Showing posts with label airports Jul 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airports Jul 2012. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

'Navi Mumbai international airport project to be put on fast track'

Mumbai: The Centre will take all necessary steps to expedite the construction of the Navi Mumbai international airport. Union civil aviation minister Ajit Singh gave this assurance to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan when they met in New Delhi on Monday.
Singh informed Chavan that the cabinet committee on infrastructure will soon meet the state-appointed high-powered committee and they will discuss the legal aspects including the bid document, contractual liabilities, infrastructural and environmental issues. The officials said the meeting is expected to take place before August 15, while the actual bidding process may be done by March 2013.
31/07/12 Daily News & Analysis

Villagers demand 40 % developed land

Mumbai: People from villages affected by the Navi Mumbai international airport have demanded the government and project developers to provide them 40 per cent of the developed land as compensation.
Of the total 2,020 hectares (ha) of land required for the airport project, nearly 1,400 ha are in the possession of City and Industrial Development Corp (Cidco), the nodal agency for the project.
The state government has agreed to hand over its 150 ha for the project. Besides, Cidco needs another 450 ha of private land for which notices have been served.
Of this 450 ha, 274 ha will be developed for aeronautical purpose. Villagers, who had earlier demanded a compensation of Rs 20 crore per acre, are now asking for 40 per cent of this 274 ha. The issue will be discussed in a meeting called by Urban Development Secretary TC Benjamin tomorrow between villagers’ representatives and Cidco officials.
30/07/12 Sanjay Jog/Business Standard

Severe waterlogging in LGBI Airport area

Guwahati: Severe waterlogging was witnessed in the LGBI Airport this morning, disrupting transportation to the airport and giving a harrowing time to those going to and coming out from the airport.
The deluge – the exact cause of which has not been ascertained – affected the main road and parking lot 9, affecting vehicular movement to and from the airport.
The water from the parking lot was stated to be cleared to some extent later.
30/07/12 Assam Tribune

IGI Airport tunnel road closed after heavy rain

New Delhi: The tunnel road connecting terminal 1 and terminal 3 of the IGI Airport was closed for some hours in the morning as the road had been flooded.
This led to traffic diversions during peak morning traffic hours which resulted in a small jam on NH-8 and near the airport. Airport officials said that after a heavy downpour, "rain water from NH8 and Mahipalpur entered into the Commercial Project Development area, also known as the Aerocity, which then overflowed on to the road near the tunnel on Northern Access Road" .
This road was closed in 2011 as well due to similar flooding after heavy rain. Airport officials clarified that rainwater from Mahipalpur and NH-8 had been overflowing into the CPD because of maintenance work being carried out by PWD last week.
31/07/2012 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

Monday, July 30, 2012

Tiruchi-bound flights from Singapore take new ATS route

Tiruchi: Flights from Singapore to Tiruchi and Kuala Lumpur to Tiruchi have begun using the new ATS (Air Traffic Services) route with effect from July 26. This has cut down flying time and enabled airline operators to save aviation turbine fuel.
With international operator Tiger Airways proposing to operate additional services to Tiruchi from Singapore, the number of flights taking the new route ‘V 30’ will soon increase to 23 per week.
The ‘V 30’ route introduced by the Air Traffic Management Directorate of Airports Authority of India (AAI) has facilitated the Singapore-Tiruchi and Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchi aircrafts to make a “straight in” approach for Instrument Landing System at Tiruchi airport runway 27, instead of making an ‘arc’ approach.
31/07/12 R. Rajaram/The Hindu

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Navi Mumbai airport plan gets PMO boost

Mumbai: After a delay of more than a decade, the Prime Minister's Office has approved a road map for the Rs 6,000-crore airport for Navi Mumbai. "A month ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had presided over a meeting to review the flagship projects of the UPA government. Now the PMO has approved the plan for the Navi Mumbai airport and key railway projects in Maharashtra and Gujarat. It was for the first time that mechanisms have been put in place for regular monitoring and problem solving,'' a senior official told TOI on Saturday.The official said for the Navi Mumbai airport, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has been appointed as the nodal agency and it has prepared the transaction documents. "The civil aviation ministry will discuss the matter with the state government and secure its concurrence for selecting the process for awarding the contract on PPP basis. The entire process will be completed by August 15, 2012 after all the relevant documents are cleared by the government of India,'' he said.
29/07/12 Prafulla Marapakwar/Times of India

Haryana plans cargo airport in Meham

Gurgaon: Haryana has asked the civil aviation ministry to clear its proposal for building a greenfield cargo airport for international operations at Meham in Rohtak district.
The proposal, sent by the state through Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), came up for discussion during chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's meeting with civil aviation minister Ajit Singh on Friday.
An area of about 2,770 acres has already been identified for the project and the land would be purchased from private parties.
The state government said the displacement of population would be assessed and taken care of as per Haryana's Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) Policy.
29/07/12 PTI/Times of India

South African Airways to fly daily on Mumbai-Johannesburg route from October

Mumbai: The South African Airways today announced daily services between Mumbai and Johannesburg from the current five flights a week, effective October.
The non-stop daily flight from Mumbai to Johannesburg, to be effective from October 3, comes on the heels of the fifth weekly frequency the airline launched from June 16 this year and the sixth, due to start from August 21, the airline said in a statement.
The seventh flight is subject to government approvals. South African Airlines is the only carrier that offers non-stop services between South Africa and India now, following the decision of Jet Airways to discontinue its operations on this sector last month.
29/07/12 PTI/Economic Times

Airports most stressful aspect of travel: Survey

Mumbai: At a time when airport privatisation has come under scanner following private operators levying hefty one fee or other from passengers to recover their investments, a large majority of tarvellers have listed airports as their most stressful factor, says the findings of a global survey. In a travel survey, more than 66 per cent Indian travellers have listed airports as the most stressful factor for them while planning a trip, with their queues and security checks as the number one stress factor, says the survey by the global travel search site Skyscanner. The respondents also reveal that choosing a destination is another stressful factor for Indian travellers. According to the survey, the third most stressful aspect is the search for cheap flights, the findings reveal. With a plethora of Indian and international airlines offering tactical packages at different times, getting the best prices for flights is clearly a time-consuming process for many, it said.
29/07/12 IBN Live

Mystery man stranded at IGI, has no ‘ID’

New Delhi: How he reached India remains a mystery but the Delhi Airport will be his home for the next few days. The mystery man, who claimed his name was Mohammad Khalil and later Ahmed Khalil, arrived at the airport on July 21 either by Air India from Riyadh or Saudi Airlines from Abu Dhabi. He was intercepted at the immigration counter after he failed to produce a boarding card or any identification.
Airport officials say the man is mentally unstable and has been unable to provide any information so far. According to Air India, he can be deported only after the Information Bureau is able to determine his nationality. Till then, IGI's interrogation room will be his abode.
29/07/12 Times of India

Sex racket: Girls taken to Gulf on forged passports

Kochi: The Crime Branch team investigating a sex racket in Kochi, whereby young girls were taken to the Gulf, received information on Saturday that about 12 girls were transported with the assistance of Kochi airport officials by forging the passports.
The Crime Branch investigation was held on the basis of the complaint from a girl who escaped the clutches of the racket and reached Mumbai. The sex racket operating in the Gulf has links across the country and also has agents operating in the state's major cities, the team said.
The investigating team took statements from the girl who had escaped the racketeers after she was taken to Dubai via Muscat. A passport belonging to a woman in Kattapana was forged for the purpose.
29/07/12 New Indian Express/IBN Live

Over 2,400 shark teeth recovered from passenger

New Delhi: Over 2,400 shark teeth have been recovered from a passenger by Custom officials at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi.
Acting on intelligence inputs, Aditya Surendra Gupta was intercepted at the green channel and found carrying 2,445 shark teeth, the import of which is prohibited under Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, a customs official said in a statement.
He said the shark teeth have been seized and "their samples have been referred to the Wild Crime Control Bureau, which said that the same may be referred to the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata".
The value of the seized teeth, which is used in jewellery among others, is about Rs 3-5 lakh in the international market, the official said.
29/07/12 PTI/IBN Live

Mumbai airport: 262 flights delayed by more than 15 minutes in June

Mumbai: As per a monthly data released by Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL), a total of 262 flights were delayed by more than 15 minutes of the scheduled time of arrival or departure in the month of Jun. As per the data, 158 arriving flights were delayed while 104 departures were behind time.
The airport officials said that the number of delays have dropped considerably after Kingfisher airline curtailed its schedule. "This means that the actual quantum of delays has not gone down. They have only reduced in proportion to the decrease in the number of flights,"" an airport official said.
28/07/12 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

Air India flight makes emergency landing in Kochi

Kochi: An Air India flight landed on Saturday night at Kochi airport after the pilot detected problem in its nose wheel, airline sources said.
The pilot of the Delhi-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram flight, carrying 60 passengers from Delhi, informed airport authorities that there was some problem with the nose wheel and asked permission for emergency landing.
28/07/12 PTI/IBN Live

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Jet Airways Delhi-Jaipur flight suffers bird hit

Jaipur: A Delhi-Jaipur flight of Jet Airways today suffered a bird hit during landing at Sanganer airport here following which the aircraft was grounded for technical inspection. However, the landing was safe and no untoward incident occurred due to the bird hit, the airport sources told PTI. The flight landed here this morning and was scheduled to return to Delhi after 30 minutes.
28/07/12 PTI/IBN Live

Thai Airways flight makes emergency landing

A Thai Airways flight from Hyderabad to Bangkok made an emergency landing minutes after it took off due to technical problem in one if its engines in the early hours of Saturday in Hyderabad. The Airbus-330 with 257 passengers landed at 1.10 am. The pilots informed the airport control about the problem and sought permission to land immediately.
28/07/12 The Hindu

PMO ends tussle between AAI and Arunachal

New Delhi: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has stepped in to put an end to the dispute between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Arunachal Pradesh government paving the way for construction of a new Greenfield airport at Itanagar at a cost of Rs. 650 crore.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation will soon move a note for the approval of the Union Cabinet for giving a final shape to the strategic project which will link the border State with rest of the country directly. The new site of the airport will be at Holongi.
Both AAI and the State Government had been locked in a tussle over the exact location of the airport with the Arunachal Pradesh Government sticking to its stands for having ``Banderdeva’’ as the location while the technical committee of AAI had recommended Holongi as the suitable site. The AAI had objected to the State Government’s choice on the ground that Banderdeva was surrounded by hilly terrain and obstacles. It also argued that there was limited scope for future expansion, poor safety environment and high cost of construction involved.
28/07/12 Sujay Mehdudia/The Hindu

Madurai-Colombo fight services: Chamber plea to SpiceJet

Madurai: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has made a plea to SpiceJet officials to begin flight services in the Madurai-Colombo sector as early as possible.
Submitting a memorandum to Mr S. Ramakrishna Reddy, Regional Manager (South) and Mr Gary Hreeman, Focus Sales Manager, SpiceJet, during their visit to the city recently, Mr N. Jegatheesan, Chamber President, said that Madurai is the gateway for international passenger and freight traffic covering nine southern districts.
25/07/12 Business Line

Kiran to strive for extension of airport watch hours

Vishakhapatnam: Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has promised to take up the issue of extension of watch hours at Visakhapatnam Airport and ensure that it was granted at the earliest to facilitate Singapore Airlines to launch its Vizag-Singapore flight as per schedule on October 1.
He gave this assurance to the executive board members of Visakhapatnam Air Travellers Association (VATA) Ch. Ramakotiah, P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, D. Kumar Raja, and O. Naresh Kumar who met him during his transit halt at the airport here on Friday.
28/07/12 The Hindu

Friday, July 27, 2012

Air travellers seek revival of AP air strips

Visakhapatnam: The State government should consider revival of the air strips at Badangi (Vizianagaram district), Donakonda (Prakasam district), Ramagundam (Karimnagar), and Adilabad (Adilabad district) and develop them into small airports to provide intra-state connectivity, according to Air Travellers’ Association (India) president D. Varada Reddy.
While welcoming the decision of the State government to develop the airports at Tadepalligudem, Tirupati, Nellore, Kadapa, and Warangal, he recalled that the ATA(I) has been demanding revival of the old air strips built during the World War II in Andhra Pradesh.
27/07/12 The Hindu

Haryana Requests Centre to Consider Cargo and Civilian Airports in the State

Haryana Chief Minister Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda met Union Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh in New Delhi today. Mr. Hooda requested the centre to take forward the proposal for building a Greenfield Cargo Airport for international operations at Meham in district Rohtak of Haryana sent by the State through Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (HSIIDC). It came up during the discussion that an area of about 2770 acres has already been identified for the project which would be purchased from the private parties. The State informed that the displacement of population will be assessed and would be taken care of as per the R&R Policy of Haryana Government.
The meeting was informed that the proposal has been examined in the Ministry of Civil Aviation in consultation with Airports Authority of India and Directorate General of Civil Aviation for grant of site clearance and has been recommended by both the organizations.
Shri Hooda also underlined the need to have civilian airports in Karnal and Hisar which he said will cater to needs of a large number of people in adjoining areas. Shri Hooda offered to provide land for these airports.
Shri Ajit Singh assured Shri Hooda that the centre will consider positively the request of the State. He asked Airports Authority of India to deploy a team to conduct survey of the land in collaboration with State officials regarding the above projects.
27/07/12 Press Information Bureau

AAI staff lobby to stop airport privatisation

Chennai: The standoff is worsening between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Planning Commission over the privatisation of the Chennai and Kolkata airports. Fear of retrenchment and loss of revenue has fuelled AAI's hostility to the proposal.
Though the plan panel has briefed the Tamil Nadu government on the plan to divest Chennai airport and sent the proposal to the ministry of civil aviation seeking an immediate response, the ministry has not yet agreed to play along, a senior deputy director at AAI's headquarters in Delhi said.
After meetings over the past week during which senior AAI officials expressed concern over the privatisation plan, more than 100 employees of the authority including senior staff staged a protest at the Chennai airport on Wednesday.
27/07/12 Arun Janardhanan & V Ayyappan/Times of India

DIAL comes up with GMR-IGI airport awards

New Delhi: In an attempt to meet IGI airport's objective of becoming world's best airport, DIAL has come up with GMR-IGI airport awards.
The GMR-led consortium Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) presented the first edition of the awards at a glittering ceremony yesterday in 28 diversified categories .
Employees of Airports Authority of India (AAI), CISF, Customs, Immigrations, Passenger and Cargo Airlines, Cargo Operators, ground handlers, joint venture partners, retail partners, food and beverage and several other concessionaires were participated in the event.
27/07/12 PTI/Business Standard

9 aspects of Airport Metro to be probed

New Delhi: Nine different aspects related to the Airport Metro line, including the design and quality of civil structure and whether there was delay in detection of faults, which led to the closure of operations, would be inquired in three months by a government-appointed panel. Sources said nine items had been constituted as terms of reference for the two-member inquiry committee set up by the Urban Development Ministry. The Ministry has also asked the committee to look into any other aspect of the line which it would deem fit to examine.
26/07/12 Express India

DIAL comes up with GMR-IGI airport awards

New Delhi: In an attempt to meet IGI airport's objective of becoming world's best airport, DIAL has come up with GMR-IGI airport awards.
The GMR-led consortium Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) presented the first edition of the awards at a glittering ceremony yesterday in 28 diversified categories .
Employees of Airports Authority of India (AAI), CISF, Customs, Immigrations, Passenger and Cargo Airlines, Cargo Operators, ground handlers, joint venture partners, retail partners, food and beverage and several other concessionaires were participated in the event.
27/07/12 PTI/ZeeNews

Thursday, July 26, 2012

'Airlines will have to spend 14% profits on DIAL charges'

Tony Tyler, director general and chief executive officer of the International Air Transport Association, a global industry trade body, says the European Union-Emission Trading Scheme is a regional programme, which cannot be imposed on the rest of ther world.
In an interaction with reporters in New Delhi, Tyler says Europeans should withdraw the 'objectionable' elements in the scheme in consultation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Edited excerpts.
What is Iata's stand on the EU-Emission Trading Scheme?
Iata is not against the emission trading schemes.
We believe ETS is a good example of market-based measures which would help the industry in meeting challenging environmental goals in terms of meeting our carbon emission targets.
26/07/12 Business Standard/Rediff.com

India’s SBAS-GAGAN passes final test

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has successfully conducted the Final Acceptance Test of India’s Satellite Based Augmentation System-GAGAN, paving the way for the scheduled commissioning of the system in mid-2013.
GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) is a project jointly undertaken by Airports Authority of India and ISRO in accordance with ICAO’s strategic plan to achieve the smooth transition to satellite based navigation and seamless air traffic management across continents.
GAGAN Final System Acceptance Test (FSAT) was successfully completed on 17 July. The objective of Final System Acceptance Test was to evaluate the system performance and its critical parameters in the integrated live environment using the satellite signals and ground based systems on integrity, accuracy, continuity and availability for aviation use. AAI said the FSAT results have successfully demonstrated that GAGAN signals meet the ICAO SARPS requirements.
25/07/12 Aimee Turner/Air Traffic Management.net

Mumbai-Delhi flights to take direct route

Mumbai: Flights from Mumbai to Delhi will take a direct route from July 26. To improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon footprint, Airports Authority of India (AAI) will open a direct route between the two cities. Hence, instead of taking a roundabout route through Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Udaipur, a flight from Mumbai to Delhi will now take a straight path, which will save them some time and burn less fuel. Every flight is likely to save 1,000 kg (1 tonne) of carbon emissions. Ahmedabad-Delhi, Baroda-Delhi, Udaipur-Delhi are some other sectors which will have a straight route.
Mumbai airport officials said flights operate on a ground-based navigation system which does not allow them to follow a direct path and instead take a route via other cities. But now a satellite-based navigation system, RNAV5, will be used to allow a straight path to certain flights.
26/07/12 Chinmayi Shalya/Economic Times

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Employees demonstrate against privatisation of Chennai airport

Chennai: Some 500 Airports Authority of India Officers and employees from various unions today staged a demonstration here against any attempt to privatise operations at Chennai domestic and international air terminus.
25/07/12 PTI/IBN Live

Ameesha Patel pays up duty fine at Mumbai airport

The latest B-town beauty to be stopped at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is Ameesha Patel. She was returning from a recent visit to UK with her business partner, Kunal Goomer. All their bags were thoroughly checked by the custom officials at the Mumbai airport. The authorities acted on the behest of a tip-off that she was carrying jewellery and electronic goods. However, the airport officials didn’t find any susceptible items during their checking.
25/07/12 Bollywoodlife

IATA's remark on Delhi airport tariff hike exaggeration: DIAL

New Delhi: Delhi airport operator today termed as "a huge exaggeration" the claims of IATA that hike in the airport tariff will burden the airlines with $400 million.
"This claim of a $400 million is a huge exaggeration on the part of IATA. Assuming the airlines pass on the entire cost to the passenger (as is normal practise), DIAL's increased yield (and hence the maximum possible cost to an airline) is Rs 102 per passenger," a spokesperson of Delhi International Airport Limited said.
The Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) CEO Tony Tyler had said the increase will add over $400 million in operating costs for airlines providing connectivity to India through Delhi.
25/07/12 PTI/Economic Times

Pawan Hans resumes chopper services in Meghalaya

Shillong: State-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. would resume its services from Thursday in the mountainous Meghalaya state after a gap of 15 months, an official said Wednesday.
"Pawan Hans will resume its service in Meghalaya from tomorrow (Thursday) after it was selected in the bid process to run the air service in the state," state Transport Minister Abu Taher Mondal told IANS.
He said the Meghalaya government had Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. for operating a helicopter service.
To mark the resuming of the helicopter service in the state, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma would Thursday fly by twin-engine Pawan Hans helicopter to Shillong from Guwahati international airport.
25/07/12 News Track India

Delayed decision can hamper the progress of Vizag Airport

Visakhapatnam: It’s high time the Government of India came out with a decision on extension of watch hours at Visakhapatnam Airport to facilitate the operation of the Visakhapatnam - Singapore Silk Air flight from October 1.
The government, which had all along been seeking written consent from the airline operators for extension of watch hours, is now ‘tight-lipped’ on the issue though SilkAir has announced its schedule of operation long ago. “There is a danger of the airline postponing the launch or totally pulling out, if the government fails to come out with an early announcement on extension of watch hours,” feel air travellers. Union Minister of Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj V. Kishore Chandra Deo has once again written to the Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Tuesday seeking extension of watch hours to facilitate the introduction of the SilkAir flight. In the past, when Mr. Kishore Chandra Deo sought extension of watch hours till midnight, Mr. Antony had replied to him in June 2009 that the Indian Navy was in a position to extend watch hours.
25/07/12 B. Madhu Gopal/The Hindu

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Govt to provide air connectivity for small cities

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh has said that the Government is in the process of providing air connectivity to remote and interior areas of the country including the North Eastern Region and Tier II and Tier III cities. He was addressing the members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation in Bangalore today. Shri Singh said that the new policy instrument in the form of Route Dispersal Guidelines is under consideration. It includes creation of Essential Air Services Fund (EASF) for providing direct subsidy to encourage domestic airlines to fly on these remote and interior routes.
24/07/12 Online Indian News

Maharashtra airport agency awaits AAI response for pre-feasibility study of Rajgurunagar airport

The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), the nodal agency appointed to develop the Rajgurunagar airport, is awaiting the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) response on a ‘pre-feasibility study of the site’. It is only after the study can the agency kickstart the process of calling for tenders and acquisition of land for the airport.
The airport project is estimated to cost Rs 5,048 crore.
In a letter to the AAI on July 14, the MADC asked for the study of the site spread out on 1,650 hectares in five villages — Koye, Dhamne, Pait, Raudharwadi and Askhed Budruk of Rajgurunagar in Khed taluka.
24/07/12 Nisha Nambiar/Express India

Farmers oppose Karad airport expansion

Pune Even as the Maharasthra State budget has provided for an airport in Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s hometown of Karad in Satara district, more than 4,000 farmers from the region are opposing it. While land acquisition for the project is yet to begin, farmers have warned of an agitation on August 2, demanding that the plan be scrapped.
24/07/12 The Hindu

Airport tribunal AERAAT would be reconstituted: Centre to HC

New Delhi:The Centre today informed the Delhi High Court that it has already started the process to revive the defunct Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal (AERAAT), which decides tariff disputes.
"The action has already been initiated for appointment of the appellate tribunal and the matter is pending before the competent authority, the Cabinet Committee," Additional Solicitor General Rajiv Mehra, appearing for the Civil Aviation Ministry, told Justice Sunil Gaur.
The three-member appellate tribunal, which hears appeals against tariff decisions of regulator Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), is defunct as its initial tenure of two years expired in June this year, leaving the appeals of the DIAL and the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), an industry body that represents airlines, in limbo.
24/07/12 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

Delay in upgradation of Tirupati airport escalates cost

Hyderabad: Inordinate delay in upgrading of Tirupati domestic airport into an international one has pushed up the cost by at least Rs 50 crore, according to Andhra Pradesh Minister for Infrastructure and Investment Ganta Srinivasa Rao. The minister reviewed the status of ongoing development works related to Tirupati airport here today. The state government sanctioned Rs 100 crore for the airport development and released Rs 30 crore so far. "Due to delay in executing the works, the estimated cost is likely to go up to Rs 150 crore. The additional amount will be sanctioned by the state government," the minister later informed in a press release.
24/07/12 PTI/IBN Live

Mumbai airport to get hi-tech security system

The Mumbai airport, which is always under the radar of terrorists, is set to get an enhanced security system.
The Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (PIDS) is a combination of three kinds of surveillance systems, wherein Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, infrared and radio frequencies are backed by a control room. Any kind of intrusion sends an instant alert to the security agencies. It also gives the exact point of entry of intruders which helps security forces reach the spot quickly.
“Mumbai International Airport Limited (Mial) has issued a tender for the construction of the structure on which PIDS will be installed,” said a spokesperson for Mial.
24/07/12 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

Taxi drivers to be brand ambassadors of airport

Hyderabad: Radio taxi drivers will be the brand ambassadors for the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. And to that effect, around 30 radio taxi drivers of Meru and Sky Cabs are being taken on a tour of the domestic and international terminals by airport officials every Tuesday. There are about 800 radio cabs of Meru and Sky Cabs operating in Hyderabad.
The tour will end with a brief talk, wherein the drivers will be told how the airport functions, the security concerns, dos and don’ts, the restricted and prohibited article list, positive interaction with passengers (grooming, greeting, ensuring passengers check their belongings before they leave the taxi etc.), enhancing passenger experience, management of the cabs on the ramp etc.
25/07/12 Jatinder Kaur Tur/Asian Age

Monday, July 23, 2012

Bird hits at IGI come down

New Delhi Bird-hit cases at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) have reportedly come down over the past four years, with only nine incidents till June this year compared to 67 in 2008.
The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has attributed this “steady decline” to several measures it had adopted for keeping birds away from the airport’s periphery.
The airport operator has claimed that techniques such as high-pitch sound blasts and a cleanliness drive in and around IGIA have been gradually showing results — 36 and 34 bird-hits in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Vehicles mounted with scarecrows and devices that periodically emit high-pitched distress calls patrol the area. They also use acoustic guns that fire high-frequency soundwaves to shoo away birds from the runway.
24/07/12 Srinath Rao/Express India

Aranmula airport: Judicial probe sought

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Congress (Thomas) has demanded a judicial inquiry into the controversy over the proposed airport project at Aranmula. Kerala Congress working chairman V Surendran Pillai and secretary general George Sebastin alleged that Chief Minister Oomman Chandy was protecting the interests of the real estate mafia in the name of development.
They also alleged that the Chief Minister’s office was under the control of the real estate mafia.
23/07/12 New Indian Express/IBN Live

Lufthansa to offer new first class seating from Mumbai

Mumbai: Come September, Lufthansa’s first class passengers on the Munich-Mumbai sector can travel in better comfort as the airline has revamped the seating.
From September 2, the Munich-Mumbai route will be served by refurbished A330-300 aircraft fitted with the new Business Class seat, which will have a 6.5-feet long bed, the German government-owned airline said in a statement.
“The horizontal sleeping surface is a crucial factor for our passengers. This request was the focus for all our other considerations,” Lufthansa South Asia director Mr Axel Hilgers said.
23/07/12 PTI/Business Line

Chennai airport to be part privatised

Chennai: Ending months of speculation, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh on Saturday said that the newly constructed Chennai airport would have to be partly privatised. Speaking exclusively to Express while visiting Chennai for the first time after he took charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Singh said, “When the project was started, it was intended to be a Public Private Partnership model. In between, AAI (Airports Authority of India) believed that they could run operations but we now feel that partly privatising it will be for the best,” and added that a similar move will be effected for Kolkata airport as well. Chennai and Kolkata are the only two major airports that have ot yet been part-privatised in the country.
22/07/12 New Indian Express/IBN Live

Airport gold heist baffles cops

Ahmedabad: City crime branch officials have been unable to find clues in the Rs 2.2 crore gold theft case, even a year after the incident. The gold was stolen from Ahmedabad airport in May 2011. The agency was probing the matter for the last year.
Crime branch officials recently sought to halt investigations for want of evidence.
Police sub-inspector, Kiran Chaudhary, said, "Last week we filed a final summary report of this case."
In May one 10kg parcel went missing from a consignment of 200kg of gold at the air cargo complex at Ahmedabad airport. MMTC Limited, a public-sector unit authorized to import precious metals and stones, had imported the bullion from Singapore. The incident left security agencies shocked as the gold was stolen minutes after customs duty was paid and was set for delivery.
23/07/12 Times of India

India, China help push up passenger numbers at Changi airport

Singapore: Helped by increasing traffic from India and China, Singapore's Changi Airport handled 25 million passengers in the first half of this year, up 11.6 per cent compared to the first six months last year.
With links to 25 Chinese cities and 11 destinations in India, Changi Airport has become the most connected point from Southeast Asia to these two emerging economies, said the Changi Airport Group.
The six month passenger traffic between Singapore and China and India grew more than 20 per cent and more than 15 per cent, respectively, compared with the same period in 2011. it said. Reflecting Changi's increasing connectivity to China and India, traffic to the two countries grew strongest among markets with at least a million passengers, it said.
23/07/12 PTI/Economic Times

Mumbai among bottom 3 cities in international passenger growth

Mumbai: Though international passenger traffic saw an increase of 4.8% this summer, Mumbai—the financial capital of India—stood third from the bottom of the ratings chart in terms of passenger growth.
In contrast, Tier II cities like Guwahati, Cochin, Coimbatore and Lucknow lead the growth, according to data released by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for the period of April-May, 2012.
23/07/12 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

IB-police standoff on airport posting

Kochi: A stand-off has developed between the Intelligence Bureau and Kerala police on posting personnel to man the immigration counters at the Cochin airport.
Nearly 250 officials from the Kerala police, who had been manning these counters before the IB took over the immigration wing early this year, had applied to join the bureau on deputation.
The IB had selected 74 of these officials in the first phase and was planning to release another list of 75 people. However, the IB is known to have rejected the names of about 100 state police personnel whose track record were not up to the mark.
Meanwhile, some of the leaders of the Kerala Police Association had allegedly persuaded the state home department to clear all the 250 names. At their insistence, the state government officials had informed the Intelligence Bureau that they would only relieve approved officials on deputation if the remaining 100 officials were also taken on board.
23/07/12 T Ramavarman/Times of India

Medical store at Patna airport soon

Patna: The Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport here will have a medical store on its premises.
The airport has a clinic for passengers but it has no medical store for providing necessary medicines. An airport official said a few months back a passenger had forgot to bring his medicines which he used to take every day. He could not find them at the airport clinic. This happens every other day at the airport. So, it was decided to open a medical store at the airport, he said.
Earlier, a team of doctors from the Jagdish Memorial Hospital used to treat the travelling patients at the airport. In emergency, they called an ambulance and shifted the patient to the hospital.
23/07/12 Times of India

Solar power project for airport

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited is planning to install a solar photovoltaic power system at the terminal building this year. An agency experienced in designing and commissioning of solar PV system will be entrusted with the task of setting up a pilot project having 100 Kwp capacity.
The plan is to set up the rooftop system to be connected to the existing power grid, so as to reduce the electricity consumption at the airport.
23/07/12 The Hindu

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Total chaos as Air India Express goes from 'cancel' to 'reschedule'

Total chaos is ensuing in the wake of reports that Air India Express has cancelled several key flights scheduled to fly during the Eid holidays from the UAE.
Air India issued a statement this morning saying it has not cancelled flights during the Eid holidays, but is only rescheduling them.
“Passengers are being informed through SMS and email. We will get a clear picture about the reschedule within the next two days,” said Abhay Pathak, Air India's Regional Manager of Gulf, Middle East and Africa.
However, when asked if passengers will all be accommodated on the dates they have booked on following the reschedule, Pathak failed to give a clear answer.
“We are still waiting for the slots. In two days we will get to know the exact schedule,” he added.
Emirates 24|7 had reported that passengers who had booked their tickets to fly on Air India Express between August 16 to 22 are being informed that their flights have been cancelled and they need to make alternate arrangements.
22/07/12 Joseph George/Emirates24|7

SpiceJet connects Pune and Kochi

SpiceJet Limited, India's most preferred budget airline, has started its flights between Pune and Kochi from July 1, 2012. The airline has deployed its Boeing 737 next generation aircraft on this route.
This would be airline's first flight between Kochi and Pune. The airline has also started its fourth direct flight between Delhi and Pune on June 15, 2012.
On Kochi-Pune route, SpiceJet would be operating its services 6 days a week that is on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
Flight from Pune starts at 11:15 AM and arrives Kochi at 1:10 PM. While Pune flight from Kochi would take off at 2:00 pm and will land Pune at 3:55 pm.
21/07/12 Equity Bulls

Drugs in cartons of pomegranate seized

Chennai: Narcotics worth Rs 5 crore were recovered from the cargo section at the Chennai airport after customs sleuths found 25 kgs of ketamine and 35 kgs of ephedrine smuggled inside 63 cartons containing pomegranates on Friday.
About 80 pomegranate cartons were scheduled to go by an Air India flight to Malaysia on Saturday morning. During a routine check, the custom officials found a layer of cardboard under the pomegranates in 63 of the 80 boxes. Inside the suspicious cartons, the sleuths found a white powdered substance, which was later verified to be narcotics, banned for exports.
While ketamine is valued at Rs 10 lakh per kg in the international market, ephedrine is sold at a slightly lesser price of `7 lakh per kg.
22/07/12 Deccan Chronicle

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Aviation security personnel trained to speak in English:CISF

Arakkonam: Central Industrial Security Force has trained its first batch of aviation security personnel to converse and communicate fluently in English, which will immensely help foreign and non Hindi-speaking passengers using domestic and international air terminals across the country, a top CISF official said today.
"In a new initiative, spoken and written English classes were also conducted for these trainees in order to make them fluent in English as this is a necessary requirement for interface at airports," CISF Director General Rajiv said.
A total of 726 Assistant Security Inspectors (Executive), including 118 women, were inducted into the CISF as the first batch of Aviation Security personnel after they completed their 45-week basic training at the Regional Training Centre near here.
21/07/12 Press Trust of India

CISF unleashes aviation warriors for airport safety

Chennai: The synchronised thump of boots and slap of hands that clutched the rifles, as candidates saluted, was a sight to behold. Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASIs) in a glorious sea of yellow turbans marched past the audience while saluting the chief guest, Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh.
The ASIs, most of them in their 20s, hail from across the country and have been trained by senior officers at the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) regional training centre near Arakkonam for 45 weeks now in combat skills.
On Saturday, they were formally declared ‘graduates’, but would continue to undergo six weeks training in commando warfare skills before being posted to airports as part of the security regimen.
According to CISF Director General Rajeev, the first batch of 726 executives, including around 120 women candidates, received multidimensional rigorous training in areas such as industrial security, intelligence and surveillance, aviation, VIP security, arms and jungle warfare, conduct of raids, ambush and counter-ambush, map reading and night navigation. A total of 2,000 candidates have been recruited for the special training. The next batch of around 500 will begin their training shortly.
21/07/12 R. Sujatha/The Hindu

Mid-air scare for AI flight to Sharjah, snag forces flight to land in Mumbai

Mumbai: An Air India (AI) flight to Sharjah made an emergency landing at Mumbai airport late on Thursday night. The flight took off from Thiruvananthapuram airport with more than 130 passengers on board.
It was on its way to Sharjah. While mid-air, the pilot suspected 'hydraulic failure'. According to airport officials, the pilot decided to divert the flight to Mumbai instead of going ahead.
21/07/12 Times of India

Unfazed by India, Dubai Airports feels it retains competitive edge

Mumbai: Dubai airport faces no immediate challenge from Indian airports, and its expansion plans would enable it to retain competitive edge over other airports, the company managing the Gulf Emirate’s airport had said.
The assertion comes at a time when Indian government had announced plans to develop Delhi and Chennai as aviation hubs.
Dubai’s popularity among Indian travellers could be gauged from the fact that it served as a transit point for 2.68 million Indians in 2010-11, according to civil aviation ministry data. A total of 37 million Indians flew abroad that year, including 11.4 million who travelled via hubs abroad. Doha served as a transit point for 0.85 million Indians, and Frankfurt and Singapore catered to 0.77 million and 0.74 million transit passengers in same year, respectively.
21/07/12 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

Air tickets on Mumbai-London route dearer by 20 per cent

Mumbai: Prices for air tickets to London from Mumbai have increased by 20 per cent due to lesser availability of seats, as per The Asian Age report. Travel agents say that pre-planned travellers had already booked more than half of the seats in April and May this year, leading to few seats remaining for other passengers. "Mumbai-London is a major aviation corridor and the Olympics have considerably reduced the seat factor. Airfares on this sector have already risen by 20 per cent. Moreover, no airline, including British Airways, has added additional flights on the route to cater to the increasing demand. Apart from England's national carrier British Airways, Jet Airways, Air India and Kingfisher Airlines are the only Indian carriers to have direct flights to London," said a travel agent.
21/07/12 TravelBizMonitor

Air space closure affects operations of 50 flights at IGI airport

New Delhi: The closure of airspace over Delhi for two hours for defence radar calibration today affected the operations of over 50 domestic and international flights to and from the IGI airport.
"Though the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) was for two hours between 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, the airport was opened for operations from 1:45 PM for departures while arrivals started from 2:03 PM," airport sources said.
Over 30 departures and around 20 arrivals of domestic and international flights were rescheduled.
The sudden announcement of closure, which was issued late last evening, had given little time to reschedule their flights, especially some of those incoming international ones. Departures from the IGI Airport were re-scheduled by them.
21/07/12 PTI/Economic Times

Flight not allowed to land due to bad weather, returns to Delhi

Chandigarh Passengers of Air India’s flight (AI-864), which was to land in Chandigarh at 10.40 am on Friday were forced to return to Delhi after the flight was not allowed to land in Chandigarh due to inclement weather conditions.
The passengers, a harried lot that included some foreign nationals, had to wait for three hours before they were finally taken back to Chandigarh in the same flight. The flight finally landed in Chandigarh at 1.20 pm.
The flight was about to land in Chandigarh when the Air Traffic Control (ATC) alerted the pilot about bad weather conditions. After hovering for few minutes, the pilot took the flight back to Delhi.
Some passengers, however, objected to this decision and later refused to board the same flight to fly back to Chandigarh.
21/07/12 Express India

Immigration breach at IGIA; two Indians detained at Helsinki

New Delhi: Two Indians have been detained at the Helsinki airport in Finland after they were allgedly found to have travelled on fake immigration authorisation from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here. An inquiry has been initiated by security agencies after an immigration seal stamp bearing number 'A-42' was found lying unclaimed in the washroom of the IGIA's T3 on July 19. After a CISF surveillance and intelligence team was alerted about the unclaimed seal, the force quickly logged on to the airport database to check the antecedents of all those air travellers who have been stamped with the said immigration stamp to check possible fraud travellers.
21/07/12 PTI/IBN Live

Why should aam admi pay for VIP lounge: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it was unfair to levy Airport Development Fee (ADF) on every passenger flying out of Delhi but allow foreign dignitaries to use VIP lounges free of cost at major airports.
"Our airport facilities are internationally competitive. But Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been a little unreasonable to passengers. In many airports abroad they charge even the dignitaries for using the VIP lounges. In London, it is 400 pounds. Why don't we charge the visiting dignitaries for using our VIP lounges which are much better than many in foreign countries?" asked a bench of Justices D K Jain and Madan Lokur.
"Are we so weak to charge them for using VIP lounges? Instead of burdening the common man, it would be a good idea to levy fee at least on reciprocal basis on foreign dignitaries using these lounges in out airports. They can pay in Indian or foreign currency," it said while issuing notice on a petition by Consumer Online Foundation questioning collection of ADF by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) on behalf of AAI.
21/07/12 Dhananjay Mahapatra/Times of India

Seized toy aircraft piling up at airport warehouse

Mumbai: Radio-controlled toy aircraft seized by Customs officials over the years are now fast filling up the warehouse at the Mumbai airport. Till last year, Customs officials had seized more than 1,000 toy aircraft brought by passengers into the country. Though Customs officials say no new aircraft have been seized this year, the old ones are still to be disposed of. Customs officials are mandated to confiscate these aircraft as they violate the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933.
Customs officials said passengers bring these toys from Bangkok, Hong Kong and places in China.
These Chinese aircraft fly on frequencies which are also also allotted to the police and other security agencies for radio communication. "They can interrupt wireless communication among security agencies. Also, there has been constant warning from intelligence agencies that these devices can be used for terrorist activities," a Customs official said.
21/07/12 Times of India

Five held at Goa airport for passport irregularity

Panaji: Five persons, including three women, were today apprehended from the Goa airport for allegedly forging a stamp on their passports, police said.
The sleuths of CID (Immigration) department arrested all the five before they could board the Air Arabia flight for Sharjah.
Srinivas Rao (35) and Madarsahid Shaikh (36), both from Andhra Pradesh, were held along with Genesia Sheikh (40) from Andhra Pradesh, Cangrool Laila Parokutti Ali (34) from Kerala and Fakira Begam (40) from Karnataka at the airport this morning, a police spokesperson said.
21/07/12 PTI/Business Standard

Airport privatisation takes wings

Chennai: Privatisation appears to be stalking Chennai airport. While private players man six airports in the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the airports at Chennai and Kolkata are still under the management of Airports Authority of India (AAI). However, now with the government keen on moving along with the global trend of privatisation, the city airport could soon be privatised.
AAI chairman V.P. Agarwal said that a private player might soon take over operations of Chennai airport. “The planning commission insists on privatising the city airport. Once the civil aviation ministry and state government take a final call, we will float tenders to identify the private player,” he added.
21/07/12 S.Sujatha & PA Jebaraj/Deccan Chronicle

Friday, July 20, 2012

SpiceJet launches Rajahmundry to Bangalore service

Rajahmundry: Low-cost airline SpiceJet has launched a new flight between Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh and Bangalore through Vijayawada. The daily service was introduced on Thursday, SpiceJet said in a release here.
20/07/12 PTI/Business Line

United passengers wait 24 hours for flight to Mumbai after weather and maintenance problems

More than 250 passengers traveling to India were stranded at Newark Liberty International Airport for nearly 24 hours after severe thunderstorms and maintenance problems forced United Airlines to cancel their flight early yesterday morning.
One passenger said Flight 48 to Mumbai remained on the tarmac for nearly three hours before United returned the plane to the gate in the middle of the night, forcing customers to camp out in Terminal C.
“It was really uncomfortable, spending three hours on a flight that went nowhere and then spending the whole night on the floor,” said 23-year-old Nishank Kshirsagar, who was returning to Singapore via India after a six-day vacation in New York City. “It’s not what you expect from an international airline.”
For United, it was a second reputation-bruising predicament in a week.
20/07/12 Susan Todd/The Star-Ledger/nj.com

After Indian Air Force nod, Jodhpur new airport plan gets wings

Jodhpur: The Indian Air Force has finally given its nod for development of a green field airport, an extension of the existing civil terminal here.
With the no-objection from IAF to a land nearly 12,000 feet away from the existing runway, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said it will give a boost to the expansion plans which will suffice the needs of the civil airport for the next 10 to 12 years.
Operating from the air force station area, the Jodhpur civil airport currently has 12 acres of land and considering the growing demand with Jodhpur emerging on the national horizon of trade, real estate and education, there is a dire need of the airport's expansion, the airport's director S N Borkar said.
22/07/12 Ajay Parmar/Times of India

2 Luxembourg women give fake Indian currency for visa

New Delhi: Two women nationals of Luxembourg allegedly paid their 'visa-on-arrival' fee at the airport here with fake Indian currency notes, police said today.
The two women, along with a child, arrived at the IGI airport here on the interventing night of July 14 and 15 and got their 'Visa-on-Arrival' after paying the fee to the immigration officer, a complaint filed by the official with police said.
The matter came to light when the official deposited the cash at the SBI branch in the MEA account on July 16. The bank staff, after scrutiny, found that nine of the Rs 1,000 denomination currency notes were fake.
20/07/12 PTI/Business Standard

Rs 1.15 L missing from checked baggage, alleges Cong MP's wife

New Delhi: Wife of Congress leader Jagadambika Pal has alleged that she lost Rs 1.15 lakh from her checked baggage while travelling to Goa from here. Snehlata Pal, wife of the Congress MP from Uttar Pradesh's Domariyaganj and Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings, was travelling to Goa on Air India flight (AI-865) on July 3. "I had checked-in with two baggage, both having 'priority' and 'fragile' tags on it. When I reached Goa, I noticed that a part of zipper of one of the baggage was broken and Rs 1.15 lakh was missing," she said in a complaint filed with police against the national carrier. She said she was flying to Goa to assist her husband in his official study visit. When contacted Pal said, he had already complained to the Air India management about the incident.
20/07/12 IBN Live

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Asean airlines may be allowed to operate unlimited flights to Delhi, other metros

New Delhi: The Indian Government could allow airlines from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) to initially operate unlimited flights between their capitals and New Delhi.
Eventually, the exemption could be extended to flights to cities including Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
The acceptance of this proposal by the Indian Government will update the 2003 India-Asean open sky agreement that allows carriers to operate daily flights to various metros, including New Delhi. They are also allowed to operate unlimited flights to 18 tourist destinations including Kochi, Thiruvanathapuram, Kozhikode, Tiruchi, Port Blair and Visakhapatnam. Now, India is likely to follow China’s example in liberalising its air services agreement with the Asean, officials indicated.
19/07/12 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

Broken jar leaves Indigo Airlines in a pickle

Mumbai: There was high drama at the domestic terminal of the Mumbai airport on Wednesday after the baggage of some passengers travelling on a Lucknow-Mumbai Indigo flight was damaged because of oil leakage.
The culprit turned out to be a jar of pickle which broke sometime during the flight. The oil apparently soiled few bags that were placed next to it in the cargo area.
When contacted, a spokesperson from Indigo Airlines said that the baggage of only one passenger was soiled in the incident. “The airline on its part has offered the passenger a compensation of Rs 3,500 for a new bag and Rs 2,500 as laundry expenses to clean the oil-stained clothes,” the spokesperson said, adding, “The pickle jar must have broken when the baggage was in the cargo.”
19/07/12 Mumbai Mirror

It’s do or die for AAI in battle to retain Chennai airport control

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India appears to be in a 'perform or perish' mode in an effort to retain control of Chennai airport. With the Planning Commission insisting that the entire airport be leased to a private company or a consortium in a public-private partnership, there are fears that the airport could soon be privatized on the lines of those in Delhi and Mumbai.
AAI chairman V P Agrawal, who reviewed the new international and domestic terminal on Thursday, told employees that they should make an effort to show they can operate the new steel and glass terminal as efficiently as a private firm or a consortium.
19/07/12 Times of India

Dabolim airport will not be shut for civilians: Parrikar

Panaji: The Indian Navy-run military-cum-civilian airport at Dabolim will not be shut when a new greenfield airport at Mopa in north Goa comes up, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said.
"There is no question of stopping operations there. The Dabolim airport is a must for Goa," Parrikar said, adding that a new airport at Mopa, 45 km from here, was essential because of increasing air traffic.
Parrikar was responding to a question in the assembly Wednesday. "The Goa airport handles 3.5 million tourists. There are 25,000 flights landing and taking off every year. The maximum capacity for handling passengers at the Dabolim airport is only 900 passengers per hour, but currently it is handling 2,000 passengers per hour," Parrikar said.
19/07/12 ZeeNews

Moily hints at early launch of Mangalore air cargo complex

Mangalore: Air cargo complex at Mangalore airport is likely to be commissioned soon.
The Union Corporate Affairs Minister, Mr Veerappa Moily, has given the indication that air cargo complex at Mangalore airport will be commissioned by August.
In a press release here, Mr Moily said the recent exporters’ convention in Mangalore, organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), had stressed the need for an air cargo complex with cold storage facilities for agro products at Mangalore airport.
Mr Moily said that he took up the matter with the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Ajit Singh, who informed him that the Airport Authority of India is building a cargo terminal at Mangalore Airport for handling of international and domestic cargo. The old passenger terminal at the airport will be modified for this.
18/07/12 Business Line

Purandeswari meets official on vizag airport

Visakhapatnam: Stung by the Union finance ministry rejecting the proposal to employ additional manpower to run Vizag airport 24/7, the local MP and the Union minister of state for human resource development, Ms D. Purandeswari, on Wednesday, met the Union MoS for finance, Mr Namo Narain Meena, and finance secretary (Expenditure) Sumit Bose in New Delhi.
In the backdrop of Silk Air seeking written assurance on the extension of airport timings which was linked to additional manpower, she urged the minister and the senior official to immediately sanction the same.
19/07/12 Deccan Chronicle

AAI hopes to open Kolkata airport terminal by Durga Puja

Airports Authority of India is hopeful of throwing open the new terminal of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at Kolkata to the public by Durga Puja this year, a top official has said.
"Work is going on well. We are hoping to open the terminal by Durga Puja," AAI Chairman V P Agarwal told reporters here yesterday. The festival falls in October.
Elaborating on the ongoing work at Kolkata airport, he said cleaning and greening work were in progress.
19/07/12 PTI/Moneycontrol.com

SpiceJet launches Delhi, Dehradun flights

As part of its expansion plan in northern India , low cost carrier SpiceJet today launched two daily direct flights to Dehradun from New Delhi. Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat inaugurated the services, which would be operated with new Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft, an airline spokesperson said. The airline would be operating one flight in the morning and one in evening.
19/07/12 Rediff.com

Kolkata airport to get new radars

Kolkata: Even as the spotlight rests on the increased comfort and convenience that the new integrated terminal will offer to passengers once it goes operational later this year, passenger safety is also undergoing a quiet makeover with age-old radars at the airport being replaced by a new one. Another radar has already been installed at Badur in Madhyamgram and is expected to be commissioned soon. The two projects are together worth over Rs 20 crore.
According to Kolkata airport regional executive director ML Lehkra, the ageing airport surveillance radar (ASR) and mono-pulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR), popularly known as primary and secondary radars, will be replaced by new ones by next year.
19/07/12 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

Self-service check-in kiosks at Cial to help avoid delay

Kochi: Domestic passengers at the Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial) can now rely on self-service check-in kiosks to avoid delays at check-in counters at the airport.
According to a Cial spokesman, at present, the facility, introduced as part of the SITA-Cial deal to automate passenger check-in and baggage reconciliation, can be made use of by passengers who have only cabin baggage. Passengers with check-in baggage will have to go through the manned check-in counters.
Two airlines - Air India and Jet Airways - are subscribing to the common use service now and passengers who are flying by these airlines alone can use this facility.
19/07/12 Times of India

HC upholds stay on Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation plan to change rail terminal contractor

Nagpur: In a decision which may put the ambitious cargo hub in Nagpur on hold till a courtroom battle ends, the high court has rejected MADC's plea to vacate a stay on granting Indian Railways' subsidiary M/s Concor the contract to develop a rail terminal at Mihan. As an attempt to revive the cargo hub plans, on which the concept of Mihan is based, MADC had earlier this year awarded the contract to Concor. It had done this after terminating the deal with earlier contractor Nagpur Gupta Sical Logistics (NGSL), citing non-performance.
NGSL, which also had Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) as partner, says the work could not begin as the state government company did not provide 24 hectares of land required for the job. When MADC terminated the deal with NGSL and tied up Concor, NGSL filed a case in the lower court and got a stay on the deal.
19/07/12 Shishir Arya/Times of India

Electrician falls to death off IGI cargo terminal

New Delhi: An electrician died after falling from the roof of cargo terminal at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here, the police said on Thursday. Pramod, 24, a resident of Mahipalpur, south Delhi, fell from the plastic roof of import hall number 3 of the cargo terminal around 11.30 am on Wednesday while doing some electrical work there, a police official said.
19/07/12 Asian Age

DMRC, Reliance Infra at loggerheads prior to Airport Metro suspension

New Delhi: In the run up to the suspension of operations of the Airport Metro, DMRC and Reliance Infra were at loggerheads on running the line, according to latest documents.
Such was the lack of trust on both sides that DMRC Managing Director Mangu Singh had told senior Urban Development and Railway officials that since the repairs carried out by his team might not be accepted as satisfactory, it was better that the operator company carry them out.
Reliance Infra on its part had also called DMRC's repair work as cosmetic. Its CEO Sumit Banerjee had suggested that there was a possibility of derailment and demanded that the DMRC should indemnify the operator against any incident.
18/07/12 ZeeNews

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Govt making it must for airlines to have small planes in fleet to boost connectivity

In a bid to boost regional connectivity, Indian airlines will soon be required to have smaller aircraft in their fleet. At present while airlines like Air India and SpiceJet have turboprops, others like IndiGo have only jet aircraft.
According to aviation minister Ajit Singh, the government is going to modify guidelines for acquisition of aircraft so that Indian carriers need to have smaller aircraft for linking smaller tier II and III cities. A ministry official said the government is in the process of creating of essential air services fund for providing direct subsidy to encourage domestic airlines to fly on these remote and interior routes.
18/07/12 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Global experts to meet to discuss ways to handle bird-hits

New Delhi: With Indian carriers suffering an estimated loss of about Rs 10 crore in 2011 due to bird-hits, global experts will gather here on Friday to discuss ways to handle the hazard, as also the incidents of runway incursions by stray animals.
"Bird-hits are not the only problem. Wild animals wander into runways and create serious problems for departing and landing aircraft," said Debashish Saha, Joint Secretary of Aeronautical Society of India (ASI), a leading professional body in the field of aeronautics, aviation and aerospace.
Though financial costs of bird-hits or similar incidents are high, the cost in human lives lost due to air crashes caused by such incidents "best illustrate the need for management of the wildlife strike problem," Saha said.
Aviation regulator DGCA has estimated that all Indian carriers suffered a loss of Rs ten crore last year in such incidents which caused damage to aircraft and engines, DGCA's Deputy Director General Lalit Gupta, who is also associated with ASI, said.
18/07/12 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

Kushinagar in UP to have international airport

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government will soon undertake construction of an international airport at the Buddhist pilgrimage town of Kushinagar, around 320 km from here, an official said Wednesday.
The project is proposed to be built on the public-private partnership (PPP) model at an estimated cost of Rs.350 crore.
The existing air strip in Kushinagar would be upgraded to an international airport, a tourism department spokesperson said.
18/07/12 IANS/ZeeNews

Centre plans to connect remote areas by air

Bangalore: A new policy instrument in the form of Route Dispersal Guidelines is under consideration of the Central government in line with its plan to provide air connectivity to the country’s remote and interior areas, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh said here on Tuesday.
“The North-Eastern region and Tier-II and Tier-III cities will have airports in the near future,” Singh said. The Guidelines is likely to include the creation of Essential Air Service Fund (EASF) to provide direct subsidy to encourage domestic carriers to fly in remote and interior areas. With a view to enhancing helicopter connectivity to smaller towns and rural areas –including places of religious and tourist significance – the Civil Aviation Ministry would take up several measures such as construction of helipads in different places, the minister said.
17/07/12 Deccan Herald

Chennai airport to get 7 aero bridges next week

Chennai: Seven new aero bridges procured for the Chennai airport terminal from Indonesia are likely to be delivered next week. They are at present lying inside the Chennai port, awaiting clearances.
This is the first lot of the 13 bridges that the Airports Authority of India had procured for Chennai airport.
18/07/12 Business Line

Teen dies of cardiac arrest on flight

Hyderabad: An Emirates flight, EK 374, flying from Dubai to Bangkok, made an emergency landing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Shamshabad, on Tuesday morning after a passenger suffered a cardiac arrest. The 19-year-old passenger, Ali Ibrahim Parwish Sangoor Al Balooshi, was attended to by airport doctors in the aircraft and was declared dead following which his body was shifted to the RGIA Apollo Hospital. The patient was a resident of Dubai.
The Emirates aircraft from Dubai landed at the Shamshabad airport at around 5.04am. Doctors at Apollo said the teenager suffered a cardiac arrest while on the flight. He was declared dead at 5.36am.
18/07/12 Times of India

Threat to suspend flight operation over at Patna, for now

Patna: The threat of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to suspend the operation of big aircrafts at the Jayaprakash Narayan Airport is over, at least for now, after a meeting between officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Union ministry of environment and forest here last week.
The officials agreed to reduce the approach funnel from the present 150 metres to 75 metres and immediately prune the trees at the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park by nine metres. Over 100 trees have been marked for immediate pruning after a fresh survey carried out at the park. The high-rise trees are a major problem for pilots in approaching the funnel, forcing them to apply sudden break to land the aircrafts with a threat to the passengers.
18/07/12 Sayantanee Choudhury/Times of India

AAI to invite PM to inaugurate Chennai terminals after Aug 15

Chennai: Airports Authority of India (AAI) today said it would invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inaugurate the new domestic and international terminals at Chennai airport, most probably after August 15.
"I will be giving a date to (Civil Aviation) Minister so that he can coordinate with the Prime Minister's Office. We would like to call the Prime Minister for inauguration," AAI chairman V P Agarwal told reporters here.
"So from my side we are gearing up for operationalisation of the building. Anytime, may be beyond August 15.... On the convenience of Prime Minister and Chief Minister," he said.
The Civil Aviation Minister would write to the Prime Minister and Chief Minister for the inauguration, he said.
18/07/12 PTI/Business Standard

Call to retain the lost glory of Aranmula puncha, wetlands

The Pampa Parirakshana Samiti, All-Kerala River Protection Council, People’s Action Council and the Palliyoda-Pallivilakku Samrakshana Samiti have called upon the Government and the district administration to take immediate steps to reconvert the vast expanse of wetland and paddy fields that have been illegally converted in the name a private airport project at Aranmula to its original condition, invoking the relevant provisions in the Kerala Rivers and Wetland (Protection) Act-2008.

The PPS general secretary, N.K. Sukumaran Nair, and the PPSS convener, P. Induchoodan, said the district administration should not grant permission for any more hill demolition in the district as it would further aggravate the ground water table depletion, worsening the drinking water crisis.

The real estate lobby has already converted as many as 100 acres of paddy field (puncha) and wetland in Aranmula by bulldozing an adjoining hill in the name of a private airport project.
17/07/12 The Hindu

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Deoghar Airport takes off

Ranchi: The construction of Deoghar airport over 625 acres will provide the holy city with an international connectivity and provide a new intercontinental gateway to Jharkhand. Chief Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the Deoghar airport in an online programme from his official residence.
The Rs 350-crore Deoghar airport project will facilitate more than five million people who arrive every year for pilgrimage at the Baba Baidyanath Temple. The airport will also provide an international market for local products developed in the Santhal Pargana region.
“The realisation of every individual’s dream is the responsibility of the Government. The Government is working to upgrade the lifestyle of people in the State and therefore, is serious about all agriculture and other projects in pipeline, including the ultra mega power project of Deoghar and the Govindpur-Sahebganj road construction,” said Munda.
19/07/12 Akansha Priyadarshi/The Pioneer

Flawed docus, high costs thwart Juhu airport development

Mumbai: The state government may be pushing for the development of the Juhu airport in a big way, but the exorbitant cost needed for it and a difficult-to-come-by environmental clearance can make the project a non-starter, at least in the near future.
The plan was first proposed in 2010 with the aim of easing traffic at the Mumbai airport, which has turned into one of the busiest in Asia over the years. It currently handles helicopters, including those of certain government firms like ONGC, and light aircraft.The government plans to extend the runway into the sea to allow landing of larger aircraft.
Senior officials attribute the over Rs2,000 crore investment needed for its development as the biggest hurdle. “Even if the public-private-partnership (PPP) is brought in, the operation should be economically viable which, going by the current plan, does not seem so,” said a senior Airport Authority of India official.
17/07/12 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

Spicejet plans to launch flights from Chakeri

Kanpur: The city may have better air connectivity with metros in the days to come. At present, Kanpur has flights for Delhi, Allahabad and Kolkata. Air India has been providing the service to the passengers from the city. Spicejet, a private airline, is planning to launch its services from Chakeri Airport from last week of July.
Though the airline management has yet not decided about the destinations but a flight between Delhi-Kanpur-Delhi is in offing. The airline has already done a survey to know about the passenger needs and what all destinations they would like to fly. It would be better, ff flights for new destinations like Mumbai, Hyderabad and other cities are launched.
17/07/12 Abhinav Malhotra/Times of India

2 Amritsar-bound SpiceJet aircraft grounded in Delhi

Amritsar: Four days after launching services connecting Amritsar with national Capital and Srinagar, two SpiceJet aircraft on Monday failed to take off from New Delhi for Amritsar due to “technical glitch” leaving passengers in a lurch for hours.
High drama was witnessed at New Delhi airport with passengers being made to undergo the boarding process and check-in thrice, before SpiceJet clubbed passengers of its morning and afternoon flights for Amritsar into another aircraft which landed at Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport in the Holy City at 3:30 pm.
Sources said both the Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft took to the runway but failed to take off.
17/07/12 Navjeevan Gopal/Indian Express

Feed birds at airport & find your photo on hoardings in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: To find a solution to reduce instances of bird hits and monkey menace at Ahmedabad airport, officials of Airport Authority of India (AAI), the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the state forest department met last week. The teams have decided to embark on a novel campaign soon, which will include putting up photographs of people who feed birds and monkeys in the airport’s vicinity.
“Basically, we want to embarrass people who are jeopardising air travel by feeding monkeys and birds near the airport. Animals and birds should strictly not be given food, however many residents near the airport do not pay heed to this instruction,” said SK Nanda, principal secretary, Gujarat Forest and Environment Department. Nanda further added that since mere levying of penalty and advocacy are not helping to reduce the menace, stricter action is required.
Deputy municipal commissioner, North Zone, SK Langa, said, “We will display the photos of people feeding animals during their morning or evening walks along with a message stating that these people are making air travel risky. These boards will be put up in shops and on main roads.” He also stated that around 10 locations have been identified where hoardings will be put up with a message that birds and monkeys should not be fed near the airport.
17/07/12 Daily News & Analysis

Aranmula airport:Greens allege scam

Pathanamthitta: The controversy over the proposed private international airport project at Aranmula has taken curious turns with the Cabinet decision to regularise conversion of paddy fields and wetlands that have taken place prior to 2005 as well as the clearances reportedly given by various government agencies for the project, allegedly violating prevailing laws, rules and regulations.

“Both the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the Communist Party of India(Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front were equally responsible for the violations taken place in the name of the airport project at Aranmula, leaving the environment, eco system and the hapless villagers at the receiving end,’’ said V.N. Gopinatha Pillai, vice-president, All-Kerala River Protection Council.

Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Pillai said the illegal conversion of the biodiversity-rich wetlands and Aranmula Puncha (paddy fields) began during the tenure of the UDF government headed by A.K. Antony in 2003 and the illegal activity continued during the successive governments headed by Oommen Chandy and V.S. Achuthanandan.
17/07/12 Radhakrishnan Kuttoor/The Hindu

Aranmula airport project turns toxic for its proponents

Kochi: The Aranmula airport project has landed both the previous LDF and present UDF governments in the State in an unenviable situation.
The State industries department reportedly denotified an extent of 2,000 acres, out of an area of 2,500 acres which was notified earlier as an Industrial area in Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district for constructing a private airport following strong opposition from the local public.
Subsequently, the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, was quoted as saying that “the airport would not require more than 500 acres.” But experts claim that construction of a greenfield airport will require not less than 1,200 acres of land.
Environmental activists, meanwhile, alleged that the Cabinet decision taken on February 8 this year giving the nod for regularisation of converted paddy fields and wetlands prior to January 1, 2005 after imposing a heavy fine of up to 15 per cent of the fair value of land in various categories, was aimed at legalising the already converted flood plains, Aramula punja, parts of a tributary of the Pampa river and some ‘puramboke’ land.
16/07/12 GK Nair/Business Line

Operations on Airport Metro unsafe: Reliance Infra told govt

New Delhi: Days before the Airport Metro Express was shut down temporarily, its operator Reliance Infrastructure had warned the Urban Development Ministry that the operation of the line was "unsafe" and slowing down of speed was "adversely impacting" it financially.
Operations on the 23-km high-speed corridor were suspended on July 8 after Reliance Infra detected cracks on the civil structure that were built by the Delhi Metro as part of the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) agreement.
However, the Delhi Metro had countered the argument saying the defective civil work issue is being "played up" by the Reliance Infra "in order to create a case for getting out of the Concession Agreement."
These observations are made in a Status Report on the corridor that Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath had sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 11.
11/07/12 PTI/Business Standard

Air Force illegally occupying airport space, says Sidhu

Navjot Singh Sidhu, member of Parliament from Amritsar, on Monday, said that the Indian Air Force had been “illegally occupying” acres of land belonging to Amritsar International Airport (AIA) and in the process was coming in the way of the airport's sustainable development. “A good airport is measured in terms of kilometres and not square yards,” Sidhu said, justifying the demand for expansion of the airport.
Talking to mediapersons after chairing a meeting of AIA advisory committee, Sidhu said he would take up the matter with Civil Aviation Minister and the Defence Minister.
17/07/12 Indian Express

3 months on, AI passenger seeks help as luggage remains untraced

Mysore: Vinay Vishwanath a resident of Mysore and a PhD holder from BOKU university, Vienna, travelled in Air India operated flight (Airline code: J8175) from Vienna-Frankfurt-Delhi-Bangalore on April 28.
He arrived in Bangalore on April 29 but to his dismay one of his bags, which contained valuable documents -- his original academic certificates from high school to PhD, driving license and bank cards - went missing.
The missing baggage bears tag no: OS633704, said Vishwanath. Even after registering many complaints with the Air India officials, he claimed, his efforts have proved futile and the bag remains untraced.
17/07/12 Kevin Mendonsa/Times of India

IGI gets recognition for efforts to reduce carbon emission

New Delhi: Indira Gandhi International airport here has become the fifth airport in the Asia-Pacific region to receive accreditation for its efforts in managing and reducing carbon emissions.
A global body of airports, Airport Council International (ACI), has accredited the IGI airport at Level 2 – 'Reduction' under the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
The IGI airport, operated by GMR-led consortium Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), has become the second airport in India after Bangalore International Airport to be accredited at this level, a statement from ACI (Asia-Pacific) said.
Airport Carbon Accreditation is an institutionally endorsed programme that independently assesses and recognises airports' efforts to manage and reduce their carbon emissions.
The participating airports can be certified at four progressive levels of accreditation -- 'Mapping', 'Reduction', 'Optimisation', and 'Neutrality'.
17/07/12 PTI/Business Standard

Illegal layouts mushroom near Bangalore international airport

Bangalore: The Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority (BIAAPA) has found builders selling sites in the nearby layouts formed without obtaining mandatory approval from the Authority.
The BIAAPA is the planning authority for the areas surrounding the international airport. An official of the Authority told Deccan Herald that during a recent inspection it was found that two layouts near Devanahalli were unauthorised.
“We found that property developers had erected boards on the sites claiming they had obtained approval from the BIAAPA. But, as per our records, these layouts don’t exist even on paper. We immediately removed the boards and asked the local gram panchayat to take action against the property owners for misleading the public,” the official said.
16/07/12 Rohith B R/Deccan Herald

High-end luxury brands yet to take off at Indian airports

New Delhi: A few months ago, senior executives of Italian luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo met officials at the Delhi international airport and came away impressed by the swanky T3 terminal. But will travellers get to shop for Ferragamo's famous Wing-tip Derby shoes while in transit? Well, no, since the company is not setting up shop at the airport anytime soon.
"No luxury brand will take airports seriously at this point in time," says Dipak Agarwal, chief executive operations and strategy, DLF Brands, which has a joint venture with Salvatore Ferragamo in India. "Travel retail will evolve in India, especially in the luxury space, only when our airports become transit points for people travelling across continents."
For another luxury label, Louis Vuitton, finding a hotspot at any of the airports in India may not be a tough task, but the brand's expansion is restricted to luxury malls and hotels.
17/07/12 Vijaya Rathore/Economic Times

International, domestic cargo terminals at Bajpe functional by August

Mangalore: The International tag for the Bajpe airport here may take a while, but the International and Domestic Cargo terminals are likely to be commissioned by August this year.
According to a communique from union corporate affairs minister M Veerappa Moily, union minister of civil aviation Ajit Singh has indicated that both the cargo terminals will be functional by August.
This was one of the major demands during the Exporters' Convention organized by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) on February 13 this year - with the theme 'Karnataka: Export Vision 2020.'
17/07/12 Stanley Pinto/Times of India

New Chennai airport terminal stuck in red tape

Chennai: The swanky steel and glass domestic terminal at the Chennai airport has been more or less ready for three months but the Airports Authority of India is yet to decide when to throw it open for passengers.
After airlines refused to move to the new terminal before amenities like restaurants, lounges and in-line baggage scanning system were introduced, AAI decided to float tenders to give commercial contracts. However, the move is stuck because the civil aviation ministry is yet to take a call on who should run the new terminals — AAI or the private consortiums that own the Delhi and Mumbai airports. The AAI Act has been amended in a way that the ministry can lease out an airport or a part of it to private companies.
17/07/12 Times of India

Sunday, July 15, 2012

'Growing air traffic will fuel airport construction in India'

New Delhi: Burgeoning air traffic would prompt construction of second airports in five major metros and a third in Mumbai as an estimated USD 30 billion would be invested on such infrastructure over the next decade, an aviation consultancy firm has said.
Over the next 10 years, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata are expected to provision for a second airport and Mumbai would need to start preparing for a third one, based on current growth estimates, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said in a study.
High traffic growth was also being witnessed at several non-metros with several airports having "already outgrown their existing infrastructure", the Sydney-based aviation consultancy firm said.
15/07/12 Business Standard

Spruced-up Kolkata terminal completes first trial run

Kolkata: The new terminal of Kolkata airport completed its first trial run successfully on Sunday afternoon.
With 104 check-in counters, 25 security kiosks, 18 aerobridges, 53 remote stands for aircraft, modernised luggage handling system and other amenities, the terminal can handle nearly 54,000 passengers a day once fully operational.
15/07/12 Business Line

Man held with drugs valued at Rs 10 lakh at Imphal airport

Imphal: Narcotics worth Rs 10 lakh seized from passenger at Imphal airport
Imphal: Airport sources said a flier, identified as Mohd Yahiya Khan, was intercepted by CISF after he arrived at the airport to board an Air India flight to Kolkata at around 11 am.
"CISF sub-inspector P Debnath frisked Khan and recovered 160 grams of Methamphetamine, a banned drug, which was concealed in his clothes and shoes. He was later handed over to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) authorities here," they said.
14/07/12 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

Farmers want Mopa land acquisition stopped

Panaji: The state's proposed second airport at Mopa continues to polarize sections of the state. Farmers affected by the Mopa airport land acquisition said that the government is not concerned about the interests of farmers.
Addressing mediapersons, members of the Mopa Vimantall Pidit Xetkari Samiti felt that the Mopa airport project was being forced through to further interests of the land mafia and certain individuals with links to both the Congress and BJP who had purchased land in areas surrounding the proposed airport.
15/07/12 Times of India

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Mumbai Airport to penalise private jets

Mumbai: Private jet aircraft which have overstayed their welcome at the Mumbai International Airport will soon have to fork out a fine for the extended use of parking bays.
Penalty charges are to range between Rs 1,000 and Rs 15,000 per hour and will be imposed from July 15.
According to a Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson, the fine is to discourage unauthorised parking at the airport.
The trigger was a private jet occupying the hangar for over 20 days at the Mumbai airport. The aircraft is owned by a prominent business house with interests in media, packaging, entertainment and infrastructure development.
14/07/12 Business Line

Business aircraft body slams move

Mumbai: Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA), an umbrella organisation for business aircraft in India, has condemned the levying of ‘exorbitant’ penal charges by Mumbai International Airport Limited (Mial) on private jets.
GVK, the operator of Mial, on Thursday decided to withdraw the penalty levied on private jets till July 14. After that, charges will be applicable if the aircraft are not shifted from the airport parking area. Rohit Kapur, president of BAOA, slammed Mial.
14/07/12 Daily News & Analysis

Navy allows more intelnational flights from Vizag

Vishakhapatnam: The Navy officials have finally agreed to extend the hours of operations of local airport by three more hours to accommodate international services to Visakhapatnam. The development was a result of Union minister D Purandeswari's interaction with Eastern Naval Command chief Anil Chopra here on Friday. She requested the ENC chief to extend airport timings for another three hours thrice a week to facilitate international services. At present, flights at the airport are allowed to operate between 8 am and 8 pm. The navy officials have now said that international flights can be allowed to land till 11 pm.
Silk Air of Singapore has showed interest to run a direct flight from Visakhapatnam to Singapore and had requested the navy officials to give them permission to land their aircraft in Vizag at 10 pm. However, with the navy officials not responding, the airline was forced to cancel its road shows for introducing the flight.
14/07/12 Times of India

Oommen Chandy misled House, says Opposition

Thiruvananthapuram: The Opposition has alleged that chief minister Oommen Chandy misled the assembly on Thursday as regards the extent of the land notified as industrial area by the previous LDF government for the Aranmula airport.
The issue was raised by Mullakara Ratnakaran, CPI, through a point of order. The chief minister had claimed a day earlier that the government had denotified 2,000 acres out of the 2,500 acres notified by the previous LDF government for the airport.
Ratnakaran said the fact was that the LDF government had notified only 500 acres for the airport. The argument that it had given permission to reclaim paddyfields for the airport was also “false.
14/07/12 Deccan Chronicle

Number Crunch - In crisis, passenger traffic hit more than cargo

In times of economic crisis, air passenger traffic undergoes a sharper decline than cargo freight. An analysis of domestic air passenger traffic prior to the 2008 global financial crisis shows that the passenger load factor of scheduled airlines rose consistently from 64.9 per cent in 2004-05 to 68.9 per cent in 2007-08. In tandem, passenger traffic more than doubled during the period. But in 2008-09, the year of the crisis, the PLF declined drastically to 63.7 per cent, with the number of passengers declining by 11.1 per cent.
In the case of cargo, the weight load factor (WLF) rose from 63.9 per cent in 2004-05 to 67.1 per cent in 2005-06 and 2006-07. This was accompanied by an 8.7 per cent increase in volumes. But the WLF subsequently fell to 65.7 per cent as the crisis first began to manifest itself in 2007-08, though volumes still rose by 13.6 per cent.
14/07/12 Arvind Jayaram/Business Line

Naveen urges Centre to make city airport international

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government today urged the Centre to declare the Biju Patnaik Airport here as an international airport in view of the requisite infrastructure facilities available in the state capital.
"You may use your good office to ask airline operators to operate international flights out of/through the Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneswar," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh.
Reminding Singh of the meeting they had held on March 9, Patnaik said: "You had also offered to explore the possibility of connecting Bhubaneswar to Middle-East, South Asian and Sooth East Asian countries."
14/07/12 PTI/Business Standard

CBI inspects Air Cargo Complex in Thiruvananthapuram international airport

Thiruvananthapuram: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Friday, inspected the Air Cargo complex at the international airport here and set aside three large consignments of goods cleared by the Customs Department for further inspection.
Official sources said the inspection was also to find out whether Customs officials had deliberately undervalued the imports to give undue pecuniary advantage to the importers.
Each of the consignments, all marked as unaccompanied baggage, weigh 1,500 kg each. The CBI will inspect the consignments on Saturday.
14/07/12 The Hindu

Villagers clash with police over relief for airport land

Ranchi: A group of villagers who are likely to be evicted for the proposed expansion of the airport clashed with police here on Friday. Over 200 Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were deployed at the site when the agitators tried to stop the passengers on their way to catch planes.
Organized under the banner of the Birsa Munda Airport Visthapit Morcha (BMAVM), the agitators blocked the main road leading to the airport. They demanded that people facing displacement because of airport expansion be compensated adequately. Rehabilitation, jobs, and development of their villages were among other demands. The agitators wanted the Ranchi district administration to quash an order of 2006 that notified the acquisition of their 373 acres of land in the neighborhood of the airport.
14/07/12 Times of India

Khed airport plan faces Sena stumbling block

Pune: Shiv Sena’s Shirur MP Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil on Friday came out openly against the proposed airport project at Khed. He criticised the state government for unilaterally changing the sites for the ambitious project without taking local elected representatives into confidence.
Additional collector Ganesh Patil held a meeting with Adhalrao and a delegation from his constituency. The long-pending demands of farmers affected by projects like Chas-Kaman and Bhama Askhed were discussed and the additional collector assured the delegation that the pending issues will be sorted out in a phased manner.
14/07/12 Daily News & Analysis

Reliance Infrastructure wanted to quit airport line: Metro chief

New DelhI: A week after Reliance Infrastructure, the concessionaire for the Airport Metro Express, accused Delhi Metro of shoddy work on the high-speed line and shut it down, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has hit back. In a letter to urban development minister Kamal Nath, DMRC chief Mangu Singh has accused R-Infra of allowing the situation to "worsen to such an extent that services were required to be suspended. Any professional operator would not have allowed the situation to come to that level," says Singh.
Singh, however, is completely silent about DMRC's own culpability in this entire episode. The letter, sent as a 'fortnightly status report', is dated July 11, 2012.
14/07/12 Ramu Banerjee/Times of India

Friday, July 13, 2012

Indian bid to manage Nepal Airport handling is to strike China: Reports

There are reports that the Indian Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) of India had forwarded a LOI (Letter of Intent) to the government of Nepal to take over the management of some 15 domestic airports and the Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu. All the Nepali airports are taken as strategically important because of its “location”.
In the LoI received from India, the Indian company had shown its keen interest to take over the management of airports at Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Surkhet, Lumka, Jumla, Chandragadi, Pokhara, Jomsom, Tumlingtar, Bhairawaha, Simra, Lamidanda, Dhangadi, Janakpur and Bharatpur.
The Jana Disha Daily-the Maoists’ Party mouth piece dated December 7, 2009, had reported that at the consultative meeting held between the representatives of the Government of India and Nepal, December 4-7, 2009 in Kathmandu, the Nepali side had provided a clear go-ahead signal to India to construct an Air-Strip for the Indian Air Force in Surket.
Later the government of Nepal retracted from its earlier stand after formally scolded by China as it considered that the decision would pose grave security threat to China, it had been reported then.
13/07/12 Telegraph Nepal

Tense moments for 179 persons as airplane makes emergency landing

Srinagar: As many as 179 passengers of a Delhi-bound Indigo flight experienced some tense moments on Friday when their airplane developed some 'suspected technical snag' immediately after takeoff. The pilot made an emergency landing only a few minutes after take-off from Srinagar international airport.
"The plane developed some technical snag. Later it took off smoothly," said airport officer OP Bhuwaniwala.
Security Officials at the airport said that computer of the plane warned of some snag mid-air, five minutes after it took off from the airport.
"The pilot informed the ground staff about the suspected technical snag and requested for emergency landing," said airport security SP Abdul Rashid.
"A local engineer addressed the fault and flight took-off again within minutes," Rashid informed.
13/07/12 Ashiq Hussain/Hindustan Times

Film producer detained at city airport, sent to Mumbai

Ahmedabad: Film producer Prakash Chandani, who was wanted by the Mumbai Crime Branch for his alleged involvement in betting during Indian Premiere League, was caught at the Ahmedabad international airport on Thursday.
The Mumbai Crime Branch had served lookout notices on Chandani in domestic and international airports and was wanted by the police under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“The immigration department got a tip-off that Chandani was coming to Ahmedabad on an Emirates flight from Dubai. Based on this, they caught him and handed him to us. We have made a note of his detainment and handed over his custody to the Mumbai Crime Branch,” said Inspector V S Sarvaiya.
“I came to meet an advocate in Ahmedabad,” said Chandani to mediapersons. When asked about the case, he claimed his wife had invested in film Gali Gali Chor Hai, where reportedly there was some dispute between the producers and other investors.
13/07/12 Express India

High aircraft parking charges at Mumbai flayed

Mumbai : Business aircraft operators Friday decried the sharp hike in parking penalties for planes at Mumbai airport, terming the move as "illegal and beyond jurisdiction" of private airport developers.
According to Business Aircraft Operators Associaton (BAOA), the Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) has started levying between Rs.1,000-15,000 per hour compared to Rs.20-70 metric tonne per hour charged by the Airports Authority of India.
BAOA president Rohit Kapur said the move is "completely unacceptable, illegal and beyond the purview of private airport developers" as the hike has been effected without the sanction of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority.
He pointed out that it is the duty of the government to create adequate infrastructure for aircraft operations and if the existing facilities are insufficient, no agency can penalize the private operators.
13/07/12 TwoCircles.net

Radar facility at CIAL getting ready

Kochi: The radar facility at Cochin International Airport is expected to be fully operational by December this year.
The construction of the NAV-AID building which will house the radar equipment is in the final stages. The equipment is being procured and will be installed by the Airports Authority of India, which is responsible for air traffic management at Cochin International Airport.
Mr A.C.K. Nair, airport director, said that the radar is expected to be installed by the end of August. However, full-fledged operations may take some more time since the equipment need to be calibrated and tested.
AAI has designated Cochin International Airport as a lower area control centre as part of restructuring of the Indian airspace.
13/07/12 Business Line

Sri Lankan's plea in Chennai airport blast case dismissed

The Madras high court on Thursday dismissed a petition from a 50-year-old Sri Lankan national, who was an accused in the Chennai airport bomb blast case in 1984, seeking the removal of adverse remarks in the records of the Chennai airport and the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka and the lookout circular (LOC) issued against him in India.
“Considering that the petitioner is a foreigner, his right, if any, is subject to restrictions imposed by the central government,” said Justice K. Chandru, who dismissed the petition filed by N. Saravanapavan, a student of the Madras Medical College since 1988.
“The prayer of the petitioner to withdraw the LOC could not be countenanced, especially in the context of the stand taken by the government that it is in the nature of surveillance done by it over a foreigner,” said the judge. The fundamental rights of citizens of India to move freely throughout the country could be restricted by reasonable restrictions.
13/07/12 The Nation

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Indonesia to build new world-class airport in Bali with GVK

Indonesia's state-run airport administrator Angkasa Pura I (AP I) planned to construct a new international class airport in Bali's northern coastal regency of Buleleng next year, in anticipation of the growing number of tourists to the resort island, local media reported on Wednesday.
AP I spokesman Miduk Situmorang said the firm was set to start drafting the master plan for the airport with the Indian investor GVK Power and Infrastructure at the end of this year.
"We will start construction of the Buleleng airport in the second half of 2013, after we have finished the Ngurah Rai International Airport expansion project in May (of 2013)," Miduk said earlier.
The new airport in Buleleng is designed to accommodate 25 million passengers annually.
"As one of the world's favorite tourist destinations, Bali should be able to accommodate at least 50 million air passengers annually. We are ready to provide important infrastructure to the government to support tourism and boost the economy," he said, quoted by the Jakarta Post.
The planned new airport would gradually overtake Ngurah Rai International Airport since the latter faces land constraint problems that prevents the operator from extending the runway.
11/07/12 Xinhua/Global Times

Rain, carcass on runway in airport mess

Kolkata: A deluge and a bizarre accident possibly caused by a plane hitting a jackal plunged Kolkata airport into chaos on Wednesday afternoon, leading to suspension of operations for about two hours and throwing flight schedules haywire till late evening.
Six flights — of IndiGo Airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet — were lined up for landing around noon when a downpour significantly brought down visibility. The situation turned all the more tricky because the primary runway, which has the instrument landing system (ILS) to guide pilots in poor visibility, was not in operation. Airport authorities had issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) earlier in the day, declaring the primary runway would be shut from 10am to 4pm for repairs and operations would be shifted to the secondary runway. But with the ILS in the secondary runway yet to be operational, pilots had to land visually without any aid.
Around 2.45pm, when operations were just limping back to normal, takeoffs and landings were suspended once again after the pilot of a departing Air India flight to Silchar reported an animal carcass at the northern end of the runway. Before it, a Jet Airways flight had taken off for Guwahati but hadn't reported any incident.
12/07/12 Times of India

More buses between IGI Airport, New Delhi station

New Delhi: There's good news for those who travelled by Airport Metro Express. From Friday, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will increase the frequency of buses running between New Delhi railway station and IGI Airport.
The decision follows the temporary closure of the Airport Metro Express on July 8 due to safety concerns. "As per directions of the chief minister, DTC has enhanced its airport services from ISBT Kashmere Gate for the convenience of airport bound commuters," said a DTC spokesperson.
12/07/12 Times of India

Approach road handicap for new Ranchi airport

Ranchi: The broken false ceiling and the worn-out look of Ranchi airport will continue to project a negative image of Jharkhand to outsiders. A new world-class airport that will replace the existing terminal building is ready but its fate is uncertain.
A range of trial runs has begun at the new integrated terminal building at the airport. But the terminal building has no approach road.
The construction of 1 km approach road, which had begun 18 months ago, is yet to be completed. A unit of the Indian Army situated nearby has time and again objected to the construction of the approach road. The latest in a series came on last Friday.
VVG Raju, general manager (project), said a group of army personnel arrived at the construction site and physically stopped the construction.
13/07/12 Alok K N Mishra/Times of India