Air Deccan to build low-cost airports

Bangalore: After low-cost flying it’s now low-cost airports. Air Deccan has announced plans to partner with builders to bid for the construction of four low-cost airports in Karnataka. The Karnataka government had recently called for expressions of interest for setting up airports in Hassan, Shimoga, Gulbarga and Bidar.
But the airline did not disclose who they would be tying up with. The partnership with the builder would be based on an assurance from Air Deccan that the latter would ensure regular passenger traffic to these smaller towns.
But the airline did not disclose who they would be tying up with. The partnership with the builder would be based on an assurance from Air Deccan that the latter would ensure regular passenger traffic to these smaller towns.
Air Deccan executive chairman G R Gopinath said his vision is to build no-frills airports at a cost of Rs 20 crore each, compared to the over Rs 300 crore that regular airports cost.
30/06/07 Times of India

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Buzzing bees keep passengers away from plane

Mumbai: It was the passengers who saw them first.
“We had stepped onto the tarmac and were about to board the plane when we saw the amazing sight. A blanket of bees covered the nose of the jet and the plane’s entire front portion up to the front doors,” said Sudhir Kulkarni, a passenger. “It was really scary. We panicked, fearing an attack, and some of us started running.”
“The passengers were boarding Jet Airways' Flight 9W 327 9.45am flight to Ahmedabad on Wednesday when we saw the bees,” a Mumbai airport official said. “No one was stung.”
The anxious passengers were shepherded into the plane from the rear end, the door was shut and locked, and the airport fire services were called in.
But as their hoses pounded the fuselage with water jets, more surprises were in store. Some of the bees flew away but most died and stuck to the aircraft.
The plane took off after a 20-minute delay, the dead bees smeared on its body. By the time it landed in Ahmedabad, though, the bees had fallen off, probably burnt crisp.
29/06/07 The Telegraph

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Link failure disrupts Patna airport functioning

Patna: There was a complete link failure at the airport here on Friday. All telelinks snapped at the airport due to damage to the underground cable of BSNL.
The three airlines operating from Patna — the Indian, Sahara Airlines and the Air Deccan — had to provide the boarding passes manually to their passengers.
Airport sources said even the normal functioning of Airports Authority of India was hit due to this failure.
Sources in the Air Sahara said later in the evening that they managed to run the system somehow as the internet line was okay.
Meanwhile, BSNL official Prakash Nath blamed a road construction company engaged in constructing a pillar in front of the BSNL office, for this.
30/06/07 Times of India

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AI flight makes emergency landing at Chennai airport

Chennai: An Air India flight from Mumbai to Bangkok made an emergency landing at the Meenambakkam airport here on Friday after developing problems in the hydraulic system.
Airport officials said the flight, which left Mumbai at 3.30pm, developed problems when it was about to land at Bangkok. Officials there denied permission to land at the airport after which the flight was diverted to Chennai.
The flight, with 178 passengers, made a safe landing at the airport here at about 6.55pm.
29/06/07 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Tantia Constructions bags terminal project from AAI

Mumbai: Tantia Constructions on 28 June said it has received a Rs12.46 crore project from Airport Authority of India (AAI) for construction of new terminal building and allied works at Cooch Behar Airport.
The construction work of the airport terminal in the West Bengal town would be completed within 12 months, the Kolkata-based construction company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Earlier in 2005, Tantia was awarded the terminal building construction of Dibrugarh Airport in Assam, which is being carried out at present.
28/06/07 PTI/Livemint

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Centre asks AAI for time-bound upgrade of airports

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to undertake modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports besides 35 non-metro ones in a time-bound manner.
Addressing senior AAI officials, Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla said these airports should be upgraded on a fast-track basis and in a time-bound manner, according to a AAI release here.
AAI Chairman K Ramalingam said that renewed thrust was being given to training of the AAI personnel through International Civil Aviation Organisation and other international agencies.
28/06/07 PTI/Economic Times

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Chennai airport runway surface in good shape

Chennai: A friction test conducted on the runway of the Chennai airport last week showed that its surface is in good condition.
During the test, conducted using a specially designed car, friction levels were found to be 0.56, allowing aircraft to land without undue directional control problems, say Airports Authority of India officials.
The test vehicle is a sophisticated measurement system of both operational and calibration measurement. It can transmit data to the Air Traffic Control within a short period of time. The vehicle has a small wheel attached to the rear side. The tyre of the wheel is made of the same material as a normal aircraft tyre and the shape and tread are similar.
When operated on the runway with the tyres touching the ground, it friction readings, which are correlated with true friction values obtained from aircraft operations.
AAI officials use the friction tester on a clean surface at speeds of 65, 95 or 130 kmph.
28/06/07 The Hindu

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'India needs Rs 36,000 cr in airports'

New Delhi: The country needs a whopping Rs 36,000 crore investment for developing airports, two-third of which is expected to come from private players, a senior Civil Aviation Ministry official said on Wednesday.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) and private developers would invest the money to develop half-a-dozen greenfield and 50 smaller airports in next five years in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar and north-east, K N Srivastava, joint secretary in the ministry, said at a aviation summit.
He also said the ministry was in talks with Indian Air Force authorities to allow airlines use some of its stations during peak hours, beginning with the Hindon Air Force base station in Ghaziabad.
Srivastava said Rs 12,000 crore investment would come from AAI's internal accruals and other sources, while the ministry expected private players such as Tatas and Ambanis to pump in Rs 24,000 crore.
He said the government was planning to build greenfield airports in places like Sirdi and Solapur in Maharashtra, four in north-east and one in Karnataka. Of the 50 smaller airports identified, 12 were in the north-east and eight in Karnataka, besides a few in Bihar, Gujarat and other states.
27/06/07 PTI/Economic Times

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Major Push For Civil Aviation In Northeast

The civil aviation ministry has drawn up a major plan to boost air traffic in northeastern states by constructing four new airports at a cost of Rs.3.5 billion ($85 million), a senior official said Wednesday.
The ministry will also make operational the 12 airports that are not being used currently in the region, even as efforts will be made to step the investment for maintenance of airports at the national level, the official added.
'The government of India has launched a very careful roadmap for the development of airport network in the northeast region,' N.K. Srivastava, joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry, told an aviation summit here.
'There are currently 12 operational airports in the northeast and about the same number of airports which were operational before. We are looking at making these 12 airports operational,' he said.
'In addition to that, four new greenfield airports will be developed at Sikkim, Kohima, Itanagar and Tamang,' he told the seminar organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) here.
27/06/07 NEWSPost India

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Sri Lankan Dy. Minister detained at Nedumbaserry Airport

Kochi: Sri Lankan Deputy Minister for Higher Education Mohd. Mustafa was briefly detained at the Nedumbaserry International Airport, near here, today for arriving without a valid visa.
Mr Mustafa, who arrived in the city to attend an awards function of the Kerala Management Association this evening, was later issued a 'temporary landing permit' by the Port Registration Officer and allowed to leave the airport.
Senior immigration officials at the airport confirmed that the Sri Lankan minister arrived here at about 1130 hrs. by Sri Lankan Airlines flight 165 without a valid visa.
However, they denied that the minister was detained and said that he ''waited'' in the immigration office while the temporary landing permit was arranged for him.
27/06/07 UNI/NewKerala.com

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Air India plane lands under emergency conditions

New Delhi: A Bangkok-bound Air India flight from Mumbai with 154 passengers on board today landed at the international airport here under emergency conditions after it developed a problem in its hydraulic system.
The pilot of Air India's flight 348 detected the technical glitch and landed the Airbus 310 safely at around 12 pm as emergency personnel were kept on standby, airport officials said.
All the 154 passengers on board are safe, they said.
"The pilot felt there was some problem in the hydraulic system and decided to land. The landing was normal. The aircraft was taxied to the technical area for a check," the carrier's northern India regional director D S Kohli said.
He said the "passengers would be flown to Bangkok and Tokyo in the evening and to other destinations thereafter". They were being accomodated at the airport and and served refreshments.
26/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

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Kochi airport gets own dog squad

Kochi: Cochin airport Tuesday got its own dog squad comprising two female Labradors as part of its security set-up, becoming the first airport in the country to do so.
"No other airport in the country has its own dog squad. We are the first to get one. The Labradors have been purchased at Rs.125,000 each from the dog training centre of the Indian Army in Meerut," S. Bharath, managing director Cochin International Airport Limited, told reporters.
Earlier, the airport would ask Kerala Police to provide sniffer dogs when required and they had to be brought from 50 km away.
"The two dogs would be kept at the airport and used when VIPs travel or when there is a bomb alert," said Bharath.
26/06/07 IANS/NewKerala.com

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New security system for Chennai airport

Chennai: A state-of-the-art security system will be in place at the Chennai airport shortly.
The proposal has been sent to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Board for approval.
According to AAI sources, under the Rs.100-crore project, the entire airport will be divided into six areas: perimeter fencing, perimeter surveillance, passenger and staff surveillance, baggage control and unattended objects, vehicle movement and access control.
Power fencing will be installed on the airport’s perimeter. Sixty ‘intelligent cameras’, which can differentiate between a human being and an animal, and are capable of panning, tilting and zooming, will be installed on the perimeter. . When an intruder enters the operational area or the sterile zone, the security system will alert authorities in the main control room. Employees of various government agencies and ground handling staff will be provided with Radio Frequency Identity Cards.
Similar cards will be issued to vehicles entering the operational area. They will be pasted on the engine. Sensors fixed at the access points can read the information in the card from a distance of up to 10 feet, when a staff member or vehicle approaches the entry points. The movement of people and vehicles in the operational area can be digitally recorded and stored for a year.
27/06/07 P Oppili/The Hindu

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Parking at Dabolim airport restricted

Vasco: Parking of vehicles will be restricted at Dabolim airport premises due to security consideration from July 1.
In his order, Airport Director Paul Manickam stated that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) would restrict parking of vehicles in the existing car parking area located east of the terminal building which is declared as a no-parking zone.
‘Vehicle in restricted area will be allowed to drop or pick passengers during short period of arrival and departure,’ Manickam stated.
AAI terminal Manager Utpal Baruah informed that only two buses of commercial airlines and hotels are allowed to bring their passengers during arrivals and departures.
He further added that airport staff vehicles would permitted with stickers in specified areas. Parking of black and yellow taxies would as per the ordered regulated in April 1 2005 and the VIP and other categories of vehicles would be permitted for a certain period and that too at a specified area.
Baruah informed that the parking area has been shifted outside the airport and adjacent to highway, where parking will be permitted on payment of fees.
26/06/07 Herald Publications

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e-passports: Gateway to opportunity for IT firms

Mumbai: The Indian government is soon expected to invite tenders to deploy e-passports. The multi-million dollar project will initially provide e-passports to diplomats and, if successful, will be rolled out for close to 40 million passport holders across the country.
An e-passport is machine- readable, enabling quick processing at airports. The passport comes with an in-built security (biometric) features which comprise an IC (integrated circuit) chip embedded in the back cover that stores the data (including photo). These also make the passport tamper-proof. In ordinary passports, this data is typically displayed on the photo page.
With almost 500 million passports in circulation and the cost of a single e-passport ranging between $8 and $15 (Rs 330 to Rs600), it has opened up a huge market for Indian IT firms.
IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), NXP Semiconductors and Gemini Traze are already in the fray.
26/06/07 Shivani Shinde/Business Standard

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Upgrade in Calcutta airport surveillance

Calcutta: Three new radars at the airport will make air traffic movement over the city and its surrounding areas safer within a couple of years.
“There will be a new primary surveillance radar, while two secondary radars will also be installed,” S.P.S. Bakshi, regional executive director (east), Airports Authority of India (AAI), said on Monday.
AAI officials in Delhi said Rs 30 crore has been sanctioned for the project, which will include construction of buildings to house the radars and instal equipment.
The primary surveillance radar, also known as approach surveillance radar (ASR), helps locate the position of an aircraft, while the mono-pulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) records its speed and altitude.
The ASR radiates electromagnetic waves that bounce off the aircraft and relay back to the radar, giving the plane’s location. The process does not require the Air Traffic Control to establish contact with the pilot.
“The ASR will be installed inside the airport but the two new MSSRs will be placed outside,” said Bakshi. A survey will be conducted to identify the site.
26/06/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Flights delayed due to heavy rain

Nagpur: Torrential downpour in Mumbai led to diversions, delays and rescheduling of flights to and from Mumbai over the weekend.
All the three evening flights from Mumbai—Indian, Jet and Kingfisher Airlines arrived one to two hours late and left only around Saturday midnight. " Passengers who came from Mumbai told us that they boarded the flight but it didn't take off for about a hour. In Nagpur again the planes were held up because of heavy rain and air traffic congestion in Mumbai," an airline official said.
Indian diverted two Mumbai-bound flights to city on Saturday night. A Delhi-Mumbai flight and Muscat-Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight were diverted to Nagpur and they took off to Mumbai after refuelling well past midnight.
The Sunday morning flights from Mumbai too were delayed. While Kingfisher Airlines arrived 20 minutes late, Indian and Jet Airways flights were delayed by a hour. Indian and Jet Airways departed at about 11 am.
25/06/07 Times of India

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Undertrained staff jeopardize ATC operations

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has, in a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) plea filed by an employee, Anoop Kumar Gupta, posted with its Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) wing, admitted that many technicians who maintain complex landing and communication equipment at the air traffic control (ATC) towers had not been trained on the new generation equipment.
These technicians are attached to the CNS wing of AAI and are required to attend to malfunctioning landing system and radars.
The Authority has admitted that it was unable to meet the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) standards framed in 1994, which mandate that personnel entrusted with maintenance “should undergo periodical on-the-job checks at least once a year and refresher course at least once in three years.” The AAI has admitted that the only training that all CNS employees have undergone was the “Ab-initio training after recruitment where principles of operation of all CNS equipment are covered.”
People familiar with the developments in the CNS department spoke to Mint on condition of anonymity, saying less than half the staff was properly trained. The CNS wing is entrusted with the maintenance of equipment such as the Instrument Landing System, which provides precise guidance to an aircraft approaching a runway, radars and VHF Omni Range, which helps planes flying at the same altitude maintain lateral distance.
24/06/07 K.P. Narayana Kumar & Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Pvt firms for airport revamp projects

Kolkata: Airports Authority of India (AAI), that fought tooth-and-nail to bag the Kolkata and Chennai airport modernisation projects, will only monitor its implementation. A private firm with a “strong balance sheet and sound technical experience” will carry out the actual constructions.
“AAI will appoint the best in business for the turnkey projects to modernise Kolkata and Chennai airports. Instead of grappling with 16-17 contracts like civil engineering and electrical, the effort will be to award one large contract.
Expressions of interest will be invited in September. Technical and financial bids will follow,” civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said on Saturday, after a two-day review of the Kolkata airport.
Sources in AAI said several firms, all joint ventures between Indian and foreign companies, had expressed interest in the twin projects. While the Indian partner will meet the financial norms, its foreign collaborator will bring to the table technical expertise and experience. AAI will simply oversee the project implementation.
24/06/07 Times of India

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Cold storage facilities at five airports in NE

New Delhi: To cash in on the potential of the northeastern states in increasing the country’s spice exports, the Centre today announced plans to establish cold storage facilities at five airports in the region and heavily subsidise air freight to Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai for all export-oriented horticulture products from the region.
The government also announced a new initiative to start organic cultivation of turmeric, ginger and chilli on a large scale in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district. Though the present contribution of the northeast to India’s spice exports was very small, there was a great scope for increasing it, Union minister of state for commerce Mr Jairam Ramesh said. For this purpose, cold storage facilities would be established at five airports in the northeastern region ~ Guwahati, Aizawl, Imphal, Agartala and Dimapur, he said, announcing a subsidy scheme under which 90 per cent of air freight to Kolkata airport and 50 per cent of air freight to New Delhi and Mumbai airports from northeast airports for all horticulture products meant for exports would be subsidised by the Centre.
24/06/07 The Statesman

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