In-principal approval for airport in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar: Government
The Centre has granted in- principle approval for an airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Parliament was informed today. This is the second airport in UP to be approved by the Centre since BJP’s Yogi Adityanath took over as the state’s chief minister in March. Last month, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju announced that the government had given clearance for an airport in Jewar in Greater Noida, which would be operational in five to six years. “Government of India has granted ‘in-principle’ approval to Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) for setting up of a new Greenfield Airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The Kushinagar airport would be developed by the government of UP. “In case of Kushinagar airport, GoUP made efforts for implementing the project under Public Private Partnership mode, however, the project could not attract private investors due to non-viability. Subsequently, GoUP has decided to develop the airport on its own,” Sinha said. PTI JCIn- principal approval for airport in UP’s Kushinagar: Govt New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) The Centre has granted in- principle approval for an airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Parliament was informed today. This is the second airport in UP to be approved by the Centre since BJP’s Yogi Adityanath took over as the state’s chief minister in March. Last month, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju announced that the government had given clearance for an airport in Jewar in Greater Noida, which would be operational in five to six years. “Government of India has granted ‘in-principle’ approval to Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) for setting up of a new Greenfield Airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The Kushinagar airport would be developed by the government of UP. “In case of Kushinagar airport, GoUP made efforts for implementing the project under Public Private Partnership mode, however, the project could not attract private investors due to non-viability. Subsequently, GoUP has decided to develop the airport on its own,” Sinha said.
Goa’s new airport to be commissioned by May 2020: Manohar Parrikar
The first phase of Goa’s upcoming Mopa international airport will be operational by May 2020, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the state assembly on Tuesday. “GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL) has already started pre-construction work and, as per concession agreement, the first phase of the project is likely to be commissioned by May 2020,” Parrikar said in a written reply tabled on Tuesday, during the ongoing monsoon session of the state assembly. Parrikar said the process of meeting pre-construction requirements was in progress and the actual construction work of the Mopa Greenfield airport, located nearly 40 km north of Panaji, was expected to begin shortly. “Mopa airport project is expected to create multiplier effect in the economy generating employment across various sectors,” he said. The Chief Minister said the existing Dabolim international airport in South Goa, which operates out of an Indian Navy base, will continue to be operational for civilian purposes. Demetrius Harris Authentic Jersey
Air India privatisation is unpatriotic and illogical, says former employees assoication
The employees union of Air India representing retired its personnel on Wednesday termed the government’s move to privatise the airline “unpatriotic” and “illogical” in a letter to civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju. The letter also says that the the government’s priority should be to restructure the airline’s huge debt. The All India Airlines Retired Personnel Association (AIARPA), which has written the letter, represents nearly 11,000 former employees of Air India. “Why has the government announced the decision to privatise AI — a decision taken in great haste — just at a time when the airline is on the verge of becoming profitable. “The move is unpatriotic as well as not logical at this point of time,” the union said in the letter. For the first time in a decade, the airline posted an operational profit of Rs 105 crore in 2015-2016. It rose to Rs 300 crore in 2016-2017. Nick Vigil Authentic Jersey
Low-cost flying in for the long haul
Barely hours after the Union Cabinet gave an in-principle approval to national carrier Air India’s strategic disinvestment late last month, India’s biggest low-cost airline IndiGo jumped into the fray showing interest in taking over the debt-laden, loss-making airline. However, at the heart of IndiGo’s interest lies its strategy to start long-haul international operations replicating a successful low-cost model which the airline follows on domestic routes. The airline’s promoters made it clear — the plan is to start long-haul international operations, with or without Air India. In May, another interesting development in the aviation space unfolded when low-cost airline SpiceJet’s chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said he planned to introduce a direct Delhi-London flight at ?30,000 for a round trip. The fare quoted by Mr. Singh was much lower than ?40,000-?45,000 a ticket being offered by other airlines on this popular route. He said the airline woud look at unbundling services such as food, beverage and Wi-Fi from the fare component, essentially sticking to a low-cost model on a longer duration international flight. The difference between a low-cost and a full-service carrier is simple. Low-cost airlines sell only the core product i.e. a seat to travel from one point to another to the passenger as a part of the airfare and passengers need to pay separately for the frills. Full-service airlines offer passengers a host of value added services, including in-flight meals, free beverages, and lounge for frequent fliers, among others but generally at a higher fare as these elements are packaged together. In India, the market share of low-cost airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir has expanded from about 24% in 2006-07 to 65% in 2015-16 compared with full-service airlines such as Jet Airways and Air India. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% of low-cost airlines in the nine-year period compared with an 8% dip for full-service airlines shows that the former now occupied the imagination of the Indian flyer. But can the magic of a low-cost model in flightsof between one and three hours duration be replicated on a 10-12 hour journey on international flights? T.J. Green Authentic Jersey
How safe is our RGIA?
Hyderabad: Despite being billed as one of the busiest airports in the country, the vicinities of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad continue to remain exposed and vulnerable. The Cyberabad police are literally losing their sleep over several sections of the airport that lack proper CCTV surveillance coverage, which were very recently identified as vulnerable points. According to the Cyberabad police, despite regular collaboration meetings with the security personnel and top officials from GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) on the issue, a fool-proof plan to install the best available CCTV surveillance technology has not been installed at RGIA. Security chinks call for care at Hyderabad airport In the recent meetings with the GHIAL, police department had apparently stressed on the need to have CCTV surveillance cameras at the identified vulnerable spots. “As many as 21 places were identified as vulnerable spots in RGIA. Essentially, these places cover the areas like runway, parking, ticket booking counters and arrival and departure points. The spots were identified based on earlier reported cases,” says Deputy Commissioner of Police, Shamshabad, PV Padmaja. The top police officials also rue lack of support from GHIAL in taking measures to secure the vicinities of the busy airport. “The proposal to strengthen security and CCTV surveillance had come up several times for discussions during the coordination meetings but action is yet to be initiated on this issue,” says DCP, Shamshabad said. Jarome Iginla Authentic Jersey
With Jet Airways’ new cost cutting policies, is it time for pilots to move on to greener pastures?
After Jet Airways asked its junior pilots, who joined the brand in 2016, to take a 30 percent pay cut or leave, the full-service airline has now reportedly asked its pilots to furnish surety bonds of up to Rs 1 crore. This is said to be the airline’s way of making sure that the pilots stay with the company for at least five to seven years. The National Aviators Guild (NAG), which is Jet Airways’ union, has said that the information has been passed on to the junior pilots. “They (junior pilots) have to give a seven year bond of Rs 1 crore, non-depreciating,” the Times of India quoted a source as saying. However, Jet Airways’ spokesperson told the Press Trust of India that the carrier has not asked for any kind of bond. “No new bonds (have been) asked for. It is just a pattern that has been introduced,” the Jet Airways spokesperson said. The NAG now plans to meet the airline’s management to discuss the bond as well as the pay cut notice that was sent to the junior employees last week. In a bid to trim costs, Jet Airways had made a few changes to the pilots’ contracts and it will now be mandatory for them to take 10 days of leave in a month apart from their weekly offs, which in turn will result in a 30 percent reduction in their salaries. The pilots have been given until the end of the month to take a decision. Matt Benning Jersey
Domestic air traffic up 20% in June
Domestic airlines flew 95.86 lakh passengers in June, registering a growth of 20 per cent over the 79.75-lakh passengers flown during the same month in the previous year. IndiGo retained the number one spot by flying 38.26 lakh passengers in June followed by Jet Airways (14.58 lakh) and SpiceJet (12.73 lakh). Air India carried 12.49 lakh passengers, while GoAir flew 8.05 lakh, Vistara 3.44 lakh and AirAsia 3.51 lakh passengers. SpiceJet, however, reported the highest passenger load factor of 94.5 per cent. Passenger load factor shows how many of the total seats on offer gets filled. AirAsia reported a PLF of 89.6 per cent, followed by GoAir (89.4 per cent), IndiGo (87.8 per cent) and Vistara (86.4 per cent). Brandon Mashinter Authentic Jersey
Jet Airways asks junior pilots to furnish Rs 1 crore bonds
Jet Airways has asked junior pilots to furnish surety bonds worth up to Rs 1 crore and serve the airline for at least five to seven years, union sources said. The development comes at a time when many of its junior pilots have been asked to take 10 days off every month, a move that would result in up to 30 per cent pay cut, as part of cost saving measures. Sources at the National Aviators Guild (NAG), the pilots’ union of Jet Airways, said the bond requirement has been communicated to the junior pilots. These pilots have been asked to furnish surety bonds worth Rs 1 crore and the development also comes as the airline has “unilaterally” decided on salary cuts for them, sources told PTI. “No new bonds (have been) asked for. It is just a pattern that has been introduced,” a Jet Airways spokesperson said. He was responding to a query whether the airline has asked its trainee pilots to sign a bond amount of up to Rs 1 crore. The spokesperson was also asked the junior pilots have to serve the airline for 5-7 years and face encashment of the bond in case of failure to serve that tenure. Taven Bryan Womens Jersey
Mopa deal favours GMR more than Goans: NGO
A group of social activists, who are fighting against the construction of a new airport at Mopa, has alleged that the government has signed a one-sided agreement with GMR Airports Ltd which benefits the company even if the project is terminated, leaving the people of Goa to pay for it. Goans for Dabolim Only (GFDO) claimed the Mopa airport is an unviable project that goes against the interests of the people of Goa. “The government is flouting its own concessionaire agreement to breathe life into this unviable project,” it stated. The state government has agreed to give 381 acres of land to the concessionaire, of which 240 acres is for unrestricted development, the group said, pointing out that without a timeline for developing the 381 acres, the land will not benefit the Goans, only allowing GMR to hold on to the land resources by keeping them vacant until the land prices escalate. Russell Wilson Authentic Jersey
‘Salary cut lesser evil than layoffs in aviation space’
Slashing salaries is a “lesser evil” than pink slips in the domestic aviation sector, feel HR experts against the backdrop of a leading airline asking junior pilots to take ten days off every month as part of cost balancing effort. While the domestic aviation sector has been registering double-digit growth continuously for over two years, Jet Airways’ move to reduce junior pilots’ pay and disinvestment proposal of Air India have thrown the spot light on the prevailing tough business conditions amid stiff competition. The sector might be one of the fastest growing in the world but most airlines have wafer-thin margins as deeply discounted fares and rise in aviation fuel prices along with staff costs take a toll on their overall profitability. Against the backdrop of Jet Airways’ decision, HR experts opined that the move seems to be a case of “organisational stress” even though cost optimisation is a major concern for most of the sectors. Staffing firm TeamLease Services co-founder and executive vice president Rituparna Chakraborty said it is a specific situation of “organisational stress”. Su’a Cravens Womens Jersey