Aadhaar-based paperless boarding to take off soon

New Delhi:  Aadhaar-based biometric authentication and a smart phone will be all you’ll need to board domestic flights in India soon. The government will issue the all-approved template of this paperless and hassle-free "digi yatra" by the end of this month after which airports will be free to adopt the same. The process could start by July at Bangalore and Hyderabad, and then others will join this hi-tech bandwagon.
"We are working on the digital platform template to enable air travellers to complete airport processes smoothly. This should be ready by the month-end," aviation secretary R N Choubey told TOI. "Bangalore and Hyderabad airports have successfully conducted pilot projects for Aadhaar-based paperless boarding process, these two could be the first to roll out the same. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has prepared bid documents (and will issue tenders). AAI should roll the same out at its major airports by the end of this fiscal," Choubey added.

Srishti Communications Gives Trivandrum International Airport A Facelift

Bangalore based Srishti Communications has bagged the prestigious contract for advertisement at the Trivandrum International Airport. The contract is for ten years for advertising in the entire estate of the airport.

The airport has two terminals. Terminal 1 is for domestic (except Air India and Jet Airways) and Terminal 2 for international flights and all domestic flights of Air India and Jet Airways. The airport is well connected within India and also with many Middle East destinations such as Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, Europe and Americas. In 2017, the airport handled a total of 48,89,991 passengers. And with the upcoming Vizhinjam port, which is only 20 kms away from Trivandrum, it will bring in more footfalls passenger traffic to the airport.

Kota & Sawai Madhopur residents get direct flight to Delhi

As Kishangarh awaits air connectivity to Delhi which is likely to start soon, Kota and Sawai Madhopur got a flight connecting to Delhi on Wednesday. 

There were 7 passengers on board on Kota-Delhi flight while only 2 passengers came from Delhi to Sawai Madhopur on day one. Meanwhile, it is learnt that team of  4 people from Spicejet will be coming on Friday for safety assessment of the airport before starting their service between Kishangarh and Delhi.

Boarding the first flight at Kota, passengers Vikas Adlakha, Jagdish Bathla, Vinod Adlakha, Sanjay Kalra, Ramesh Kumar, Vishal Sharma and Rakesh Kumar were full of excitement.

AAI to develop airports abroad, to begin with Myanmar

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will now develop airports abroad too, like its Indian JV partners GMR and GVK groups. AAI has signed an agreement with the ministry of external affairs for preparation of detailed project report (DPR) in first phase for development of Kalay Airport as greenfiled airport in Myanmar.
Anil Gupta, AAI’s executive director (land management and business development), said the authority has developed more than 60 airports in metro and non metro cities in India and now wants to leverage its expertise to other countries on a larger scale. Gupta signed the agreement with for the Kalay Airport with MEA’s senior official Ankan Banerjee on Tuesday.
To Read the News in Full 11/04/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

India on track to record 50 consecutive months of double-digit air passenger growth: IATA

ew Delhi: : India is on track to register 50 straight months of double-digit domestic air passenger growth in October 2018 as the near term outlook remains bright, global airlines' grouping IATA said today.

IATA also said that it continues to expect India to surpass the UK as the world's third largest origin-destination market by the mid-2020s.

One of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, India has been witnessing robust passenger growth for the past many months.

Thomas Cook India Opens two new outlets at Madurai Airport

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., India's leading integrated travel and travel related financial services company, has identified the state of Tamil Nadu as a significant growth market for its Foreign Exchange business and to leverage this opportunity, has opened two new counters at Madurai International Airport. The outlets were inaugurated by Mr. V. V. Rao - Airport Director, in the presence of Mr. C. Vinoth Kumar, General Manager and Mr. Sajimon Joseph, Senior Manager of Thomas Cook India's Foreign Exchange business.

Industry data highlights that Madurai Airport has witnessed strong growth in passenger numbers - from 1 Million in 2016-2017 to 1.5 Million passengers in 2017-2018. Internal research at Thomas Cook India has also reiterated the Madurai potential with a 12% YOY growth, hence the selection of Madurai airport for the company's two new Foreign Exchange outlets.

Kolkata airport one of the fastest growing: Report

Kolkata:  The Airports Council International (ACI), a trade body that represents airports across the globe, has ranked Kolkata airport among the fastest growing in the world. In its report released on Tuesday, ACI’s World Airport Traffic Forecast predicts that India will represent the third largest aviation market in terms of passenger throughput after the US and China by 2020. Kolkata is all set to contribute significantly to the pie.
In reference to the projected surge in air traffic in Indian cities, ACI has referred to it as ‘awakening of the Bengal tiger’. If the regional connectivity scheme — Udan — takes off in a major way, it will further fuel the growth. In the past 12 months, Kolkata airport has consistently recorded the highest growth in passenger traffic, outperforming other fancied airports. While the traffic in Delhi and Mumbai grew around 14% in 2017-2018 over the corresponding period last year, Kolkata grew at nearly twice the pace and ended the financial year with passenger growth of 27% over the previous fiscal. Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, in contrast, ended the year with growth rates of 19.6%, 12.9% and 10.5%, respectively.

Second runway at KIA next year

Bengaluru: Bangalore International Airport Ltd, the operator of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), on Tuesday said the second runway is expected to be operational next year and the new terminal by 2021.

"Work on the second runway and design approvals for Terminal 2 (T2) began in 2017 and construction is scheduled to begin during the middle of 2018. It will be operational by 2019 and T2 by 2021," BIAL officials said.
T2 would be constructed in two phases. In the first phase, the terminal would be able to handle 25 million passengers annually and the capacity would be increased to have 20 million more fliers.

With 26.91 million passengers, Bengaluru airport sees record growth of 17.6% in last fiscal

Bengaluru: The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has recorded an all-time record of passenger traffic, serving 26.91 million passengers in 2017-18. This included 23.10 million domestic passengers and 3.81 million international fliers.
This is a 17.6 per cent increase from the previous fiscal which had seen 22.88 million passengers, said the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).
The airport witnessed 1.97 lakh Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) during 2017-18, a growth of 10.8%, while Cargo movement saw a growth of 9.1% (3.48 lakh metric tonne). A BIAL press note said 44 airlines connected Bengaluru with 67 destinations (46 domestic and 21 international) during the period.

Tatas too unlikely to bid for Air India

New Delhi/Mumbai: Steel-to-autos conglomerate Tata Group, widely seen as a potential suitor for Air India, is unlikely to consider a bid for the state-run carrier as the government's terms are just too onerous, two sources familiar with the matter said.

India, keen to sell the loss-making, debt-ridden airline, finalised plans in late March to divest a 76 per cent stake and offload about $5.1 billion of its debt.

But the government has stipulated the winning bidder cannot merge the airline with existing businesses as long as the government holds a stake. The winner may also be required to list Air India and would need to abide by conditions designed to safeguard employee interests, restricting its ability to cut staff.
Since the terms were disclosed, no company has come forward to say it is interested or to reaffirm previous interest, while Jet Airways and rival IndiGo, have already publicly opted out of the race.

SpiceJet to shift flight operations from Belagavi to Hubballi

Hubballi, Belgavi: Belagavi’s loss is Hubballi’s gain. Private budget airline SpiceJet will to shift all its air services from the Sambra airport in Belagavi to Hubballi from where it will operate flights to various parts of the nation and Sri Lankan capital Colombo and Dubai from May 14.From April 8, some services in Sambra were closed and from May 14, all the five services operational currently to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad will be shifted to Hubballi.

This move is part of an effort of the Civil Aviation Ministry to connect cities under the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN) scheme. UDAN seeks to promote regional connectivity by serving unserved and under-served airports. According to sources from Sambra airport, as Belagavi was an operational airport, it could not be brought under the scheme.

Maharashtra to draft its own civil aviation policy to boost regional connectivity

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is planning to draft a comprehensive state civil aviation policy for the next 10 years to boost regional air connectivity, perhaps a first in the country.

As part of this, new airports and heliports will be built, aviation-related industries will be set up and the process of getting clearances in the sector will be expedited.

The Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC), a state government company that looks after development and management of regional airports in the state, is in the process of roping in a consultant with expertise in aviation and aerospace infrastructure. The consultant will be expected to draw up a vision plan for 2018-2027, an implementation plan and a civil aviation policy.

“There is a national aviation policy…it is the central government that is the decision maker for any proposal. As a result, what the state sees as a top priority may not necessarily be the highest priority of the Centre,” Suresh Kakani, managing director, MADC, told ThePrint.

“So, we decided to have a state-centric policy to take quick decisions for better regional connectivity, provide for investments and take advantage of the fast-growing aviation industry,” he said.

Israel explores direct air connectivity with Goa

Tel Aviv: Buoyed by the recent direct flight service launched by Air India from New Delhi to Tel Aviv, a top Israeli official said that the country targets a growth of over 65 per cent in Indian tourist arrivals.

The Israeli tourism ministry is working on air connectivity from Indian cities like Cochin and Goa in tourist season.

Air India launched direct flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv on March 22, reducing the travel time substantially after Saudi Arabia for the first time allowed a commercial flight to use its airspace to reach Israel.

As many as 60,000 Indian tourists visited Israel in 2017, up from 45,000 in 2016 and 39,000 in 2015, showing a steady increase in the total number of Indian tourists’ arrival, said Hassan Madah, director of Israel ministry of tourism in India.

“We have seen the growth year by year. When a new aircraft comes to a country, there is an increase in the capacity (to carry people at better convenience) and we are targeting almost a lakh in 2018,” he told PTI recently.

Swiss aviation advisory firm interested in Air India

New Delhi: Global advisory firm Swiss Aviation Consulting has expressed interest in acquiring Air India, according to a senior official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The European firm is an independent advisory group offering services such as aircraft asset management, aircraft sales and acquisition support, risk management, strategic and operational advisory and flight training, among others.

Founded in 2005, the Hunenberg-headquartered firm has affiliates in the UAE, Malaysia and South Africa, according to its website. An e-mail query to the firm on the disinvestment issue remained unanswered.

The company’s keenness to buy Air India was shared with the Ministry of Civil Aviation months before the Centre formally invited bidders to participate in the disinvestment process.

Wait till April 30 for airport solar power

 Pune: The airport authorities here are now targeting April 30 for the switch-over to solar power from conventional energy.
Airpor officials on Monday saud the 300 Kwp (kilowattpeak) solar project was still being installed and that the “scheduled date” of completion was April 30. In February, the authorities had said the Rs 1.27 crore-project would be over by March 31.
An official at the airport claimed that there was no delay in the work. “We want to ensure that the project is effective and without any glitches. Some more time has been sought for that,” the official said.
“We will update all once the work is complete,” Pune airport director Ajar Kumar told TOI in a text message.

Sea plane operations to begin soon

New Delhi: Sea plane operations in India could begin soon with a committee under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) giving its nod to scheduled operators who have single engine sea planes to operate them, R.N. Choubey, Secretary Civil Aviation said on Monday.

``Single engine (sea plane) operations for two pilots has been found possible (by the DGCA committee),” he said addressing the annual session of the Confederation of Indian Industry. The Secretary said that issues as to how the aircraft can glide to safety and land on water are being examined adding that the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) for such operations could be out in the next 45 days. CAR will set down the guidelines for such operations to begin.

Air Asia direct flight to Delhi

Imphal: Air Asia has started direct flights between Imphal and Delhi from today. It will operate seven days a week and the daily scheduled arrival at Imphal is 12.25 pm and the departure schedule is 12.55 pm. The new development is an outcome of the North East Development Summit (NEDS) held from November 21 to 22 last year. The State Government and the private airlines company inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the two-day summit inaugurated by the President Ramnath Kovind at City Convention Centre, Imphal.

AirAsia to expand services from Kolkata, fares start from Rs 1,699

Mumbai: AirAsia India has expanded its fleet size to 18 planes with the induction of a new Airbus A320, which will help it add new routes and enhance the frequency between Kolkata and Bagdogra.

The 18th A320 aircraft will be stationed in Kolkata, which is the third base for the Tata Sons-AirAsia invested domestic carrier, a release said today.

Bengaluru and New Delhi are the two other bases of AirAsia India besides Kolkata, which serves as the gateway to its North-East operations.

Civil Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurates flight from Delhi to Pathankot

 Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the first flight from Delhi to Pathankot at a ceremony held at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Pathankot airport was opened by the Airports Authority of India to improve regional connectivity as per the UDAN Scheme. The Airports Authority of India is the implementing agency of UDAN, a regional airport development and Regional Connectivity Scheme of Government of India. Pathankot in Punjab is the 21st airport in the country operational for passengers. The opening of new regional airports in the country will allow the common people to reach their destinations in less time. Under UDAN, air connectivity is provided to unserved and underserved airports at a subsidized fare.
To Read the News in Full 7/04/18 Times of India

This airline has introduced its first male cabin crew

One of India’s full-service air carriers Vistara has introduced its first male cabin crew to the skies. The crew is a mix of an experienced and new team who are going up in the air following a rigorous three-month safety and service training program. According to Vistara, this is the first time that there has been a mix of male and female crew up in the air.

“As we expand and prepare for international operations, we are delighted to introduce our first male cabin crew on select flights starting today,” Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer at Vistara. “We are an equal opportunity employer, and it has always been our intent to have male cabin crew once we reached a certain scale of operations where we could efficiently roster and deploy mixed crew. Like our female cabin crew, our male cabin crew will deliver Vistara’s brand promise of providing seamless excellence to our customers through a unique, thoughtful, and personalized experience that reflects the exacting standards of Tata and Singapore Airlines.”

Domestic air traffic increased by 24 percent in February

For the first time in India, the average passenger load dynamic for domestic airlines was recorded more than 90 percent in the month of February, as reported in the data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Passenger load factor measures the number of seats occupied by paying passengers in a flight.

IATA’s data also recorded that the domestic air traffic in India increased by 22.9% in the month of February 2018. This also marked 42nd successive month of double digit hike in the number of people choosing to fly.

Kerala preparing for take-off

Thiruvananthapuram: Ever imagined catching a ‘daily’ flight to work? Or visiting the state capital and flying back home the same day? Better still, enjoy the incredible landscapes from a vantage point while flying to famed tourist retreats. Given the thrust Kerala Government is putting on setting up airfields and airstrips across the state, these ‘flights of fancy’ may not be too far-fetched.

Already boasting the most number of international airports in the country, with four, Kerala has drawn up an ambitious project to set up airstrips or airfields in every district without an international airport. As part of the project, the government recently approved holding of pre-feasibility studies for two airstrips - in Idukki and Wayanad.

According to the office of the Transport (Aviation) Principal Secretary, the department has identified as many as nine locations to construct airstrips or airfields, with Bekal in Kasargod and Guruvayur in Thrissur featuring in the plans. The project is aimed at bringing air connectivity to every district and promoting regional air travel among both the local populace and tourists.

Airbus Arm, Indian startup want to produce equipment for airports under UDAN

A subsidiary of European aerospace major Airbus and an Indian startup it has incubated aim to work with the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) to produce equipment for airports under the government’s regional connectivity scheme.

Potential airports under the regional connectivity scheme include the newly operational ones: Mundra in Gujarat, operated by the Adani Group; Bellary airport, Karnataka (now defunct with flights operating to the Jindal Group-run Vijayanagar airport),Hosur airport, Tamil Nadu, operated by Taneja Aerospace and the AAI-operated Salem airport in Tamil Nadu.

The Airbus subsidiary, Navblue, produces aeronautical charts for worldwide airports and airlines. The startup, Eflight, is an aggregator for domestic flight support primarily for business jets.
“Under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, by 2022, the government wishes airlines under the regional connectivity scheme to cover over hundred airports. So, AAI has its task cut out for producing and maintaining charts.

Indigo airlines plans to launch ATR, Airbus services from Surat

Surat: If all goes well, the Diamond City will get more flights to different destinations in the country.
After Air Asia’s plan to commence flight services between Indore and Surat by April end, Indigo Airlines is planning to launch services to destinations like Guwahati, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi by end of May or early June.
Sources said Indigo authorities are yet to decide on the probable sectors to be included in Surat’s fly list, but they plan to operate three ATRs (Regional Air Transport) and an Airbus. The airline authorities had visited the airport for the time slots and they are likely to seek permission of the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) for launching services from Surat.

Air India Express adds new flights to Kerala

Abu Dhabi: Budget carrier Air India Express is on an expansion mode and is introducing new flights on Kerala's Kochi sector.

Air India Express operates daily flights to Kochi and from April 18 to May 30 will add services on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. With the addition of three services, Express will be connecting Abu Dhabi with Kochi 10 times a week.

The carrier will fly at 4 pm from Abu Dhabi International Airport to land at Cochin International Airport by 9.35 pm. The return flight is at 12.30 pm from Kochi, which will arrive at Abu Dhabi by 3 pm on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Regional Connectivity dream coming true

Raipur: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has awarded 10 routes in Chhattisgarh from various airports under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), officials informed.

Nine routes will be operated by Air Odisha and one by IndiGo Airlines.

The routes to be operated by Air Odisha are--Ambikapur-Bilaspur, Bilaspur-Ambikapur, Jagdalpur-Raipur, Jagdalpur-Vishakhapatnam, Raigarh-Raipur, Raipur-Jagdalpur, Raipur-Jharsuguda,, Raipur-Raigarh and Raipur-Utkela.

The IndiGo Airlines will operate on Raipur-Allahabad route, they informed.

Notably, Chhattisgarh has signed MoU with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation for promoting Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) in the State, officials informed.

Mahbubnagar soon to have a mini airport

Mahbubnagar: With the announcement by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of constructing one mini airport in each district, the district administration in Mahbubnagar has already started works to identify suitable land for the airstrip in the district.

Though earlier there were proposals to set up a min airport in the district prior to 2008, with the setting up of the International Airport at Shamshabad, which is just about 100 km from Mahbubnagar, and the National Highway 44 connecting Hyderabad to Bangalore being widened, the travel time between Shamshabad and Mahbubnagar was reduced to just one-and-half-hour and thus the proposal was abandoned.

However, with the Chief Minister’s recent announcement of setting up of one airstrip to each district, the proposal has again come alive and the district administration has now decided to identify a suitable land for setting it up.

IndiGo to launch service in Chennai-Tiruchi sector

Tiruchi: Domestic air connectivity from Tiruchi is to be strengthened further with private airline IndiGo announcing launch of daily service on the Chennai-Tiruchi-Chennai sector from June 1.

Tiruchi will become IndiGo airline’s 51st destination with four direct flight services to be operated in the sector.

The fast growing budget carrier will operate ATR type aircraft in the sector and has announced the timings of its operations. IndiGo will be the first airline to launch four departures from Tiruchi to Chennai providing same day return facility to the passengers.

Indian carriers saw highest passenger occupancy in February: IATA

New Delhi: Airlines of India — the world’s fastest growing air travel market — saw their planes fuller than carriers anywhere else. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), domestic flights in India reported reported load factors of over 90% for the first time ever this February which incidentally was the country’s 42nd consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year demand growth.
“India’s domestic traffic rose 22.9% (in February 2018 over same month in previous year) and load factor exceeded 90% for the first time on record. Passenger demand continues to be stimulated by network growth that translates into time savings for air travellers,” IATA said, adding, “Business confidence in the country recently fell below the key 50-mark for the first time since the tax reforms in mid-2017.

Big changes in aviation sector

As disinvestment of Air India seems set to become a reality, political leaders are voicing concerns. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is worried about the country selling off its “jewels”, while BJP leader, Subramanian Swamy is watching closely to ensure a scam does not take place. Some fears are not misplaced as the government is in the process of selling an entity that has enormous value in terms of physical assets as well as human resources.
The sad reality is that as a government company it has not been able to operate profitably and saddled the exchequer with a huge debt burden. The failure of airlines to operate profitably as so-called national carriers is a global phenomenon and not confined just to this country. British Airways, Lufthansa, Alitalia and many others have been privatised over the years for much the same reasons. Public sector airlines have not been much of a success. In the case of Air India, the problem was compounded by the disastrous decision to merge it with the erstwhile Indian Airlines, creating an unwieldy giant.
The disinvestment process is taking place at a time when there has been a quantum leap in the amount of passengers travelling by air.

Good news for animal lovers! Jet Airways to soon restart pets transfer service

There's good news for pet lovers. They will now be able to use the facility to transfer their pets in flights of Jet Airways. The airline had stopped this service in June 2017 but will resume it citing rising demand, according to a report in Hindustan Times.

The airline will become the third Indian carrier to provide animal transportation as air cargo. Currently, Air India and SpiceJet offer this service.

Although the airline is restarting the facility, it has made certain modifications. Unlike previous acceptance, it has only allowed the movement of pets if it does not involve transshipment. It means passengers who want to relocate their pets will however be able to book them only on direct flights.

The cost of transporting pets from flights varies and it depends on several factors including the size of the animal, the space they occupy in the flight, the cost of crate which is purchased by the owner and the travel distance.

Global Eagle looks abroad for new aviation business

Satellite connectivity provider Global Eagle Entertainment on April 2 detailed three nearly complete international connectivity deals with airlines in Europe and Asia that have the potential to increase its number of connected aircraft by a third.

Global Eagle executives said that two of those customers already have its offline inflight entertainment systems installed, making them prime candidates for upselling satellite Wi-Fi.

Having filed late financial documents for 2016 and averted a Nasdaq delisting threat that made prospective customers second-guess signing contracts, executives told investors to expect new revenue as the company capitalizes on network investments made over the past two years.

Europe, India and Southeast Asia

Speaking to investors April 2, Josh Marks, Global Eagle’s new CEO promoted from the company’s connectivity division, said Global Eagle’s satellite network has “nearly tripled” in size following the mid-2016 acquisition of land and maritime connectivity company EMC, and is poised to support new customers, notably international airlines in Europe and Asia.

Vistara becomes 20 aircraft airline; eligible to fly international

New Delhi: Vistara today received its 20th aircraft today, qualifying it to fly international routes.

“With this milestone addition to its fleet, Vistara completes its initial aircraft order as planned at the early stages of setting up the airline. Vistara will use the new aircraft to increase frequencies on existing routes to scale up operations in the domestic market, while gearing up to start international operations soon,” the airline said in a release.

According to current rules, a domestic airline can fly international only after it has a fleet of 20 aircraft.

Checked-in to Delhi Airport? Here's a look at India’s busiest airports

New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airports are tied as the world’s number one in the over 40 million passengers per annum category in airport service quality. Here are some fun facts about these airports to keep you company:

Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi

1. New Delhi Airport’s new 101.9-metre high ATC tower is the tallest in India, towering over the Qutub Minar too. It gives a 360-degree view of the airport and will be operational from 2018.

2. The ATC tower is supported by 32 pillars, driven almost 24 meters underground. The foundations, reports say, are strong enough to carry over 1,500 African bush elephants.

3. Delhi Airport flew 63.5 million passengers last year, which is approximately equivalent to the entire population of France. It is the first Indian airport to handle more than 60 million passengers in a year.

Kishangarh Airport still have no flight for Delhi

It has been six months that Kishangarh Airport was inaugurated in October 2017 but the passengers are still waiting for the scheduled flights as only one scheduled flight is being operated from this airport till now.

Currently, only Supreme Airlines flight is being run between Kishangarh and Udaipur and there is no other flight. Passenger load for Delhi is expected from this region, flight for which is yet not in place even after more than 3 months.

In the 2nd round of bidding under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN, (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) Spice Jet has been awarded Delhi-Kishangarh-Delhi route with a frequency of 7 flights per week, the flight has not yet started and Airline is said to be in talks with the airport authority regarding the same.

Night flights at Srinagar Airport will boost tourism: CM

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday chaired a meeting of aviation sector here in which arrangements including providing additional accommodation to central para-military forces were finalized to ensure night-landing of flights at Srinagar Airport.
The meeting was attended by officials of Airport Authority of India, divisional commissioner and others.

An official who attended the meeting informed Greater Kashmir: “Major issue was objection of CRPF who were stating that they cannot provide double shift security to the Airport as they are facing shortage of accommodation.”

Self-security checks to improve your airport stay

Airlines can significantly bolster the speed and efficiency of their service to passengers by introducing self-security checks and dividing queues.

And by tweaking the basic infrastructure, the airport can improve passenger services in the long hours they spend in the lounges and gates when they indulge in shopping or dining.

These are among the suggestions the Kempegowda International Airport implemented after three researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) created models to improve passenger services.

Now, the researchers - Ashish Verma, Divyakant Tahlyanb and Shubham Bhusaric from the Department of Civil Engineering, Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation, and Urban Planning (Cistup) - are implementing the models in the upcoming second terminal.

Amid migrant boom, budget airlines plan direct Bengal link

Kochi: As more and more migrant workers, especially from the north-east, move to Kerala seeking jobs and fortune, many smell a business opportunity. Budget airline operators are one such lot. During the summer break, they are planning to start direct flights from Kochi to Kolkata. For the migrants, who had to spend the best part of three days on a train or connecting flights to visit home, the direct flights are sure to be an attractive proposition.

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) managing director V J Kurian confirmed that budget airlines such as GoAir and Indi- Go have approached it for starting direct flights to Kolkata and back during the summer schedule. Currently, IndiGo and SpiceJet offer connecting flights to Kolkata from Kochi, with passengers having to switch planes at Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad or Mumbai.

24X7 flight operations begin from Patna airport, finally

Patna: Round-the-clock flight operations began from the (JPNI) in Patna for the first time on Sunday.
“The airport, which started with just two small passenger aircraft in the 70s, has witnessed footfall of nearly 30 lakh passengers this year. Round-the-clock flight operations began with a motive to decongest the terminal building and enhance passengers’ comfort,” JPNI director Rajendra Singh Lahauria said.

Late night flights to be operated by different airlines have received good response from flyers. Of the 150 seats, 100 had been booked during arrival and 90 during departure of the maiden night flight of on the Pune-Patna-Pune route on Sunday.

Air Deccan to spread wings

Agartala: Tripura's capital Agartala will be connected with Shillong via airlines after April 15, a statement of a private air carrier said.

A statement of Air Deccan, shortlisted under Udaan, the Centre's scheme to promote regional connectivity, said the company will start services on the Calcutta-Agartala-Shillong route after April 15.

The company had earlier said it will start small aircraft on the route from February 28.

Airfares to Dubai likely to soar next summer

New Delhi: Indians planning a Dubai trip next summer may have to brace for a surge in fares as authorities in the emirate have asked Indian carriers to slash capacities by half due to a 45-day runway closure that will start April 16, 2019.

Flights by Indian carriers to Dubai account for about 65,000 seats per week. Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths has told them to cut this to half in a February 27 letter. Dubai airlines Emirates and flydubai have also been asked to make reductions.
“Dubai Airports will require Emirates and flydubai to reduce their total operations by approximately 33%,” according to the letter from Griffiths, seen by ET. “Passenger airlines (including Indian carriers) with multiple daily frequencies will be required to reduce their schedule by up to 50%.”

SpiceJet to connect Leh with Delhi from May 1

Mumbai: SpiceJet Ltd is set to commence operations from Leh starting May 1, 2018 with the introduction of daily direct flight services on the Delhi – Leh – Delhi route. The flight will be operated from Terminal I D at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Leh is the 46th domestic destination to be added to SpiceJet’s pan India network.

To celebrate the launch, SpiceJet has announced a limited period special introductory all-inclusive one-way fare of INR 3,999/- and return fare of INR 7,799/- applicable for bookings made on a first come first serve basis.

Deploying its Boeing 737-700 aircraft on the route, SG 121 will take off from Delhi at 6.05 am and reach Leh at 7.25 am. The return flight, SG 122, will take off at 7.55 am and reach Delhi at 9.10 am.
To Read the News in Full 02/04/18 TravelBizMonitor

Domestic passenger traffic to grow by 18% in FY18: ICRA

The Indian aviation industry would continue healthy performance, driven by buoyant domestic passenger traffic growth, which is estimated to grow by ~18% during FY2018. This notwithstanding the moderation in capacity growth due to various factors like technical glitches, delays in delivery of aircraft and focus on international operations. The domestic passenger traffic growth remained healthy backed by improvement in core growth drivers like economic environment and increasing tourism demand. The strong demand has pushed the passenger load factor (PLF) to an all-time high of 86.5% in the current fiscal and India remains one of the best performing key domestic aviation markets in the world in terms of PLF. The estimated passenger traffic growth remains broadly in line with ICRA's previous estimates of 15-17%.

On international routes too, the Indian airlines continued to outperform the industry during the current year.

Domestic Passenger Traffic: Airlines register 24 pct growth in February

New Delhi: Airlines registered an over 24% year-on-year growth in domestic passenger traffic in February, data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed. Domestic carriers on the whole carried 10.74 million passengers during February compared to 8.65 million a year ago.

On a month-on-month basis, though the number of passengers was down 0.72 million compared to January, which is not surprising since February is considered a lean period for air travel.

During February, all key scheduled carriers recorded a passenger load factor of over 90%, except Air India. SpiceJet registered a PLF of 96.3% followed by market leader IndiGo (91.8%), Jet Airways (90.4%) and GoAir (90.4%). National carrier Air India flew with 86.7% occupancy on its flights. “The passenger load factor in the February has shown an increasing trend compared to previous month due to the ongoing tourist season,” the DGCA release said.

IndiGo, Qatar Airways to make a joint bid for Air India

New Delhi: As the government prepares to call for preliminary interest memorandum (PIM) along with expression of interest (EoI) from parties interested in gaining control of the national carrier, Air India, sources said that low-cost carrier IndiGo is likely to make a bid along with Qatar’s national carrier, Qatar Airways, in a consortium.

After the announcement that the government would be selling off Air India, the civil aviation ministry had said that IndiGo had expressed interest in buying the carrier. IndiGo also confirmed the same but said its first priority would be to buy the overseas flights of Air India if the government broke and sold the domestic and international flights as separate entities. However, government sources have said no such bifurcation would be made.

Sources also clarified that the net worth criteria that bidders must meet is likely to be fixed at Rs 1,000 crore, calculated on the basis of an existing formula under the Companies Act, before they are allowed to put in bids and access the bid data room for Air India.

Airports Authority of India hails UDAN scheme for exponential growth

New Delhi: On the sidelines of Airports Authority of India (AAI) annual day function; Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said that the recently launched UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme would help the emerging civil aviation sector in the country to grow exponentially.

The UDAN scheme is a regional connectivity scheme launched by the Central government to make flying a safe, secure and inexpensive and would and thereby making air travel a reality for common people under.

While addressing the AAI family the Chairman said that in the aviation infrastructure front, “several terminal buildings at Gorakhpur, Belgavi, Hubbali, Jammu” were dedicated to the nation including operationalizing of the Central Air Traffic Flow Management (CATFM) in order to balance the demand and supply in the airports.

He added that CAT III B Instrument Landing System (ILS) was introduced at “Amritsar and Kolkata to reduce the difficulties faced by the travelling public due to fog and bad weather conditions but equally came out with flying colours for providing customer excellence to the travelling public”.

AirAsia India to expand domestically before international operations, says CEO Amar Abrol

Low cost carrier AirAsia India will focus on expanding its domestic network and increase its flight frequencies, before commencing international operations to Southeast Asia by early next year, the airline’s chief, Amar Abrol, said. Just a few days ago, the budget passenger carrier announced the addition of Nagpur and Indore to its network, effective March 17. It will also introduce new routes connecting Bengaluru, Kolkata, Goa, Indore and Nagpur. In addition, the airline will operate daily flights connecting its two hubs — Bengaluru and Kolkata — which will become operational from March 25.

“We are not shying away from India. We will first commence flight operations to new domestic destinations and increase frequencies. In all we are looking at starting flights to four to five new cities in this year,” Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Abrol told IANS in an interview. “We are making the preparations for international operations but it will most probably take place by the first quarter of 2019,” he added.