Aviation regulator okays SpiceJet’s ‘zero baggage’ fare scheme

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given its nod to no-frills airline SpiceJet to offer discounts to passengers travelling without check-in baggage.
As per the scheme firmed up by the airline, all passengers travelling without check-in baggage will be able to avail of a discount of Rs 200 at the time of booking their air tickets.
A senior official in the DGCA said, “Passengers will get a discount of Rs 200 if they travel without check-in baggage. But if the passenger reports for the flight with check-in baggage, he will have to pay Rs 400 at the airport.” This charge would include a penalty of Rs 200 and the Rs 200 he had availed of as discount earlier.

Aurangabad airport can be utilised for parking'

Aurangabad: The Aurangabad airport is under utilized and hence the idea of provision of parking slot here will be promoted. The government would also like to give concession and incentives for the airlines preferring Aurangabad airport for parking their airplanes, said Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju, while interacting with the media at the Aurangabad airport on Friday afternoon

GoAir crewmembers revive 76-yr-old after he falls unconscious

Two crewmembers of an airline managed to revive a senior citizen, a passenger of another company, who had fallen unconscious at the domestic airport, recently. The incident took place on August 25, when at around 11.15 am, Mukundrao Panshikar (76), a passenger of Air India arriving from Nagpur, suddenly fell unconscious on an aerobridge.
Two crewmembers of GoAir were returning to their cabin crew centre along with team members, when they saw him lying unconscious between Bay A-8 and A-9. The two, Rayomand Sidhwa and Arshee Khan, had returned after operating their flight G8 368 from Ahmedabad.

Hopping into an app-based cab in airport? Pay more!

Mumbai: Passengers hiring popular taxi services like Uber and Ola to and from Mumbai airport will now have to pay Rs110 extra. The airport authorities have recently started levying this amount on these vehicles.

Gurezi sees off Hajj pilgrims at Srinagar Airport

Srinagar: Deputy Speaker, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Nazir Ahmad Gurezi gave a warm send off to the Hajj pilgrims who left for the holy city of Medina in 17th special flight from Srinagar International Airport today.

Bank loan for airport project affected persons

Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai International Airport project has provided an opportunity for the airport project affected persons (PAP) to avail loans from banks or exploit the developed plots under the 22.5% scheme allotted to them at Pushpak Nagar, Cidco joint M D, V Radha said.

GMR puts airport hotel on the block yet again

Hyderabad: Infrastructure major GMR Group has put its hotel property at the Hyderabad International Airport on the block as a part of its asset light and asset right strategy. The 304-room Novotel Hyderabad Airport Hotel is expected to fetch anywhere between Rs 300-400 crore.

This is second time that GMR Group has put this luxury hotel property on sale under the Swiss Challenge model as it could not finalise the sale despite receiving some bids in 2013-14 fiscal.

Airfare War Continues: Jet Airways Tickets at Rs 1,031

Domestic airlines continue to be locked in fare war, with Jet Airways now offering tickets at Rs 1,031 (all-inclusive).

To avail Jet Airways' 'LoFares' offer, customers can book tickets till October 7, and the travel period to avail these special fares also ends on the same day.

Charge Rs 400 for 'zero-bag' violations: DGCA to Spicejet

New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA has nixed a proposal by no-frills airline Spicejet to charge up to Rs 750 from passengers who avail a "zero-bag" discount while booking a ticket but turn up with check-in baggage at the time of travel.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, instead, has suggested the Gurgaon-based carrier to levy Rs 400 as penalty, including taking back the Rs 200 discount that is to be availed by the flyer, sources said today.

New Civil Aviation policy in advanced stage of finalisation

New Delhi: The new civil aviation policy, which is in the advanced stage of finalisation would provide a long-term road map for the sector's growth, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said.

"Government is in the process of developing a comprehensive Civil Aviation Policy which shall provide a long term road map for the aviation sector...the growth of aviation and tourism industry also has significant ripple effects on other segments, particularly in the services and hospitality sectors", Raju said while inaugurating the 8th International Conference on Indian Civil Aviation & Tourism,' organised here by Assocham.

Do away with 5/20 norms for international operations: CAPA

New Delhi: Favouring scrapping of the international flying norms for domestic airlines on the ground that its continuation would only result in more un-utilised bilateral, an off-shore aviation consultancy research firm today welcomed government's decision to go for public consultations prior to finalising the new aviation policy.

At present, an Indian carriers is allowed to fly overseas only when it has completed five years of domestic operations and have a minimum of 20 aircraft fleet.

Sudden Deployment of Oxygen Masks Forces Jet Flight to Return

Chennai:  A Delhi-bound Jet Airways flight carrying 165 passengers and seven crew members onboard was forced to return today after the sudden deployment of oxygen masks in two rows of the aircraft.

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated a probe into the incident, which happened this morning, sources said.

Israel and Russia are building aircraft for India

Israel and Russia have started creating two aircraft for Airborne Early Warning and Control for India. Work has already started in Taganrog, where they are installing Israeli radar on an IL-76.

The Military Gazette wrote that Israel and Russia have started creating two aircraft for Airborne Early Warning and Control for India. This is the joint project called Falcon – an airborne early warning radar system created by Elta, installed on the IL-76 aircraft manufactured by the Ilyushin Company.

Qatar Airways to revive Doha-Nagpur direct flight by December

New Delhi: Gulf carrier Qatar Airways plans to resume a direct flight to Nagpur from Doha by December, which it had discontinued over six year ago due to poor passenger traffic on the sector at that time.

SpiceJet in talks with aircraft makers for a ‘sizable order’, says promoter

New Delhi: Gurgaon-based no-frills airline SpiceJet is in discussion with the aircraft manufacturers for ordering more aircraft, Ajay Singh, the airline promoter said.
Singh did not specify whether he was in talks with Airbus, Boeing or any aircraft manufacturer.
“We have not discussed any specific numbers but we expect the aircraft order will be a sizable one. Negotiations have been on for a while and we expect to complete the negotiations and place the order this financial year,” Singh said on the sidelines of a conference on civil aviation organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

Vistara adds Bhubaneswar to its network

Bhubaneswar: Seven months since its operational launch in India, Vistara continues to follow its sustained growth strategy. With bookings for Bhubaneswar opening since August 26, Vistara’s fast growing network now stands at a total of 11 destinations across metros and non-metros.
Vistara_logo
Starting October 01, 2015 Vistara will offer daily flight on the Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Delhi route. Bhubaneswar is a city steeped in rich culture and history and at the same time cosmopolitan enough to fascinate domestic and international travelers for diverse purposes such as religious, tourism and business.

Vistara adds Bhubaneswar to its network

Bhubaneswar: Seven months since its operational launch in India, Vistara continues to follow its sustained growth strategy. With bookings for Bhubaneswar opening since August 26, Vistara’s fast growing network now stands at a total of 11 destinations across metros and non-metros.
Vistara_logo
Starting October 01, 2015 Vistara will offer daily flight on the Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Delhi route. Bhubaneswar is a city steeped in rich culture and history and at the same time cosmopolitan enough to fascinate domestic and international travelers for diverse purposes such as religious, tourism and business.

ILS trial run at airport Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram:The US-made Instrument Landing System (ILS), installed in the Thiruvananthapuram international airport to guide aircraft to precision landing will be subjected to trial run from Friday.

Pilots body to conduct secret ballot to decide strike call

New Delhi: The pilots body of the erstwhile Indian Airlines would conduct a secret ballot to decide on a strike call against the exclusion of pilots from workmen category.
The decision to conduct secret ballot, which would take place between August 31 and September 9, was taken by the Central Executive Committee meeting of the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA), sources said.

Nepal Airlines to resume direct flights to Kolkata

Kolkata: Nepal Airlines is likely to resume direct flight operations between Kolkata and Kathmandu around October-November this year.

Flight services had been stopped some three years back for want of aircrafts. As of now, Air India is the only carrier to have direct flights between the two cities.

AirAsia launches 8th route to India

AirAsia has expanded its route network from its main base at Kuala Lumpur (KUL) with the addition of a new service to Goa (GOI) in India. The thrice-weekly service (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) on the 3,360-kilometre route launched on 27 August and will be flown by the carrier’s A320s. The route is not served by any other carrier.

Delhi airport to expand facilities to reduce overcrowding

Mumbai: Delhi International Airport Limited which runs the country's busiest airport, is working on a detailed plan to de-congest its domestic terminals 1D and 1C (used by low cost airlines) and expand facilities to meet the projected traffic growth of 100 million by 2033.

These measures were discussed in a meeting between airport officials and airlines on Thursday, following passenger complaints on overcrowding at Terminal 1 (which includes 1D for departures and 1C for arrivals).

Removal of 5/20 rule for flying overseas will vitiate level playing field: FIA

New Delhi: Strongly opposing proposed changes in international flying norms for Indian carriers, leading airlines body FIA today said that such a move would "vitiate" the existing level-playing field and only favour new entrants.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) -- comprising IndiGo, Jet AirwaysBSE 0.31 %, SpiceJet and GoAir -- also said that domestic airline industry operates in a high cost and constrained environment.

Discord over flying rules

New Delhi: Strongly opposing the proposed changes in international flying norms for Indian carriers, leading airlines body FIA today said such a move would "vitiate" the existing level-playing field and only favour the new entrants.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) - comprising IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and GoAir - also said the domestic airline industry operates in a high cost and constrained environment.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, the FIA has raised several issues concerning the sector and has sought a meeting to discuss the same.

PM sees aviation policy, old airlines against 5/20 removal

New Delhi: Even as the aviation ministry made a presentation on the upcoming aviation policy to PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday that proposes to relax norms for Indian carriers to fly abroad, India's old airlines have decided to raise this issue directly with the PM.

Defer delivery of Dreamliners till Boeing solves technical issues: Air India engineers body

New Delhi: Faced with frequent glitches and grounding of the Dreamliner planes, national carrier Air India's aircraft engineers body has urged the airline management to defer the deliveries of the remaining six such planes as long as Boeing does not address the technical issues completely.

GoAir extends Rs 999-fare offer by a day

New Delhi: GoAir has extended the offer of buying tickets at starting fare of Rs 999 by a day.
Now, you can book tickets till August 26 and travel across 22 cities across India.

Year on, Mumbai loses seaplane service

MehAir, the city's only seaplane service operator, has suspended operations in Maharashtra, and will focus on Goa and Kerala during the tourist season starting Diwali.

Launched in August 2014 with two Cessna seaplanes, MehAir failed to attract passengers for its intrastate flight services. Red-tapism, environment issues, and inclement weather added to its woes.

Govt scraps plan to corporatise AAI

New Delhi : The Centre has scrapped the plan to corporatise the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which would have allowed it to raise funds from the market to modernise airports. According to sources, the long-pending plan to hive off Air Navigation Services (ANS), which handles air traffic control operations, from AAI has been put in the cold storage. This means the government's plan to list AAI on the stock exchanges will not take off.

Earlier, the government had halted the process of privatisation of airports at Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. Listing of the AAI on stock exchanges along with the development of the four airports under a public-private partnership model were part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s draft civil aviation policy.

Vistara unveils Aviation Security Training Institute in Gurgaon

Mumbai: Vistara has announced the establishment of its ‘Aviation Security Training Institute (ASTI)’, which has received the approval of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India. The training institute was inaugurated yesterday at the airline’s headquarters in Gurgaon by B B Dash, Acting Commissioner, BCAS, and G Asok Kumar, Joint Secretary, MoCA, in the presence of Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara, and the management of the airline.

Vistara to offer daily flight between Delhi-Bhubaneswar

New Delhi: Vistara on Wednesday announced plans to connect Bhubaneswar in Odisha to its network. The flights between Bhubaneswar and Delhi will commence from October 1, 2015 and opened bookings for the sector.

Malaysia's first hybrid airline launches flights to Trivandrum, India

Malindo Air, Malaysia's first hybrid airline, has commenced flights to the Indian city of Trivandrum, the airline's sixth destination in India after Delhi, Mumbai, Trichy, Kochi and Vishakapatnam. Established in 2013, Malindo Air is an up-and-coming airline based in Malaysia with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Malindo Air is the only carrier to ply the route with a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur, the airline said in a statement.

No change in airport tariff at Chhtrapati Shivaji International Airport

New Delhi: The GVK-run Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), which is seeking an upward revision in airport charges, would have to wait for the same till November as the tariff regulator has decided to continue with the existing rates for another three months.

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) said in an order yesterday that rates approved in its order of January, 2013, are to continue till the end of November this year or till the time that tariffs for the second five-year control period (2014-2019) are determined.

GMR subsidiary offers training to team from Oman airport company

Hyderabad:  GMR Airport Developers Ltd (GADL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, has started providing training to the first batch from Oman Airport Management Company at the GMR Aviation Academy.

After a two-week training stint in India, the OAMC team would return to Muscat. The 22-member team from OAMC is currently undergoing a specially designed course on Airfield Rescue and Firefighting at Hyderabad. Next week, the team will continue their training at GMRAA, New Delhi.

IAF aircraft crashes, pilot ejects safely

Though the pilot ejected safely from the fighter jet, the paddy fields spread across several hectares of land were destroyed by Armymen who landed copters there and launched a search operation around the site after the crash, said the eyewitnesses. However, the pilot and co-pilot had a miraculous escape, the official said.

AirAsia pilot aborts takeoff at Trichy airport after noticing crack on plane's windshield

Trichy:  An AirAsia flight from Trichy to Kuala Lumpur has been delayed for several hours after the plane's windshield was found broken in the early hours of Tuesday.

Pilot aborted takeoff after noticing a crack on the windshield while the aircraft was moving on the runway.

Clearing cargo through the clutter

Xavier Britto is not new to taking risks. As a professor in Chennai’s prestigious Loyola College, he had taken a big one when he decided to become an entrepreneur. Now almost three decades later, the Chairman of Indev Group of Companies has once again taken a gamble by launching India’s first private air freight station (AFS) in Chennai on August 1.
And it’s not going to be a cakewalk. After all, the air cargo industry had to wait nine years for an effective air freight station to become a reality. Also, a lot would depend on the patronage of multinationals operating in and around Chennai.

IAF moves Rs 4,000-crore proposal to upgrade IL76/78 transport fleet

Seeking to give new life to its fleet of Russian transport aircraft, the air force has moved a Rs 4,000-crore proposal to upgrade its ageing IL 76/78 aircraft in a deal that could have a substantial spin off for the private defence manufacturing sector.

French Defence Minister to Sign Rafale Contract with India on August 31

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is expected to sign the Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft contract with India on August 31.
French publication Tribune reported today that Le Drain would be visiting Malaysia on August 30 probably to get Kuala Lumpur to purchase the two Mistral warships which were recently taken over by France after paying compensation to Russia.

Delhi based academy accused of cheating job aspirants

A Delhi-based academy has been accused of allegedly cheating job aspirants by illegally conducting exam for entry into aviation and maritime sectors. Anchor Aviation and Marine Academy holds no legal licence to hold examinations for jobs in aviation and maritime sectors. Still the academy conducted such an examination and took hefty fees from candidates, police said.

CIAL All Set to Introduce Second ILS

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) is all set to introduce the second instrument landing system, a first in the state, which will allow the aircraft to take off and touch down on the runway from both directions of the same runway.

It will not only reduce the fuel consumption of aircraft but also avoid major flight delays in monsoon and the winter seasons when  visibility is as low as 800 metres.

Air India pilots' stir hits flights

New Delhi/Mumbai: A section of Air India’s pilots is agitating against their being declassified as workmen and proposed pay cuts. This led to the airline’s flights getting delayed on Friday. While Directorate General of Civil Aviation sources said 10 flights were delayed, the airline claimed only three were impacted. “Out of the 300 flights operated today (Friday), so far only three have been delayed, due to non-reporting of crew on time. All our flights are operating smoothly as per schedule,” Air India officials told Business Standard.

Flight operations affected after Air India pilots ‘go slow’ to protest govt order

New Delhi: An Air India flight AI 115 enroute to London from Delhi was delayed by around eight hours today due to non-availability of pilots. According to government sources, pilots in the national carrier have been going slow on work and calling in sick after Air India issued an order on Thursday removing commanders from workmen category.

Why SpiceJet Has Fewer Empty Seats Than Rivals

Budget carrier SpiceJet reported the highest passenger load factor of 93.4 per cent among domestic airlines for July. This is the fourth month in a row the airline has topped the charts.

The airline managed to increase its load factor in July despite the numbers for the sector showing a declining trend as compared to June, primarily due to the end of tourist season.

Passenger load factor measures the capacity utilization of airlines or how many seats were filled as compared to the total capacity.

Flyers’ safety at stake as ILS is on the blink

Safety of the flyers is at stake as the U.S.-made Instrument Landing System (ILS) installed in the premier international airport of the State here to guide aircraft to precision landing has not been calibrated.

The emergency landing of Jet Airways aircraft on Tuesday, diverted from Kochi due to inclement weather, at Thiruvananthapuram international airport after three attempts and the ‘May Day’ message (emergency) from Capt. Manoj Ramawarrier has exposed the laxity on the part of Airports Authority of India (AAI) to calibrate the ILS installed over a month.

India hires "Mr Turnaround" to fix loss-making Air India

New Delhi: India is betting on a former railway bureaucrat who styles himself as "Mr Turnaround" to fix the financial troubles of debt-burdened national carrier Air India, which last made a profit in 2007.

Ashwani Lohani, whose past roles include stints at India's railways and a regional tourism board, will take over as chairman and managing director next week, an Air India spokesman said on Friday.

Safe sky corridor to link Kolkata, Mumbai

Kolkata: From September 17, Kolkata and Mumbai will be connected by a swanky new highway in the sky that will not only reduce flight time, but also make the journey safer and smoother. The corridors in the sky will also be used by flights to Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi.

Called 'city pair' , the highway will have dedicated corridors for west and east-bound traffic to eliminate any chance of collision along the high density route. While city pairs exist on Kolkata-Chennai and Kolkata-Hyderabad sectors, another is in the works for flights between Kolkata and Delhi .

Yousuf Ali Woos International Airlines to Kochi

Kochi: M A Yousuf Ali, chairman and founder of Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group is making big splash investment in Kochi to woo international airline companies to set up their southern hub and regional offices as the international airport is slowly emerging as the third largest in India in terms of international air passenger handling.

Inclement weather forces AI flight to return

Vijayawada: Passengers travelling in Vijayawada-bound Air India flight counted tense moments after it failed to land at the Gannavaram airport and returned to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad on Friday due to inclement weather.

The aircraft 544 with over 82 passengers, including Agriculture Minister P. Pulla Rao, was supposed to land at the Gannavaram airport at 4.40 p.m.

How SpiceJet fliers boarded a colourless flight

Mumbai: SpiceJet's passengers travelling earlier this week to Mumbai from Kolkata were in for a surprise when they boarded an almost white aircraft standing on the runway, readying for boarding.
The fuselage was all white while the engine was painted a dark blue; very different from SpiceJet's signature fiery red. The only thing that assured them they were on the right aircraft was the registration code VT-SLC.

A tall problem for the Mumbai International Airport got taller

Mumbai: Two years ago, the Mumbai International Airport authorities identified a minaret of a mosque near the Milan Subway as a 'hazard' to the flight operations, saying it protrudes onto the glide path of the international airport as well as the Juhu airport. Even as the authorities passed the buck as to who should address the matter, the minaret has grown taller, after the mosque authorities installed a spire atop a few weeks ago.

The minaret now stands at least 37 mt tall - it was already 7.6 mt higher than the prescribed limit of 26.12 mt in 2013 - and the airport sources said that the mosque authorities never had a no-objection certificate from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to construct it in the first place.

HC asks DGCA to probe allegations of forged marksheets given

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to conduct an inquiry into allegations of pilots procuring flying license after submitting forged marksheets.

A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi was hearing a public interest litigation by one Manisha Khanagali seeking a CBI inquiry into the 'scam'.

Submit list of fake pilots : HC to DGCA

Mumbai: Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to submit a list of pilots who have obtained their commercial pilot license after submitting bogus certificates.

A division bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi passed the direction on a public interest litigation by Dr Manisha Kanagali seeking to hightlight the fraud played by commercial pilots on airlines for obtaining employment by submitting forged documents.

Mittu Chandilya becomes AirAsia India's Managing Director in addition to his role as CEO

Mumbai: Budget carrier AirAsia India has appointed Mittu Chandilya as its Managing Director, which will be in addition to his current CEO role.

Now, Chandilya, who has been serving as CEO since the inception of the no-frills airline, would be part of the board.

In a statement on Thursday, the carrier said its board has appointed Chandilya as MD and the first full time Independent Executive Director of the company.

IndiGo, Tata Motors locked in court battle over trademark

Mumbai: Even as the owner of India's biggest and most profitable carrier IndiGo readies to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on Dalal Street, the Gurgaon-based airline is embroiled in a trademark dispute over its name with Tata Motors, which sells its flagship sedans under the same brand.

The airline's parent Interglobe Aviation faces an ownership title risk as Tata Motors has claimed that the carrier's use of the IndiGo name is an infringement of its trademark. India's biggest automaker by revenue forayed into sedans under the Indigo brand in 2002 while Interglobe commenced operations in August 2006.

AAI organised training program for employees working at BPI Airport, Bhubaneswar and Beharampur

Bhubaneswar: Airports Authority of India is emerging as one of the front runner in implementation of various infra-structure solutions in a way ahead for providing the best services to the passengers .

SpiceJet Adds New Flights and Frequencies Starting October 15

SpiceJet, the country;s favourite low-cost carrier, has launched more new flights to its schedule effective from 15th October, 2015. Amongst the new flights are the first ever direct flights between Varanasi and both Mumbai and Hyderabad, going onwards from Hyderabad to Bengaluru.
SpiceJet has also introduced daily flights between Agartala and Chennai via Kolkata, and has increased frequencies on its daily flights between Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Delhi and Agartala (second flight added), Delhi and Kolkata (third flight added), Agartala and Kolkata (second flight added), Kolkata and Chennai (second flight added), Hyderabad and Mumbai (third flight added), and Hyderabad and Bengaluru (third flight added). SpiceJet will deploy two new aircraft to operate the new flights.

AAI team inspects proposed airport site in Adampur

Jalandar: A technical team from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) visited the Adampur Air Force Station to ascertain the feasibility of the proposed domestic airport on Friday. The team included Debashish Khan, General Manager (Planning), SK Soni, Deputy General Manager (Operation) and Rajeev Handa, Deputy General Manager (Civil), who inspected the area.

All efforts to be made to start international flights from MP

Indore: The Centre will make all efforts to start international flights from Madhya Pradesh to boost commercial and tourism potential of the state, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma has said.

"Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has requested me to start international air service from Madhya Pradesh. I assure that all out efforts will be made to connect MP with international air service," Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of a function here last night.

Airport ATC gets capacity boost

Kolkata: NSCBI airport has implemented upper airspace harmonisation in Kolkata FIR (flight information region) as part of the safety and air navigation services improvement project.
It will bring improvement in operational efficiency of Air Traffic Management, safety of aircraft operations, fuel efficiency and savings in operating cost for airlines, and reduction in pilot/controller workload, Mr SS Bhaduri, regional executive director, Airport Authority of India, told newsmen Friday afternoon at the airport’s ATC tower. This system has been successfully installed and operationalised from yesterday, said Mr Bhaduri.

Airports Advisory Committee urges AAI to start flight operations from Odisha capital to Dubai, Bangkok, Shilong, Qualalampur

Bhubaneswar: Airports Advisory Committee (AAC) meeting was held under the chairmanship of Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patasani,   member of parliament of airport constituency on 21-08-2015. In the conference hall of New Domestic Building at B.P.I.Airport, Bhubaneswar. Shree Sharad Kumar, Airport Director has convened the meeting.

Jet expands student travel programme

Jet Airways has extended its ‘eduJetter’ programme for students to include codeshare flights operated by Etihad Airways.

The programme offers benefits to students who have secured admissions to foreign universities when they book and travel on Jet’s flights. This offer is valid until 16 September 2015 and is applicable for travel originating from India and Bangladesh.

Students from these countries can take advantage of excess baggage allowance and useful travel aids like SIM cards, as well as frequent flyer benefits and holiday options from JetEscapes.

Drugs worth Rs 20 cr seized at B'luru international airport

Drugs worth about Rs 20 crore has been seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) from a passenger at the Kempegowda International Airport here.

NCB said 3.347 kg of cocaine, a hard party drug, was concealed in the checked-in luggage of a Paraguay national who arrived here by an Emirates flight.

Separatist Shabbir Shah Detained at Delhi Airport

New Delhi: Separatist leader Shabbir Shah who arrived in Delhi on Saturday for a meeting with Pakistani National Security Advisor Sartaz Ajiz ahead of NSA-level talks, was detained at the airport by the police.

Shah has remained adamant about meeting Aziz, saying the separatists will not back out of the talks between India and Pakistan.
"We will meet Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz ji at the Pakistan House this evening," Shah told the media here.

Jet Airways plane lands with 'insufficient fuel'; pilots suspended

New Delhi: As many as 142 passengers and eight crew members of a Jet Airways flight from Doha to Kochi had a narrow escape after the plane landed at Trivandrum airport without the mandatory reserve fuel requirement, leading to the suspension of both the pilots by the aviation regulator, sources said.

The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) has asked the Aircraft accident investigation bureau (AAIB), which functions under the civil aviation ministry, to probe the incident which took place on August 18, terming it "serious", they added.
The fuel in the Boeing 737-800 aircraft was on reserve with only 270-kg of air fuel left at the time of landing at Trivandrum airport as against a mandatory requirement of 1,500kg of fuel along with alternative fuel, the sources said.

Turbulence in Air India as woman pilot who has never flown is made safety chief

New Delhi: Air India pilots are up in arms over the airline's decision to appoint its first woman pilot - who joined AI in 1988 but could never fly an aircraft s a pilot as she failed to failing to clear company medical tests - as the airline's chief of flight safety (CoFS).

The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) had last month removed AI's previous CoFS after it was found that he had not kept data records of some flights for six months, as required by law. After his removal, AI was to recommend some experienced pilot or engineer, though airlines almost always nominate their best pilots for the job for the job.

Mulayam’s Saifai plays host to fighter planes

Lucknow: The sky above the sleepy town of Saifai has been lately pierced by sounds quite alien to its quiet surroundings - of Mirage 2000 fighter planes of the Indian Air Force (IAF) taking off and landing on the airstrip in Saifai village in Etawah, home district of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Want international airport in Agra, no nod from Centre:UP Govt

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh government today said that it wanted to have an international airport in Agra and has also offered land for the same, but did not get Centre's approval.

"Our government wanted international airport at Agra and had offered the land for the same, but the Centre is not approving it," state Tourism Minister Om Prakash Singh said in the state Assembly here.

Singh was speaking in the House during Question Hour in a reply to a question raised by BSP member Dharmpal Singh.

Air travel from Kolkata to get faster

Kolkata: From Thursday, men and women seated in a windowless room in Kolkata airport will control nearly half of India's continental airspace. They are the air traffic controllers who will guide about 1,000 flights a day, ensuring the safety of more than 2 lakh passengers.

At present, Kolkata air traffic region (ATR) controls the skies between Yangon in the east and Bilaspur in the west and Janakpur-Biratnagar along Nepal border in the north and mid-Bay of Bengal in the south.

HC asks ministry to consider renaming of Madurai airport

Madurai: The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Tuesday disposed a PIL seeking renaming of Madurai airport after veteran freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar.

The division bench, consisting of Justice R Sudhakar and Justice VM Velumani, directed the director general of civil aviation of the Union civil aviation ministry to consider the matter and pass appropriate order on it.

International flight diverted to Coimbatore

Kochi: An Air Arabia flight from Sharjah to Kochi was diverted to Coimbatore International Airport due to bad weather at Cochin International Airport during the late hours of Tuesday.

Airport officials said that the flight with 175 passengers was supposed to land at Kochi at 7.30 p.m.

SriLankan Airlines adds three more Chennai-Colombo flights

Chennai: Travellers flying to Colombo and beyond will now have more options to choose from with SriLankan Airlines on August 16 adding three new flights between Chennai and Colombo.

The flights are being operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and offer passengers convenient connections from Colombo to destinations in south east Asia and the Far East.

SriLankan Airlines manager, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Sathyan P Mohan, said: "More flights were added as part of an expansion plan to capitalise on the good patronage on the route. There is 75% to 78% cabin factor on the flights which is considered to be good for international sectors."

Gold bars found abandoned on plane at Cochin International

Months after the Customs busted a gold smuggling racket with links inside the Nedumbassery airport, the route appear to be still in vogue among smugglers.

Officials of the Customs Air Intelligence Unit at the Cochin International airport here on Tuesday seized about two kilograms of gold worth Rs.53 lakhs, kept inside a flight from Abu Dhabi.

According to officials, the gold was seized from the Etihad flight, which had landed in Kochi at 3.30 a.m.

How IndiGo is changing the business mantra for all other airlines in India

With the fresh order of 250 Airbus 320Neos, IndiGo has changed the game for all other airlines operating in India. In fact, its mega aircraft order shows not just immense confidence in the Indian growth story but also in its own ability to inch ahead of other airlines, whether they are low cost competitors or legacy carriers.
Can competitors disrupt the IndiGo fairy tale growth? IndiGo is following in the footsteps of aviation industry upstarts like Etihad Airways and its other Gulf cousins - airlines which are taking competition to the doorstep of powerful American and European carriers by massive fleet expansion and aggressive wooing of the global traveller. Rapid and ambitious fleet expansion is the key to this aggression. Can domestic competitors to IndiGo rise to the challenge, given their weak balance sheets and continuing financial woes?

Domestic air passenger traffic rises to 67.45 lakh in July

New Delhi: Domestic airlines carried 67.45 lakh passengers in July this year compared with 52.16 lakh flown during the same period of the previous year.

The latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation shows that IndiGo remains the market leader having flown 24.17 lakh passengers.

Jet Mulls Extending Lease of Six Aircraft with Etihad

New Delhi: Jet Airways on Monday said it is looking at the option to extend the leasing pact for six planes that have been leased out to strategic partner Etihad.

The existing lease for six aircraft would expire by end of this year.

"We have the option of extending it... Currently, it (leasing agreement for six aircraft with Etihad) is ending by end of this year. We are looking at options with Etihad," Jet Airways vice president (fleet and management control) Krishnan Balakrishnan said during post-earnings analysts call.

Air India Comes Up With Bonds to Check Exodus of Dreamliner Pilots: Report

New Delhi: In its bid to stem the exodus of the pilots of its Dreamliner fleet, national carrier Air India has asked them to sign a bond which would allow it to recover the training cost in case a pilot decides to quit the airline without serving it for at least five years.

Air India spends a whopping Rs 25-60 lakh on the training of each pilot who flies a Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

Work with DIAL to decongest IGI's 1D, aviation secretary tells Airports Authority of India

New Delhi:  The aviation ministry may soon come to the rescue of harried flyers at Delhi's hugely congested terminal 1D. Aviation secretary R N Choubey has asked Airports Authority of India chairman R K Srivastava to immediately work out an improvement plan with the GMR-led Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL).

The directive came after aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju took a round of the terminal on Monday morning. Raju was supposed to board a 9am IndiGo flight to Varanasi. He reached the terminal just after 7am and witnessed the peak hour chaos first-hand.

Jet Airways in talks with Etihad over leased planes

New Delhi: Jet Airways is evaluating the option of extending the lease of its seven planes with its equity-partner Etihad Airways. If the lease is extended, this could result in Jet Airways pushing back its plans to expand its services in the United States.

“We have the option of extending it (the lease) with Etihad. Currently, this (the lease) is ending by the end of this year. We are working on some options with Etihad,” said Krishnan Balakrishnan, vice-president (fleet and management control) of Jet, during a post-earnings analytics call.

Air India flight aborted after pilot detects 'deflated' tyre

Chennai: A Andaman and Nicobar Islands bound Air India plane with 75 passengers on board today had to abort take-off after pilot detected a "deflated" tyre while taxiing at the airport here.

Air India flight stranded for three hours

Chennai: A Port Blair-bound Air India flight (AI-549) was delayed after one of its tyres burst, moments before it took off from the Chennai airport, on Monday.

The plane with 75 passengers on board was being taxied to the runway for takeoff at 10.20 a.m. when the right tyre on the rear burst.

Govt grounds PPP revamp plan for 4 airports

New Delhi: After extending the request for quotation (RFQ) submission dates for more than 5 times, the Civil Aviation Ministry has now decided to shelve plans to revamp airports in Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Ahmadabad on the PPP mode as it was done for Delhi and Mumbai, sources told Bloomberg TV India on Monday.

The decision comes after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two ministers handling civil aviation, sources said.

A safer airport coming soon

Kolkata: NSCBI Airport will have Isolated Aircraft Parking Position (IAPP) Rs special parking space created for an aircraft facing an exigency like hijack or bomb threat Rs by January 2016.
This bay will come up 100 meters away from the secondary runway and 200 meters away from the primary runway near Narayanpur in a remote location of the airport.
That is the buffer to protect operations at the airport in case an aircraft at the isolated position explodes. An aircraft with a bomb threat will be taken to the IAPP immediately so that the threat can be isolated and regular flight operations are not affected.

Air India Express starts Varanasi-Sharjah flights

New Delhi: State-run Air India’s subsidiary Air India Express today commenced its first flight from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi to Sharjah in the Gulf, bringing the temple city on the international air map.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma inaugurated the Varanasi-Sharjah flight (IX 183) from the city’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, which took off with 170 passengers onboard, Air India said in a release.

Homesick? UAE airlines' last-minute deals to India, Pakistan, UK…

Summer holidays in the UAE may be on their last leg, but local airlines are still offering deals to make you want to go ahead with your holiday plans that may not have materialised in the past couple of months.

Budget airline Air Arabia is offering deals on selected destinations with fares starting from Dh480 return.

The fare to Shiraz (Dh480) is the most affordable on the list. To fly to Karachi, you will now have to pay a slashed fare of Dh718, to Tehran Dh650, to Quetta you will have to pay Dh991, and to Peshawar Dh1,220.

CIAL to Set up 15 New Aero-bridges

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will introduce 15 new aero-bridges, on a par with other Metro city airports in the country, at the new international terminal being built at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore, which would be completed this fiscal. According to V J Kurien, managing director,CIAL, the move is aimed at providing better facilities and connectivity to passengers inside the airport.

Not-so-cheap tickets: Two airlines fined for misleading customers

New Delhi: Holding that the action of Indian airlines companies in advertising airfares at “throwaway prices, ranging from Rs 0 to 999” while actually providing them to the passengers at much higher prices amounted to unfair trade practice, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissioner (NCDRC) has imposed heavy compensation to two such companies.

Kolkata airport gets green signal for solar farming

Kolkata: In a year's time, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport could become one of the greenest facilities in the country with a substantially smaller carbon footprint. Though the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday sanctioned a 2 Mega Watt peak (MWp) solar project for Kolkata airport, the team in the city has much larger ambitions and has identified 50-60 acres to set up a 15MW solar farm that can generate nearly a quarter of its electricity requirement.

Airport to display work of budding artists

Coimbatore:  Young and budding artists in the city will soon have a new venue to display their works—the Coimbatore International Airport. In a bid to change the facade of the fast growing airport and make it livelier for passengers, authorities have decided to open an art gallery exclusively for young and amateur artists within the premises.

Fliers will be able to enjoy some of the local art after they check-in and wait to board their flight at this gallery, likely to open by the end of next week. The gallery will feature sculptures too, in addition to sketches and paintings.

Customs seize gold bars worth Rs 1.82 crore from aircraft lavatory

Mumbai: The customs officials have seized eight bars of gold worth Rs 1.82 crore from the washroom of an Indigo Airlines plane that arrived from Dubai on early Monday morning after being tipped off by an airline security staff. Around 2 am, officials of the C batch deputed on night duty received information from security staff of Indigo airlines about something amiss during a routine security drill that was being carried out by them on the plane.

Airbus finalises $26.6bn plane deal with Indian airline IndiGo

Airbus has finalised a record $26.6bn (£17bn) deal to sell 250 A320neo planes to an Indian budget airline in a boost for engineers working for the European aerospace group in the UK.

The deal with no-frills carrier IndiGo, which confirms an earlier provisional order for the planes, is the single-largest order for Airbus.

The wings for Airbus’s A320 planes will be made at Broughton in north Wales, before being sent on to aircraft production lines in Hamburg, Toulouse or China.

The company employs 16,000 people in the UK and produces 1,000 aircraft wings a year at the Broughton plant. The aerospace industry is worth about £24bn a year to the UK economy and it is seen by the government – along with the automotive sector – as a poster child for British manufacturing.

No plans to launch airlines abroad: Aditya Ghosh

Mumbai: Days after turning nine, IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, has announced an order to buy 250 narrow-bodied A320 neo aircraft for $25.7 billion. In an interview with Aneesh Phadnis, IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh talks about the mega aircraft deal, the company’s coming initial public offering (IPO) and other plans. Edited excerpts:

Earlier, IndiGo had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airbus for 250 A320neo planes. Why did you allow the MoU to lapse? Is Monday’s order according to the same terms?

It is according to the same terms. The MoU lapsed because we were unable to sign the purchase agreement within the stipulated period but we were always in discussions with Airbus.

Air India to face delay in getting Boeing Dreamliners

Mumbai: National carrier Air India (AI) will face delay in getting delivery of its remaining Boeing Dreamliner planes, as it lost slots while deciding on whether to switch to a stretched version of the aircraft family, said three people aware of the matter.

PM jettisons plan to upgrade Chennai, Kolkata airports

New Delhi: Prime minister Narendra Modi has shot down the civil aviation ministry’s move to upgrade Kolkata and Chennai airports on public-private partnership (PPP). With this, the number of airports proposed for privatisation has come down to two – Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

With this, however, the scope of work at Jaipur and Ahmedabad would now be limited to maintenance and operation of terminal buildings.

State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) would invite fresh request for qualification (RFQ) applications.

SpiceJet adds extra flights for winter schedule starting Oct 25

New Delhi: Saying that it has consistently flown the ‘highest loads of all airlines’ in the last few months, budget airline SpiceJet has announced the addition of new flights in its winter schedule effective from 25th October, 2015.
SpiceJet says it will deploy its Boeing 737-800s for all the additional flights launched in the new winter schedule.