According to a PTI report, the Mysore Airport was recently inaugurated by B S Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister, Karnataka. The new airport constructed at a cost of Rs 60 crore by Airport Authority of India (AAI) was completed on September 15, 2009.

The Skytrax surveys have shed a little bit of positive light on airports by revealing the world's best.

The Government of India (GoI) is considering installing body scanner on a trial basis at the upcoming Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel recently mentioned in the Rajya Sabha that the technology promises foolproof security checks by producing an image of a passenger's body for security men to check for hidden objects. However the technology for body scan not yet finalised.

According to the annual ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger survey, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) ranks fifth amongst world's airports in terms of airport service quality on Tuesday. Also, RGIA ranks second in terms of traffic size for well-handling 5-15 million passengers annually.

According to a PTI report, the private sector Greenfield international airport in North India will soon come up near the industrial hub of Ludhiana in Punjab.

Thirteen districts of Karnataka will get major airports, informed Janardhana Reddy, minister for tourism and infrastructure.

The state-run airports operator has finalised a plan to levy a user fee at the Chennai and Kolkata airports to meet the extra cost of upgrading the airports in these two metropolitan cities, a civil aviation ministry official said. A “moderate” fee will be charged for a “short time,” the official told ET on condition of anonymity without divulging further details.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) now plans to seek approval for the levy from the civil aviation ministry and the airports regulator.
AAI, which manages 125 airports, including civil enclaves at defence airports, has not collected user fees so far but says it is compelled to do so now because cost escalation in Chennai and Kolkata is putting severe pressure on its finances.
AAI chairman V P Agarwal emphasised that the burden on passengers using the Chennai and Kolkata airports “would not be high” and that it plans to generate revenues from user fees only to the “minimum extent possible.”
According to the latest AAI estimates, the cost of revamping the Kolkata airport has risen to Rs.2,750 crore from Rs1,950 crore while for Chennai it has gone up from Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore.
Furthermore, AAI has targetted upgrading 35 non-metro airports at an investment of Rs 2,911 crore by the end of March 2010. If the levy of the user fee in Chennai and Kolkata proves to be a successful experiment, the toll may be extended to passengers at non-metro airports.
Faizan Khan & G Ganapathy Subramaniam/Economic Times

When it opens in mid 2010, Delhi airport’s new integrated Terminal 3 would be one of the world’s largest terminals. Passengers, however, don’t need to fret about taking a long walk to board their flights.

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport would be the first in India to have travelators (automated passenger walkways) so that passengers can move on a motorised corridor from Terminal 3 to their aircraft.
Some of the travelators have already been commissioned at the under-construction terminal.
Spread over five million square feet, Terminal 3 would cater to both international and domestic flights.
Terminal 3 will have 89 travelators, in addition to 63 elevators and 31 escalators. The travelators have been manufactured by ThyssenKrupp of Germany. Eight of the travelators will be inclined, the first of their kind in India. “The terminal, along with its 4 boarding piers, will measure around 1.25 km from one end to the other. Walking that distance would be a daunting task without travelators with some of the boarding gates being more than 500 meters away,” he said.
While most airports across the world have travelators, none of the Indian airports have such facilities. Apart from IGIA, the Chennai airport too would have travelators shortly.
Satish Kumar/TopNews.in

In order to boost tourism and regional development in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has proposed to set up an international airport each in Shrawasti and Kushinagar districts and to improve the infrastructure in the Buddhist circuit.

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The circuit covering Sarnath, Kushinagar, Sankisa, Kaushambi, Shrawasti and Kapilvastu attracts pilgrims from all over the world, particularly Japan and other South East Asian countries. The potential of the region is yet to be fully tapped.
The state government has invited bids from consultancy firms for preparing a comprehensive project report for the development of international airports in Shrawasti and Kushinagar and integrated development of the Buddhist circuit under public-private partnership (PPP) on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis.
The last date for sending the bids was August 22. The bids would be opened on September 22. These places follow the norms laid down by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The ASI norms have to be followed while developing the place.

Bipin Chand Agarwal/Times of india

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International passengers may soon have a smooth sailing as far as customs clearance at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the city is concerned.

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The customs department is all set to modify its procedures and is coming up with several other user-friendly technologies to give passengers a hassle-free clearance at the airport.
To streamline the customs clearance facilities at the airport, the department will set up two scanners. One scanner has already been installed and will begin functioning within a day or two, while the other one will be installed soon.
Once these scanners start functioning, it will considerably reduce the clearance time. For the first time, there will be online scanning of passengers' baggage.
The scanners will be attached to the conveyor or baggage belt and the clearing of the baggage will be shown to the customs official via the electronic board attached to the belt. In case of a suspicious bag, the customs official will put a cross mark on the bag and then physically check it.
The passengers whose bags have been cleared by the scanners will not face any other hassles.

source|Satish Jha/Daily News & Analysis

The country's first walkalator (horizontal escalator) inside an airport will be opened at Chennai airport next month.

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The conveyor belt that transports people, which is a common feature in most major airports abroad, is installed to connect aerobridges so that passengers can use it to reach the aircraft. It will reduce the distance passengers have to walk inside terminals.
The facility is being installed at a cost of Rs 7 crore as part of efforts to enhance passenger amenities and optimise use of infrastructure in the airport. There are five aerobridges in the international terminal and three in the domestic terminal.
Airport director K Natarajan said, "The facility would be installed in a phased manner and the first unit of the walkalator was expected to be opened by mid August."
The first stretch of the walkalator will be useful for passengers using the recently unveiled bus lounge inside the passenger terminal. Sources said that the machines would be installed in small stretches along a 300 metre connecting corridor between terminals so that airport would be able to use all aerobridges round the clock.

V Ayyappan/Times of India

Airfares are set to rise again, with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) proposing an Airport Development Fee (ADF) of Rs 300 on flights to domestic non-metro destinations and Rs 1,000 ($20) on international flights. The proposal will be sent to the civil aviation ministry for approval next week, and may come into effect from September 1 this year, said an AAI official, who did not wish to be named.

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The International Air Transport Association has said in a statement they have opposed the fee.
To begin with, ADF will be imposed on passengers flying to 12 airports, according to the proposal. Among the destinations earmarked for the fee are Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Udaipur, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram. In the second phase, ADF will cover another 23 non-metro airports. It will be charged for 10-15 years and will be put into an escrow account, said the official.
An escrow is maintained by a third party, which makes sure funds will be disbursed only after pre-agreed conditions have been fulfiled.
AAI will earn Rs 700-800 crore from ADF, which will be used for development and upgradation of non-metro airports. It will also finance its airport modernisation programme, which is under way across the country. AAI has earmarked Rs 3,000 crore for undertaking developmental projects across various airports during 2009-2010.

source|Mithun Roy/Economic Times

From flea infestations to filthy toilets, overzealous security guards and bird poo, travellers have revealed the world's top 10 worst airports to sleep in.

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Website www.sleepinginairports.net has given travellers a voice, allowing them to review the best and worst airports around the world for travellers needing some shut-eye.
While Paris’s Charles de Gualle was voted the worst airport to sleep in, airports in Europe, the US and India were also mentioned.

Five greenfield airports would come up in Karnataka and Sikkim in the next two years, said Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Thursday.

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In reply to a question by Congress parliamentarian Naveen Jindal, the minister told the Lok Sabha that four new airports would come up at Shimoga, Gulbarga, Bijapur and Hassan in Karnataka, and another at Pakyong in Sikkim.
“These airports are scheduled to come up in the next two years,” Patel said, adding that seven more greenfield airports have been accorded “in-principle” approval.
These airports would come up at Navi Mumbai and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Mopa (Goa), Kannur (Kerala), Durgapur (West Bengal), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) and Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh).
Patel said his ministry has also received proposals for nine new airports at Chakan, Shirdi and Solapur in Maharashtra, Kushinagar and Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Ludhiana (Punjab), Karaikal (Puducherry), Paladi (Rajasthan) and Cheitu (Nagaland).
Currently, there are two greenfield international airports, in Bangalore and Hyderabad.
The minister said his ministry has received a proposal for setting up a cargo airport at Jhajjar in Haryana, Jindal’s home state.


source|IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

A new terminal building at the Sanganer Airport, 10 km from here, on Wednesday became operational for domestic flights.Private airlines Indigo was the first to operate its flight from the new terminal to Hyderabad at around 0550 hrs, Airport Authority of India (AAI) sources said.




International and Air India flights will continue to operate from the old terminal, the sources said.
The terminal, which has a capacity of handling around 500 passengers during peak hours and has parking for more than 250 vehicles, was inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on February 25 this year.
Over a dozen flights by private airlines would operate daily from the terminal.
PTI/The Hindu

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Travelling abroad from Punjab and Haryana will not mean travelling to Delhi anymore with Chandigarh airport being upgraded to an international airport. The first flight for Dubai will take off July end.






Sunil Dutt, director of Chandigarh airport, said: "We have got confirmation from Fly Dubai. They have got permission from the union civil aviation ministry to fly a daily direct flight to Dubai from Chandigarh."
"The first international flight to Dubai will fly from here somewhere in the last week of July and the ticket rate is kept around Rs 3,500 to 3,600," Dutt said.
Fly Dubai is a low-cost carrier of Emirates Airlines.
Chandigarh international airport will replace the old domestic Chandigarh airport as the region's second international airport after the Raja Sansi International Airport in Amritsar.
The new airport is likely to give a big boost to the region's economy and facilitate travel for a large number of non-resident Indians (NRIs), who currently use New Delhi's Indira Gandhi international airport. It would largely serve the international passengers from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
"The area of the new building will be five times more than the previous one. After 1974, it is for the first time that Chandigarh airport is undergoing such a big scale renovation," Gagan Malik, construction in-charge of the new building of Chandigarh International Airport, said.
Atul Sareen, managing partner of Sky Airways, a registered international travel agency with its offices in Chandigarh and the US, told IANS: "There is a big rush of passengers who want to travel to Dubai from this part of the region so this flight is expected to get a good response."
IANS/Times of India

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Chennai: With the Airport Authority of India (AAI) all set to start work on runway expansion from July, flight operations are expected to be crippled in Chennai for over two months when the main runway will be closed between 11 am and 5 pm.

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After much deliberation over the issue, AAI chairman and his committee decided to stick to its original plan, which was highlighted in the Express issue dated March 16.
According to the plan, AAI had decided to close the main and secondary runways alternatively. The main runway 07/25, will now be closed to facilitate work on linkways and taxiways that connect the main and secondary runways for over two months from July, a senior AAI official said.
“There is no other option as connectivity between the main and secondary runways at various points is crucial. And if the secondary runway is to be made functional before the main runway, there must be proper exit and taxiways to minimise the flight occupational time on the operating runway. In this case, it would have not been feasible,” an AAI source said.
As per the current plan, work on link taxiways 1 and 2 will be taken up simultaneously and the main runway will be completely closed between 11 am and 5 pm. Airlines have been given a few options of closure time before the NOTAM (notice to airman) is issued. During this closure time, the secondary (RWY 12/30) will be available for operation and wide-bodied aircraft will have to reduce their payload - called payload penalty - for landing and take-off,” said a senior AAI official.





15/06/09 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

A pleasant surprise awaited those who flew out of the city on Monday as they found themselves being asked to go through the new, spacious departure terminal at the Lohegaon Airport.

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The new terminal was slated to be functional from May 15 but was made operational from Monday, four days ahead of schedule.

“I have made the new departure terminal fully operational from today. All passengers will now be routed through the new lounge, which is much bigger and more convenient. We will now be able to accommodate a significantly larger number of outgoing passengers,” said J P Mathur, officiating director, Airports Authority of India, Pune.

“I had gone to see off my daughter to Bangalore and came to know about the new terminal from a security man. I was advising my daughter to go to the regular check-in counter when the security guard overheard and directed us to the new terminal,” said V J Matthen, a central government officer.

Five of the eight airlines currently operating from the Pune airport have shifted to the new departure terminal, Mathur said. Jet Airways, Air India and Lufthansa are expected to move to the new lounge in around 10 day.

Raja Menon/ExpressIndia




...

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New Delhi: In a move that will make air travel more expensive, the civil aviation ministry has allowed Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd, or DIAL, to raise airport charges by 10% from Monday.

This follows a similar hike at the Mumbai airport last month. Airline firms pay a fee every time an aircraft lands at an airport, which includes landing and parking charges.

The ministry also announced on 9 February that passengers from the Indira Gandhi International Airport will have to pay a development fee—Rs200 for domestic and Rs1,300 for international travel. It has allowed DIAL to charge this fee from 1 March.

Also Read Govt may allow Delhi airport to raise fees 10% despite delays
The increased airport charge will add to costs of India’s carriers that are already making losses on falling passenger numbers. As a result of the hike, passengers will now pay Rs233 each as airport service fee instead of Rs225 levied at most airports except Mumbai.

Since airport charges are levied on the weight on take-off, international flights, which are typically heavier, would have to pay more. Currently, about 300 aeroplanes land in Delhi every day.

Domestic airlines such as InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd-run IndiGo have already applied the increased passenger service fees on airfares, according to its website.

Tarun Shukla/Livemint

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi would flag off the first international flight from Srinagar to Dubai on Saturday.

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The International Airport, named after legendary sufi mystic Sheikh-ul-Alam, would also receive the first international flight, with 170 passengers on board Air India Express' Boeing 737-800, from Dubai the same day.
"To begin with, Srinagar will have a weekly flight to Dubai on Saturdays,'' Air India manager Mohammad Iqbal Dar said. "Each one way ticket will cost Rs 7,035,'' he added.
Airport Authority of India director Rakesh Kalra said the Instrumental Landing Systems (ILS), allowing pilots to land in low visibility, will soon be installed at the airport. "We've also expanded the runway. New terminals for departure and arrival, aero-bridges, central heating system, lifts, conveyor belts and escalators have also come up to meet the international standards,'' he said.
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Mubeen Shah said, "Having an international flight makes little sense as long we've to go to Delhi for visas.''
M Saleem Pandit/Times of India