Mumbai airport

OLA/Uber Rides From Kolkata Airport May Become Costlier!

AirWhizzAug 21, 2018 No Comments

OLA/Uber Rides From Kolkata Airport May Become Costlier!

Aviation Insider

Your Ola/Uber ride from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata may soon get costlier.

Agencies handling the parking and toll booths at the Kolkata Airport have decided to levy extra parking fee for ‘App’ based cabs.

Passengers may have to start paying Rs 100 extra as a fee for their cab parking at the airport. The two major app-based cab aggregators, Ola and Uber, are negotiating with authorities to reduce this fee.

Currently, passengers don’t have to pay extra as parking toll or fee, thanks to the arrangement between the cab aggregators and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). However, if this decision goes through, parking operators will start charging a hefty fee which will eventually be transferred to the passenger who has booked the ride.

According to parking agency officials, they have been loosing out on a lot of revenue as app-based cabs are allowed to park for free on the premises and on any given day around 400-500 cabs are parked in the parking lot.

Around a year ago, airport authorities entered into an agreement with Ola and Uber, allowing them to park their vehicles at a designated lot outside the old domestic airport terminal in exchange of a lump-sum annual payment.

Around Rs 35 was added to the fare of passengers booking cabs at the airport. But with the arrangement expiring earlier this month and the mandate to collect parking fee now with a new agency, AAI has asked the app based cab aggregators to negotiate the agreement with the latter.

According to the Cab officials, they will hold a meeting next week and discuss possible ways to reduce this amount or find a new way of paying the rent.

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Cochin Naval Base To Be Used For Commercial Flight Operations!

AirWhizzAug 20, 2018 No Comments

Cochin Naval Base To Be Used For Commercial Flight Operations!

Aviation Insider

In a bid to resume air travel for passengers in Kochi, the government has said that they will open the Cochin Naval Base for commercial flight operations from August 20th.

The main Cochin International Airport has been non-functional since August 14th due to flooding and will remain closed till August 26th. As a result, both domestic and international flights to Kochi are being diverted to other destinations such as Trivandrum and Calicut.

A joint team of experts from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA), Central Industrial Security Force(CISF), Airports Authority Of India(AAI) and Indian Navy was sent yesterday to inspect the naval base.

The base will be used by carriers such as Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, to operate 70-seater ATR aircraft to places such as Bengaluru.

Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Suresh Prabhu has said that flights from the naval base to other destinations such as Coimbatore, Madurai could also start operations. Other airlines are likely to join this effort too.

The Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing their willingness to fly the planes without payment, on a voluntary basis, to the cause of these operations.

Private carriers such as IndiGo and GoAir have said that they would be operating additional flights to and from Kozhikode, Coimbatore and Trivandrum from tomorrow till August 25 to different parts of the country.

Jet Airways has already started operating additional flights to Thiruvananthapuram from Mumbai, Bangalore, Dubai and Dammam. Vistara today said that it is operating all its Kochi-bound flights from Trivandrum.

According to a Cochin International Airport Limited(CIAL) personnel, it’s likely to take more time to resume operations since most part of the airport will most likely be submerged in water for several days.

Hopefully, with the government’s decision to start operations at the Cochin Naval Base, there will be a lot of relief for people in that region as they will be able to fly back to their homes, and the government will be able to send its aid to the people of Kerala with ease.

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Airlines Hike Flight Prices To Flood-Hit Regions Of Kerala!

AirWhizzAug 18, 2018 No Comments

Airlines Hike Flight Prices To Flood-Hit Regions Of Kerala!

Aviation Insider

As floods wreak havoc in Kerala, few airlines have hiked the ticket prices for flights travelling to rain-hit parts of the state!

Flights operations at the Cochin International  Airport have been suspended till 26th of August due to heavy downpour in the region. Due to this government has asked airlines to reschedule their cochin bound flights to the Thiruvananthapuram Airport and Calicut International Airport.

Usually a flight ticket from Bangalore to the above-mentioned airports costs around Rs 4000, however, the prices have increased to Rs 15000 for a single way ticket. In fact, flight tickets from Bangalore to Mangalore are as high as Rs 18000. It seems like airlines want to make the most of this situation.

The move has sparked criticism and people took to Twitter to complain about this. Union Minister Mr. DV Sadananda Gowda tweeted yesterday saying that private airlines are at money making Shame and has asked Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Jayant Sinha, to introduce more flights to Kerala.

Several Twitter users expressed their frustration over the shameful act of the airlines and suggested that profiting during the times of natural disasters should be dealt with stringent laws. Some users even went on to say that these airlines had lost their humanity.

The Central government has asked domestic airlines to keep a check on airfares for flights operating to and from Kerala.

According to the Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, a spike in airfares has been observed on different routes to Kerala. Concerned airlines have been advised to cap the airfare on these flights. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, airfare on 18 domestic routes are being monitored.

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Cochin International Airport To Suspend All Operations Till 26th August!

AirWhizzAug 17, 2018 No Comments

Cochin International Airport To Suspend All Operations Till 26th August!

Aviation Insider

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has decided to suspend all flight operations at the airport till 26th of August owing to heavy rains in the region.

This has led to all flights at the airport being cancelled and prompted airlines to make special arrangements for the passengers, including alternative flights to nearby airports.

The decision has been taken by the Civil Aviation Ministry and a NOTAM(Notice To Airmen) has been issued by the Air Navigation Services wing of Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Directorate General Of Civil Aviation(DGCA) has also announced measures to address the issues that have risen due to the suspension of flight operations to and from Cochin airport. They have advised airlines to cap the fare on Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram sector to Rs 10,000. It has also asked the airlines to keep the fares on other flights going to Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode in check.

The government has said that Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut airports are available for scheduled operations of the Cochin airport. For international operations, both immigration and customs facilities are available 24×7 at these airports.

Eight domestic airlines namely Air India, Air India Express, AirAsia India, Vistara, GoAir, IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and 12 international airlines such as Oman Air, Saudia, FlyDubai, Jazeera Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Malindo, AirAsia, Thai AirAsia, Scoot and Sri Lankan Airlines fly from the Cochin International Airport.

Flights of airlines such as Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, FlyDubai, Jazeera, Oman Air, Qatar, Saudia Airlines and SriLankan have been rescheduled for Thiruvananthapuram airport. Other international airlines such as Air Asia Berhad, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airlines, Malindo, Scoot, Silk Air and Thai AirAsia have suspended their flights to/from Cochin.

Among domestic carriers, Vistara, which only operated to Cochin airport in Kerala, has started special flights to Thiruvananthapuram. Domestic airlines have also offered to not charge rescheduling and cancellation fee for passengers booked to fly to or from Cochin International Airport.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 crore for Kerala, where the death toll since August 8 has risen to 75.

Chief Minister of Odisha, Mr. Naveen Patnaik, has offered any other kind of support required to tackle the calamity, as Odisha has expertise in dealing with disasters.

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Humanoid Robots Introduced At Chennai Airport To Assist Passengers!

AirWhizzAug 16, 2018 No Comments

Humanoid Robots Introduced At Chennai Airport To Assist Passengers!

Aviation Insider

Chennai Airport has become the newest member on the list of Indian airports and airlines that have deployed robots to assist air travellers.

On 15th August, Airports Authority Of India (AAI) deployed 2 humanoid robots at the international airport to greet passengers and assist them by answering different queries.

The two robots have been deployed at the arrival and departure sections of the Kamaraj Domestic Terminal. They will be able to navigate around the airport terminal, greet passengers, converse with them and help them out. The bots are also said to be able to decipher variances in accents and respond with wit.

According to the official twitter handle of the Chennai Airport , the humanoid robots called ‘Mitra’ have been deployed on a trial basis and will provide info on Chennai Airport and its amenities.

According to an airport official, if the trial run is successful, they will look to program the robots  to assist passengers on various queries and guide them to security checks and their respective boarding gates

International airports such as those in Germany have already introduced a humanoid robot named ‘Josie Pepper’.

Earlier this year, Vistara announced the introduction of their robot ‘RADA’ that would help people scan their boarding passes and answer their queries at the airlines’ lounge at the Delhi Airport. A project called ‘Kempa’ was announced to perform similar functions at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.

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Cochin Airport Has Suspended All Operations Due To Excessive Rains!

AirWhizzAug 15, 2018 No Comments

Cochin Airport Has Suspended All Operations Due To Excessive Rains!

Aviation Insider

Cochin Airport has suspended all flight operations till 2 pm Wednesday, due to a rise in flood water level in and around the airport since early morning.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held at the airport at 6 a.m. today. Earlier at 3:30 a.m., the airport had decided to suspend operations of arrival flights from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. as a precautionary measure.

By 5:30 a.m. all operations at the airport were shut down due to continuous heavy raining and rising flood water levels.

The decision to suspend the operations was taken after shutters of the Idamalayar and Cheruthoni dams, part of Idukki reservoir, were opened last evening to release excess water.

Around 12 International flights have been diverted, 2 have been cancelled and 4 have got delayed from 4: 20 a.m. onwards. 14 domestic flights have been cancelled and 11 of them have been delayed.

According to a Cochin International Airport Limited(CIAL), most of the flights have been diverted to Thiruvananthapuram Airport and a few have been diverted to the Calicut International Airport. If the rains continue, they might have to keep their operations shut for a longer time.

Operations may be suspended till August 18th if the intensity of the rainfall continues!

Vistara announced on Twitter that the UK883 and UK882 flights to/from Cochin have been cancelled for Wednesday, while SpiceJet has advised travellers to visit the airline website to get updated information. Jet Airways has also advised fliers to refer to the airline website for the status of its flights from Cochin.

Cochin Airport has provided emergency numbers on its website. These emergency room numbers are 0484-305 3500 and 2610094.

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Independence Day: Security Tightened At Major Indian Airports!

AirWhizzAug 13, 2018 No Comments

Independence Day: Security Tightened At Major Indian Airports!

Aviation Insider

Security at major airports in India is being tightened ahead of the 72nd Independence Day celebrations.

The Union Home Ministry has already issued a country-wide alert asking states to tighten security at sensitive locations to prevent any attempt of a terror strike.

Here’s how authorities are boosting security at major airports.

Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi

About 100-150 additional Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel have been deployed at the airport and passengers may have to undergo a rigorous check of themselves and their luggage, even twice in certain cases.

Intelligence officers in plain clothes have also been added inside the airport premises to profile and identify potential security risks.

According to a CISF personnel,  passengers may have to take off their shoes and belt before they are frisked. He also said that a close eye is being kept at all category of vehicles entering the airport area.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad

Entry of visitors has been barred at the city’s airport from 10th  to 20th August. The airport has also issued a statement asking passengers to cooperate with security staff and arrive well in advance at the airport during this period.

Apart from CISF, professionals from the Quick Response Team (QRT) will also be deployed at the airport to deal with any emergency situations.

The police have said that they will be deploying trained officers on the airport premises to keep a lookout for those moving suspiciously at the airport and its surrounding areas.

Chennai International Airport

Following the instructions from the government, the city’s airport has put in place a seven-tier security arrangement.

Passengers with valid tickets are being allowed inside the airport after a thorough frisking of their bags and visitors have been banned from entering the airport premises.

According to authorities, these security measures will be followed till 22nd August.

Apart from Indian airports, security has been buffed up at important places like railway stations, metros stations, temples, commercial establishments, shopping malls and amusement parks.

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Cochin Airport Resumes Normal Flight Operations After Flood Scare!

AirWhizzAug 11, 2018 No Comments

Cochin Airport Resumes Normal Flight Operations After Flood Scare!

Aviation Insider

Due to heavy rains and flooding in nearby areas, Cochin Airport had stopped the operations of arrival flights on Thursday for a few hours.

The arrivals were halted as a precautionary measure following the opening of the Idamalayar and Cheruthoni reservoirs, due to rising water levels in the Periyar river.

According to a statement released by Cochin International Airport Limited(CIAL), operations are running normal at the Kochi airport since the area is not affected by the floods. There have been no cancellations in flights so far.

However, visuals from Kerala are not so reassuring. With all five dams of the Idukki reservoir being open for the first time in the history, people living on the banks of Periyar river and adjoining areas are on high alert. Nedumbassery, where the airport is situated, is adjacent to Aluva, one of the areas which has been severely affected by floods.

Airline companies, which operate services in the state, are keeping their fingers crossed. The companies will have to incur huge operational cost in case of flight diversions to neighbouring airports if the Cochin Airport is closed.

They also fear that if their airplanes are stranded at the airport due to the floods, their entire schedule would get severely affected. For an airline company, aircraft being stuck in airports is a serious issue than incurring operational expenditure due to flight diversion.

The state government has instructed the authorities at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport and the Calicut International Airport to get prepared to receive airplanes in case the airport is closed.

In 2013, officials had to shut down Cochin Airport, when the adjoining Chengal Canal overflowed after opening the upper Sholayar dam and four shutters of Idamalyar dam due to heavy rainfall, leading to massive floods.

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