Singapore model for new airport, metropolitan area, says Fadnavis

Pune: The proposed Pune international airport at Purandar will collaborate with Singapore's Changi Airport while planning for the Pune metropolitan region will receive a boost with help from a Singapore consortium, which helped in the development of Andhra Pradesh's capital Amravati, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said after inaugurating the new collectorate building in the city on Saturday.
Having recently met the Singapore authorities, Fadnavis stated that Changi Airport International Ltd has agreed to speed up assistance for Pune airport with an MoU signed between the two authorities.
"Changi airport is the best in the world and has bagged many awards. Their collaboration will definitely boost the proposed airport,'' stated the chief minister.

New airport boon for Saurashtra

Ahmedabad: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone for the Rs 2,500 crore greenfield airport, the long-pending demand of Rajkot businessmen and citizens is becoming a reality.
The airport near Hirasar, 30 km from Rajkot, is expected to become operational in the next five years. At present, people from Saurashtra have to travel all the way to Ahmedabad to board flights for abroad. Rajkot, the commercial capital of Saurashtra, is a home to auto parts, engineering goods and imitation jewellery while near-by Morbi is the biggest ceramic cluster in Asia.

No more hand luggage stamping at Biju Patnaik airport

Bhubansewar: In a major relief to the passengers, Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) from Saturday discontinued the procedure of stamping hand baggage tags. Informing this, BPIA Director Suresh Chandra Hota said the stamping of hand baggage tags has been discontinued at Terminal 1. The new protocols are only meant for domestic passengers and those travelling to international destinations will have to get their hand baggage tags stamped as usual, he added.

A committee comprising officials of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is tasked to secure 59 civil airports against security threats, and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) along with the airport operators was constituted early this year by the Union Government to smoothen the roll-out of this new protocol at all the airfields guarded by the paramilitary force.

Lucknow architect to design India’s highest airport

Lucknow: Buddhist prayer wheels, colourful flags, scriptures and sculptures of monks will greet tourists at the new Leh airport which is being designed by one Australian and two Lucknow-based architects.
The highest commercial airport in the country, the revamped Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, will open doors to those seeking serenity in Leh, soon.
The project has been initiated by the Airports Authority of India and involves three architecture consultants—Paul Mutton from Australia-based Guida Moseley Brown Architects and Vipul and Harsh Varshney from Lucknow-based Sthapati Associates. They have already started work on the airport.
The final designs have been submitted and approved and the Lucknow-based architects recently met the aviation minister in Delhi to take him through the project.
Keeping the philosophy of ancient Buddhist wisdom intertwined with modern ethos, the design closely incorporates Buddhist design elements in the structure.
To Read the News in Full 08/10/17 Yusra Husain/Times of India

Carbon offset scheme to clip the wings of aviation industry

Chennai:  Will the carbon reduction plan mooted by International Air Transport Association (IATA) strangle the Indian aviation sector? As the association is marking the first anniversary of the historic global agreement, Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), the aviation industry here is cautious on signing the treaty, which, while aiming to curb emissions, could have a serious impact on the sector that is waiting at the cusp of a revolution.

The agreement, signed at the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), is an initiative to reduce carbon footprint by airlines. Under this, the average level of carbon dioxide emissions and international aviation covered between 2019 and 2020 will be taken as the base carbon neutral growth figure, against which emissions will in future be compared. It is this base year that the aviation insiders have concerns.

SriLankan Airlines opens office in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: Sri Lanka's national carrier, SriLankan Airlines has opened a sales office in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh of India.

Chief Commercial Officer, Sri Lankan Airlines, Siva Ramachandran on Saturday inaugurated the Sri Lankan Airlines Office (City Sales Office), located at Siripuram area in Visakhapatnam, Deccan Chronicle reported.

SriLankan Airlines, the largest foreign airline operating to India, commenced operations to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh from 8 July 2017.

Chandigarh International Airport: Fewer flights shoot up air fares

Chandigarh: With the number of flights operating at Chandigarh International airport reduced to 26 owing to runway upgradation, the cost of afternoon flights from the city have gone up. Airline authorities operating at the airport also stated that the occupancy in the flights are almost full. The average cost to Delhi from the Chandigarh before the watch hours used to be something between Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. The cost has now increased to around Rs 5,000. For flight to Delhi on coming Monday, as per the travel portals, the cost was not less than Rs 4,800. From Delhi to Chandigarh, the travel cost was Rs 4,800.
“The number of flights are less at the airport. Those who were taking the evening flights are now switching over to afternoon flights.

Bengaluru airport to become India’s first fully Aadhaar-enabled by 2018

Bengaluru: After a two-month pilot project in February, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has given push to its plan to make Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) the country's first airport to have complete Aadhaar-enabled entry and biometric boarding system.

According to the Request For Proposal (RFP) issued by BIAL, the airport is expected to be completely Aadhaar-enabled by December 2018, and the initiative is in line with its endeavours to become a Smart Airport—a digitized, seamlessly connected and intuitive one.

India expects to triple aviation market in next 15 years

Singapore: New Delhi says that India has doubled the size of its aviation market in the last four years, and will look to triple it in the next 15 years.

Speaking in a televised interview, India's minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha, adds that by the end of the current 2018 financial year, the country will hit 200 million passenger trips.

The figure is up from 160 million passenger trips made in the 2017 financial year, and double the size from four years ago.

Sinha states that while India's growth in aviation is noteworthy, it still lags behind China with an annual figure of 500 million passenger trips, and the United States with 900 million passenger trips a year.

He acknowledges that India's airports and airspace still remain congested, and that New Delhi has to plan to accommodate future growth.

India maintains double-digit growth in air traffic for 36th straight month

New Delhi: India's domestic passenger traffic grew by 16 per cent in August, a global airline association said on Thursday.

"Indian airlines achieved a 36th consecutive month of double-digit traffic growth as demand rose 16 per cent," the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its global passenger traffic data.

"Traffic continues to be stimulated by sizeable increases in the number of domestic routes served."

India's domestic demand -- revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) -- was highest amongst major aviation markets like Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia and the US.

AirAsia plans innovation centre at Bengaluru

Kuala Lumpur: AirAsia has launched its revamped loyalty scheme, the 'Freedom Flyer Programme'. The low-cost carrier is also looking at setting up an innovation centre in Bengaluru.
AirAsia, the largest low-cost carrier in the continent in terms of passenger volume, connects more than 120 destinations, including in India. Its new loyalty scheme allows points to be earned based on a membership status system that takes into account how often guests fly, regardless of what they spend on fares.
Flyers can earn and redeem points across markets served by the carrier from Malaysia to India, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Japan and Australia, among others. The loyalty points, which can be redeemed for a minimum of 500 'Big Points', do not expire unless a member's digital loyalty card shows no activity continuously for three years.

UDAN to now put Thanjai on India’s aviation map

Tiruchy: With the second-round of bidding for regional flights under the Centre’s UDAN scheme underway, Jet Airways is exploring new avenues other than Tiruchy International Airport and plans to start operations from Thanjavur to other cities. A team from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Jet Airways has begun a preliminary survey of the Thanjavur airbase where commercial operations are expected to begin under the scheme.

According to sources, the team of senior officials comprising AGMs and DGMs left for  Thanjavur Air Force Station on Friday to carry out a preliminary survey on operating flights from there.

Chandigarh International Airport Gets Three More Snack Bars And A Restaurant

Three more snack bars along with a restaurant got added, and expected to get started at the Chandigarh International airport this month.

All the new eateries which got added in the tender was awarded to a company to arrange a set of 14 food and beverages outlets at the airport, according to Chandigarh Airport Limited (CHIAL).

“These new facilities will come up before Diwali. In total, four more food joints will be opened now,” said CHIAL Chief Executive Officer Sunil Dutt. “The new food outlets will come up in different parts of the airport,” further added by Dutt.

AAI invites global airlines to operate from India

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has participated in the World Route 2017—a global conference for aviation sector and stakeholders where it invited over 30 key international airlines to commence operations from various cities of India.

The AAI delegation held fruitful route development meetings with prominent airlines like Oman Air, British Airways, Air Canada, Hong Kong Airlines, Kuwait Airlines, Monarch Airlines, Gulf Air, Finnair and Viet Jet Air.

Surat, India courts international carriers

Flydubai is one of several international airlines which are keen to start operations at India's Surat airport, reports the Times of India. Airport officials are also in communication with other airlines, such as Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, SilkAir, Thai Airways International, and AirAsia. However, any international expansion is still subject to regulatory approvals, and improved facilities for larger aircraft, as well as customs and immigration management.

As previously reported, local carrier Air India Express (IX, Mumbai Int'l) planned to launch Surat's international operations with direct flights to Dubai Int'l in May. These have been postponed pending Surat's designation as a customs notified airport by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), as well as a runway extension planned for completion by end-2017.

Common user domestic cargo terminal inaugurated

Thiruvananthapuram: A common user domestic cargo terminal (CUDCT) has started functioning at the Trivandrum International Airport.
Airlines operating from domestic terminal of the airport, namely Air India, Indigo, Jet Airways and Spice Jet will handle cargo operations through the CUDCT.
CEO of AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company (AAICLAS) Keku Bomi Gazder inaugurated the facility at the old domestic building of the airport, in a function held here on Thursday.
An X-ray machine for the CUDCT was brought from Mumbai. The facility was set up at a cost of Rs 50 lakh.

Kullu gets air connectivity from Chandigarh

Shimla: After years of efforts to link Chandigarh and Kullu by air, the popular tourist destination in Himachal Pradesh received its inaugural IA flight from Chandigarh on Thursday.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, along with Union Health Minister J P Nadda, launched the flight. Speaking on the occasion, Nadda said since the hill state was a tourist destination, air connectivity was crucial. Direct air connectivity for the heart of Himachal has been a persistent demand of travellers, said local MP Ram Swaroop.
Air India will operate its 72-seater plane for the 45-minute flight between Kullu and Chandigarh. The flight takes off at 8.35 am from Kullu-Manali airport at Bhuntar. From Chandigarh, it will take off at 9.50am. The flight will operate seven days a week.
To Read the News in Full 06/10/17 Indian Express

Madurai gets second direct air link to Bengaluru

Madurai got its second direct air link to Bengaluru with SpiceJet re-introducing its Bengaluru-Madurai-Bengaluru daily flight services on Wednesday.
Jet Airways is already operating in this sector.
SpiceJet will operate a 78-seater Bombardier Q 400 aircraft. Initially, the flight will land in Madurai at 12.40 p.m. and leave for Bengaluru at 1 p.m.

But the landings and take offs in Madurai will shift to evenings from October 29.
It will leave Bengaluru at 2.30 p.m. and reach Madurai at 3.45 p.m.

India's air passenger growth on the back of excess capacity: IATA

Capacity addition by airlines has led to double-digit passenger growth in the country, airline body International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said today.
“Indian airlines achieved a 36th consecutive month of double-digit traffic growth as demand rose 16%. Traffic continues to be stimulated by sizeable increases in the number of domestic routes served,” IATA said in global passenger traffic data for the month of August released today.

IATA today announced global passenger traffic data for August showing that demand (measured in total revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) climbed 7.2% compared to the year-ago period.

At the same time, the upward trend in seasonally-adjusted traffic has eased from that seen at the end of 2016. “August capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 6.3%, and load factor climbed 0.7% percentage points to 84.5%, which was just below the record for the month set in 2015,” IATA said.
To Read the News in Full 05/10/17 Mihir Mishra/Economioc Times

'Over 45% people prefer carrying home cooked food on flight'

Mumbai: As more and more people are upgrading to air travel, a report has found that over 45 per cent flyers sometimes prefer to carry home cooked food on the flight.

"Over 45 per cent prefer to sometimes carry home cooked food on the flight," according to 'India Travel Report- 2017' by MakeMyTrip.

Further, it found that 42 per cent people do not prefer to pay and avail eatables on flights while travelling through a low-cost carrier (LCC).

About 85 per cent travellers find eatables sold on board expensive or very expensive, it added.

Aviation ministry seeks proof to allow more flights to Dubai

New Delhi: The aviation ministry has asked domestic airlines to submit proof of Dubai airport’s commitment of more slots to them before agreeing to increase the number of flights between India and the emirate, much to the carriers’ dismay.

The proof would be crucial in finalising a decision on the long-pending issue of increasing bilateral entitlements, an aviation ministry official said. “We cannot trust letters sent by airlines,” the official told ET. “We have asked them to share with a proof of slot commitment given to them. This proof could be a letter from Dubai authorities. Letters have been sent to all airlines, including Air India,” the person said.

Airlines executives termed the government demand “unnecessary”. “What more proof do they want?” said an airline executive.

Alliance Air links Shirdi to Mumbai and Hyderabad

Mumbai: Alliance Air, the wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, on Tuesday linked the pilgrimage town of Shirdi to Mumbai and Hyderabad with an ATR 72 aircraft. The first flight AI 9654 from Shirdi to Mumbai was flagged off by honourable President Ram Nath Kovind .Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajpati Raju and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis launched the flight by giving away the boarding passes to passengers along with our CMD Rajiv Bansal and senior Air India officials.
The flight from Mumbai to Shirdi and return will operate daily with an ATR 72 aircraft. Flight AI 9653 will depart Mumbai at 0830 hours to reach Shirdi at 0915hrs and the return flight will depart Shirdi at 0945 hrs to arrive in Mumbai at 1105 hrs on Wednesday,Friday and Sundays.

All about airline pricing

Flying in India has become more affordable these days and this affordability will continue to drive demand. Even as more people choose to travel by air, airline pricing continues to confound them. So, passengers must be aware of when to buy, what they buy and how to handle any changes to take the surprise out of pricing. Airline pricing, driven by dynamic market forces, is highly sophisticated and focused on profit generation.

Here are few things to keep in mind to make better choices while booking tickets:

When to book

Airlines seek to fill the plane as quickly as possible hence passengers are advised to buy as early as possible to get the cheapest tickets.

Freshmenu to open outlet at airport

Bengaluru: Online food delivery platform Freshmenu is opening its first offline store at Kempegowda International Airport. The firm and its founder Rashi Dagga did not respond to queries sent to them. K Ganesh, who has invested in Freshmenu, said the outlet will open this year and is mainly being set up for branding purposes. He said there are no plans to launch more outlets."The airport gets a huge footfall. We had been getting a lot of demand and queries from customers to launch an outlet there. The menu will be tweaked a bit to suit more takeout options," he said.
To Read the News in Full 05/10/17 Times of India

Soon, desi airlines can also operate foreign-registered aircraft

New Delhi: Allaying international lessor concerns that repossessing their aircraft from Indian carriers is an uphill task if the latter hit bad times like Kingfisher, the government is soon going to allow desi airlines to operate foreign registered aircraft.
At present, airlines in India are required to get an Indian registration when the lease (rent) aircraft from foreign leasors.
"In case an airline runs out of money, then various government agencies that have to recover dues from it seize aircraft — including those leased from foreign companies. So for no fault of the leasor, their planes get stuck in India. Several planes leased to Kingfisher can still be seen rusting at various Indian airports. Due to this, the cost of leasing planes to India is higher than global norms," said a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
To Read the News in Full 03/10/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Now, direct flights to two more Afghanistan cities

New Delhi: Two more Afghan cities will be connected by direct flights to Delhi this week, the government said on Monday, a move that is expected to further ease trade and commerce between the two countries.
The cities are Mazar-e-Sharif, in Afghanistan's north, and Herat in the west.
The inaugural direct flight took off from the Maulana Jalalludin Balkhi airport in Mazar-e-Sharif for Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10.30am on Monday. Kam Air — a private airline of the Kamgar Group — will operate two flights a week from Mazar-e-Sharif, on Mondays and Wednesdays, and from Herat on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Ahmedabad airport gets flight information display system

Ahmedabad: Flight information display system (FIDS) was inaugurated at the domestic terminal of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport on Tuesday. With this, the city airport is inching towards attaining 'silent airport' status in the country.
According to the statement of the airport authority, new system will help in smooth movement of passenger across all terminal areas. "The 3x2 metres video wall system for arrival and departure flight information has been installed. The video wall display has been indigenously built. Besides, 42 LED display of 42 inches and 22 LED display of 22 inches with inbuilt intelligent controller has also been set up at the airport," said the statement.
Updates of flight information is done dynamically through integration with Airport Operation Control Centre (AOCC). The display will be in Hindi and Gujarati apart from English. Besides, advertisements for social and national causes can be added on these displays, said the statement.
To Read the News in Full 04/10/17 Times of India

Indian aviation takes off — via the Gulf

India is taking to the air, and it is increasingly using the UAE’s two global airlines, Emirates and Etihad, to do so.
This will not come as news to anybody who has traveled to the US recently. On two recent summer flights to New York, Indian passengers formed a big majority in economy class, most of them on codeshare tickets from Jet Airways, India’ second biggest airline measured by destinations served. Both Etihad and Emirates have codeshare deals with Jet.
I didn’t have the chance to see the demographic of business class, but it must have been similar, given rising Indian income level and business activity.
A recent bit of research by CAPA (reproduced in Emirates’ government affairs journal Open Sky) declared that India was to become the third largest aviation market in the world, replacing Japan currently in that slot and behind only the US and China. India is already in third position in terms of domestic passenger traffic.

SpiceJet starts daily direct flight between Guwahati and Dibrugarh

Guwahati: Budget airline SpiceJetBSE 1.64 % on Tuesday launched a flight from Assam's Dibrugarh to Guwahati, becoming the only airline to offer daily direct connectivity between the tea city of India and the state's largest city.
Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the first flight from Dibrugarh. Having a flight on the Dibrugarh-Guwahati-Silchar route will help facilitate increased trade and commerce in the state, he said.

Private operators to introduce more int’l flights to Gaya

Gaya: The international tourist season 2017-18 has began with the arrival of Myanmar Airways International (MAI ) charted fligths in the last couple of days. The MAI is all set to operate 120 chartered flights between Yangon and Gaya. airport. Host of other operators have also geared up to meet the demand of visitors planning to visit Bodh Gaya.
Gaya International Airport director Dilip Kumar confirmed reports regarding the chartered flights being operated by MAI. The airlines would be ferrying tourists in Boeing 737 category of aircrafts.

Chennai’s second airport may come up in Kancheepuram or Tiruvallur

Chennai: Nearly 10 years ago, the State government announced a plan to build a second airport for Chennai at Sriperumbudur.

Thereafter, the Chennai airport went through phase I modernisation and a few years after the terminals were saturated phase II project is all set to begin in a few months. But even now, there isn’t a concrete proposal for the second airport for the city whose traffic has been growing rapidly.

Recently, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha too spoke of the need to have a greenfield airport for the city at the earliest.

The only development perhaps in recent times is that Sriperumbudur will no longer house the second airport and the State may choose from four other sites —Walajabad and Madhurantakam in Kancheepuram district and Alamathy and Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district.

Singapore to help develop city air cargo hub

Nagpur: Singapore's Changi airport, which is the best in passenger and cargo operations, will provide technical and commercial consultancy to develop air cargo hub at Nagpur. It will also help in actual construction of the hub.
Addressing the media after flagging off Nagpur Metro's trial run on Saturday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that an agreement had been signed between the airport and state government in this regard. Changi will also help in construction of Pune's new airport at Chakan.
Commenting on other developments during his recent visit to South Korea and Singapore, Fadnavis said that an agreement had been signed between state government and a Singapore government agency for planned development of Nagpur and Pune Metro regions.
A Singapore company would also set up a free trade warehousing zone (FTWZ) near the city. "This company already operates such a facility at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). Large number of international logistics companies are taking interest in Nagpur after implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST)," the CM added.

Canada-Amritsar flight to start soon, says Aujla

Amritsar: The long pending demand of a large number of NRIs and their relatives here for a direct flight between Amritsar and a Canadian city is likely to be fulfilled soon. Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said Air Canada would soon begin flights after it inked a bilateral agreement for the same.
Post 2012, all major international flights were diverted to the privately-run Delhi airport, causing a steep fall in the Amritsar airport’s revenue and international connectivity. Even its revenue from cargo and farm-fresh cargo also plummeted.
The rise of Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport had started after it was elevated to an international airport in 2004 and about Rs 500 crore was invested for its development.

You can fly to Riyadh directly

Thiruvananthapuram: Saudia Airlines, the official airlines of Saudi Arabia, on Sunday became the 18th airline to commence direct flight operations from Saudi Arabia to Thiruvananthapuram international airport.

The A330 aircraft with 267 passengers and 13 crew that landed from the Saudi capital Riyadh at 12.15 p.m. was given a water salute by the fire tenders of Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Airport Director George G. Tharakan and senior officials received the passengers and the crew.
Richard Nutall, the airline’s vice president, Sales, was the first passenger of the maiden flight.

The airline has plans to increase the weekly five flights from the ports in Saudi Arabia to the State capital to daily from January 2018, Mr Tharakan said.
To Read the News in Full 02/10/17 The Hindu

Connecting Indian cities

This year, an estimated 125 million domestic air sectors will be flown. Much like mobile phone connections, the number of sectors flown should not be conflated with the number of Indians who fly. Given that most flyers are relatively frequent and take at least one return trip, or most likely more, with the heaviest flyers flying more than 10 sectors annually, one can, therefore, guess that fewer than 20 million Indians actually take to the skies every year. That said, there is little doubt that air passengers play an outsize role in the Indian economy — they are India's high-spending consumer class that keep the economy ticking over. The Narendra Modi Government wants to expand air travel for a couple of reasons. One, as explained earlier, is the outsize economic impact of air travel. Travel by air in such a vast country like India saves time and since we are told that time is money, time saved is money earned.

Emirates predicts India will be 'third largest aviation market'

India is fast becoming the world’s third largest aviation market, with passenger numbers growing by around 20 percent each year – far exceeding the global average of 7.3 percent, Emirates noted in its latest monthly bulletin.

The Dubai-based carrier said in 2016 India’s domestic passenger traffic stood at 100 million, an increase of 23 percent from the previous year and making it the third largest market for domestic passengers.

Cross runway ops by December-end, flights to be on time

Chennai: In a bid to expand the flight-handling capacity of Chennai airport, Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to re-introduce simultaneous use of the main runway and the second runway, or cross-runway operation, by December. Once complete, the project, the second attempt after 10 years, will ensure that flights arrive and take off on schedule.
A senior AAI official said "air traffic controllers have been trained in simulator on the procedure for routing flights on second runway and the main runway simulteneously. We are ready to start cross-runway operations by end of December. Airlines have been informed about our prepardness. The idea is to use the second runway for take-offs as it will help the airport to handle more flights during peak hours."

SpiceJet confirms flights from Jaisalmer from Oct 29

Jaisalmer: After a long wait of 16 years, Jaisalmer will once again be connected with other places through air service. SpiceJet airlines will start the service from October 29 which will be between Delhi, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur. This information has brought cheers among foreign tourists, businessmen and the local public.
SpiceJet officials said two flights of SpiceJet will start from October 29. One flight will be from Jaisalmer to Delhi while the other will be from Jaisalmer to Jaipur and also to Udaipur. Now, Jaisalmer will be connected to Jaipur, Delhi and Udaipur via air service. This will also help devotees going to Nathdwara near Udaipur, and also tourists going to Udaipur.

President inaugurates Shirdi Airport, first flight to Mumbai

Shirdi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday inaugurated the newly-built airport at Shirdi in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district.
Airport sources said the president's aircraft touched down from New Delhi at the Shirdi airport at 10.30 am.
Kovind dedicated the Shirdi airport to the people.
Commercial flight operations are scheduled to commence later today with a flight to Mumbai being operated by Alliance Air, the sources said.
The airport secured the aerodrome licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for commercial operations last month.

Jet Airways is printing Aadhaar on boarding passes during check-in; Aadhaar Act violations?

Jet Airways is printing Aadhaar numbers on boarding passes when passengers are a checking into flights. The issue was flagged on Twitter earlier this week when Suvodeep Das posted a picture of his boarding pass for a flight from Hyderabad to Mumbai.

Publishing of an Aadhaar number is a punishable offense in the Aadhaar Act with jail term up to three years and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh. From the Aadhaar Act.

No Aadhaar number or core biometric information collected or created under this Act in respect of an Aadhaar number holder shall be published, displayed or posted publicly, except for the purposes as may be specified by regulations.

App to ensure safety of IGI travellers

New Delhi: Stepping up security for passengers commuting from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to Delhi and NCR, the Delhi police has upped its security and has come up with a security cover for its denizens. Soon, the commuters who will be alighting at the IGI and head to the city or NCR, will be under Delhi police’s security range.

According to sources, once the traveller boards a taxi, an SMS will flash on the mobile phone, which will allegedly read “are you safe”. The move has been taken to ensure the safety and security of women and children. In this new move, the Delhi police will ensure that the commuter reaches her/his destination safely. There will be a QR code installed in black-yellow taxis at IGI.

SpiceJet to get the bigger, 90-seat Q400 aircraft

Montreal-based aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Commercial Aircraft on Friday announced that it has concluded a firm purchase agreement with India-listed SpiceJet Limited for up to 50 Q400 turboprop aircraft, making it the largest single order ever for the said aircraft.
The purchase agreement includes 25 Q400 turboprops and purchase rights on an additional 25 aircraft. Based on the list prices, the order is valued at up to $1.7 billion.

At the International Paris Air Show in June this year, SpiceJet had signed a letter of intent with Bombardier for the purchase of the Q400 aircraft. Including SpiceJet’s order, Bombardier has recorded firm orders for a total of 610 Q400 aircraft.
Currently, SpiceJet operates 20 Q400 aircraft in a 78-seat configuration on domestic and international routes. But as part of the new order, Spicejet would become the global launch customer of the 90-seat Q400 aircraft.

Vistara wants to fly overseas by May next year

Vistara Airlines has approached the Aviation Ministry to start international operations from May next year, reports the Economic Times.

Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, where Tata owns 51 percent and Singapore Airlines has a 49 percent stake. They expect to meet the 20-plane eligibility norm by next year.

"As part of the preparation, we have also advanced our aircraft deliveries and expect to receive our 20th aircraft by March 2018. In addition to our initial order, we are leasing two Airbus A320neos, which will arrive by June 2018," the airline told ET.

Indian Govt wants private firms to develop small airports

With increasing air connectivity to smaller towns in India and availability of cheap flight tickets, the domestic air traffic volumes in the country are heavily skewed in favor of small cities.

According to a travel portal Make My Trip, only one fourth of domestic air traffic comes from metros, nearly 75% comes from smaller cities.

However, the infrastructure at these airports, mostly managed by state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI), has not kept pace, resulting in overcrowded and poorly maintained terminals and check-in counters as well as flight delays.

With 10 of the 126 airports operated by AAI together handling 30 million passengers a year, the Narendra Modi government wants to attract private players in exploiting the commercial opportunity of terminals with such heavy footfalls, reports Business Standard.

Book a private jet seat to Goa for just Rs 10,000!

Mumbai-based private jet aggregation startup Bookmycharter has started a ‘Ferry Flight’ concept where in a client can let other passengers travel en route on empty seats.

In private jet business, a client generally pays for the to-and-fro cost of a jet parked in a base distant from their pickup city. Ferry flight concept removes the cost of two-way payment for a client.

“Private jets are meant for the ultra-rich and privileged ones but we have commoditized the whole space by making the private jets available for a common man through ferry flights,” said Sachit Wadhwa co-founder of Bookmycharters.

25% rise in passengers flying with ‘Maharaja’

Flyers from the region has started patronising Air India which has reported 25 per cent increase in flow of passengers ex-Sonegaon Airport in city. Air India operates three direct flights from Dr Babasaheb International Airport on daily basis on the domestic circuit. Two flights are for Mumbai and one flies to New Delhi and the increase in passenger segments showcases that people are preferring air travel.

Air India’s two flights to Mumbai operate with 122 seats and 180 seats while that for Delhi, it operates with 150 seats. City-based Abhay Kolarkar had sought data from Air India under Right to Information Act (RTI) wherein it revealed that the current number of travellers stands around 1,02,379 for year 2016-17 (current year is half way through).

Govt eases norms for airlines connecting UDAN destinations

The civil aviation ministry has agreed to allow some airlines to fly bigger aircraft for Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) flights adding that it may be more flexible in integrating these into routes and overall operations, as the Mint reported.

For hilly regions, UDAN will allow helicopters and four-seater aircraft to participate as well.

These changes will cater to better commercial flexibility, a government official said on the condition of anonymity.

This development has led to new bidding rounds that will start soon.

One of the rules that has been eased is — the airlines can now make UDAN destination part of a connecting flight.

“This was not allowed earlier,” the official was quoted as saying.

AAI’s Srinagar, Raipur Airports awarded ‘Best Airports’ under National Tourism Awards 2015-16

Srinagar: The Airports Authority of India’s Srinagar International Airport, Jammu & Kashmir and Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur, Chhattisgarh have been jointly conferred with the prestigious National Tourism Awards 2015-16. The President of India Ram Nath Kovind, presented the award for Best Airport under ‘rest of India’ category at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on the occasion of World Tourism Day on 27th September, 2017.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India presents National Tourism Awards to various segments of the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality industry annually in recognition of their performance towards comprehensive development of tourism in the country. 

IndiGo launches first daily Amritsar-Bengaluru flight, 17 more for winters

IndiGo, one of India’s leading airlines, on Thursday announced its decision to expand its operations by launching 18 new non-stop flights as part of its winter schedule on its destination network. Six of these 18 flights will fly daily and the rest will fly on Sundays.
The airline will introduce daily flights between Amritsar and Bengaluru — the first carrier to introduce a daily service on the route. It has also announced increased frequency of flights on routes like Mumbai-Mangalore, Bengaluru-Dehradun, Delhi-Dubai, Mumbai-Lucknow and more. The only international destination to be catered in this plan is Dubai where the non-stop flight will operate only on Sundays.

International airlines queue up to begin Surat operations

Surat: Even as the central government mulls over who will bear the cost for customs at Surat airport and Gujarat government pondering over lack of staff for immigrations, several international airlines have queued up to begin operations to and from the city.
Since the past couple of years, constant communication with foreign airlines such as FlyDubai, AirArabia ,Qatar, Silk Air,Thai Airways, AirAsia etc has borne wings to the possibility of limited international air connectivity to and from Surat.
Chairman, aviation committee of South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) Rajnikant Marfatia said, "While we are in constant touch with several international airlines which are eager to begin operations from Surat, we are awaiting Union minister of civil aviation Jayant Sinha to keep his word regarding international connectivity with Indian carriers such as Air India Express and SpiceJet since international carriers have exhausted their bilateral seat entitlements.

Alliance Air to start weekly six flights to Hyderabad

Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, will start operations on Chennai – Coimbatore – Hyderabad – Coimbatore – Chennai sector from October 3.

A statement issued by Air India Ltd, Coimbatore, said that the service will be available on all days except Mondays. The flight, 91 561, will depart Chennai at 07.20 hours and reach Coimbatore at 08.50 hours. It will leave Coimbatore at 09.15 hours and reach Hyderabad at 11.05 hours. The return flight, 91 562, will depart Hyderabad at 11.35 hours and arrive Coimbatore at 13.25 hours. It will leave Coimbatore 13.50 hours and reach Chennai at 15.20 hours.

On August 30, Alliance Air had started daily flight on Chennai – Coimbatore – Chennai sector between 18.50 hours and 22.05 hours with an ATR 72-600 aircraft.
To Read the News in Full 28/09/17 The Hindu

Indian Govt wants private firms to develop small airports

With increasing air connectivity to smaller towns in India and availability of cheap flight tickets, the domestic air traffic volumes in the country are heavily skewed in favor of small cities.

According to a travel portal Make My Trip, only one fourth of domestic air traffic comes from metros, nearly 75% comes from smaller cities.

However, the infrastructure at these airports, mostly managed by state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI), has not kept pace, resulting in overcrowded and poorly maintained terminals and check-in counters as well as flight delays.

Air Odisha UDAN flights hit air pocket as 8 airports not ready for operations

The proposed flight services of Air Odisha under the much-trumpeted UDAN scheme have run into rough weather with as many as eight airports across three states not ready for operations. Besides, the Bhubaneswar-based air charter firm is awaiting the scheduled commuter operator’s (SCO) permit from the aviation regulator DGCA, which will allow it to launch services on the designated routes under the scheme, a source in the know of things said.
“Eight of the 26 airports from where we have to launch regional flights under the UDAN scheme are ready for operations as some work is still going on.

Two more firms evince interest in Air India's ground handling biz

As the government works out the modalities for Air India disinvestment, two more companies have expressed interest in buying the national carrier's ground handling operations, official sources said.

A group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, today held discussions on the stake sale modalities. It is at least the third meeting of the group so far this month. Official sources said Menzies Aviation Dubai and Mumbai- headquartered diversified Livewel group have shown interest in Air India's ground handling operations. A subsidiary of the airline, Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) provides ground handling services.

Airports Authority of India releases national register of airports

New Delhi: With the growing aviation sector in the country, the database of airports in the country has become the most relevant.

Keeping this in mind, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Wednesday released a national register which tracks development works in all airports in the country.

The comprehensive database in the national register will help authorities in the swift handling of emergency situations at airports.

The national airport operator issued a statement saying, “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is managing 126 airports (including Civil Enclaves) have taken up the onerous task of preparing a comprehensive National Register containing details of all Civil Airports and Airstrips in the country and the work carried out is first of its kind.”

Mumbai airport bags national tourism award for best airport amning metros

Mumbai: The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) was on Wednesday adjudged the Best Airport in Class X (metro) Cities and awarded the prestigious National Tourism Award for the second consecutive year.

President of India Ramnath Kovind presented the award to CSIA officials at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan.
The National Tourism Awards are given by the Ministry of Tourism in various segments of the travel and tourism industry every year. The award for the 'Best Airport' category is designated for the airport in India providing top notch facilities to passengers and guests. The major criteria for selection include creation of tourist-friendly infrastructure, maintenance and upkeep of the airport, adaptation of eco-friendly practices etc. CSIA emerged the winner across all parameters.
To Read the News in Full 27/09/17 Mumbai Mirror

Vidyanagar airport re-opens to commercial ops

TruJet has launched the first flight in nine years for India's Vidyanagar airport, connecting Karnataka's Ballari district with Hyderabad Int'l using ATR72-500 equipment. The flights are offered under India's regional connectivity scheme, known as UDAN.

Vidyanagar airport was originally constructed to service the local steel manufacturer, JSW Steel, but officially opened to commercial operations in 2006. Both Air Deccan (DN, Bangalore Int'l) and Kingfisher Airlines (IT, Mumbai Int'l) previously offered flights from the airport, but these were each discontinued. However, a spokesman for the official booking agent, Matrix Holidays, has told the Hindu Times that so far demand is good for the re-established route.
To Read the News in Full 27/09/17 ch-aviation

Additional scheduled flights likely to Bikaner

Jaipur: The Bikaner civil airport, operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), is likely to get more scheduled flights in the coming months.
A day after Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajpati Raju inaugurated the daily flight between Bikaner and New Delhi under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme, UDAN, officials at the Nal Airport said that they were expecting the expansion of air connectivity between Bikaner and other cities.
On Tuesday, Raju had said that the direct air service to New Delhi would connect Bikaner city to the world.

Zoomcar, AirAsia India tie up to go the extra mile

Bengaluru: Zoomcar and AirAsia India today announced its partnership whereby special offers will be provided to the airliner's customers. With this arrangement, they will be able to book a Zoomcar for local and inter-city travel on its website.
"We are excited about the partnership which will further enable AirAsia guests to experience Zoomcar accessibility at airports with ease and flexibility," says CEO and co-founder of the self-drive car rental company, Greg Moran. "The door-to-door delivery experience enhances customer convenience and will leave them with a memorable experience of self-drive time and again," he added.

Airports to go Paperless, May Link Airlines Database With Aadhaar Number

New Delhi: Airports may soon go paperless as the aviation ministry has started the work of making link airlines and airports databases with passenger IDs such as Aadhaar and passport numbers. Now, all you will need is just your mobile phones to board a domestic flight in India. Aviation secretary RN Choubey told TOI that once the process takes place, the passengers will be able to use their Aadhaar cards or passport numbers to prove their identities before entering terminals and “will not have to show ID cards”.A flight ticket or
He also said that neither a flight ticket or e-ticket will not be needed as the airline database will show the details of the flight the passengers are booked on.

Forget IDs, you may soon use biometrics to enter airports

New Delhi: The government has begun work on ensuring a completely paperless aircraft boarding process under which a mobile phone is all that will be required to board domestic flights in India.
The aviation ministry is linking the databases of airlines and airports with passenger IDs such as Aadhaar and passport numbers for this.
Once this happens, says aviation secretary R N Choubey, passengers will be able to use biometrics to prove identity before entering terminals and will not have to show ID cards. A flight ticket or eticket will not be needed either as the airline database will show the details of the flight they are booked on.

Mumbai airport bags national tourism award for best airport amning metros

Mumbai: The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) was on Wednesday adjudged the Best Airport in Class X (metro) Cities and awarded the prestigious National Tourism Award for the second consecutive year.

President of India Ramnath Kovind presented the award to CSIA officials at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan.
The National Tourism Awards are given by the Ministry of Tourism in various segments of the travel and tourism industry every year. The award for the 'Best Airport' category is designated for the airport in India providing top notch facilities to passengers and guests. The major criteria for selection include creation of tourist-friendly infrastructure, maintenance and upkeep of the airport, adaptation of eco-friendly practices etc. CSIA emerged the winner across all parameters.
To Read the News in Full 27/09/17 Mumbai Mirror

Vidyanagar airport re-opens to commercial ops

TruJet has launched the first flight in nine years for India's Vidyanagar airport, connecting Karnataka's Ballari district with Hyderabad Int'l using ATR72-500 equipment. The flights are offered under India's regional connectivity scheme, known as UDAN.

Vidyanagar airport was originally constructed to service the local steel manufacturer, JSW Steel, but officially opened to commercial operations in 2006. Both Air Deccan (DN, Bangalore Int'l) and Kingfisher Airlines (IT, Mumbai Int'l) previously offered flights from the airport, but these were each discontinued. However, a spokesman for the official booking agent, Matrix Holidays, has told the Hindu Times that so far demand is good for the re-established route.
To Read the News in Full 27/09/17 ch-aviation