Congestion cost: Rs 500-cr ATF bill

Mumbai: Indian carriers wasted aviation turbine fuel (ATF) worth Rs 500 crore in 2009-10 thanks to incremental flying, a figure likely to cross Rs 650 crore this financial year. The incremental flying is necessitated by increasing congestion at metro airports which delays landing and getting parking space. Technical glitches and bad weather too lead to incremental flying. The wastage accounts for as much as 3% of the total ATF consumed by these airlines in FY2009-10. This is expected to rise to 5% this financial year.
Jet Airways with 89 aircraft had a fuel bill of Rs 3,758.39 crore for the year ended March 2010, and wasted as much as Rs 150 crore on incremental flying. Said Saroj Datta, executive director, Jet Airways: “Due to incremental flying arising from congestion at airports, the airline wasted 3-4% of fuel during 2009-10.”
With airlines bulking up their fleets to match demand, congestion has been on the rise. In Mumbai, India’s second busiest airport after New Delhi, delays in environmental clearance for a second airport proposed in Navi Mumbai have put additional burden on the existing airport.
31/08/10 Shaheen Mansuri/Indian Express

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Chennai airport expansion: CM assures villagers

Chennai: Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday virtually made a fervent appeal to the people to extend support for the extension of the airport since it would be a paramount requirement for a growing metropolitan like Chennai.
“Everyone knows that I was the first person in Tamil Nadu to provide residential apartments in high-rise buildings for those who were living on pavements. But the government is now in a position to beg for land to expand the airport assuring the people that they will be given an alternative site,” the CM said.
Making this appeal while declaring open the Express Avenue, the biggest shopping mall in South India, he said though the government was thinking of developing Chennai on par with the other metropolises in the country, certain forces were acting as roadblocks.
Observing that even states smaller than Tamil Nadu had bigger airports, he said the State government was of the view that Chennai should have a bigger facility, at least next to the one in New Delhi.
31/08/10 ExpressBuzz

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Mangalore: 24-hour radar service at airport from tomorrow

Mangalore: Mangalore Airport will be extending its radar service to over flying aircraft from the present 19 hours a day to 24 hours from Wednesday, according to its director M.R. Vasudeva.
Aircraft flying within a radius of 256 nautical miles from the Mangalore Airport can avail themselves of this round-the-clock radar service from September 1, he told The Hindu.
This facility will be particularly useful for aircraft operating to Kozhikode, Kochi, Coimbatore and Panjim (Goa) airports, in addition to Mangalore. ?It will also help aircraft operating to Bangalore International Airport, to some extent,? he said.
The service of mono-pulse secondary surveillance radar at the airport would help prevent collision of aircraft in air and maintain an orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic, Mr. Vasudeva said.
At present, the radar service is not available between 4.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m.
31/08/10 Mangaloeran.com

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Central teams to inspect Navi Mumbai airport site

Mumbai: A team of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials is scheduled to examine Navi Mumbai airport site on Saturday.
Separately, representatives of the expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the ministry of environment and forests are also slated to examine the site over the weekend. The location of the project has been sore point between the civil aviation ministry and environment ministry.
A dialogue between Praful Patel and Jairam Ramesh, who head the respective ministries, last week seems to have led to a thaw. Both the ministers are believed to have okayed the airport site provided the Maharashtra government and the ministry of civil aviation abide by the guidelines issued by the EAC.
31/08/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Soon, fliers may get to take autos from IGIA

New Delhi: Passengers travelling by budget carriers now might have an option of hiring an auto rickshaw from the Delhi airport. At present, auto rickshaws are not allowed to pick up passengers from the Indira Gandhi International Airport by the Delhi Traffic Police. At the new Terminal 3, auto rickshaws and
public transport buses are stopped two kilometres ahead of the terminal and passengers transferred to shuttle buses.
Though pre-paid taxi and radio cabs are readily available at the airport, there are no pre-paid auto rickshaw booths. Auto rickshaws dropping passengers at the airport are not allowed to wait or pick up passengers.
Auto rickshaws, however, might now be allowed at the domestic departure terminal 1D once the full cost carriers and their low cost arms shift to the Terminal 3. Terminal 1D will house only budget carriers IndiGo, Go Air and SpiceJet.
30/08/10 Sidhartha Roy/Hindustan Times

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Jet Airways to reinstate scheduled flight operations to Srinagar

Jet Airways has announced that it will reinstate flights as per the scheduled flight operations to Srinagar Airport up until Thursday, September 2nd 2010. There will be no suspension of services on Wednesday, September 1st and Thursday, September 2nd as planned earlier due to runway repairs at Srinagar Airport.
Jet Airways will operate 9W 603 from Delhi to Srinagar as per schedule on September 1st and 2nd 2010, with the flight departing New Delhi at 1115 hrs and arriving Srinagar at 1235 hrs. The return flight 9W604 from Srinagar to Delhi will also operate as per schedule departing Srinagar at 1335 hrs and arriving New Delhi at 1455 hrs.
31/08/10 India Infoline

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Frequent taxi strikes at Mumbai airport continue to irk commuters

Taxi drivers calling for a strike in Mumbai has become kind of a fashion. On Monday, one such flash strike called by an unknown faction of the Republican Party of India (RPI) led to major chaos at the Mumbai airport.
According to Ayub Sheikh, president, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Rickshaw and Taxi Union, the taxi drivers did start from their homes in the morning.
“But, when they heard that cabs were damaged at Dindoshi and Mumbai Central by RPI activists, they decided to stay at home,” said Sheikh.“But, 60% of the 3,000 cabs were plying during the day and by evening everything was normal.”
The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) tried to reduce the misery of commuters by arranging for BEST buses and even Meru cabs to drop them at Andheri station.
30/08/10 Daily News & n

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National Insurance hit hard by Nepal plane crash

The civil aviation ministry Monday said that air services will continue to Srinagar during the 12 days the airport would remain closed for maintenance and flights would be diverted to Avantipura during the time.
'It has been decided that flights to the Kashmir valley will continue uninterrupted during the period the Srinagar airport would remain closed for maintenance for 12 days,' the ministry said in a statement.
Flights will continue to operate to Srinagar up to Sep 2 after which the flights would be diverted to Avantipura.
30/08/10 IANS/Sify.com

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Shopping Extravaganza at T3 terminal

Delhi Duty Free Services Pvt. Ltd. (DDFS) is a joint venture company between DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), IDFS (Indian Duty Free Services) and ARI (Aer Rianta International). The company was awarded the concession to manage and operate the Duty Free Shops at Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi; operating within the new T3 terminal. DDFS is a single largest duty free retail operator in India, T3 being 6th largest airport in the world with 34 million passenger handling capacity.
Spread across 30,000 square meters, DDF offers an extensive range of products across all categories including perfumes, cosmetics, liquor, tobacco, confectionery, and Indian Products (Section- Discover India at DDF) exhibiting luxury brands that promise to provide the travelers an unmatched retail environment in India.
30./08/10 franchiseIndia.com

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Runway scare probe grounds two officials

Calcutta: Two air traffic control officials at the city airport have been benched after a probe found them responsible for a near-collision on the runway on August 3.
The duo would be allowed to resume duty only after they go through a “corrective training”.
City-based officials of the directorate general of civil aviation have conducted the probe and sent the report to the headquarters in Delhi. “The two ATC officials have been taken off the roster. They will be asked to join a corrective training once a formal order comes from Delhi,” said a senior airport official.
A Jet Airways plane carrying 154 passengers from Bangkok was approaching the airport for landing when the pilot noticed another aircraft about to taxi for take-off from the same runway.
In a split-second decision, the pilot aborted landing and remained airborne till the other aircraft, Air India’s Calcutta-Delhi-London flight, took off.
“The Air India flight was to take off earlier. It’s departure was delayed because of a last-minute change in the flight plan by the ATC,” said H.N. Mishra, the DGCA’s air safety officer for the east and northeast.
30/08/10 The Telegraph

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Flight ticket not confirmed, Rosaiah faces 'aam aadmi' plight

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Sunday faced a common man's woes after he was stranded for a while at the Tirupati airport in Renigunta as his ticket to the state capital was not confirmed.
His Principal Secretary B Sam Bob and the head of Chief Minister's Security Group (CMSG) Sashidhar Reddy were also supposed to accompany Rosaiah on the flight but all the three were kept on the wait list by Kingfisher airlines. "The Kingfisher Airlines staff refused to let the Chief Minister and his aides take the flight without confirmed tickets, official sources in the Chief Minister's Office said.
This left the Chittoor district officials as well as the CMSG personnel in a tizzy. Interestingly, Union Minister for Urban Development S Jaipal Reddy, his deputy Kumari Selja, several state ministers, a few MPs and their personal staff were also on the same flight.
They all were returning to Hyderabad after attending the marriage of Tirupati MP Chinta Mohan's daughter. "Luckily, two personal staff members of the political leaders were on the same flight. They agreed to cancel their journey and let the Chief Minister fly back to Hyderabad," the official told PTI.
29/08/10 PTI/Deccan Herald

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Vizag airport awaits Navy nod to go international

Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam airport is all set to go international once the Indian Navy gives its green signal as three international airlines are ready to operate flights from the industrial hub of the state.
However, highly-placed sources said the hitch is over the timings of the flights. While the international airlines - Air Arabia, Fly Dubai and Silk Airways - are asking for the night slot ie. after 11 pm till early in the morning, the airport currently functions only between 8 am and 8 pm because of the restrictions imposed by the Navy on night operations.
The Naval authorities claim it is not possible for them to operate night flights due to insufficient manpower and other logistics. "Due to this, Air Arabia, Fly Dubai and Silk Airways, which are keen to operate services from the port city to Sharjah, Dubai and Singapore are in a dilemma," sources said.
Air Travellers' Association of India Vizag chapter president D Varada Reddy told TOI that several private airlines are willing to operate domestic and international flights from Vizag. "Lack of night operating facilities is a major stumbling block," he said.
The airport, which is under the control of the Indian Navy, handles 12 domestic services to cater to the needs of north coastal districts and the neighbouring districts of Orissa and some parts of Chhattisgarh.
30/08/10 Times of India

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NAC says its Delhi flight to resume soon

Kathmandu: The suspended Kathmandu-Delhi-Kathmandu flights of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) will resume in a week, according to the national flag carrier.
NAC flights on the sector have been suspended due to repair works of the 180-seater Boeing aircraft’s faulty gear some 10 days ago.
“It took a little more time to find the spare parts as NAC planes are of old model,” said a source at the national flag carrier. “After a long search, the spare parts were found in Canada,” the source said adding that NAC has placed the order.
The spare parts will reach Kathmandu within five days.
“It will take another couple of days to fix spare parts and tentatively flights on New Delhi route — one of the most lucrative routes — will resume in a week.”
Despite being a lucrative route New Delhi always suffers due to lack of NAC aircraft. The airline had suspended its flight in 2008 for almost seven months due to technical problem in one of the aircraft.
29/08/10 The Himalayan Times

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Airports must meet safety standards, directs DGCA

New Delhi: The aviation regulator has told state governments and defence officials to ensure that airports meet minimum safety standards after a check found gross deficiencies at civilian airports across the country.
The check followed India’s worst air disaster in a decade, when an Air India flight crashed at the Mangalore airport in May, killing 158 passengers and crew.
The state-owned Airports Authority of India runs 53 operational airports, of which 47 are used for scheduled flights. There are another 22 defence airfields with enclaves to handle civil flight operations, of which 20 are being used for scheduled flights.
Some of the defence airports have wrong runway markings, inadequate fire services and friction testing procedures that do not conform to the norms prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao).
Nasim Zaidi, who heads the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), recently met defence authorities in the capital and asked them to make their airports Icao-compliant by December.
30/08/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Srinagar Airport Closure Unwise: PDP

Srinagar: Expressing concern over decision of the government of India to close Srinagar airport from the first of September, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today regretted that coalition government headed by National Conference (NC) has failed to protect interests of the people of the State.
In a statement issued here today, PDP general secretary Dilawar Mir said it was surprising that in the present high tech era, authorities have decided to close the airport without taking into account the hardships people will be facing because of such an unwise decision.
He said that instead of closing the airport the concerned authorities should have done the work in a phased manner to avoid harassment of the common people.
“Decision to close Srinagar airport once again reflects that State Government has failed to protect interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”, he said.
29/08/10 Kashmir Observer.com

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Airport closure will hit emergency services: Hoteliers

Srinagar: The impending closure of Srinagar ‘International’ Airport has raised heckles among the hoteliers’ community here who termed the decision as “a severe blow to the already suffering masses in the Valley.”
“Though there is no trade and tourism right now in the Valley, but the suspension of air traffic would severely affect the emergency services to the Valley,” the hoteliers said.
“In the present circumstances the air service could doubly be needed. Suspending the air service for 12 days would leave the Valley cut from rest of the world,” said Siraj Ahmad president, Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association.
“We have hundreds of critically injured persons and other patients in different hospitals in the Valley. Anytime a situation could arise where we need to shift a patient outside to save his/her life. Therefore closure of air traffic can lead to their death,” he added.
29/08/10 Nazia Akhtar/Greater Kashmir

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Hotel boom to take off at revamped Delhi airport

New Delhi: It is all barren land, with mounds of piled cement and sand. Delhi Airport’s Hospitality District isn’t much of a sight presently but that’s temporary. The huge expanse, about three km from the new terminal – T3 of the airport — is going to become the hub of some of the most happening hotels in the capital city.
The vicinity of the airport only has the Radisson and Centaur, beside the Leela Kempinski, Trident and Courtyard Hotel in Gurgaon – all in the five-star category. But now they will come up in all shapes and sizes – five, four and even three-star..
Amongst those to come up are deluxe ones such as the JW Marriott, Hyatt Andaz and Hyatt Place, Dusit D2, Pride Hotel , Pullman, Red Fox, Lemon Tree, Ibis, Holiday Inn and Novotel. Most of these will open their doors by 2012 and are expected to create over 3,100 rooms across different pricing and categories.
Accor Hotels, which is going to open one of its brands, ‘Ibis’, in the middle of next year, is waiting for its neighbouring hotels to get ready. “We don’t want to open with construction work going on all around us. The Delhi airport will become happening once all the hotels open up,” said Uttam Dave, development head of Accor Hotels India.
Besides, a 100-room hotel facility is also likely to come up inside the Delhi International Airport, to cater mainly to passengers in transit. Expected to be operational by December, it will be run by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL).
30/08/10 Ruchika Chitravanshi/Business Standard

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Racial profiling, cries Indian filmmaker held in US

New Delhi: In his first interview since being incarcerated in a US jail nearly 10 days ago, Mumbai-based documentary film maker Vijay Kumar has claimed that he is a victim of racial profiling and is being harassed by US officials.
Speaking over phone from a detention centre where he was shifted from Houston county jail, Kumar, a strict vegetarian, claimed he skipped food in jail for two days as he was deliberately served non-vegetarian fare. Kumar's visa was revoked and he was declared an illegal visitor after he got bail from Houston county court.
Kumar was detained at Houston international airport while on his way to Vancouver, Canada after "behavioural detection officers" at the airport felt something was amiss with him. They pulled him in for questioning and were further alarmed when his baggage revealed publications dealing with Jihad and Islam. According to US authorities, his checked-in baggage from New Delhi revealed a pair of brass knuckles, prohibited by Texas state law, though not banned under US federal law.
"While at Houston airport there was a last-minute change in my flight's departure terminal due to which I had to run a long way inside the airport. That's why I was sweating and furiously searching for my travel documents. The Transportation Security Administration officials then took me aside for interrogation. ..," the filmmaker revealed.
When asked why he was carrying such an exhaustive collection of publications/books dealing with jihad, Kumar said he was researching jihadi terrorism and was headed to Vancouver to work out options for making a documentary. "I have been involved in making short films, documentaries on Muslim issues especially on how to bring misguided youths back into the mainstream, victimisation of Muslim women in India, their personal laws.
On reports of his being a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Kumar conceded he had been part of the organisation but had "long disassociated" himself with it owing to ideological differences.
30/08/10 Abinav Garg/Times of India

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Mangalore Crash still Haunts him

Mangalore: The haunting memories of the May 22 Air India Express mishap might have faded away from the minds of the eight survivors and all those who were engaged in the rescue operations. but the disaster still gives nightmares to one person: the Mangalore Airport runway bird chaser.
So deep run the mental scars that he requires another six months of counselling to recover bounce back to normalcy.
On that fateful day, Mohammed Akbar Sadiq (20) was clearing the runway after chasing away birds. He had reached the airport at 5:30 in the morning and was one of the first to witness the unfolding horror. It was he who informed the airport authorities about the crash. He reached the spot in quick time with four fire brigades. He pulled out a child, which was hovering between life and death from the crashed plane and carried it to an ambulance.
Later, when he was trying to remove a body from the site, the half- burnt flesh splashed on his face leaving him breathless. He was taken to the airport for first aid. But soon he was back to the spot and joined the rescue operation. This time he fainted at the crash site and recovered after being given oxygen. Despite the trauma, he continued to lend a helping hand.
From the very next day, he stopped eating non-vegetarian food and the energetic young became partially numb. He could not work on the runway. A few days later, he was admitted to the Highlands Hospital in the City for treatment under psychiatrist Dr Kiran Kumar.
30/08/10 Daijiworld.com

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APTDC to launch air package tour to Tirupati

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) will be launching an air package tour to the temple town of Tirupati in association with private airline Jet Airways soon.
"The APTDC would sign the agreement with Jet in another 15 days for the air package tour," Jayesh Ranjan, MD of APTDC, told reporters.
"We will receive you at the Tirupati airport. We will provide accommodation and take you to the temple. We will arrange a fast track darshan and take you back to the airport," he added.
The package can be booked either on the website of APTDC or the website of Jet and the price of the package is still being worked out, Ranjan said.
29/08/10 PTI/Times of India

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Harmless tailpipe fire may’ve triggered panic aboard flight

Chennai: It might have been a harmless 'tailpipe fire,' a mild momentary flame that happens when excess fuel in the engine passes out of the exhaust when the pilot starts the engine or opens power, that triggered panic on board Chennai-bound 9W2302 at Mumbai airport on Friday, resulting in injuries to 15 passengers. Tailpipe fire usually lasts for a few seconds and does not pose a danger to the aircraft.
While a preliminary inspection has found that there was no fire in the engine, sources told TOI the 'fire' was first reported by a Jet Airways crew member who was travelling as a passenger, along with three of his colleagues. He was among the eight crew members who were later suspended.
It, however, remains unknown when and why the captain ordered evacuation. ''Since there was no fire alert in the cockpit, the captain should have ascertained the facts before ordering evacuation. As of now, we don't know the real reason,'' said aviation expert Captain A Ranganathan.
Sources in Jet Airways said the captain was a senior person with more than 9,000 hours of flying experience.
Overheating of engine or fire in any part of the aircraft would flash a red light in the cockpit and set off an alarm bell, but tailpipe fire does not trigger the alert.
29/08/10 Arun Ram/Times of India

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2 passengers still to be discharged

Mumbai: Two of the 12 passengers, who sustained injuries while being evacuated from the Jet Airways Mumbai-Chennai flight 9W-2302 on Friday, are still undergoing treatment at Nanavati Hospital in Vile Parle.
Hospital authorities confirmed that around 10.40 pm, the 11 injured passengers were rushed to the hospital. Most of the patients who came to us were in a state of shock, said doctors. While a few sustained major injuries, most of them came with complaints of sprains and bruises.
According to medical superintendent of the hospital Dr Ashok Hatolkar, of the 11 patients, five required immediate attention. All but two passengers were discharged by Saturday early morning, said Hatolkar.
One of them was 58-year-old Nagpur resident Shivram Krishnan who required surgery.
The second passenger still to be discharged is 30-year-old Anita Ramaswamy, a resident of Annanagar in Chennai. She, too, is being treated for blunt injury though she is believed to not have suffered any fracture or serious wound.
29/08/10 Times of India

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Off-duty crew triggered airport scare

Mumbai: Even as the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) slammed the crew of Jet Airways flight 9W 2302 for “serious procedural lapses” and suspended 10 of them for the false fire alarm incident at Mumbai airport on Friday night, a preliminary probe has found that the chaotic chain of events was triggered by two panicky crew members who were travelling as passengers.
The fire alarm on the Mumbai-Chennai flight which was taxiing towards the runway led to an emergency evacuation, causing injuries to about a dozen passengers, some of whom jumped off the wings and suffered fractures.
DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi told The Sunday Express that two of the nine additional crew members who were travelling as passengers and were seated in 35A and 35B of the Jet Konnect flight, were apparently spooked by the glare of anti-collision beacons on the top and bottom of the aircraft and cried fire.
According to the sequence of events reconstructed by the preliminary probe, the additional crew member in 35 A told his colleague in 35 B that the left engine was on fire. This person went up to the telephone installed at the back of the aircraft for internal communication, called up the pilot, and raised a fire alarm. This was the first violation of procedure, Zaidi said.
“The additional crew member was travelling as a passenger. He had no business calling the pilot in command directly. Only assigned cabin crew can interact with the captain,” Zaidi said.
After calling the commander, the additional crew member also informed the cabin crew member on duty, seated near the left backdoor of the aircraft, about the fire. When the captain called this crew member, she confirmed the fire. This led the captain to report a fire in the port side engine to Air Traffic Control at 8.55 pm, and within three minutes, fire tenders and emergency services were in place beside the aircraft.
“When the fire was on the left side of the aircraft, the crew should not have deployed the chutes on the left. We have noticed many similar procedural errors by the crew which we are taking serious note of. Next week, a meeting has been called with all airline heads to discuss crew training programs. We want to reinforce the strictest training procedures,” Zaidi said.
While the pilot of 9W 2302 pulled the fire handles, he did not follow it through with discharging the extinguishers, the DGCA has found.
After the evacuation, a DGCA team spent the night checking the aircraft for smoke and found that there had been no cockpit fire alarm or any sign of fire in the engines.
“No fire or smoke was observed in the engine area. Both the engines were checked and boroscope inspection was carried out. No abnormality was observed in the engines and its systems. The Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Digital Flight Data Recorder have been removed,” a DGCA statement said.
29/08/10 Ranjani Raghavan/Indian Express

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‘Additional crew member saw fire on left engine’

Mumbai: In the Friday's fire emergency incident on a Jet Airways flight that was scheduled to fly to Chennai from here, an Additional Crew Member (ACM), travelling as a passenger, “apparently observed fire on the left engine” and informed another ACM, who was also travelling as a passenger.
The latter too “claimed to have seen the fire.” The captain and the cabin crew were then alerted.
On conformation, the pilot “pulled the fire handles of the left and right engines and the APU [auxiliary power unit]. However, he did not discharge any of the fire bottles.”
After the pilot ordered evacuation, escape slides were deployed and the airport's fire and rescue personnel pressed into service.
Fourteen passengers on flight 9W2302 sustained injuries during the evacuation. There were 131 passengers on board, including an infant.
Doctors from the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) attended to 25 passengers. “None of the patients was critical, but a few sustained injuries and suspected fractures when they fell during evacuation.
At 11.57 p.m. Jet Airways operated another aircraft to Chennai with 117 passengers,” an MIAL spokesperson said. “In some cases, the chutes did not deploy early. So some passengers jumped,” the spokesperson said. The injured were sent to two hospitals.
Shivram Krishnan, a Nagpur-based passenger, who suffered an ankle injury, underwent surgery on Friday night. Another patient with a fracture is recuperating.
29/08/10 The Hindu

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IndiGo flight makes emergency landing

A Delhi-bound IndiGo Airlines flight made an emergency landing at the Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar on Saturday after it was hit by a bird minutes after take off, an airlines official said.
There was also no damage to the 6E-260 Hyderabad-Bhubaneswar-New Delhi flight, the official told IANS.
28/08/20 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

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Srinagar aerodrome closing: CM

Srinagar: Putting all speculations at rest, the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Saturday made it clear that there won’t be any change with regard to closure of the Srinagar ‘International’ Airport on account of runway repairs from September 1 to 12.
“The Srinagar airport is closing. There won’t be any change in that,” Omar told Greater Kashmir, when asked about the status of the airport closure issue.
Omar, however, was quick to add, “We are working on the Awantipora option.”
The Chief Minister’s statement ran contrary to what he had told this newspaper few days back. “The Valley can’t remain cut off for 12 days. There are families who have to visit Kashmir from different parts of India and abroad to observe Eid with their families. So we have to think of them,” he had said, asserting that state was ‘exploring the alternate options’.
While the chief minister put the speculations about the possible postponement of the runway repair at rest,sources said the airlines have made it abundantly clear that they won’t operate from the Awantipora Air-Base—25 kms from Srinagar.
28/08/10 Faheem Aslam/Greater Kashmir

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Fly to Thailand, Dubai from Chandigarh: AAI

Chandigarh: Confident that the domestic terminal — swankier after the renovation — would be good enough for international air traffic, the local airport authorities have proposed starting flights to Dubai, Malaysia and Thailand from Chandigarh.
The delay in construction of the international terminal has led the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to allow international air traffic to and from the renovated domestic terminal, which would begin operations from its new building from December. To woo new players, AAI has also proposed the three possible destinations.
The director of Chandigarh airport, Sunil Dutt, said he had offered starting international flights for three destinations — Dubai, Malaysia and Thailand — from the local airport. ''The proposal was submitted because these were the most sought-after international tourist hubs and there is a huge scope of getting passengers for these places from Tricity of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali as well as from Punjab and Haryana,'' he added.
Dutt said the renovated terminal with advanced facilities would begin functioning from December. ''We're hopeful of receiving a positive response from major players in the aviation sector,'' he added. ''As construction of the international terminal will take a lot of time, we will equip the domestic enclosure with complete infrastructure by December, enabling it to double its capacity,'' the director told TOI.
29/08/10 Times of India

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Students campaign against cutting of trees in Patna zoo

Hundreds of students associated with Taru Mitra (Friends of Trees) in Bihar Saturday began a campaign against the government's plan to cut nearly 4,000 trees in the Patna zoo for airport safety.
Taru Mitra, a student movement to protect and promote a healthy environment on earth, has also planned a march Saturday to protest the move to cut trees in the zoo, the only green cover for the city's two million people.
'We will also submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, seeking protection of the trees,' Father Robert Athickal, coordinator of Taru Mitra, told IANS.
Rajesh Kumar, a Taru Mitra official, said: 'Students will also hold a demonstration inside the zoo to protest the cutting of trees.'
The zoo is formally known as the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park and houses a variety of trees such as semal, bamboo, amaltas, banyan, kusum, arjun and putranjiva.
According to a zoo official, the state government is under tremendous pressure to cut trees to remove obstruction in the approach path of the aircraft by Aug 31, the deadline given by the ministry of civil aviation.
28/08/10 IANS/Sify

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Pawar backs Navi Mumbai site for new airport

Mumbai: Union Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar on Saturday voiced his support for the Navi Mumbai site for the proposed international airport in Mumbai.
While addressing mediapersons after a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders' meet here, Mr. Pawar said reports submitted by various State agencies clearly favoured Navi Mumbai over Kalyan as a suitable location.
“Mumbai's connectivity should improve. The Government of India should select, finalise and make available a suitable site for the airport soon,” he said.
29/08/10 Vinaya Deshpande/The Hindu

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AI flight cancelled, 225 passengers face inconvenience

Amritsar: At least 225 passengers were found stranded at the local Rajasansi International Airport after an Air India flight was cancelled due to a technical snag on Saturday. The Amritsar-Dubai flight was first declared delayed by three hours and the passengers kept waiting. Finally, the AI authorities declared the flight cancelled, leaving the passengers bewildered. An AI official said the flight was to arrive from Dubai for the passengers to take them back but due to some some technical problem it could not reach Amritsar. He said they have arranged accommodation for the passengers and that they would be taken to their destinations on Sunday.
The passengers meanwhile were angry for the poor accommodation arranged for them and losses the flight cancellations would incur.
29/08/10 Indian Express

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DGCA suspends Jet Airways crew

Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has supended the Jet Airways crew following a false fire alarm.
It said there were serious lapses in emergency procedures as a result of which 26 passengers were injured in a minor stampede.
Jet Airways, on the other hand, maintained that the emergency exit doors of the plane were opened by frightened passengers and not by the cabin crew. But the carrier said it was willing to accept any action after the investigation is over.
Sources said the Jet Airways cabin crew panicked and did not follow the necessary evacuation procedures. They apparently got nervous and opened all the exit doors.
"The left side door should not have been opened as fire was reported on that side of the plane," sources said.
However, it was later found out that there was no fire alarm by the fire detection system installed in the plane. In fact, the crew members of another flight travelling on the plane raised the alarm first.
The DGCA and Jet Airways have ordered separate inquiries after 26 passengers were injured. The pilot and crew of the flight were also derostered.
The incident occurred after the pilot ordered an emergency evacuation after a fire alarm went off, indicating the left-hand side engine of the Boeing 737 twin engine had caught fire. But Jet Airways in a statement said the fire was a false alarm.
28/08/10 CNN-IBN

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Jump’ axe on Jet crew

Mumbai: The civil aviation authority today suspended 10 crew members of a Jet Airways flight a day after several passengers were injured after being allegedly goaded into “jumping” off the plane onto the tarmac following a mistaken fire alarm.
While punishing the two pilots and eight cabin crew members for “serious procedural lapses”, the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA) summoned the training chiefs of all airlines for a review of training procedures for cabin and flight crew.
Several passengers said they had been asked to “jump off” the Chennai-bound plane, a claim that remained puzzling in the face of the airline’s insistence that escape chutes had been opened and the passengers “taken down”.
A Jet spokesperson blamed the injuries on the “panic” that set in after crew thought they had detected a fire as the aircraft taxied before take-off and the pilot ordered an evacuation. A passenger, Amit Mitra, said the crew had asked “a woman to jump from a height of 22 feet. They were saying ‘Jump, jump right now, vacate the plane’.”
Jency, another passenger, said: “We were all asked to jump from the wing side... (which) is too high. There were many old people.”
28/08/10 The Telegraph

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We regret incident, evacutaion in fliers' interest: Jet

Mumbai: The Jet Airways management on Saturday expressed "regrets" over the inconvenience caused to its passengers over Friday's emergency evacuation fracas involving its Mumbai-Chennai flight in which at least 14 fliers sustained injuries and 10 staffers were suspended by the aviation watchdog.
In a statement, the airline said the precautionary evacuation of 131 passengers and 10 crew members on the taxiway due to a suspected fire in the left engine was carried out "in the interest of safety of the passengers and the crew".
The airline claimed that the crew carried out the emergency evacuation of Jet Airways flight 9W-2302 "in accordance with the standard operating procedures", though a subsequent inspection of the plane's suspect left engine indicated that there was no fire.
"The welfare of our guests and crew is of prime importance and Jet Airways is taking appropriate steps to ensure the same," the statement said.
The airline added that it is "fully co-operating and providing all the necessary assistance" for the formal inquiry initiated into the incident by the aviation watchdog, Directorate-General of Civil Aviation.
28/08/10 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

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15 injured after fire scare on Jet flight in Mumbai

Mumbai: Mumbai airport saw unprecedented scenes on Friday evening when passengers of a Jet Airways flight to Chennai were asked to evacuate through emergency chutes after passengers saw smoke inside the cabin -- close to the left wing -- and pointed it out to the crew.
But the inflatable evacuation chutes at two of the exits near the middle of the aircraft failed to open, forcing many of the passengers to jump on to one of the wings and then jump down to the tarmac. Three of the panicky passengers suffered fractures and a dozen more received minor injuries in the process. All of them were given first aid by Mumbai International Airport Limited officials and those who suffered fractures were taken to hospital.
The incident took place around 9pm when flight 9W2302, already 45 minutes behind schedule, was on the taxiway of the airport just before take-off. "One of my co-passengers saw the smoke and immediately alerted the cabin crew," Shrikanth Barhate, one of the passengers aboard the Boeing 737 aircraft, told TOI minutes after the dramatic escape.
One cabin crew went into the cockpit to inform the commander as others searched for the source of the fire. "Then, all of a sudden, we were told to evacuate and the emergency exits were opened," Barhate said.
The front and rear exits of the flight were also thrown open, he added, but not too many people could use them because the aisle was crowded. "Many passengers, who were nearer the emergency exits in the middle, rushed there," he said.
It was there that the passengers realised that there was no inflatable slide to help them get off the aircraft and they would have to jump off the flight. Many of the fliers first jumped on to the wing and then jumped more than 12 feet to reach the tarmac, suffering fractures and bruises in the process.
28/08/10 Times of India

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One more Patna-Delhi flight from Thursday

Patna: There is some good news for the city fliers as another non-stop daily flight from Patna to Delhi will start from Thursday. Go Air on Friday announced Patna as its 16th route of network with flights operating from Patna to Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore.
The non-stop daily flight to Delhi would start from September 2 that would also go to Mumbai via Delhi while the airline would begin services to Pune and Bangalore from October 2.
GoAir is elated by adding Patna to its list of destinations, Priyank Sharma, head, corporate, Go Air told newspersons here on Friday. As Patna is the 5th largest growing city in India and the 2nd largest city of eastern India, the new flights would provide the air travellers with more convenient timings and better connectivity, Sharma said and added that with the introduction of new flights, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune would also be connected to Patna via Delhi. The Delhi-Patna flight which would leave Delhi at 7.20 am would reach Patna by 9 am. On its return journey, it would leave Patna at 9.25 am and reach Delhi at 10.55 am. The same flight would proceed for Mumbai and reach there by 1.25 pm.
28/08/10 Times of India

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BEST leases buses meant for city to airlines

The Centre has pulled up the city’s public transport undertaking for renting out 30 new buses meant for commuters to some airlines. The union urban development ministry asked the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking two weeks ago to explain why it had violated terms
under which the Centre had subsidised the buses.
“These buses are meant solely for city transport,” said S.K. Lohiya, joint secretary of urban transport in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, a multi-crore national scheme to augment India’s urban infrastructure.
These 30 buses are a part of a 1,000-bus fleet worth Rs. 284 crore. The central government and BEST will each pay half this amount. The BEST has so far received 829 of those buses, of which it is using 799 for its city network.
28/08/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Air Seychelles to launch Chennai service

Starting November of this year, passengers traveling to Chennai, India, will have the possibility of doing so in one non-stop flight, with Air Seychelles. Responding to the increased number of arrivals from the Indian subcontinent and the demand from the local Indian community, Air Seychelles, has decided to launch this service, which will provide a direct air-link to India.
The national airline has recently secured landing rights with the Chennai authorities so as to be able to operate the weekly service. Air Seychelles has explained that it will operate this service on its Mahé-Singapore route. The flight will depart Mahé on Mondays and stopover in Chennai, before going on to Singapore. It will leave Singapore on Wednesdays and return to Mahé, again via Chennai. The national airline has chosen Chennai-based general sales agent, Global Aviation Services, to handle its sales in the Indian destination, which sees quite a lot of traffic to and from Seychelles.
Since many Seychellois travel to Chennai for medical and other purposes, including business transactions, and with many workers of Indian origin coming into Seychelles from and around the Chennai area, there is a sound market for servicing that route.
27/08/10 ForImmediateRelease.Net

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Maya govt scraps plan to expand Meerut airstrip

Lucknow: The ferocious protests and agitations against the land acquisition process for the Yamuna Expressway project at Tappal, in Aligarh, has finally started making its impact felt in other parts of the state as well. Almost two and a half years after the Uttar Pradesh government had kicked off plans for the expansion of the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar airstrip in Meerut, the administration has pulled back from the process and has canceled the process of land acquisition for the project with immediate effect.
As a result, no further work on acquiring land for the project, nor any other work in this regard will be done.
It may be mentioned that the state government had proposed an international airport at Meerut as the present air strip is used only for unscheduled flights. The project was to be implemented through public private partnership (PPP) on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis. According to sources in the government, the project was high on the chief minister Mayawati's agenda.
As per a study conducted by RITES, an expansion plan for the airport was being proposed on more than 100 acre of land and for this, the government has given an order for acquiring 30 acre of land from about 30 farmers of the area in the first phase.
28/08/10 Deepa Jainani/Financial Express

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Air India looks for a new hub

New Delhi: Should the cash-strapped national carrier Air India shift its 'expensive' European hub from Frankfurt to a more reasonably priced city or use the home advantage of Delhi's T3 to leverage all its strength here and forgo the base abroad? This is a question that's grappling the airline and the government as they have shortlisted three European cities — Copenhagen, Dublin and Birmingham — as alternatives to Maharaja's German hub which AI cannot afford for too long.
Dublin offers the advantage of having immigration check facility for US that allows passengers to get over with the entry drill there only and then whiz past serpentine queues at New York's JFK or other big American airports on arrival. Britain was keen to have some positive movement on Birmingham as AI's chosen one during its PM's recent visit to India. A number of other airports have also shown interest to get AI's business.
But the aviation ministry is clear that a decision with substantial financial implications won't be taken in a hurry. "From this winter schedule, AI will start using T3 as a hub and launch more non-stop flights to north American cities like Toronto and Chicago. The number of international destinations linked from Delhi will rise to 22 apart from 47 Indian cities in the AI-Indian Airlines network. With this kind of net in Delhi, there's no real need for fund-starved AI to have an expensive hub abroad," sources said.
28/08/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Forex tout raj enjoys easy ride at airport

Calcutta: One of the most secure places in the city, the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, resembles a railway station at least four times a day as touts take over the international terminal building.
These touts, around 15-20 of them, illegally trade in foreign exchange in the airport area during departure and arrival of flights, targeting unsuspecting passengers with the lure of attractive rates.
“I don’t know how the touts can freely run an illegal trade in a high-security zone,” wondered a frequent flier.
The security inside the airport is CISF’s responsibility while the state police — which has a police station dedicated for the airport — guard the area outside the terminal buildings. Plainclothes intelligence officers are also posted at the airport.
The security net, however, does not act as a deterrent for the touts as they shout out “Humse dollar lijiye, sasta milega (Take dollars from us, you will get it cheaper)”, at the entry or exit gates.
According to the rulebook, this trade of foreign exchange is illegal, as a licence from the Reserve Bank of India is a must to trade in foreign currencies. Trading with these illegal money-changers is also a crime, said a police officer.
R. Srinivasan, the airport director, admitted that the illegal foreign exchange trade does take place in the airport and its vicinity.
28/08/10 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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On AI revamp menu: Non-stop daily flights to Toronto, Chicago

New Delhi: In an attempt to re-invent itself, national carrier Air India may introduce a brand new product in the market by launching non-stop daily flights from New Delhi to Toronto and Chicago. The move is part of the overall restructuring process at Air India that includes route rationalisation.
The loss-making airline would be aiming at launching these routes in the coming winter schedule, added a source. “The airline is working on setting up its hub at the newly opened Terminal 3 at the Delhi airport. Once that is finalised, it would start these two routes,” the source added. The airline hopes to fetch 40 per cent load factors on these flights in the first year of its operations and hopes to break-even on these routes in the third year of its launch.
The airline currently operates daily scissor operations to Toronto via its hub in Frankfurt from New Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
28/08/10 Indian Express

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International airport in Panvel may get saturated in 25 years: ORF Report

Mumbai: The proposed international airport at Panvel near Navi Mumbai has a planned capacity to handle 10 million passengers a year in the first phase of the project, which may get saturated in 25 years.
When that happens, there would be no space left around Mumbai to build a third airport, warned the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a public policy think-tank, in a recent report. According to the report, setting up an inadequately planned second airport at any site around Mumbai would be a disaster for the metropolis and would very adversely affect India’s economic growth.
“India expects to spend a mere $2 billion for a new airport for the commercial capital Mumbai, which might be grossly inadequate. Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi had cost about that much, while Beijing’s terminal 3, the largest in the world, had cost $3.826 billion. Thailand, too, had spent $3.8 billion on setting up Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, an unusually low price for a complete airport, set up on boggy land,” says the report titled ‘Mumbai’s Second Airport: Too little, too late?’. Among other alternatives, Mandwa-Rewas faces severe environmental and rehabilitation hurdles though it is a much better site with an area of 45 sq km and can ultimately handle 100 million passengers.
28/08/10 Business Standard

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Mangalore crash: More damages for rich?

Mangalore: The families of victims of May 22 Air India crash at Mangalore airport have alleged discrimination, saying that higher salaried individuals who lost their lives on that ill-fated flight got more money as compensation than lower-salaried ones.
According to the Montreal Convention, the compensation to victims of air crash may reach a maximum of $160,000 (Rs 76 lakh), but the legal adviser to Mangalore crash victims has alleged that this rule was violated when at least two families got Rs 90 lakh as compensation based on the income of the victims that ranged between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1.2 lakh per month.
Other passengers alleged that Air India has also discriminated between men who were killed and women and children.
Harpreet Singh, general manager (quality management system), Air India, said its legal team could best respond to the allegation as the airline has been following the Montreal Convention guidelines. "I'm surprised at the variation. The legal team is working as per the rules as insurance is involved," she added.
Meanwhile, insurance officials said that there are two types of accident policies for airline passengers. The first is a personal accident cover and the second is a liability accident policy. Under the airline liability insurance policy, the passenger is entitled to the full compensation as per the Montreal Convention. The personal accident policy covers the total sum insured as mentioned in the policy and this has no relation to the salary of the person. The question of salary income arises only during the time of taking the policy, the officials said.
27/08/10 Times of India

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Flying blind: 18 radar failures in just 2 months

New Delhi: In just two months — July and August, 2010, there have been 18 instances of radar failures at six airports including the busiest ones like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
Aviation minister Praful Patel told Lok Sabha on Thursday that Delhi's IGI Airport had one of its two radars non-functional for four hours after a cable link got cut on August 3. "However, operations were not affected since the second radar was working," the reply said. Giving details of radar failures at other places, he said Ahmedabad airport had this problem five times on July 1, 3, 5 and 7 and on August 20.
Mumbai airport had this issue thrice on July 9 and 14 and August 4. Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram Guwahati airports and the Behrampur aeronautical communication station suffered this problem twice each. Varanasi had radar malfunction on July 23, 2010.
27/08/10 Times of India

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Flights to Srinagar: Govt-Airlines at loggerheads

Srinagar: While the Jammu and Kashmir government is still in the process of “exploring options” of flights arrival to Srinagar, the commercial airlines have begun to cancel the tickets they had booked from September 1 to 12—the period during which the Srinagar ‘International’ Airport is closing on account of runway repairs.
Informed sources said the airlines including Kingfisher, Jet Airways, GoAir, SpiceJet and Indigo Thursday cancelled the booked tickets, asking the customers to “take the money back” from their offices. The tickets’ cancellation has perturbed hundreds of people, including the Non-Resident Kashmiris, who intended to visit the Valley to observe Eid-ul-Fitr with their families.
Sources said the state government has to explore the options with the Defence Ministry, if it means business. While reports suggested that the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has taken up the matter with the Defence Minister, AK Antony, there is no response from the Ministry yet.
Amid indecision, the airlines have reportedly made it clear that they won’t be shifting to the Awantipora air-base as “it lacked even the basic facilities like terminal building and security paraphernalia.” The state is asking the airlines to operate from the air-base temporarily.
26/08/10 Faheem Aslam/Greater Kashmir

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Get a little high free before you fly out of IGI

New Delhi: Beginning this week, international passengers flying out of IGI airport's terminal 3 (T3) will be able to get a little high free of cost on ground itself by tasting whisky and other spirits from the duty free shop. The first of its kind move at an Indian airport to let passengers try and choose what they should buy will begin with Scottish single malt Talisker (12 year) that will be filled in a barrel specially flown in from the highlands.
Bacardi also wants to offer samples of its whacky cocktails to fliers and has set up a desk right at the entrance of the duty free area. The free tasting may begin by this week itself once customs give their nod on the condition that empty bottles are shown to them after filling the barrel (to meet legal requirements) and the brands being offered would keep getting changed depending on the season. So Christmas may see Irish cream Baileys being sipped freely.
27/08/10 Times of India

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Expat dies at airport

A sick expatriate died at Bahrain International Airport while on his way home for life-saving treatment, it has emerged. Indian Shakkiayalath Kunhammed was admitted to BDF Hospital in July after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
The 54-year-old driver collapsed while parking his minibus.
He was kept in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a week before his condition gradually improved and he was able to speak.
"When his condition improved, his family wanted to take him to Kozhikode, Kerala, for further treatment.
"Papers were prepared and everything was organised with Bahrain Air," Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam acting president Aseel Abdulrahman said.
"A nurse was to accompany him and his sister, but he died while they were at the airport," he said.
27/08/10 Aniqa Haider/Gulf Daily News

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Man arrested in US on jihadi suspicions is RSS activist

Mumbai: Malad filmmaker Vijay Kumar, arrested at Houston airport on Friday for carrying books on Islam, jihadi literature and brass knuckles, is an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist. He has given several lectures on religion across India and even abroad.
Kumar, 40, was detained at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston after the authorities found his movements suspicious. He was found in possession of jihadi literature, brass knuckles and a handgun manual.
He was released on a $5,000 bond on Wednesday after a five-day detention.
Kumar resides at Interface Heights in Mailed, but is a native of Delhi. His family lives in Grumman. His advocate Naive Tamale said, “Kumar was an RSV pracharak for 10 years.
Later, he began making music videos and documentaries. He is now a life member of Delhi-based Patriots’ Forum (an organisation set up by retired IAS and IPS officers, and judges). He has got nothing to do with Islam and jihad.
Kumar’s neighbours at Interface Heights know little about him, but enough to say he was never the type to raise suspicion. A neighbour said, “His house often remains locked for weeks, but he has never troubled anyone in the colony.”
26/08/10 Deeptiman Tiwary/Mumbai Mirror

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Indian arrested with jihadi material released on bail

Houston: Indian film maker Vijay Kumar, arrested for carrying jihadi literature and brass knuckles at the airport in Houston, has been released on a USD 5,000 bond and ordered not to move out of the city till Friday.
40-year-old Kumar was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental airport on Friday after "acting suspicious," when screeners thought they saw a possible handgun in a scan of his baggage. He was detained by immigration authorities at immigration holding facility for questioning.
A Malad resident in Mumbai, Kumar was released on bail last night after he spent five days at the Harris County Jail.
Kumar's lawyers Roger Jain and Grant Scheiner said that there is a hearing of the case on Friday, where Kumar has to be present.
"Their client is a documentary filmmaker, who made movies on Islamic terrorism and has been researching a lot on the subject. He was invited by the Hindu Congress to participate in a discussion regarding Islamic terrorism and hence he was carrying literature on the subject. There is no other reason for him to carry the material," Jain said.
25/08/10 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com

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Rainwater seepage into generator caused Kolkata airport black-out

Kolkata: Seepage of rainwater into the emergency back-up generator at the international airport here caused the 10-minute blackout in a runway, affecting flight operations on Monday night, airport officials said here today.
"Preliminary investigations suggest that as the power supply went off, the emergency back-up generator failed to function due to seepage of rainwater, causing a mechanical fault," an airport official told reporters today. There was total black-out in the runway and the taxiway for 10 minutes, forcing the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to ask two planes to hover in the air and delay take-off by a flight of Air-India and another of Singapore Airlines. Describing the incident as unprecedented in recent times, the official said rainwater accumulation had been caused problems in the airport area.
25/08/10 Economic Times

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AAI team maps area for deforestation

Patna: In a fresh initiative to make the Patna airport safer, the Bihar government has made a move to get a part of the city zoo de-notified so as to cut or prune 3700-odd trees in a triangular area of 17 acres.
Principal secretary (cabinet secretariat) Afzal Amanullah has written a letter to the principal secretary, environment and forest department, in this regard. "We need to plant small plants of rose etc in their place,'' the letter, sent on Tuesday, said.
The cabinet secretariat has also asked the forest and environment department to expedite the ongoing process of pruning another 249 trees inside the zoo. "This is also necessary according to the observations of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),'' the letter said.
The DGCA has threatened to declare the airport unsuitable for big aircraft operations from September 1 if obstacles in the approach funnel are not cleared. Besides the trees in the zoo, the obstacles include the main secretariat tower. Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials want the tower to be lowered by 11.5 metres.
25/08/10 Pooja Kashyap/Times of India

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Construction of St. Kitts’ multi-million dollar private jet facility to start February 2011

Basseterre, St. Kitts: Construction of St. Kitts’ multi-million dollar private jet facility at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport is to start in February next year.
U.K-based Veling Aviation (UK) limited Consultant, Michael Dingemans said construction firms or groups of individuals and tradesmen will be able to register their interest and complete the required paper work.
He said the main contractor will be selected by the end of the year and construction is scheduled to start in February 2011. The first phase of the FBO Terminal is to be completed by August 2012.
Dingemans told government, Port Authority and private sector officials at the signing of an agreement between Veling and the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA).
Construction of St. Kitts’ multi-million dollar private jet facility to start February 2011.
The project is a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) project with a term of 30 years. The development will be in phases and will complement the overall development of St. Kitts and Nevis in the tourism and real estate sectors.
Veling was formed in 2002 is a partnership of two like-minded individuals who own the company. Uday Nayak, the Chairman, based in London has had a successful career in the Banking world and comes from an entrepreneurial family from Mumbai, India.
Nirvan Veerasamy, the Managing Director lead successful sales campaign in Asia as a Sales Director with Airbus Industrie and was also the CEO of Air Mauritius, the national airlines of Mauritius.
25/08/10 CUOPM, St. Kitts

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Pushback vehicle catches fire at airport

Chennai: An Air India pushback vehicle used to move aircraft to the taxiway caught fire at the airport on Wednesday. Smoke started coming out of the vehicle when it returned to the bay after taxiing a Chennai-London British Airways flight (BA 1036) at 8 am. The fire was put out using the in-built fire extinguisher of the vehicle.
A British Airways statement said that the fire in the vehicle was noticed when it was at the parking stand after the aircraft had taken off. "BA1036 was not affected in any way," the statement added.
An Air India official said that the vehicle did not catch fire, only smoke came out of it when it was at the bay. However, it caused concern at the airport as initially it was reported that fire was detected at the aircraft.
26/08/10 Times of India

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NSG commandos take on ultras in hijack drill

Over 160 NSG commandos attempted to take control of an Air India aircraft at Anna International Airport after terrorists took over the plane and held several passengers hostage here on Wednesday. “There has been no hijack or terror attack. It is an anti-hijack drill being conducted by NSG commandos,” an airport official said. “This is the first time NSG men are conducting a drill outside their facility in the city.”
The hijack exercise started on Tuesday and is expected go on till Friday. The NSG had rented an aircraft from Air India to carry out the operation. “The drill is expected to give the commandos a real feel of the various aspects of aircraft hijackings that they would not get from learning in classrooms,” official sources said.
The NSG, which opened its hub in Chennai a year ago, is currently based at a training facility behind the Vandalur zoo.
26/08/10 Deccan Chronicle

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Steady rain affects Mangalore air traffic, 3 flights diverted

Mangalore: Poor visibility at Bajpe airport forced two flights to be diverted. Though the first flight, Air India Express from Dubai landed at 6.05 am, thereafter the visibility reduced to 200 mts forcing Kingfisher from Bangalore and Air India from Mumbai to divert. Airport director Vasudeva said that the visibility had improved at 12.30 pm and it was at 1,500 mts.
But again in the afternoon, visibility went down to 500-800 mts, as against 1200 mts visibility needed to operate flights. Only Mumbai-Mangalore Kingfisher landed at the airport. Jet airways flight was diverted.
Airport authorities said that the Bangalore Kingfisher flight which was diverted in the morning may arrive in the evening taking all passengers in a larger aircraft.
25/08/10 Times of India

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Unisys ups presence in airport mkt in India

Chennai/Bangalore: Unisys Corporation through its Indian subsidiary is expanding its presence in the fast-growing aviation sector in the country. The global corporation has announced that its Indian arm, acting as the systems integrator for the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), worked alongside the DIAL to start operations at Terminal 3 at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Terminal 3 was built to cater to the growing aviation industry, and will welcome visitors for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
According to a statement from Unisys, Terminal 3 is an integrated passenger terminal. It will provide additional capacity of 34 million passengers a year to Delhi’s IGI Airport. It will cater to increased air traffic expected for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and thereafter. The terminal covers 502,000 square metres of space with 92 automated walkways and 78 aerobridges. The new terminal is among the largest airport terminal buildings in the world. The cost of the terminal is estimated at approximately Rs 12,850 crores or $2.7 billion.
26/08/10 Business Standard

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Runway lights go dark, pilots get a shocktimes news network

Kolkata: Pilots of two SpiceJet flights that were approaching Kolkata airport to land had a scare on Monday night when the runway lights shut down at 9.30 pm and the tarmac remained dark for eight minutes as the diesel generator back-up failed to start.
The aircraft (from Jaipur and Mumbai) were asked to hover over the city till the snag could be fixed. Two planes lined up for take-off a SpiceJet flight to Ahmedabad and an IndiGo flight to Delhi were held on the tarmac during the period.
The power problem affected other sections of the airport for nearly two hours with Singapore Airlines staff having to use their personal laptops to check in passengers. Airport officials are still puzzled over what happened as the snag disappeared just as mysteriously as it cropped up.
"..The engineering wing is investigating why the snag happened," airport director R Srinivasan said.
According to sources, the captain of the SpiceJet flight from Jaipur saw the runway disappear around 9.30pm and reported the matter to the air traffic control tower at Kolkata airport, which immediately alerted department heads.
The back-up supplied by a diesel generator that starts automatically in case of a power failure, refused to start on Monday night. It remained that way for eight minutes before power to the runway lights were restored. The rest of the airport remained dark and restoration happened in phases.
25/08/10 Times of India

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Emirates flight with 278 passengers makes emergency landing

Thiruvananthapuram: An Airbus 330-200 aircraft of Emirates bound for Dubai made an emergency landing at the international airport here, 45 minutes after take off, on Tuesday morning following a technical snag.
The EK 523 flight, with 278 passengers on board, took off from the airport at 5.08 a.m. It returned and made a safe landing at 5.53 a.m. under full emergency measures, a top airport official said.
The authorities had informed all the agencies following a message from the pilot to the Air Traffic Control that he was returning following an alert about a ‘snag in the undercarriage' of the aircraft in the cockpit panel.
Shashi Tharoor, MP, and his wife, Sunanda Pushkar, were among the passengers on the flight, which was to depart at 4.35 a.m. The passengers were accommodated in city hotels by the airline.
The airline flew in another aircraft from Dubai to fly the stranded passengers. The flight EK 7007 left for Dubai with 272 passengers, including Mr. Tharoor, at 4.10 p.m.
24/08/10 The Hindu

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AI loaders are frequent flyers in bid to cut costs!

Mumbai: Six passengers flew from Mumbai to Aurangabad and back on an Air India flight every single day for a month. They were not loyal frequent flyers. So who were they? The six flyers were cargo loaders of Air India.
"The airline flew them from Mumbai everyday between June 16 and July 17 as there were no loaders in Aurangabad to handle cargo for flight IC 887,'' said a source. If you are wondering why it was difficult to find loaders in Aurangabad, then the incredible answer is that the airline was desperately trying to cut costs and so could not find any.
It's a case of penny wise, pound foolish. It all started when Air India, to cut costs, started negotiating a price of Rs 90 per loader per day. According to labour laws, the minimum daily wage payable is Rs 190. "Even if the labourer is employed only for an hour or two, the minimum wage has to be paid. So loaders stopped coming to the airport," said the source. Since passengers' bags and cargo goods needed to be loaded and unloaded into the belly of the A319 aircraft which operates between these cities, the airline decided to embark on the novel scheme of flying in the loaders from Mumbai.
25/08/10 Manju V/Times of India

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Traffic projections will decide Maya airport fate

New Delhi: A realistic traffic projection alone will decide whether UP CM Mayawati's dream Greater Noida airport takes off in near future or not. The group of lawyers-cum-ministers, headed by home minister P Chidambaram, held its first meeting here on Tuesday and found the gap between the traffic projections of UP government and GMR-led Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) too wide to arrive at any decision.
"The GoM felt there was a lot of difference in the projections submitted by the state government and DIAL. Realistic figures are needed. These projections will now be examined by the aviation ministry and Airports Authority of India (AAI) and expert opinion sought...The study of traffic figures will take about three months and we will come back to the GoM after that,'' aviation minister Praful Patel, who's part of this GoM, told reporters.
While clearing this airport will essentially be a political decision, dictated by the relations between the Congress and Mayawati, the UP government justified the need for Delhi's second airport in Greater Noida through its consultant, L&T Ramboll's report that estimates the NCR to have 100 million people flying per annum much before 2021. DIAL, which is developing IGI on the basis of an NCR traffic study done by UK-based Mott McDonald, estimates the 100-million mark to be breached only after 2032.
25/08/10 Times of India

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Flying to Europe, US: Some good news, some bad

Ahmedabad: There is good news and bad news for tourists and travellers to European and US destinations. Good news first: the time taken to fly with Air India from Ahmedabad to these places will soon get cut substantially.
But, the flip side is the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) International Airport at Ahmedabad will no more have direct connectivity with Frankfurt as the solitary flight of Air India (AI) Ahmedabad-Frankfurt, connecting the city and Europe directly, will fly for the last time on November 2.
The AI authorities have cancelled the Ahmedabad-Frankfurt flight from November 2 onwards, after its winter schedule was prepared. An official said, "AI authorities have decided to use Delhi's newly-built swanky T3 terminal as a hub for international travellers. This will replace the Frankfurt hub because that has proved to be a costly affair. This will also bring down the travel time for passengers headed for these destinations."
According to AI sources, the move is based on pure economics and will give a better experience to the international passengers.
25/08/10 Kumar Manish/Times of India

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Govt seeks details on Greater Noida airport

The reconstituted Group of Ministers (GoM) on the Greater Noida airport has asked the civil aviation ministry to prepare a report on the projected passenger traffic at the proposed airport within the next three months. The GoM, which met here on Tuesday, found major differences in air traffic
projections submitted by the Uttar Pradesh government and the Delhi International Airports Limited (DIAL) that runs the IGI Airport.
"The GoM felt that there was a lot of difference in the projections submitted by the state government and DIAL. Realistic figures are needed. These projections will now be examined by the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Airports Authority of India and experts opinion would also be sought," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters after the meeting.
The UP government had first mooted the proposal for a new airport way back in 2001. The proposal for the airport had been held up because a 1997 rule says that no new airport can be set up within 150kms of an existing one.
25/08/10 Hindustan Times

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Srinagar airport to close for 12 days

Srinagar: Unheard of in any part of the world, there is a flight blackout to and from Srinagar on cards, much to the disappointment of those who travel by air.
Informed sources disclosed to Greater Kashmir that the Indian Air Force, manning the runway of the Srinagar International Airport, has finally decided to carry out the runway repair work from September 1 to 12 and close down the aerodrome completely for 12 days.
“No flight would be operating to and from Srinagar from September 1 to September 12,” confirmed a Srinagar-based official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) adding, “The IAF has taken over the runway. They have to carry out some renovation work on it.”
The flight shutdown comes following commencement of the annual Amarnath Yatra and the IAF’s decision in April this year that the “runway had to be repaired” in September.
24/08/10 Faheem Aslam/Greater Kashmir

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Four caught on Mumbai CCTV, then at Dubai airport for diamond heist

Mumbai: A Venezuelan and three Mexicans, including a woman, have been detained in Dubai for their alleged role in the theft of diamonds worth Rs 6.6 crore from an exhibition in Mumbai, the Crime Branch said today.
They were on their way from Mumbai to Hamburg when the UAE police detained them at the airport Tuesday. The diamonds, stolen Monday night, have been recovered and are being brought back, Jt CP (Crime) Himanshu Roy said.
The diamonds, 887.24 carats, belong to Israeli company Dalumi Group. CCTV cameras at the India International Jewellery Exhibition on the NSE grounds, Goregaon East, had captured the four near the company’s stall. The police checked passport copies that all visitors had submitted at entry, established the identities of the four, and issued a lookout notice.
“Officials of Crime Branch Unit 12 and Goregaon East police station began perusing the CCTV footage. We identified the foreign nationals who were seen near the stall and based on the registration details that invitees were expected to fill, we identified the suspects,” Roy said.
25/08/10 Indian Express

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Quarrying poses no danger to Bajpe airport

Mangalore: The mining for granite and earth around the Bajpe hill will not affect the Mangalore International Airport runway or its infrastructure, clarified officials of the mining and geology department of Karnataka. They also stated that no licence was given to any company or individual to mine for 900 metres outside the perimeter wall of the tabletop airport.
DNA sought the opinions of experts in the department on the ongoing mining in the area. “The Bajpe Hill was Geo-morphologically stable as it was composed of granite and thick layers of laterite stone. Moreover, we have not given licence to any company or individuals to mine for granite or move earth for 900 meters outside the perimeter wall of airport. There could be some illegal small time miners who will be stopped, in fact nobody can use heavy earth moving machinery or undertake blasting near any vital infrastructure. The department of mines and geology works closely with the explosives department in giving out licences to use explosives,” an official said.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials quipped : “How can a runway ‘cave in’ just because the airport was at a table top?, There were over 125,000 flight movements taken place on this airport ever since it was upgraded. Even today flights were landing and taking off safely without any problems.”
25/08/10 Raghuram M/Daily News & Analysis

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AAI team arrives to inspect Patna airport

Patna: A two-member Airports Authority of India (AAI) team reached Patna on Monday for inspection of the approach funnel of the city's Jayprakash Narayan International Airport. The team has come here to survey the Patna airport following a Directorate General of Civil Aviation report (DGCA) dubbing Patna airport as the riskiest in the country with a much less runway for safe landing and take off.
Airport sources said the team consisting C K Sharma and Dipak Kumar from AAI's cartography section inspected the runway strip knowing on first-hand the exact nature of obstacles preventing the use of the full length of the runway.
Both the members also made a survey of the airport, including the outer walls of the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, said sources.
It is to be noted that Patna airport is flanked by the botanical garden on its eastern side with tall trees on the approach side of the runway and a railway track on western side making it incapable of handling big aircrafts. The length of the runway in Patna airport is 2,286 metres out of which 1,820 is available for landing from eastern side and 1,677 metres from western side. Big aircrafts such as Boeing 747s and A 320s requires 2,286 metres for safe landing.
24/08/10 Nishant Sinha/Times of India

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Bail reduced for man arrested at airport with brass knuckles

Houston: A judge Monday lowered the bail for an Indian man arrested for carrying brass knuckles and suspicious Islamic jihad literature in a Houston airport last week.
A documentary film maker from India, Vijay Kumar was in Houston to lecture a Hindu organization about Islamic fundamentalism and the books packed in his checked luggage were educational tools, authorities and his lawyer said.
State District Judge David Mendoza lowered Kumar's bail from $50,000 to $5,000 after learning more details about the case and that prosecutors were willing to let him plead to time served for unlawfully carrying a weapon in an airport.
"I think that everybody realized that he is not a threat. He's a peaceful man," his attorney Grant Scheiner said."He was here to visit the Hindu Congress of America, to deliver a lecture. It was about an interfaith discussion between Hindus and Muslims about the harms of terrorism."
Prosecutor Mary Irvine said in court that Kumar was detained at George Bush Intercontinental on Friday after "acting suspicious."
The situation escalated, Irvine said, after screeners thought they saw a possible handgun in a scan of Kumar's baggage and an explosives residue test showed a false positive for Kumar's baggage.Investigators found the brass knuckles, a manual for a handgun and Islamic literature in Kumar's checked luggage.
23/08/10 Brian Rogers/Chron.com

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Airport on alert for foreign jewel thieves

The Mumbai airport was put on high alert at 2.30 am today, as the Goregaon police came close to cracking the Rs 6.5-crore diamond heist at the India International Jewellery Show organised at NSE Grounds.
Based on the footage from the CCTVs installed at the venue, the cops have identified three foreign nationals, including a woman as suspects. Custom officials have been informed about the heist and are on a vigil and so is the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), according to the police.
"There is a possibility that the foreigners might leave the state or even flee from the country. So, we are taking help from the airport security and CISF for tracing the three suspects," said a senior cop investigating the case.
"After going through the CCTV footage, the police have given us sketches of the three suspects and we are on the look out," added a CISF official, requesting anonymity.
The Goregoan police also deployed two teams at the airport to look out for the suspects, after they questioned four people working at the exhibition late last night.
24/08/10 Vikas Mishra/MiD DAY

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Air India to shift Mumbai hub to Delhi’s T3, cut costs by a third

New Delhi: Air India will shift its international hub to Delhi airport’s swanky new terminal 3 (T3) from Mumbai, under a deal that will help the debt-ridden national carrier cut costs by almost a third.
The airline signed a deal with Delhi International Airport (DIAL), a consortium that operates New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, late last month to designate T3 as its hub. “This partnership will redefine Air India, provided it uses T3 intelligently,” said a senior government official, who asked not to be named.
Air India will bring passengers from all over the country to Delhi to fly them to overseas destinations. While the airline will get discounts on airport charges depending on the volume of passengers, DIAL will benefit from its association with the carrier that operates the largest number of international flights into and out of the country. “Making T3 our hub is a business strategy on the part of both partners,” said a senior Air India official. He did not disclose the discount, but hinted it could be as high as 30%. Air India expects the partnership to help it increase revenues by 9-12% in a year, he said.
Air India is yet to release its audited results for the fiscal 2009-10, but it is expected to post a loss of about Rs 5,400 crore on revenues of around Rs 15,000 crore. It has accumulated losses of over Rs 8,000 crore as of December 2009.
23/08/10 Anindya Upadhyay/Economic Times

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Lalu loses seat 'No 1A', sleep; Nitish gets it, dozes soundly

Patna: The coming electoral battle for the 'hot (political) seat' in Bihar found a mildly acrimonious curtain raiser in an Air India New Delhi-Patna flight shared on Saturday by two estranged 'brothers' - Bade Bhai Lalu Prasad and Chhote Bhai Nitish Kumar. It was just about the No 1 seat in the Business Class (1A) on Flight IC 415. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, arriving earlier, got the seat but Lalu Prasad, who arrived later, threw a tantrum when he realised he had lost it. "From the No 1 political seat in the State to the prime seat in the aircraft, it is a fight for superiority all the way for both the incumbent Chief Minister and the rival who is now a declared candidate for the post", said a co-passenger on the flight.
The two leaders were coming back to the state capital after attending their engagements in the national capital.
Detailing the incident, another passenger on the flight said: "The incumbent ruler of the state arrived six minutes before the flight's departure and was seated on 1A. The rival claimant to the seat walked in five minutes later and immediately frowned at not being allotted seat 1A. It was as if 1A seat would catapult him to the same position in Bihar politics."
That was not all. Lalu, said sources, complained to flight steward about the seats allotted to him not pushing back properly.
22/08/10 Vijay Swaroop/Hindustan Times

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Airport Authority of India to downsize Patna ‘Clock Tower’

Patna: The tall structure of the majestic state secretariat building — a hallmark of the state capital — is at risk of losing its identity. While to most the ‘Clock Tower’ — a magnificent architectural wonder of the British period — is a resplendent city feature, to the Airports Authority of India (AAI)
it is an encumberance, which has to be downsized by 30-35 feet if operation of wide-bodied aircraft without load restriction has to begin at its present location.
That’s not all. Some 3,700-plus trees in the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, a protected forest, falling in the approach funnel of aircraft, also need to be lopped off.
There is more. The AAI has also requested the state government to consider providing it 111 acres (approx) of additional land required for extension of the runway towards western side to carve out the needed 9000 feet tarmac length for operation of wide-bodied aircraft.
The total usable runway length of Patna airport is 6409 feet. However, because of obstructions — trees and the secretariat tower on the one end and the railway cabin on the other — the landing distance available for aircraft on runway 025 (zoo side) is 5,971.12 feet and 5,501.96 feet on runway 007 (Phulwarisharif side). In technical parlance, the ‘threshold displacement’ because of the obstructions is 439 feet on runway 025 and 908 feet on runway 07.
22/08/10 Ruchir Kumar/Hindustan Times

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Sick pilot delays flight by 8 hrs

Lucknow: A day after a pilot of an Air India flight, plying between Lucknow and New Delhi, reported a snag in its engine and aborted the take off, passengers of an international flight got stranded at Amausi Airport on Sunday, after the pilot reportedly refused to fly the aircraft citing sickness.
Flight SX 881 of Saudi Arabian Airlines with 284 passengers on board was supposed to leave the Amausi Airport at about 9.40am to Jeddah. However, the pilot reported uneasiness and refused to fly. While airport authorities refused to say anything officially, they admitted that one of the international flights did get delayed.
The pilot was later taken to the hospital.
It was only eight hours later, at around 6.30pm, that the second pilot flew the aircraft to its destination.
23/08/10 Times of India

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Bajpe runway can cave in anytime

Mangalore: Despite concerns raised by several experts about the perilous nature of Mangalore’s Bajpe Airport following the May 22 horror crash of a Dubai-Mangalore Air India Express flight, quarrying activities, including blasting the base of the table-top hill on which the airport stands, are now threatening its very existence. The area is already highly susceptible to landslides, which could damage the airport, experts warn.
But quarry owners around Mangalore’s Bajpe Airport have been continuing their blasting and mining works despite two earlier reports—one from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) to AAI and the other from the mines and geology department to the state government—categorically warning against blasting the Bajpe hills as it could lead to catastrophic consequences for the airport as it is a highly landslide-prone area. DNA’s visit to the site at the base of the table-top hill revealed that quarry owners were using earth-moving machinery and blasting the base of Bajpe hill almost everyday.
23/08/10 M Raghuram/Daily News & Analysis

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Aviation ministry opposes UK's departure tax plan

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry is against the proposal of the UK government to charge departure tax on airlines on the basis of the number of aircraft flying to and from the country, instead of the number of seats filled in every aircraft.
The prevalent practice is that airlines have to pay between Rs 4,000 and Rs 4,500 per filled seat as departure tax. Meanwhile, London’s airports have started charging £416 for using its VIP lounge at Terminal 5, the newest such facility. “There is no such charge levied at any other airport across the world,” said a senior ministry official.
Departure tax being charged on per-aircraft basis would mean that an airline would have to pay for all the seats available in an aircraft and not just for the filled seats. Even if the load factor for an airline is below flying capacity of its aircraft, it would have to shell out for the vacant seats. This would ultimately increase the fare on the routes.
“...How can one be charged for unfilled seats? It will be suicidal for airlines during non-peak seasons when the aircraft go vacant. ..” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The three Indian carriers — Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines — have 17 flights to London every week, all to Heathrow Airport.
23/08/20 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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From Nagpur morning flights to Mum, Delhi soon

Nagpur: After seeing only bad news for the last few months, at last there is something to cheer for Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur. Low cost airlines JetLite and Indigo have proposed to start early morning and late evening direct flights to Mumbai and Delhi, and regular flights to Pune and Hyderabad soon.
TOI has many times highlighted that there are no early morning and late evening flights to Mumbai and Delhi. Frequent flyers too have demanded flights to Mumbai or New Delhi at 6.30am, with the possibility of returning on a late night flight from these destinations, instead of having to spend a night there.
Sources at the airport run by Mihan India Private Limited (MIPL) reveal that to make this request a reality, JetLite and Indigo airlines have started putting plans in place. JetLite has plans to operate flights on Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad sector from November while Indigo Airlines is keen on starting flights to Chennai and New Delhi.
MIPL project manager Abid Ruhi confirmed the development and said domestic airlines (including Jet Airways and Indigo) have evinced interest to avail of the night parking facility being offered by MIPL at Nagpur airport.
23/08/10 Sachin Dravekar/Times of India

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Indian passenger arrested at Houston airport with jihadist books, a weapon

Houston: A passenger from Mumbai, India was sweating and shifting back and forth and fidgeting with his hands as he stood in line at the Intercontinental Airport Terminal E security checkpoint.
When 40-year-old Vijay Kumar was pulled aside for secondary screening, after raising suspicion with Transportation Security Administration 'behavioral detection officers,' even more alarm was raised by what was found.
One law enforcement officer said, "He had a ton of books," including jihadist books and publications written in Arabic. Some focused on espionage and other diagrams seemed to explain how certain US military weapons can be taken apart in the field.
The title of one book was "Spycraft" and another was titled "New Voices of Islam" and police noticed mentions of "infidels" in some of the writings that could be made out clearly.
The books and radical Muslim material was found in stacks, packed in Kumar's carry-on luggage, according to the police report.
Officers also found a pair of brass-knuckles in the luggage he had checked with his airline to be carried in the cargo hold of the aircraft. In Texas, brass-knuckles are prohibited by law so he was booked on a felony charge of Possessing a Prohibited Weapon in a Prohibited Place (airport).
FBI agents were called to the secondary screening area where Kumar was being detained. Agents are now checking his name on terror watch lists and 'no fly' lists, but there is no indication that his name has appeared on any of those lists.
In addition to the brass knuckles and the jihadist publications, police confiscated more than $10,000 in cash that Kumar is accused of carrying on his trip.
Federal law requires anyone carrying $10,000 or more to declare the currency to Customs agents, but law enforcement officials said there was no such declaration for Kumar.
Police and FBI agents said they were turning their attention to Kumar's background and what he was doing in Houston.
Kumar told police he was in Houston attending an "Islamic seminar." A search of federal court records in Houston shows a 2007 lawsuit filed by a man with the same name, same age, and same hometown as Kumar. In that lawsuit, Kumar described himself as a native and citizen of India, who was admitted to the United STates in 2004 on a student visa to the University of Connecticut.
The lawsuit said he had earlier studied at Texas Tech University after entering the US in 2003. He then transferred to University of Connecticut, where the lawsuit said he earned an MBA degree to bolster his undergraduate engineering degree.
The lawsuit said he married a US citizen in 2004 and he filed to change his immigration status to allow him to remain in the US past his student visa in 2005.
It was unclear Friday night whether federal agents would be placing a "hold" on Kumar, which would keep him locked up while further investigation is conducted.
21/08/10 examiner.com, US

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NRI businessmen want more equity in new Kerala airport

Thiruvananthapuram: The Non-resident Indian (NRI) businessmen who attended an investors’ meet called by the Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL) here Saturday insisted that the private investors must get majority stake in the company.
Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, the chairman of the company who presided over the meeting, assured that their demand will be taken up for discussion at the next meeting of the KIAL board of directors.
Prominent NRIs who attended the meeting include Yousuffali MA of the UAE-based Emke group, P. Mohammed Ali of Galfar group, Oman, and C.K. Menon of Doha-based Behzad group. Yousuffali and Ali are also directors of the Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIA) in which private individuals and institutions hold the majority stake.
The government has decided to hold 26 percent equity in KIAL and allot 23 percent shares to the public sector undertakings and two percent to the government-promoted companies that are not PSUs, limiting the stake of private institutions and individuals to 49 percent.
KIAL Managing Director V. Thulasidas, a former chairman and managing director of National Aviation Co. of India Ltd., which runs Air India, and other directors, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, Principal Secretary Venu V., and Air India former CMD E.K. Bharat Bhushan also attended the meeting held at the Kanakakkunnu Palace.
According to the company authorities, 959.72 acres of land had been acquired so far in the Mattannur municipality and Keezhallur village areas for the project, the fourth international airport in the state. In the second phase, 783 acres more land has been notified and is expected to be taken over in six months.
21/08/10 Ashraf Padanna/Arab News

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Air India flight aborts take-off detecting snag

Lucknow: Air India’s Lucknow-New Delhi 10 am flight had received all the clearances, and was speeding down the runway when the pilot realised that there was a technical snag and immediately decided to abort takeoff and applied emergency brakes, a decision which perhaps averted a possible disaster.
The aircraft gathered speed on the runway after getting the mandatory clearance from the airline’s engineers and the air traffic control (ATC). In fact, it had attained the desirable speed when the pilot informed of an engine snag and aborted the takeoff.
On reports that smoke was seen coming out of one of the plane’s engines, AI officials told TOI: “There was some technical snag in the engine which can only be ascertained by the engineers ."
The panic-stricken passengers were deplaned in a hurry and taken to the waiting room. Later, an alternative flight took them to their destination about 1:30 pm.
22/08/10 Times of India

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