Chandigarh airport may spread global wings in 4 months

Chandigarh:  As the countdown has begun for flights from the upcoming Chandigarh international airport, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was scouting for international airlines to connect the City Beautiful with the rest of the world. According to officials, 90% work was completed and the swanky airport was expected to become operational in four months.

Sources said the AAI has found Middle East and South East as favourite and possible destinations for international flights after deliberations and an in-depth study.

While Indigo and SpiceJet has already secured initial clearances to operate flights from Chandigarh to Dubai and Bangkok, the AAI was exploring flights for Sharjah, Egypt, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Tashkent, Muscat, Kuala Lumpur and Dushanbe among others. The AAI has pointed out 42 such destinations that could fetch a huge number of passengers from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand as Chandigarh was a transit point for these states.
25/02/15 Ajay Sura/Times of India

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DIAL 1 for success

When the Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao-led GMR Group won the bid to redevelop the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in 2006, one of the earliest challenges faced by his team was runway delays. “We thought we had found the simplest solution: construct another runway,” recalls Prabhakara Rao, Chief Executive Officer of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). The GMR-led consortium, which included Fraport AG, Malaysia Airport and Airports Authority of India, had won the bid to modernise and operate the IGI airport.

If anything, it turned out to be one of the toughest challenges for the GMR team. The site chosen for the second runway had a sewer line below and when work started all that sewage came into the airport. “For three months I knocked on every door to find out where the sewage was coming from. This was one of the biggest challenges,” says Rao, who can now afford to chuckle as he recalls that the new runway was eventually built eight months ahead of schedule.

While the modernised IGI airport and its new terminal T3, which opened in July 2010, have since been hailed as one of the success stories of Indian aviation, the recognition has now come from where it really matters. On February 15, the Airport Council International (ACI), the only global association of world airports, ranked the IGI Airport as the best in the world among those handling 24-40 million passengers annually.
24/02/15 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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VoA facility doubled at Goa airport: Tourism officials

Panaji: The number of visa-on-arrival (VoA) issued at Goa airport at Dabolim has doubled within a month, taking the figure to 10,475 till now, tourism officials said today.

Beside the encouraging VoA numbers, Goa continues to maintain a third spot in the percentage share of different airports for highest number of VoAs issuance, according to a statement issued by Goa tourism department here.

It said New Delhi tops the list followed by Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.

Visa-on-arrival facility was started at the Goa airport from December last year.

The top 10 source countries for VoA in Goa during the last two months were Russia, Ukraine, USA, Germany, Finland, Australia, Philippines, New Zealand, Norway and Jordan.
23/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

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DIAL to exit cargo service operations at Delhi Airport

New Delhi: Delhi International Airport Ltd, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, has announced its exit from the cargo service operations at Delhi Airport by selling its entire stake to India Infrastructure Fund for Rs 29 crore.

"Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL), an arm of GMR Infrastructure, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its entire 26 per cent stake of the equity capital of Delhi cargo service Centre Private Limited which operates cargo operations at Delhi Airport," GMR Infrastructure said in a regulatory filing to the BSE.

DIAL has agreed to sell its entire holding of 1.09 crore equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each to India Infrastructure Fund — II (investment manager — IDFC Alternatives Limited), for Rs 26.20 per share aggregating a total consideration of Rs 28.60 crore.
23/02/15 PTI/Times of India

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Rs 1.50 Crore Worth Gold Seized at Chennai Airport

Gold worth Rs 1.5 crore was seized by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence from two persons who arrived at the international airport here from Dubai, airport officials said on Sunday.
Acting on a tip off, the DRI officials intercepted Mohammed Rafi and Mohammed Ansari, arriving from Dubai by an early Emirates flight. A search revealed 1.8 kg of gold concealed inside their luggage.
22/02/15 PTI/New Indian Express

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Panel to examine Jewar airport as CM finally 'warms' to project

Greater Noida:  The Akhilesh Yadav government may finally be coming around to the idea of reviving the Jewar international airport project, which was planned in Mayawati's regime but got the cold shoulder after the power shift in Lucknow.

A high-level panel will examine the Greater Noida project in Lucknow on February 16, sources said. Likely to be convened by the chief secretary, it will discuss the technical aspects of the project, for which over 2,000 acres of land have already been acquired. A preliminary meeting was held on Tuesday in Lucknow to set the agenda.

The chief minister himself indicated the government was no longer indifferent to the Jewar project at an event on Tuesday in Bulandhahr, saying that if the Centre takes a decision to establish an international airport in the state, he would extend his support.
12/02/15 Vandana Keelor/Times of India

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IndiGo violates DGCA directives regarding operation in low light

In an alleged violation of the DGCA directives on operations during the low-visibility period, no-frills airline IndiGo operated today three flights to Delhi without CAT-IIIB compliant crew and later on diverted these to Jaipur.

The flights had originated from Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune and were all bound for Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, which is the only CAT-111B compliant airport in the country, airport sources said. An IndiGo spokesperson on being contacted said that the airline deployed the non-CAT-IIIB trained crew as there was no prediction of a "bad weather" at the Delhi airport.

"Three IndiGo flights from Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune for Delhi were diverted to Jaipur airport as the all three aircraft did not have CAT-IIIB compliant crew," airport sources said.

Aviation regulator DGCA had in December ordered all the airlines to deploy CAT-III complaint planes and crew trained to fly under low visibility conditions while operating in and out of IGI airport in the morning to ensure smooth flow of air traffic during fog season.

According to sources, all the three diverted flights departed for their destination after an hour of their landing at the Jaipur airport.
09/02/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Bangladeshi held with gold jewellery at airport

Kolkata: A Bangladeshi national was today arrested at the airport here after gold jewellery weighing 1.8 kg was found in his handbag, the police said.

The man, identified as 30-year-old Kabir Hussain, landed here from Kuala Lumpur by an Air Asia flight late last night and was arrested today.

04/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

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DIAL all set to build elevated taxiway at IGI by 2016

New Delhi: Next year, passengers travelling from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport will see another engineering marvel as Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is all set to build the first-of-its-kind elevated taxiway for aircraft connecting runway number 11/29 with the parking bay situated near terminal 1-D.

As this "eastern cross taxiway" will intersect two main roads connecting T-3 with the city, two tunnels will be built for smooth movement of traffic.

The project promises to cut the taxiway time taken both during take-off and landing and also reduce fuel consumption by almost 30 per cent in both these operations.

"This project will have first elevated taxiway for aircraft to connect main runway with Terminal-1D aircraft parking area. This taxiway will intersect two roads-Central Spine and road coming from Gurgaon- for which two tunnels will be built to ease traffic flow.

In layman's language, visitors coming to Delhi airport will simultaneously see a aircraft moving above and normal traffic moving beneath," a senior DIAL official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Mail Today.
02/02/15 Mail Today/India Today

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Ministry likely to award airport projects at pre-determined rates

New Delhi: The ministry of civil aviation is looking at awarding airport management contracts at Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Guwahati, Jaipur and Ahmedabad to private operators at pre-determined rates rather than on a cost-plus basis to safeguard passengers against high user charges post award of the projects.
A senior official at the ministrysaid, "We are working out the formula for determining the revenue-share agreement between the private operator and the Airports Authority of India. But what we broadly want to do is to predetermine rates so that there is some amount of certainty in the charges which would be levied on passengers.
Airport operators would also stand incentivized to increase efficiency when there is a specified limit." The new model being considered is in line with the recommendation of the PlanCommission to determine landing and parking charges at the six airports identified for privatisation prior to the award of the project and of linking the increase in tariff to the wholesale price index (WPI).
Earlier in December last year, the ministry had raised questions saying that the Plan Comm's suggestion is likely to lead to an upward bias as charges would increase even after the operator recovers his investment. Under the formula being considered now, landing and parking charges at airports would decrease by around two per cent annually and thereafter the tariffs be indexed in line with the inflation rate.
27/02/14 Business Standard

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‘Mumbai airport fit for Airbus A380 landing’

Mumbai: A day after the governments of India and Dubai agreed to allow more flight operations between the two regions, India's aviation regulator has certified that Mumbai's airport is suitable for landing the Airbus A380 super jumbo jets, said a source close to the development.
Both moves will directly benefit middle-eastern carrier Emirates which aims to fly the world's biggest passenger plane to India, starting from the Mumbai airport. India and Dubai Wednesday agreed to enhance their weekly bilateral seat entitlements by 20 per cent to 65,200. carriers of both countries will be able to sell 11,000 extra seats by October next year.
The increase will be done in three phases—5,500 in April-October 2014; 3,300 in October-March 2014; 2,200 in April-October. Emirates should be able to deploy at least two flights per day of the super jumbo A380 without any reduction in its current flights to India immediately.
28/02/14 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Resist corporate lobby, says Achuthanandan

Pathanamthitta: Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan has called upon the people to form a human fortress to check any invasion of the Aranmula Puncha (paddy-cum-wetland) by ‘land-grabbers and the corporate lobby.’
Mr. Achuthanandan was addressing an indefinite satyagraha launched by the all-party Joint Action Council, chaired by social activist Sugathakumari, in protest against the proposed private airport project at Aranmula on Thursday.
The land lobby, backed by the government, was out to destroy the biodiversity-rich Aranmula Puncha, wetlands, the Pampa, and various small natural streams in the name of development. The airport project would ultimately destroy the drinking water source of the region, he said.
Lauding the firm resolve of the people to protect the Aranmula Puncha from the threats posed by the State-sponsored land lobby, Mr. Achuthanandan offered all support to the agitation.
28/02/14 The Hindu

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Protect Aranmula’s heritage: George Onakkoor

Pathanamthitta: The politics that has taken ‘development’ as ‘setting up of airports’ is highly detrimental to the interests of the State, writer and critic George Onakkoor has said.
Prof. Onakkoor was addressing a satyagraha staged by the Joint Action Council, chaired by poet Sugathakumari, in protest against the proposed private airport project at Aranmula, on Wednesday.
“Our culture never taught us to destroy paddy land, wetland, rivers, and other natural water sources in the name of development. Instead, we are obliged to conserve these rich natural resources,” he said.
Earlier, inaugurating the satyagraha on the 16th day, K. Janardhanan Nair, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch national executive committee member, alleged that the proposed Aranmula airport project was nothing short of a State-sponsored corporate terrorism.
27/02/14 The Hindu

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I am willing to withdraw support to govt on Mopa, says Mickky

Margao: "If you want, I am willing to withdraw support to the government on this Dabolim issue if needed," said Nuvem MLA Francisco 'Mickky' Pacheco at a public debate organized by the Nuvem consumer and civic forum on the dual airport issue on Thursday at the Nuvem panchayat hall.
This statement was made by the Goa Vikas party (GVP) supremo in reply to a question posed to him by Fr Eremito Rebello, the convenor of 'Goa For Dabolim Only'. Rebello sought to know how Pacheco would impress upon the BJP government the need to retain Dabolim as a single airport, given that GVP is a coalition partner to the government.
There was no representative of the BJP at this debate while the other participants were Congress spokesperson and Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Ernesto Moraes of the Aam Aadmi party and Abhijit Prabhudesai and Rebello for GFDO.
28/02/14 Times of India

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Fly abroad from T3 of Chandigarh

Chandigarh: The Tricity residents' high-flying wait will be over in February next year, when the local airport will show off its swanky terminal for operation of international flights. It will be on the lines of the Terminal 3 (T3) of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi.
After the construction is over, daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly international flights to Dubai, Middle-East, South-East Asia and Europe will commence from March 2015.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has set the deadline of February 17, 2015, for the completion of 60,591 square-metre terminal, which will have state-of-the-art features of T3 of IGI Airport. It will accommodate 1,600 passengers at one point of time and have capacity of eight bays for parking of planes. That's five times bigger than the existing 12,000 square-metre domestic terminal, which was inaugurated in 2011 and has a capacity of only 400 passengers.
28/02/14 Ajay Sura/Times of India

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Do not reach for the sky near HAL

Bangalore: The High Court on Wednesday gave a shocker to the people who have invested in flats at the Raheja Vivarea apartment complex in Koramangala Industrial Layout. The court told their advocate that if a case was made out for the larger public good, these people would have to make sacrifices.
The apartment complex with 10 buildings has been embroiled in a legal tussle with HAL Airport authorities after the latter withdrew their no-objection certificate citing that the complex was violating norms that stipulate that no building can be built above 45 metres within a radius of four kilometres from the airport. The HC did not spare the HAL or the builder either. HAL has been asked to submit to the court the original file related to the application made by Chalet Hotels Private Limited after its counsel told the court that a document was added to it months after the original application. Chalet Hotels have already been forbidden from modifying or developing the buildings beyond 40 metres.
Chalet Hotels had applied and got the NOC from from HAL in 2012. But on August 16, 2013, HAL revoked this NOC stating that it had been provided with wrong information about the elevation of the land on which the apartment complex was being built. HAL claimed that it had been informed earlier that the final height of the buildings will not go beyond 870 metres above mean sea level. But it turned out that it would be 932 metres. Chalet Hotels then filed the petition against HAL in the HC.
28/02/14  Shyam Prasad S/Bangalore Mirror

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Ludhiana Air India flight on Sunday instead of Friday

Ludhiana:  Air India, the only airlines operating from Sahnewal airport, has rescheduled its flights to and from Sahnewal airport in Ludhiana. The flight operating on Fridays has been scheduled for Sundays. Amrik Singh, manager, Air India, said earlier there were three flights in a week on Monday, Thursday and Friday to and from Delhi to Ludhiana, but now there would be no flight on Friday. Instead there would be a flight on Sunday.
28/02/14 Times of India

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Hyderabad airport adjudged second-best in 2013

Hyderabad: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here, operated and managed by the GMR Hyderabad International Airport , today said it has retained its second position for the year 2013 in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey conducted by the Airport Council International.
ACI, a global body of airports, has adjudged RGIA as the second-best airport in the world for 2013 in the 5-15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category, a GHIAL release said.
27/02/14 TI/Times of India

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‘Yaariyan’ actress Rakul Preet Singh found carrying bullets

Mumbai: Rakul Preet who made her big screen debut earlier this year with Yaariyan was detained at the Delhi airport. Apparently the actress was travelling to Mumbai and while going through the security check at the Delhi airport, a suspicious metallic object was found in her bag. On scrutiny the said object turned out to be a bullet, owing to which she was asked to step aside. Rakul was later detained for carrying a bullet in her bag by the CISF and was questioned for hours about the bullet.
27/02/14 Indian Express

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Tanzanian Who Flew to Chennai for Heart Treatment, Dies at Airport

Chennai: He made it 5315 kilometres from Dodoma to Chennai, but before Elfalah Khamis Nassor (60) could drive another 9 km from the airport to MIOT Hospitals for his medical appointment, his heart gave out.
Nasoor and his wife had flown from Tanzania to Chennai from Muscat by Oman Air flight WY 251 which arrived at the airport at 6.15 am.
"It had taken some time for them to get their luggage and clear customs. It was a little before 7 AM when they finally reached the lift lobby and started to exit the terminal when he suddenly clutched his chest and fell down," said a vendor inside the international terminal.
Though doctors from the Apollo Emergency Clinic at the airport were called to revive him, all they could do was to pronounce him dead.
27/02/14 New Indian Express

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