India will need $10-15bn for aviation infra
The country will require between $10 billion and $15 billion for the growth of aviation infrastructure. Civil Aviation Ministry Ashok Ganapathi Raju told a conference on aviation here on Saturday that additional allocation is needed for this purpose. “We have a situation where certain airports are choked while there are 30 others which are lying unused,” Raju a cabinet ministry in the Union Government said. Raju told SITA aviation ICT conference here that the government has identified 40 roles in the aviation industry for skill training. This will help the industry to access a readily available pool of skilled and trained personnel in the country itself. Trevor Siemian Womens Jersey
Restructuring Air India debt will make it perform better: Raju
The government is looking to restructure the outstanding debt of state-owned airline Air India and is ready to talk to parties interested to buy stake in the company. In an interview with BusinessLine, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said that Air India is expected to perform better if its debt is restructured. The aviation company has been in loss for years and has accumulated a debt of around Rs 46,000 crore. “I am not someone who will indulge in ‘Air India-bashing’, but neither am I going to commit the taxpayers’ money for eternity,” Raju said, indicating that Air India won’t have the government’s support forever. David Schlemko Authentic Jersey
CCEA gives nod for Pawan Hans disinvestment
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given the go-ahead for strategic disinvestment in Pawan Hans Limited. The ‘in-principle’ approval for the strategic disinvestment is based on the recommendations of the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment and the decision was taken by the CCEA on October 27. Minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha that CCEA had approved the recommendation for disinvestment of 100%shareholding of the government to a strategic buyer identified through two-stage auction process. Pawan Hans Ltd. is the national helicopter company of India. It was incorporated in 1985. The government holds a 51% stake in Pawan Hans while the rest 49% is held by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. Pawan Hans was incorporated with the primary objective of providing helicopter support services to the oil sector for its off-shore exploration operations, services in remote and hilly areas and charter services for promotion of tourism. “Running an aviation company should be the job of professionals. This is a step in the right direction,” said aviation expert Rajji Rai. Pawan Hans has grown into one of Asia’s largest helicopter company that maintains and operates by offering wide range of services to its clients through its fleet of 46 helicopters. John Johnson Authentic Jersey
India Signs Open Skies Agreement With Six Countries
India has signed an Open Skies Agreement with six countries at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN), 2016 which were held in Nassau from December 5-9. These are Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka. The open skies allows unlimited number of flights to six metro airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai. The Conference was attended by 106 countries out of ICAO membership of 191 countries. India held negotiations with 17 countries and “Memorandum of Understanding” was signed with 12 countries. India also renegotiated traffic rights with Oman increasing the entitlements with 6,258 seats effective from Summer 2017. India agreed with Saudi Arabia to increase the capacity by 8000 seats per week. “This was in response to the needs of increasing traffic between the two countries where Indian carriers have been utilising open sky in Damman to mount more flights than the Saudi Arabian side,” the aviation ministry said. Indian also agreed with Ghana to increase the present allocation of 2 frequencies to 7 frequencies per week. Negotiations were completed with nine countries to enable the legal framework between the governments of these countries to make possible code shares between the airlines ofIndia has signed an Open Skies Agreement with six countries at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN), 2016 which were held in Nassau from December 5-9. two sides. “The negotiations have enabled domestic code shares with Czech Republic, Portugal and Malaysia, domestic and international code shares including third country airlines with Guyana, removal of restriction of counting of capacity in case of code share with 3rd country carriers and domestic code share to additional two points to Mauritius, code share with 3rd country carriers and 4 additional domestic code share points with Saudi Arabia and Spain and code share with 3rd country carriers with Sri Lanka.” Dallas Cowboys Jersey
Mopa airport: Agrawal to expedite compensation
The state cabinet on Friday appointed former collector N D Agrawal as advisor to the director of civil aviation for four months to expedite the disbursal of compensation against acquisition of land for construction of the Mopa airport. Chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar told reporters that the government had to pay Rs 54.79 crore as compensation. Though the entire amount has been deposited with EDC Limited, the sum disbursed, including deposits made in court, is Rs 13.09 crore. Jared Veldheer Jersey
More international connectivity is need of the hour
Traders and industrialists have for long been demanding more international flights from Madurai. At present, Dubai and Sri Lanka are the only two foreign countries connected directly by Madurai airport. Although many foreign operators are willing to launch flights from the city airport, especially in the backdrop of international cargo facility, they could not do so in the absence of a bilateral treaty. The traders want the ministry of civil aviation to take steps to ensure more flights connecting various international destinations. According to Madurai Travel Club’s estimation, more than three lakh people travel every year between Dubai and Madurai. Two lakh people working in Dubai hail from Madurai and southern districts. In all, 20 to 30 per cent of international passengers from Chennai are from Madurai and southern districts. Around 30 to 40 per cent of international passengers using Trichy Airport are from nine districts around Madurai. Club also says that Dubai being one of the topmost tourist destinations in the world for sightseeing and shopping, direct flights would facilitate more leisure travellers from south Tamil Nadu. Paul Pierce Womens Jersey
Vellore may soon be on civil aviation map
Vellore’s long-felt need for an airport might soon become a reality. On Friday, senior officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Chennai, inspected the airport at Abdullapuram to test the landing and study the infrastructure requirements to start commercial operations. According to officials, the senior AAI officials and a private operator flew to the airport in a six-seat private flight. “The officials visited the airport to test the flight landing. They wanted to see the state of the runway and if it was possible to land on the airstrip or not. The plan is to start commercial operations in the existing place,” an officer said. AAI owns nearly 50 acres of land here. The runway was 750 metres long, he said and added that the authorities looked at the various infrastructure requirements for passengers. “As of now, there are no facilities at the airport. They studied the buildings and amenities that would be required for passengers,” he added. Evander Kane Womens Jersey
Aviation ministry likely to introduce biometric screening at airports
Your thumb could soon be all the documentation required to enter an airport. And once the government is able to achieve this the second phase could see you flashing your thumb to board the aircraft, at least for domestic flights. While it may sound as science fiction, the aviation ministry has already started work on the first part and Hyderabad airport has successfully completed a pilot project on using biometric identification for allowing entry into the terminal there. “Over a billion (100 crore) Aadhar cards have been issued so far. At the time of issuing these cards, biometrics, fingerprints and iris scans, are taken and fed into a national digital registry. Presently, air travellers have to show their air ticket and a valid identity card to enter airports. Wayne Gretzky Jersey
Centre will go by State’s decision on Dabolim airport: Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today said that Centre would be guided by the State government in deciding whether the existing Dabolim airport in the coastal state will continue after commissioning of new greenfield airport at Mopa in North Goa. “If the state government wants Dabolim airport to remain functional then it will continue. I would say Centre would be guided by the state in this regard,” Raju told reporters at Dabolim airport here where he was present for art gallery inauguration. On continuing with Indian Navy managed Dabolim airport as a civil facility (airport), Raju said it is for everyone to decide locally. “In some states they would like to have exclusive airports (for civil operations) because they (airports) also start giving returns in future,” he said. “The Centre is of the view that when an airport is coming within 150 kms of existing airport it is for the operator to decide because this divides the business and could make it financially unviable,” he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently laid foundation stone for new greenfield airport at Mopa which is within 100 kms radius of the existing Dabolim airport. Responding to a question on whether the Indian Navy’s activities would be curtailed at Dabolim airport to make way for more civil aircrafts, the minister said, “Country should never give up its defence preparedness. Most of our countrymen will never like it. We need civil activity but it is not at the cost of defence preparedness.” Talking about Goa, Raju said the number of domestic flights have gone up in the coastal state which is an indication that a lot of Indians are coming to Goa now. “Last year the number of charters came down, we hope it picks up this year because it helps the economic activity. This place has a tourism culture,” he added. “Country’s military needs are one thing and civil needs are another. We have realised that initially it helps to make use of military facility but when you grow to your potential, that becomes inadequate,” he said referring to Dabolim airport. Andy Janovich Jersey
New business models can improve efficiency in aviation sector: Report
New business and process models will help the aviation sector in optimising cost and improving efficiency, says a report. Titled ‘Impact of ICT on Indian Aviation’, the report said digital solutions could also revolutionise the way talent is skilled and groomed to enter the sector. The country’s aviation sector is on the cusp of aggressive growth and technology disruption, it said. Prepared by leading consultancy KPMG and technology solutions provider for the airlines industry SITA, the report emphasised that key to success for airports and airlines would be to create a carefully crafted digital strategy and road map. “The right approach to re-thinking aviation in the digital paradigm is to design new business and process models rather than simply automation/ digitisation of the various process areas for ease of traversing customer journeys/ increasing efficiencies and cost optimisation,” it noted. As the outlook for demand in the sector for the next five years, the report also said both airports and airlines need to smartly deploy cutting edge digital solutions such analytics and artificial intelligence. This would help to increase operational efficiency as well as enhance revenue generation, it added. Timmy Jernigan Authentic Jersey