 2022: Sawant

Saligao/Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said the government intends to start operations at Mopa international airport by 2022. He was speaking at the inaugural function of the Goa International Travel Mart (GITM) at Arpora on Thursday.
Work on the airport has been suspended ever since the Supreme Court passed an order in January this year.

Highlighting the importance of the tourism, Sawant said the government was looking to boost the sector through investments that would go a long way in developing Goa as a world-class destination. He also spelt out plans of promoting wellness and hinterland tourism.

“After the closure of mining, the government has been focussing on tourism. We are introducing many tourism-related aspects such as golf courses, eco-tourism, medical tourism and sports tourism,” he said. Sawant also reiterated the government’s commitment to keeping tourists safe.

“We are coming up with a new convention centre at Dona Paula that will be equipped with modern facilities,” Sawant added.
After the inaugural event at Arpora, the two-day GITM exhibition at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, Taleigao, was thrown open. The business-to-business event showcases the state’s tourism investment potential and brought travel companies, hoteliers, and those engaged in eco-tourism, adventure, wildlife, nightlife, event management, wedding planning, wellness and other leisure enterprises under one roof.
25/120/19 Times of India

State govt allots 16.56 acres to Tirupati Airport

Tirupati: Paving the way for expansion of the Tirupati International Airport, the state government has issued orders giving advance possession of lands to an extent of 16.56 acres in favour of Airport Director. The state cabinet has approved the proposal in its last meeting and the GO was issued on Wednesday. These land is in Kothapalem village of Renigunta mandal.
The airport extension works have been pending for long due to land acquisition. The foundation stone for extension works was laid by the Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu on February 20 this year. It was proposed to extend the runway from the existing 2,285 metres to 3,810 metres.
Now, with the clearance of 16.56 acres, about 14 acres are still have to be allocated to the Airport. To get permissions from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) the lands should be free from encumbrances.
25/10/19 Hans India

Arvind Singh appointed chairman of AAI

New Delhi: Senior IAS officer Arvind Singh has been appointed as the chairman of Airports Authority of India and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu will head the National Highways Authority of India as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre.
Singh is at present working in his cadre-state Maharashtra. He has been appointed as the chief of AAI in the rank and pay of additional secretary, an order issued by the personnel ministry said.
254/10/19 PTI/Times of India

Himachal gets approval for international standard airport

Shimla: The Union Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday gave in-principle approval for the construction of an international standard airport in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh with the support of the Airport Authority of India (AAI), the state government said.

The Ministry also gave approval for expansion of Shimla, Kangra and Kullu airports.

The decision was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri which was also attended by Chief Secretary Shrikant Baldi through video conferencing.

Baldi said that the cost of the expansion of Shimla and Kangra airports would be borne by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry.
24/10/19 IANS/Outlook

‘May I Help You’ counter opens at Patna airport

Patna: A round the clock ‘May I Help You’ counter was opened near arrival hall at the terminal building of Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport-Patna on Thursday for the convenience of the flyers.

The help desk service for passengers was inaugurated by a woman passenger in the presence of airport’s director Bhupesh C H Negi, Central Industrial Security Force’s (CISF) commandant Vishal Dubey, Airline Operators’ Committee chairman Rupesh Singh and other executives of airlines and staff. The service will give updated information on flight operations, airport facilities and services and emergencies to the passengers.
Negi said the staff deployed for the assistance service would help the passengers by sharing information on airport facilities, answering flyers’ queries on flight status, handling complaints and updating and monitoring the flight information system. “Airports Authority of India (AAI) will manage this facility through an outsourced agency,” he said.

Negi said the help desk would soon be equipped with several amenities, like wheel chairs and baby strollers. “A customer care number will also be released. Flyers will be able to share their grievances, feedback and suggestions through the help desk,” Negi said.
25/10/19 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

Turkish Cargo adds flights to Kuala Lumpur and Ahmedabad

Turkish Cargo has increased its cargo flight network with the addition of flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Ahmedabad, India.

Thanks to the Kuala Lumpur flights, Turkish Cargo will be be able to move Malaysia’s main exports, such as electronic products, medical products, and spare parts, to various countries, such as the Netherlands, Germany and US through its Istanbul hub.

The airline plans to use Boeing 777F aircraft on the ISL–KUL–SGN (Ho Chi Minh/Vietnam) route.

Turkish cargo, will also operate Airbus 330F aircraft to Ahmedabad on the DOH–AMD–ISL and BAH–AMD-ISL routes. The airline, which has received IATA CEIV Pharma certification, plans to become “an important air cargo brand for Ahmedabad”, which has a large pharmaceutical market.
24/10/19 Aircargo news

Thanks to GMR, this Diwali is lit (literally!)

GMR Airports, the Delhi based airport infrastructural firm, has launched a unique digital campaign to celebrate the festival of lights, globally. Through the campaign, GMR has reached out to airports, airlines and nearly all aviation enthusiasts around the world to wish them a happy Diwali. It is aimed at getting people across the globe to come together and light a lamp by using their microsite to trend #LightALamp.

One has to simply re-tweet the mentioned link which will light a Diwali lamp on the microsite. Multiple lamps can be lit from wherever you are around the world. Once the lamp is lit, the user can share the message of love on their social handles or via WhatsApp and tag their loved ones, friends and associates to enlighten them about the initiative.

This has started a beautiful chain of tweets from airports and airlines and has amplified their initiative of lighting a lamp and spreading the message of inclusivity and togetherness. Several well-known personalities like Tim Fargo among others have also participated in this campaign and lit the light of Diwali.
14/10/19 India Today

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Air India Set To Launch Direct Amritsar To Patna Flight From October 27

New Delhi: To mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, Air India is set to launch a direct flight from Amritsar to Patna starting October 27.
"The flight, connecting Harmandir Sahib with Takht Sri Patna Sahib, is a tribute to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Devji," Air India said in an official statement on Wednesday.

The flight, operated by the 162-seater A320neo aircraft, will take off from Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport at Amritsar at 2:55 pm and land at Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna at 5:05 pm.

It will also be leaving Patna at 10:55 am to reach Amritsar at 1:15 pm on every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

"The flight will fulfil a long-standing desire of the Sikh pilgrims to have a direct air link between the two venerated Takhts at Amritsar and Patna. While the Golden Temple at Amritsar has always been a popular tourist draw, the Gurudwara at Patna Sahib is also a sacred pilgrimage destination," the statement said.
24/10/19 ANI/NDTV

Chennai: Facelift for airport taxiways will help handle big planes

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started work to relay and strengthen a few taxiways and parts of the apron area at Chennai airport to handle widebody planes operated on international routes. This is part of the airport expansion work.
The strengthening work is needed as this part of the apron and taxiways are now being used to push back and taxi narrowbody planes like A320 or B737 that are operated on domestic routes. After the integrated terminal becomes functional next year, AAI is planning to move international flights there.
A senior official of AAI said that all ‘Code E’ planes including widebody aircraft like B777, B787 will be moved from the apron in front of the international terminal to the space in front of the new integrated terminal after it is commissioned. “This is because international passengers will be using the new terminal,” the official said.”
The work is also part of the move to strengthen a few taxiways to make them strong enough to handle big planes. “These are old taxiways that have been in use for a long time. They need refurbishing. Since relaying is being done, they are being upgraded to handle the load of bigger planes. Two or three taxiways to which planes are now being pushed back for taxiing to the runway cannot handle Code E planes,” he said.
24/10/19 V Ayyappan/Times of India

Emirates leaves Karipur in lurch

Kozhikode: The Emirates Airlines, which had promised to operate Code-E flights from Karipur airport, has been accused of violating the bilateral agreement signed between India and the UAE.

"From April 30, 2015 to July 5, 2019, the Airport Authority of India had banned the operations of  Code-E aircraft at Karipur due to runway maintenance. It was in those circumstances that the DGCA agreed to shift the flight slots of the airline to nearby airports,” K.M. Basheer, forum president, told reporters here on Wednesday.
After the repair was over, the DGCA directed the airline to resume the operations. Now the Emirates has allegedly demanded an additional 2,500 seats to resume the services from Karipur which is a violation of the agreement," Mr Basheer said.
24/10/19 Deccan Chronicle