News Analysis India

Tag: Airports Authority of India

  • Guwahati airport employee walks 100 km in 16 hours 35 mins, sets record

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: An employee of the Airports Authority of India has set a new record in India by walking 100 km in the shortest time. The 55-year-old Ratul Kumar Jakharia, who is posted at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, walked the distance in 16 hours and 35 minutes.

    “He started his walk at 4.03 am on November 7, 2022 from the Azara Police Station, reached Boko (Singora) and returned to the Azara Police Station at 8.38 pm the same day. He covered 100 km in 16 hours and 35 mins,” the airport authority said in a statement.

    He is the oldest in the country to walk 100 km in one day. The airport authority organised a grand function on Thursday where Jakharia was felicitated. 

    Snehasis Dutta, who is the chief operating officer of the Guwahati International Airport Limited, handed over the certificate received from the India Book of Records to the record holder in the presence of the members of the Azara Sports Club under which he endeavoured.

    GUWAHATI: An employee of the Airports Authority of India has set a new record in India by walking 100 km in the shortest time.
     
    The 55-year-old Ratul Kumar Jakharia, who is posted at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, walked the distance in 16 hours and 35 minutes.

    “He started his walk at 4.03 am on November 7, 2022 from the Azara Police Station, reached Boko (Singora) and returned to the Azara Police Station at 8.38 pm the same day. He covered 100 km in 16 hours and 35 mins,” the airport authority said in a statement.

    He is the oldest in the country to walk 100 km in one day. The airport authority organised a grand function on Thursday where Jakharia was felicitated. 

    Snehasis Dutta, who is the chief operating officer of the Guwahati International Airport Limited, handed over the certificate received from the India Book of Records to the record holder in the presence of the members of the Azara Sports Club under which he endeavoured.

  • AAI likely to procure two counter-drone systems worth Rs 9.9 crore in 2022-23

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is likely to procure two counter-drone systems worth Rs 9.9 crore in 2022-23, according to an official document.

    “The counter-drone system should provide a multi-sensor based complete and comprehensive solution with regards to drone detection, tracking, identification and naturalisation,” said the document issued by airport systems directorate of the AAI.

    The document — which has been accessed by PTI — stated that the AAI is projected to purchase two counter drone systems with an estimated value of procurement of Rs 9.9 crore in financial year 2022-23.

    In June this year, rogue drones had dropped two bombs at the Indian Air Force station at Jammu airport, injuring two of its personnel.

    Reacting to the Jammu attack, Smit Shah, director – Partnerships, Drone Federation of India (DFI), in June had said that India needs to invest more in counter-drone research and technology and procure them in a planned manner to address the security concerns arising from rogue operations, the unmanned aerial vehicles.

    India has a few companies doing indigenous research and a few companies partnering with foreign vendors but more focus needs to be brought in this domain of counter-drone technology, he had noted.

    Counter-drone technology uses radars, radio-frequency devices, electro-optical methods, acoustic mechanisms or combined sensors technology to stop the unmanned aerial vehicles.

    In October 2019, the Civil Aviation ministry had issued a policy document primarily to deal with possible security challenges from rogue drones to key installations like nuclear power plants and military bases.

    Titled ‘National Counter Rogue Drones Guidelines’, the document said it was a matter of concern that small drones were proliferating at a rate that has alarmed battlefield commanders and planners alike.

    “The utilisation of armed drones by extremist groups to carry out reconnaissance and targeting strategic Israeli installations during Israel-Lebanon war is an example of escalation of terrorist and insurgent drone capabilities,” according to the document.

    The policy document said multiple incidents of sightings of drones in the vicinity of commercial airliners and major airports like New Delhi and Mumbai have raised flight safety concerns.

    “Further, the upsurge in drone use has also increased the threat quotient for VVIPs who can be targeted through rogue drones,” it said.

    There is no official data about the number of civilian drones operating in India.

    However, it is estimated that there are about 4-6 lakh drones in the country.

    A significant number of parts — which are used in manufacturing drones — are imported from China and many other countries.

  • AAI employees’ union seeks judicial probe into privatisation of six airports

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: An employees’ union of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has demanded a judicial probe into the privatisation of six airports that have been allotted to the Adani Group.

    The Airport Authority Employees’ Union has written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the privatisation of the six airports.

    In 2019, Adani Group won the bids for six airports — Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru. Out of them, the group has taken over the airports at Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru.

    The union has demanded a judicial probe into the privatisation process done for the six airports as well as keeping in abeyance the handing over of the remaining three airports to the group.

    Among other issues, the union has claimed that there has been a “windfall gain” of more than Rs 800 crore with respect to the three airports that have already been taken over.

    It has also claimed that there are huge deviations in amounts to be reimbursed towards existing assets of AAI at Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru airports in terms of the figures shown in the bid documents and in the executed concession agreements.

    The union has around 6,000 members.

    Sources close to the group said Adani Enterprises Ltd had followed the proper process in terms of fair and transparent bids.

    The group had quoted the highest passenger fee and emerged as the successful bidder through a competitive process where other organisations had also participated in bidding for the six airports, they added.

  • New airport terminal at Leh likely to become operational by Dec 2022: Aviation minister Scindia

    By PTI

    LEH: The new airport terminal in Leh is likely to become operational by December next year, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday.

    This was conveyed by Scindia to Ladakh Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur during a virtual meeting with him to discuss the progress of ongoing and new civil aviation projects for better air connectivity in the region.

    “The new airport terminal at Leh may become operational by December 2022,” the aviation minister said.

    He also agreed to the construction of a civil enclosure at Thoise airport, considered the air lifeline to the world’s highest and coldest battlefield, by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) once land is made available.

    Scindia noted that a team will shortly visit Ladakh to technically evaluate locations for additional airstrips in Leh.

    He agreed to look at the possibility of operationalising commercial flights with smaller jet planes to Kargil as an interim solution.

    The minister requested the Lieutenant Governor to consider lowering VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) to encourage more flights to operate to Ladakh, stressing that it will become a booster for Ladakh’s tourism.

    The L-G requested the minister for intervention in regulating winter airfares, support in operationalisation of air ambulances and exploring the possibility of night flights to Leh.

  • AAI spent Rs 17,784 cr in last 5 years to build, renovate airports, says govt

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has spent approximately Rs 17,784 crore during the last five years in renovating or building airports across the country, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Wednesday.

    In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Singh also said that the central government has accorded in-principle approval to two greenfield airports — Jewar in Uttar Pradesh and Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh — during the last three years.

    “During the last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21), an amount of approximately Rs 17,784 crore has been spent by the government/AAI in renovating/building airports,” he mentioned.

  • ‘Ensure easy passenger pick up for app-based cabs at airports’: Parliament committee to AAI

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) needs to put proper signs and mark separate pathways at its airports so that picking up passengers becomes easier for app-based cabs as it would reduce traffic jams, said a Parliamentary Committee report released on Friday.

    The AAI, which works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, owns and operates 125-odd airports across the country.

    “Most of the designated pick-up points (at AAI-operated airports) of UBER, OLA, etc. do not have appropriate identification marks for the passenger or the driver to identify his exact location at the airport,” said the Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings’ report tabled in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

    ​ALSO READ | New terminal building at Adampur airport to be ready by mid-2021: AAI

    In the absence of such signages or marks, it said, passengers and cab drivers face difficulty in communicating their exact locations resulting in wastage of precious time and causing crowding and traffic jams at the UBER and OLA pick-up points.

    Major airports, including in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, are run by private companies and not by the AAI.

    The committee said that appropriate circles be marked in different colours on the ground at the airports with appropriate identification numbers so that passengers can communicate their exact locations to the drivers.

    “The identification number can also be displayed on the pillars or side walls in the area of the pick-up points which is easily visible to the drivers to locate the passengers,” it mentioned.

    Similarly, pathways can also be marked in numbers or colours for the cab drivers to communicate their exact locations, the report said.

    If the pick-up points are in an open area, trees or ground may be marked with identification numbers for the convenience of the passengers and the drivers, it stated.

    The committee said for the safety and security of passengers, a database of local taxi drivers registered at airports also needs to be maintained.

  • New terminal building at Adampur airport to be ready by mid-2021: AAI

    The release said apart from the new terminal building, the AAI is scheduled to build new apron and taxi-track to make the airport suitable for handling two A320 aircraft at a time.

  • Clouds over aviation sector? Domestic air travel still way below pre-COVID level, says data

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Domestic aviation traffic is yet to reach pre-Covid levels, after seven months of resumption of domestic flights.

    Data of airports disclose that the number of domestic passengers in December was 43 per cent less than the corresponding period in 2019.

    Similarly, aircraft movement in December was nearly 30 per cent less than 2019.

    Mumbai airport, one of the busiest in the world, saw 12,777 aircraft movements in December — a fall of 37.4 per cent from the previous year — according to data from the Airports Authority of India.

    This was 27.8 per cent less in Delhi and 39.4 per cent in Chennai. Domestic flights resumed with restrictions on May 25, 2020, after the lockdown of two months, with nearly 30,000 passengers. Numbers went up gradually along with the lifting of restrictions.

    Data from aviation regulator DGCA disclose that occupancy of airlines or the passenger load factor (PLF) of major commercial airlines was 66-78 per cent in December, around the same recorded previous month, but way below the 80-92 per cent in the same period in 2019. IndiGo’s PLF was 71.5, Air India’s 66.9 and GoAir’s 66.3.

    Jitender Bhargava, former Executive Director of Air India and author of ‘The Descent of Air India’ said, “Business meetings are not taking place like they did earlier. They are meeting mostly through video conferencing. Family and friends are not travelling because nobody is sure if you would get infected or not. Leisure travel is virtually absent because of the fear of travelling. A lot of people have faced lost jobs. There are many factors.”

    To attract passengers, IndiGo offered all-inclusive fares on domestic flights starting at Rs 877.

    Sanjay Kumar, Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer of IndiGo, said: “The advent of vaccination has improved the sentiment, with people looking at travelling within the country this year. This sale will help them plan domestic travel in advance and at affordable fares.”