Govt to soon ban the flying of lantern kites within 10-kilometres of an airport

Flying lantern kites within ten kilometres of an airport might soon be banned, with the government proposing amendments to aircraft rules.

Besides, flying of wish kites in the vicinity of airports could also be banned, according to a draft notification.

The proposal from the Civil Aviation Ministry comes against the backdrop of certain instances where flying of such objects apparently caused disturbances to pilots operating flights, especially during landings and take-offs.

To restrict flying of kites near airports, the ministry is looking to make amendments to the Aircraft Rules, 1937.

"... No person shall launch a lantern kite or a wish kite from a place located within ten kilometres from the aerodrome reference point of any aerodrome in India," the draft notification said.

Chandigarh airport to remain closed from May 12 to 31

Chandigarh: Chandigarh International Airport will remain closed from May 12 to May 31 for the ongoing work of upgrading runway.

The decision follows the grounding of plans to hold the governors’ conference in Chandigarh.

The high court, in its previous hearing, was told that the airport had to remain functionalt between May 18 and 20 for a two-day governors’ conference scheduled n Chandigarh from May 19.

But as the case came up for resumed hearing Tuesday afternoon, a communication on rescheduling the conference was placed before the Division Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal.
To Read the News in Full 15/04/18 Tribune

Philippine Airlines readies nonstop flights to New York, India

Philippine Airlines (PAL) will mount nonstop flights to New York and India as well as boost its operations in Davao, Cebu, and Clark in Pampanga, as the flag carrier expects the arrival of 21 new planes by 2019.

PAL, the country’s only 4-star airline, will have 15 new aircraft within the year, and another 6 planes in 2019, to mount more long-haul flights.

“We are no longer just a Manila-centric airline,” PAL president and chief operating office Jaime Bautista said in a statement.

New routes and increased flight frequencies will be introduced, as the flag carrier is set to receive 5 additional Next-Generation Bombardier Q400s and 6 new Airbus A321neos starting in May, along with 4 Airbus A350-900 trans-oceanic aircraft starting in June.

“Our new aircraft and our new hubs are a winning combination that will help expand our market reach both domestically and worldwide. This is imperative for a global airline, and we must sustain and build on our hard-won 4-star rating,” Bautista said.

Air Odisha’s Surat-Bhavnagar flight launched

Surat: Air Odisha launched its inaugural flight service connecting Surat and Bhavnagar under UDAN (regional connectivity scheme) on Monday.

Air Odisha, a joint venture of the Gujarat State Export Corporation Limited (GSEC), Monarch and Air Deccan from Odisha, has become the fourth airline operator to provide flight services at Surat apart from SpiceJet, Air India and Ventura Airconnect. The inaugural flight was given water cannon salute when the aircraft landed at Surat airport.
Gujarat BJP president Jitu Vaghani, cabinet minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, city unit BJP president Nitin Bhajiawala and other party leaders performed puja at the airport when Air Odisha flight arrived. Members of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) and airport groups were also present.

Coming soon, regulations for use of drone technology in India

The government today said it would soon come out with a set of norms for implementation of drone technology and favoured an ‘international drone alliance’ with the active support of France for tapping its diverse use. The regulations would be unveiled after extensive consultations with the security agencies, the manufacturers, the global regulators and innovators, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said at an event today.

The minister’s remarks came in the wake the Government last week setting up a 13-member task force under Sinha’s chairmanship to prepare a roadmap and recommendations for the central and state governments, besides the industry and research institutions for rollout of the technology.

“We are shortly issuing a set of regulation after extensive consultations with security agencies, the manufacturers, global regulators and innovators,” the minister said at the Indo-French Defence and Aerospace Cooperation meet here organised by CII.

Airports may start using 'smart glass' to make you spend more

There are many depictions of a future in which we’ve mastered the art of manipulating the opacity of glass. Even in real life, sunglasses can adapt to the intensity of sunlight. So why, one might ask, can’t we have that in our homes, or at work?

The wait may soon be over. The tinted world of tomorrow is coming, and airports—mini-cities of steel, concrete and lots and lots of glass—are interested. In a test last fall, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport outfitted one of its gates with a new type of “smart glass” that can adjust for sunlight exposure. The obvious point is to keep travellers from getting overheated—but the exercise also brought a more lucrative benefit.

Supreme Airlines Flights Connecting Kota in Rajasthan Stopped

April 15--Kota airport authorities have stopped all flights of a private carrier connecting the city as it failed to submit mandatory clearances.

Low cost carrier Supreme Airlines, which is the only airline operating from the city, had started flights between Kota and Delhi on April 11 using a nine-seat fixed-wing craft. It had also been operating flights connecting Jaipur and Kota since August last year.

Both the flights were stopped on Friday after the airline failed to submit mandatory clearances from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said Kota airport officer, Lokesh Nirwan.

Nirwan said the flights were started after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with the company.

Carry the plane of your dreams in your pocket!

There are different ways in which aviation enthusiasts show their interest in flying and everything associated with it. Some try and spot different aircraft types as they take off or land, others try and understand the mechanism of how a plane flies and still others collect aviation merchandise.

That is why interest in scale models of civil aircraft, aviation-themed watches which have an aircraft on the seconds needle, pilot merchandise like bag tags used by pilots, tie-pins with a small aircraft, and other such items, seems to be growing.
“Plastic items are the top selling,” says Darshan V Bangera, promoter, DB Jets, adding that most of his customers come from among those for whom aviation is a hobby, collectors of trinkets, pilots and others connected with aviation. Bangera loves aviation and flying. Hence, the launch of DB Jets helped this former cabin crew member with Air India, whose career was cut short by a lower back injury just after a year, to live his dream.

There are many other aviation lovers like him. For example, at the Hyderabad Air Show in March this year, one saw Captain Ramesh Sanil, an Air India pilot with over three decades of experience, purchasing various tie-pins from the Flight 4 Fantasy stall.

Jet Airways Offers Up To 30% Discount On Select International Flight Tickets

Jet Airways is offering up to 30 per cent discount on select international flight tickets, the company said on Tuesday. The full-service international airline is offering its guests substantial savings on bookings for travel to destinations in Europe this winter season, Jet Airways said in a statement. Jet Airways' sale is valid on select European destinations via Amsterdam and Paris from all 45 cities in India served by the airline. The 14-day Jet Airways sale, commencing today with immediate effect, will be applicable only for passengers booking their travel in 'Economy' class for their one-way or return journey.
Jet Airways customers will get up to 30 percent off on fares on flights via Paris and Amsterdam to cities such as  Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Geneva, Madrid, Manchester, Munich, Prague, Rome, Venice, Zurich and many more, said the airline in the statement.

International flights from Amritsar get good response

Amritsar: The air connectivity between Amritsar and South East Asia is set to consolidate with the launch of Air Asia’s Kuala Lumpur-Amritsar flight from August.
Already, Malaysia’s Malindo Air is operating Kuala Lumpur flight and Scoot Airways is connecting the city with Singapore. As per airport officials, such flights in the economical category are generating good response from passengers.
Former airport advisory committee member Gunbir Singh said, “These flights will consolidate the tourist circuit involving the city. It will enable travel for students and visitors between South East Asia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, further connecting to Australia and New Zealand, as well as remote West coast America and Canada.”

Night flight fails to attract flyers

Patna:  The only night flight, which began operating from the Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport from March 25 midnight, has failed to attract city residents.
According to an airport official, the night flight of Jet Airways on the Pune-Patna-Pune route received good response from flyers in the first week of its launch. It has, however, not been able to attract many passengers in the last few weeks.
“The response is poor. Of the 150 seats in the flight, only around 70 were booked during departure and 60 during arrival on most days last week,” the official said on Monday.
As per the data provided to this reporter, at least 61 passengers boarded the Jet Airways night flight on April 10, 67 on April 11, 71 on April 12, 66 on April 14 and 71 on April 15 from the city airport.

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport gets nod to fly in A-380s

Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport could see a significant growth in passenger traffic from December 2019 onwards. The upcoming second runway of the KIA has received an in-principle approval from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to operate the mammoth Airbus A380 aircraft from its second runway which is expected to be operational from December 2019. New Delhi is the only other airport in India which has been given permission for this aircraft.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Bangalore International Airport Limited, Javed Malik, told The New Indian Express, “We have received an in-principle communication this week from DGCA for the A380 Code ‘F’ aircraft. They have given us the green signal after getting an okay for it from the global regulator, the International Civil Aviation Organisation.”

No Indian airliner has this huge carrier in its fleet so far. Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and British Airways are among the international airliners which operate it, he said.

What is stopping India’s aviation sector from taking a big leap

Never before have Indians been more comfortable with travelling by air, evident from the more than 20% rise in the number of air passengers in the last three years. Helping this rise are factors like inexpensive fares catalysed by intense competition between domestic players and a middle class with growing disposable income. If there is a dampener in this story, it is the lack of infrastructure to feed the booming demand for air travel.

Indian airlines flew more than 139 million passengers in 2017, a 17% increase over the preceding year. As per Airbus’ India market forecast, domestic traffic is expected to grow five and a half times over the next 20 years. The budget for 2018-19 unveiled an ambitious plan for the aviation sector, aiming at upgrade of airports to facilitate travel of a billion passengers annually. The government has estimated a whopping expenditure of Rs 4 lakh crore and 15-20 years of meticulous planning to achieve this target.

However, the near-term scenario is far less promising. While airports in New Delhi and Mumbai boast world-class facilities, most of India’s major airports are functioning close to or above their design capacity. Take for example the Mumbai airport which has to deal with regular delay in flight schedules. It will breach its ceiling of 48 million passengers per annum this year. With the second airport at Navi Mumbai still five years away, airport saturation in the country’s financial hub could impact the growth of the sector. The airport at Chennai too will reach saturation level during the course of this year.

Wi-Fi in the sky: 'Gold rush' for internet on board planes spurs innovation

Satellite technology to provide Wi-Fi on board planes has matured to a point where more and more airlines are looking to use it, triggering a “gold rush” among suppliers.

That brings opportunities for a vast array of companies, from satellite firms such as Viasat and Inmarsat, to connectivity providers such as Gogo, Global Eagle, and Panasonic Avionics and software and hardware companies such as Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik.


“It’s like a gold rush feeling at the moment,” Jan-Peter Gaense, head of passenger experience products & solutions at Lufthansa Systems, said at the Aircraft Interiors trade fair in Hamburg this week.

Air India revenue rose 11% in 2017-18: CMD

Days after domestic airlines like IndiGo and Jet Airways fell out of the running to buy Air India after a disagreement with the terms of sale, worldwide airlines such as British Airways and Singapore Airlines have shown interest in buying the Indian state-run carrier, Fortune India reported citing a senior Air India official. Three companies who were considered potential bidders for the government's debt-ridden national carrier have already backed out, citing major discrepancies in the conditions that come along with the acquisition. But the government has stipulated the winning bidder can not merge the airline with existing businesses as long as the government holds a stake. There were quite a few aviation players who were interested before the government put out the detailed proposal that included Tata as well. He said the main challenges are the debt, the government's residual 24 percent stake and the workforce, adding that the government should consult with potential bidders and simplify the terms.