Air India’s tryst with flight delay continues with passengers stranded in Kochi

Kochi:  Air India cancelled its Delhi-bound flight late on Saturday citing technical snag, leaving about 90 passengers stranded in Kochi for nearly 24 hours. Air India flight AI834 was scheduled to leave Kochi at 11pm on Saturday. But passengers were told at 10pm that the flight was cancelled due to technical issues, said Shiyas Sayed, a passenger. 

provided us with accommodation, and assured us they will arrange an alternative flight on Sunday. In the afternoon, the airline staff asked us to report at the airport at 3:30 pm. They told us that another flight has been arranged and it will depart at 6pm. However, that flight too was delayed citing the same technical issue. Finally, they told us that it will depart at 9pm,” said Shiyas. 

“There are students among us who have exams in the coming days and office-goers who need to rejoin on Monday,” he said. The Air India spokesperson did not respond to calls. Confirming the incident, Kochi airport spokesman P S Jayan said a few passengers who had to travel urgently were accommodated in other flights on Saturday itself.  “The rest were given accommodation with all expenses paid and an alternative flight carrying the stranded passengers departed at 9pm on Sunday,” he said.

06/06/22 Aishwarya Prabhakaran/New Indian Express

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25 crore units produced, CIAL now second largest power producer in Kerala

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) -- which runs the world’s first fully solar- powered airport -- has crossed another milestone in its green energy initiative. It has achieved a cumulative production volume of 25 crore units of power, offsetting 1.6 lakh metric tonnes of carbon emission, the airport authorities said. CIAL launched its solar initiative in 2013 with a 100kWp (kilowatt peak) pilot plant on the Kochi airport premises.

Later, the solar capacity was expanded to help the airport attain its pioneering status by 2015 with an installed capacity of 13.1MWp (megawatt peak). “CIAL’s development policy encompasses total sustainability management (TSM). We are trying to explore every possible way to address climate change. CIAL achieved power neutrality in 2015 and has now become a power surplus organisation, feeding approximately four crore units of excess power annually to the state grid.

And with the help of the government, we are sure that we can venture into more such projects soon,” said CIAL managing director S Suhas. Supplemented by its 4.5MW hydroelectric power project at Arippara, CIAL is now the second largest power producer in Kerala after KSEB.

To date, CIAL has generated more than 25 crore units of green power from various solar PV installations at the airport. It now has a total installed solar capacity of 50MWp. The 12MWp solar plant at Payyannur, inaugurated in March 2022, has generated approximately one crore units of green power so far. The Arippara hydroelectric project, has generated approximately 75 lakh units to date.

06/06/22 New Indian Express

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Bengaluru: Vaccine challenge for business team flying to Germany

Bengaluru: A six-member business delegation flying from the Kempegowda International Airport to Frankfurt on an Emirates flight on Saturday had a harrowing time as the airline staff did not allow them to board the flight, saying passengers who have received Covaxin and Covishield vaccines are not allowed into Germany as per a new circular received by them. After nearly a three-hour tussle, involving arguments and help from their agent, they were finally allowed to board the flight (EK 565) at 9.15 am. 

Software engineer Yogesh Dhariyal, who was part of the group, told TNIE that the problem arose because the Bengaluru staff of Emirates misinterpreted an official communication issued to them. “They got a mail stating that Simopharm is not allowed and somehow the Bengaluru airport team misinterpreted the whole mail. Those vaccinated with Covishield have been allowed inside airports since last year and public from other countries vaccinated with Covaxin are allowed from June 1,” he said.

The group was heading to Germany on a month-long business trip. “It was frustrating. We reached the airport around 6.25 am and our flight was at 10.35 am to Frankfurt via Dubai. We have valid business visas with two or three doses of vaccines and negative RTPCR certificates too. The supervisor of Emirates in Bengaluru refused to accept them and told us to go back. We fought a lot and called our agent in Bengaluru. He called the Emirates Regional Sales Manager and explained to him that we had adhered to all the guidelines. After a triple check, they allowed us. We have reached Germany now. There were no issues at all at the immigration centre here,” Dhariyal said.

Another flyer Ashish Sharma, not part of the group, tweeted at 7.22 am, “I am standing in check-in counter of Emirates to board a flight to Germany but suddenly we are not allowed to board flight with reason that Covishield and Covaxin is not allowed in Germany. Please confirm this.” 

When the Emirates Support Team was contacted, the response read, “Passengers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with vaccines approved by the Paul Ehrlich Institute (or equivalents of those vaccines used in non-EU countries) can enter Germany from non-EU  countries.” After furnishing a link on approved vaccines, the message added, “You can also check with the local authorities for more information.” There was no specific response to the issue spoken about. 

06/06/2022 New Indian Express

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Smoke from burning waste near Coimbatore airport a threat to flight safety

The dumping and burning of garbage on a landfill at Chinniyampalayam off Avinashi Road has caused concern among residents as well as the Coimbatore International Airport. Residents in the area complain that noxious smoke of burnt plastic and other waste materials is posing a risk to their health. They say that garbage is burnt day and night.
The smoke and the dumping of waste is also a threat to aircraft as the dumping site is situated exactly on the landing/take off path of the runway, hardly three km away from the threshold. The waste attracts large birds, including kites which can be a threat to aircraft.
“The burning is happening most of the days, especially at night with the knowledge of the panchayat officials,” alleged a woman who resides near the dumping site. Another resident alleged that the garbage was being burnt as the dumping site was inadequate for the waste being generated in the panchayat. “Venkitapuram residents are suffering from the smoke most,” he said. 

Devaraj, president of Chinniyampalayam panchayat, claimed that it was not the panchayat workers who burn the waste. “People who collect trash from the landfill burns it for purposes such as removing insulation of copper wires. We have arranged pipelines to extinguish fire,” he claimed. Meanwhile, he admitted that the local body did not have a proper dumping site to manage waste and the existing dumping site on the side of Avinashi Road, near a waterbody, became a landfill as people dumped waste there over the years.  

“It is a very small panchayat with no other place to dump waste. The panchayat administration is also very much worried about how the garbage could be handled and processed,” he said and added that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials had already discussed the issue with the panchayat. Sources with the Airfield Environment Management Committee (AEMC) said that the dangers of dumping waste and burning them was discussed at its meetings and officials of the AAI from Coimbatore airport had visited the place in the past. Coimbatore District Collector had instructed officials of the departments concerned to address the issue, they said. When asked about the issue, Coimbatore airport director S. Senthil Valavan said that dumping of waste and burning was discussed at the last meeting of AEMC. Collector G.S. Sameeran said that necessary action would be taken on the matter.

05/06/22 Wilson Thomas/The Hindu

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Airport’s new terminal likely to be ready in August

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India is likely to take two more months to open Chennai airport’s new integrated terminal. As the work is yet to be completed, a part of the new terminal will be opened only by August, the officials said.

AAI officials had said that the multilevel car parking and a part of the new terminal will be ready by June. While the former is likely to be operational in July, the terminal is likely to be ready only in August.

Roofing is nearing completion and the interior work is in progress. “While pandemic caused the major delay, the ripple-effect of it resulted in delays in arrival of many components like elevator and escalators from some countries. We are constantly pushing the contractor and reviewing the work to have it completed. We should be able to open it in August,” said an official. But sources said it might be tough to have it operational in August too and may take even longer than that.

Since the new integrated terminal has been planned to be opened in two phases, the delay will be setback for completing the Phase II project as a whole. The project carried out at a cost of ₹2,500 crore began four years ago to build a new terminal over an area of 1,97,000 square metre.

The ongoing work has caused a lot of inconvenience to passengers, with dust, noise and difficulty switching between the present domestic and international terminals. At many locations, it is difficult for senior citizens to walk in the service road.

05/06/22 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu

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Alliance Air launches flight operations on Bilaspur-Bhopal route; to operate four days a week

On June 5, the Centre-run Alliance Air started flight operations between Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. The flights are said to operate four days a week. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who was in the Kanker district, virtually launched the inaugural flight which took off from the Bilasa Devi Kevat Airport in Bilaspur, located nearly 125 km from the state capital Raipur. 

“Today air service was launched from Bilaspur to Bhopal through video conferencing. In Chhattisgarh, we are connecting with different cities of the country at a fast pace. Due to this, the passengers are getting ease, as well as there will be benefits in the business sector as well,” read the tweet of Baghel. 

“The ATR 72-seater aircraft of Alliance Air took off from Bilaspur at 11:35 am on Sunday (June 5) for Bhopal with 50 passengers on board. It will be operated four days a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday),” Bilaspur Collector Saransh Mittar said.

The aviation services at the Bilaspur airport started on March 1 last year, with two flights connecting the city to Delhi via Jabalpur and Prayagraj, he said. On the occasion, CM Baghel said that three-and-a-half years ago, only Raipur was the destination for flight services, but now such services are also available in Jagdalpur (Bastar district) and Bilaspur.

05/06/22 ZeeNews

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Push for defence land to upgrade Pune airport

Pune: The city airport authority has written to the Defence Estates Office (DEO), Pune circle, to transfer the 1.76 acres of land under the management of the Pune Air Force Station (AFS) on “immediate basis” to initiate the new terminal building work.

“The land that we have asked for is part of the 13 acres that the Ministry of Defence has already approved to transfer to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in March this year. The land pocket is a vacant one. Once we get it, we will set up a makeshift cargo facility there,” said airport director Santosh Dhoke.

He added, “We can then initiate the pending work of the new terminal building immediately. We would try to complete the work by March 31, 2023,” said airport director Santosh Dhoke.

05/03/22 Sandip Dighe/Times of India

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Hisar airport to be ready by Dec: Min

Hisar:  Urban local bodies minister Kamal Gupta claimed on Saturday that the city’s Maharaja Agrasen Airport will be completed in phases but be ready to receive aircraft once the boundary wall was ready in December.

Addressing lawyers in the district bar association’s programme at the Hisar judicial complex, the minister claimed that Hisar was bring developed on the lines of Singapore and Dubai and efforts were on to bring Punjab and Haryana high court’s division bench to the city along with an Indian Institute of Technology. Gupta said the marking of parking lots will improve the city’s traffic system and a parking space should also be marked on the judicial premises. Describing how Hisar’s parks were being beautified, he said: “The parks will get boundary walls, interlocking tiles, footpath, grass, swings, benches, and water features. Boundary walls and sheds with benches will also be built in the city’s cremation grounds.”

The minister said the municipal corporation and the departments concerned had necessary orders to make the city clean and safe.

05/06/22 Times of India

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Push for defence land to upgrade Pune airport

Pune: The city airport authority has written to the Defence Estates Office (DEO), Pune circle, to transfer the 1.76 acres of land under the management of the Pune Air Force Station (AFS) on “immediate basis” to initiate the new terminal building work.

“The land that we have asked for is part of the 13 acres that the Ministry of Defence has already approved to transfer to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in March this year. The land pocket is a vacant one. Once we get it, we will set up a makeshift cargo facility there,” said airport director Santosh Dhoke.

He added, “We can then initiate the pending work of the new terminal building immediately. We would try to complete the work by March 31, 2023,” said airport director Santosh Dhoke.

Vineet Nair, the defence estates officer of the Pune circle, said they are in the final stage of transferring the 1.76 acres of land on urgent basis.

05/06/22 Sandip Dighe/Times of India

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Woman loses diamond bracelet worth lakhs at Delhi airport; cops trace it within hrs

New Delhi: Delhi Police were able to trace a missing diamond bracelet worth approx Rs 10 lakh of a woman who lost it after landing at the city airport.

As per the information, on May 30, the passenger named Sakshi Lohani, had landed from Kolkata to Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport by Vistara flight. She then reached her home.

However, it was on the next day (June 1), she noticed that her diamond bracelet was missing from her wrist, following which she approached the IGI airport police station requesting them to trace her bracelet.

The matter was then brought to the notice of senior officers, following which a team was assigned the task to trace the lost bracelet.

After scanning the CCTV footage, it was suspected that the diamond bracelet might have fallen down on the conveyer belt while the passenger was lifting her luggage at T3 terminal of IGI Airport.

Thereafter, a physical search of the entire conveyor belt No 1 was conducted and after sustained efforts, the staff managed to trace the missing diamond bracelet which was lying inside the edge of the conveyor belt. The traced bracelet was then handed over to the passenger.

05/06/22 Tanseem Haider/India Today

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Kolkata-Tezpur flights under regional connectivity scheme to commence by August 10

New Delhi: Cabinet minister of Assam, Ashok Singhal, on Saturday announced that the Kolkata-Tezpur-Kolkata flight service under the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik program of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS- UDAN) is expected to commence by August 10, 2022. The flight service will be provided by SpiceJet airlines.

He took to Twitter to express his gratitude to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia for honouring his request for daily commercial flights from Tezpur to promote tourism. He also posted a picture of the letter by Scindia on Twitter.

The ministry of civil aviation launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS- UDAN) in 2016 to incentivise airlines to provide connectivity to unserved and underserved airports.

04/06/22 India Today

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We have not received any proposal for construction of Greenfield airport in Assam's Silchar: Civil Aviation Ministry

The Civil Aviation Ministry following a RTI query said that it has not received any proposal for construction of a Greenfield airport in Assam’s Silchar.

Chief Public Information Officer (Under Secretary) of the Civil Aviation Ministry Amit Kumar Jha following a query under the Right to Information Act categorically said that the ministry has not received any proposal for construction of a Green field airport at Silchar in Assam.

He said that the Government has formulated a Green Field Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008 which provides guidelines, procedure and conditions for establishment of new Green field Airports in the country.

“As per policy, an airport developer, including the state Government, willing to establish an airport is required to send a proposal to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in the prescribed format for a two-stage process -- site clearance followed by in-principle approval,” the official said in his reply to the RTI queries.

Government has accorded in-principle approval for setting up of 21 Green field airports across the country, the May 31 reply said.

Assam cabinet on Sunday decided that a payment of Rs one lakh as compensation would be provided to each of the 1,263 families of Doloo tea garden (a total of Rs 12.63 cr) as a goodwill gesture for their cooperation in the development work of Greenfield airport at Silchar.

04/06/22 Bikash Singh/Economic Times

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Vietjet launches flights from Mumbai to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City

Vietjet has launched direct flights from Mumbai to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh City, the country's largest city. The Consulate General of Vietnam in Mumbai, the airport authorities, Vietjet management representatives, and hundreds of passengers onboard the initial flights attended the inaugural flight celebration of the two direct routes at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai.

To celebrate the occasion, Vietjet will offer 19,999 super-saver tickets from just USD 0 applied to all flights between Vietnam and India with a travel duration from July 1 to December 31, 2022. Promotional tickets are up for grabs daily from 10:30 AM on June 7 till 10:30 pm on June 9, 2022.

Besides the Mumbai - Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi services, Vietjet’s direct routes between New Delhi and the aforementioned cities currently operate thrice-weekly flights on each route. From September 9, 2022, the Mumbai - Phu Quoc route will commence operation with four round trips per week, while the New Delhi – Phu Quoc will operate with a frequency of three round trips per week.

Vietjet’s direct services between India and Vietnam are expected to ease people’s travelling to the country and make connecting flights to the country’s top tourist destinations such as Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue, etc. and other regional destinations including Bali, Bangkok and Singapore, etc.

Vietjet’s Vice President Do Xuan Quang said, “Following our launch of New Delhi – Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi services, we are delighted to launch two more direct routes between Vietnam and Mumbai. We believe that the two services from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to Mumbai, as well as the coming Phu Quoc – Mumbai route, will strengthen the ongoing relationship of Vietnam’s two biggest cities with Mumbai. The services launched between Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi and Mumbai operate four and thrice-weekly flights, respectively. We expect to increase the frequency in the incoming time to meet customer’s demand.”

04/06/22 ZeeNews

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Pushback vehicle catches fire at Delhi airport

New Delhi: A pushback vehicle of Air India SATS Airport Services caught fire in the apron area of Delhi airport on Friday, trigerring panic but no damage was done.

The incident took place on Friday at 5.20 PM and fire tenders were rushed to the area. The blaze was doused in five minutes. There were concerns as the vehicle that caught fire was near a parked aircraft. However, there was no damage to the aircraft. The airport functioning was not impacted die to the incident.

04/06/22 Deccan Herald

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Hajj pilgrimage: First flight departs with 377 pilgrims from Kochi

Kochi: The first flight with pilgrims for the Hajj pilgrimage 2022 departed from Kerala’s Kochi airport to Medina in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

As many as 377 passengers departed in the SV 5747 flight of Saudi Arabian Airlines. It was flagged off by V Abdurahman, Kerala Minister for Wakf and Hajj pilgrimage.

Kerala Minister for ports, museum, archaeology and archives Ahmad Devarkovil, Central Hajj Committee Chairman AP Abdullkutty, and State Hajj Committee Chairman C Muhammad Faisi were also present here.

“Today, the first batch of Indian Hajj pilgrims took off from Kochi airport to Saudi Arabia. As per our schedule, the last aircraft take off from Mumbai on July 3. I request all of you, we need your prayer and blessings. We are very confident, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, we will successfully perform all rituals in Mecca and Medina,” AP Abdullakutty, Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee told ANI.

Meanwhile, Kerala Minister for Wakf and Hajj pilgrimage V Abdurahman said that all the arrangements had been completed for the pilgrimage and there were no issues.

“All arrangements are completed. Today, 377 people for hajj are started their journey on the first flight. They arrived at the camp two days ago. All their tests are over. Now the flight has departed. There are currently no issues. Things are going well,” said Abdurahman.

C Muhammad Faisi, Chairman of the State Hajj Committee thanked the central and state governments for all their efforts in this regard.

04/06/22 ANI/Print

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India Counters China By Levelling Up Infra Game In Nepal With 40 Airport Projects: Sources

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, Republic learnt of India upping its infra game in Nepal on Saturday. Sources say that India is going to facilitate infrastructure boost in as many as 40 airports across Nepal.

There are a total of 48 airports in Nepal, of which major airports like Tribhuvan International Airport, and Pokhra Airport, will be excluded from India's restructuring plan, sources said. 

India's attempt will be a major counter to China, which has been investing a great deal in Nepal. On May 16, a $76 million airport project in Bhairahawa, the closest city to Lumbini, was inaugurated by Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. The airport is funded by the Asian Development Bank and OPEC Fund for International Development but built by China's Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group, and is intended to capitalise on Buddhist tourism. 

It was on the same day that PM Modi landed in Nepal to meet his Nepali counterpart, but he avoided using the airport built by China. The Indian Prime Minister travelled to Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, and from there, took a helicopter to the Buddha's birthplace, Lumbini, completely bypassing the new facility, which is the second international airport after Kathmandu that was full to capacity. It has a capacity of two million passengers a year and is expected to ease travel for pilgrims to one of the holiest sites in Buddhism.

It is pertinent to mention here that China overtook India as the biggest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) source for Nepal in 2014. Since then, China has been pumping in a huge amount of financial resources into Nepal, helping the landlocked country in setting up new airports, and railway stations, and laying new roads including connecting it to Chinese cities for transportation of petroleum and other essential products, ostensibly to help Kathmandu cut dependence on New Delhi. 

04/06/22 Sudeshna Singh/Republicworld

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Mizoram Police arrests woman from Airport

Aizawl: Mizoram Police arrested a 25-year old woman wanted by the DRI at Lengpui airport here, an officer said.

Acting on specific input, the police arrested the woman, a resident of Bawngkawn neighbourhood in Aizawl upon her arrival at the airport from Kolkata on Friday. She was handed over to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for further legal action, the officer said.

The woman was wanted by the DRI in a case registered in connection with the recovery of 3,900 poppy seeds, 4.1 lakh sticks of foreign cigarette and cosmetics worth Rs 1.5 crore from her residence recently, police said. 

04/06/22 PTI/Print

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Assam cleared tea estate for ‘imaginary’ airport

The Assam government had used a fleet of bulldozers and excavators to clear swathes of a tea estate for an “imaginary” airport, information provided by the Civil Aviation Ministry has revealed.

In a May 31 reply to an application under the Right to Information Act, the Ministry said it had not received any proposal for the construction of a greenfield airport at the Doloo Tea Estate near Silchar in southern Assam’s Cachar district.

By then, the authorities had uprooted some 30 lakh tea bushes for a civilian airport in order not to depend on the existing Kumbhirgram airport under operational control of the Indian Air Force.

Amit Kumar Jha, the Ministry’s Chief Public Information Officer said the government had formulated a Greenfield Airports Policy in 2008 that provides guidelines, procedure and conditions for the establishment of new greenfield airports in the country.

“As per policy, an airport developer, including the State government, willing to establish an airport is required to send a proposal to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in the prescribed format for a two-stage process, i.e., site clearance followed by in principle approval,” Mr. Jha said in his reply to the RTI query.

He also said the Ministry approved the setting up of 21 greenfield airports across India but did not receive any proposal for one near Silchar.

The Assam Cabinet had on May 29 decided that 1,263 families of tea workers at the Doloo Tea Estate would be provided with ₹1 lakh each “as a goodwill gesture for their cooperation in the development of the greenfield airport at Silchar”.

This has ticked off the tea plantation workers, considered a vote bank that the BJP weaned away from Congress. The Doloo Tea Estate Save Coordination Committee called for a protest rally on June 15 against the “conspiracy to affect the livelihood of hundreds of tea garden workers”.

04/06/22 The Hindu

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Security awareness in airport area

Kolkata: A security sensitization drive was conducted jointly by CISF and officers of airport and Narayanpur police stations in the area surrounding the Kolkata airport on Friday. The team visited Michael Nagar Sarani and Narayanpur Colony around the airport perimeter, where they briefed residents and businessmen on security threats and need to enhance vigilance and promptly intimate CISF control room and local police on any suspicious persons or activities in the area.

04/06/22 Times of India

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Fire incident reported at Delhi airport in cargo bay

New Delhi: A fire incident was reported at the cargo bay of Delhi Airport on Friday evening after a pushback towing vehicle caught fire.

“On Friday at about 5:25 pm it came to notice that a pushback towing vehicle had caught fire at the cargo bay number 262 near celebi export barrier,” an airport official told ANI.

Soon after, firefighters were called to the location and the fire was completely brought under control.

Notably, there were several passenger planes present at the time of the incident, loading baggage.

A video which is in possession of ANI shows that at the time fire was reported, several passengers aircraft were near the fire site, but no damage has been reported.

04/06/22 ANI/Print

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