Page 8 - Airports

Ayodhya airport may be a reality before Ram temple inauguration in January

Ayodhya airport will connect the temple town, in the initial stages, with about four cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad

Celebi India starts ground handling at Chennai International Airport

Turkish aviation services firm Celebi India said on Monday it has started providing ground handling services at Chennai International Airport. With this, the company is offering its services at nine airports in the country. Celebi India will be providing comprehensive ground handling services to both scheduled and non-scheduled air operators at domestic as well as international terminals of the facility, it said. Airlines have already started entering into ground handling service contracts with the company, with US-Bangla Airlines and YTO Cargo signing a pact for carrying out such activities on their behalf, Celebi said. Chennai Airport is a key gateway for travellers, and Celebi India is happy to contribute to its growth and efficiency, said Tauseef Khan, CEO of Ground Handling, Celebi India. "This launch marks a significant milestone for Celebi India and Chennai Airport, strengthening our commitment to delivering world-class ground handling services in the aviation sector," he .

Suicide attack near airport in northwest Pakistan; no casualties reported

A suicide bomber blew himself up near a vehicle of Pakistan's security forces close to a nonfunctional airport in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday but did not cause any casualties, an official said. The explosives wrapped up around the bomber's body exploded with a big bang near the Bannu Airport, bordering north Waziristan. The airport has been nonfunctional for the last couple of years. No casualty to life occurred in the attack, the official said. The police and security force personnel rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the entire area. A search operation was also launched to arrest the perpetrators of the blast. Meanwhile, five Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists were killed on Thursday after the Balochistan Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) carried out an operation in the Aghberg area of Quetta, the capital city of the troubled Balochistan province. In a statement, the CTD said it also killed eight TTP and IS members in two ...

Himachal open for tourists, Dharamshala air services restored: Officials

Himachal Pradesh is now open for tourists with hoteliers in prominent travel destinations of the state offering lucrative discounts, officials said on Tuesday. Flight services of Alliance Air from Delhi to Shimla and further from Shimla to Dharamshala have been resumed, they added. Tourist resorts of Kasauli, Shimla, Chail, Narkanda, Kinnaur, Dharamshala, Mcleodganj, Palampur, Dalhousie and Khajjiar have been reopened and roads to these destinations are safe to travel, Amit Kashyap, Director of Tourism and Civil Aviation Department informed in a statement issued here. Kashyap said tourists can avail of discounts in the current season in most of the hotels in the hill state. The recent spell of heavy rains during monsoon caused disruptions in travel in some road stretches, however, with efforts of the state government to restore the same on a war footing, tourists can now travel to Chamba, Kangra, Shimla and other districts, he added. The monsoon fury in the hill state during July

Commercial flight operations begin at Shivamogga airport in Karnataka

Flight operations took off at Shivamogga airport in Karnataka on Thursday with an IndiGo flight from Bengaluru landing here. Karnataka Minister M B Patil, former chief minister and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, along with Lok Sabha member from Shivamogga B Y Raghavendra were among those who were onboard the flight to this district headquarters town. "This is a historic moment," said Patil, the Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development Minister, before boarding the flight in Bengaluru. "Tickets have been booked for the next three weeks in advance. There is good demand," Patil said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Shivamogga airport on February 27, coinciding with the 80th birthday of Yediyurappa. Shivamogga is the home district of the Karnataka BJP strongman, a four-time CM. The new airport has been developed at a cost of around Rs 450 crore. The passenger terminal building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour, officials said. The .

Residents flee, airlifts begin as wildfire approaches northwest Canada

Residents of the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories began fleeing an approaching wildfire Thursday in long convoys while air evacuations were underway for those who could not leave by road, the latest chapter in Canada's worst fire season on record. The fire was within 16 kilometers (10 miles) of the northern edge of Yellowknife, and people in the four areas of the city of 20,000 at highest risk were told to leave as soon as possible, Fire Information Officer Mike Westwick said. Residents in other areas should be out by noon Friday, because strong north winds could push the fire toward the highway needed for evacuation, Westwick said. Although some rain was forecast for the region, first responders were taking no chances. I want to be clear that the city is not in immediate danger and there's a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and by air, Shane Thompson, a government minister for the Territories, told a news conference. Without rain, it is possible it will

China appears to be constructing airstrip on disputed S China Sea island

China appears to be constructing an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press. The work on Triton island in the Paracel group mirrors construction on seven human-made islands in the Spratly group to the east which have been equipped with airstrips, docks and military systems, although it currently appears to be somewhat more modest in scale. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, denying the claims of others and defying an international ruling invalidating its assertion. Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analysed by the AP show construction on the airstrip first visible in early August. The runway, as currently laid out, would be more than 600 metres (2,000 feet) in length, long enough to accommodate turboprop aircraft and drones, but not fighter jets or bombers. Also visible are large numbers of vehicle tracks running across much of the island,

Avoid gold plating of airports, cost to be in people's reach: Parl panel

The government should ensure that development of infrastructure at airports is cost-effective and the cost of travel remains within the reach of the common man, a Parliamentary Panel has recommended while voting against the concept of "gold plating" of airports. The panel headed by Rajya Sabha MP Sujeet Kumar has said that the most important stakeholder in the sector is the common passenger whose aspiration and need to undertake air travel will deepen with the passage of time and growth of the economy. The committee has also suggested that user charges should remain affordable and competitive as compared to other airports in the Asia Pacific region. "India is a developing country and passengers are price conscious. In our national civil aviation policy, affordability and sustainability have been emphasised by the government. The Committee observes that maximum people use the airports just for travel, do the baggage check-in, get their baggage on arrival and leave. Other peripherals

Only 22 out of 148 operational airports making profit: Parliamentary Panel

Only 22 airports out of 148 airports in the country are making profits and despite being on a growth path for the last two decades, the Civil Aviation sector in India has not been able to reap full benefits and demographic dividends, according to a Parliamentary panel. The panel headed by Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar has noted that the number of operational airports in the country is very low for a country of India's size. "Though the civil aviation sector in India has been on a growth path for the last two decades, it has not been able to reap the full benefits of the growth in Indian economy and demographic dividends, which is evident from the fact that in all, India has 148 operational airports which is very low for a country of our size. To make matters worse, out of 148 airports, only 22 are profit making," the panel said in its report tabled in Rajya Sabha on Friday. "There is thus a huge upside in constructing airports. India is a country of approx. 1.4 billion people and thoug

Reduce commercial area at airports to boost security checkpoints: BCAS

The BCAS earlier this month extended the deadline for using full-body scanners at major Indian airports from March 31 to December 31, 2023

Goa's Manohar International employee arrested for bomb hoax call: Police

A 22-year-old man working at the Manohar International Airport in Goa was arrested for allegedly making a hoax call about a bomb at the airport on Saturday afternoon, police said. The police control room received a call around 4.45 pm informing about the planting of a bomb "at airport", said North Goa district Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan. Both the airports in the coastal state Manohar International Airport at Mopa and Dabolim Airport, Vasco were put on alert, but the bomb warning turned out to be a hoax. Mopa police traced the call to Kundan Kumar who is currently working at Manohar International Airport, the SP said. Kumar, who hails from Bihar, confessed to making the call in an inebriated condition, he said. A First Information Report was registered against Kumar under Indian Penal Code sections 505 (1)(b) (causing fear or alarm to public), 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation) and 507 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication). The accused was arrested and .

7 Adani-run airports in India handled 103% more passengers in FY23

The group runs airports in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram

Ind-Ra revises outlook on Navi Mumbai International Airport to 'negative'

Further, the ratings derive comfort from the sponsor's commitment to support the project

PM inaugurates Terminal Building of Veer Savarkar Airport at Port Blair

With a total built up area of around 40,800 sq m, the new terminal building will be capable of handling about 50 lakh passengers annually

PM may inaugurate new terminal building of Port Blair airport on July 18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to virtually inaugurate the new integrated terminal building of the Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on July 18, officials said on Friday. Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will reach the airport at 9 am, while Modi will inaugurate the terminal building virtually one and a half hours later, officials said. Following a surge in passenger traffic, the Airports Authority of India has undertaken the work for constructing the new integrated terminal building at an estimated cost of Rs 707.73 crore. With a total built-up area of 40,837 square metres, the new terminal building will be capable of handling 1,200 passengers during peak hours and about 40 lakh passengers annually, officials said. The shell-shaped structure of the new terminal building depicts the sea and islands. The entire terminal will have 100 percent natural lighting for 12 hours a day which will be achieved by ...

Chinese embrace summer holiday flying, passenger traffic reaches 9 mn

Free from grueling Covid restrictions at last, Chinese travelers are seizing the moment. July 1-5 passenger traffic at airports was 14% higher than in the same period in 2019

North Goa's Manohar International Airport revolutionises check-in process

The Manohar International Airport (MIA) in North Goa has observed around 40 per cent utilisation of self-service bag drops (SBD) and 47 per cent utilization of common use self service (CUSS) kiosks by passengers, revolutionizing the check-in process, an airport official said. The spokesman of the airport said that Manohar International Airport has implemented modern check-in facilities to enhance the passenger experience. "The airport has observed an impressive average of around 40 per cent passenger utilization of Self-service Bag Drops (SBD) and 47 per cent utilization of Common Use Self Service (CUSS) kiosks, he said. He stated that the highest utilization of 50 per cent for SBD and 52 per cent for CUSS was achieved during the peak hours for all the airlines who have enrolled for CUSS and SBD platform at Manohar International Airport. "With SBD, passengers can enjoy a seamless drop-off procedure without the hassle of long lines or complicated processes, he said. Manohar ...

Indians can now zip through arrivals at US airports via automatic kiosks

Since it began a few years ago, 24,000 applications have been processed, many of them from frequent visitors

CIAL posts record profit of Rs 267 cr, declares highest dividend of 35%

The Cochin International Airport Ltd, the first Greenfield airport setup in Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in the civil aviation infrastructure sector in the country, on Monday declared a record net profit of Rs 267.17 crore for the year 2022-23. In a statement here, the company also announced the highest dividend of 35 per cent for the last fiscal year. The Director Board meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, which was held today, finalised the balance sheet and proposed a dividend of 35 per cent to the investors, subject to the endorsement of the Annual General Meeting slated to be held on September, 28, CIAL said. The company said this was the highest dividend ever offered by it in its 25-year operational history. "The board also decided to implement a development strategy accentuating its effort to increase the group turnover to Rs 1,000 crore during the ongoing silver jubilee year," the release said. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the chairman of the

GMR Airport to contribute 10% for Hyderabad Airport Metro Project

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd will contribute 10 per cent each for Rs 6,250 crore Hyderabad Airport Metro Project.