Aviation Insider

Articles giving aviation insights

Air India Pilots Avoid Crisis Situation At New York’s JFK Airport!

AirWhizzSep 19, 2018 No Comments

Air India Pilots Avoid Crisis Situation At New York’s JFK Airport!

Aviation Insider

On 11th September 2018, pilots of the Air India’s flight AI-101, from Delhi to New York, were caught in a nightmarish situation. Multiple system failures, bad weather conditions and low fuel made it a struggle for the pilots which were supposed to land the airplane in New York’s JFK Airport.

The flight was in a very bad situation however, the two pilots and an Air Traffic Control (ATC) operator were able to overcome this situation and saved the lives of 370 passengers onboard.

Here are all the details about the incident:

  • Air India’s Senior Commander Mr. Rustom Palia and Second-in-Command, Captain Sushant Singh, reported to the ATC operator at JFK Airport that the flight experienced multiple system failure while approaching the airport for landing.
  • Apart from these, the flight also witnessed the malfunctioning of all three of its Instrument Landing System (ILS) receivers on board. This meant that the pilot of the aircraft needed to manually land the flight.
  • They had to abort landing at JFK and spent close to one and a half hours in the air, trying to figure out to land at an airport in New York or a nearby city with good visibility.
  • Running low on fuel, they quickly needed a decent chance of sighting a runway early enough to make approach due to the failed ILS.
  • After help from the ATC tower operator they weighed various options to solve that situation and decided to land at Newark Airport.
  • The AI pilots skillfully managed to land the airplane safely, 38 minutes after hovering over JFK Airport.

According to reports, the Air India’s B777 aircraft had flown over 36,985 hours and had been in service for almost 9 years. While the incident was transpiring, there was panic among passengers as the aircraft managed to land.

A pilot can fly an aircraft without the onboard navigation system, however, the accuracy often suffers.

Mr Palia and Mr. Singh defied all the odds and used their experience and skills, with the help of the ATC operator, to avoid a disaster situation and saved the lives of all passengers.

Air India has set up an inquiry on aircraft and constituted an internal inquiry under the airline’s ‘Flight Safety Department’.

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Delhi Airport Bags Top Honour At ‘Airport Service Quality’ Awards!

AirWhizzSep 18, 2018 No Comments

Delhi Airport Bags Top Honour At ‘Airport Service Quality’ Awards!

Aviation Insider

Delhi Airport has bagged the title of ‘Best Airport to handle over 40 million passengers per annum (MPPA)’ at the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards 2017.

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates and manages the Indra Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) announced this good news on Monday. The award was given by the Airports Council International (ACI).

Delhi Airport has seen a tremendous growth in air passenger traffic in the past few years. It handled 63.5 million passengers, which was more than Singapore’s Changi Airport, Seoul’s Incheon Airport and Bangkok airport in terms of passenger growth. This was one of the main reasons why IGIA has won this award.

Mr. I. Prabhakara Rao, Executive Director Of GMR Airports, released a statement saying that as the airport witness’s robust growth, GMR looks forward to a strong collaboration and support of all airport stakeholders and their esteemed passengers.

Delhi airport is now officially the 7th busiest airport in Asia and among the top 20 busiest airports in the world.

This is very good news for Indian Aviation especially after Hyderabad Airport was ranked No.1 in terms of Service Quality at the ASQ awards in the 20 MPPA category.

ASQ is a worldwide programme to survey passengers at the airport on their day of travel. Every year the programme delivers around 600,000 individual surveys in 41 languages in 84 countries.

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Which Is The Busiest Air Route In The World?

AirWhizzSep 17, 2018 No Comments

Which Is The Busiest Air Route In The World?

Aviation Insider

With air travel becoming more popular and accessible each year, it’s no surprise that the airplane is the most preferred mode of travel.

With millions of travellers flying around the world every day, it only makes you wonder which is the most travelled air route.

Is it London to New York or Hongkong to Singapore? Well, the answer will surprise you!

Recently, UK based Aviation Researchers OAG came out with the list of busiest air routes in the world based on passenger and aircraft movements. This is what they found out-

Jeju To Seoul Is The Busiest Air Route In The World

The world’s most crowded flight path is the 282-mile connection between the South Korean island of Jeju and the capital Seoul.

Last year, there were 64,991 departures between Jeju and Seoul, equating to an impressive 178 flights per day. A staggering 13,460,306 passenger travelled between the two airports.

Why Are So Many People Flying On This Route?

Interestingly, the route is hugely popular due to tourism rather than business.

Jeju is the capital of an island called Jejudo, which might just be the most popular holiday destination you’ve never heard of.

UNESCO-listed, and billed as South Korea’s ‘Hawaii’, it’s pure Instagram gold, and home to dramatic volcanic landscapes, underground caves, hiking trails and scenic beaches.

There are also casinos, which help lure travellers and thanks to the island’s self-governing status, anyone can visit without a visa.

The Busiest Air Routes In The World

The top ten busiest air routes in the world are all domestic with the 443 mile stretch from Melbourne to Sydney in second place with 54,519 departures. A total of 9,090,941 passengers flew between the two airports.

It’s no surprise that Delhi to Bombay is the 3rd busiest air route in the world in terms of aircraft movements and 5th in terms of passenger movements.

Here’s The Top 10 Busiest Air Routes In The World:

In Terms of Aircraft Movement
  • Jeju- Seoul (CJU-GMP) – 64,991
  • Melbourne – Sydney (MEL-SYD) – 54,519
  • Mumbai – Delhi (BOM-DEL) – 47,462
  • Fukuoka – Toyota Haneda (FUK-HND) – 42,835
  • Rio De Janerio – Sao Paulo Congonhas (GIG-GRU) – 39,325
  • Sapporo – Toyota Haneda (CTS-HND) – 38,389
  • Los Angeles – San Francisco (LAX-SFO) – 34,897
  • Brisbane – Sydney (BNE-SYD) – 33,765
  • Cape Town-Johannesburg (CPT-JNB) – 31,914
  • Beijing – Shanghai (PEK-SHA) – 30,029
In Terms Of Passenger Movement
  • Jeju – Seoul (CJU-GMP) – 13,460,306
  • Melbourne – Sydney (MEL-SYD) – 9,090,941
  • Sapporo – Tokyo Haneda (CTS-HND) – 8,726,502
  • Fukuoka – Tokyo Haneda (FUK-HND) – 7,864,000
  • Mumbai – Delhi (BOM-DEL) – 7,129,943
  • Beijing – Shanghai (PEK-SHA) – 6,833,684
  • Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City (HAN-SGN) – 6,769,823
  • Hong Kong – Taiwan Taoyuan (HKG-TPE) – 6,719,030
  • Jakarta – Juanda Surabaya (CGK-SUB) – 5,271,304
  • Tokyo Haneda – Okinawa (HND-OKA) – 5,269,481
The Top 10 Busiest International Air Routes In The World (According To Passenger Movement) :
  1. Hong Kong – Taiwan Taoyuan (HKG-TPE) – 6,719,030
  2. Jakarta – Singapore Changi (CGK-SIN) – 4,810,602
  3. Hong Kong – Shanghai Pudong (HKG-PVG) – 4,162,347
  4. Kuala Lumpur – Singapore Changi (KUL-SIN) – 4,108,824
  5. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Hong Kong (BKK-HKG) – 3,438,628
  6. Dubai – London Heathrow (DXB-LHR) – 3,210,121
  7. Hong Kong – Seoul Incheon (HKG-ICN) – 3,198,132
  8. Hong Kong – Singapore Changi (HKG-SIN) – 3,147,384
  9. New York JFK – London Heathrow (JFK-LHR) – 2,972,817
  10. Hong Kong – Beijing Capital (HKG-PEK) – 2,962,707
The Busiest Air Routes By Region
  • Jeju – Seoul (CJU-GMP) is the busiest within Asia-Pacific
  • Jeddah – Riyadh (JED-RUH) is the busiest within the Middle East
  • Cape Town – Johannesburg (CPT-JNB) is the busiest within Africa
  • Cancun – Mexico City (CUN-MEX) is the busiest within South/Central America
  • New York JFK – Los Angeles (JFK-LAX) is the busiest within North America
  • Izmir – Istanbul (ADB-IST) is the busiest within Europe

The Busiest Air Routes In India*

Now that we have an idea about the busiest air routes in the world, let’s take a look at the busiest air routes in India.

Busiest Domestic Air Routes In India:
  • Delhi – Mumbai (DEL-BOM) – 6,963,502
  • Delhi – Bangalore (DEL-BLR) – 4,152,372
  • Mumbai – Chennai (BOM-MAA) – 3,416,363
  • Delhi – Kolkata (DEL- CCU) – 3,002,957
  • Delhi – Pune (DEL-PNQ) – 2,580,697
  • Mumbai – Goa (BOM-GOI) – 2,502,387
  • Delhi – Hyderabad (DEL-HYD) – 2,486,276
  • Delhi – Chennai (DEL-CAA) – 2,409,784
  • Mumbai – Bangalore(BOM-BLR) – 2,330,557
  • Mumbai – Hyderabad (BOM-HYD) – 2,192,041
Busiest International Air Routes From India:
  • Mumbai – Dubai (BOM-DXB) – 2,432,260
  • Delhi – Dubai (DEL-DXB) – 2,072,847
  • Chennai – Singapore (CAA-SIN) – 1,194,124
  • Delhi – London (DEL-LHR) – 1,010,439
  • Hyderabad – Dubai (HYD-DXB) – 993,961
  • Chennai – Dubai (CAA-DXB) – 976,026
  • Delhi – Bangkok (DEL-BKK) – 960,205
  • Mumbai – London (BOM-LHR) – 957,814
  • Chennai – Bangkok (CAA-BKK) – 848,217
  • Mumbai – Bangkok (BOM-BKK) – 824,751

*In Terms Of Passenger Movement

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Hyderabad Airport To Introduce “Face Recognition Facility” For Passengers!

AirWhizzSep 17, 2018 No Comments

Hyderabad Airport To Introduce “Face Recognition Facility” For Passengers!

Aviation Insider

Following Bangalore Airport’s example, Hyderabad Airport will soon introduce ‘Face Recognition Facility’ for air travellers.

Passengers flying from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) can get past all security checks and board the airplane by simply looking into the camera.

Here’s how it will work:

  • After a one-time registration at the entry gate, passenger details will be stored and facial features will be captured by the ‘Hi-Tech’ Cameras. The details will be the passenger’s unique signature
  • The next time that passenger has to board a flight, they won’t have to show the boarding pass. They’ll just have to stand in front of the camera
  • The camera will analyse and match the details and the passenger can gain entry
  • This technology will also be used at the security checks and the passenger won’t need to show the boarding pass there as well.
  • The boarding pass information will be integrated into the new system. It will automatically verify the information with the Airline DCS (Departure Control System).

This process will not only help the passengers but the airport staff as well.

The technology has already been tested for staff entry and will go live for passengers once the airport gets all the necessary approvals from regulatory authorities. It is said that this process will be implemented by the end of 2018.

E-boarding has already been introduced by Hyderabad Airport, therefore, it will be easy to implement this technology.

In the coming few days the airport will be rolling out a pilot project to make an airport journey completely paperless. They will do this by using biometric identification of a passenger to replace tickets and boarding passes.

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Bangalore Airport Inks Deal To Digitize Operations & Infrastructure!

AirWhizzSep 15, 2018 No Comments

Bangalore Airport Inks Deal To Digitize Operations & Infrastructure!

Aviation Insider

Germany’s technology giants, Siemens, is all set to digitize operations at the Bangalore Airport to simplify airport systems and enhance customer experience.

The group’s subsidiary, Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics (SPPAL), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to digitized the airport operations and infrastructure using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis.

Managing Director and CEO of BIAL, Mr. Hari Marar, released a statement saying that Bangalore Airport is a pioneer and leader of change in the Indian aviation industry. BIAL’s aim is to introduce more digitally advanced and innovative services so that the passengers and stakeholders get the benefit of future technologies.

He also went on to say that with the signing of the MoU for digitalisation, BIAL is once again gearing up for a leading position in India together with SPPAL.

Here’s how SPPAL may digitize Bangalore Airport-

  • With a view to improve operational efficiency, the subsidiary will use MindSphere, an open cloud-based IoT operating system of Siemens.
  • The technology will standardize real-time exchange of quality-assured data. This will create more transparency of information and thus improve processes between the various stakeholders at the airport.
  • Another way it will benefit the airport is by improving the baggage handling system.
  • It is also planning to optimize aircraft spare part management at the airport using predictive analysis.
  • Data analysis and Artificial Intelligence will be implemented in the later stages of development

SPPAL recently opened a new MindSphere Application Centre (MAC) in Dubai, which will be used to develop future-oriented analytics and IoT solutions for airports, airlines, freight service providers and ground-handling services.

As the country’s third busiest airport after Mumbai and New Delhi, Bangalore airport handled 25 million (250 lakh) passengers in 2017. With such technologies being implemented, BIAL will surely be able to help modernize the airport and improve passenger experience.

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Hyderabad Airport Ranked World No.1 For Service Quality!

AirWhizzSep 14, 2018 No Comments

Hyderabad Airport Ranked World No.1 For Service Quality!

Aviation Insider

Hyderabad Airport is officially one of the best airports in the world, in terms of service quality!

The international airport has been ranked ‘world No 1’ for ‘Airport Service Quality’(ASQ) by the Airports Council International (ACI) in the 5-15 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) category.

The CEO of GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), Mr. S.G.K Kishore, was there to receive the award at the ASQ awards ceremony, organised at the ‘2018 ACI Customer Excellence Global Summit’ at Halifax in Canada.

Mr. Kishore has said that the award is a recognition of the airport’s relentless efforts towards service excellence and customer delight. It will be their endeavour to continuously raise the bar and exceed customer expectations.

He also went on to thank the stakeholders, including the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Immigration, Customs and service providers such as airlines and airport staff for their constant support in helping the airport achieve this status.

The award was presented by the President and CEO of Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Ms. Joyce Carter.

Hyderabad Airport has been ranked No.1 for the second consecutive year and has been in the top 3 rankings for the past 9 consecutive years. The airport was adjudged World no 1 Airport in this category for the year 2016-2017.

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Bangalore Airport’s Second Runway To Be Powered By LED Lighting!

AirWhizzSep 13, 2018 No Comments

Bangalore Airport’s Second Runway To Be Powered By LED Lighting!

Aviation Insider

In a bid to become more environmentally friendly and save energy, Bangalore Airport will be using LED lighting system to illuminate its second runway.

The runway, which is scheduled to become operational in 2019, will be the first airport runway in the country to have LED lighting.

With this facility, Kempegowda International Airport, which is the 3rd busiest airport in India, will improve runway safety & efficiency while saving energy and cost.

The runway will be powered by a US-based firm, ‘ADB Safegate’ who are responsible for designing and supplying the Airfield Lighting (AGL) as well as Advanced Visual Docking Guidance Systems(A-VDGS).

The Company will provide the ‘SafeLED’ lights, Constant Current Regulators (CCR) for power management, cables and control systems.

According to Chief Project Officer Of Bangalore Airport, Mr. Tom Shimmin, this system will help the airport gear up to support the 55 aircraft per hour movement at the second runway in an efficient way and ensure safety.

The new runway will have an Advanced CAT III instrumental landing system that will cater to all types of airplanes including the Airbus 380 (The Largest Aircraft In The World) and Boeing 747/748.The runway is expected to become functional from October 2019.

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In-Flight Connectivity: Here’s What You May Have To Pay!

AirWhizzSep 12, 2018 No Comments

In-Flight Connectivity: Here’s What You May Have To Pay!

Aviation Insider

It will soon be possible for Indian travellers to use Wi-Fi and make calls while flying as the Department of Telecom(DoT) is set to allow In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) services from October.

As per the existing rules, no person can use any electronic device which intentionally transmits radio signals while aboard an aircraft. However, with the advancement in technology, it is not very difficult for Indian carriers to launch this facility after they get the licence.

How Much Will It Cost The Airline

According to experts, it would be a herculean task to provide IFC services since the cost of installation and the turnaround time to do so will be quite high.

It is estimated that the cost of installation will be around $100,000 per aircraft and turnaround time would be about eight days. However, this estimate depends on the aircraft type, fleet size, bandwidth, other technical specifications and regulatory requirements.

Estimates may vary, but the cost of providing IFC is certainly going to be high.

How Much Will You Have To Pay

Given the cost and turnaround time, it shouldn’t be a surprise if IFC services are expensive, at least in the initial stages.

Airlines across the world use different pricing strategies for connectivity services. The charges for net connection might range from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for 30 minutes to an hour as per international standards.

However, a lot would depend on the packaging of the IFC services being offered by the airlines. To differentiate their product experience from other airlines, they may offer special packages to frequent fliers and premium customers or may even base pricing on the time of the flight (early morning flights generally have more corporate travellers).

Aviation experts believe that within a couple of years of the launch, one can expect these services to become free.

Airlines such as  Emirates, JetBlue and Turkish Airlines already offer free IFC. In two-three years, we can expect IFC services in India to become free of cost like in hotels, restaurants and malls.

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