Bids for NaMu airport to open in January 2017

Mumbai: The financial bids for the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), which is expected to ease the burden on the Mumbai airport, is likely to be opened in the first or second week of January, as the two-month extension given to three bidders in the fray draws to a close.

In November, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) had given a two-month extension for financial bidding to three bidders shortlisted for submission of request for proposal (RFP) for NMIA. The first deadline ended on November 5, and the bidders had sought more time.

2016 laid foundation for high growth in aviation sector

New Delhi: The year 2016 will be remembered as a historic one which has provided a foundation for the high growth for domestic passengers and airlines through announcement of National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) and Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
Through NCAP, government addressed the bigger issue of domestic fliers by paving way to connect smaller cities by making airports at tier two and three cities operational in near future.
The NCAP announce in the mid of the year 2016 with an emphasis on connecting regional destinations.
Industry, aviation experts believes that the policy could be a foundation for the further and fast growth in the year 2017.
In the year 2016, the growth rate in the Indian Aviation sector was highest in the world as it grew by more than 23 per cent in terms of passengers.
Based on the preparations and activities in the year 2016, it is said that 2017 will also be an action-packed for domestic flyers right from the start.

Jet Airways to introduce direct flight to Delhi from January 16

Reaching national capital New Delhi from this coastal city is now a flight away. Come January 16, Jet Airways will bridge the long felt need for direct connectivity to Delhi. Incidentally, Air India had introduced a direct flight to Delhi, six years ago, but was discontinued due to lack of patronage. Anyone travelling to Delhi by flight has to go via Bengaluru or Mumbai, which is time consuming.
The new flight will enable a traveller to reach Delhi in 2 hours 50 minutes. Jet Airways will deploy a Boeing 737 aircraft with 160-seating capacity. Flight 9W 763 will leave Mangaluru at 8am and reach Delhi at 10.50am and the return flight 9W 764 will depart from Delhi at 3 pm and reach Mangaluru at 5.50pm. The other alternative to reach Delhi is by Rajdhani, which takes no less than 30-hours.

Heeding Sikh demand, Air India to connect Nanded-Amritsar

Taking cognisance of frequent demands from Sikh travellers, national carrier Air India will introduce from mid-January a flight connecting Nanded and Amritsar, two of the holiest places in Sikhism. The flight will be via Delhi.

Sikhism’s 10th guru Guru Govind Singh had made Nanded his permanent abode. Amritsar has the Golden Temple, which is Sikhism’s holiest shrine. AI also plans to connect Nanded and Amritsar with Patna, where Sikhism’s 10th guru was born. The national carrier within a few days of the New Year will connect Amritsar and Nanded via Delhi twice a week.

IGI Airport serves about 50 lakh flyers in December 2016

By the end of this December, Indira Gandhi International (IGI) is all set to become the first airport in the country to serve over 50 lakh flyers in a month. The airport operator, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), said the travellers included both domestic and international flying in and out of the IGI Airport. DIAL also said that among the highest travelled places from the airport, Dubai remained on top among international destinations while Mumbai topped the domestic chart.

Domestic traffic in India could grow by nearly 25% in FY2018: CAPA

CAPA's comprehensive 200-page India Aviation Outlook Report FY2017/18, to be released in Feb-2017 at the CAPA India Aviation Summit stated that the domestic traffic could grow by nearly 25% in FY2018 and approach 130 million passengers in India. The next financial year is expected to be the third consecutive year of domestic growth above 20%. Growth could be as high as 25% but may be tempered by 3-5% because of the impact of demonetisation.

However, the purchase of air travel using some withdrawn denominations was permitted until the first half of December 2016 which may result in a delayed impact in the first half of FY2018. As of now, it is difficult to fully factor in what the impact may be, if any. The introduction of the GST next year may possibly also have a short-term negative impact on economic growth for a couple of years until more positive results emerge.

On 'win-win' runway, aviation no more rich man's tarmac: Raju

Indian aviation is no more a rich man's prerogative and growth will continue on high trajectory in the new year, Union Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said as the sector saw the much-needed reforms taking off in 2016 with new policy and ambitious regional connectivity plans.

2016 bloomed as a "very meaningful year" with over 20 per cent domestic air passenger growth while scrapping of the once famous '5/20' overseas flying norms and relaxing of foreign domestic investment rules added to the sector's mojo.

Turning operationally profitable in the last financial year provided the much-needed impetus to Air India amid stiff competition among domestic carriers in 2016 even as they reaped benefits of lower oil prices -- a scenario unlikely to remain the same next year with changing geopolitical vibes.

AAI defends safety record as among world's best

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has defended the safety record of air traffic control (ATC) at all airports in the country as being very good and comparable to the best in the world.

In a statement issued on Friday, the AAI said, "At times, it may not be possible to eliminate human error, whether it is aviation or other industries, but continuous efforts are being made by the Airports Authority of India to offset such human errors through Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), recurrent training to the controllers and introducing technology. It may be noted that the safety record of ATC provided by Airports Authority of India at Indian airports has been very good and comparable to best in the world."
To Read the News in Full 30/12/16 PTI/Bureaucracy

Airports Authority of India defends safety record of traffic control as among best globally

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has defended the safety record of air traffic control (ATC) at all airports in the country as being very good and comparable to the best in the world.
In a statement issued here on Friday, the AAI said, “At times, it may not be possible to eliminate human error, whether it is aviation or other industries, but continuous efforts are being made by the Airports Authority of India to offset such human errors through Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), recurrent training to the controllers and introducing technology.

Aviation museum, new hangar and more aircrafts to be added

Aviation arena of the city is currently bubbling with positive energy because Nagpur Flying Club has restarted after being in the doldrums for one full year. Known as a glorious institution once, it had fallen prey to neglect and government apathy, but now it is about to see a complete turnaround...
Now that it has risen from the ashes like proverbial phoenix, serious efforts are being made to clear all the hurdles from its path. Divisional Commissioner Anoop Kumar, who is spearheading the mission rejuvenation, shares, "Earlier, there were permission issues because facilities at the club were as per the old GR. But now, we have fulfilled the requirements of staff and infrastructure as per new guidelines and got 90 days' permission from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to train the pilots at the flying club.

Mohali administration bans kite flying around airport

Citing security reasons, the Mohali district administration has imposed a ban on kite flying and sky lanterns within a 2km radius outside the boundary of the international airport. The ban will be in effect till February 22. Mohali deputy commissioner Daljeet Singh Mangat said the ban was imposed under Sections 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). He said heavy fine would be imposed if anybody is caught flying kites around the airport.

South Africa Sees 28% Increase In Indian Arrivals

South Africa Tourism has witnessed a growth of 27.9 per cent in Indian arrivals from January to June 2016. According to arrivals statistics of August 2016, India has now emerged as the eighth long-haul tourism source market for South Africa.

Speaking about the development, Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager - India, South African Tourism said, “India has always been a very important market for South African Tourism. 2015 was a spectacular year for South African Tourism and with a steady rise in arrivals in the first half itself, 2016 could well turn out to be one of the best years ever for South African Tourism in India. As of June 2016, 51,020 Indian tourists have visited South Africa between Jan 2016 to June 2016 which is an increase of 27.9 per cent vis-à-vis the same period last year. We are looking at around 100,000 visitors from India to South Africa in 2016. We had 79,000 visitors from India in 2015.”

Air India to operate additional flights on Tirupati-Hyderabad route

Hyderabad: Alliance Air, the wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, will operate additional flights from Hyderabad to Tirupati in view of ensuing festival season.

These additional flights will be operated on January 7 and January 8, Air India said in a statement on Friday.

Alliance Air will operate an ATR-72-600 aircraft. On January 7, AI 9535 will leave Hyderabad at 2.50 p.m. to reach Tirupati at 4.10 p.m. The return flight AI 9536 from Tirupati will leave at 4.40 p.m. to reach Hyderabad at 6 p.m.

The next day, flight AAI 9535 will leave Hyderabad at 3.20 p.m. to reach Tirupati at 4.40 p.m. The return flight AI 9536 from Tirupati will leave at 5.10 p.m. to reach Hyderabad at 6.30 p.m.
To Read the News in Full 30/12/16 IANS/CanIndia.com

AAI defends safety record of traffic control as among best globally

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has defended the safety record of air traffic control (ATC) at all airports in the country as being very good and comparable to the best in the world.

In a statement issued here on Friday, the AAI said, "At times, it may not be possible to eliminate human error, whether it is aviation or other industries, but continuous efforts are being made by the Airports Authority of India to offset such human errors through Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), recurrent training to the controllers and introducing technology. It may be noted that the safety record of ATC provided by Airports Authority of India at Indian airports has been very good and comparable to best in the world."
To Read the News in Full 30/12/16 Business Standard

Air India will deploy its iconic Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet for a flight on the Delhi-Mumbai route from next Wednesday. The Queen of the Skies or B-747, which is used as a VVIP plane for long-haul travel by the President, Vice President and Prime Minister, will take off from Delhi at 8am and the return flight will take off at 7pm.
To Read the News in Full 29/12/16 Defence Aviation Post