Page 6 - Airports

Man smokes 'beedi' onboard IndiGo flight, arrested at Mumbai airport

A 42-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly smoked a beedi inside a lavatory onboard a Riyadh-bound IndiGo flight, a Mumbai Police official said on Tuesday raising concerns over security as the passenger had managed to pass through pre-boarding check-in at the Delhi airport. He was handed over to the police by cabin crew after the Delhi-Mumbai-Riyadh flight landed at the city airport on Monday. Shockingly, the accused managed to sneak in a lighter and a beedi with him when he boarded the flight at the Delhi airport on Monday, the official said. A labourer by profession, the accused, identified as Mohammed Fakruddin Mohammed Ammuruddin, was flying to Riyadh on a connecting flight via Mumbai. "The incident came to light when a flight security official noticed smoke in its lavatory mid-air after Ammuruddin exited it," the official said. After the flight landed in Mumbai, the man was detained by the cabin crew and the police were informed, he said. He said Ammuruddin told

400 jets in 4 days: Anant-Radhika's pre-wedding bash in Jamnagar takes off

The airport, which is a civil enclave in an Indian Air Force base with no parking space, is managing an estimated 400 charter flights between Friday and Monday

DGCA gets notice over man's death who had to walk for lack of wheelchair

The NHRC has sent a notice to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over reports that an 80-year-old man died at the Mumbai airport after he was refused a wheelchair despite prior request to an airline and forced to walk. Reportedly, the US-based Indian-origin man collapsed after walking for about 1.5 km on the way to the immigration area, the National Human Rights Commission said in a statement. He was walking alongside his wife, who was in a wheelchair. The elderly couple was travelling from New York to India, the rights panel said, quoting the report. The NHRC said it "has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that an 80-year-old man died at the Mumbai airport as he had to walk when not provided with a wheelchair despite prior request to the airline." The Commission observed that the content of the media report, if true, raises a serious issue of violation of human rights of the victim. It has asked the DGCA for a detail report in four weeks. It should include

FedEx Express inaugurates regional hub at Dubai World Central Airport

New York Stock Exchange-listed FedEx Corp subsidiary FedEx Express on Tuesday announced the official inauguration of its regional hub at Dubai airport which would help it provide a greater foothold in the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa markets. This new FedEx regional hub at Dubai World Central Airport marks a long-term investment of more than USD 350 million, focusing on infrastructure, and technological advancements, the company said in a statement. The investment in the new hub further enhances India's connectivity to the rest of the world through the UAE, and forms an integral component of the region's logistics ecosystem, the company said. The 57,000 sq m facility incorporates advanced technologies that include automated sort systems that enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and speed of package processing and distribution from the facility, FedEx said. The hub also has two automated high-speed x-ray machines along with a dedicated 170 sq. m cold storage area to cat

German labour union calls on Lufthansa ground staff to strike on Feb 20

A labour union in Germany has called on ground staff for Lufthansa to walk off the job at seven airports on Tuesday following a similar strike earlier this month. The Ver.di union said Sunday that the one-day strike will affect the airports in Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa's two main hubs, as well as Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart. It will run from 4 am Tuesday to 7:10 am Wednesday. A 27-hour strike at five of the same airports that started February 7 prompted the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. The union is seeking pay raises of 12.5 per cent, or at least 500 euros (USD 539) more per month, in negotiations for about 25,000 employees, including check-in, aircraft handling, maintenance and freight staff. Several-hour or one-day warning strikes are a common tactic in German contract negotiations. A round of talks on February 12 produced no agreement. More negotiations are scheduled for Wednesday.

Ensure timely arrival of baggage at airports after aircraft landing: BCAS

Regulator BCAS has directed airlines to ensure that all baggage of passengers are delivered within 30 minutes of landing of a flight at an airport. The directive from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to seven scheduled airlines also comes against the backdrop of delays in passengers getting their baggage after landing of a flight. An official statement on Sunday said that BCAS has asked the airlines to implement the required measures to ensure timely delivery of baggage by February 26. The directive was issued on February 16 to seven airlines -- Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Vistara, AIX Connect and Air India Express. Airlines have to ensure that delivery of the last baggage is made within 30 minutes as per the Service Quality Requirements of Operation, Management and Delivery Agreement (OMDA). BCAS has been monitoring the arrival of baggage at belts of six major airports in January 2024 under the instructions of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya ...

CIAL, BPCL sign pact to set up first green hydrogen plant at Cochin airport

In a strategic move to bolster its pathbreaking green energy initiatives, Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for setting up a green hydrogen plant in the premises of Cochin Airport. This collaborative effort will result in the world's first green hydrogen plant and fueling station located within an airport setting, CIAL said in a statement on Wednesday. Green hydrogen, produced from water using renewable energy sources, is recognized as a future fuel and aligns with zero-carbon energy strategies, it said. The agreement exchange ceremony for the green hydrogen plant was held at Legislative Complex, Thiruvananthapuram in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who is also the chairman of CIAL, the statement said. "As pioneers in sustainable aviation, CIAL is happy to start a groundbreaking journey with BPCL towards establishing the country's first green hydrogen .

DGCA issues guidelines to prevent runway incursions, calls for training

Aviation regulator issues circular after Jan 2 accident at Haneda Airport in Tokyo

Lufthansa cancels hundreds of flights as ground staff strike for a day

Ground staff for Lufthansa walked off the job at five major German airports on Wednesday, causing the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. The Ver.di union called on ground staff at Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa's two main hubs, as well as Berlin, Duesseldorf and Hamburg, to strike for 27 hours starting at 4 am Wednesday. Lufthansa said ahead of the strike that it expected to be able to operate around 10-20 per cent of all planned flights. It said tickets could be re-booked free of charge, and tickets for German domestic flights could be converted to rail vouchers. In Frankfurt, the company canceled 80-90 per cent of the planned 600 departures and arrivals by Lufthansa itself and subsidiary Air Dolomiti ahead of the strike, German news agency dpa reported. More than 400 departures and arrivals at Munich Airport also were canceled. All Lufthansa departures from Berlin and Hamburg were canceled, as were most domestic flights from Duesseldorf. Lufthansa anticipated that, in all, m

Refurbishment work of runway 28/10 complete at Delhi airport, says DIAL

Delhi airport operator DIAL on Saturday said it has completed the refurbishment work of the runway 28/10. The final work on the technical integration of the runway RWY 10/28, also known as the second runway, is underway and will be completed very soon, according to a release. In recent weeks, there has been a significant impact on flight operations due to low visibility conditions because of fog. Against this backdrop, there were also concerns expressed about RWY 10/28 being non-operational. After the refurbishment, the runway was scheduled to be operational on January 19, but due to some "unforeseen technical issues" system integration could not be completed. "It is expected to be completed in 8 to 10 days. DIAL is working diligently with its partner Honeywell to complete the process soon," the release said. DIAL also said the newly constructed fourth runway of the airport will be CAT III compliant on January 26. CAT III pertains to flight operations in low visibility condition

Commercial operationalisation of Navi Mumbai airport by March 2025: Scindia

Commercial operation of the Navi Mumbai International Airport will commence by March 31, 2025, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Saturday. He also said that as much as 55-60 per cent of the work on the project has been completed. Earlier, the Minister took a review meeting of the project, which is coming up at an investment of Rs 18,000 crore. Navi Mumbai Airport Project, being developed by the Adani Group, is split into five phases and will have a total capacity of 9-crore passengers per annum. Of this, the first phase will have two crore annual capacity, he said. Once all the five phases of the project are completed, the airport will have four terminals and two runways, he said. The minister also said that the airport will have road, rail, metro and water connectivity.

Passenger traffic at CSMIA up 13% to 4.88 million in December 2023

Adani Group-owned Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Thursday said passenger traffic at its facility increased 13 per cent year-on-year to 4.88 million in December 2023. This was the highest-ever passenger traffic for the airport, the aerodrome operator said in a statement. Mumbai Airport had recorded a total passenger traffic of 4.33 million in December 2022, the statement said. CSMIA's consistent expansion to newer destinations helped it post good growth, the airport operator said, adding the highest passenger traffic movement in a single day for the month was observed on December 17, with 165,258 passengers travelling through CSMIA - with 84,166 arrivals 81,092 departures. The month of December observed a total of 28,462 air traffic movements (flights) with 21,175 on domestic routes and the remaining 7,287 on international routes, it said. Also, Delhi, Bangalore, and Goa continue to remain the top three domestic destinations witnessing the highest ...

Uttar Pradesh to have 5 more airports in one month: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said five new airports will be inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh in one month. He was speaking at the virtual function for the inauguration of flight service by IndiGo from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad. Ayodhya airport will be expanded and the runway will be extended that will allow landing of bigger aircraft and operation of international flights, Scindia said. The Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30. On that day, IndiGo and Air India Express operated flights to Ayodhya. Scindia on Thursday said five new airports will be inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh in one month that will take the total number of airports in the state to 19. The airports at Azamgarh, Aligarh, Moradabad, Chitrakoot and Shravasti will come up in the state. Regarding Ayodhya airport, Scindia said the second phase expansion will start soon and that more flights will be connecting the city. The

Japan's air safety experts search voice data from debris after collision

A team of transport safety officials searched for a voice recorder from the severely burned fuselage of a Japan Airlines plane on Friday, seeking crucial information on what caused a collision with a small coast guard plane on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport. Meanwhile, JAL also started using heavy machinery to remove some of the debris for storage in a hangar to allow the runway to reopen. Six experts from the Japan Transport Safety Board, walked through the mangled debris of the Airbus A350-900 that was lying on the runway searching for the voice data recorder. JTSB experts have so far secured both the flight and voice data recorders from the coast guard's Bombardier Dash-8 and a flight data recorder from the JAL plane to find out what happened in the last few minutes before Tuesday's fatal collision. All 379 occupants of JAL Flight 516 safely evacuated within 18 minutes of landing as the aircraft was engulfed in flames. The pilot of the coast guard plane also escaped, but i

Hyderabad airport among global airports with highest on-time performance

The airports at Hyderabad and Bengaluru have been ranked second and third among the top ten global airports in terms of operational performance and punctuality, according to a report released on Tuesday. In the 2023 On-Time Performance (OTP) Review prepared by aviation analytics firm Cirium, there are a total of three Indian airports -- Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata -- and one Indian carrier -- IndiGo. With an OTP of 84.42 per cent, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is at the second spot in the global airports as well as large airports categories. Kempegowda International Airport is at the third position in both the segments with an OTP of 84.08 per cent, Cirium said. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the US has topped both the lists with an OTP of 84.44 per cent. In the medium airports category, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport in Kolkata is ranked ninth with an OTP of 83.91 per cent. The medium airports category is topped by Osaka International Airport in Japa

Airports are not only a medium of travel, but centre of growth: Scindia

After holding a convocation event at Bharathidasan University, PM Modi was felicitated by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin at the public programme

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PM Modi arrives in Ayodhya, receives warm welcome from CM Adityanath

He is scheduled to inaugurate the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham airport as well as the redeveloped railway station

Ayodhya airport completed in record time of 20 months: AAI chairman

Airports Authority of India undertook the development of Ayodhya Airport as per the MoU signed with the Government of Uttar Pradesh in April last year

PM Modi to inaugurate redeveloped railway station, new airport in Ayodhya

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Saturday during which he will inaugurate a redeveloped station and a newly-built airport in the temple town. He is also expected to lay the foundation stones for a slew of development projects in Uttar Pradesh. To welcome the prime minister, the holy city has been decked up with flowers, murals and thematic ornamental columns amid heavy security deployment. Huge posters with images of Modi have been put up at prominent locations here, while cut-outs of Lord Ram have been installed outside the redeveloped railway station. Elaborate security arrangements have been made along the Ram Path to the Ayodhya airport, located about 15 km from the main city. Devotional songs dedicated to Lord Ram played out on the streets here on Saturday morning while ringing of bells and holy chants at several temples filled the air. "The prime minister is expected to reach Ayodhya airport around 10.45 am. After landing at the airport, he will