Kolkata Airport

Indonesia Shuts Down Bali Airport After Volcano Erupts At Mount Agung!

AirWhizzJun 29, 2018 No Comments

Indonesia Shuts Down Bali Airport After Volcano Erupts At Mount Agung!

Aviation Insider

The Indonesian government has shut down Bali’s international airport after a Volcanic eruption on Thursday evening.

Here are all the details about the incident –

  • Mount Agung, a popular tourist destination in Bali, erupted last night sending volcanic ashes several miles high into the sky.
  • Almost 450 flights have been cancelled, which include 207 international flights.
  • It is estimated that 75000 air travellers have been affected by this incident.
  • Domestic airports at Banyuwangi and Jember in Java have also been closed down.
  • Airlines such as PT Garuda, Singapore Airlines and Qantas Airways have cancelled all their flights to and from Bali.
  • AirAsia Indonesia has cancelled at least 50 flights.

The Airport was shut down at 3:00 a.m. local time, and authorities will review the closing at 12:00 p.m. today, after taking into account the latest volcanic ash distribution data.

Indonesian authorities have closed down the Ngurah Rai International Airport, in Bali, for the second time in seven months due to volcanic activity in the region.

Mt. Agung, which is about 70 kilometres northeast of Bali’s tourist hotspot, Kuta, last had a major eruption in the year 1963, taking the lives of about 1,100 people.

National disaster agencies had issued a ‘High Alert’ after increased volcanic activity at the mountain in 2017,causing thousands of people to evacuate nearby cities. However, things became normal by February 2018 and authorities lowered the alert status.

Indonesia is located in the Pacific’s “Ring Of Fire” region which is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There are almost 120 active volcanos in the region which is monitored by government and other seismologic agencies.

Read More

Passengers Can Check-in For Flights From Hotels Near Mumbai Airport!

AirWhizzJun 28, 2018 No Comments

Passengers Can Check-in For Flights From Hotels Near Mumbai Airport!

Aviation Insider

Passengers travelling from Mumbai Airport will now be able to remotely check-in for their flights from hotels located near the airport.

Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has installed self-check-in kiosks at 3 transit hotels within the airport and 6 hotels located outside the premises.

Here are all the details about it-

  • The self-check-in kiosks have been installed at the Sahara Star, Hyatt, Taj Santa Cruz, ITC Maratha, Hilton and The Lalit.
  • MIAL is in the process of installing these Kiosks at 5 other hotels located nearby.
  • Flyers will be able to check-in for their flight without any human interaction. This type of platform is known as Common Use Self Service(CUSS) Kiosk.
  • With the help of these CUSS kiosks, travellers will be able to print their boarding pass and baggage tags for their check-in luggage before leaving the hotel.
  • Passengers can move directly to the security queue once they reach the airport.
  • This system will make the entire check-in experience electronic.

The upgrade of IT infrastructure inside Terminal 1 of the Mumbai Airport has also made it fully self-check-in compliant.

Airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir are now on the CUSS platform with baggage tag-enabled kiosks and self-bag drop facility. Passengers can generate their boarding pass and baggage tag from the kiosk and move to either the fast bag drop or self-bag drop counter.

The concept of “self-bag drop” has been implemented by many airports outside India for a while now. However, Mumbai airport implemented this system back in 2016 when it introduced self-check-in kiosks equipped to print out boarding passes and baggage tags inside the airport.

With the implementation of the CUSS platform, Terminal 1 at the Mumbai Airport becomes the first terminal in India to have a fully automated check-in system.

Airport officials have said that they are trying to bring more airlines on this platform for the convenience of passengers.

Read More

Flights Will Be Rescheduled At The Chennai Airport For Taxiway Work

AirWhizzJun 26, 2018 No Comments

Flights Will Be Rescheduled At The Chennai Airport For Taxiway Work

Aviation Insider

In a bid to improve operations at the Chennai Airport, Airports Authority of India(AAI) has started the construction of new taxiways.

Airport authorities have announced that due to this construction, 2 international flights will be rescheduled and many domestic flights will have to use the second runway.

Here are all the details about it-

  • 4 exit taxiways have been under construction and the work to link them to the main runway will begin next month.
  • AAI is also making a parallel taxiway on the north side of the main runway.
  • For this purpose, the main runway will be closed for a few hours every day, for about 9 months.
  • The runway will be closed in 2 phases – from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in July and August, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from September.
  • The departure of a Saudi Airlines flight has been rescheduled from 12:30 p.m. to 11:15 a.m. The airline will be given a different schedule during winters.
  • Air India flights and a Cathay Pacific flight will also be rescheduled however the timings have not been specified for now.

According to an AAI official, they have selected non-peak hours to do this construction work because wide-bodied aircrafts generally don’t operate during this time.

He also said that AAI has done all the assessments and discussions. All airlines have agreed to use the second runway and reschedule flights that fall within this closure period.

The rapid exit taxiways and the parallel taxiway are being constructed to reduce the time taken by the airplane to move out of the runway after landing. It will help airplanes to move out in less than 70 seconds after landing.

With new taxiways, Chennai Airport, which currently handles 450 flights daily, will be able to handle 500 airplanes per day.

Read More

Everything You Need To Know About The Bangalore Airport!

AirWhizzJun 25, 2018 No Comments

Everything You Need To Know About The Bangalore Airport!

Aviation Insider

Since its inauguration in 2008, Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport(KIA) has made travel easy for passengers passing through the city.

With its efficiency and infrastructure quality, KIA has become one of the best airports in India and a recognised name globally.

Yet, many of us are unaware of the years of dedication and planning that has gone in making this modern marvel.

So, let’s take a look at this airport’s journey and what it has achieved over the years.

History

Bangalore’s main airport till 2008 was the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) airport, which was built in 1942.

During early 2000’s ,as Bangalore grew into the ‘Silicon Valley’ of India and the air passenger traffic continued to increase, HAL airport traffic started rising at the rate of roughly 35% per year.

In fact, between 2006-2007 the airport received 8.2 million passengers, well above its capacity of 3.6 million. Airport authorities had predicted that they would have to face such a situation in the future and were well prepared for it.

In 1999, Airports Authority Of India(AAI) and the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) signed a Memorandum Of Understanding(MoU) for the development of a new airport in Bangalore. The project, however, kept on getting postponed due to delays in government approval.

Finally on January 2001,the state government set up the Bangalore International Airport Limited(BIAL) with AAI and KSIIDC. Unique Zürich Airport, Siemens Project Ventures and Larsen & Toubro were attracted to this project and invested in it.

After a lot of government delays and other complications, the airport’s construction finally started on 2nd July 2005. It took 32 months to construct the airport and after a few minor hiccups the Bangalore International Airport was inaugurated in May 2008. The HAL airport was closed down immediately.

In 2009 the State Government sent a proposal to the Union Government to rename the airport. This proposal got accepted in 2013 and the name of the airport was changed from Bangalore International Airport to Kempegowda International Airport.

Awards & Recognition

1.Bangalore Airport was given the honour of the “Best Airport in India” at the Skytrax ‘World Airport Awards’ in 2011.

2.The airport received a ‘Gold’ rating in Leadership in Energy And Environmental Design(LEED) from Indian Green Building Council(IGBC) in 2013

3.BIAL received the prestigious “STAT Times International Award” for Cargo excellence in 2014

4.KIA was recognised as the “Best Regional Airport in Central Asia” at the Skytrax ‘World Airport Awards’ In 2015

5.Bangalore Airport won the award for “Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia” at the Skytrax ‘World Airport Awards’ in 2017.

Interesting Facts About The Bangalore Airport

1.The HAL airport was used by the British Royal Navy to protect India from Japan during World War II.

2.Bangalore airport was the first airport in India to be developed under a “Public-Private Partnership”.

3.The airport has been named after the founder of Bangalore, Nadaprabhu Hiriya Kempe Gowda.

4.It is the busiest airport in South India and the 3rd busiest airport in India, serving more than 20 million passengers annually.

5.Terminal 1 of the airport has been designed by Global architectural leaders “HOK”.

6.Bangalore Airport will be the first airport in India to use a humanoid robot called ‘Kempa’, to assist passengers travelling to the airport.

7.Authorities are planning to make KIA a fully solar-powered airport by 2020.

8.BIAL is going to expand the airport by adding a new ‘Terminal 2’, by 2021. The construction of T2 is already underway and it is said that once this terminal is built, Bangalore airport will be able to handle 65 million passengers annually.

If you want to know about things to do at the Bangalore Airport, look no further. Download the AirWhizz app and get information about different places to eat, shop & relax at KIA along with real-time flight updates the next time you fly.

Read More

Delhi Airport Will Install New ‘E-Visa’ Desks To Reduce Immigration Time!

AirWhizzJun 23, 2018 No Comments

Delhi Airport Will Install New ‘E-Visa’ Desks To Reduce Immigration Time!

Aviation Insider

There is some good news for international travellers flying in with ‘E-Visa’ at the Delhi Airport!

Authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, will be setting up new e-visa counters to reduce the waiting time for passengers at the immigration desks.

Here are all the details about it –

  • Currently there are 32 e-visa counters at the arrivals section of the Delhi Airport.
  • 14 more counters will be added to these.
  • To accommodate them, the airport will be shifting the domestic-to-international transfer hall to the arrivals terminal.
  • Additional staff has been employed to manage these counters and are currently undergoing training to do so.
  • These counters will become operational by September 2018.

Airport authorities have taken this decision to cater to the increasing number of foreign tourists which arrive at the international airport daily.

Every day, at least 2500 foreigners fly into Delhi and around 45% of them are e-visa holders. Processing of e-visa takes about 2-3 minutes per passenger which includes biometric checks.

During peak hours, passengers have to form long ques and wait for about 30 minutes to clear immigration. With the addition of these 14 counters, authorities are hopeful that this waiting time will reduce to just 15 minutes.

Delhi International Airport Limited(DIAL) has said that immigration process is the first thing that foreigners experience when they arrive and for making things convenient for them, DIAL has taken this decision.

DIAL also plans to install e-immigration gates at the arrivals terminal of the airport. With these gates there will be no need for manual intervention and the clearance time per passenger will reduce further.

They will introduce this system on trial basis. If it’s a success, DIAL will install e-gates at the departure terminal as well.

Read More

Authorities To Speed Up Development Of Navi Mumbai International Airport!

AirWhizzJun 21, 2018 No Comments

Authorities To Speed Up Development Of Navi Mumbai International Airport!

Aviation Insider

Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) may become operational sooner than expected.

City and Industrial Development Corporation(CIDCO) has said that the development of the runway and the construction of the terminal building at Ulwe Hills will go hand in hand to speed things up.

Here are the details of the ongoing project –

  • The main runway will be made on the south side of the NMIA. It will cover around 260 hectares of land and the area has been levelled by 5.5 meters.
  • The next 2.5 meters of levelling will be done to construct the other runways, taxiways and the ‘H’ shaped terminal building for the airport complex.
  • Most of the villages around the airport have already been vacated for construction.

The airport project has been sanctioned Rs 16000 crores out of which Rs 5514 crores will be used to develop the 3.4 Km south runway and the terminal building. The north runway will be developed later as per air traffic growth and requirement.

A concession agreement has been signed between CIDCO, the nodal airport development authority and Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) which states that a total of 1600 hectares of land will be dedicated for the development of the airport.

There are some issues with the villagers in Ulwe Village and 3 other villages where CIDCO expects to build the north runway and the terminal building. They are reluctant to vacate the land, however, CIDCO has assured that they will solve this problem soon. Their main priority right now is to start the development work of the runway on the south side.

With development work of the runway and terminal building happening simultaneously, it is expected that the new airport will be operational by 2020. This project will lower the pressure of the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Read More

Airports Authority Of India May Ban Plastic At All Its Airports!

AirWhizzJun 18, 2018 No Comments

Airports Authority Of India May Ban Plastic At All Its Airports!

Aviation Insider

Indian airports managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) may soon put a ban on plastic by the end of 2018.

The main focus of this move is to stop the use of plastic which is used to wrap or pack food items served at the airport.

AAI currently manages 125 airports and discussions to implement this rule at these airports have already started. Authorities are consulting other departments of the government to find alternative packaging solutions.

Ready-To-Eat food is one of the primary products which is sold at airports and they are generally wrapped in thin plastic covers. The main focus is to stop that practice and find alternative solutions like using ‘Bagasse’ as packaging material.

From 23rd June 2018, the use of plastic bags will be banned in Maharashtra and AAI airports like the Pune Airport are gearing up for it.

All the instructions have been passed on to the necessary stakeholders, such as food stall owners, by the Pune Airport authorities. They will be keeping an eye on the facilities inside the airport to make sure that this practice is implemented.

Plastic and garbage dumped around the airport is the major cause for attracting animals and birds. There have recently been a lot of complaints at the Pune Airport about the growing number of stray dogs in the vicinity. In fact, in 2017, there were 2 incidents of airplane bird strikes which were reported.

Read More

Airports May Soon Stop Stamping Of Boarding Pass For Domestic Passengers!

AirWhizzJun 15, 2018 No Comments

Airports May Soon Stop Stamping Of Boarding Pass For Domestic Passengers!

Aviation Insider

Passengers flying on domestic routes from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore Airport may not have to get their boarding pass stamped with “Security Checked” in the near future.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has approached Delhi and Bangalore Airport to carry out this pilot project. Mumbai Airport will also start this practice within the next 3 months.

CISF and airport authorities have already stopped stamping hand baggage tags at several airports in the past one year.

Hyderabad Airport was one of the first major airports to carry out this pilot project and now have an E-Boarding gate. Airports Authority of India(AAI) plans to start the e-boarding system at 3 airports by the end of 2018.

Mumbai Airport is replacing its old cameras with ‘High Definition’ ones as a part of this project. They are replacing their CCTV cameras at the domestic departure terminal. Authorities will be able to get ‘crystal clear’ pictures of passengers right from the time they enter the terminal to when they board an airplane.

Stamping of the boarding pass is done to find out who frisked the passengers and also to ensure that everyone is frisked before being allowed to board the aircraft. This information is used if an incident occurs on a flight due to a security-lapse. These HD cameras will allow authorities to do the same without ever needing to stamp a boarding pass.

CISF’s new Director General, Mr. Rajesh Ranjan, had recently said that he wanted to enhance an air passengers experience by taking steps such as putting a stop to boarding pass stamping.

He said that there have been instances where a security personnel has forgotten to stamp a boarding card and then the passenger has had to return from the boarding gate, which often led to them getting frisked again. If stamping is done away with, passengers will be able to have a seamless travel experience at airports.

Delhi and Bangalore Airport authorities have agreed to this request made by CISF. Bangalore Airport’s spokesperson, Archana Muthappa, has said that they will work closely with regulatory authorities to ensure that the airport uses the most current, cutting-edge technologies in security checks.

Read More