Ahmedabad-Kevadia seaplane service suspended for around 3 weeks for maintenance

Ahmedabad: The seaplane service between Ahmedabad and Kevadiya in Narmada district, the site of the world''s tallest Statue of Unity, in Gujarat was suspended on Saturday for around three weeks for maintenance, its operator SpiceJet said.

The service was suspended less than a month after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, to whom the 182-metre tall statue is dedicated.

SpiceJet said in a statement that the operation has been temporarily suspended due to mandatory aircraft maintenance for which it was taken to a facility in Maldives as such a facility is still under construction in Ahmedabad.

Seaplane operation has been temporarily suspended due to mandatory aircraft maintenance.

"Since the maintenance facility (dry and wet dock) is still under construction at Ahmedabad, the aircraft has to be sent to our lessors facility at Maldives," it said.

The operation will resume once the aircraft is back. The maintenance facility at Ahmedabad should be ready soon which would ensure that future maintenance is done here itself.

"As the maintenance was pre-planned, we didn''t take any bookings beyond November 27," said the statement.

A company spokesperson said that the service is likely to remain suspended for around three weeks.

Modi had launched the service from Kevadiya and boarded it on its maiden flight to Ahmedabad.

The 19-seater plane covers a distance of around 200 km in 40 minutes, operating the shuttle service between Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad and a pond at Kevadiya near the Statue, which has emerged as a major tourist attraction.

28/11/20 PTI/Outlook

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Now, fly between Mysuru and Mangaluru in one hour

Mysuru: In a big boost to the tourism activities in the entire southern region of Karnataka, much-awaited Mysuru-Mangaluru air service will start from December 10.

"It is the result of continuous efforts. There was a huge demand for this service. I thank all for realising this dream" Mysuru MP Pratap Sima told TOI. "This flight will operate four days in a week initially," he said.

According to the sources, Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India Limited is commencing direct flight operations from Mysuru to Mangaluru and on return direction. The flight will operate on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Flight 9I 532 will depart from Mysuru at 11.15 am and arrive in Mangaluru at 12.15 pm. Flight 9I 533 will depart from Mangaluru at 12. 40 pm and arrive in Mysuru at 1.40 pm.

22/11/20 Shrinivasa M/Times of India

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Kalaburagi airport turns fastest growing in the state

Kalaburagi: While the air traffic at domestic airports of the nation has fallen by 65.1% compared to September-2019, the Kalaburagi Airport, which is celebrating its first anniversary of inauguration on November 22, has witnessed thrice the number of passengers this month when compared to December 2019, the first month of the operation.

According to the statistics released by Airport Authority of India (AAI) released on Friday evening, 5,828 passengers had travelled through Kalaburagi Airport by October 2020, while the figure stood at 1,643 December 2019.

Number of operated flights has also increased from 34 to 124 in the same period. As on October 30, a total of 37,016 passengers have travelled by 924 flights through the airport. The average number of passengers per flight is over 40, according to the data.

It may be recalled that the airport did not operate in April 2020 in the wake of the pandemic-induced lockdown.

Sunil Kulkarni, president, Kalyan Karnataka Grahakara Vedike, Kalaburagi noted that the Kalaburagi airport is one among the fast growing airports in India and the fastest growing airport among tier-2 cities of Karnataka.

“In less than a year, it has proved the potential of Kalaburagi. In spite of the pandemic, the airport is growing in terms of passengers,” he added.

22/11/20 Sangamesh Manasinakai/Times of India

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Flight services pick up at Hubballi airport

Hubballi: Flight operations are slowly gaining momentum at the Hubballi airport and private airlines are resuming their services to various destinations.

Indigo and Star Air airlines are now operating flights to Mumbai, Kunnur, Chennai, Hindon, and Bengaluru from Hubballi. Now, Star Air is planning to resume service to Tirupati from January.

Airport director Pramod Kumar Thakare told TOI that flight activities, which were stopped following Covid-induced lockdown, are now picking up. All safety protocols including thermal screening and social distancing measures are being strictly followed at the airport ans flights and the measures have gained appreciation from passengers, he said.

He said IndiGo is operating two flights a day to Bengaluru and Kannur three days in a week, Chennai seven days, Bengaluru six days and Mumbai three days in a week.

21/11/20 Basavaraj Kattimani/Times of India

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SpiceJet starts Hyderabad-Nashik flight under Udan scheme

SpiceJet on Friday started operating flights on the Hyderabad-Nashik route under regional connectivity scheme Udan, an official statement said.

“The airline will be operating four weekly flights and will deploy its 78-seater Q400 aircraft. Nashik is the 14th destination to be connected under Udan by SpiceJet,” the statement issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

Under the Udan scheme, financial incentives from the Centre, state governments and airport operators are extended to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports, and keep airfares affordable.

“The Hyderabad-Nashik route received a massive demand from the passengers owing to the trade and tourism opportunities possessed by the Nashik city,” the statement said.

Post the successful launch of flight operations by Alliance Air on the Hyderabad-Nashik route in June, SpiceJet has become the second airline to commence direct flight operations on this route.

20/11/20 PTI/Financial Express

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Hyderabad-Nashik SpiceJet flight flagged off

Taking the next stride in boosting regional aerial connectivity in India under RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) of the Government of India, the second direct flight commenced operations on Friday from Hyderabad, Telangana to Nashik, Maharashtra.  

- The Hyderabad – Nashik route received a massive demand from the passengers owing to the trade & tourism opportunities possessed by the Nashik city. 

- Nashik is also called the city of pilgrimage. 

- It is one of the 4 pilgrimage sites that organises Kumbh Mela which is held once every 12 years. 

- The gateway city for the Shirdi Sai Temple and Trimbakeshwar Temple, Nashik in itself is a pilgrim tourist destination due to the presence of holy temples. 

- Moreover, it is also known as the Grape and Wine capital of India.

- Furthermore, the city is home to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Aircraft Division Nashik that manufactures MiG & Su aircraft along with K-13 missiles. 

- In addition to these, Nashik has also been a cluster for many big manufacturers like Mahindra & Mahindra, Bosch, ABB, Crompton Greaves, ThyssenKrupp, CEAT, etc.

So far, 297 routes and 53 airports have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme.

20/11/20 ZeeBiz

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Flight operations start at Darbhanga airport

Patna: Darbhanga airport, developed under Udan, the Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), became the latest addition to the country’s aviation map with budget-carrier SpiceJet launching commercial flights to Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai on Sunday.

The launch of flight operations was attended by Patna airport director Bhupesh C H Negi, Darbhanga MP Gopal Jee Thakur, Airports Authority of India (AAI) project incharge G K Chandana and AAI officials.

The first SpiceJet flight carrying passengers from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru reached Darbhanga airport at 11.21am with 187 passengers, including four infants. It was the first flight to touch down at the newly constructed airport. The flight, SG-493, was greeted with water salute on its arrival at Darbhanga airport.

Darbhanga-Delhi flight (SG-496) became the first outgoing flight that took off from the Darbhanga airport runway at 11.45am with 179 passengers, including two infants.

The other flights – Darbhanga-Bengaluru (SG-494) left the airport at 4.25pm, Mumbai-Darbhanga-Mumbai (SG-705/706) landed at 12.10pm and departed at 12.40pm. All the flights registered 90-95% occupancy rate.

“A momentous day for the people of Darbhanga. First commercial flight under RCS-UDAN lands at Darbhanga airport. Great team work by local leadership, professionals and officers,” Union minister of civil aviation Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted.

“A treasure trove of arts, handicrafts and Indian history and culture. Air connectivity to the region opens up new avenues of tourism and economic development. This is just the start of the journey there,” The ministry of civil aviation tweeted.

09/11/20 Faryal Rumi/Times of India

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Spicejet to connect Nashik with Delhi and Bengaluru

Spicejet has added Nashik, Maharashtra as its 50th domestic destination. The low-cost carrier will start flights on Hyderabad-Nashik-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Nashik-Bengaluru sectors from November 20, 2020, and flights on the Delhi-Nashik-Delhi sector will begin from November 25, 2020.

Further strengthening the regional connectivity scheme, Nashik will serve as Spicejet’s 14th UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) destination.

The airline will also connect Udaipur with Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad and launch new flights on the Pune-Patna, Chennai-Jaipur and Kolkata-Bengaluru sectors.

Daily flights will be available on the Mumbai-Udaipur, Ahmedabad-Udaipur, Chennai–Jaipur and Bengaluru-Kolkata routes. Flights on Bengaluru-Nashik and Delhi–Udaipur sectors will be operational on all days except Tuesdays. While Hyderabad-Nashik and Delhi-Nashik flights will operate four-times-a-week, the Pune-Patna flight will operate twice-a-week.

09/11/20 Business Traveller

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Government eyes setting up 14 more water aerodromes for seaplane services

New Delhi: The government is looking to set up 14 more water aerodromes across the country after the successful launch of seaplane service by Prime Minister Narendra Modi between the Statue of Unity near Kevadiya in Gujarat's Narmada district and Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.

These will facilitate seaplane services on various routes including Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand.

"Development of 14 more water aerodromes is being planned pan India under RCS UDAN scheme. Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had requested Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to conduct a hydrographic survey and later on requested assistance in setting up jetties for facilitating the passenger movement," a Shipping Ministry official told PTI.

Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya last week told PTI that post the launch of seaplane service at Gujarat, regular services are being planned on various routes including in Guwahati, Andaman & Nicobar and Uttarakhand.

01/11/20 PTI/Deccan Herald

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Non-stop flight between Kalaburagi, Delhi from Nov 18

Kalaburagi: In what is likely to give a much-needed boost to the credentials of the Kalaburagi Airport, the operations of which are still in a fledgling state, Star Air will operate a non-stop flight between the North Karnataka district and Delhi thrice a week — Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday — starting November 18. While the flight will depart from Kalaburagi on all three days at 10.20am, reaching Delhi (Hindon) at 12.40pm, the return flight from Delhi will depart at 1.10pm and arrive in Kalaburagi at 3.30pm. Star Air is operating the flight under the RC-UDAN scheme, which is aimed at boosting flight connectivity from Tier-II and Tier-III cities across India.

01/11/20 Times of India

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