Explore Business Standard
Airports in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal and Khajuraho have received top scores in the Airports Authority of India's (AAI) pan-India customer satisfaction survey, an official said on Friday. The survey report is based on the feedback collected from 58 out of 62 airports across the country, the official said. In the first round of the survey, conducted between January and June, airports at Bhopal, Khajuraho and Udaipur in Rajasthan topped the chart by securing a perfect score in terms of customer satisfaction. Round 2 of the survey was conducted between June and December, during which airports in Bhopal, Khajuraho and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in neighbouring Maharashtra scored 4.99 points out of 5. Four airports Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Bhavnagar (Gujarat), Tezpur (Assam) and Kalaburgi (Karnataka) were not included in the survey due to the non-availability of flights. Assam's Rupasi airport stood at the bottom, scoring just 3 points out of five. The airport in Khajuraho a place k
The Airports Authority of India's (AAI) high-frequency radar at Dahisar in Mumbai will be relocated to Gorai, unlocking hundreds of acres of land for affordable housing projects in the area, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu has said. This decision was taken following a meeting between various stakeholders, including the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Maharashtra government and others. Addressing the meeting virtually, Naidu on Sunday said the Civil Aviation Ministry will seek cabinet approval for the relocation so that the construction work on such projects can start at the earliest. Radar installations at Dahisar and Juhu restrict building heights. On Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the legislative assembly that the state government had decided to shift high-frequency radar centres from Dahisar and Juhu to technically suitable alternative sites. Fadnavis said the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Union government, and the AAI had agreed to the shiftin
The Directorate General of Shipping has increased maritime security for Indian ports, terminals, and Indian-flagged vessels to "MARSEC Level 2 or heightened security", considering the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, a senior government official said. The directive was issued on May 8, the official added. The Directorate General of Shipping functions under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), forms a crucial part of the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Convention. It was adopted in response to growing global concerns over maritime security, especially in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. One of the core components of the ISPS Code is the classification of security levels. These levels are designed to ensure that ships and port facilities can operate securely under varying threat environments. Security Level 2 involves maintaining of appropr
Aviation watchdogs DGCA and BCAS and state-owned AAI are grappling with a significant manpower crunch, with 37 to 48 per cent of the total sanctioned positions remaining vacant, according to official data. Nearly 48 per cent of the posts are vacant at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) while it is 37 per cent in the case of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). State-owned AAI plans to hire 1,098 people at the executive level in the current financial year. As per the data provided by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol to the Lok Sabha last week, as many as 814 posts were vacant out of the sanctioned 1,692 positions at DGCA. In the case of BCAS, there were 224 vacancies, while the sanctioned strength is 598. At AAI, out of the sanctioned strength of 25,730 posts, 9,502 are vacant. These are figures for this year till March 31. In a written reply to the Lower House, the minister said that 441 post
India's civil aviation sector has witnessed rapid growth over the last ten years and now the aim is to make the country the top global domestic aviation hub, Union minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Friday. The civil aviation sector in India has witnessed rapid growth over the last ten years and the aim should be now to become the number one domestic hub globally, Naidu said. Launching the centenary celebration logo on completion of 100 years of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport Kolkata, he noted that the last ten years have been glorious for the civil aviation sector with expansion of several airports and the way the number of passengers has expanded. "Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, we have pushed all the boundaries, and now we are the third largest domestic country a civil aviation hub in the whole world itself, and now we need to take it forward," Naidu said. "We need to break the barriers once again, level up the civil aviation sector in the country,
The cumulative capex (capital expenditure) of Indian airports is expected to grow 12 per cent at Rs 60,000 crore in the three years through FY27 from Rs 53,000 crore during 2022-2024, to add required infrastructure for about 65 million passengers per annum, ratings agency CRISIL said on Thursday. CRISIL said 70 per cent of this capex is expected to be funded through debt. The ratings agency said its projections are based on a study of 11 private airports in the country that account for 60 per cent of the total passenger traffic in FY24. In addition to the expected growth in passenger traffic, increase in tariffs and spending within the airport ecosystem will lift revenue of private Indian airports at an average growth rate of 17 per cent between FY25 and FY27, it said. That, coupled with improved funding access and a predictable regulatory regime, will support the strong credit profiles of private airports. "The number of passengers at Indian airports is expected to clock a compou
Aviation regulator DGCA is investigating the Air India Express cabin crew strike incident in May that had resulted in several flight cancellations and the airline will be penalised in case there were any non-compliance with regulations, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Thursday. In response to queries in the Lok Sabha related to flight cancellations, Naidu said the ministry was ensuring that there were no cancellations and delays as he emphasised that Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) were in place to ensure that passengers received compensation. "We acknowledge that there has been an issue with Air India Express There were some internal issues with the crew as Air India Express was merging with AirAsia India and a mass strike happened (on May 7)," the minister said during the Question Hour. There were a lot of cancellations due to the strike. "Once this issue started, the ministry got involved, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) facilitated a lot of ...
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Saturday said the Navi Mumbai International Airport is slated to commence operations in March 2025. Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and Mohol visited the airport site and reviewed the progress of the ongoing work. "Going by the progress of the work, the airport will be operational in March next year. It will enhance connectivity with neighbouring Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Kalyan, and western Maharashtra," Mohol said, highlighting its international standards and anticipated annual footfall of nearly 20 million passengers. He expressed positivity towards naming the airport after late PWP leader DB Patil. He also assured that issues about compensation for project-affected persons (PAP) would be resolved through discussions with management. "We are committed to ensuring that people who have contributed land for the airport project are not displaced," the minister clarified, emphasising the government's awareness