Plan to allow phone calls and Net access on a flight

New Delhi: Airlines in India could soon be allowed to offer mobile telephony and internet services on flights.

If and when this happens, Indian carriers will join a club of more than 30 airlines, including British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic, that allow passengers to use mobile phones and surf the Net during a flight.

Telecom regulator Trai has kicked off discussions on the subject by floating a consultation paper that looks at the possibility of introducing in-flight connectivity for voice, data and video services for domestic and international flights as well as planes flying over the Indian airspace.

"It is possible for the passengers to have telecom services in the aircraft travelling at 800 km per hour and 10,000 metres in the sky because of satellite-enabled connectivity. As technologies to provide such access have developed, so too have consumers' expectations. They desire seamless connectivity regardless of their location - whether on land, in the air or on the sea. New advances in technology mean more flyers have access to telecom services than ever before," says the Trai paper.
The regulator has tossed up a set of 18 questions that cover a gamut of issues - from the kind of technology that should be harnessed and the need to regulate the new breed of service providers to security issues involved and ways to monitor the cabin chatter with relatives and associates on the ground.

Technology is a big issue: most airlines today provide in-flight connectivity using Wi-Fi. Singapore Airlines, for instance, has a partnership with Sitaonair and Panasonic that use such a system.

But Trai notes that "there has been a shift away from basic Wi-Fi systems to faster systems. The launch of high throughput satellites (HTS) in both Ku-band and Ka-band is expected to be a game changer for the in-flight connectivity band".

Both Ku and Ka bands are high-frequency bands that haven't as yet been farmed out. The Ku band is a frequency range of 14-14.5GHz (earth to space) and 10.7-11.7GHz (space to earth). The Ka band typically covers 19.7-20.7GHz (space to earth) and 29.5-30GHz (earth to space).

"The HTS systems will not only tremendously increase data speeds to the plane compared to the regular satellite systems, but will also significantly lower costs, thereby driving the adoption of IFC (in-flight connectivity) services," the paper says.
02/10/17 Telegraph

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Maha govt, S'pore to collaborate for greenfield airport

The Maharashtra government and Singapore's Changi airport will collaborate for a greenfield airport development project in Pune, Chief Minister Davendra Fadnavis said here today.

Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) and Singapore's Changi Airport International Pte Limited (CAI) will explore the setting up of Special Purpose Vehicles and further investments in airport projects.

"I have offered the partnership of Maharashtra government in the new airport at Pune and passenger and cargo airport at Nagpur," Fadnavis told reporters after he called on Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Fadnavis also called on Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and met Trade and Industry Minister S Iswaran.

Fadnavis said the MADC and CAI will collaborate for a greenfield airport development at Pune.
29/09/17 PTI/moneycontrol

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Ready to shift entirely to T2: GoAir to DIAL

New Delhi: Budget carrier GoAir has told Delhi International Airport Private Ltd (DIAL) that it is open to shifting entirely from Terminal 1 to T2 and does not want split operations.

This is the latest twist in the ongoing tussle over shifting one-third domestic flights of IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir to T2.

DIAL has told these three airlines that their flights to and from Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata will be allowed to operate only from T2 from October-end when the winter schedule starts.
The low-cost carrier, owned by Wadia Group, has only 25 planes in its fleet. It carries out 40 flight movements in Delhi every day and does not fly on international routes as of now. On the other hand, 141 plane-strong IndiGo and SpiceJet that has a fleet of 55 aircraft operate international flights too. So, they have domestic flights flying out of T1 and foreign ones from T3.
30/09/17 Saurabh Sinha/Economkic Times

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New terminal building at Belagavi airport

Belgavi: The Airport Authority of India is commissioning the new terminal building and new apron of the Belagavi airport on October 3. With this, a new daily service will be operational between Belagavi and Chennai. The flight will arrive from Chennai at 9.05 a.m. and leave for Bengaluru at 9.25 a.m. It will return in the evening at 6.55 p.m. and leave for Chennai at 7.15 p.m.

There are possibilities of increased flights from the airport as more airlines have shown interest in operating flights from here. There are plans for building a new hangar, Rajesh Kumar Maurya, airport director, said in a release.

Airport officials are planning to organise cultural events like classical dance, yoga, singing and group events in the arena on October 3. Some schools and organisations have volunteered to welcome passengers who get down in Belagavi with roses, he said.

Tenders will be invited for opening up of commercial spaces for display advertisements and hoardings and for running shops and outlets of different brands in fashion and technology.
30/09/17 The Hindu

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New flight from Mangaluru to Chennai to start from October 1

Mangaluru: Air connectivity to Chennai from this coastal city is set to get a leg up with IndiGo set to introduce a new flight to the East coast state capital via Mumbai from October 1. Flight 6E 621 will leave Chennai at 3.55pm and reach Mangaluru International Airport at Kenjar via Mumbai at 5.45pm. Likewise, flight 6E 549 will leave MIA at 6.20pm and reach Chennai via Mumbai at 8.20pm, Vasamsetti Venkateswara Rao, airport director, MIA, said.
At present, Jet Airways operates a flight to Chennai via Bengaluru. Flight 9W2736 leaves MIA at 8.45am and reaches Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at Bengaluru at 10pm. The same flight leaves KIA at 10.25pm and reaches Chennai at 11.35pm. With introduction of this new flight, daily movements of aircraft from MIA goes up to 60 - 30 arrivals and as many departures - domestic and international, giving people a wide range of connectivity.
30/09/17 Jaideep Shenoy/Times of India

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App to ensure safety of IGI travellers

New Delhi: Stepping up security for passengers commuting from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to Delhi and NCR, the Delhi police has upped its security and has come up with a security cover for its denizens. Soon, the commuters who will be alighting at the IGI and head to the city or NCR, will be under Delhi police’s security range.

According to sources, once the traveller boards a taxi, an SMS will flash on the mobile phone, which will allegedly read “are you safe”. The move has been taken to ensure the safety and security of women and children. In this new move, the Delhi police will ensure that the commuter reaches her/his destination safely. There will be a QR code installed in black-yellow taxis at IGI.

It is believed that over 2,000 taxi drivers’ background verification has been done by the police so far.

Once the commuter boards the taxi, she/he will be on the police’s radar. After every 10 minutes, an SMS will be sent to ensure that the passenger is travelling safely. If the commuter doesn’t reply for the next 10 minutes, a dedicated PCR van will track the said taxi.
30/09/17 Asian Age

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Haj season concludes with arrival of last flight

Hyderabad: With arrival of the last chartered Haj flight, carrying 446 pilgrims, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamsabad, the Haj Season 2017 came to a successful conclusion on Friday.

Telangana State Haj Committee Special Officer Prof. S. A. Shukoor received the Haj pilgrims at the Haj Terminal. He said that altogether 6,347 pilgrims including 3,445 from Telangana, 2096 from Andhra Pradesh and 806 from Karnataka state had left Hyderabad through 15 chartered Haj Flights from 16th August onwards till 22nd August. The pilgrims performed the Haj and later visited the holy tomb of the Holy Prophet in Madeenah.

In the return journey, a total of 6332 pilgrims of Hyderabad Embarkation Point arrived back. As many as 43 more pilgrims from Telangana had undertaken the sacred journey from Mumbai, who will arrive on 3rd September. There were 13 death cases including nine from Telangana and two each from AP and Karnataka. Two pilgrims who were admitted in the hospital were discharged and efforts are on to bring them back by tomorrow by a scheduled flight.
29/09/17 Hans India

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Not allowed puja at runway, devotees perform garba outside terminal building

Surat: Devotees from the areas located near the airport performed garba outside the terminal building when they were not allowed to enter to perform puja at the small temple or mata ki deri situated in the corner of the runway on Friday.
Sources said that the people from nearby areas including Magdalla and Bhimpore villages have been following the tradition of performing puja at the mata ki deri inside the airport terminal from the last many decades during the eighth day of Navratri. The villagers had gone for the puja at the deri on Thursday and that they were not allowed to enter the terminal building by the airport staff.
However, the villagers again went to the airport on Friday for performing the religious rites at the temple. The villagers were not allowed inside the airport premises and were made to sit outside for more than two hours. After that, they were allowed the entry into the airport premises, but were prevented from entering the terminal building.
The angry villagers started the garba outside the terminal building to mark protest against the airport authorities.
29/09/17 Melvyn Reggie/Times of India

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Mi-17 helicopters set for uplift at Chandigarh repair depot

Chandigarh: Mi-17, medium lift helicopters used by the Indian Air Force (IAF), are all set for upgradation at Chandigarh-based air force station, 3-Base Repair Depot (3-BRD). As per the plans, Mi-17 would be retrofitted with smart displays, new cockpit, digital voice recorder, missile launch detection system, cables, breaks and other new avionics.
Confirming the development, Air Commodore Sanjeeva Sinha, Air Officer Commanding (AOC), 3-BRD, said that a contract for the upgradation has already been signed with an Israeli company and the work is expected to be started by March next year at Chandigarh.
He said that the 3-BRD has also collaborated with a Bangalore-based firm for supply of some material that would be used in upgradation of these Russian origin machines.
Talking about indigenization, Sinha stated that 3BRD Chandigarh is basically a repair depot for Russian aircrafts and helicopters and efforts are being made to use 80% indigenous spare parts during their overhauling.
30/09/17 Ajay Suri/Times of India

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Bengaluru airport to get two metro stations

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport will have two metro stations. A detailed project report (DPR) was submitted in this regard, by the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to the CM’s office on Tuesday for approval.

The DPR prepared by BMRCL estimates Rs 5,900 crore for the airport line which will cover a distance of 29km.

“The route will have six stations. This includes the two metro stations inside  Kempegowda International Airport,” a senior BMRCL official told TNM.

The airport line will be an extension of the Gottigere-Nagawara metro line of Phase-II. The airport line will halt at Hegde Nagar, Jakkur, Yelahanka (Kogilu Cross) and Chikkajala before reaching the international airport.

“This extension of metro line to the airport will not be an underground one. It will be completely elevated. Except for the Yelahanka Metro Station, which will be at ground level, all other stations will be built on the elevated line,” the official added.
30/09/17 News Minute

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CISF to conduct feedback survey at 8 major airports

New Delhi: The CISF will conduct a “Passenger Feedback Survey”, to assess the performance of personnel and quality of services being rendered by the force at the airports, said a senior CISF official.
The survey is scheduled to be conducted from October 1 to 30 at eight airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Cochin and Guwahati — during which the passengers would be provided a small paper-based questionnaire.
Apart from four parameters — feeling of being safe and secure, waiting time at security inspection, thoroughness of security inspection and courtesy and attitude to help; response of initiative removal of baggage tag stamping at the airports under CISF security cover is also included in the questionnaire, said Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Hemendra Singh, CISF.
30/09/17 Tribune 

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As tourist season begins, airport slot allotment a concern in Goa

Panaji: With the first chartered flight arriving in Goa tomorrow, from Moscow, the tour operators are still wary about the uncertainty on the slot allotment at the state’s lone airport. Heralding a tourism season, a chartered flight from Moscow will be arriving at state’s Dabolim airport early morning carrying around 500 passengers, sources from the Airports Authority of India claimed.
The chartered flight season which begins in October continues till the month of May. “The issue about allotment of slots to chartered flights at Goa airport is yet to be sorted out. The slot has to be allotted by Airports Authority of India (AAI) depending on which, the chartered flight agents can book the trips,” Savio Messiah, President, Tour and Travel Association of Goa (TTAG), told PTI.
He said Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has assured to look into the matter and industry is optimistic that the issue will be solved soon, which is crucial for the good tourist season.
30/09/17 PTI/Indian Express

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Aviation regulator gets strict, flights not ready to take off on time may get delayed indefinitely

New Delhi:  Airlines not preparing their aircraft to take off on time now risk getting such flights delayed indefinitely. Directorate General of Civil Aviation has told airports that if a flight crew does not initiate push back to begin taxiing to the runway within five minutes of air traffic control allowing them to do so, such a flight should be allowed to take off only when some slot is free.
The idea is to push airlines to be more punctual by doing whatever is in their control. Issues like air traffic congestion, which cause most delays in choked airports like Delhi and Mumbai, are beyond the control of airlines and a result of crippling airport infra shortage.
"Aircraft shall contact ... for push back and start up at least 15 minutes prior to schedule time of departure. Approval for push back and start up shall be valid for five minutes only. Aircraft not adhering to pushback clearance will go back in the sequence. Subsequent clearance will be given based on available slot," an order issued by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief BS Bhullar on Wednesday said.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) has been asked to decide sequence of departures on the basis of the "position and readiness" of aircraft approaching the entry point of the runway. "Aircraft shall complete all pre-departure checks and cabin procedures prior to entering the runway and start rolling as soon take-off clearance is issued by ATC," Bhullar's order says.
Airline officials say while this order should serve as a wake up call for carriers with poor on time performance (OTP) practices, the punctual ones are suffering despite doing everything that the new DGCA order mandates.
"Mumbai has been choked for years with two cross runways and delays there — both for landing and then consequentially for operating the next flight out of there — are common. Delhi airport has also become congested despite three runways and hovering is an issue here too. The government must do something about augmenting infrastructure at choked cities.
28/09/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Mangaluru Airport comes alive to sound of music, 'tigers' for Dasara

Mangaluru: Festivals of national/regional significance will resonate in Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports across India.
Taking cue from AAI HQ, Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) laid out a 3-day dasara cultural treat for passengers using MIA starting with raag rang sugam sangeeth on Tuesday, following it up with sursagar fusion band flute concert on Wednesday and rounding it up with vibrant tiger dance and bharathanatyam on September 28.
Dasara is first such cultural stop for passengers and stakeholders and MIA will celebrate with more such regional, national festival to give all concerned a flavor of the region and nation, noted V V Rao, airport director, MIA.

The festival entails a plethora of activities, which invigorates the cultural sense of visiting guests and transiting passengers. The entire airport has been decked up in lights and festive decorations setting up a visual treat for all, Rao told reporters.
The cultural activities not just featured artists of repute, but also in-house airport talent featuring staff for airlines and other stakeholder agencies, he said. Since airports are a touch point for travelers to interact with the region, and there is not much to showcase to the world, hosting such national festivals at the airport is the perfect way to introduce the cultural diversity to the guests, he said adding this will give visitors a treasure trove of memories to carry home.
28/09/17 Jaideep Shenoy/Times of India

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Man harassed at airport; Kannada Development Authority seeks report

Bengaluru: Kannada Development Authority has asked BIAL for a report after media reports that a passenger at Kempegowda International Airport complained that he was denied a boarding pass with GoAir and was ill-treated by their staff for speaking in Kannada.The KDA also sought a clarification from the government.

Bengaluru-based businessman Balaji Narayan Murthy said he had arrived late on Wednesday for his 5.40pm flight to Mumbai as rains delayed his arrival. “There were other passengers who were late. The manager told us that we would be issued tickets for alternate flights. I was talking to another passenger in Kannada when a GoAir staff started yelling at me to speak in English,” Murthy said.

He added that he was later denied an alternate flight by the same person, one Sandeep and added that he had sent a mail to GoAir. GoAir, however, denied receiving any complaint. They also claimed that CCTV footage showed that it was Balaji who had misbehaved with the staffer.
29/09/17 New Indian Express

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New flights from KIA

Bengaluru: Four new flight operations, including three domestic and one international, are scheduled to begin operations from the Kempegowda International Airport here from October.

SpiceJet will introduce direct flight services between Bengaluru and Coimbatore and Bengaluru-Madurai sectors.

The Bengaluru-Coimbatore and Bengaluru-Madurai flights will begin operations on October 4 l. The flights will operate six days a week on both the routes.

The Coimbatore flight will leave KIA at 2.50 pm and arrive at its destination at 3.45 pm. The return flight will depart Coimbatore at 4 pm and arrive KIA at 5 pm.

Jet Airways will launch from Bengaluru to Amsterdam from October 29.
29/09/17 Deccan Herald

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Missed flight due to stranded Metro, man sues Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation

Lucknow: Barely 20 days after Lucknow Metro was flagged off, a passenger has filed a case against it in the consumer court.
In the complaint against Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC), the passenger, Gaurav Tripathi, has alleged that the stoppage of the train midway on the inaugural day caused him to miss his flight and a business deal resulting in heavy financial loss. He has demanded Rs 5 lakh as compensation from LMRC.
This is probably the first time that a passenger has approached a consumer court seeking compensation from a Metro.
The incident is of September 6, when Lucknow Metro was flagged for public run.The train which departed Charbagh station around 6.15am got stuck between Mawaiya and Durgapuri sta tions after 15-20 mi nutes because of a technical snag.
29/09/17 Times of India

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Bag scare at Mumbai Airport; cash, valuables found

Mumbai: An unattended bag at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai, created panic at the arrival car pick-up point near the city-side of the domestic terminal-1B on Thursday. Officials from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) later said no dangerous items were found in the bag.
“The CISF duty personnel noticed a black trolley bag lying unattended at the arrival car pick-up point (city-side) of domestic terminal-1B, CSIA. Immediately, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad of the CISF was directed to rush to the spot and the senior officer of the CISF and the airport manager were informed. The CISF personnel cordoned-off the area,” a CISF official said. Some valuables and Rs 2 lakh in cash were found in the bag. Later, it was returned to the owner.
29/09/17 Indian Express

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Dip in charter flights expected this season

Panjim/Vasco: Ahead of the opening of the tourist season, the tourism industry fears there could be a significant drop in charter flights in view of Indian Navy’s restrictions in landing times at Dabolim international airport.
The season commences on October 1 with the first charter flight due to arrive on that day from Russia. Information with Herald reveals that while the Russian charter is lucky to find a slot on Sunday, another charter flying from UK is struggling to get a slot.
Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) has stated that the revised schedule on the closure of airport for international flights by the Indian Navy resulted in the present crisis.
“The Indian Navy shuts the airport from 8.30am to 12.30pm from Monday to Friday, while Saturday and Sundays were open. But the closure days are now extended to all seven days. Moreover, permission to land at 10.30am and take off at 12.30pm has also been withdrawn,” TTAG President Savio Messias said speaking to Herald.
29/09/17 Herald

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Indian Govt wants private firms to develop small airports

With increasing air connectivity to smaller towns in India and availability of cheap flight tickets, the domestic air traffic volumes in the country are heavily skewed in favor of small cities.

According to a travel portal Make My Trip, only one fourth of domestic air traffic comes from metros, nearly 75% comes from smaller cities.

However, the infrastructure at these airports, mostly managed by state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI), has not kept pace, resulting in overcrowded and poorly maintained terminals and check-in counters as well as flight delays.

With 10 of the 126 airports operated by AAI together handling 30 million passengers a year, the Narendra Modi government wants to attract private players in exploiting the commercial opportunity of terminals with such heavy footfalls, reports Business Standard.

As per the proposal, the terminal management of an airport will be bid out for a period of 15 years, during which the bidder will pay a pre-fixed rent to AAI based on the revenue it can generate per passenger. Secondly, all capital investment in the terminal will be made by AAI.

The operator, without investing capital, will have the scope to maximise its revenue from non-aeronautical activities such as food and beverages business, duty-free shops, leasing of terminal space, and running car rentals or parking, the daily added.
28/09/17 Asia Times

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Govt mulling over airport in Udupi district: Sorake

Udupi: Former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said that the government is planning on setting up an airport that would improve air connectivity in the coastal belt with Udupi district as the next destination in mind.

Speaking after inaugurating World Tourism Day celebrations and launching a tourism app of the district at the DC’s office on Wednesday, the Kaup MLA stressed on the Kerala model of tourism promotional programmes adding that the airport in Bajpe requires major upgrades for airbuses to land. There is another airport in Kannur.

Meanwhile, the government is keen on setting up an airport at Udupi that would have infrastructure for air buses to land. The Udupi airport is expected to increase the inflow of tourists to the district. He said there is a need to set up a tourism corridor connecting Ottinenne and Jomlutheertha.

He added that the Congress government had set up a task force to look into more potential spots in the district. Stating that tourism development offers plenty of employment opportunities, he said that tourism would be more lucrative as compared to the agriculture. He maintained that there is a need for farsighted vision to promote tourism

DC Priyanka Mary Francis said the year-long celebrations to boost sustainable tourism is underway. Community based tourism promotions is another unique attempt which is extensively publicised in the district. Measures would help the communities to earn livelihood and showcase local tradition, culture and cuisine. She added that local NGOs and SHGs were involved in the promotional programmes.
28/09/17 Deccan Herald

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Alliance Air to start weekly six flights to Hyderabad

Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, will start operations on Chennai – Coimbatore – Hyderabad – Coimbatore – Chennai sector from October 3.

A statement issued by Air India Ltd, Coimbatore, said that the service will be available on all days except Mondays. The flight, 91 561, will depart Chennai at 07.20 hours and reach Coimbatore at 08.50 hours. It will leave Coimbatore at 09.15 hours and reach Hyderabad at 11.05 hours. The return flight, 91 562, will depart Hyderabad at 11.35 hours and arrive Coimbatore at 13.25 hours. It will leave Coimbatore 13.50 hours and reach Chennai at 15.20 hours.

On August 30, Alliance Air had started daily flight on Chennai – Coimbatore – Chennai sector between 18.50 hours and 22.05 hours with an ATR 72-600 aircraft.
28/09/17 The Hindu

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International airlines queue up to begin Surat operations

Surat: Even as the central government mulls over who will bear the cost for customs at Surat airport and Gujarat government pondering over lack of staff for immigrations, several international airlines have queued up to begin operations to and from the city.
Since the past couple of years, constant communication with foreign airlines such as FlyDubai, AirArabia ,Qatar, Silk Air,Thai Airways, AirAsia etc has borne wings to the possibility of limited international air connectivity to and from Surat.
Chairman, aviation committee of South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) Rajnikant Marfatia said, "While we are in constant touch with several international airlines which are eager to begin operations from Surat, we are awaiting Union minister of civil aviation Jayant Sinha to keep his word regarding international connectivity with Indian carriers such as Air India Express and SpiceJet since international carriers have exhausted their bilateral seat entitlements. The Government of India needs to review potential and increase seats for foreign airlines eager to start flights to Surat."
Regional manager (India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) Pran Dasan for Flydubai said, "Surat has always been a key market for FlyDubai and we have time and again at various forums expressed our desire to add Surat to our international network. However, permission for the same is subject to traffic rights. If those are resolved with the Government of India, we would be happy to begin operations to Surat with at least one daily service between Dubai and Surat."
28/09/17 Ashleshaa Khurana/Times of India

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Good news for globetrotters: New flights from KIA

Budget carrier IndiGo has also applied for launching air services to Shirdi, Kakani had earlier said.
Three new domestic flights and services on one new international route will commence operations from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) next month. On the domestic front, SpiceJet will introduce direct flight services between Bengaluru and Coimbatore and Bengaluru-Madurai sectors. The third new domestic flight will be between Bengaluru and Belagavi. The low-cost airline was already operating one flight on this route and starting next month it will add an additional flight to Belagavi where the airport was refurbished recently with the inauguration of a new terminal building.
The flights services on the Bengaluru-Coimbatore and Bengaluru-Madurai sectors will commence from October 4 onwards. The flights will operate six days a week on both the routes. On the Bengaluru-Coimbatore route, the flight will depart from KIA at 2.50 pm and arrive Coimbatore at 3.45 pm. From Coimbatore the flight will depart at 4 pm and arrive KIA at 5 pm. On the Bengaluru-Madurai route, the flight will depart from KIA at 4 ppm and arrive at Madurai at 5.05 pm. From Madurai, the flight will depart at 12.50 pm and arrive KIA at 2.05 pm. The additional flight services on the Bengaluru-Belagavi route will commence from October 4 and it will be a daily flight.

As per DGCA statistics, 4,561 passengers travelled to and fro KIA from Belagavi during July making the north Karnataka city the second most busy route within the state after Mangaluru. SpiceJet has said that it will deploy its Bombardier Q400 aircrafts on all of the above routes. On the International front, the new service is between Bengaluru and Amsterdam. Jet Airways will commence its non-stop flight from Bengaluru to Amsterdam from October 29.
28/09/17 Bangalore Mirror

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Monetary turbulence for Indian Airports Authority

Even as the Indian government pushes regional connectivity by opening up new airports and developing defunct ones, majority of fully running international airports are still getting small shares of the large air travel growth story that India currently enjoys.The difference is starker on the international sector. Barring Delhi and Mumbai, 18 of India's top 20 airports have single digit market share percentage of international passengers that fly in and out of the country.

"The numbers are extremely skewed," said Habeebullah Ubaidullah, a Tamil Nadu based independent consultant. "For example, Gulf carriers ferried more than 50% of India's international traffic last year. But two-thirds of them flew to just four or five top airports in the country. How will other airports earn and grow?" he asked.
Another example is points of call. An Indian airport is notified as a point of call for foreign carriers when deciding bilateral air traffic rights. While as many as nine civil aviation authorities in the Gulf are allowed to operate their carriers in Mumbai and Delhi, Kolkata is designated to just three, while airports such as Trichy and Mangalore get zero.

On the domestic front too, 17 of India's busiest airports after Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru account for single-digit percentage of traffic share. The Airports Authority of India has been making massive losses on a majority of the airports that it operates. ET looks at the numbers.
28/09/17 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Cabinet nod for transfer of AAI land to Lucknow Metro

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday gave its nod for the permanent transfer of a piece of land belonging to Airports Authority of India (AAI) to Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC), an official statement said.

The 1,899 square metre land at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow would be used by LMRC for the construction of entry/exit point for Transport Nagar Metro Station.

"This is an operational requirement of LMRC. This is a public utility project of mass transportation to be used by the public at large, and will provide better connectivity and convenience to general public," said the Civil Aviation Ministry release.

In another similar decision, the Cabinet also approved swapping of 10.25 acres of AAI land at Rajahmundry airport in Andhra Pradesh with equivalent piece of land offered by the state government.

The land offered by AAI will be used for the purpose of road construction along the periphery of the airport to provide connectivity to neighbouring villages around the Rajahmundry airport.
27/09/17 IANS/New Indian Express

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AAI’s Srinagar, Raipur Airports awarded ‘Best Airports’ under National Tourism Awards 2015-16

Srinagar: The Airports Authority of India’s Srinagar International Airport, Jammu & Kashmir and Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur, Chhattisgarh have been jointly conferred with the prestigious National Tourism Awards 2015-16. The President of India Ram Nath Kovind, presented the award for Best Airport under ‘rest of India’ category at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on the occasion of World Tourism Day on 27th September, 2017.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India presents National Tourism Awards to various segments of the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality industry annually in recognition of their performance towards comprehensive development of tourism in the country.  It is the first time that two airports jointly have been selected as best airports for their innovative style of functioning, pro-environment initiatives and passenger friendly approach.

Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, IAS, Chairman, Board Members and senior officers of Airports authority of India with prestigious National Tourism Awards 2015-16 in Best Airport category jointly won by Srinagar International Airport, J&K and Swami Vivekanand Airport, Raipur, Chhatisgarh.
28/09/17 Kashmir Life

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Aviation ministry seeks 156 acre additional land near Bihta airbase

Patna: Union civil aviation ministry has sought 156 acre additional land from Bihar government at Bihta airbase for installing Instrument Landing System of Category-II (ILS CAT-II) for safe and smooth flight operations. Civil aviation secretary R N Choubey has written a letter to Bihar government on August 30 in this regard.
As per in-principle agreement with civil aviation ministry, state government is already committed to handing over 108 acre land to Airports Authority of India (AAI) for construction of a civil enclave at Bihta airbase for commercial flight operations.
The ILS helps pilots at the time of landing in identifying the position of the runway concerned. The ILS at Jayaprakash Narayan airport in Patna is of Category-1, which allows flight operations with minimum visibility of 1200 metres. The ILS CAT- II on the other hand allows flight operations even when visibility is as low as 350m.
28/09/17 Times of India

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Taxiway at airport to be straightened

Aircraft at the Chennai airport may be able to proceed to the main runway faster in the near future, as an important taxiway called ‘Bravo’ is all set to be straightened.

The proposal has just received the final nod from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and work is likely to begin in two months.

“They had raised a few queries, to which we responded a few weeks ago. We received the approval late last week. Now, we will call for tenders, after which the work will begin,” an official said.

The work has been on the anvil for nearly 10 years.

The straightening of the taxiway — which runs parallel to the main runway — is crucial as aircraft can cut down on fuel and reach the main runway quickly, the official said.

“Otherwise, the aircraft will have to keep waiting if there are flights landing or departing near that portion of the main runway,” he added.

There are a total of 24 taxiways — which help aircraft travel to the terminal or runway — at the airport.

A few buildings may have to be pulled down before the straightening work is taken up, according to the official.
28/09/17 Sunita Sekar/The Hindu

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VVIP airport security: Rs 495 crore fixed to acquire 3 buildings

Jaipur: The district administration has fixed a compensation of Rs 495 crore to acquire three high-rise buildings near the state hangar, adjoining the Jaipur International Airport, which pose a security threat to VVIPs using the airstrip.
A proposal for the same has been forwarded to the urban development and housing (UDH) department after evaluating the construction cost and plot size of these buildings.
Speaking to TOI, district collector Siddharth Mahajan said, "The evaluation has been done taking into consideration the present DLC rates. It might, however, vary at the time of paying the compensation to owners. A bank account will be opened to deposit the compensation amount by the civic agency to acquire the land."
Recently, the UDH department recently had sent a proposal to the district administration to acquire these buildings. A senior official of UDH department said, "After receiving the compensation estimate, a meeting will be chaired by the chief secretary to decide on the civic body that will provide the compensation."
According to UDH sources, the finance department had earlier wanted the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) to be spared of the additional burden as the matter related to the civil aviation department. However, it has not been decided if the compensation will be provided by some other government body other than the JDA.
28/09/17 Ajay Singh/Times of India

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Delhi Metro's magenta line to connect budget flyers to IGI airport's domestic terminal

People in Delhi will soon get direct metro connectivity to the terminal 1 of the Indira Gandhi International airport. The new Magenta metro line will provide a direct connection to the domestic terminal by next March.

As per a report in the Economic Times, a new metro station will be started near the domestic terminal as part of the magenta line that will run between Janakpuri West and the Botanical Garden.

The new station, which will be built underground, will be connected to the domestic terminal through a subway. A DMRC official was quoted as saying that “the subway would have travelators so that passengers with baggage don't have to walk the distance. One exit of the subway would be near the arrival terminal while another exit would be close to the departure terminal.”
27/09/17 Moneycontrol

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Airports Authority of India releases national register of airports

New Delhi: With the growing aviation sector in the country, the database of airports in the country has become the most relevant.

Keeping this in mind, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Wednesday released a national register which tracks development works in all airports in the country.

The comprehensive database in the national register will help authorities in the swift handling of emergency situations at airports.

The national airport operator issued a statement saying, “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is managing 126 airports (including Civil Enclaves) have taken up the onerous task of preparing a comprehensive National Register containing details of all Civil Airports and Airstrips in the country and the work carried out is first of its kind.”

The national register 2017 would have details pertaining to country’s 288 airports and airstrips owned by state governments, private organisations and joint venture airports in addition to the airports owned or managed by AAI.

“The details and data will be valuable for the planning of development of airports especially under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). The details of 288 airports and airstrips could be of use for emergency landing, disaster management, defence and security-related activities.
27/09/17 New Indian Express

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Union Cabinet gives nod for swapping of land of Rajahmundry Airport

Hyderabad : Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to the Swapping of 10.25 acres of land belonging to Airports Authority of India (AAI) at Rajahmundry Airport with equivalent extent of land belonging to Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.

The proposal is intended to provide road connectivity to the villages around the Rajahmundry Airport, in order to facilitate ease of access to the general public of the area. The proposal will provide road connectivity and thus, ease of access to the general public of the area, especially facilitating access to farmers to their agricultural land.
27/09/17 Hans India

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Air Odisha UDAN flights hit air pocket as 8 airports not ready for operations

The proposed flight services of Air Odisha under the much-trumpeted UDAN scheme have run into rough weather with as many as eight airports across three states not ready for operations. Besides, the Bhubaneswar-based air charter firm is awaiting the scheduled commuter operator’s (SCO) permit from the aviation regulator DGCA, which will allow it to launch services on the designated routes under the scheme, a source in the know of things said.
“Eight of the 26 airports from where we have to launch regional flights under the UDAN scheme are ready for operations as some work is still going on.
“Besides, we have been waiting for our SCO permit from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. We are hopeful of getting it within this month. But even then, we will not be in a position to launch services at least before November due to the airport issues,” the source said.
Air Odisha is one of the five air operators who won bids for flying on 128 routes connecting 70 airports under the Government’s Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme, which seeks to provide air connectivity to the unserved airports as well as enhance flight operations to under served airports.
Unserved airports are the one where there is no flight whereas the underserved airports have been categorised as the ones which have three or less flights per week.
26/09/17 PTI/Financial Express

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IndiGo's Neo planes add to Delhi airport congestion

New Delhi: IndiGo’s new Airbus 320 neo planes, already afflicted by engine trouble, are said to be taking longer to fire up and get ready for take-off, adding to congestion at Delhi airport, the carrier’s main hub.

The A320 neos take more time than others to taxi to the runway after being pushed back from the parking bay, according to the minutes of the airside safety committee meeting on July 26 that EThas reviewed. The meeting was attended by representatives of all airlines, including Indi-Go. Together IndiGo and GoAir operate more than 25 A320 neos with the Pratt & Whitney engines that are facing operational problems.
IndiGo got 22 neo deliveries until June of a total order of 430 planes. GoAir has six of the planes, having ordered 144 of them. IndiGo denied that the A320 neos are causing delays. “Neo engine start time is not significantly different from other jet engines. Airbus 320 neo are not causing any delay or congestions at Delhi airport,” the airline spokesperson said in an email response.

According to the minutes, however, this does appear to be the case. “This problem is very often with IndiGo Airlines aircraft. Representative of IndiGo Airlines informed that they have noted the concern and their team has already initiated the efforts to resolve such issues,” read the minutes. “Manager, Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC), DIAL, informed that the reason for delay was due to IndiGo Airlines new neo aircraft which take extra time for taxi out…” DIAL is Delhi International Airport.IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh had referred to the issue on an August 1, 2016, conference call.
27/09/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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The first test flight from Mumbai to Shirdi was a successful one

After months of anticipation, the first flight to Shirdi, as part of the test run, finally landed at the Shirdi airport.
An Alliance Air (subsidiary of Air India) aircraft, departed from Mumbai international terminal on September 26, at 4:15 pm and landed in Shirdi at 5 pm. The flight then took off from Shirdi at 6 pm, to reach Mumbai at 6:35 pm.
Passengers who boarded the flight included State Civil Aviation Secretary Valsa Nair Singh, Mukesh Bhatia, regional director, Air India, managing director of MADC (Maharashtra Airport Development Company), Suresh Kakani, and other officials.
"During the test run, we looked if the pilot was able to spot the runway, if there were any obstructions in the approach path and whether the aircraft was able to receive signals from the Air Traffic Control (ATC)," Kakani was reported as saying by Hindustan Times.
The newly built Shirdi airport will most likely be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 1.
The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) is yet to approve the flight schedule. "The flights are scheduled to operate from Shirdi on October 29. We have requested the DGCA to prepone the dates," said Kakani.
27/09/17 Disha Roy Choudhury/IndiaToday

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Mock drill of aircraft crash conducted at Karipur airport

Kozhikode: "Aircraft Crash in Airport", a mock drill to check the efficacy and preparedness of the airport fire service and other co-ordinating agencies to handle such situation in real scenario, was conducted at the Calicut international airport at nearby Karipur today.      As per the DGCA guidelines, such exercise has to be held every alternate year by all licensed airports in the country.      Accordingly, Calicut airport in co-ordination with Kerala state Fire Service and other stake holders conducted an exercise by creating an imaginary scanrio of "aircraft crash" at 3.00 pm near the beginning of Runway-10 with a total number of 57 passengers on board, a release from the Airport Director said.
Officials from the Central Industrial Security Force and Air India acted as passengers and Air India was the affected airline.
Command post was established and "casualities" were prioritised at the triage area depending on the severity of injury. All passengers were "rescued" by Fire Service crew and injured were taken to nearby hospitals.
26/09/17 Outlook

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Runway strengthening work resumes at Surat airport

Surat: With rains abating, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up the work to strengthen a 185 metre patch of the runway at Surat airport from Tuesday.
Surtis hope more private airlines will connect the Diamond City with domestic destinations in the country once the full length runway of 2,905 m is commissioned by the second week of October.
The airport authorities could not achieve the target of commissioning the full length runway of 2,905 m due to delay in the work to strengthen 185 m patch of the runway. The expansion of 2,905 m runway and the 185 m strengthening work were supposed to be completed by end of 2016. However, the work got delayed by almost six months due to manpower shortage and lackadaisical attitude of the authorities. The work to strengthen the 185 metre runway patch had to be stopped due to heavy rains in August.
For limited international operations, the airport needs 2,905 m runway, which has been reduced to close to 1,900 m due to ongoing work to strengthen the patch.
Sources said the 185 m runway is located in the middle of the existing runway. Due to recarpeting and strengthening work, the entire 1,000 m runway was not in use. At present, the usable length of the runway at the airport is just 1,905 m, which is not enough for landing of wide-bodied aircraft.
27/09/17 Times of India

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Additional scheduled flights likely to Bikaner

Jaipur: The Bikaner civil airport, operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), is likely to get more scheduled flights in the coming months.
A day after Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajpati Raju inaugurated the daily flight between Bikaner and New Delhi under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme, UDAN, officials at the Nal Airport said that they were expecting the expansion of air connectivity between Bikaner and other cities.
On Tuesday, Raju had said that the direct air service to New Delhi would connect Bikaner city to the world.
The 72-seater aircraft was fully occupied on its inaugural run and saw good response on the second day on Wednesday. "Some 59 passengers flew to Bikaner from Delhi and 53 to Delhi," said Radhey Shyam Meena, director, Nal Airport, on Wednesday.
About the scheduled flight, he said, "It takes off from New Delhi at 1.25pm every day and reaches Bikaner at 2.45pm. From Bikaner, it will fly to Delhi 3.10pm and lands there at 4.40pm," Meena added.
27/09/17 Times of India

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Centre asks Gujarat institute to make 6 airport development projects on land pooling basis

New Delhi: In a bid to cross land acquisition hurdles, the aviation ministry has asked a leading Gujarat institute to develop airport development projects based on the concept of land pooling.
Aviation secretary R N Choubey said Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) has been asked to submit development model for six airports — three brownfield (expanding existing ones) and as many Greenfield ones (new airports) — on a trial basis.
The concept is that land owners will give, or pool in, much more land than required for the airport. "Infrastructure will be developed on that entire area and then land owners will be given smaller plots of the developed area whose value will be much more than that of their previous undeveloped land holding," said Choubey.
For instance, if land required for an airport is 2,000 acres, states will take 5,000 acres of land from owners through land-pooling models already adopted in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra. "Infrastructure like roads, electricity, sewerage and water supply will then be developed in the entire 5,000 acres. 2,000 acres will be kept for the airport and plots of the remaining 3,000 acres will be distributed among the land holders who had given 5,000 acres. The value of the small developed plots will be much higher than the original value of their larger land holding before the infrastructure was provided," said a senior official.
Land acquisition is a major bottleneck in infra development and the concept of land pooling is believed to be the solution to that as per Gujarat-Maharashtra model. Under this people giving land for public projects like airports will not be divested of ownership. States governments, instead of buying land, will develop infrastructure in a much larger area around the site of the proposed airport.
27/09/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Vidyanagar airport re-opens to commercial ops

TruJet has launched the first flight in nine years for India's Vidyanagar airport, connecting Karnataka's Ballari district with Hyderabad Int'l using ATR72-500 equipment. The flights are offered under India's regional connectivity scheme, known as UDAN.

Vidyanagar airport was originally constructed to service the local steel manufacturer, JSW Steel, but officially opened to commercial operations in 2006. Both Air Deccan (DN, Bangalore Int'l) and Kingfisher Airlines (IT, Mumbai Int'l) previously offered flights from the airport, but these were each discontinued. However, a spokesman for the official booking agent, Matrix Holidays, has told the Hindu Times that so far demand is good for the re-established route.
27/09/17 ch-aviation

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Mumbai airport bags national tourism award for best airport amning metros

Mumbai: The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) was on Wednesday adjudged the Best Airport in Class X (metro) Cities and awarded the prestigious National Tourism Award for the second consecutive year.

President of India Ramnath Kovind presented the award to CSIA officials at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan.
The National Tourism Awards are given by the Ministry of Tourism in various segments of the travel and tourism industry every year. The award for the 'Best Airport' category is designated for the airport in India providing top notch facilities to passengers and guests. The major criteria for selection include creation of tourist-friendly infrastructure, maintenance and upkeep of the airport, adaptation of eco-friendly practices etc. CSIA emerged the winner across all parameters.
27/09/17 Mumbai Mirror

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Forget IDs, you may soon use biometrics to enter airports

New Delhi: The government has begun work on ensuring a completely paperless aircraft boarding process under which a mobile phone is all that will be required to board domestic flights in India.
The aviation ministry is linking the databases of airlines and airports with passenger IDs such as Aadhaar and passport numbers for this.
Once this happens, says aviation secretary R N Choubey, passengers will be able to use biometrics to prove identity before entering terminals and will not have to show ID cards. A flight ticket or eticket will not be needed either as the airline database will show the details of the flight they are booked on.
The linked airport databases will show if the passenger has been through checkin and security check gates before being allowed access to the boarding gate closer to flight departure time.
"We have set up a special unit in Airports Authority of India for giving shape to this 'digi yatra' programme. Airport operators, especially from Bangalore and Hyderabad, are part of this as they have done a lot of work in this field. We will soon know the indicative cost of the project and time frame in which it can be implemented," Choubey told TOI. International flyers, however, will need passports to travel.
26/09/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Airports to go Paperless, May Link Airlines Database With Aadhaar Number

New Delhi: Airports may soon go paperless as the aviation ministry has started the work of making link airlines and airports databases with passenger IDs such as Aadhaar and passport numbers. Now, all you will need is just your mobile phones to board a domestic flight in India. Aviation secretary RN Choubey told TOI that once the process takes place, the passengers will be able to use their Aadhaar cards or passport numbers to prove their identities before entering terminals and “will not have to show ID cards”.A flight ticket or
He also said that neither a flight ticket or e-ticket will not be needed as the airline database will show the details of the flight the passengers are booked on. The linked passport will show if the passengers have gone through security gates before being allowed through access gates.
RN Choubey said that the airlines have set up a special unit in Airports Authority of India for giving shape to this ‘digi yatra’ programme. Airport operators, especially from Bangalore and Hyderabad, are part of this and the ministry will soon know the cost of the project.
26/09/17 India.com

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Man tries to scare away birds, comes close to taxiing aircraft

New Delhi: There was a scare at IGI airport after an official deployed near the runway to scare away birds crossed the taxiway while an Air India flight was taxing for takeoff.
The pilot of flight AI-463 subsequently informed the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and the staff member was whisked away by a 'follow me' vehicle.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates the IGI airport, however, said that the staff member employed to chase away birds from the runway was at a safe distance from the plane. The incident took place on September 9.
"On September 9 at 11.43am, AI-463 reported that one person crossed Taxiway 'P' from left to right. The transmission was monitored by Airside Monitoring Inspector (In Follow Me vehicle) and he immediately rushed to the mentioned position. It was found that aircraft had reported the staff deployed in between Taxiway 'P' and Runway 10-28 for scaring birds," said a DIAL spokesperson.
26/09/17 Times of India

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Lohegaon airport authorities refute Air India's bird-hit claim

Pune: The airport authorities on Monday refuted bird-hit claim behind the grounding of an Air India flight on Thursday.
The Air India flight from Chandigarh (AI-813) was grounded on Thursday afternoon after the airline's technical team noticed a glitch in its engine due to a "bird-hit", within a fortnight of a similar incident. Replying to a Twitter message sent to the handle of the Pune airport late last evening, airport officials replied that the incident with the AI flight was not a case of bird hit."(The) Second (2nd) incident is not (that of) bird hit. IAF (Indian Air Force) being airport operator shall take action," the response read.
An Ai official in Pune agreed with the version of the airport authorities. "Initially , the impression was that the flight had suffered a bird-hit. There was some red material in the blades of the engine, which got damaged. And when the incident happened, a word of mouth among all our duty managers was that the flight has suf fered bird-hit. Hence, we too were under the same impression. However, on Sunday late evening, we checked with our engineering team to get the status and they said that that it was some FOD (foreign object debris) lying on the runway which got sucked inside by the flight's engine. When the front tyre of the flight was rolling after landing, it must have thrown the object backwards into the air only to be sucked by the engine. We, at this moment, don't know what the object was as it has been completely destroyed," Suhas Jadhav, station manager of AI at Pune airport, told TOI.
26/09/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Chandigarh International Airport: Only 27 flights to be operated from October 3

Chandigarh: From October 3, the number of flights operating at Chandigarh Airport will be reduced from existing 37 to 27, due to the runway up-gradation, according to the fresh schedule released by Chandigarh International Airports Limited (CHIAL). In its new schedule which would be in force from October 3 to 28, several airlines have curtailed their operations due to the limited watch hours at the airport. The first flight from October 3 will land at the airport at 7.10 am while the last flight will take off at 15.45. There will no flight operations on Sundays.
The number of flights is expected to further go down after the implementation of winter schedule at the airport after October 28.
As per the new watch hours, the runway would remain open for civil flights only from 5 am till 4 pm from October 3 to March 31, 2018. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has communicated that the Chandigarh International Airport would remain completely shut for 30 days, on two different occasions of 15 days each, during the resurfacing of the runway.
According to the new schedule, Jet Airways, which currently operates 10 flights, will now operate seven flights.
26/09/17 Indian Express

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Passenger traffic at Tiruchi airport goes up

Tiruchi: Passenger movement at the international airport here has remained brisk since the beginning of the current fiscal year. The steady upward movement of passenger traffic at the non-metro Tiruchi airport can be gauged from the figures put out by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The overall passenger movement- international and domestic both put together has already surpassed the five lakh mark in the first four months of the current financial year.

With more overseas flights in operation than domestic ones, international passengers account for the bulk of traffic at Tiruchi.

According to AAI statistics, international passenger movements from April to July was a little over 4.74 lakh at Tiruchi airport which has direct connectivity to Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Sharjah right now.

The international passenger figures clocked during the first four months of the present fiscal was higher than the one recorded during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal when it was 3.99 lakh.

Tiruchi is far ahead of other non-metro AAI international airports including Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Mangalore, and Amritsar with respect to movement of overseas travellers, the statistics further point out.
25/09/17 R Rajaram/The Hindu

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President Ramnath Kovind may inaugurate newly-built Shirdi airport on October 1

Mumbai: President Ramnath Kovind is likely to inaugurate the newly-built Shirdi airport in Ahmednagar district in the state on October 1, which secured the aerodrome licence from the DGCA for commercial operations last week. Located at 238 kms from the country’s financial hub, Mumbai, Shirdi has the famous shrine of Sai Baba and is one of the prominent pilgrimage centres in the country. Significantly, the centenary Sai Baba Samadhi Mahotsav, being organised by the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, will also kick start from October 1.
Owned and developed by Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to develop airports in the state, the aerodrome is set for a final trial run tomorrow before launching the commercial operations. “We are conducting the final trial run at the Shirdi airport tomorrow with an ATR 72 aircraft. We have invited President Ramnath Kovind to inaugurate the new airport on October 1,” MADC vice-chairperson and managing director Suresh Kakani told PTI here. Kakani said that Alliance Air, which is the regional arm of the national carrier Air India, will operate the inaugural flight on October 1 and it will be a non-scheduled operation. “However, the commercial operations will begin only from October 2,” he said.
As of now, Alliance Air and Hyderabad-based regional carrier TruJet have filed the schedule for flights to Shirdi from Mumbai and Hyderabad, respectively, Kakani said. “Budget carrier IndiGo has also applied for launching air services to Shirdi,” he added. The Director General of Civil Aviation had, on September 21, granted aerodrome licence to the airport in the temple town for public use for day operations “after ensuring compliance of all relevant standards.” The Ministry of Civil Aviation had granted ‘in principle’ approval to the construction of the airport in Rahata tehsil of Ahmednagar district in 2011.
25/09/17 PTI/Financial Express

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Proposal to upgrade med facilities at Lengpui airport

Aizawl: The Mizoram Health and Family Welfare department has proposed to upgrade medical facilities in the Lengpui airport near Aizawl by declaring it a health department duty post, an official statement today said.
According to the statement, a high-level meeting of the officials of the Health and Family Welfare department, Aviation Wing and the airport security cell decided to move the government expeditiously on the issue.
The Primary Health Centre (PHC) of Lengpui would be upgraded as First Referral Centre to coordinate with the Airport Medical officials.
The meeting also decided to constitute the Lengpui Airport Health Advisory Committee which would oversee medical activities at the airport.
25/09/17 PTI/India Today

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Flight cancellations: MIAL may not claim insurance for losses

Mumbai: Days after flight operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai were severely affected due to a SpiceJet aircraft skidding off the main runway late September 19 after heavy rains, aviation safety consultants believe the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) may not be able to claim insurance for the losses incurred due to subsequent cancellation of multiple flights. According to experts, the incident may not be classified as an “accident”.
For MIAL, cancellation of 181 flights on September 20 resulted in multiple losses — landing fees, parking charges of the aircraft, material and personnel services used at the airport paid by the airlines. “In such cases, MIAL may claim insurance from their insurers for the losses incurred on Wednesday. They may ask SpiceJet to compensate them for losses incurred that day,” said Mohan Ranganathan, former instructor pilot of Boeing 737 and an aviation safety consultant.
On September 20, 63 Jet Airways flights, eight IndiGo flights, three SpiceJet flights and one GoAir flight were cancelled. Airlines claimed affected passengers were offered waiver of cancellation charges, given refunds or adjusted on board larger aircraft to ferry them to their destinations. The experts ruled out possibility of the operator hiking parking charges or infrastructure costs for the airlines in future as it needs to be done after consulting regulators, including the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. “In this scenario, all the affected airlines and MIAL may want to claim an insurance. Each airline will abide by the details of their insurance policy, which could be used to avail the cost. It may be difficult for MIAL to recover the same as the losses incurred may be much more than the premium costs paid,” said a senior aviation safety consultant who has closely worked on framing national civil aviation policy.
26/09/17 Neha Kulkarni/Indian Express

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Pune airport may go silent soon, proposal awaits final approval

Pune Airport may soon become a ‘silent airport’, putting an end to routine flight announcements such as boarding calls, and making passengers rely on digital display boards for information about their flights.
A proposal to turn Pune airport into a silent one has been sent by the administration to Airports Authority of India’s (AAI’s) Mumbai-based Western Region headquarter. A senior AAI officer said the proposal has already been discussed with airline officials, and it has been sent to Mumbai for final approval.
The decision has been taken to curb the increasing levels of noise pollution, due to the rise in both air traffic and passenger footfall. Already, airports in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai have gone silent.
In a letter to the Western Region Headquarters in June 2017, Airport Director Ajay Kumar had written, “Presently, the noise pollution levels at Pune Airport are high due to airlines using the public address systems to inform the passengers about the flight information. After discussing with the airline representatives, it was agreed that to save everyone from the peril of noise pollution, it would be a great step to make Pune Airport a ‘silent airport’. This means that the routine announcements will be stopped and only those announcements that pertain to change of gates or emergency situations will be made using the PAS”.
Dhairyasheel Vandekar, a city-based aviation expert, welcomed the proposal but expressed doubts about its chances of success due to the “physical and infrastructural constraints at Pune Airport”.
26/09/17 Atikh Rashid/Indian Express

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Airport mulls setting up hangars, fuel farm along second runway

Chennai: Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to set up an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility for planes in a 60-acre area on the left of the second runway and a modern fuel farm for refueling planes on 20 acres on the right. The state government has notified the land which does not have houses on it but is green wetland.
A senior official of AAI said, "There are some empty patches of land that is available on either side of the second runway. We will set up hangars and an MRO which are essential for an airport to provide facilities for airlines to run mandatory checks and other maintenence."
"This will help the airlines to attend to the repairs A maintenance, repair and overhaul facility will come up on the 60 acre land (left red circle) on the left of the second runway. A 20 acres area on the right of the runway (right red circle) to have an aviation turbine fuel farm to attend to the repairs and maintenance while the airport will be able to make some money.
The aviation regulator insists on certain mandatory annual checks after which airworthiness certificates will be issued to the aircraft. The MRO can be used for this work also, " the official said.
He said AAI was looking at reviving the MRO facility and Chennai has been selected because it is a major government-run airport in the country after Kolkata.
26/09/17 Times of India

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CISF security at Mumbai airport rated best inworld

New Delhi: The CISF security at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai has been recognised as the best service in this domain by a global quality rating agency.

The latest initiative of doing away with the tagging and stamping of hand baggage, handling increasing passenger footfalls smoothly, curtesy and helpfulness of CISF personnel, restoring forgotten items of the passengers, and feeling of being safe and secure by passengers and visitors under CISF security cover were taken into account while deciding the award, an official said.

"CISF security cover at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, has been adjudged as the best airport security by the World Quality Congress (WQC)," Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) spokesperson Hemendra Singh said.

The awards announced by the WQC, an independent organisation guided by an advisory council, are based on independent evaluation by the WQC jury, the official said.

The CISF has been providing security coverage to the CSIA, the second busiest and hypersensitive airport in India, since August 21, 2002.
26/09/17 IANS/Pioneer

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AAI asked to conduct EIA for parallel taxiway at Dabolim

Panjim: The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has directed the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to conduct an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study with focus on traffic decongestion plan at the Dabolim airport for its proposed Rs 183 crore parallel taxi track at the international airport.
EAC gave this direction at its meeting on September 11-13, while exempting the project from public hearing as per EIA notification 2006. AAI had approached EAC for approval of Terms of Reference (ToR) for its project. The project is expected to be completed within 30 months.
“The EIA should specifically address vehicular traffic management as well as estimation of vehicular parking area. A detailed traffic management and a traffic decongestion plan shall be drawn up through an organisation of repute and specialising in transport planning,” the EAC said in its recommendation.
“The plan to be implemented to the satisfaction of the State Urban Development and Transport Departments shall also include the consent of all the concerned implementing agencies,” it directed.
26/09/17 Herald

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Jewar airport: Turbulence on the ground

Ranveer Singh, a 78-year-old resident of Mukeempur Shivara village in the Jewar area, knows exactly what he wants in return for giving up his land for the international airport that is being planned there: four to five times the present circle rate, Rs 20 lakh for rehabilitation, a government job for at least one family member, and a house similiar to and at least as big as the old one he will have to abandon. An apartment won’t do; it’s a house with a compound that he wants. And he wants the authorities to keep all promises and make all payments within six months.

Mukeempur Shivara is one of the nine villages in Jewar, in the Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, close to the Delhi-Agra Yamuna Expressway, from which land is to be acquired for the second airport in the national capital region (NCR). Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) handles 63 million passengers yearly, and in the next few years the figure is expected to go up to some 110 million. A second airport would help ease the pressure on IGIA, besides reducing the road trip to the airport for passengers living in Noida, Greater Noida and eastern parts of Delhi.

Plans are to have the airport functioning in seven years, and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), the nodal agency, has started surveying the area. The airport will be developed in public-private partnership, for which a company will be competitively chosen. Land acquisition – a life-changing proposition for the many farmers of Jewar – is expected to begin by November.
25/09/17 Ishita Mishra/Governance Now

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Wild visitors at Mysuru airport

Even as Mysureans are yet to entirely experience the newly-functional Mandakalli Airport, it seems a few wild animals were seen enjoying the airport premises.

A couple of jackals and wild boars were sighted at the Mandakalli airport, which began functioning from September 21. Flights to Chennai began from here on Thursday.

But the airport authorities had a few moments of worry when they were planning to ensure commencement of the flights regularly, as the animals were sighted inside the runway of the airport and inside the secured compound of the airport a few days before.

Sources from the airport authority revealed that after

the animals were sighted the airport authority recently conducted a meeting to sort out the issues.

When Bangalore Mirror contacted Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) V Yedukondalu, he confirmed the presence of wild boars and jackals inside the airport.
“Airport authorities had spoken to us about the incident. The forest department has taken all necessary measures to send them back into the forest and also to avoid the animals’ entry. We also burnt crackers to send them out of the airport premises,” he said.

“Though these animals are not harmful and aren’t dangerous, we must ensure the safety of the passengers and also the animals. Since the area is on outskirts of the city and far from residential areas, the animals could have entered the airport,” he said.
25/09/17 Amit Kumar/Bangalore Mirror

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Pune mostly off alternative airport list for Mumbai flights

Pune: Ratul Vardhan, who was flying to Mumbai from Delhi last week, had a harrowing time after his flight was diverted to Ahmedabad due to the torrential rain in the country's financial capital.
"I understand that there was heavy rain in Mumbai and more than 100 flights were cancelled after an aircraft skidded off the runway at the airprot there. However, I fail to understand why our flight was diverted to Ahmedabad and not Pune. I lost almost an entire day. Pune would have been very close to Mumbai," Vardhan told TOI.
Last week, many Mumbai-bound flights were diverted last week to other cities, excluding Pune, as the runway was closed. Experts blame the limited infrastructure of the Pune airport as one among the main reasons for the city airport not being in the list of alternative destinations.
"The Pune airport has less space but, on the contrary, sees many flight movements. The scarcity of space in the form of aircraft parking bays doesn't quite allow the flights to be diverted to the city . The bays are mostly occupied with the scheduled flights either taking off or disembarking passengers. A scheduled flight cannot be delayed. If the diverted flights have to land in Pune, the airport needs more space and better facilities," aviation expert and analyst Dhairyashil Vandekar said.
Airlines on the other hand cite multiple reasons for the city not being in the list of the alternative airports for Mumbai-bound flights. "Infrastructure is an issue at the airport and we have always talked about it. Besides, Pune is primarily a defence airport. There are some restrictions when it comes to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the runway as they are managed by the Indian Air Force and not the Airports Authority of India (AAI). As a result, most airlines choose alternatives other than Pune," a senior official with a private airline told TOI requesting anonymity.
25/09/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Air India looks to vacate unused space at airports, save on rentals

New Delhi: Air India plans to vacate unused hangar space at some airports and sell the scrap lying there to cut costs, CMD Rajiv Bansal has said.
After taking over the reins of the disinvestment-bound airline last month, Bansal has been working on ways to improve On Time Performance (OTP) of the flights, customer service and reduce costs on various fronts.
Bansal said he is planning to vacate any extra space at airports that the airline might be holding up due to scrap.
"I am finding that there is a lot of unused material lying in hangars and unnecessarily we are holding on. So we can get some money by selling the scrap and also save rentals by leaving the space," Bansal told in an interview.
He noted that there is more such space occupied by the airline at Delhi and Mumbai airports.
""I noticed that in Delhi itself one aircraft which has been auctioned is lying in the hangar. Similarly in Mumbai, steel scrap is lying and we are trying to dispose that of so that hangar space can be cleared," Bansal said.
Hangar is a space within the airport complex where maintenance work of aircraft is carried out.
The national carrier has around ten hangars in different airports across the country.
Air India group operates to 42 international destinations and over 70 domestic stations. It has an operating fleet of 142 aircraft.
24/09/17 PTI/Economic Times

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Air India decides to seek AAI assistance to keep birds at bay

Pune: Flustered over two birdhit incidents within a fortnight, Air India has decided to request the airport authorities to find a solution to the problem in coordination with Indian Air Force.
Suhas Jadhav , the station manager of Air India (AI) in Pune, told TOI, "It is a worrying situation for us. The ATC (Air Traffic Control) tower and the runway are under IAF . So, we and the officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) need to jointly approach IAF." Other airlines are also worried. "Birds have hit AI flights twice. This doesn't mean it cannot happen to our flights. Besides a major risk for the passengers, the aircraft suffers serious damage when a bird hits it and repairing it is a costly affair. IAF, AAI and other agencies need to look into the issue, find the cause and plug it," said an official of a private airline operating many flights from the city airport, requesting anonymity .
Pune airport is a part of IAF's strategically vital base for two squadrons of its front-line multi-role combat aircraft Sukhoi 30 Mk-I. The runway and ATC are managed by the Air Force Station and the civil enclave by AAI. An airport official said all systems to ward off birds were in place and under IAF . "There is a committee (Airport Environment Management Committee) to look into these issues. It is convened by IAF and its members consist of officials of AAI, district administration, airlines and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). If the airlines approach us, we will surely take up the matter with the IAF ," the official pointed out.
24/09/17 Times of India/Joy Sengupta

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Drones ordered to stay away from airport area

Kochi: Following a directive from the ministry of civil aviation, district collector, K Mohammed Y Safirulla, has issued instructions forbidding people from flying drones and sky lanterns within 2-km radius of the Cochin International Airport (Cial).The notice issued has said that legal action would be taken against those who violate the directive. "We received the directive from the civil aviation ministry two weeks ago. It is applicable all across India and is meant to enhance security measures," said the collector, who added that there have been no drone-related incidents at the Cial.
Cial airport director Chandrakumaran Nair A said the decision will help in securing the airport from potential safety threats that drones could pose.
"There are two major threats, the first being that if the person operating the drone losses control of it, it could enter the path of the aircraft arriving or departing from the airport. It would cause a major safety issue," said Nair, who said that several such incidents have already taken place at other air ports. On August 20, all flight operations were halted at the Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi after a pilot, flying in from Goa spotted an unidentified flying object while landing the aircraft at around at 7.10pm. All three runways of the airport were closed and four flights were diverted. The airport resumed operations at 7.55pm.
In January , a pilot spotted a drone flying just 2km from his plane at 12,000 altitudes while approach altitudes while approach ing the runway at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Inter national Airport in Mum bai while flying in from Nagpur.
24/09/17 Vikram Vinod/Times of India

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GR meets demands of PAP over Navi Mumbai airport land

The Navi Mumbai Airport is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government.

CIDCO had undertaken a survey in 2014 to determine the compensation plan for the airport project.
 CIDCO had undertaken a survey in 2014 to determine the compensation plan for the airport project.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has come up with a government resolution (GR) about the compensation plan for project-affected people (PAP) of the Navi Mumbai airport project, which meets demands that have been made by PAP. This GR clears ways for compensation for per residence or building. The PAP had been demanding that the compensation plan be altered. As per the new GR, now if a husband and wife have two homes then both will get compensation for their properties. The GR also made homes or buildings built till 2014 eligible for the compensation.

With this GR, the state government has given the CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra) chairman authority to take decisions about compensation in case of future.

The Navi Mumbai Airport is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has been following up on the project personally. The Mr Fadnavis-led state government has come up with new GR dates on September 22 regarding the project.
24/09/17 Asian Age

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Hyderabad airport introduces wheelchair lift for senior citizens, disabled

Hyderabad: The GMR Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, has launched wheelchair lift or Verti-lift for senior citizens and passengers with reduced mobility. This unique facility has been made available to domestic passengers arriving at the airport.

A GMR release on Saturday said the facility had been added in line with the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) that aims at creating people-friendly infrastructure.
Approximately around 40,000 passengers fly in and out of Hyderabad every day, out of which more than 100 arrival passengers are wheelchair-bound. For the wheelchair bound passengers that arrive onboard aircraft which do not dock at aerobridges, elevators are provided to enable them to enter the terminal building to reclaim their baggage. For this, they are usually escorted by an airline staff towards the baggage claim area. The Verti-lift helps minimise the waiting time at the elevators besides providing a better experience to the passengers requiring assistance.

Compliant with all safety norms, the electrically powered remote-operated Verti-lift takes a passenger up from the gate to the baggage claim area in two minutes. The airport has also provided a backup power source to ensure uninterrupted operations of the lift at all times.
23/09/17 P Pavan/Mumbai Mirror

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First phase of Navi Mumbai international airport to begin by 2019 end: CM

Hyderabad: Stating that the first phase of the much-delayed Navi Mumbai airport project will "commence" by December 2019, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said his government would issue a letter of intent (LoI) as awarding the contract is a "matter of time" now.

He also said the pre-developmental works for the ambitious project will be completed by May next year.


The CM's statement assumes significance as award of the LoI is considered as an important step in taking the project forward, which is dogged by inordinate delays since its conception in 1997.

Infrastructure major GVK group had bagged the financial bid to build and operate the second international airport in the Mumbai metropolitan region at an investment of Rs 16,000 crore earlier this year, beating rival GMR group.

However, the project couldn't make any progress as the state government has not yet approved and finalised the finance deal won by the GVK. Once the government gives its nod, a letter of award will be given to the contractor, after which a special purpose vehicle (SPV) can be set up to execute the project.

"There are two phases of of Navi Mumbai airport. One phase is the pre-works in which you have to level the land, cut a hill and you have to change the course of the river. So these are the predevelopment works which we have awarded the contract and they have already started the work.

"So possibly the site with the pre-development works will be ready by May next year. The concessionaire for (the airport) is also nearly shortlisted. It is a matter of time that we will award the contract. We will issue the letter of intent to the concessionaire and what is intended is that the first phase of the Navi Mumbai airport should commence by December 2019," Fadnavis told reporters on the sidelines of "India Leadership Summit" organised by the Indian School of Business (ISB) here.
23/09/17 PTI/Business Standard

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India pushes for security reforms to secure airports

New Delhi: In the run up to an audit by the UN aviation safety watchdog International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the civil aviation ministry has decided to push the pending Aircraft Amendment Bill. It will give more powers to the aviation security regulator Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and will make airports more secure. Sources say that poor compliance of BCAS audits is the main reason to push the bill. Aviation security is of utmost importance considering growing terrorist threat. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also been insisting on heightened coordination with governments and their agencies across the world for counter measures and sharing of intelligence and information.

A senior official in the ministry said that BCAS found lapses in many of its recent inspections and issued warnings to authorities of airports, individuals and airlines, but in vain. The official said, “The compliance of BCAS reports is quite poor. Airport authorities and airlines don’t really take notice of the warnings because they are well aware of BCAS’ powers. BCAS only has the power to suspend and scrap licence of airports, airlines. And, licence cannot be suspended or scrapped for every other thing therefore, warnings are issued.”

The official added this may change soon as the ministry has decided to push for amendment in the Aircraft Act, 1934, which would empower BCAS to also impose penalties. The official said that the amendments concerned are being worked out and after getting Cabinet approval, the same is likely to be taken up during the winter session of the Parliament in November. Minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha has also taken serious note of non-compliance of its audit reports. Another senior official, who requested anonymity, said, “The minister has decided to hold fortnightly meetings with airlines, airport operators and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).”
24/09/17 Sana Shakil/New Indian Express

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CISF proposes armed cover against terror threat to UDAN scheme

New Delhi: The ambitious UDAN scheme — the low-cost regional air connectivity network of the government — could soon have an armed security cover in place against possible terror threats as a blue print has been prepared by the aviation security force CISF.
The Director General (DG) of the 1.80-lakh personnel strong paramilitary force, O P Singh, told PTI in an interview that an "economically viable yet strong security proposal" has been prepared by the force and submitted to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for consideration.
The UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Shimla in April this year and the most important factor to keep it running is cheap flight rates for passengers.
"We have given a model (proposal) to the Ministry of Civil Aviation saying you can have a CISF cover in those airports (under UDAN) which are regionally connected and we will give the minimum manpower ranging from 13 to 44 people.
"Such a deployment and security system would be more economical rather than a permanent deployment of the force," the DG told the news agency.
24/09/17 PTI/Times of India

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No parking space: Chennai airport loses out

Chennai: Chennai may get more flights to smaller towns as ministry of civil aviation is planning to push its regional connectivity scheme in the coming months but passengers may not get early morning schedules as there is no space to park planes overnight.
The airport will miss out in capitalising on regional connectivity as space constraints prevent it from alloting parking bays and peak hour slots for flights.
Airlines will be basing their operations out of Hyderabad or Bengaluru, the airports that offer better parking bays. The flights will land at Chennai in the morning to connect smaller towns under the Udan scheme. In the case of Chennai-Mysuru flight, that was launched on Wednesday, the Trujet flight arrives from Hyderabad as a Hyderabad-Chennai service and then flies to Mysuru at 5.40pm.
Chennai to Salem and Kadapa flights will be launched in a month and later to Hosur as routes to these airlines were listed under the round one of the bidding. Trujet is planning to start daily services to Salem and Kadapa in the first week of November.
As night parking was a problem, Airports Authority of India (AAI) created some remote parking bays in the space between the main runway and the second runway. However, most airlines do not prefer to use these bays because it is a hassle to bring the planes from the bays to the terminal for departure. The planes that are parked here have to wait to cross the main runway to taxi to the terminal or ba ay closer to the terminal so that passengers can board.
23/09/17 Times of India

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Mumbai airport: MoCA seeks info on losses during runway closure

Mumbai: The civil aviation ministry has sought details from the Mumbai airport authorities about the flights that were cancelled and losses suffered by the airlines during the non-operation of the main runway following the skidding of a SpiceJet aircraft earlier this week.

The ministry has also directed the airport authorities to provide details about the losses suffered by the carriers due to the non-operation of the main runway for over 25 hours, a source said.
As many as 183 flights were cancelled and dozens of others diverted to the nearby airports after a SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft skidded of the runway after landing from Varanasi on Tuesday due to heavy rains and got stuck in mud, thereby blocking the traffic on it.

“The Ministry has asked the city airport authorities to provide to it details about the flights that were cancelled in the wake of SpiceJet plane skidding,” an official source said.

Besides, the ministry has also asked the airport authorities to give details about the flights that were diverted to other airports, the official said.

It has also sought details of the losses suffered by the airlines due to the large-scale disruptions in operations from the late evening of September 19 to late night of September 20, the official said.

Mumbai airport is run under a joint venture company, Mumbai Airport International Airport Limited (MIAL), in which GVK-led consortium holds 74 per cent stake and the rest 26 per cent are held by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
23/09/17 City Today

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Flight to Nanded in near future unlikely

Amritsar: Pilgrims are disheartened as the proposed flight between Amritsar and Nanded is not likely to be introduced in the near future. Responding to an RTI query, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in a communiqué released on September 20, stated that Air India was considering operation of schedule flight on Amritsar-Nanded-Amritsar sector subject to operational readiness of the Nanded airport.

A city resident, Manmohan Singh who annually visits Takht Hazur Sahib in Nanded, said the government indicated many a time to start the flight on the circuit but it never materialised. He recalled that even during the inauguration of the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) Scheme for regional connectivity on April 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had encouraged and invited airlines to initiate flights between Nanded and Amritsar. “The Prime Minister advised airlines to immediately start a Sikh pilgrimage circuit connecting these sites to Amritsar,” he claimed.
Hardeep Singh Chahal, another resident who frequently visits Nanded, said trains took about 36 hours to cover the over 2000-km distance. Sachkhand Express takes 34 hours and 25 minutes to cover 2,083 km and Amritsar–Hazur Sahib takes 33 hours and 15 minutes. He said a few months ago, an MP from Anandpur Sahib Prem Singh Chandumajra gave a statement that Air India would start the flight on the circuit from July 2017. However, even after the passage of two months of the deadline nothing happened.
23/09/17 Neeraj Bagga/Tribune

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Skyhigh land cost grounded Sriperumbudur's airport dreams

Chennai: Rs 6,600 crores: that was the tab that the Tamil Nadu government would have had to pay under the new land acquisition act, if it were to go ahead with acquiring 2,200 acres of land at Sriperumbudur for the proposed greenfield airport. Little wonder then that the project was shelved, and the State and the Airports Authority of India began looking for other options.

Of the 3,000 acres that is required for the airport, the State government possessed all of 800 acres. As the project remained on paper for years, the advent of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Act in 2013 made it way too costly an affair, an official source told Express. "As per the act, an acre of land would cost Rs 3 crore to the State exchequer. As a result, the project will be unviable due to land acquisition cost," said the source.

This has forced the State government to look at alternate sites as the existing facility in Chennai is getting saturated with passengers and aircraft. The hunt for greenfield airport started in 1999 when AAI and State government together decided to work towards developing a new international airport for Chennai. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) was tasked with identifying the land, and Scott Wilson Kirkpatric was appointed as technical consultant.

They identified five locations - Manapakkam-Gerugambakkam-Kolappakkam belt; West Tambaram; Maraimalai; Sriperumbudur and areas near Vandalur.

However, AAI preferred land near Pozichalur-Anakaputhur-Cowl Bazar, as it is contiguous and close to the existing airport. This option was later dropped and AAI chose two sites instead of one -- Manapakkam belt as well as Sriperumbudur - for reasons unclear. The GO was issued in 2007.
23/09/17 C Shivakumar/New Indian Express

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26-hour nightmare for Egypt Air travellers as Mumbai airport flooded

Muscat: A flight from Cairo to Mumbai that should have taken seven hours, landed in India after a marathon 26 hours, due to the ongoing flooding in Mumbai.
Passengers on the Egypt Air plane were expecting to fly from Cairo to Mumbai International Airport on Tuesday. But the flight was diverted to Muscat International Airport because of the heavy rains at Mumbai Airport.
The flight finally landed at Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Wednesday night.
Egypt Air flight 968 was carrying 101 passengers when it took off from Cairo Airport at 4.20 pm local time on Tuesday, with an estimated time of arrival of 1.30 am at Mumbai International Airport.
But due to bad weather in Mumbai, and problems caused by an aircraft that overshot the Mumbai airport runway and became stuck in the mud, the Egypt Air flight was diverted to Muscat International Airport, where the flight landed at 11 pm, an official of Egypt Air in Muscat said.
23/9/17 Times of Oman

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No parking space: City airport loses out

Chennai: Chennai may get more flights to smaller towns thanks to the ministry of civil aviation's plan to push its regional connectivity scheme but passengers may not get early morning schedules as there is no space to park planes overnight.The airport will miss out in capitalising on regional connectivity as space constraints prevent it from alloting parking bays and peak hour slots for flights.
Airlines will be basing their operations out of Hyderabad or Bengaluru, the airports that offer better parking bays. The flights will land in Chennai in the morning to connect smaller towns under the Udan scheme. In the case of Chennai-Mysuru flight, that was launched on Wednesday , the Trujet flight arrives from Hyderabad as a HyderabadChennai service and then flies to Mysuru at 5.40pm.
As night parking was a problem, Airports Authority of India (AAI) created some remote parking bays in the space between the main runway and the second runway . However, most airlines do not prefer to use these bays because it is a hassle to bring the planes from the bays to the terminal for departure. The planes that are parked here have to wait to cross the main runway to taxi to the terminal or ba ay closer to the terminal so that passengers can board.
V Umesh, managing director of Trujet, which has bagged 18 routes, said, "It is very difficult to get slots at Chennai airport. It is not easy to get the planes from the remote bays. We have requested for parking bays."
24/09/17 Times of India

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