Page 4 - Indian Airports

Bengaluru's Kempegowda Airport tops global on-time performance rankings

Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru has secured the top position as the world's most punctual airport for the past three consecutive months, according to Cirium's 'The On-Time Performance Monthly Report.' The Kempegowda International Airport operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited maintained an "impressive" on-time departure experience for passengers, with 87.51 per cent punctuality in July, 89.66 per cent in August, and 88.51 per cent in September, a BIAL statement said on Tuesday. According to the report, on-time departure ranking measures the percentage of flights that departed within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. Cirium's evaluation process involves a thorough review of flight data for airports worldwide, it said.

DXN to be airport code for Noida airport under construction in Jewar

Airport codes are unique identifiers assigned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents about 300 airlines globally

32% rise in airport staff drunk on duty in the first half of 2023: DGCA

In the first half of 2022, 143 people working at 50 airports in India failed the alcohol tests

Ethiopian Airlines plane returns to Delhi airport after smoke in cockpit

An Ethiopian Airlines flight enroute to Addis Ababa returned to the national capital soon after take off on Wednesday early morning after smoke was detected in the cockpit, according to sources. One of the sources said the flight ET 687, operated by a Boeing 777-8 aircraft, made an emergency landing at the Delhi airport at around 3 am on Wednesday. A passenger, who was onboard the flight, told PTI that the plane returned to the airport soon after take off and made an emergency landing. "There was smoke... and many passengers panicked," the passenger said on the condition of anonymity. The sources said there were more than 240 people onboard. The flight was to fly to the Ethiopian city of Addis Ababa. Query sent to the airline seeking comments on the incident remained unanswered.

Vistara flight at IGI delayed for 8 hours as bomb threat call found hoax

A Delhi-Pune Vistara airlines flight was delayed for around eight hours at the IGI Airport here after a bomb threat call which later turned out to be hoax, security sources and police said. The bomb threat assessment committee declared the call, received at 7:38 am, non-specific or hoax at 2:15 pm. The airline was issued a security clearance for using the aircraft after extensive security checks, the sources said. Flight UK971 was to depart at 8:30 am and finally left at 4.30 pm, according to police. The sources said more than 100 passengers and five cabin crew were on board the Airbus A320 aircraft. Vistara said, in a statement, that flight UK971 was delayed due to "mandatory security checks". A senior Delhi Police officer said a threat call received at the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) control room in Gurugram was transferred to them through the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Following the call, search and combing operations were launched at the terminal

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

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 .

India aims to make 121 airports carbon neutral by 2025, says Scindia

Twenty-five airports in the country are using 100 per cent green energy, while another 121 airports will be made carbon neutral by 2025, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced on Thursday. Scindia made the comments in his virtual address at the two-day EU-India aviation summit. He could not attend the event in person after testing Covid positive. "The emission contribution of the aviation industry has been under immense scrutiny. We have taken several measures to minimise the carbon footprint and mitigate emissions from the aviation industry," said Scindia asserting that India and the European Union have a common goal of tackling climate change. "We are encouraging our airports to use green energy by 2024 and achieve net zero by 2030. Twenty-five of our airports are already using 100 per cent green energy. Our target is to make another 121 airports carbon neutral by 2025," he added. The summit, which began on Thursday, will focus on EU-India air transport relations

Indian airports' revenues to rise 26% to $3.9 bn next fiscal year: CAPA

Indian airport operators are projected to report 26 per cent rise in revenues at USD 3.9 billion in the next financial year, aviation consultancy CAPA India said on Wednesday. For 2023-24, air passenger traffic, including domestic and international, is expected to be 395 million, it said while presenting the outlook for the airports. Out of the total, domestic air passengers will rise to 320 million from 275 million this fiscal. During this period, the international air passenger count will increase to 75 million from 58 million. "India is forecast to see domestic airport pax rise to 700 million passengers, and international airport pax to 160 million passengers by FY2030," CAPA India said. It said Indian airports' revenue of USD 3.9 billion (Rs 32,390 crore) in the next fiscal will be 26 per cent higher than anticipated in 2022-23. The outlook was presented at the CAPA India aviation summit here. Stefano Barconi, Director General of ACI Asia Pacific, said airports' health was ..

Long-term aim to reduce costs of operation by 30-50%: Adani Airports CEO

India overall lacks aviation capability, he said

Indian carriers need not shy away from competition: Noida Int'l Airport CEO

"Our business case is based on the premise of growth. It is in our interest and everyone else to see growth in domestic and international traffic," he said

Need to reduce airports' operating costs by 30-50%: Adani Airports CEO

Adani Airports chief Arun Bansal on Wednesday said the cost of operating airports has to come down by 30-50 per cent in the coming years as he highlighted the growth potential of the Indian aviation market. Currently, the company is operating seven airports and is building another one. Bullish on the Indian market, Bansal said it would like to operate more airports and eventually become a leading airport operator in the world. Adani Airports is investing in physical and digital segments, and is committed to building the capacity, he added. Indian aviation had been taken for granted for the last 20-30 years and the cost of operating airports should come down by 30-50 per cent in the coming years, he noted. Adani Airports is bullish on the country's aviation market and wants to "do more airports", Bansal said, adding that under the first phase, Navi Mumbai airport will start operations by December 2024. The passenger handling capacity will be 20 million in the first phase of Navi M

Adani Airports to bid for more airports to become leading operator: CEO

In the last round of airport privatisation by the government, Adani Airports won bids to operate six airports

India to splurge $12 bn on airports in next two years as travel rebounds

The world's fastest-growing aviation market aims to boost the number of airports to 220 by 2025 from the current 148, for which private builders will invest about $9 billion

More airports, connectivity bringing people closer, boosting progress: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the aviation sector is bringing people closer and boosting national progress with more airports and better connectivity. The prime minister shared a tweet by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia about domestic air traffic touching a new post-COVID high of nearly 4.45 lakh on February 19. "More airports and better connectivity...the aviation sector is bringing people closer and boosting national progress," Modi said in a tweet. Prior to COVID, the average daily domestic air passenger number was 3,98,579. In a tweet on Monday, Scindia said domestic air passenger movement scales a new high post-COVID. As many as 4,44,845 passengers were flown by domestic airlines on Sunday. "Yet another milestone! Indian civil continues to soar!," Scindia had said. Currently, there are 147 operational airports in the country. The prime minister is scheduled to inaugurate the newly-constructed airport at Shivamogga in Karnataka on February 27. Th

Number of airports in country to go up to over 200: Jyotiraditya Scindia

The Civil Aviation Ministry has drawn up plans to boost air connectivity by taking the total number of airports operating in the country to over 200 over the next five-six years under its vision of increasing the 'width and depth of air penetration,' Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said here on Saturday. Scindia, here on a brief visit, said in its 67 years of independence the country saw only 74 new airports being built while in the last 8.5 years it has been increased to 147 under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi rule. "We are just one short of doubling that number. The 148th airport will be also completed this month itself which means that what India took 66-67 years to build and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has been done in a period of nine years." he told reporters. Scindia said the Ministry has envisaged to take the number of airports operating in the country to over 200 in the next five to six years. "Another 50 additional airports, waterdromes and

Budget 2023: Govt to revive 50 airports, water aerodromes, landing grounds

The government on Wednesday said 50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advance landing grounds will be revived for improving regional air connectivity in the country. The announcement was made by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget for 2023-24. Over the past few years, the government has been taking various initiatives, especially the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, to boost the regional air connectivity. "Fifty additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advance landing grounds will be revived for improving regional air connectivity," Sitharaman said in her Budget speech. Besides, she said that 100 critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and first mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertiliser, and food grains sectors have been identified. "They will be taken up on priority with investment of Rs 75,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources," she added. UDAN flights have transp

UDAN scheme: Odisha CM approves 50 fire service posts for four airports

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday approved a proposal for creation of 50 posts of fire service personnel in different ranks for four airports under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) UDAN scheme. These airports are Jharsuguda, Utkela, Rourkela and Jeypore. Of the 50 posts, 9 each will be deployed at Utkela and Jeypore and 16 each at Jharsuguda and Rourkela, an official said. Recently three fire stations have been made functional at three premier medical colleges of state, namely Cuttack, Berhampur and Burla. Besides, two more fire stations have been made functional at Tihidi in Bhadrak and Baruan in Jajpur districts. These stations were running by rationalisation of personnel at different other fire stations. Recently, 16 fire service personnel have been deployed at Rourkela Airport in December 2022.

SVPI airport plans development projects to cater passenger traffic demand

Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport (SVPI) at Ahmedabad has planned a slew of development and expansion projects to cater to future passenger traffic demand, the private airport said on Tuesday. The facility, owned by Adani Group, currently has the terminal capacity of 8-million passengers annually, while it is expected to handle 20-million passengers per annum by 2025-26 thereby necessitating the expansion work, which include a new integrated terminal building and refurbishment of existing terminals, it said. According to the company, while the majority of the capex projects are related to development of airside and terminal capacity matching with projected exponential passenger growth, it is also pertinent to understand that the existing terminal infrastructure is not fully sufficient to handle the current and extraordinary growing demand. In the current financial year, the passenger movement at the SVPI is expected to be around 12-million, the company said. In addition t

Gold worth Rs 2.01 crore seized at Mangaluru International Airport

Customs sleuths at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) have seized a total of 3,677 grams of smuggled gold worth Rs 2,01,69,800 between Jan 1 and 18 this year