Airport tanker on fire, close shave for 268

Kolkata: Two hundred and sixty-eight passengers on board a Singapore Airlines flight had a narrow escape at Kolkata airport late Wednesday night when a tanker caught fire seconds before it was to start refuelling the plane.
Thanks to a quick-thinking Indian Oil driver, who put his life at risk, no one was hurt.
The plane had touched down at 10.30 pm. Passengers were disembarking via an aerobridge when a truck carrying 14 kilolitres of aviation turbine fuel rolled under one of the plane’s wings. It was about to link up with the fuel ports when flames suddenly erupted from the tanker at 10.50 pm, possibly due to a short circuit.
An Air India technical staff in the apron area was the first to spot the fire and alerted the tanker driver, who did not hesitate a second before clambering on to the flaming vehicle. He drove it to a safe distance from the plane. Eyewitnesses said the driver managed to jump out of the cabin a second before it went up in flames.
The passengers, who were unaware of the drama till then, were drawn by the fire. It was the aerobridge that provided them protection from the blazing vehicle. Had a step-ladder been used for disembarkation, the fire would have led to panic among passengers and caused serious injuries, airline staff said.
And, had the driver not risked his life to drive the truck away, the Boeing 777-300 aircraft would have caught fire, triggering a major disaster.
The fire brigade rushed to the spot and sprayed foam but the tanker had been completely gutted by then.
The incident delayed the return flight to Singapore by 30-45 minutes.
11/06/09 Times of India

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ATC saves aircraft from crashing into Thane creek

Mumbai: Timely intervention by the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) prevented a major tragedy on Tuesday morning. A Delhi-Mumbai flight of Kingfisher descended lower than the permissible limit even when it was miles away from the airport.
The Airbus 321 was to land at Mumbai airport at 10.30am. At 10.35am the aircraft was on the final approach when the ILS (Instrument Landing System) radar showed that the plane had descended to a lower height. "The plane had crossed Turbhe hills and was seven miles away from the runway," a source from Kingfisher Airline said. "The ATC radar controller noticed the plane at 600 feet above the Thane creek."
Ideally a plane should be at more than 1700 feet when it is couple of miles away from the airport. "The plane is normally at 600 feet when it is 1.5 miles away from the runway," the source said.
The plane was scheduled to land at runway 27. "The ATC official asked the pilot to pull up the aircraft and take it to a safe height, which he did. But it could have been a disaster had he failed to pull up the plane. It could have crashed before the runway." The flight IT 304 had over 150 passengers on board.
Following ATC instructions, the pilot pulled up the plane and did a go around and landed at Mumbai airport at 11.02am. "The pilot told us that plane's flight movement guidance system (FMGC) had failed," a DGCA official said.
11/06/09 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Airbus connects with Indian clients after Air France jolt

Mumbai: European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has swung into action after the Air France A330 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 due to faulty speed sensors that gave inconsistent speed ratings.
According to sources in the know, Airbus has sent an operation information telex (OIT) to Indian carriers like Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher who have A330 in their fleet to conduct comprehensive checks of the A330 aircraft.
The French air accident agency (BEA) suspects that faulty speed sensors that gave inconsistent speed readings could have been one of the factors responsible for the Air France A330 air crash while it was on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Hence, Airbus seems to have sent OIT to their Indian customers.
An Air India spokesperson said, “We have two A330 in our fleet and have conducted safety tests on the aircraft as per the OIT. Kingfisher Airlines, which had inducted new A330 in its fleet in September last year, has new sensors with already safety tests conducted. The spokesperson said, “We are in touch with Airbus. We follow all precautionary guidelines issued by the aircraft manufacturer.”
Jet has 12 A330s. Ten of them are pressed into service and two have been leased out. Says a spokesperson from the airline, “In January 2008, Airbus had called for an inspection of AirSpeed Indication system of the A330 fleet.
11/06/09 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

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A330 comes under the scanner

Aircraft Engineers everywhere and also in India are conducting safety checks on Airbus 330 fleets after an Air France flight from Rio de Jeneiro to Paris crashed over the Atlantic on June 1, killing 228 people.
An Air France pilot union, representing 12 percent of its pilots, decided to shun the aircraft on Tuesday, until two of the three speed sensors are replaced. French air accident agency (BEA) suspects faulty speed sensors (that gave inconsistent speed readings) to be one of the factors responsible for the downed A330. The wind velocity-measuring device doesn’t give correct speed if damaged.
With about 20 such planes owned by Indian carriers, civil aviation authorities here have swung into action. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sent a circular to all airlines to check their A330 fleets.
The regulator’s air safety department has asked the French manufacturer under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules for possible remedial and precautionary measures.
Jet Airways has the biggest A330 fleet in India with 12 planes. One of its spokespersons said, “Last year Airbus had called for an inspection of Airspeed Indication system of the A 330 fleet. A programme was initiated and all inspections according to the manufacturers’ requirements were completed by April 2009.”
An Air India spokesperson said, “Airbus, vide their communication - Operators Information Telex, advised Air India to carry out a check on "Pitot Static Tubes" (speed sensors) fitted on the Airbus A330 aircraft. There are four Pitot tubes in an aircraft. Air India carried out the check on both the aircraft in its fleet and they were found in order.”
Indian pilot bodies, however, are satisfied with the A330. “We have not had any problems with it. Airlines are taking necessary precautions,” said a member of the Indian commercial pilots association.
10/06/09 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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HC dismisses Akbar Travels’ petition against termination of services

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition filed by private contractor Akbar Travels challenging the termination of their ground handling services for Air India at the Mumbai airport.
Their services were terminated on grounds of security threat following reports from the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari dismissed the petition stating that they did not want to interfere in the security affairs based on the IB report.
The court’s order states there is not public interest demand and they “cannot indulge in guess work and hold that the inputs do not endanger the security of the airport.”
The judges held that “these are matters are better left to the authorities in charge of security of the vital installations as they are in-charge of laying down standards and norms for protecting and safeguarding them.”
“They act in public interest and when no mala fides are alleged their actions ought not to be interfered with,” the order states.
The central government was earlier asked to produce the IB report following the petition filed by the travels which provides vehicles for ferrying passengers inside the airport to the national carrier Air India.
11/06/09 Indian Express

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Budget carriers slash airfares by 15-25%

New Delhi: The country’s low-fare airlines have slashed ticket prices by 15-25% hoping to boost passenger traffic in the traditionally lean monsoon season that starts in July. But the reductions come at a time when aviation turbine fuel prices have increased 22% over the previous month.
Analysts say airlines have no option but to manage the high costs as well as stimulate demand at the same time to tide over the July to mid-September period, considered the weakest quarter for India’s airline industry.
Jet fuel prices increased to $75.6 (around Rs3,575) a barrel as on 5 June, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (Iata) website based on data from energy information provider Platts.
Samyukth Sridharan, chief commercial officer, SpiceJet Ltd, said in a Wednesday statement that the low-fare airline has cut fares for travel between July and mid-September in all its 18 sectors on tickets booked before Saturday.
The airline, which operates 125 flights daily, is offering tickets priced at Rs1,430 for the short New Delhi-Srinagar route, and at Rs1,930 for the longer New Delhi-Mumbai haul. The fares include airport taxes, fuel surcharges and passenger service fees. This promotion, Sridharan said, was important to attract passengers and “stimulate the market during the coming season”.
SpiceJet currently charges Rs2,400 for the New Delhi-Mumbai route on tickets booked a month in advance.
Rival carrier IndiGo, run by InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd, sent text messages to its frequent fliers on Wednesday announcing all-inclusive fares starting at Rs1,300 between 1 July and 15 September, on tickets booked by Saturday. IndiGo runs 137 daily flights on 19 routes. GoAir, owned by the Wadia group, had already announced fares of Rs1,750 for the lean season on bookings made till 14 June.
Jet Airways (India) Ltd’s low-fare subsidiary JetLite on Wednesday said it has also introduced “special, all-inclusive fares” on several routes for bookings till Saturday.
Jet Airways is also reducing fares on several sectors. Fares will be available in the range of Rs1,650-2,700 for travel till 30 September, the airline said in a statement.
10/06/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Airlines shifting capacity to short-haul overseas routes

Mumbai: Diminishing market and eroding yields in the domestic sector are making local air carriers, which operate international flights, to migrate capacity to short-haul overseas destinations like Middle Eastern and Saarc countries.
Lately, all the three Indian international airlines - Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and the state-owned Air India - have been aggressively expanding their services in the neighbouring regions even as they are cutting capacity in the domestic market.
Jet, for instance, has slashed 30% of its domestic capacity till now and plans to snip further 10% during the current year but it is furiously adding flights in the Gulf and South Asian region.
It operates 24 flights daily on these sectors and has announced the launch of Mumbai-Jeddah service on June 14 and Mumbai-Riyadh on June 28.
In a conference call with analysts late last month, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive officer of Jet Airways, said even as his airlines was downsizing in the domestic market, it was pursuing opportunities in the international market.
Jet's rival Kingfisher is also tapping potential on these routes.
The Vijay Mallya-owned airline, which dropped its ambitious international expansion plans of flying non-stop on long-haul sectors -- US and Europe, is not fighting shy of starting service on closer-to-home destinations like Colombo and Dhaka.
It is planning to launch an all-economy Bangalore-Dubai service from June 25 on an Airbus A320 and has got approval to fly to Chittagong, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok. So, what's making short-haul foreign destinations attractive for local players?
Kapil Kaul, CEO - India and Middle East - Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), said in a scenario of slowdown in the local market, it makes sense for the airlines to shift capacity from the loss-making domestic routes to regional international market.
11/06/09 Archana Shukla/Daily News & Analysis

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AI contractual staff withdraw strike

The nearly 300 contractual security and commercial workers of Air India, who were on strike since June 1, have called off their stir after the Chief Labour Commissioner assured them of positive steps by the airline management.
During the conciliation proceedings held today, the striking workers agreed to report back for duties after persuasion by the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central).
"On the assurance from the CLC, we have decided to withdraw our strike as he had assured us that he will ask the airline management to take positive action on our demands," said Sanjeev Kalkal, general secretary of Indian Airlines - Airport Services (IAL-ASL) Employees Union.
The CLC also advised the airline to be sympathetic to the issues raised by the agitating staff, an airline spokesperson said.
The CLC has posted the matter for hearing on June 17 as the representatives from Air India said that their senior officials were not in the country, according to the IAL-ASL office-bearer.
10/06/09 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Qatar Airways readies flights to Amritsar

Qatar Airways has confirmed that its first flights to the Punjabi city of Amritsar will start on 11th October this year.
The choice of Amritsar as a destination is an interesting one; one of the attractive points about the location for Qatar Airways is that no other Gulf airlines fly there, despite the fact that India as a whole is very highly penetrated by carriers from the Middle East.
From a cargo perspective, the route will be limited only by the fact that it is being served by an A320 aircraft.
But Amritsar’s geographical position – some way distant from other major Indian airports – and its status as a major trading hub, may well pay dividends for Qatar Airways Cargo should the carrier decide to upgrade.
The Raja Sansi International Airport has recently added a perishables cargo centre to the facility, and other developments are ongoing there.n
11/06/09 Edward Attwood/arabianSUPPLY CHAIN.com

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Jet to use surplus aircraft on Gulf routes

New Delhi: Under pressure to drastically cut costs, Jet Airways is in the process of reducing domestic capacity by 10 per cent and plans to utilise the aircraft freed from these cuts on high density routes of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia.
The premier private carrier, which has already reduced domestic capacity by 20 per cent to contain losses and survive the wrath of the global financial downturn, has also started the process of reducing it by another 10 per cent.
Commenting on the financial crunch facing the airline and the industry in general, Jet Chairman Naresh Goyal said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday that the airline would slash its capacity by an additional 10 per cent after having cut 20 per cent.
10/06/09 Freshnews.com

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13 bodies, IAF aircraft's wreakage located

Guwahati/New Delhi: Indian Army and paramilitary rescue teams Wednesday recovered the wreckage of an Indian Air Force (IAF) cargo plane that went
missing Tuesday and the mangled remains of 13 defence officials killed in the crash in the northeast region, officials said.
A defence spokesperson said a search team of the army and the paramilitary spotted the wreckage of the AN-32 aircraft near Tato village in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China's Tibet region.
"The search team managed to get hold of the mangled remains of the 13 people on board the aircraft that crashed Tuesday evening," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander R. Sahu told IANS by telephone.
The cargo plane with 13 people on board went missing Tuesday afternoon after it took from Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh.
The site from where the wreckage was found is about 70 km from Mechuka and is located in hilly terrain.
"It would be too early to conclusively say whether the aircraft hit the hill or plunged down due to technical problems that led to the crash. Experts would try and retrieve the black box to know the details," the IAF official said.
Of the 13 people killed, seven were from the IAF and six army soldiers.
"There were two wing commanders and a squadron leader among the IAF personnel on board," Sahu said.
10/06/09 Economic Times

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Praful Patel hints at bailout package for Air India

In an exclusive interview with Network18's Shereen Bhan, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel revealed that the ailing Air India will get a bailout but the figure is still being kept under wraps.
Network18: Is there any possibility of any hope of some sort of stimulus package because this was what a lot of people in the business were expecting. Not on bailout but at least on stimulus?
Praful Patel: No, I don't think the government is going to write a cheque to anybody. May be a little bit of cheque not as a stimulus but as its own responsibility as the owner of Air India.
Network18: So your going to write a cheque for Air India but not for private sector?
Praful Patel: It's not a cheque. I must differentiate that the money which is going to come to Air India is primarily on account of equity contribution. As the owner of the airline, either owner gets it through IPO or raises the money somehow or puts in his own equity. If it was Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal will bring his equity or if it's Kingfisher, Vijay Mallya will bring the equity and in the case of Air India, it's the Government of India. So it's not a cheque which is being written as a bailout or something but just a cheque been written as an owner to its own baby.
10/06/09 Shereen Bhan/Network18/CNN-IBN

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Kingfisher Airlines may roll over Rs 800-crore debt

Bangalore: Kingfisher Airlines is looking to roll over close to Rs 800 crore of its short-term debt, even as it finalises the paperwork to borrow another Rs 1,500 crore from a few Indian public sector banks.
The airline, owned by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya's liquor-to-airlines UB Group, is understood to be finalising the details of the rollover of debt that is due this fiscal.
According to data from Kingfisher Airlines, the company has short-term debt of around Rs 2,500 crore and a third of that is due for repayment this fiscal.
UB Group officials say they are confident of banks approving a rollover. “It is highly likely that we will get the nod for the rollover as banks are also eager not to categorise these loans as non-performing assets. UB Group also has had a long history of taking on debt and we have been effective in repayment. Besides, the airline industry is going through rough weather and financial institutions are recognising that we will be able to pay them back at the earliest,” a senior UB Group official said.
Kingfisher Airlines has a cumulative debt of close to Rs 6,000 crore and is leveraged around 13 times. It recently borrowed around Rs 500 crore from State Bank of India. The airline is also expected to take on an additional Rs 1,500 crore debt, which will raise the leverage to around 16.5 times. Industry sources estimated that Mallya had offered his personal guarantee to raise the additional Rs 2,000 crore of debt.
Company sources, however, indicated that this kind of heavy leverage was common in the aviation sector, with global airlines leveraging as much as 20 times. “It is not about leverage for now, it is about whether you have the wherewithal to ride out the trough and be ready for growth,” a senior official of UB Group added.
11/06/09 Raghuvir Badrinath/Business Standard

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Singapore Airlines eyes potential opportunities in India

New Delhi: Global carrier Singapore Airlines is looking for "potential opportunities'' in India, which will help in consolidation of the aviation industry. "Singapore Airlines remains interested in potential opportunities related to the consolidation of the industry.
''... As we have said consistently we remain interested in future opportunities in India and China, both of which are important markets to us,'' Singapore Airlines Vice President, Public Affairs, Mr Nicholas Ionides, told PTI in an e-mailed statement.
At present, foreign carriers are not allowed to pick up equity stake in Indian carriers. However, recently Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel, hinted that the government may allow foreign carriers to buy stake in the domestic airlines.
Meanwhile, when asked whether the company is in discussions for making investments in the country, Ionides said, "We have friendly discussions with other airlines on a regular basis but there are no talks at present on investments in Indian carriers".
10/06/09 PTI/Business Line

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Foreign airlines say no to Indian carriers, for now

Mumbai: International airlines are not willing to buy stakes in Indian carriers at this point, even as the ministry of civil aviation is considering a proposal to permit foreign carriers to invest in local airlines.
While the ministry is considering a proposal to allow up to 49% investment by foreign carriers in Indian aviation firms, it may eventually limit this to 26%. Current foreign investment rules allow foreign companies to take up to a 49% stake in Indian airlines, but specifically prohibit a foreign airline from doing so. Several Indian airlines have been asking the government to relax the rule.
A sharp fall in passenger demand and high jet fuel prices are estimated to lead to a combined loss of $2 billion (Rs9,460 crore) for Indian carriers in 2008-09, and all of them are desperately looking at raising capital to stay afloat.
Mint spoke to at least two dozen global carriers on the sidelines of the 65th annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week, and none of them were willing to invest in Indian carriers as they are busy in putting their own houses in order.
Iata has doubled its estimate of losses that global airlines are expected to post in 2009 to $9 billion.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, which was interested in the Indian market till recently, isn’t enthused by the Indian government’s plans. Its chief executive Steve Ridgway said his airline was once looking at investing in Indian carriers, but not any more. “We are not looking at investing at this point of time. This is the worst time to do that. Forget about making profits, we are looking at how to conserve cash.”
According to rival carrier American Airlines Inc.’s senior vice-president (planning) Henry C. Joyner, this is the most difficult environment in terms of operating capital. “It’s better to stay away from investing now.”
11/06/09 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Chandigarh Airport to go international

Chandigarh: In a couple of months from now, the city is set to see the first international flight take off from the Chandigarh Airport. The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has given permission to Fly Dubai, a low-cost carrier of Emirates Airlines, to fly a daily direct flight to Dubai from Chandigarh.
The Punjab Government has called a meeting on June 19, which will be attended by Intelligence Bureau and Customs officials, besides the representatives of Airport Authority of India (AAI) to work out the modalities to set up customs and immigration counters at the airport for international operations.
With the IB reportedly facing shortage of staff for immigration duties, the Punjab Police will send nearly 30 personnel on deputation for the purpose.
“The meeting will decide on how much time the agencies will take to set up all the facilities. The police personnel to be posted on immigration duty will be sent to the Amritsar International Airport for training,” said a government official.
Andrew A Brokker-Tormey of Fly Dubai has communicated to Sunil Dutt, the director of Chandigarh Airport, saying a two-member team will visit the airport to see the facilities, and also to formalise the air traffic control, airport security, fire-fighting equipment, runway and taxiways.
11/06/09 Indian Express

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Air hostess, driver die in road mishap

Hyderabad: An air hostess who works with Air India and the driver of the vehicle in which she was travelling, died in a road accident near the Agriculture University at Rajendranagar early on Wednesday morning. The Scorpio van in which they were travelling rammed into a stationary lorry at high speed leading to the death of the duo.
The air hostess, K N Madhavi (27), was returning to her residence at Anand Nagar in Malakpet after completing duties in the official transport provided by the airlines when the accident took place.
According to the police, the Scorpio driver, Yadagiri (32) of Chatanpally in Shadnagar might have dozed off while driving and rammed into the stationary lorry at a steep curve near Rajendranagar.
The accident took place at around 4 am and the vehicle was being driven at a speed of 120 kmph. Madhavi, who was sitting in the rear seat, and the driver suffered severe head injuries and died instantly.
11/06/09 ExpressBuzz

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Lankan among two arrested for swapping boarding passes in India

Two persons, including a Sri Lankan trying to get to London illegally, were caught at the Chennai airport when they tried to swap their boarding passes at Chennai airport on Tuesday morning.
Immigration officials took into custody Arivalagan, 28, a Sri Lankan settled in Tiruchi since 1997, and his friend Kumar, 31, a native of Thanjavur, after trailing them out of suspicion. They were handed over to the police.
The duo had apparently hatched the plan meticulously, but Arivalagan's Sri Lankan Tamil accent raised the immigration officers' suspicion when his papers showed him as an Indian. Police said Kumar was helping out Arivalagan, a native of Adikoviladi Jaffna in Sri Lanka, to get to London, where his brother is working.
Arivalagan got a passport in the name of Karunanidhi Ramaswamy of Kumbakonam. He got a ticket to Dubai for Tuesday. Kumar also got a ticket to London for the same day. The Dubai flight was scheduled at 5.30 a.m. and the London flight at 6 p.m.
Both Arivalagan and Kumar reached the airport and followed the usual procedures. When the immigration officials were checking Arivalagan's passport, they detected a Sri Lankan Tamil accent. They started following him.
Kumar's immigration check went off smoothly and the duo came out to the common area to board the flights. Here, they exchanged the boarding passes.
The immigration official who was trailing Arivalagan spotted this and took them into custody. The police arrested them after finding them guilty.
11/06/09 Daily News, Sri Lanka

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A lesson learnt from Sheetal landing

Don’t do a Sheetal Mafatlal, is the buzzword among frequent fliers in town.
The next time you’re off on a holiday or attending a wedding on foreign shores, they are telling one another, declaring the valuables you are carrying or bringing back to the customs department can spare you the ordeal suffered by Mumbai socialite Sheetal on June 6.
“We always advise our clients to declare the valuables that they are carrying so that the customs officer makes a note of it, and they are not charged any duty on the way back. For items bought abroad, it is prudent to pay duty because non-declaration can lead to arrest,” says Anil Punjabi, the chairman (Eastern India Chapter) of Travel Agents Federation of India.
According to the current custom rules, if you have shopped abroad, jewellery, electronics and other items up to Rs 25,000 are duty-free. For anything beyond, duty must be paid, failing which fine and penalty can be imposed.
Better be safe than sorry, feels fashion designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh. “Two years ago, I didn’t pick up a python bag from Italy because I wasn’t sure if it would have to go through customs,” she says.
Under Section 135 of the Customs Act for evasion of duty — that led to the Mafatlal bahu’s arrest at Mumbai airport — the offence can be “compounded by paying up to 20 per cent of market value of the goods or Rs 10 lakh whichever is higher”. This comes into play when the amount is more than Rs 5 lakh and proceedings have been initiated by the customs department. Otherwise, an out-of-court settlement can be reached.
11/06/09 Karo Christine Kumar/The Telegraph

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American held at Chennai airport for carrying loaded revolver

Chennai: An American national was on Thursday arrested at the Chennai airport for carrying a loaded revolver, officials said.
Central Industrial and Security Force personnel found the weapon while scanning the baggage of Semilar (58) when he was about to board a Mumbai-bound flight at the domestic airport here.
He was later handed over to the airport authorities, CISF officials said.
Semilar had arrived here last week from New Delhi to undergo treatment at a private hospital.After preliminary inquiry, officials said he had a valid licence issued in the US.
11/06/09 PTI/Economic Times

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HAL bags $10 mn order for Chetak, Cheetah from Namibia

New Delhi: Giving an impetus to its export programme, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has bagged an $10 million order for supplying two Chetak and one Cheetah light utility helicopters to the Namibian armed forces.
"HAL has bagged a new export order to supply Chetak and Cheetah helicopters to Namibia, a southern African nation," Defence Ministry sources said here today.
The deal with the Namibian Defence Ministry was signed in April this year and it came in the wake of series of export orders bagged by HAL for supply of Dhruv Advanced Light Utility Helicopters in the past one year.
Chetak is a multi-purpose, seven-seater helicopter and Cheetah is a light observation helicopter and both these platforms are used by the Indian Air Force and the Army's Aviation Corps.
These two helicopters are extensively used by the armed forces in the icy heights of Siachen, once the world's highest battlefield, where guns fell silent in 2003 after a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
10/06/909 PTI/Economic Times

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BWFS to launch ground handling services at Kochi airport

Nedumbassery: The Bird Worldwide Flight Services (BWFS), a consortium of Frenchbased Worldwide Flight Services and Indian major The Bird Group, will launch ground handling service in Kochi International Airport from Wednesday onwards.
The contract of ground handling service in the airport which was entrusted with the Air India since its inception a decade ago had expired on Tuesday.
The BWFS won the contract for the next seven years when the CIAL invited global tender in the month of March. But it was uncertain whether the BWFS could begin the ground handling work in Kochi Airport as it could not obtain the mandatory security clearance to function as a ground handling agency from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). However the BWFS managed to get the clearance on Monday to facilitate them launch the work on the same day. Meanwhile, the CIAL had extended the contract with the Air India to continue the ground handling for another three months, said Airport director A C K Nair.
The BWFS succeeded to sign an agreement with Qatar Airways to take up its ground handling work in Kochi Airport. Qatar Airways operates seven flights weekly in Kochi- Doha sector.
But Air India would continue to handle the security functions such as baggage screening, access control, escorting luggage and catering of Qatar Airways as the BWFS is yet to obtain approval from the BCAS to carry out the security functions in the airport.
10/06/09 ExpressBuzz

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