Mopa Airport gets consent to operate from GSPCB

Panjim: The newly-constructed Greenfield International Airport at Mopa, which is likely to be commissioned in December, has been granted consent to operate by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB). 

During its Board meeting held on October 11, the Board decided to grant consent to operate under Air and Water Act to the airport. M/s GMR Goa International Airport Limited had approached Board with the permission for the airport, consisting of passenger terminal building, air traffic control technical building, administration building, cargo and utility building, buildings in airside, etc. 

GSPCB Chairman Mahesh Patil confirmed about the grant of consent to operate to the airport facility. 

The Board officials last week also conducted a site visit at the airport to see the working of the different equipment installed at the airport, especially the noise monitoring, waste disposal, etc. 

The foundation stone for the ambitious second airport in Goa was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2016. 

The Mopa Airport is being constructed in four phases with an annual passenger capacity of 4.4 million in phase I, 5.8 million phase II, 9.4 million in phase III and 13.1 million in phase IV. 

The airport has an ultimate capacity of 28 million passengers per annum with a provision for dedicated cargo facility, by end of four phases. 

The Board also granted ex-post facto consent to operate to All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) at Dhargalim, Pernem. 

26/10/22 Herald

Read More

Mopa airport will also benefit Vengurla-Konkan: Maha Speaker

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, Rahul Narwekar, on Tuesday said that Mopa airport coming up in north Goa will also benefit Maharashtra for tourism.

While speaking to reporters after meeting his counterpart Ramesh Tawadkar in Goa, Narwekar added that as this airport is on the Goa-Maharashtra border, it will benefit both the states.

"Mopa airport will be beneficial to the people of Goa as well as to Maharashtra as it is on border of both the states. It will be a gateway to tourism. From Vengurla to North Konkan (in Maharshtra), there are many tourism spots. This airport will help to develop these spots," he said, adding this project is very important.

The distance between Mopa airport to Vengurla in Maharashtra is nearly 43 km.

According to Narwekar, it will be easier for tourists to visit these places after arriving in north Goa.

"Even it will be best to land in north Goa. It will benefit north Goa. Hence we are eagerly waiting for the commissioning of this airport," he said.

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte had recently said that Goa has challenges with respect to tourism, from Sindhudurg belt (in Maharashtra) and had added that his department is rightly taking steps to promote water sports and eradicate illegal touts so that no tourists are affected.

"If we don't act right, then we may suffer in regards to tourism. Tourists may start going to neighbouring states," Khaunte had said.

25/10/22 IANS/Daijiworld

Read More

Bhopal: Two Lake Cities to have air connectivity from November 1

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Two Lake Cities - Udaipur and Bhopal - are now going to be connected by air service. IndiGo has decided to operate 72-seater ATR aircraft from Udaipur to Bhopal from November 1.

This is good news for those coming to Udaipur and Bhopal. The journey from Mewar to Madhya Pradesh will now become easier for the people. Till now, there is no Udaipur-Bhopal direct train. Direct flight between Udaipur and Bhopal is going to start after three years.

“It is a good initiative to connect two lake cities of the country. As there is no direct train between these two cities, it is good for people as fare is also competitive. Flights will be three days a week,” Raja Bhoj Airport Director Ramji Awasthi told Free Press.

Its schedule has also been released. Flights will be 3 days a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On November 1, the flight will leave from Bhopal at 5:20 pm. After this, the flight will reach Udaipur at 6:40 pm. The flight will depart from Udaipur at 7:20 pm and will reach Bhopal at 8:40 pm. SpiceJet had started Udaipur-Bhopal flight in 2019.

According to the information, the winter schedule will be implemented from October 30. There are flights from Udaipur to 7 cities in this schedule. This schedule will remain in force from October 30 to March 25. The summer schedule will be implemented after March 25.

25/10/22 FreePressJournal

Read More

Noida Airport gets consent from 70% farmers for land acquisition

Noida: Officials on Friday said they have received consent letters of more than 70% of farmers - the minimum required by law for government to proceed for land acquisition for the second phase of Noida International Airport. Around 1,365 hectare of land is to be acquired for the second phase of the greenfield project from six villages - Ranhera, Kureb, Dayanatpur, Karauli Bangar, Mundrah and Birampur - the officials said.

The first phase of the greenfield airport, billed to be India's largest upon completion and costing an estimated Rs 29,560 crore, is under development in the Jewar area of Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh, some 75 km off Delhi.

MLA Jewar Dhirendra Singh said, "The consent for land acquisition crossed the 70 per cent mark today and reached nearly 73 per cent."

Singh had been extensively touring the six villages for land owners' consent after several of them denied to give up their assets in lieu of compensation.

In a meeting with farmers in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on October 14 assured them an increased compensation of Rs 3,400 per sq metre (including the interest amount).

Deputy Collector (Jewar) Abhay Pratap Singh said, "With the consent level crossing the 70 per cent mark, the district administration can send proposal to the government for carrying out formalities under Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act."

"Once the government's approval comes, survey for land and compensation will begin," Singh said.

According to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the consent of at least 70 per cent land owners is required for acquisition.

23/10/22 PTI/ETInfra.com

Read More

Birsa Munda Airport to gets ILS soon

Ranchi: The Birsa Munda International Airport in Ranchi will soon be equipped with the Instrumental Landing System(ILS) to allow aircraft to land in rough weather caused by fog or haze.

“At Birsa Munda International Airport in Ranchi, ILS is not available. Now, it is being installed”, said Ranchi Airport Director KL Agrawal.” The process to install it has begun.”

In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to approach until it is 200 feet (61 m) over the ground, within a 1⁄2 mile (800 m) of the runway.

 At that point the runway should be visible to the pilot; if it is not, they perform a missed approach. Bringing the aircraft this close to the runway dramatically increases the range of weather conditions in which a safe landing can be made.

As ILS is not functional at Ranchi Airport’ as a result, due to poor visibility -owing to fog and or haze- in rough weather conditions, the flights fail to land and are diverted to nearby airports.

It may be recalled that on August 12, several flights were diverted to Kolkata and Patna. After weather conditions stabilised, the air passengers returned and landed in Ranchi.

Usually, during the middle of December fog engulfs air space in the early morning and night around Ranchi. This causes blockades in the landing of flights.

The Ranchi Airport officials expect that ILS installation to end and become operational by the end of November.” If this happens, flights will start landing in the midst of fog before the end of the current year 2022”, said Agrawal.

Birsa Munda Airport is a domestic airport in Jharkhand. It is named after the Indian tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, and is currently managed by the Airports Authority of India. The airport is located in Hinoo, approximately 5 km from the city center. The airport sprawls over an area of 1,568 acres. The airport is used by more than 1.2 million passengers annually and is the 19th busiest airport in India.

23/10/22 Pioneer

Read More

Mumbai Airports' car parking charges sky-high, need immediate reduction, demands NGO

Mumbai-based Watchdog Foundation has written to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) complaining about the high car parking charges at the Mumbai Airport. The letter states that the Mumbai International Airport Ltd. managed by the Adani Group is charging very high parking charges forcing cab aggregators and others to park in the vicinity of roads leading to the airports.

According to the Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) website, the parking charges for 30 min for a 4-wheeler is Rs 160 and if one chooses to make use of premium parking then the charges are Rs 250.

This is an issue for most of the frequent fliers that drive themselves to the airport as they have to pay a huge amount just for parking their car at the Mumbai airport. The Mumbai International airport charges Rs 1,000 if you park your vehicles at the airport for a day.

The increased cost also affects the fliers that would like to book Ola or Uber because they have to wait in long queues as cabs decline to come to the airport fearing the high parking charges.

The cabs that are willing to pick up customers from the airport instead of waiting at the airport park on roads leading to the airport causing a lot of traffic in the surrounding areas.

23/10/22 Free Press Journal

Read More

Tamil Nadu: Vegetable truck crashes into Trichy airport compound wall

Tiruchirappalli: A lorry loaded with vegetables collided with and broke the compound wall of the Trichy International Airport on Saturday.

The incident occured at the Trichy-Pudukottai highway when the lorry which was enroute from Hosur to Aranthangi, while attempting to overtake a truck in front of it lost control and rammed into the airport compound wall.

The incident took place at around 3.45 am today.

The police has identified the driver of the truck as Senthilkumar from Pudukottai.

The Central Industrial Security Personnel who were on security duty immediately informed Police and a crane was called to remove the lorry.

The Southern Traffic Investigation Police is investigating the matter.

Airport authorities put up a temporary enclosure at the damaged portion of the wall.

22/10/22 ANI/Print

Read More

New arrival hall opened at Mangaluru Airport

Mangaluru: Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) on Saturday inaugurated a new arrival hall area on the lower ground floor for passengers use.

The first passengers who arrived at MIA today joined the airport team to light the auspicious lamp that was followed by cutting the ribbon to mark the occasion, a release from the MIA here said.

Passengers utilised the newly installed travellator to make their way to the arrival hall on the lower ground floor. They also had the option of using the convenient ramp beside it.

The airport has also installed a spacious lift for those passengers who prefer to descend to the arrival hall with their luggage trolleys. The lower ground floor has prepaid taxi counter, smoking lounge, baby care room and washrooms for comfort of passengers.

Dedication of the arrival hall and plaza, spread across 3,531 sq metre, will enhance smooth passenger flow. With this, passenger arrivals will henceforth be handled at the new arrival hall and departures on the ground floor.

22/10/22 PTI/Print

Read More

Air India, IndiGo on shortlist to shift to Mumbai Navi

Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), a subsidiary of the Indian powerhouse conglomerate Adani Group, wants to shift a major airline customer from Mumbai Int'l to Mumbai Navi Airport when it opens in 2024. The operator of seven major airports in India told a recent investor briefing that the airlines on the shortlist include Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) and IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi Int'l).

According to The Business Standard newspaper, AAHL wants to move one of its two biggest airline customers to Navi when it opens to reduce pressure on Mumbai International. Capacity constraints and the airport's location means there is little scope for Mumbai International to expand beyond the existing 60 million annual passenger cap. The airport's single runway also severely restricts the number of new slots available to airlines.

According to AAHL, the transferring airline will get the benefit of prime slots at Navi, which will initially cater to 20 million passengers annually but increase to 90 million when it reaches maximum capacity. The ch-aviation PRO airports module reveals Mumbai International is presently handling 2,715 flights a week that make available 507,558 seats. IndiGo Airlines provides 37.96% of those seats, followed by Air India on 13.4%, Vistara on 12.2%, and Go First on 8.61%. AAHL says that market share sees IndiGo Airlines operating over 900 flights a week to and from the airport and Air India operating just under 400 flights a week.

21/10/22 ch-aviation

Read More

flynas Offers Direct Services From Mumbai To Riyadh And Dammam

Saudi low-cost carrier flynas has started offering direct flights to India's commercial hub Mumbai from Riyadh. The airline has been robustly expanding its flight network lately, adding several destinations in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and Mumbai's addition is part of its larger growth plan.

flynas has started connecting Saudi Arabia with Mumbai (BOM) by offering direct flights to the Indian city. On October 20th, the airline flew its first scheduled service to Mumbai from Riyadh (RUH).

The carrier deploys its Airbus A320 on the route, which has a scheduled departure from Riyadh at 20:20 and a scheduled arrival in Mumbai at 03:05. This will be a daily service.

flynas will also offer direct flights between Dammam's King Fahd International Airport (DMM) to BOM from October 30th. The four-times-a-week service will be offered on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Mumbai has recently seen new flights to the Middle East by other airlines as well. On September 22nd, IndiGo started flying between BOM and Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT), which was also its 100th destination. Ras Al-Khaimah doesn't have many nonstop options from India. Calicut International Airport (CCJ) in Kerela is the only Indian airport with direct connectivity to RKT. The route is served by Air India Express with twice-weekly flights on Tuesdays and Fridays.

IndiGo also announced a direct flight between Mumbai and Istanbul (IST) from January 1st, 2023, on top of its existing Delhi (DEL)- Istanbul flight. Recently, Vistara also began flying between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi (AUH) with a once-daily service.

21/10/22 Gaurav Joshi/Simple Flying

Read More

BJP’s RTI convenor files application for release of CCTV footage relating to Visakhapatnam airport incident

The BJP’s State convenor for RTI cell, V. Srinivas, has filed an application demanding that the Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner furnish the CCTV footage pertaining to the attack on YSR Congress Party leaders and the Ministers by alleged Jana Sena Party activists, recently at the Visakhapatnam airport.

Apart from the footage at the airport, he has also asked for the footage of various police stations from October 15 to 17, where the JSP leaders and activists were arrested and detained.

According to Mr. Srinivas, the Supreme Court has already mandated the installation of cameras with night vision and audio mode in all the police stations, covering the entire station premises and its periphery, and the footages are sought in reference to the allegations of non-procedural arrests and torture of the JSP workers, he said.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Srinivas said that the information asked for is not exempted from disclosure under Section 8,9 or 24 of the RTI Act, and it is necessary for upholding the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

21/10/22 The Hindu

Read More

Sikkim demands ‘Instrument Landing System’ at Pakyong airport

Guwahati: Sikkim has raised the long-pending demand for the installation of an instrument landing system (ILS) at Pakyong airport.

The issue was flagged by the Sikkim government to the Centre in the Conference for Ministers of Civil Aviation for all states and Union Territories in New Delhi from October 17-18. The conference was attended by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scidia.

M.L Srivastava, additional chief secretary, flagged many issues pertaining to the Pakyong greenfield airport to the Ministry, the most urgent being the long-pending demand for the installation of an instrument landing system.

Instrument Landing System( ILS) is a standard International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) precision landing aid that is used to provide accurate azimuth and descent guidance signals for guidance to aircraft for landing on the runway under normal or adverse weather conditions. ILS facility is a highly accurate and dependable means of navigating to the runway in IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) conditions. The ILS provides the lateral and vertical guidance necessary to fly a precision approach. 

Srivastava elaborated on the weather condition of the state due to which air travel in the state gets disrupted for almost five to six months in a year, largely affecting the flow of tourists in the state.  

He urged the Government of India for making necessary technical interventions to facilitate landing even in low relative visibility in order to minimise flight cancellations.

21/10/22 Roopak Goswami/East Mojo

Read More

VIP Movement Delays At A’bad Airport Impact Over 10 Flights

At Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport on Thursday, as a result of heavy VIP movement brought on by the Defense Expo 2022 being held in Gandhinagar, as many as 10 passenger flights were delayed.

The majority of the VIP movements involved delegates coming back from the DefExpo, which involved a lot of chartered flights. The IAF helicopters’ movement also contributed to the delay.

Two SpiceJet flights were delayed, one of which was delayed by over six hours. Two flights to Mumbai, three to Delhi, and one each to Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata and Dehradun were delayed.

21/10/22 The Live Ahmedabad

Read More

Adani group wants to make it big into allied segments of airport business

The Adani Group is looking to get into all the allied businesses in the airport sector where it is trying to consolidate its position.

People in the know said that the group has chalked out a plan where it will try to grow the business in two ways — one by acquiring more airports and the second by moving into various segments of airport services like maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) and ground handling, duty free stores.

Adani Airport Holdings said on Tuesday that it acquired India’s oldest MRO, AirWorks, at an enterprise value of Rs 400 crore. Sources said that the group is also in talks to acquire an around 30% stake in a joint venture of Prajay Patel-owned Indamer Aviation and US based MRO company AAR corp. AAR holds a 40% stake in the MRO company. The Adani Group is in talks to acquire half the stake held by Patel.

The group is also likely to aggressively bid for AI Engineering Services (AIESL), which was the MRO unit of Air India that the government is looking to sell in the first quarter of the next fiscal year.

The Adani group didn’t respond to a query, while an email and messages sent to Patel did not elicit a response till press time Wednesday.

“India’s aircraft maintenance market is divided between three players — GMR Aero Technic, AirWorks and AIESL. But with India’s market size being small, it is heavily fragmented, and no one is able to make full utilisation of their hangar space and make money. The Adani Group is looking at a consolidation of the sector and having a meaningful presence in the sector,” said a person aware of the company’s plans.

Despite being one of the fastest growing aviation markets, around 85% of the $1.4 billion maintenance work of Indian airlines is carried out overseas, in countries like Singapore and Turkey.

20/10/22 Arindam Majumder/Economic Times

Read More

Ahmedabad airport plan: Adani to invest Rs 10k cr to triple flier capacity

New Delhi: The Adani group will invest about Rs 10,000 crore in the Ahmedabad airport between 2023 and 2027 to augment its passenger handling capacity by three times, making it a regional hub.

In a presentation to investors last week, the Adani group executives said the Ahmedabad airport will be made a regional hub connecting airports such as Bhuj, Kandla, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. Its annual passenger handling capacity will be increased from 9 million currently to 28 million in 2027, they added.

The Adani group did not respond to queries sent by Business Standard.

The conglomerate had in November 2020 taken control of the Ahmedabad airport from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Ahmedabad is a “financial capital” where diverse tourism opportunities and a booming industrial base are present, the presentation noted. The number of hotel rooms has seen an 8.59 per cent compound annual growth rate in the city, it added.

The commercial area in the airport will be increased from the current 2,000 square metres (sq. mt) to 9,000 sq. mt by 2025 to boost non-aeronautical revenues, it added.

The Adani group wants premium brands to open more outlets at the Ahmedabad airport to ensure higher average transaction value.

The capital expenditure planned for the city airport will also be used to develop an integrated cargo terminal with dedicated freighter bays, an air freight station, an e-commerce domestic regional hub and road feeder services.

A transshipment hub for international and domestic cargo will also be developed at the Ahmedabad airport, the presentation noted.

Six airports in Lucknow, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad and Guwahati were privatised by the AAI in February 2019 through a competitive bidding process. The Adani group did aggressive bidding and won the rights to run all six of them for 50 years.

20/10/22 Deepak Patel/Business Standard

Read More

What US Said On Pulitzer-Winning Journalist Being Stopped At Delhi Airport

Washington: The United States is aware of reports of Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri journalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo allegedly being prevented from travelling to the country, a State Department official has said.

Sanna Mattoo had on Tuesday said she was stopped at the IGI Airport in Delhi from flying to the US to received the prestigious award.

“We are aware of the reports of Ms Mattoo being prevented from travelling to the US and are tracking these developments closely,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news conference.

“We are committed to supporting press freedom. And as the secretary has noted, a shared commitment to democratic values, including the respect for the independence of the press, is a bedrock of the US-India relationship,” he said.

“But I don't have any other specifics to offer… we are tracking this closely,” Patel said in response to a question.

Mattoo, a freelance photojournalist, was part of a Reuters team that won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

20/10/22 NDTV

Read More

Big push to Warangal airport as Telangana govt allots another 250 acres

Hyderabad: The decades-long dream of people in Warangal to have an airport in their own city, set to become a reality with the State government allocating another 250 acres to Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the purpose. Already, 700 acres has been allocated by the government.

The latest development shows the State’s commitment to construct an airport at Mamnoor near Warangal. It is learnt that the GMR Group which has built the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, is very likely to take up the construction of Warangal airport, too.

This may be a domestic airport and construction would begin once AAI of the Ministry of Civil Aviation gives all necessary clearances. In fact, the Mamnoor airport with more than one terminal, was the largest during the pre-independence era, spread over 1,875 acres of land, and consisting of quarters for pilot and staff and a pilot training centre.

It was built in 1930 and was commissioned by the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, along with another one at Solapur, to boost the paper industry at Kagaznagar and the Azam Zahi Mills at Warangal. The Mamnoor airport provided the landing facility for high profile leaders until 1981, and during the Indo-China war, it served as a hangar for government aircraft as theDelhi airport was the target of the enemy. This apart, many cargo and Vayudoot services also used it as their base. At present, the airport has become defunct.

The plan to revive the Warangal airport gained momentum when the State government considered acquiring 200 acres of additional land around the old facility. Warangal has been on the list of proposed airstrips under UDAN, a regional airport connectivity programme. Both Mamnoor and Basanth Nagar (Peddapalli) have been recognised as potential airports because of their proximity to tourist destinations. This is as part of Centre’s plan to connect 54 wildlife, religious, and tourist destinations under the next round UDAN scheme.

19/10/22 Sunny Baski/New Indian Express

Read More

Police blamed as 70 miss flights, Vizhinjam protest spills on to city

Thiruvananthapuram: The road blockade by the fishermen community to protest against the Vizhinjam port construction threw the traffic movement out of gear in Thiruvananthapuram city on Monday and 70 passengers missed their flights from the airport.

As the protestors blocked the roads connecting the airport at Chackai and Enchakkal, both domestic and international passengers could not reach the terminals on time. According to a spokesperson at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, four passengers who were to board international flights and 66 others scheduled to travel on domestic flights missed the trips due to the blockade.

They missed four IndiGo flights and one Vistara flight to Bengalauru, New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, and Kannur. Besides, the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur IndiGo flight was delayed by one hour and 10 minutes after the pilot failed to reach the airport on time due to the protest.

Airport officials said the police stood as mute spectators and literally did nothing to divert the route for air passengers. "Normally, in similar situations, the city police make sure that airport passengers are not hit, but they did nothing on Monday," the spokesperson said.

Other commuters blamed the police for not effectively diverting the traffic though the protesters had announced the blockade in advance. The people going to the airport to catch flights, schools, colleges and offices suffered the most due to the blockade between 8.30 am and 3 pm.  

The protestors led by the Latin Church put up blockades at Attingal, Chackai, Thiruvallom, Uchakada and Poovar and Station Kadavu. A ban on the protest by the district collector did not deter the protestors from holding meetings at Vizhinjam junction and Mulloor.

Large groups of protestors came with boats and fishing nets to block all locations including the service roads to ensure total blockade. Later, they took out a protest march towards the secretariat, blocking MG Road around noon. The protestors organised an art and cultural meet in front of the secretariat on Monday.

18/10/22 New Indian Express

Read More

First Test Flight Lands At India's Newest Airport In Arunachal

Itanagar: A test flight operated by budget carrier IndiGo today landed successfully at the newly-constructed Donyi Polo Airport near Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, ahead of the airport's official inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 28.

Two water cannons greeted the Airbus A320 aircraft after it landed at India's newest airport.

Developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at a cost of ₹ 645 crore, Donyi Polo Airport is a greenfield facility with eight check-in counters. It has 2,300 metres of runway and is suitable for operating large aircraft like Boeing 747. With a total area of 4,100 square metres, the airport is equipped with all modern facilities for passengers, officials said.

Arunachal Pradesh now has two operational airports, one at Pasighat and the other at Tezu. However, since both these airports are far away from state capital Itanagar, passengers have to travel for six to ten hours to take flights from either Dibrugarh or Guwahati in Assam.

Now, Donyi Polo Airport will help ease connectivity and boost tourism in the state, officials said.

Commenting on the new airport, Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted: “It's so satisfying and fulfilling to see IndiGo flight making a successful test landing at Donyi Polo airport. Ensuring better connectivity to our people is a top priority of my government. Rest assured, we'll ensure we've many more flights from Itanagar.”

18/10/22 Ratnadip Choudhury/NDTV

Read More

Mumbai International Airport announces successful completion of runway maintenance work, flight ops resume

The post-monsoon runway maintenance work at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) was successfully finished today in an effort to promote smooth aircraft movements and guarantee passenger safety. Between 1100 to 1700, both runways—RWY 14/32 and 09/27—were under construction. The CSMIA resumed regular business activities after six hours of work. This routine annual runway repair is done to improve the airport's operating effectiveness.

Mumbai has had more than 400 millimetres of rain this year, therefore, inspecting the runways is essential to improving the safety of aircrafts that are landing and taking off. The CSMIA completed repair work for normal wear and tear as well as the installation of runway edge lights for runway 14/32, trenching work for laying underground cables for segregating AGL (Aeronautical ground lights) near the beginning of runway 09, and validation of the strength of RESA (runway end safety area) on runway 09 intersection.

A  different team carefully examined more than 5000 installed aviation lights to look for damage. The runway strip's drain pits and chambers, which are crucial for illumination and navigational aids, were also examined.

As one of the country's busiest airports, CSMIA witnesses nearly 800 flight movements daily. Thus, to ensure operational continuity, timely check, and repair work on the runways is of utmost importance to maintain its health. Specialists in engineering and airside teams inspect the runway surface for micro-texture and macro-texture wear and tear and signs of distress. These are attended to in the scheduled closures of 09/27 and runway 14/32 at different weekly intervals.

18/10/22 Zee Media

Read More

Adani Group appoints Arun Bansal as CEO Adani Airport Holdings Ltd

New Delhi: The Adani Group has appoint ed Arun Bansal as chief executive officer of Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, an arm of Adani Enterprises Ltd, which oversees the airport operations of the conglomerate.

 Bansal will join Adani Group from Ericsson where he served as senior vice president and head of market area Europe and Latin America. According to sources, the development firms up the management structure of the conglomerates’s airport operations. 

 R.K. Jain, will serve as chief executive officer of airports (aero) operations, while Harshad Jain will continue to serve as executive officer (non-aero). B. V. J. K. Sharma will continue to be the chief executive officer at Navi Mumbai International Airport and Prakash Tulsiani as chief executive officer of Mumbai International Airport Ltd. 

 In 2019, Adani Enterprises emerged as the lowest bidder and secured the rights for operation, management and development of airports in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangaluru, and Guwahati, which were privatised by the government for a period of 50 years. 

 18/10/22 P Manoj & Dev Kanchari/ET Infra.com

Read More

Adani Group likely to shift a big airline to Navi Mumbai airport: Report

 New Delhi: Billionaire Gautam Adani-controlled Adani Group is actively considering a 200 per cent increase in the commercial area in airport, constructing multiplexes and Legoland theme parks in the city side. More importantly, it plans to shift one of the big airlines to Navi Mumbai airport in an earnest bid to decongest Mumbai airport and boost revenue from its eight airports.

At present, Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), a group company of the ports-to-power conglomerate, manages airports in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. Also, it is developing Navi Mumbai airport which is likely to be operational by 2024.

Citing people familiar with the development, Business Standard reported that Adani Group officials gave two presentations on the airport plans to the potential investors last week.

Mumbai airport is the second busiest airport in the country and there is further no scope for capacity expansion beyond 6 crore passengers per year as it is in the heart of the city, the financial daily, mentioned, citing one of the presentations. This means that there is effectively no new slot available for airlines at Mumbai airport.

The Adani Group presentation mentioned that the Mumbai airport had two major airlines with domestic and international airlines—IndiGo and Air India. One of these airlines may be shifted to Navi Mumbai International Airport so that the load on Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) can be reduced.

The airline will get the benefit of prime slots at Navi Mumbai airport. Also, the cost of moving the entire base from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai is also not high because shifting just spillover will result in an additional initial setup cost to the airline.

Currently, Mumbai airport operates 2,573 weekly flights, of which 919 are IndiGo and 390 Air India flights. Vistara and Go First are at number three and four with 364 and 243 flights, respectively, as per data from aviation analyst firm Sirium.

17/10/22 Economic Times

Read More

Newly-expanded International-to-International transfer area at T3 will make Delhi airport future ready

Air travel has increased due to the opening up of international borders in March 2022, passenger inflow has increased to a level where managing passengers became a task for airport officials. Hence as a solution, Delhi airport decided to expand Terminal 3 airport, to accommodate passengers. Now, the Delhi Airport's new expanded International-to-International (I-to-I) transfer area at Terminal 3 Arrivals is ready for operations.  Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has built a state-of-the-art extended I-to-I transfer area with additional facilities to make a passenger's connecting journey hassle-free. This comes as a part of the ongoing expansion of Delhi Airport under phase 3A. This ongoing Phase 3A expansion work will make Delhi Airport future-ready.

DIAL's ongoing Phase 3A expansion work encompasses various large-scale development and modernisation activities to make Delhi Airport future-ready. Post completion of Phase 3A expansion work scheduled in 2023, the passenger handling capacity of Delhi Airport will increase to 100 million passengers per annum (MPPA), while the airside capacity will increase to 140 MPPA.

17/10/22 ZeeNews

Read More

Tension prevails at Visakhapatnam airport after Pawan fans heckle & attack ministers

Visakhapatnam: Tension prevailed at Visakhapatnam airport after vehicles in the convoy of a couple of ministers returning from Visakha Garjana were surrounded and attacked by a group of persons, suspected to be Jana Sena workers, who were waiting for the arrival of party president Pawan Kalyan on Saturday. In a late night development, police reportedly identified the accused  through CCTV footage and booked them under relevant sections of the IPC. 

Trouble broke out when the convoy of ministers Jogi Ramesh and RK Roja, former minister Perni Nani and TTD Trust Board chairman YV Subba Reddy approached the airport. A group mobbed the cars and raised slogans against the YSRC.

The enraged crowd reportedly attacked the cars with the sticks and stones. Security personnel ensured a safe passage for the ministers. However, a Roja’s security guard suffered a mild head injury in the attack. The glass panes of Subba Reddy’s car were damaged in the attack.

Police immediately rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. The injured guard was given treatment at a hospital. Meanwhile, the attack triggered criticisms from YSRC leaders. Jogi Ramesh said glass panes of his car were damaged. He warned that Pawan Kalyan will not be able to visit any place in the State, if they too start venting out anger against him. Roja said Pawan was indulging in diversion politics. Minister Gudivada Amarnath termed the attack was preplanned and said the JSP chief should apologise for the incident.

However, Jana Sena denied the involvement of their activists. Party’s PAC chairman Nadendla Manohar said police were yet to confirm that there was an attack and attackers were Jana Sena activists. Only ministers were claiming this, he said and added that Jana Sena will never encourage such violence and only YSRC was indulging in such actions. He asked what the police were doing when ministers were attacked.

16/10/22 New Indian Express

Read More

Minister promise talks with CM Stalin, villagers opposing Parandur airport shelve stir

Chennai: Residents of Ekanapuram village, which may be acquired entirely for the Parandur airport project, have withdrawn their proposed protest march to the secretariat on October 17 after three DMK ministers met them on Saturday and promised to hold discussions with the CM on safeguarding their land and homes. 

On Saturday, based on CM MK Stalin’s instructions, ministers EV Velu, Thangam Thennarasu and TM Anbarasan held talks with eight members of Ekanapuram Village People and Farmers Welfare Board, a government release said.

More than 2,000 people were to take part in the protest spearheaded by Ekanapuram villagers against acquisition of land for the airport project, which, the villagers alleged, would wipe away their entire history. The villagers have been complaining that no minister or top official has come forward to hear their anguish or assure them of compensation.

G Subramanian, secretary of Ekanapuram Village People and Farmers Welfare Board, who took part in the meeting held at the secretariat, said, “We told them how the villagers will be impacted due to the land acquisition and how much damage it will cause to natural resources, including Kambuk lake. The AIADMK regime, which first proposed the project, failed to understand the impact of the project on ecology and other nearby villages,” said Subramanian.

16/10/22 C Shivakumar/New Indian Express

Read More

Rourkela airport gets SEIAA nod for expansion

Bhubaneswar: Rourkela has received the nod from State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for upgradation of the airport in the city ahead of the men’s FIH Hockey World Cup in January next year. 

The environmental clearance (EC) for upgradation was given to the airport in the 93rd SEIAA meeting headed by its chairperson and former PCCF Sisir Kumar Ratho. While SAIL is the owner of the airport, the development work will be carried out by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for its civil operations for a period of three years.

The project cost has been estimated to be Rs 50 crore. Sources said, the proposal involves extension and strengthening of runway, construction of ATC tower, provision of taxiway and construction of pre-fabricated terminal building. The allied facilities will include additional utility building for housekeeping and support staff, construction of a new toilet block and utility vehicle shed.

The announcement of new development of Rourkela airport is set to increase its existing area from 102 to 250 acre.The Term of Reference (ToR) for the project was issued by SEIAA in August and Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was then carried out. Public hearing was exempted as the Rourkela airstrip is located inside the Notified Industrial Township of SAIL -Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) and there was no requirement of land acquisition, rehabilitation or resettlement.

16/10/22 New Indian Express

Read More

Gwalior airport to have modern facilities in new terminal, will be constructed at Rs 450 crore

Opening a new chapter for Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier today laid the foundation stone for the development of a new terminal of Gwalior Airport. The new terminal building will be built on 20,000 square meters which is six times more than the area of the existing terminal. Equipped with four passenger boarding bridges, the terminal will be designed to process 1400 passengers during peak hours with an annual handling capacity of 1.5 Million. According to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the expansion work of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Terminal of Gwalior Airport will be done at a cost of Rs 450 crore.

"Keeping in view the increasing passenger footfall at Gwalior Airport, the Airports Authority of India has undertaken the expansion work of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Terminal of Gwalior Airport at a cost of Rs 450 crore. The expansion project includes the construction of the new terminal building with all modern facilities and upgradation of airside facilities," AAI said in a statement. 

While addressing the gathering, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah said, "Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Airport in Gwalior is one of the most modern airports with the latest facilities. With the dedication with which this airport has been carefully planned, I think it will be one of the best airports in the country." "Under the leadership of PM Modi, there has been a huge development of infrastructure in the country. 

16/10/22 ZeeNews

Read More

Emirates will launch daily flights to the South Indian city of Bengaluru, serviced by its flagship A380 jumbo plane.

Set to commence on October 30, the capital of Karnataka will become the first city in the region, and only the second city in India, to be served by the world's largest passenger aircraft, following the launch of the Dubai-Mumbai route in 2014.

Emirates’ A380 flights between Dubai and Bengaluru will operate as EK568 and EK569. The daily flight will leave Dubai at 9.25pm local time, arriving in Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport at 2.30am local time the next day. The return flight departs Bengaluru at 4.20am local time, arriving in Dubai at 7:10am local time.

The Dubai airline will operate its three-class A380 aircraft on the route, featuring its first class service with amenities such as the shower spa and onboard lounge, business class cabins and spacious seats in economy class.

Emirates already operates two daily flights between the cities, via a Boeing 777 aircraft.

To mark the launch, Emirates flight EK562 took off on Friday from Dubai International Airport at 10am and landed in Bengaluru at 3:40pm local time. On board the special flight were 224 passengers, including Emirates executives Adnan Kazim, the chief commercial officer, and Ahmed Khoory, senior vice president of commercial operations — West Asia and Indian Ocean.

The flight was greeted by ST Somashekar Gowda, Minister of Cooperation, Government of Karnataka; Ahmed Abdul Rahman AlBanna, ambassador of the UAE to India; Hari Marar, managing director and chief executive of Bangalore International Airport Limited; and Mohammad Sarhan, Emirates’ vice president — India and Nepal.

“The special relationship that we share with Bengaluru and the state of Karnataka is one of mutual growth and prosperity and we are delighted to introduce A380 services to this vital gateway for travellers in South India," Kazim said.

15/10/22 David Tusing/National

Read More

Indigo, FlyBig to start services from Donyi Polo airport

Itanagar: Domestic airlines Indigo and FlyBig have become the first two airlines to book slots to start operation from the Donyi Polo airport in Hollongi, which is set to be inaugurated soon.

In the initial phase, Indigo will start direct flights from Hollongi to Kolkata, and passengers will have to get connecting flights from Kolkata to fly to their respective destinations.

FlyBig will start with flight service between Guwahati and Hollongi.

Further, Alliance Airlines has also proposed to start a service to connect Hollongi with destinations like Dibrugarh, Tezu, and Pasighat.

“Other airlines like Akasha, SpiceJet, etc, have also shown interest. But Indigo and FlyBig have made the first move,” informed an official of the civil aviation department.

Indigo has hired some of the project-affected people as ground staffers. “At present, they are being given training on how to handle the passengers. All the groundwork is being prepared,” the official added.

Regarding the infrastructure work at the airport, the official said that the airport is ready for inauguration.

“PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the airport. After we get a confirmation letter from the PMO, we will need at least 15 days to prepare for the inauguration. It is going to be a big event. Also, there is a lot of protocol to be followed and it will take time to get everything ready,” the official added.

14/10/22 Bengia Ajum/Arunachal Times

Read More

Delhi International Airport reports long queues at Immigration counter, HUGE rush of incoming passengers

Delhi Airport is seeing long lines of immigration clearance as the long lines at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport result from the abrupt opening of international borders with several nations, including Malaysia, Thailand, Bhutan, and Vietnam (IGIA). The Covid-19 pandemic continues to have one of the greatest impacts on the tourism industry, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. The governments of the different nations have taken steps to ease business and economic conditions. After a lapse of nearly two years, a number of nations, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bhutan, and the Middle East's United Arab Emirates, have reopened their borders to travellers.

"The passengers from Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, especially tourists, are the most travelling at the moment. Many airline companies have announced their discounted airfares these days," an airport official told ANI.

The rush hour for international travellers witnessed huge crowds on Tuesday midnight, with arriving passengers waiting in long queues to clear their immigration at the Delhi airport. "There was a huge crowd at the Delhi airport on Monday night where people queued up for more than half an hour for immigration clearance," a UK passenger told ANI.

Recently, several airline companies have announced discounted airfares to attract tourists after a long gap of a year. In a recent announcement, Vietnamese-based airline VietJet inaugurated two new routes between Ahmedabad and Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, after easing Covid regulations and opening borders.

13/10/22 ZeeNews

Read More

Work on Malkangiri airport gets underway

Malkangiri: Work on the much-awaited airport on the outskirts of Malkangiri town began on Wednesday. Executed by Jeypore-based Taratarini Construction Pvt Ltd, the airport will be set up over 94.5 hectare land at an estimated cost of `33.03 crore. The tender for the project was floated and bidding completed in September this year, said superintending engineer of Roads and Buildings department Nihar Chandra Behera. 

The construction of the airport including its runway and other facilities will be completed by December 2023. The State government has put the project on fast-track, claiming it will accelerate commercial activities in the district. It has therefore been decided to make the airport functional by January 2024.

The obstacle limitation survey for the airport has already been completed by the Airports Authority of India. As many as 54 families, relocated for the project have been provided houses under rural housing schemes. Additional District Magistrate Maheswar Nayak and revenue officials attended the ‘bhumi puja’ for the construction work on the day. 

13/10/22 New Indian Express

Read More

Residents of village to be acquired for Parandur airport plan stir on Monday

Chennai: Ekanapuram village is among the few whose entire history will be erased once land is acquired for the proposed airport in Parandur. The villagers say no minister or top official has visited them to understand their pain or assure them of compensation. On Monday, nearly 2,000 people, the majority from Ekanapuram village, plan to take out a protest march to the Secretariat. The State Assembly session too is scheduled to begin on Monday. The police are yet to grant permission for the rally.

The village, with a population of 2,500, is one of the largest among the 13 in the area. All its land is to be acquired for the airport. G Subramanian, secretary of Ekanapuram Village People and Farmers Welfare Board, blames the officials for not starting a dialogue with the villagers over the acquisition of their villages. “What will we do if our entire existence is threatened? Don’t we have the right to protest?” he asks.

While officials claim the villagers have refused talks with officials, such as the deputy collector, Collector Dr M Aarthi says Congress MLA K Selvaperunthagai will visit the village on Wednesday. The collector said the government is pained over the loss of the villagers but is helpless. “The government tried to at least save their homes but it was not possible. I understand the pain, but they should also understand that the site selection was done by putting in a lot of effort. With INS Rajali nearby and a no-fly zone over Kalpakkam, we are helpless. We are ready to offer the best solution to them,” she says.

13/10/22 New Indian Express

Read More

More flights from Vijayawada airport demanded

Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) has urged IndiGo Airlines CEO to introduce more flight service from Vijayawada airport. In a letter addressed to IndiGo Airlines CEO Pieter Elbers, the representatives of the AP Chambers requested better flight connectivity and air cargo facility at Vijayawada Airport.“Vijayawada airport registered a 23 per cent increase in passenger traffic in 2021-22. The airport also registered a 12 per cent rise in cargo movement during the same period. The airport has witnessed phenomenal growth in the past five years with an average growth rate of 100 per cent year-on-year since 2014 and emerged as the fastest-growing airports in the country,” the letter read.

“IndiGo placed Vijayawada on the global aviation map by starting an international flight from Vijayawada to Singapore. International flight operations commenced from the airport on December 4, 2018. However, after seven months (witnessing around 10,000 passengers) IndiGo suspended the international operations citing operational reasons even though the occupancy ratio registered around 80 per cent at the time of suspension. The population in the catchment area of the Vijayawada airport is around 20 million, of which an estimated 0.5 million are NRIs from the districts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Godavari. As there are a lot of passengers travelling to Singapore from the State, we request IndiGo to restart Vijayawada-Singapore direct flight as soon as possible,” the letter read.

Similarly, there is a need to improve domestic connectivity between Vijayawada and other major cities in the country in view of a huge demand. “We request IndiGo to connect Vijayawada with Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and with Kolkata via Visakhapatnam. We also suggest increasing the frequency of flights between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam as Vijayawada is part of the capital region and Visakhapatnam is the commercial capital of Andhra Pradesh. We understand that IndiGo requested Vijayawada airport authorities to allot four night parking bays. As the airport authorities have allotted four night parking bays to IndiGo, we request you to utilise them,” representatives of the AP Chambers said.

13/10/22 New Indian Express

Read More

New ARFF station to be commissioned at TVM Airport

Thiruvananthapuram: The new aerodrome rescue and firefighting (ARFF) station at the international airport here would be commissioned on October 14.

The new building is constructed as per the standards of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Director General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) and Civil Aviation Requirements, an official statement said here.

The total cost of the project is around Rs 13 crore, and the fire station can also cater future capacity expansion and needs of ARFF of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, it said.

12/10/22 PTI

Read More

As Mumbai airport goes green, a look at other net-zero airports in India

As the world is pushing towards the switch to green energy, the most energy-intensive airports are looking to make the switch to sustainable resources of energy as well.  However, it is a tough task as airports require tremendous amounts of energy. But it is now possible as India has added another airport, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, to the list of green airports that operate solely on renewable sources of energy.

Here is a look at the green airports in India >>

Read More

Dabolim airport to shut if app-based transport not supported: Goa Minister

Panaji: Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho on Wednesday expressed the fear that Dabolim airport may shut down if local taxi operators fail to support app-based taxi services.

According to Godinho, once the Mopa airport is operational and when they start giving top-class transport facilities, then Dabolim airport will suffer.

"If transportation mess continues at Dabolim then everyone will prefer to fly from Mopa," he said.

"We need to understand that Mopa airport is getting ready, which will be run by a private company. Hence we don't want Dabolim to suffer for non-availability of app-based taxis. Travellers should not face problems when they arrive at Dabolim airport. It should be a thing of the past," the Minister added stressing the importance of app-based taxi services.

"I want this (Dabolim) airport to run side-by-side. Hence, within two days we want to start the counter (for 'GoaMiles'). There is urgency. This airport has to survive as the Airports Authority of India has always given good services," he said.

Godinho added that the High Court has given an order that there should be choice to the travelling public, not only prepaid or tourist taxi services, but to give them other options.

"This is why we need to create online facilities," he said.

He directed the officials that no tout should be seen at Goa's Dabolim airport and added that GoaMiles, the government app-based taxi service, will be re-launched at the airport in the next two days.

"GoaMiles is a reality," he said.

Godinho inspected the counters operated by local taxi operators and added that the counter for GoaMiles will be set up again.

More roadblocks ahead for new Pune airport as villagers say won’t sell land.

12/10/22 IANS/Business Standard

Read More

IndiGo adds direct flights between Mumbai, Istanbul to strengthen connectivity

In order to strengthen international connectivity, IndiGo has introduced direct flights between Mumbai-Istanbul. These new routes and additional frequencies will enhance international connectivity between India and Turkey.

Talking about the new flights, Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo, "In line with our vision to strengthen international connectivity from India, we have launched a new connection between Mumbai- Istanbul. This will enhance international capacity and offer more options to the consumers.

He said that Istanbul is famous for its rich history, culture and prominent center of trade and commerce.

The introduction of direct flights will further bolster the airlines international connectivity. The sale of the tickets has commenced for the daily airline service that will start from Jan 1, 2023.

All customers who wish to plan their travel can book tickets from the official website of IndiGo.

12/10/22 India Today

Read More

PM Modi announces new international airport for Gujarat’s Bharuch

Giving a further boost to connectivity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday laid the foundation stone of Ankleshwar Airport in the Bharuch district of Gujarat. The PM is on a three-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat for the inauguration of a number of projects in Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, and Mehsana.

 Today, PM Modi dedicated to the nation and inaugurated various projects worth over Rs 8,000 crore at Amod town in Bharuch. Speaking at the event, PM Modi said: "I am happy to announce that now along with industrial development, Bharuch will also be home to an international airport. This airport will play an important role in increasing exports from Gujarat."

 The Prime Minister said that Bharuch cannot depend on Baroda or Surat airport. Now, he said, Bharuch should have its own airport, so today the foundation stone is being laid to build a new airport at Ankleshwar.

10/10/22 Saurabh Sharma/BusinessToday.in

Read More

Five Infrastructure Initiatives to Boost Access to Navi Mumbai Airport

Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation), provided an update on several connectivity projects associated with the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport.

A look at these projects, their importance and current status >>

Read More

Delhi International Airport to raise up to Rs 1,600 cr via debentures

Mumbai: In tweaking of fund raising plans, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a GMR group entity, will raise upto Rs 1,600 crore through Debentures to finance balance capital expenditure for capacity expansion by September 2023. Till end of August 2022, had incurred Rs. 7,765 crore of the project cost.

The pending project cost of Rs 3,785 crore is expected to be funded through the proposed NCDs (alternative to lease financing loan), real estate security deposits (RSDs) and cash in hand earmarked for project.

DIAL is currently undertaking a large capital expenditure (capex) programme to increase the passenger capacity to 100 million by September 2023. The capex timeline has been revised to September 2023 from June 2022 because of the COVID pandemic.

Given the significant decline in internal accruals owing to the Covid-19 disruptions in FY2021 and FY2022, the company raised additional debt through the issuance of bonds in March 2021 and June 2022.

Icra has assigned "A+" rating with outlook positive for proposed Non-convertible Debentures (NCD). The rating agency also affirmed "A+" rating for exisiting working capital limits, debentures and non-fund based limits and revised outlook revised from 'Stable' to 'Positive' from Stable.

The outlook revision to Positive on the long-term rating reflects expectation that the credit profile of the company is likely to witness improvement in the near to medium term in the backdrop of ramp-up in traffic.

The ratings continue to derive strength from the significant competitive advantage enjoyed by DIAL, given the dominant position of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) as the largest Indian airport in terms of passenger traffic. Any significant cost overruns in the ongoing capex or a material disallowance of capex cost by the the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) will be a credit negative, ICRS said.

With large bullet repayments falling due in FY2026 (Rs 3,257 crore), FY2027 (Rs 3,494 crore), FY2028 (Rs 1,000 crore) and FY2030 (Rs 3,500 crore), DIAL remains exposed to high refinancing risks.

09/10/22 Abhijit Lele/Business Standard

Read More

Mangaluru: Stakeholders at MIA combine to return iPhone to pax within a day

Mangaluru: Passengers tend to leave behind their valuables during air travel. Coming to the aid of one such passenger who left behind her iPhone on a cab ride out of Mangaluru International Airport on October 7 was the parking and security team of the airport. Their coordination coupled with honesty of the cab driver meant, who promptly handed in the phone meant that the passenger had the phone back in her hand in less than a day.

Imthiyaz, the cab driver dropped the passenger Jinsha to her medical college hostel in the city late on Friday. He found the iPhone, which had run out of charge, while cleaning the car at the airport parking lot early on October 8. Imthiyaz immediately informed the parking supervisor, who in coordination with the airport security staff ensured that he handed in the phone to the airport terminal manager’s office.

Jinsha during the day received a reassuring message that the cab driver had found her phone in the car and had handed it over to the airport terminal manager’s office. She came to the airport later and collected the phone after completing the simple lost and found formalities that is followed in such cases. The joy of handing back Jinsha her phone and the memories connected with it, made the day for all concerned.

08/10/22 Daijiworld

Read More

Chennai airport turns pink this October, holds 'Pink Pedal' cycle rally for Breast Cancer Awareness

Chennai: The Chennai Airport has donned the colour pink for the month of October to spread awareness about Breast Cancer. Nearly 100 cyclists took part in the 'Pink Pedal' cycle rally that was organised at Chennai Airport on Saturday, October 8, as part of Pinktober 2022.

The rally was flagged off by actor and swimmer Ms. Janane Prabhu from gate one of the Chennai International Airport at 6 am on Saturday.

This is the seventh edition of Pinktober which is organised jointly by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), a non-profit organisation called India Turns Pink and Kalyanmayee at Namma Chennai airport from October 1 to October 31.

The Chennai Airport took to its Twitter to share images from the event. Cyclists were seen holding posters related to Breast cancer awareness.

While the poster that one of the cyclists was carrying read, “The human spirit I stronger than anything that can happen to it,” another placard said, “dedicated to all who’ve lost the fight and to those who won’t quit the fight.”

Under this Pinktober initiative, 31 awareness campaigns will be organised on each day of October as a part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Moreover, a Pink Ribbon Walk was also organised at the airport on October 6. Nearly 200 students from Annai Veilankanni’s College, Saidapet, and CTTE College for women, Perambur participated in the walk that was undertaken between terminal 4 and terminal 1 at Chennai Airport.

08/10/22 Mahima Pandey/Times Now

Read More

Bird Hit At Ahmedabad Airport: Pigeon Racing, Untamed Problem For Authorities

While pigeons around Ahmedabad Airport can cause serious harm to passengers, it’s flight operations, and million-dollar aircraft, the authorities are still unsure about where to pin responsibility.

Ahmedabad recorded 35 bird-hits from January to September 2021. In 2019, 80 bird-hits were reported.

The issue appears to have been aggravated by pigeon-flying competitions known as ‘kabootarbazi’. Normally it is taking place all over the old city of Ahmedabad but the concentration of Kabootarbaz in reas like Asarwa, Meghaninagar, Sardarnagar, and Kubernagar is more. These areas lie near  Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

A meeting chaired by the state government’s additional chief secretary was called recently to bring down the number of bird hits. It was attended by state government officials, senior officials of the airport, and the AMC. However, no clear outcome emerged after the meeting.

The airport officials underlined that pigeon racing enhances the risk of bird hits. The airport authority maintained that the AMC should take steps to prohibit these competitions. However, the AMC declined to say it does not fall in its jurisdiction. Eventually, AMC officials and airport representatives decided to visit these areas jointly.

This is the first time when pigeon-flying competitions are mentioned as the bird-hit threat.

Many people are engaged in rearing pigeons and hold competitions in the area. The pigeon that flies for the longest time and lands last is declared the winner. These long pigeon flights endanger aircraft during take-off or landing.

08/10/22 Vibes of India

Read More

Jaipur Airport Winter Schedule 2022: 11 flights to Mumbai, 9 to Delhi

Jaipur: Nearly six new flights will be launched from Jaipur International Airport, according to the recently announced winter schedule.

The new winter schedule will come into effect from October 30, according to the airport authorities.

Direct flights will be launched to cities like Jaisalmer and Amritsar. There is currently no direct flight to these cities. The maximum number of flights will operate for Delhi and Mumbai from Jaipur. For Mumbai, there will be 11 flights daily from Jaipur, while for Delhi nine flights will be available.

Apart from this, six flights will be operated daily for Bangalore and four flights to Hyderabad and Ahmedabad each. Two flights each from Jaipur to Kolkata, Pune, Surat, Chandigarh and Udaipur and one flight each to Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Amritsar and Jaisalmer and five other cities.

The new flights include Air Asia's Delhi flight that will depart at 6:40 am, Go First's Mumbai flight that will depart at 10:05 am and SpiceJet’s Amritsar flight that will depart at 6:15 pm.

09/10/22 PinkCity Post

Read More

Multi-level car parking at Chennai Airport to be thrown open by Oct-end

The trial of the multi-level car park (MLCP) at the Chennai Airport has begun, and it is likely to be commissioned by the month's end, airport director Dr Sharad Kumar said.

Kumar told TNIE that the car park, which was facing a legal hurdle after a group of contract employees approached the Madras High Court, would be opened by October end since there had been no direction against the Airport Authority of India (AAI) or the developer over the operation of the car park.

The airport planned the car park to ease traffic congestion for the next 15 years. 

According to sources, contract employees of the car park moved the high court on learning the new contractor’s decision to take over the facility without absorbing them.  The MLCP is said to be more advanced than that at the Delhi Airport.

The 2.5 lakh square feet car park can accommodate over 2,000 vehicles at a time and will have three EV charging stations in the west section and two in the east. It will also have five-screen multiplexes, two food courts, retail shops, children's engagement stores, bars and restaurants.

08/10/22 C Shivakumar/New Indian Express

Read More

Chennai’s second airport at Parandur will be an ecological disaster, say activists

Poovulagin Nanbargal, a Tamil Nadu-based environmental protection organisation has warned the state government of an ecological disaster, if it goes ahead with the construction of the airport in Parandur. The group released a seven-page report on October 7, 2022, against the state government's plans to construct a second airport for Chennai and alleged that the democratic rights of Parandur’s residents are being eroded. The report makes several grave allegations of state abuses from being highly monitored by the police to denial of the right to protest.

The report states, “Government schemes are implemented in the name of the people. The Constitution of India grants people the right to reject the scheme and fight against it. But the Tamil Nadu government is denying those rights to the people.” The site for the second airport was announced on August 1, 2022, by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Vijay Kumar Singh, after years of speculation. Residents of Parandur told TNM in the days following the announcement that they had received no warning that they stood to lose their agricultural lands. They found out about the second airport only through news channels. With continued bureaucratic apathy, protests increased from residents of Eganapuram, Nagapattu and Parandur villages. Since the area is primarily made up of wetlands, ecologists worry that the construction of an airport will lead to flooding and loss of natural habitats. 

Poovulagin’s report makes a reference to a Tamil movie on ecological disaster in its title, implying that Parandur would become an ecological disaster like the fictional village of Athipatti in the film Citizen.

Around 1,317 acres of land of 4,563.56 acres to be acquired for Parandur airport are classified as porambokku (wasteland), the report says. It further adds that out of this 1,317 acres, nearly 955 acres are covered by lakes, ponds and small water bodies. The remaining 390 acres are grazing land. If the proposed airport is built, it will obstruct the flow of the 43 kilometre-long Kamban canal which fills nearly 85 lakes before emptying into the Sriperumbudur lake.

It is to be noted that 13 villages earmarked for Chennai's second airport are located in both the Walajabad block and Sriperumbudur block of the Kanchipuram district. The canal crosses through many villages in both these blocks including Parandur, Eganapuram, Maduramangalam and Thandalam. It is also worth noting that obstructing the canal will have a wider range of impact as nearly 22,235 acres of agricultural land are watered by the Kamban canal. 

07/10/22 News Minute

Read More

Metro, expressway, hi-speed rail; India's most connected Noida's Jewar airport to test 2-airport theory

Connections can make or break. Perhaps nowhere does that hold truer than for an upcoming airport. It is with this in mind that Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) new airport at Jewar - which will compete with Delhi’s existing airport Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) - is being designed.

By the end of 2024, as Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), a 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International incorporated in 2019 to develop the greenfield facility, gets ready for its first flight, passengers looking to fly in and out of the national capital region (NCR) will be spoilt for choice in more ways than one. Not only will many of them have the option of which airport if everything goes as planned, but there will also be many ways of reaching what is gearing up to be India’s best-connected airport in the near future.

In the first phase and at a cost of ₹5,730 crore, the new airport with a single runway and the terminal building is expected to cater to 12 million passengers per annum. A second runway and terminal are proposed once the traffic touches 50 million. Over the next 40 years, traffic is expected to touch 70 million. 65% of the first tranche of funding is coming from the State Bank of India (SBI) and the rest will be funded by Zurich Airports International. In June, the contract to build the facility was recently awarded to Tata Projects.

An idea first mooted in 2001, Jewar remained on paper for a bit but was moved around to alternate sites in the state by subsequent governments before being frozen in 2014. Till a few years ago, the area was mostly a sleepy little hamlet with a smattering of temples including a roughly 25-foot Hanuman statue, a burial ground and some local houses, not remarkably different from the thousands of Indian villages one encounters all over the country.

In 2017, however, things began to gather pace. The state government acquired and got the land vacated despite minor hiccups. By the end of November 2019, Zurich International Airport won the bid to build and operate the new airport for 40 years, with a further right of first refusal for 30 years.

07/10/22 Anjuli Bhargava/Fortune India

Read More

Sanjay Jha meets Jyotiraditya, Purnia will get land for airport

Patna: State Water Resources Minister Sanjay Jha met Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and requested him to expand facilities at Patna airport and start construction for Purnia airport soon. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia shared the information about the meeting with State Minister Sanjay Jha by tweeting. He said that Jha discussed in detail the issues related to the construction of an international airport in Bihar. Jha’s meeting with the Union Minister took place on the instructions of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The process of acquisition of 24 acres of land for night landing at Darbhanga airport will be completed by March 2023. The process of acquisition of 52.5 acres of land for the construction of the civil enclave will be completed by June 2023. He also suggested opening of a training institute related to civil aviation services near Darbhanga airport. He has assured that he will seriously consider this suggestion.

Sanjay Jha said that there has been an unexpected jump in airfares due to about one third of the number of flights from Darbhanga to SpiceJet due to technical and other reasons. In such a situation, SpiceJet should be increased the number of flights or any other airline company should be allowed for its quota flights. This will reduce fares for major cities. It was also requested to fix the maximum ceiling of rent.

04/10/22 Newslead India

Read More

Barred from carrying gulab jamuns at Phuket airport, Indian man shares sweetness with security staff

Chandigarh: An Indian man was barred from taking ‘gulab jamuns’ along with him in Thailand. What he did next amused the airport staff and won hearts online.

The security officials at the Phuket airport informed a passenger identified as Himanshu Devgan that he could not carry the tin of gulab jamuns in his luggage on board.

Instead of dumping the Indian delicacy, the man decided to share the sweets with the security staff and a video of the same went viral.

In the clip, the Indian sweet dish appeared to be a hit with the Thai officials as they could be seen relishing the sweet treats with smiles on their faces.

“When they restricted us to carry gulab jamuns at the security check, we decided to share our happiness with them. Phuket airport,” read the super on the video. “Great start to the day!” read the caption.

04/10/22 Tribune

Read More

Passenger Performs Garba As Flight Gets Delayed, Airline And CISF Staff Follow Suit

As India warms up to the festive mood in the days to come, a passenger was seen playing Garba to a Gujarati song and he was later joined by CISF officials and Airline staff as an Indigo flight got delayed by 15 minutes. 

On the auspicious day of Ashtami (Eighth day) of the Nine-day Navratri festival, on October 3, a passenger scheduled to travel on an Indigo flight was seen performing Garba, to the tune of a Garba song on his mobile after his flight was delayed by 15 minutes. Interestingly, the Indigo airline staff, women personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and fellow passengers immediately formed a circle, followed suit and began performing Garba to the tune of the Gujarati song, ‘Maro Sona no Ghaludo re ha panida chalke che’.

The Ahmedabad-bound Indigo flight 6-E 7569 that was scheduled to leave from Bhopal at 6.45 pm got delayed by 15 minutes. The passengers were thus asked to wait at the departure terminal. During the wait period, a passenger started playing Garba on the tune of a Gujarati ‘Maro Sona no Ghaludo re ha panida chalke che’ on his phone. His enthusiasm spilled over to his fellow passengers and the airline staff, CISF personnel, who also joined him in the circular formation.

04/10/22 Abhishek Raval/Republicworld.com

Read More

Six land parcels for Chennai airport expansion identified

Chennai Airport Director, Dr Sharad Kumar, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the TN Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) will reportedly conduct a joint survey of six land parcels for further expansion of Chennai Airport to meet the demand of 55 million passengers per annum (MPPA). This comes after the AAI requested that the Tamil Nadu government acquire 306 acres of land on the other side of the Adyar River for the construction of an international terminal and cargo terminal. According to reports, a meeting was recently held with TIDCO officials to discuss the availability of land for the airport expansion.

04/10/22 ConstructionWorld

Read More

Punjab govt to propose naming of Halwara airport after Kartar Singh Sarabha: Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced in the Assembly that the AAP government will propose that the upcoming international airport at Halwara in Ludhiana district be named after Ghadar revolutionary and freedom fighter Kartar Singh Sarabha.

Work has been initiated to upgrade the Indian Air Force station at Halwara into an international civil terminal, which will also be the first international airport in Ludhiana district — the business and industrial hub of Punjab.

On Monday, CM Mann — after being prodded about concerns raised by SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali regarding the pathetic state of a road, which was named after Kartar Singh Sarabha — said that not only will the road be repaired, but the state government will also propose to name the Halwara airport after him. Mann also thanked the Central government for naming Chandigarh International Airport (at Mohali) after Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

“I thank the Central government for naming Mohali airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Ayali saab has pointed out that Kartar Singh Sarabha’s death anniversary is approaching on November 16. We will not only repair the road that was named after him at earliest, but will also propose that the upcoming airport at Halwara be named after him. We will send a request from our end, but the final decision rests with the Centre. It is my wish and belief that our airports, universities and other institutions should be named after those brave men who got us our freedom, this country’s independence…,” said CM Mann.

03/10/22 Divya Goyal/Indian Express

Read More

Visakhapatnam-Pune red eye flight service to be resumed

Visakhapatnam: The red eye flight from Visakhapatnam to Pune is back with the airlines resuming its service. The non-stop flight from Visakhapatnam to Pune will begin on Tuesday.The red eye flight operated by Indigo will operate from Vizag three days in a week -- Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The flight arrives at Vizag airport from Pune at 1.30 am and leaves at 2.30 am. The Indigo service was the first red eye flight launched in the summer schedule in March from Vizag. The airlines had suspended the service after two months. 

Meanwhile, the passenger footfall at Vizag airport has almost been steady for the last two months, but it is yet to reach pre-Covid situation, according to airport director K Srinivasa Rao. Speaking to TNIE, he said after second wave of the pandemic, the passenger footfall touched 2.5 lakh in December last. But owing to Omicron,  there was fall in February and March.

03/10/22  G Janardhana Rao/New Indian Express

Read More

Alliance Air launches flight on Bilaspur-Indore route

The Centre-run Alliance Air on Monday launched a flight between Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, which will operate four days a week. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who was in Raipur, virtually launched the inaugural flight at Bilasa Devi Kevat Airport, Bilaspur, located around 125 km away from the capital.

The ATR 72-seater aircraft of Alliance Air took off from Bilaspur around 11.35 am for Indore with more than 50 passengers. It will be operated four days a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday), an official said.

Speaking on the occasion, Baghel said the state government has been making every possible effort to expand air travel services in the state and the flight connectivity between Bilaspur and Indore will accelerate development and benefit people of Bilaspur division.

He requested Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiradiya Scindia, who virtually presided over the function from Delhi, to start flight services from Bilaspur to metro cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru.

The chief minister urged Scindia to launch international flights from Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur, and said the state government had provided 461.20 acres of land to the Airport Authority of India free of cost for expansion of the airport, which now has ffacilities such as runway, new terminal building, ATC tower as per international standards.

The first regular domestic service was started by Alliance Air on Delhi-Jabalpur-Bilaspur-Prayagraj airway on March 1 last year and then between Bilaspur and Bhopal on June 5 this year, but the services were later suspended, he said.

03/10/22 PTI/Economic Times

Read More

Naini Saini airport should be managed by Air Force

 Pithoragarh: The Pithoragarh district administration has sent a proposal to Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S S Sandhu, requesting him to hand over the management of the Naini Saini airport here to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

    The chief secretary has promised that he will discuss the proposal with the state government, District Magistrate (DM) Ashish Chauhan said on Monday.

    "We submitted a proposal in this regard to the chief secretary during his visit here on Sunday. He has given his nod to it," the DM said.

    The purpose of Sandhu's visit was to discuss ways in which the airport can be managed better, he added.

    The Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages the airport, which has seen no flight operations since March 2020 as it has not proved to be commercially viable for aviation companies.

    Constructed in 1999, the runway at the Naini Saini airport has a length of 1,600 metres and a width of 60 metres. Medium capacity aircraft can be operated on the runway.

    The first civilian trial of the airport was completed on October 8, 2018.

    "The airport had its first commercial flight on January 17, 2019. It was followed by a flight to the Hindon airport on October 11, 2019. But flight operations between the Naini Saini airport and the Hindon airport in Ghaziabad were closed from March 20, 2020 after a minor technical error occurred at the airport.

    "The main reason for the non-operation of the airport seems to be its commercial non-viability for aviation companies," an official said.

03/10/22 PTI/The Week

Read More

India to add 80 airports in next 4-5 years; new rules for aerodromes

The country is likely to add nearly 80 airports in the next four to five years, the aviation regulator has said, adding that aerodromes meanwhile need to fulfil certain requirements to start the operation of flights.

In the last eight years, the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 to 141, and as per the Ministry of Civil Aviation, this will grow up to 220 in the next four to five years.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has given 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country, including Mopa in Goa; Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra; Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka; Dabra in Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh; Dholera and Hirasar (Rajkot) in Gujarat; Karaikal in Puducherry; Dagadarthi (Nellore), Bhogapuram and Orvakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh; Durgapur in West Bengal; Pakyong in Sikkim; Kannur in Kerala; and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh.

So far, eight greenfield airports -- namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur, Kalaburagi, Orvakal and Kushinagar -- have been operationalised.

As per the Aviation Ministry, in the financial year 2022-23, the Centre has granted site clearance to the Himachal Pradesh government for development of a new greenfield airport at Nagchala, Mandi. Besides, 35 airports, helipads and water aerodromes are targeted for development during FY 2022-23 under RCS-UDAN.

An official said that for safety purposes, an aerodrome needs to meet the specifications regarding its management systems, operational procedures, physical characteristics, assessment and treatment of obstacles, visual aids, rescue and fire-fighting services, as per the DGCA CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement).

While these guidelines are for the licensing of the aerodrome from the technical point of view, the licence for operation of airports is granted by the Central government as per the Civil Aviation policy.

02/10//22 IANS/BusinessInsider

Read More

Passengers join Bengaluru airport staff to perform ‘impromptu’ Garba

The internet has been flooded with videos featuring Garba performances from different parts of the country since the commencement of Navratri celebrations. Similarly, a Twitter user shared a glimpse of an ‘impromptu’ Garba performance at the Bengaluru airport.

The performance by airport staff turned into a crowd puller and enthusiastic passengers also joined in. The clip shared by Twitter user Divya Putrevu shows a large circle of people grooving at the airport. Airport staff clad in Garba costumes are seen joined by passengers. All of them are seen delightfully making moves to the music. “Aye! Adding a cutu video too. Such good sync,” Putrevu captioned the video.

Putrevu initially shared a photograph of the event and termed it as her ‘peakbengaluru’ moment. “Just trust them when they say anything can happen in Bengaluru! Had my @peakbengaluru

moment again at @BLRAirport Crazy event by staff! Beautiful to see random travellers gathering just to play Garba,” she tweeted.

In the comments section, Kempegowda International Airport’s Twitter handle responded, “Hello @divyaaarr, thank you for the mention! BLR Airport strives to be a pioneer in providing a great passenger experience. We love it when our passengers admire the effort!”

02/10/22 Indian Express

Read More

Villagers Pass Resolution Against Second Airport In Parandur

Chennai: Protests against the proposed second airport for Chennai intensified on Sunday with the residents of villages in nearby Kancheepuram district passing a resolution in the gram sabha meeting against the Tamil Nadu government's move to set it up in Parandur.

On August 2, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the construction of the new airport would take place at Parandur near here at an estimated outlay of Rs 20,000 crore.

During the grama sabha meeting held today in Ekanapuram, a resolution was passed by the protesters, majority of them women.  

"We, as residents unanimously oppose the plan to set up a greenfield airport (in Parandur)," the resolution which was read out in front of the villagers at the meeting, said. 

The DMK government has clarified its stand that it would offer the villagers over and above the market value for the land that would be acquired for the project in Parandur, located in Kancheepuram district.

Ekanapuram is among the villages, where land acquisition is reportedly being contemplated by the authorities. 

The resolution was placed on the pedestal of a statue of social reformer B R Ambedkar by the villagers to express their anguish.

Soon after the announcement of the location for establishing the greenfield airport by the state government, the villagers resorted to protests, claiming that the decision would affect their livelihood.

02/10/22 Press Trust Of India

Read More

Advanced RVR system at Jpr Airport

Jaipur: New advanced RVR equipment has been installed at the Jaipur airport. The RVR installation will provide accurate visibility up to 50 metres for the aircraft. Any skilled pilot will be able to land the flight in such low visibility. If the pilot is not proficient enough, it will be put on hold till the visibility improves.

The RVR equipment is a must to assure accurate assessment of runway visibility. It will help in fog in winter and rainy season situations. Two RVR devices were installed at Jaipur airport, one device was installed at runway end 9 and the other at runway end 27.

The first device was installed in December last year, while the second was fitted three days ago. With the device on both ends, it will help flight movement from both sides. Cat 3B lighting system is already installed at Jaipur airport.

02/10/22 Kashiram Chaudhary/First India

Read More

‘PM Modi may inaugurate Goa’s Mopa airport in two months’

New Delhi: The stage is almost set for the inauguration of Goa’s new swanky modern international airport, and authorities, including the state government, are waiting for a final confirmation from the Prime Minister’s office and the PM is likely to inaugurate the greenfield airport within the next two months.

The airport which was earlier supposed to be inaugurated on 15 August, coinciding with 75 years of India’s independence, had to be pushed back to 1 October for the inauguration “D-Day”. However, the 1 October “deadline” has also been missed, as the Goa government is yet to receive an appointment from the Prime Minister’s office. Sources in the Goa government told this newspaper that the airport will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that the airport is almost ready.

“The airport is almost ready. Most of the testing has also taken place. The delay is happening because we want the Prime Minister to inaugurate the airport, but we have still not received a confirmed date from the Prime Minister’s office. But we are told that within the next 45-60 days, the airport will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister,” a senior BJP leader, who is part of the Goa government, told this correspondent.

Recently an IndiGo flight, A-320, landed at the Mopa airport as part of the navigation system testing, which is mandatory for commercial operations of the airport. The IndiGo flight which took off from Mumbai, successfully landed at the Mopa airport’s newly constructed runway, passing all the navigation tests mandated by protocol.

The Mopa international airport, a greenfield airport, is the much-needed airport that the coastal state is soon going to get. Authorities believe that the inauguration of the Mopa airport will not only boost tourism in Goa, but also in the entire coastal belt of Goa and Karnataka. The current Goa airport uses the Indian Navy’s airstrip in Dabolim for commercial operations and, therefore, has limited capacity.

The present Goa airport also has shut operations for almost two and half hours daily as the Navy performs their training and drills. The airport also needs to be handed over to the navy in the need of time and for the navy’s emergency operations, which affects the commercial flight operations.

02/10/22 Dibyendu Mondal/Sunday Guardian

Read More

SC restores AAI tender for ground handling at regional airports

In a relief to the Airport Authority of India (AAI), the Supreme Court on Friday set aside the Delhi High Court’s decision that quashed its tender for selecting ground handling services (GHS) agencies at Group D-1 airports. It said that the AAI can decide its own terms and fix the eligibility criteria for these cluster airports comprising 49 regional and budget airports catering to domestic, regional and non-scheduled flights involving smaller aircraft and the courts cannot interfere with the tender conditions.

A Bench led by Justice MR Shah while giving nod to the AAI’s tender said that “the HC has committed a serious error in first of all entertaining the writ petition at the instance of Centre for Aviation Policy, Safety & Research (CAPSR), an NGO and also holding the relevant eligibility criteria/conditions mentioned in the tender documents as illegal.”

It said that that the AAI’s rationale behind various conditions like 36 months experience in past seven years in providing three out of seven Core GHS and the financial capacity – annual turnover of Rs 30 crore (modified as `18 crore) in any one of last three financial years “cannot be said to be arbitrary and/or mala fide and/or actuated by bias. It was for the AAI to decide its own terms and fix the eligibility criteria.”

According to the judgment, the government and their undertakings must have a free hand in setting terms of the tender and only if it is arbitrary, discriminatory, mala fide or actuated by bias, the courts would interfere. The terms and conditions of the tender are not open to judicial scrutiny, it held.

It said that the advocacy group in the field of civil aviation could not have challenged the tender as it was not a aggrieved party and none of the GHAs had moved the court.

While quashing the tender floated by AAI, the HC asked the PSU to come up with a fresh tender on the grounds that the proposal “subverts” the Atmanirbhar Bharat policy and stifles all attempts of smaller entrepreneurs to dream bigger. It termed the tender conditions mandating previous work experience in providing GHS and an annual turnover of `18 crore “as discriminatory and arbitrary”.

01/10/2022 Indu Bhan/Financial Express

Read More

5G Launched In India: While You Wait For 5G On Your Phones, Delhi's IGI Airport Gets 5G Services

5G has finally launched in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in the country during the ongoing Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 in New Delhi. While 5G services are starting to roll out now, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport became 5G-ready slightly earlier. The IGI Airport in Delhi is the first 5G-ready airport in India and got 5G capabilities a couple of days before 5G launch.

The IMC 2022, where PM Modi launched 5G in India is slated to go on till October 4. Earlier this week, the airport authority had said that anyone with a 5G-enabled phone can get access to the faster network services across parts of Terminal 3 to start the process. It is not known as to which telecom operator’s 5G network will be used at the Delhi airport.

With 5G now launched officially, telcos are expected to start rolling out their 5G services by Diwali. During IMC 2022, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said that every village in India will have access to 5G services by the end of 2023.

01/10/22 Ndews18.com

Read More

Taxiway at Tiruchy International Airport in commissioning stage

Turuchy:  With the completion of the construction of a taxiway at the Tiruchy International Airport (TIA), the airport officials aim at reduced runway occupancy time for aircraft. The commissioning for the same would be conducted soon, senior officials said, and added that the work for a new terminal is reaching its final stages.

According to the officials, the taxiway, which runs parallel to the runway, extends to 1,186 in length. With its completion, operations could be upped at the airport, sources said. "About 60% of the work for the new terminal has been completed and it will be ready by June 2023," said P Subramani, the director of the airport, adding that the location for the new Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower was finalised as well.

"The technical block-cum-ATC tower will be coming up at the spot between the existing terminal and the new one. At present, the project is only at its initial stages and we would soon be floating tender for its construction," the director elaborated. The winter schedule of the airport would begin from October 29, the officials said. "We have not received the schedule yet.

The travel sector is recovering from the impact of the pandemic and we are currently undertaking about 90% of pre-COVID flight operations. Therefore, we expect more operations in the winter schedule. Further, many airlines have expressed their interest in starting operations at our (Tiruchy) airport.

For instance, some of the low-cost carriers, including FitsAir, have planned to start operations between Sri Lanka (Colombo) and Tiruchy. We hope such new carriers would be included in the winter schedule," an official source said.

01/10/22 New Indian Express

Read More