Chennai Airport

Food & Beverage At Indian Airports To Become Affordable!

AirWhizzSep 11, 2018 No Comments

Food & Beverage At Indian Airports To Become Affordable!

Aviation Insider

In a bid to make refreshments affordable for air travellers, Airports Authority Of India(AAI) has ordered airports to sell snacks and beverages at Maximum Retail Price(MRP).

More than 90 government-run airports across the country will soon sell packaged drinking water at MRP along with snacks and tea at the lowest rate possible.

This decision by AAI has been taken after they received many complaints from passengers about the exorbitant prices charged for water and snacks at airport terminals.

In fact, in March 2018, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had tweeted about the high prices of tea at the Chennai Airport which caused many MP’s to debate about this topic in the parliament.

AAI has asked airport authorities to sell water and snacks at MRP at separate counters. However, these rules are not applicable to some of India’s biggest airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi, as these airports are run by private companies.

According to an AAI official, the notice to start different counters was sent to airport authorities last month. The companies running the food courts have been asked to run a separate counter where they can sell selected items at affordable prices.

Today, air travel is not confined to the elite. With the success of the UDAN scheme and low budget airlines, air travel is accessible to people from all segments of the society. However, they have limited options when they have to pay a premium price for tea and snacks. These counters will surely bring them relief.

Airports in places like Pune and Shimla have already set up cheap food counters at their terminals but AAI is looking to make this a permanent norm at other airports across the country.

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Bharat Bandh To Affect Passengers Flying From Bangalore Airport!

AirWhizzSep 10, 2018 No Comments

Bharat Bandh To Affect Passengers Flying From Bangalore Airport!

Aviation Insider

Air Passengers who have scheduled flights from Bangalore Airport before 3 p.m. may have to face difficulty due to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ in the city.

Members of the ‘Airport Taxi Owners’ Association have threatened to block the road leading to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) as part of the protest against rising fuel prices. The protest is to be carried out from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This will result in several passengers missing their flights.

Association secretary Mr. Hamid Akbar Ali, has said that cabs who were not members of their association, as well as private vehicles, will be stopped from reaching the airport.

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has put out an urgent message asking the departing air passengers to report to the airport at least four hours before their scheduled flight departure.

According to BIAL’s spokesperson, the airport operator has put in place some measures that will remove the inconvenience caused to passengers travelling to KIA. They are working with government departments and stakeholders to get regular updates, that will help them to take corrective action.

Individual airlines have put out travel advisories on Sunday night calling upon passengers to leave for the airport early.

IndiGo, Air Vistara and Jet Airways have cautioned their passengers that transport disruptions are expected and urged them to keep extra time on hand while travelling to the airport.

Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place in the city. At least 15,000 policemen will be deployed and special security arrangement has been made for Airport and Railway stations, crowded places and some sensitive areas.

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Flight Operations At Sikkim’s Pakyong Airport To Start From October!

AirWhizzSep 08, 2018 No Comments

Flight Operations At Sikkim’s Pakyong Airport To Start From October!

Aviation Insider

The beautiful state of Sikkim is all set to join the aviation map of the country on 4th October 2018. SpiceJet will be launching the first ever flight from Pakyong Airport to different cities across India.

The no-frills carrier will operate daily direct flights on the Pakyong-Kolkata route from 4th October and the Pakyong-Guwahati route from 16Th October.

SG 3324, operating on the Kolkata-Pakyong route, will depart from Kolkata for Pakyong at 9:30 am, whereas SG 3325 operating on the route of Pakyong-Guwahati route will depart at 11.15 am.

A memento of the first flight ticket and boarding pass was presented to the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Mr. Shri Pawan Chamling, by representatives of the airline.

On 1st March 2018, SpiceJet had successfully operated a test flight to Pakyong, making it the first civil aircraft to land at the airport

The greenfield Pakyong airport, close to Sikkim’s capital Gangtok, had received the aerodrome license from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in May 2018 for commercial operations.

Here are some interesting facts about the airport-

  • It is the first Greenfield Airport in Northeast India and is spread across 990 acres.
  • Located at a height of 4590 ft, this airport is considered as one of the 5 highest altitude airports in India.
  • The airport is often called an engineering marvel owing to the extremely rough terrain it has been built on.
  • The airport is built roughly 60 km away from the Indo-China border, giving it a huge strategic advantage. Indian Air Force(IAF) has already done test runs and will use the airport once it’s operational.
  • The project for constructing this airport was sanctioned 11 years ago, however, due to land acquisition problems, the project was delayed. It has been built at an approximate cost of 350 crores.

It will be the 100th functional airport in the country. Sikkim is the only state without a functional airport at present.

With the opening of Pakyong Airport, it is expected that it will boost tourism, which will help in the economic development of the state and connect it to the rest of India.

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Bangalore Airport To Launch ‘Facial Recognition’ Boarding System In 2019!

AirWhizzSep 07, 2018 No Comments

Bangalore Airport To Launch ‘Facial Recognition’ Boarding System In 2019!

Aviation Insider

In a bid to transform passenger experience and make the airport futuristic, Bangalore Airport has said that it will implement ‘Facial Recognition’ facility to make the boarding process paperless.

Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) and Lisbon-based digital and biometric solutions service provider, Vision-Box, have signed an agreement to launch paperless biometric self-boarding technology.

Below are a few key points about this technology:

  • The airport is set to become the first airport in India to have an end-to-end solution for paperless air travel.
  • BIAL expects that the technology will be implemented in the first quarter of 2019.
  • Jet Airways, Air Asia and SpiceJet will be the first carriers to use this technology for their passengers.
  • The goal of the programme is to simplify the journey by making it paperless from registration at the airport to boarding a flight.
  • The technology will identify passengers by their face as they move across the airport.
  • Passengers will not have to present their boarding passes, passports or other physical identity documents.

According to BIAL’s Managing Director & CEO, Mr. Hari Marar, ‘A passengers face will be their boarding pass’.

He also said that Vision-Box’s state-of-the-art biometric technology, combined with its passenger flow platform, will enable a seamless journey for passengers, without obstacles, waiting lines or hassles.

The Biometric boarding system has had a positive effect on airports all around the world. The introduction of such a technology in India will streamline the boarding process and who knows? Queues at the airport might become a thing of the past!

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Flight Operations May Start At Navi Mumbai Airport From 2021!

AirWhizzSep 05, 2018 No Comments

Aviation authorities are planning to start regular flight operations from the Navi Mumbai Airport from September 2021.

Civil Aviation Secretary Mr. R N Choubey, who reviewed the progress of the greenfield project in Mumbai recently, said that both the state government and the other stakeholders involved are hopeful of starting flight operations in three years.

He has also said that they are trying very hard to reduce this time and may start flights sooner since not all facilities need to be built to operate the flights. There has been good cooperation between the stakeholders in executing the airport project.

The project is being carried out under the public-private-partnership model and City and Industrial Development Corporation(CIDCO) of Maharashtra has been mandated to execute the project. GVK group is developing the project.

Mumbai International Airport Limited(MIAL), the regulatory body of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, hold 74 percent stake in Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIAL), while CIDCO holds 26 percent.

A concession agreement has been signed between CIDCO and MIAL which states that a total of 1600 hectares of land will be dedicated for the development of the airport.

The construction cost is expected to go up to Rs 13,562 Crore which is almost 50% more than the earlier projected cost of Rs 9,600 crore.

Once built it is expected that the airport will have an overall capacity to handle more than 50 Million passengers in a year. If this plan goes through smoothly, Navi Mumbai Airport will ultimately have three terminals, with the provision for a fourth. It will be able to handle 120 parked, landing and taxiing airplanes.

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User Development Fee To Be Reduced At Bangalore Airport!

AirWhizzSep 03, 2018 No Comments

User Development Fee To Be Reduced At Bangalore Airport!

Aviation Insider

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) has decided to slash the User Development Fee(UDF) for departing domestic and international passengers from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore from September 16th, 2018 to March 31st, 2019.

An order issued by AERA on August 31st said that UDF collected from the international passenger for a ticket issued on or after September 16, 2018 will be Rs`558 per person. For domestic passengers, it will be Rs`139 per person.

The order also said that the UDF for international passengers for a ticket issued on or after April 1, 2019 will be `Rs 716 per person and for domestic, Rs 179.

Currently, a UDF of `Rs 1,537.08 is collected from international departure passengers and `Rs 384.27 from domestic departure passengers.

Aircraft parking, handling and housing charges for flights using the airport too have been slashed substantially, a move that will provide a huge benefit to all airlines suffering heavy losses.

This decision taken by AERA has been getting a mixed response. While some say the revised fee is “reasonable”, others argue that it should be zero, considering that the airport is making profits.

It’s, however, not clear whether the benefits of the reduction in the UDF will reach the end-user as airfares are independent of the UDF. It is market dynamics and not the UDF size which determines final fares.

According to Bangalore International Airport Limited(BIAL) CEO, Mr Hari Marar, Everything in the airline industry is dependent on demand and supply. A ticket might cost `Rs 20,000 one day and Rs `5,000 on another day. So, this aspect of UDF will not translate into an instant reduction in air fare

 

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Mumbai Airport Renamed As “Chhatrapati Shivaji ‘Maharaj’ International Airport”!

AirWhizzSep 01, 2018 No Comments

Mumbai Airport Renamed As “Chhatrapati Shivaji ‘Maharaj’ International Airport”!

Aviation Insider

Nearly two years after a resolution was passed in the Maharashtra Assembly, Mumbai Airport has finally been renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji ‘Maharaj’ International Airport.

On Thursday, Union Ministry formally approved a request from the Maharashtra government to add ‘Maharaj’ to the name.

Union Aviation Minister, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, confirmed this news by tweeting about it. He said that   Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is now Chhatrapati Shivaji ‘Maharaj’ International Airport and was very thankful to the current government for approving this decision. He also congratulated the people of Maharashtra via the tweet.

A demand to add the honorific was first made in 2016 by BJP MP Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, a descendant of the Maratha warrior king. Following that, the Maharashtra assembly passed a resolution to rename the airport and the railway station.

While Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) became Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus soon after, the proposal to rename Mumbai’s international airport was pending.

The airport’s renaming will mean that airport authorities will have to make a lot of changes, from informing the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to changing all the boards on the airport premises. The civic authorities will also have to change the signage on the city roads that lead to the international airport.

Mumbai airport is no stranger to changes in its name. Built to serve bombers of the Royal Air Force during World War ll , it was known as RAF Santacruz in the 1930s. Post-independence, it came to be known as Bombay International Airport.

In 1970, once the international travel started booming in India, the airport shifted its international operations to a new terminal near Sahara Village in Andheri. That terminal was referred to as Sahar International Airport, while the original Bombay International Airport came to be known as Santacruz Airport.

In 2006, the airport was privatized and the two terminals were collectively referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Mumbai.

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Mumbai Airport Introduce Emergency Passenger Evacuation Vehicles!

AirWhizzAug 31, 2018 No Comments

Mumbai Airport Introduce Emergency Passenger Evacuation Vehicles!

Aviation Insider

In a bid to increase passenger safety in case of an aircraft accident, Mumbai Airport will soon introduce advanced ‘Emergency Passenger Evacuation Vehicles’.

These vehicles will be used to rescue stranded travellers from inaccessible areas of the aircraft. The vehicle covers all types of aircraft currently used in the aviation industry, including the A380, which is the biggest civilian aircraft available today.

According to Mumbai International Airport Limited(MIAL), these vehicles can be deployed where other conventional alighting systems, which are used to help people get off the airplane in an emergency situation, fail.

Here’s how these vehicles work:

  • In case the aircraft steers away from its normal path on the runway or in case of accidents, this vehicle can be rushed to the spot and the attached ladder can be extended up to the aircraft door for passengers & crew to be safely evacuated.
  • This ladder can be extended up to a maximum height of 8.3 meters or 27 feet.
  • The escape stairs have a high evacuation load capacity of approximately 115 people at one time.
  • This machine is equipped with a 540 HP engine, with an acceleration of 0-80 km per hour in less than 40 seconds.
  • The vehicle is fitted with a high-pressure smoke ventilation system, which can remove smoke from the fuselage/ cockpit and increase the chances of surviving.
  • This machine can also reach off-road surfaces with its 6X6 wheel drive system.

Fast evacuation is essential for survival in accidents involving fire. These vehicles will help evacuate passengers from the aircraft under 90 seconds.

The goal of these vehicles is to carry passengers from their seat in the aircraft to a safe area with speed and efficiency.

The induction of these vehicles is part of MIAL’s effort to make Mumbai Airport one of the best in the world.

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