Civil Aviation Ministry working on 4-pronged strategy to boost airports' capacity across India: Jayant Sinha

The Civil Aviation Ministry is working on a four-pronged strategy to enhance capacity of airports across India, union minister, Mr Jayant Sinha said at an ASSOCHAM event.

We have been spending a lot of time thinking and planning about what we should do about airport capacity, we are working on four different aspects, said Mr Sinha.

The Union Minister said that while the Aviation Ministry is simultaneously working on enhancing capacity at major airport hubs of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, it is also working on developing new green-field and brown-field airports and smaller airports in tier III and IV cities.

We are significantly adding green-field capacity, we are examining brown-field PPP (public private partnership) models for mid-sized airports and we are also looking at very cost effective ways of commissioning and operating smaller tier III and IV heliports, said Mr Sinha.

He also said that second edition of UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme will help India's civil aviation sector sustain the current 15-20 per cent growth along with various supportive policy measures.
Just like the way we have opened up the tier III and IV airports during UDAN round-1, our expectation is that we will open up all helipads, smaller air-strips in the hilly areas of states like Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and in the north-east, said Mr Sinha.
Adding that it is possible through a supportive set of policy measures to be able to open up more remote locations for air connectivity under second round of UDAN, the Minister said that government expects tremendous support from helicopter operators, NSOPs (non scheduled air operators) and others in this regard.
31/08/17 Capital Market/Business Standard

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CCTV cameras not working properly at airport

New Delhi: For the surveillance and security of the country’s busiest and most sensitive Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport Terminal-3. nearly 3,000 CCTV cameras are not working properly.
Most of them are old cameras which cannot  take clear video footage.
Viewing its seriousness, the security agencies have stressed upon putting the new high technique cameras.
But despite passing orders for a long time, no action has been initiated in this direction. According to senior officials at the airport, due to strict security arrangements at the airport there is a need of new and high resolution cameras for the better surveillance.
It is to be noted that IGI Airport has been awarded with the best airport of the world. Being the most sensitive area of the country it is always been on terrorists’ target.
Therefore, CCTV cameras are one of the most important tools to keep security check. But the cameras installed here are not capable to fulfil the requirement as these cameras were installed seven years ago.
According to the airport officials, in view of the security the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, along with security agencies, has conducted a survey about the cameras. After the survey it had been told to replace the old cameras. However, the decision is still pending.
31/08/17 Prateek Chauhan/Tribune 

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Conversion to green energy to save airport 20 crore

Chennai:The airport is set to become an energy conscious facility and saving nearly 20 crore in the process by switching to LED lights and installing more solar panels
The change expected to be complete by March next year, follows the Union ministry's green airports initiative.
Airside lighting - runway lights, taxiway lights and apron lights - were converted to LED, which has led to a savings of 4.92 crore per year.
The work was completed in May. Now, conventional lights inside the passenger and cargo terminals, administrative block, and the sodium vapour and fluorescent lights on the city-side of the airport campus will be changed into LED lights. This will help the airport save another 5crore.
A senior official of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said, "The work has already begun. The plan is to complete majority of the work by March, the rest will be completed by June. There is a plan to install solar
31/08/17 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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AAI plans facelift for Pune Airport

The face of Pune airport at Lohegaon has transitioned over years with an increase in the number of flights and consequent footfalls. Currently, around 11,000 passengers travel from this airport daily. However, the infrastructure and services are not enough to accommodate the rising number, an issue which has finally caught Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) attention.
The authority concerned is now planning various structural changes at the airport. On Wednesday, Pune Mirror along with the AAI Pune officials, took a survey of these upcoming changes for the passengers.

Currently, the airport has 160 arrivals and departures in all every day. Contrary to the high volume of the commute, the infrastructure for check-ins, waiting lounges and other facilities are lacking, which the AAI is looking forward to incorporate. “We have two spaces on the ground floor which was security hold area. Here, the passengers, after completing the check-in process, would wait for final boarding of the flight. We will be adding two more areas in the first two phases. The first spot will come up on the ground floor near the check-in counter and another security hold area will be made on the first floor. Both these spots will be able to seat 200 passengers and will be constructed over a couple of months,” said AAI Pune director Ajay Kumar.

To facilitate faster check-ins, seven new luggage checking X-Ray machines have been brought to the airport, which will be added to the existing fleet of eight machines. Additionally, the waiting lounge near the second departure gate inside the terminus, which currently accommodates 100 passengers, will be expanded. “The work of this new lounge has been started and within 15 days it will be completed.” added Kumar.
31/08/17 Dheeraj Bengurt/Pune Mirror

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Sabarimala airport at Cheruvally Estate: Govt move suspicious, KPCC ex-president Sudheeran tells HC

Kochi: State government's order for setting up Sabarimala airport at Cheruvally Estate without declaring that the land belongs to the government is intended to grant non-existing rights to encroachers, former KPCC president VM Sudheeran has alleged at the Kerala High Court.
The allegation was raised in a petition filed by Sudheeran seeking to join in the case filed by Harrisons Malayalam Ltd (HML) and others challenging the appointment of IAS officer MG Rajamanickam as special officer for resumption of government lands. Cheruvally Estate was allegedly sold by HML to Gospel for Asia.
"A reading of Ext.R4(e) (CM's reply to question in Assembly) would show that the Government, in the said order have not in clear term stated that it is a land belonging to the Government and not to any private person like Harrisons Malayalam/Gospel for Asia. Therefore, the genuineness and bona fide of the Government's approach reflected in the said executive order calls for reasonable suspicion.
Therefore, a reading (of) the Ext.R4(c) (cabinet decision) in the light of Exts.R4(d) and R4(e) (Question to CM in Assembly and its answer) would create a reasonable apprehension in any reasonable prudent citizen that the Government is extremely irresponsible in the matter and they find themselves unable to assert their right over the land in categorical terms," Sudheeran's petition said. This is a deliberate and calculated effort to create ambiguity with a view to weaken Government's contentions and it is against public interest, Sudheeran has alleged.
31/08/17 Mahir Haneef/Times of India

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Domestic flights from Sept 2

Ludhiana: The domestic flights from the Sahnewal airport here are going to start again from September 2. The first Air India flight from Delhi to Sahnewal will reach here at around 4 pm that day and the same flight will leave for Delhi at 5 pm. This would be a 70-seater plane. The DC, Pradeep Aggarwal, held a meeting with the officials concerned. He said the initiative had been taken by the Central Government. He said the best road to reach Sahnewal was through the Kohara bypass as it will save much of the time of passengers. He said that for making the destination easy, sign-boards had been put up for the convenience of public. The other arrangemts like repair of road and berms, plantation, pruning of weeds and trees etc will be completed by August 31.
31/08/17 Tribune

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Two-stream ATC rating system for air traffic controllers

New Delhi: In a move which is likely to ensure safer and more efficient aircraft operations in the Indian skies than ever before, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to implement two-stream rating process for air traffic controllers (ATCO). The authority has decided to switch over from the existing single-stream, multiple ratings for a controller to the proposed two-stream rating process.
"The proposed two-stream rating process envisages deploying Indian ATCOs in either en route stream or terminal stream. While controllers deployed in en route stream will be responsible for provision of air traffic services to the aircraft in Continental/Oceanic enroute phase, controllers in terminal stream will be providing air traffic services to those flights operating around 60 nautical miles from an airport wherein arriving flights from the enroute phase and departing flights to join their enroute phase operate," a statement by AAI said.
After completing the requisite ab-initio training and undergoing mandatory on-the-job training, ATCOs are assessed for their competency and skill in line with ICAO standards and DGCA regulations on the subject. "Controllers have a well-developed ability to keep calm under high pressure traffic situations or unusual occurrences, to receive and synthesize different kinds of information related to traffic handling and perform independent duties in the concerned ATC units.
31/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Tired passengers take shelter on conveyor belt at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: After the heavy rains and floods in Mumbai, the passengers who had just landed at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) sort refuge in its safe confines on Tuesday night. The huge crowds were in fact safer inside CSIA, though the seating arrangement was short. Mumbaikars that are used to a fourth seat in a train and can find safe spot sat on the conveyor belts to take some rest.

“The Mumbai International Airport Pvt Limited (MIAL) had arranged buses from terminal to main junctions of Mumbai like Andheri and Dadar. The passengers were not willing to move out of the airport the fear of being stranded on flooded roads,” said an eye-witness.

The visibly tired passengers which included women and children were seen taking rest on conveyor belt at international airport in Mumbai on Tuesday night. The scenes at the domestic airport too were no different. Mumbaikars returning from their holidays stayed put as many flights were cancelled.
“Stranded at Mumbai airport after an end to a wonderful vacation,” wrote Dr Anjali Kanitkar, who now heads the Directorate of Social Audit.

Several airlines cancelled their flights due to low visibility and strong wind amidst heavy downpour. Few flights were diverted to Ahmedabad.

The airlines have extended the waiver on penalties arising out of date or flight change.

In a bid to minimise the impact on network and hasten the recovery the Jet Airways has had to cancel a few scheduled flights of August 29 and August 30.
31/08/17 Diwakar Sharma/FreePressJournal

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Indian Air Force-owned Hindon Airport to become second airport in Delhi NCR

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force-owned Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad would become the second airport in the National Capital Region of Delhi albeit for regional commercial flights, the government said on Wednesday.

The government said that they have fetched approvals from the Indian Air Force to allow regional airlines to launch flights out of Hindon airbase instead of the existing Delhi airport, as it is not constrained.

“We will not be able to add any new regional flights out of Mumbai airport because there are no slots available. Not just that Delhi airport is also facing slot constraints. We will soon be offering Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad for regional flights,” said aviation secretary RN Choubey.
He added that the ministry will talk to Delhi airport for their approval for the usage of another airport within 150 km radius of the existing Delhi airport.

“We have started discussion with Delhi airport management on this and are hopeful that they would not have any problem in starting regional flights from Hindon,” Choubey added.
30/08/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Land still not available to start night landing at Srinagar airport

Srinagar: It is more than a year since clearance was given for the start of night landing at Srinagar International Airport, yet the facility remains uninstalled.
Director of Srinagar International Airport, Sharad Kumar, told Kashmir Reader that the airport lacks additional 600 metres of lighting for the start of the facility, the land required for which is yet to be procured.
“Otherwise, all other requirements are complete,” he said. “Once we are able to procure the land, which we have to get from the state government, the lighting will be put in place. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will give clearance and the facility will start.”
The Srinagar airport occupies a small corner of the massive IAF airbase which controls it. The airport land has actually been leased out to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) by the IAF and houses the terminal building where passengers check-in and depart. The AAI also controls the apron area (where an aircraft is parked) while the airspace and runway control is with the IAF.
Last year, the state government gave the green signal for night flights from May 2016. When that did not happen on schedule, a meeting was held between the officers manning the airport and the chairman of the airport advisory committee, who was at that time Tariq Hamid Karra, the PDP leader who has since joined the Congress. It was conveyed in the meeting that the lack of funnel guarding (required for flight operations during night), runway lighting according to international flight standards, and approach lights for night landing were the reasons for the delay in starting the service.
30/08/17 Junaid Nabi Bazaz/Kashmir Reader

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Policy push for local air hubs

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-government wants to transform the metro airports into global aviation hubs, like the ones in Dubai and Singapore, through a series of policies, including stalling bilateral deals that favour rival airports.

The move, officials feel, will also address the aviation sector's financial woes.

Both the finance and the civil aviation ministries feel there is a need to stop feeding rival airports in Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Istanbul while major domestic airports and airlines remain under-utilised on global routes.

A number of policies are being considered to make the metros more cost effective for airlines to fly internationally. These include lower parking fees, incentives to airlines to take up unused flying rights and changes in visa rules to allow easier transit to passengers travelling from neighbouring and Southeast Asian countries to Europe and the US.
"India can be a hub for neighbouring countries to fly to Europe and the US. We have to be imaginative. Singapore gives a three-day transit to anyone with a valid visa and ticket to Europe, the US or Australia as they know these travellers have been vetted by stringent checks. The result is funneling of passengers as well as spending in dollars in Singapore's hotels and duty-free stores," said aviation ministry officials.
Officials point out that besides Air India, whose huge losses have forced the government to put it on the block, at least two major airlines have negative net worth and huge borrowings.
27/08/17 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/Telegraph

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Hyderabad International Airport migrating to Ozone safe AC system

Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here, will migrate its entire conventional AC units to those with Ozone safe AC units across the offices of the airport.

This is in line with the Government of India’s ratification of Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer in 1992, and its commitment to phase out the Ozone-depleting HCFCs (Hydrochlorofluorocarbons) from India, SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, said, “GHIAL has been pro-actively utilizing newer and greener technologies available globally to keep its commitment towards environment sustenance. RGIA has 5MW solar power plant, which meets approx 15 percent of airport’s electricity demand.
28/08/17 Hans India

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Civil aviation director asks AAI to inspect Bareilly airport site

Bareilly: To expedite the construction of the proposed Nath Nagari airport, near the Indian Air Force’s Trishul airbase in Bareilly, director of civil aviation in UP government, Devendra Swaroop, has asked the chairman of Airport Authority of India (AAI) Guru Prasad Mohapatra to send a team to inspect the civil enclave perimeter as some stretches of the boundary are zigzag shaped. Swaroop insisted Mohapatra to send a senior official of AAI, along with the team, as any decision on the zigzag shaped boundary could be taken on the spot. According to the district administration, work at the proposed civil enclave site has slowed down as AAI is yet to inspect the boundary.
Civil aviation director asks AAI to inspect Bareilly airport site
In his letter to Mohapatra, Swaroop said, “Bareilly district magistrate told us that land, according to the master plan, for a civil enclave has been acquired but at some stretches, the boundary wall is zigzag shaped. Site inspection is necessary for this. Hence, it is advised that the executive director of AAI visit the site and resolve the matter.”
The director of civil aviation has asked the AAI chairman to inform him about the proposed visit of AAI officials as he could also reach the place to give submission on behalf of the state government.
27/08/17 Pankul Sharma/Times of India

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Rs 290 crore for civil airport in Allahabad before Ardh Kumbh

Lucknow: State government has sanctioned and released Rs 290 crore to upgrade the Bamrauli airstrip in Allahabad before the Ardh Kumbh in 2019. To be built adjacent to Bamrauli Airport, the new civil airport will have facility for landing and take-off of all, including Boeing 737 aircraft.
Since, Bamrauli Airport comes under the purview of the Air Force, the need for a civil airport in the Sangam City was long felt, said state health minister Allahabad (West) MLA Siddharthnath Singh, adding that though announcement for the airport was made much before Yogi government came to power, the process has now been expedited. Sangam City's airport will be at par with those at Lucknow and Gorakhpur, said Singh, adding that funds have reached the district magistrate.
To be ready within a year, the civil airport would be built on an extended land, acquisition of which would begin soon, Singh, who is also the UP government spokesperson, told TOI. State government's request to Railways to come up with a rail overbridge (ROB) and flyover connecting Begum Bazar locality with the airport has also been approved, he added.
28/08/17 Rajiv Srivastava/Times of India

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Gadkari hints at 10-year wait for Purandar airport to take off

Pune: The proposed airport at Purandar has got yet another tentative take-off date, this time from Nitin Gadkari.
The Union minister of road transport, highways and shipping on Sunday indicated that the new facility will take at least 10 years to become functional. Barely two months ago minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha had said the new facility will take off in 5-6 years.
"The existing airport in Lohegaon is a profit making facility. Additional land for its expansion of the airport has been given by the defence. If required, more land will be sought and one can have more features, such as an underground parking facility, at the airport through the public private partnership model," Gadkari said.
"The Lohegaon airport needs more space for more aircraft to land and take-off. All the new facilities will take care of the airport in terms of better facilities for at least 10 years. Simultaneously, the construction of the new Pune airport (at Purandar) will go on," he added.
28/08/17 Times of India

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Chandigarh Airport to reduce operations from October 3 for upgrade and repairs

New Delhi: Chandigarh airport will curtail daily flight operation timings starting October 3 for upgrade and repairs, a move opposed by airlines, which said they didn’t get adequate advance notice. The airport will stop functioning from 3 pm to 5 am daily, airline executives said.

The Federation of Indian Airlines opposed the plan and asked the Indian Air Force, which owns the airport, to shift renovation timings to night to minimise impact. Runway work will result in restricted operating hours, the federation said in a letter earlier this month. Airlines had planned to increase daily flights from 74 to 84 in the winter schedule and closure every afternoon will affect 28 flights, it said.

Reduction in operation timings will lead to a 35-40% drop in passengers and flights, the federation said. International and domestic passenger traffic at Chandigarh increased 42% to 216,694 in June, according to data on Airports Authority of India website.

The federation suggested Chandigarh follow the model adopted at Amritsar airport, where runway work was carried out between 8 pm and 5:30 am for a year, without affecting scheduled operations. Airlines sought at least six months advance notice regarding such closures and/or closure at Chandigarh from 10 pm to 5 am so as to minimise impact on operations, according to the letter.
28/08/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Razing buildings near airport that violate height norms not a solution: HC

Mumbai: Voicing concern over violation of height norms around city airport, the Bombay High Court has said authorities will have to make a choice between "saving lives of air passengers and life savings" of those living in such buildings.

However, it said that razing buildings violating height norms was not a solution.

A bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice N M Jamdar made the observation while hearing a PIL filed by activist Yashwant Shenoy, seeking action against structures around the airport that violate height rules.

The HC said authorities will have to make a choice between "saving lives of the thousands of air passengers, and the life savings of a few thousand people" who own such buildings or flats.

In the hearing earlier this week, CJ Chellur said the court could not pass orders directing demolition of such buildings and structures all at once.

"Demolishing everything is not the solution. What will happen to residential buildings that are occupied currently but violate height norms? Who will take the responsibility for the occupants, provide them alternate accommodation?" CJ Chellur asked.

"What does the DGCA propose to do on this?" she sought to know.

The bench said authorities must come up with a "better solution."

On previous hearings, another bench of the HC had directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to identify and issue notices to all such structures that were found to be contravening the height norms.
27/08/17 PTI

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High rises in Palam flag flight hazards

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi International Airport is operating on “borrowed time”, both on safety and security parameters. According to a petition filed in the Delhi High Court, the busiest airport of the country with over 1,100 flights operating daily is running on the basis of the obstruction survey that was carried out way back in 2007 and 2010.

Since then the situation in and around the airport has changed drastically. Hundreds of high-rises have come up in and around the airport complex. For instance, Aerocity comprising malls and hotels on the airport premises has also turned out to be the biggest safety as well as security threat, according to the petition.
The High Court has issued notices to all ministries and departments concerned seeking their immediate response. Mumbai-based advocate Yashwant Shenoy, who had blown the lid over the safety hazards around the Mumbai airport last year, has filed the PIL in the court of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Geeta Mittal. His petition in the Bombay High Court led to demolition order against 437 high-rises around the Mumbai airport.

Delhi has a foggy winter in addition to monsoon during which visibility becomes a serious issue for safe flying, particularly when the obstacle map of the airport is of the years 2007 and 2010. The air regulations mandate obstacle survey in every two years.

The petitioner accessed the website of Airport Authority of India and found that the obstacle map of Delhi is outdated. Delhi has three runways—obstacle survey for 10/28 runway was done in 2007 and for 9/27, it was conducted in March 2010. For the third runway 11/29—the longest runway in Asia with probably the world’s largest displaced threshold of almost 1.5 km caused by a large statue of Lord Shiva—the obstacle survey dates back to February 2010.

A petition in the Delhi High Court has claimed that the obstacles to the airport are also obstacles to Communication Navigation Surveillance. Radars and other instruments are critical when the systems in the aircraft fail.
27/08/17 Pradip R Sagar/New Indian Express

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Plane’s engine parts come off on takeoff run

New Delhi: In an unprecedented scare at the Delhi airport, engine parts of a Jumbo Jet fell off just as the plane was about to take off on Saturday. Luckily, the pilots were able to abort takeoff as they were on the airport's longest runway and stop the freighter Boeing 747-300 in time.
However, the runway had to be closed for over half an hour to check for strewn parts and reopened for operations only after removing the same.
This incident happened with the cargo aircraft of a Kabul-bound private Afghan carrier. "Around 4.30pm on Saturday, the plane was rolling for takeoff from runway 29 (the one closest to Gurgaon side). Another aircraft was on the taxiway and its crew, to their horror, saw engine parts of the Jumbo Jet fall off. It alerted the air traffic control (ATC), which in turn contacted the Afghan crew. Luckily, the four-engine B-747 was able to safely stop in time," said a senior ATC official.
An airport source said the "rear portion of an engine, called turbine, had fallen off during the takeoff." The plane was removed from the runway and the airstrip was closed for operations to look for strewn engine parts. Any metallic object lying on the runway can be dangerous for an aircraft if it hits them while they are moving at fast speed.
27/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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CIAL shareholders to get 25 per cent in dividend

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has posted a net profit of Rs 179.45 crore after tax in the last fiscal, up from Rs 176.02 crore in 2015-16 fiscal. The profit before tax increased from the previous year’s Rs 237.32 crore to Rs 256.32 crore last  fiscal. It is learnt that a dividend of 25 percent has been decided for the shareholders by the director board of the company for the fiscal which has to be endorsed by the AGM.

The total revenue earned by CIAL last fiscal was Rs 487.28 crore after detaching the revenue from the duty-free shop, which was formed into a separate company from June 1, 2016. The total revenue of CIAL in 2015-16 fiscal was Rs 530.79 crore which was inclusive of duty-free revenue.

The company has also recorded a sharp decline in the annual expenses. It came down from Rs 293.47 crore in 2015-16 fiscal to Rs 230.96 crore. This could be achieved after implementing certain austerity measures.
The CIAL has recorded quantum jump in duty- free shop revenue also in the last fiscal. It jumped from Rs 212.49 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 246.62 crore last fiscal. The first two months’ revenue  of the duty-free shop in the last fiscal of Rs 64.84 crore has only been added to CIAL’s revenue while the rest goes to the separate company CIAL Dutyfree and Retail Services Limited (CDRSL). The revenue of this company in the last fiscal is Rs 181.78 crore which takes the total revenue of CIAL to Rs 669.06 crore.
27/08/17 Deccan Chronicle

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