Air India inks codeshare pact with Flybe
Air India today said it has inked a codeshare pact with European regional airline Flybe which will give passengers of the national carrier a seamless connectivity to the UK and rest of Europe from here and vice versa. Flybe, a member of Star Alliance along with Air India, is Europe’s largest regional airline operating on 216 routes through 75 airports across 10 countries. Code-sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless connectivity to multiple destinations where it has no presence. The new partnership will allow customers of both Air India and Flybe to fly seamlessly from Europe to India and from here to destinations covered by Flybe, via Birmingham, an Air India statement said. “The codeshare will enable Flybe travellers using its multi-frequency BirminghamBSE 0.00 % services from Belfast City, Edinburgh and Glasgow to book seamless flights onward to Delhi. Under the unilateral agreement, Air India (AI) will place its marketing code on these Flybe flights (BE),” it added. The seats for codeshare flights will be available for booking via Air India bookings portal as well as through local travel agents from May 10 for travel from June 1. “The United kingdom is the residence of a large number of Indian diaspora. This codeshare agreement will be a huge benefit not only to the Indians living in the UK but also to tourists travelling to and from domestic sectors of the UK and India,” Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani said. Flybe Chief Executive Officer Saad Hammad said the airline can now give the customers (under the code share pact with Air India) in the UK regions convenient access to the Indian subcontinent through Birmingham airport. “This will relieve them of the need to undertake long road or rail journeys to and from the UK’s congested south east hub airports. It will also serve in contributing further to local economies by encouraging inbound travel from South East Asia,” Hammad said in the statement. Air India now operates five daily direct flights to India from London/Birmingham. On its overall European network, its presently connects eight destinations in six countries. Flybe is the largest airline by traffic movements at Belfast City, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Isle of Man, Jersey, Manchester, Newquay and Southampton airports It has a fleet of 75 aircraft. Besides, it also operates codeshare flights with British Airways, Air France, Etihad, KLM, Finnair, Cathay Pacific and Emirates. Karl Mecklenburg Jersey
Changi Airport Group names Air India top airline for absolute growth in passenger carriage
Singapore-based Changi Airport Group ( CAG) named Air India top airline by absolute growth in passenger carriage ( South Asia). The award was presented to Air India at the Changi Airline Awards 2016. “At the annual event, along with Air India, 25 awards were presented across six categories to airlines that have contributed most significantly to the growth of the Singapore air hub in 2015,” said a release from the company. Air India currently operates 42 weekly flights between India and Singapore, with daily services from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The airline registered a strong 25% year-on-year growth in passenger carriage on its Singapore routes in 2015, largely spurred by an increased passenger capacity due to aircraft upgrade, as well as an expansion of routes in the last two years, the release added. In 2015, 3.4 million passengers travelled between India and Singapore. Linked to 13 cities in India through 404 flights on a weekly basis, Changi Airport is the most connected Southeast Asian airport to India, and a gateway to the rest of Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. George Kittle Authentic Jersey
India Becoming Major Area of Aerospace Manufacturing Growth
India’s aerospace and defense manufacturing sector continues to grow and expand through partnerships, new factories and research facilities. In recent months, there has been a flurry of activity in the country helping to build another one of the world’s major aerospace hubs. A lot of what is driving expansion and growth of the aerospace and defense industry is the government’s “Make in India” initiative, a push for airframe manufacturers to increasingly use aerospace suppliers based in the country. The initiative also aims for a certain percentage of the aircraft to be produced in India. One company that is witnessing a rapidly expanding presence in the region, after recently establishing a new production facility in the country, is Aequs, a precision aerospace sheet metal fabrication, assembly and forging aerospace supplier for Airbus, Boeing, and other OEMs. Last year, Aequs became the first Indian-based aerospace manufacturer to expand to North America by acquiring Texas-based T&K Machine, and in February 2016 followed up with the acquisition of French landing gear and engine test manufacturing company, SIRA Group. Aravind Melligeri, chairman and CEO of Aequs, told the company is currently focused on growing its partnership with Airbus as well. “Aequs has a long standing relationship with Airbus and has produced detail machined parts for its single-aisle, long-range and large aircraft since 2009,” said Melligeri, who believes the company is well positioned to support Airbus’ India sourcing strategy. Recently, Srinivasan Dwarakanath, Airbus India CEO, commented the company intends to source components worth $2 billion over the next five years from India. Not to be outdone, Boeing also has continued to expand its footprint in the country in the form of the Boeing Research and Technology India Center, which is the Indian counterpart to its research and technology organization in the United States. In April, Boeing India held its third annual National Aeromodelling Competition, which attracted 215 teams and more than 670 engineering students who turned out to demonstrate their aerospace modeling skills. The competition also served to encourage young engineering professionals toward careers in aerospace. The world’s largest airframe manufacturer is also competing with Lockheed Martin to produce fighter jets in India and provide a fleet of 126 fighter jets under its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program. In April, Boeing also awarded a contract to produce titanium forgings on the 777X to India’s Bharat Forge, which already supplies titanium flap-track forgings for the Boeing 737 and will also supply forgings on the 737 MAX. “As we see the [Aerospace and Defense] A&D industry in India growing and evolving, it has attracted major global players in the space to India. Stronger economic growth, more favorable offset policies, cost advantages, and a robust talent pool has served to increase the interest from global manufacturers. More importantly, these factors are fueling growth in the private sector whereas, traditionally, aerospace capabilities have been largely centered on the public organizations such as Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL),” said Melligeri. Early in 2016, several large-scale projects and joint ventures also served to prove that production in both the commercial and military segments will strongly support the future of India’s aerospace manufacturing sector. For example, at the Invest Karnataka 2016 summit in February, Reliance Defense Limited announced plans to launch a global aerospace technology research center in Bengaluru. Reliance also signed a cooperation agreement with Ukrainian airframe manufacturer Antonov in March to produce dual version air transport aircraft capable of supporting both military and commercial operations in India. “Low-level tactical missions by this aircraft are aided by modern-day avionics and navigation systems powered by fly-by-wire systems in all weather round-the-clock operations. India has a requirement of over 200 medium-lift turbofan aircraft, which is the backbone of all tactical logistic Transport Support Roles (TSR) as well as Route Transport Roles (RTR) of the Air Force, Army and paramilitary forces,” Reliance said in a statement accompanying the announcement of its new partnership with Antonov. The two companies also believe a medium-category aircraft such as this can address the gap in regional air transport connectivity for India to support “350 unused airstrips currently available across the country.” One area where India will need to improve in terms of growth will be Air Traffic Management (ATM) ground infrastructure modernization. Domestic air traffic in India increased by 22.9 percent in January, the highest among all countries tracked by the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) monthly air traffic report. By 2034, IATA projects India will account for 367 million air travelers. IATA has been critical of a proposed mandate from India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) included in the draft of its National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) released toward the end of 2015. The mandate would require operators registering new aircraft in India beginning April 1, 2017 to equip their aircraft with GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN)-enabled Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) receivers. GAGAN is India’s satellite-based navigation system. “The draft policy would mandate aircraft use of a particular type of technology — known as the Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) — that would bring no operational benefits beyond the existing avionics. The SBAS stipulation would therefore just add cost. And though India has made remarkable progress in many areas of air navigation, there are other aspects that would benefit from additional impetus, such as the implementation of approach procedures at instrument runways,” IATA said in an April report advocating a revision of the draft policy. Regardless of the country’s air navigation policy, India has certainly become a major aerospace hub. “India’s aerospace industry growth indicates that the country is rapidly building capabilities to emerge as a preferred destination to support the global A&D supply chain,” said Melligeri. “With the government opening up and providing enormous opportunities to the private sector, many global and domestic players are collaborating and having joint ventures for manufacturing of aero components, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities for civil and military aviation sectors, besides overhaul and maintenance of aero engines. India is also fast emerging as a center for engineering and design
Air India no longer making loss: Aviation Minister
The beleagured airline has recorded profits for the first time in 10 years. Coming to the defence of the beleagured Air India, government on Tuesday said that the performance of Air India has improved and it is making profit for the first time in 10 years. “Air India’s all-time performance has increased. This year it is making profit, which is the first time in last 10 years. It is making an operative profit. Air India is doing good work,” Raju asserted. ‘Zero accident’ The government also rejected the perception about the state carrier being the “leader in emergency landings” and asserted that there has been “zero accident” due to poor maintenance. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpathi Raju told the Rajya Sabha that every safety proceedure is followed in the Air India as “no deficiency” would be allowed in flying Indian aircrafts. “It is unfair to say that Air India is the leader in emergency landings… I do not go into Air India bashing at all. It is unfair to say this,” Raju said while replying to questions in which opposition members voiced concern over emergency landings by the planes of the state carrier. “During the last two years and the current year, a total of 120 incidents of emergency landing due to medical emergency and technical reasons have been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Out of the 120 incidents, 102 were due to medical emergency and 18 due to technical reasons,” the minister said. Of the 120 incidents of emergency landing, 23 are attributed to Air India and the rest to other airlines, he said. “We follow every safety procedure for all airlines including Air India. We can’t risk people’s life. No deficiency will be allowed to in flying Indian aircrafts in the sky,” he said. Replying to a question by Congress leader Ambika Soni, the Civil Aviation Minister said all incidents due to technical reasons investigated by DGCA and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and safety recommendations emanating from the investigation reports are followed up for implementation with the concerned agencies so as to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in future. He also asserted that Air India is making profit “for the first time in last 10 years” even as he stated that the aviation safety rating of India was downgraded during the UPA regime, a remark which drew sharp reaction from Congress members. Chris Wormley Authentic Jersey
The challenges facing India’s civil aviation sector
n 1994, the then Government of India repealed the Air Corporations Act, 1953 and replaced it with the Air Corporations (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Act, 1994 thus enabling private companies to operate scheduled services at domestic locations. This was part of the broader liberalisation reforms that started in 1991. Today, India has the fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world, as per the International Air Transport Association (IATA). India’s domestic air passenger demand grew by 28.1% (July 2015) as compared to the previous year. This growth is three times as compared to China’s (10.9%) growth and five times as compared to United States’ (5.9%) growth during the same period. Forecasted growth for India’s domestic traffic is expected to be around 15% for the current year. By all means, India seems to be on a cusp of a civil aviation revolution. Aviation Industry in India holds around 69% of the total share of the airlines traffic in the region of South Asia. This time period, thus, is critical for the industry and requires serious governance and leadership to create global Indian institutions. The finance minister in his budget speech talked about the Government’ intention of drawing up an action plan for revival of 160 unserved and underserved airports which can be revived at an indicative cost of Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore each. Nanded airport is one such airport which is in dire need of Central Government’s attention. Nanded is a major Sikh pilgrimage centre and home to the Sach Khand Huzur Sahib Gurdwara, the place where Guru Govind Singh’s ashes were buried. This is also one of the Five Takhts of Sikhism and therefore most important from a pilgrimage perspective. Visitors from across India and world over arrive here in large numbers all through the year. There is an urgent need to develop this airport and ensure connectivity at least through the national career, the Air India. The Rs 50 – Rs 100 crore required to make Nanded Airport operational is only a fraction of the cost of Maharashtra’s CM international air travels. While the domestic demand for air travel has increased considerably in the last few years, the Government has done little to actually help it achieve its true potential. Government has not reduced the jet fuel prices in proportion to the fall in international crude oil prices. Services provided at all Indian airports except the major ones continue to be far below the global standards. The airport connectivity with the cities is extremely limited. However, no government’s failure comes even close to its failure in revamping the country’s national carrier, the Air India. Air India continues to bleed losses to the tune of Rs. 2,636 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 5,859 crore in the year 2014-15. Government has once again been forced to inject a sum of Rs. 22,280 crore in March 2016 to keep the airlines afloat. So far, the Indian government has pumped in more than Rs 30,000 crore in the airline. As of December 2015, the 85-year-old airline’s debt stood at over Rs 50,000 crore. Adding to this, it has been steadily losing market share to rivals from the 35% share in 2007 to 16% in early 2016. There was a time not too long ago when Air India set the global standard for customer service. Now, it seems to have fallen far behind its Middle Eastern and South Asian counterparts in terms of quality services and business excellence. Only about 2% of the Indian population currently travels by air. Airbus, the world’s second-largest aircraft-maker, believes India’s civil aviation industry will grow by over 9.5% in the next 20 years while US-headquartered Boeing expects a demand for 1,740 planes in India in the same time period. That’s an opportunity that Air India can’t afford to miss. The expansion of India’s aviation sector also brings with itself a number of security challenges including prevention of terrorism. The world watched in horror how Brussels airport was attacked by suicide bombers on 22nd March 2016. We can’t allow any such incidents in India. In this context, a recent report by a department related to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture raises deep concerns by suggesting that 27 functional airports in the country are protected by forces other than the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The report said it was “quite scary to know that the security of eight of our hyper-sensitive and 19 of our sensitive airports are not covered by the CISF that has now become the only specialised force for aviation security”. The report said that – “Explanations given to the committee for non-deployment of CISF at remaining airports were lack of funds”. In the present day world where the terrorists are always a step away from creating havoc and taking hundreds of innocent lives, the Government is best advised to not compromise with the security of Indian citizens and provide the CISF with necessary resources. The last few years have seen a significant improvement in photography and drone technology. A number of countries around the world are trying to minimise the threats posed by drones by regulating the usage of drone technology. Recently, a person was captured with a small sized drone flying around the Prime Minister’s house. Repetition of such an incidence can’t be tolerated under any circumstances. To this effect, I have introduced a private member bill which aims to ensure that advancement in photography and drone technology doesn’t make our skies more vulnerable. The number of drones is only going to rise in future and there is an urgent need for the Government to bring a pre-emptive legislation to ensure the safety of our skies. To summarise, triggered by the reforms that started almost 2 decades back, India’s civil aviation sector is ready to become one of the largest in the world. While the opportunities are immense, the vulnerability of our skies has also grown manifolds. The Government needs to come up with a
House panel for fixing upper limit for economy class airfares
A parliamentary panel recommended for fixing of an upper limit for the economy class airfares to curb the exorbitant air fares during the peak tourist seasons. The panel, headed by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kanwar Deep Singh, also recommended to the ministry to ensure that airlines pass on the benefit of the 50 per cent reduction in jet fuel price to the consumers by way of slashing fares. The Committee also noticed the airfares are exorbitant during the peak tourist seasons which are also causing hindrance to passenger flow in the country. The Committee also recommends that, in view of the predatory charges levied by the airlines during peak times, the Government should fix an upper limit especially in the economy class of airfares so that there should not be unhealthy practice of raising fares exorbitantly by the airliners, the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture said in its 231st report, tabled in Parliament on Friday. Suggesting the Government for launching more flight to the Middle East (where a large number of Indian expats live) especially during the summer holidays to accommodate the peak season demand, the panel said that the Prime Minister in one of his visits to Middle East has already asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to do something about such prices. Prime Minister had last August expressed concern over predatory pricing by the domestic carriers after he reportedly received a representation that airfares are high during the Onam festival that is celebrated in Kerala. The Committee received numerous complaints about high air fares and high charges levied by airlines and airports operators making it very expensive for the air travelers, the report said. The Committee received comments from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in this matter…Predatory pricing of airfare is hurting not only the individual passenger but country’s economy as well. The explanation given by the Ministry of Civil Aviation is purely technical suggesting that they are unable to do anything under existing laws, it said. Jordan Berry Womens Jersey
Flyers at receiving end as govt, opposition spar over aviation policies
Opposition members in the Lok Sabha have lashed out at private airlines for not passing on benefits of falling fuel prices to passengers while the ruling BJP members blamed the Congress-led UPA government for the financial problems faced by state-run Air India . Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jagdambika Pal also demanded that to do away with air traffic congestion over the Delhi airport especially at peak hours, a new airport should be built to cater to the national capital region, while some members called for a new aviation policy. Congress leader KC Venugopal said airlines have not passed on the benefits of fall in fuel prices to passengers and they were looting the passengers. Initiating the discussion on Demands for Grants for the ministries of civil aviation and tourism, he said the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel has come down resulting in huge benefits to airlines but at the same time common people and passengers continued to suffer. He claimed even Air India has benefitted from fall in ATF prices and demanded from the government what actions it proposed on high air fares. The Congress member was soon supported by lawmakers from other parties. Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy urged the the government to rein in the rising airfares. “I feel that the government should have a role in having some regulations,” he said. He also said it is high time the government frames a new aviation policy. Among others, P.D. Rai of Sikkim Democratic Front alleged that most airports are managed in PPP project and private sector partners were found wanting in their role. Among others, expelled Rashtriya Janata Dal member Rajesh Ranjan, RJD’s Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav and Janata Dal-United’s Kaushalendra Kumar also spoke. “I want to know from the minister when will Air India be back on its feet?” Kumar asked. Venugopal criticised the government for reducing budgetary allocation to Air India, a charge denied by BJP and other NDA members. The Congress member requested the central government to expedite Kerala government’s proposal to launch Air Kerala to help citizens of the state going to the Gulf countries. BJP member Dushyant Singh said the financial mess in Air India was started by the erstwhile UPA dispensation, and denied that fund allocation to the national carrier has been reduced by the Narendra Modi government. Singh flayed Congress government for the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India. Christian Okoye Authentic Jersey
AAI chalks out Rs 15,000-crore plan for upgradation of airports over 4 years
In its biggest-ever investment outlay, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has chalked out a plan to invest Rs 15,000 crore over the next four years in the development and upgradation of airports. The outlay will include cost for installing solar capacities at several airports dotting the country. The plan was approved last month by the civil aviation ministry, which has also created a four-member team to monitor the targets set in the plan. “The ministry has ordered formation of a committee with representation from the finance ministry to monitor it,” said a senior civil aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified. The panel will have AAI’s chairman and member (finance) and one joint secretary each from aviation and finance ministries as its members. Last time, Airports Authority of India had spent so much was on upgrading 35 non-metro airports at an estimated investment of Rs 12,500 crore. Of the Rs 15,000 crore, a whoppingRs 13,000 crore would be invested on upgrade, expansion and extension of 39 airports and about Rs 2,000 crore is to be spent over revival and upgrade of airports in smaller cities. The rest is to be spent over installation of solar power capacity at various airports. s part of the plan, airports, including Chennai, Guwahati, Patna, Srinagar, Jammu, Lucknow and others, will get new terminals and airports like Jaipur, Amritsar, Raipur, Ahmedabad among others will see runway upgrades. The official added that aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju convened the meeting where the plan was approved. “The minister’s (Raju) biggest concern was completion of upgrade and expansion projects of airports, as he wants Airports Authority of India to be ready to cater to the needs of the rising number of passengers in the country,” said the official. He added that the minister wants the committee to ensure that the airport upgrade projects adhere to the timelines. Meanwhile, the government is also working on a proposal to investRs 6,000 crore this fiscal year to revive and develop 75 regional airports, which currently see little activity. Warren Sapp Jersey
Proposal to ensure air ticket for Rs 2,500 for 1-hour journeys: Government
There is a proposal to ensure that only Rs 2,500 is charged per ticket for one-hour flights, government told the Lok Sabha today amid concerns expressed by members over exorbitant airfares. The government also said it will hold consultations with the airlines to explore the possibility of curbing the menace of charging exorbitant airfares during emergency situations. “The Ministry will commence the process of consultations with stakeholders, including airlines, to explore possibilities … of containing fares,” Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said while replying to a debate on Demand for Grants for the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism which was approved by the House later. During the debate, members voiced concern over exorbitant airfares during emergency situations like unprecedented floods in Chennai and Srinagar and the recent Jat agitation. Raju said that during the Chennai floods, the airlines did help the government to evacuate stranded people by operating flights from Arakonam air base to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. He said airlines also came forward to operate additional flights during floods in Srinagar, earthquake in Nepal and the Jat agitation in Haryana. When a member from Kerala complained of exorbitant fares on the Gulf route, the Minister remarked, “we can control only things in India”. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said the government is working on strengthening regional air connectivity and in this regard, there is a proposal to ensure that only Rs 2,500 per ticket is charged for one-hour flights. Raju said a comparative study undertaken by the Ministry for January-March 2013 and the same period during 2016 showed a reduction of 18.10 per cent in airfares. This shows that the airlines are passing the benefits from lower ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) costs to the passengers, he added. In recent times, concerns have been expressed in various quarters about rising airfares despite fall in fuel prices, which account for over 40 per cent of a carrier’s total operating costs. Raju denied knowledge of any proposal from Kerala government for starting an airline by the state government. “There has not been even an application…Imaginary questions are being asked,” the Civil Aviation Minister said, adding “We have not denied any airline that has applied… Four airlines have got permission (in the last two years)… No such Kerala airline has applied.” During the debate, Congress member KC Venugopal had said the Kerala government had proposed to launch an airlines Air Kerala that would mainly cater to people from the state living in Gulf countries. He asked the Centre to expedite the proposal. On the purchase of 68 aircraft by Air India during the UPA regime, Raju said the matter is before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which has taken oral evidence and the matter is going to come up before the panel this month. The Minister said that Air India has reported operating profit of Rs 8 crore in the last financial year (2015-16) as against the loss of Rs 2,686 crore in 2014-15. Raju said there has been robust growth in the civil aviation sector which has grown by 21 per cent and at present, India is ninth in the world in terms of passenger traffic. The aim is to become the third largest civil aviation economy by 2022, he added. The last two years have witnessed substantial growth in the civil aviation sector where the seats in flights have grown from 66,758 to 74,499 on daily basis, which is a 12 per cent rise, he said. The Minister said civil aviation regulator DGCA will soon provide as many as 166 services online and the first set in this regard will be launched this month. According to Raju, all airlines are strictly adhering to the route dispersal guidelines and performace of all of them was in “excess of target”. The national civil aviation policy is being formulated in consultation with all stakeholders. With regard to problems faced by Air India in its Boeing 787 fleet, Raju said some bottlenecks have been sorted out as spares were available. He also said the Ministry is working on setting up no-frills airports. Sharma said despite the country’s huge potential, it is getting only around 0.68 per cent of the world’s overall tourist arrivals. India received about Rs 1.35 lakh crore from foreing tourist arrivals last year, the Tourism Minister said, while noting that the sector provides about 12 per cent of the employment in the country. To promote medical tourism, Sharma said the government is looking to provide electronic visa (e-visa) for medical purposes. “This is our effort,” he noted. According to him, e-visa is being extended to people from 150 countries and the facility has helped in increasing the number of tourist arrivals. He also said that e-visa systems need reforms such as extending the validity and providing multiple entries. “India is a safe country. India is not an unsafe country,” Sharma said even as observed that safety is a matter of concern for everyone and a single incident can have multiple effects. “Safety, security and hospitality are the pillars of tourism… We have tried to address all of them,” the Tourism Minister noted. On the Tourism Ministry not able to spend its budgetary allocation in the last fiscal, Sharma said that was due to introduction of new schemes for which there was delay from state governments in giving their detailed project reports. As a result, the funds could not be fully utilised, he added. Rashod Hill Authentic Jersey
GMR reluctant to share info with AAI on DIAL accounts?
As DIAL completes ten years of operating the international airport here, majority stakeholder GMR remains reluctant to share certain financial information about the joint venture sought by the Airports Authority of India for audit purpose. Diversified GMR group holds 64 per cent stake in Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) while Mini-ratna Public Sector Undertaking AAI has 26 per cent ownership and the rest is with Germany’s airport operator Fraport. Sources in the know said GMR has been showing reluctance to share certain documents related to the accounts of DIAL with AAI even after a year of the government informing GMR of a CAG audit of the AAI revenue of DIAL. According to them, AAI has sought various documents, including those pertaining to DIAL’s internal audit, for a proposed (Comptroller and Auditor General) audit of the former’s accounts. As part of the JV agreement, the government-run airport operator is entitled to a 46 per cent share in the revenue of DIAL. A set of detailed queries sent to GMR spokesperson, Sidharath Kapur President and CFO-Airports at GMR Group and DIAL Chief Executive Officer Prabhakara Rao on April 27, on whether it has refused to share the internal audit report of DIAL remained unanswered. The query on whether GMR has refused to share with AAI documents related to the joint venture’s various subsidiaries also did not elicit any response. On April 20, a DIAL spokesperson had responded to queries related to possible audit of DIAL accounts by CAG. On whether GMR has provided all the documents as requested for the CAG audit, the spokesperson said AAI has not asked for any documents from DIAL for the audit. “However, it has sought certain documents and details from DIAL under the provisions of OMDA (Operations, Management and Development Agreement), which have already been provided to AAI within the given time,” he noted. Interestingly, on February 25, the government informed the Lok Sabha that AAI has sought documents from its joint venture partners — GMR and GVK — for a CAG audit of the books of accounts of the Delhi and Mumbai airports. “AAI has appointed CAG as its representative to scrutinise the books of accounts of Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to ensure that due government share is accruing to AAI,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma had said in a written reply. When asked whether GMR is opposing a CAG audit, a DIAL spokesperson, on April 20, had said, “DIAL, in principle, is not against any audit by AAI as per the provisions of the OMDA”. “In terms of the provisions of article 149 of the constitution of India section 15-20 of the CAG Act, 1971 as well as the CAG guidelines on PPP, there does not exist authority in favour of CAG to conduct the audit of PPP projects,” the DIAL spokesperson said in an e-mailed response. However, he declined to provide clarity on whether GMR is opposed to CAG audit. The spokesperson said that the Kelkar committee on PPP projects had also categorically stated that such projects are not subjected to CAG audit. “In case of DIAL, there exist checks and balances through proper audit mechanism, such as, internal audit, statutory audit by one of the international reputed big firms, revenue audit by auditors appointed by AAI and regulatory checks and certification by Independent Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). “Further, DIAL board and audit committee comprising AAI nominee and independent director(s) also audit books and accounts of DIAL,” he said. Brett Favre Jersey