Venkatesha Babu Bangalore: Seventeen years after it was conceived, the Bengaluru International Airport became operational on the night of 24-25 May after several delays. From the day of its launch, the airport has been in the news mainly for the wrong reasons, from complaints over poor connectivity to inadequate toilet facilities. This, however, doesn’t seem to faze Albert Brunner, the …

HAL can’t handle charter flightsMonday July 7 2008 Monica Jha BANGALORE: Despite receiving a green signal from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to operate charter flights, the HAL Airport is in no position to handle charter flights. The reason being that the security mechanism at the HAL Airport is inadequate for the handling of take-offs and landings of charter flights. …

Hemanth C S BANGALORE: The city was once considered the ‘Aviation Hub of India’ and the host for aviation-related events and exhibitions, due to its proximity to various state-owned aeronautical organisations, like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, National Aerospace Laboratories and other agencies. However, today it is no longer the preferred choice for such events, as two of the country’s biggest civil …

BIA runway may be on courseDH News Service, New Delhi: In a relief to the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has rejected the defence ministry objections to the direction of the second runway of the Devanahalli aerodrome. After holding meetings with the parties concerned as directed by the Union cabinet secretary, the DGCA …

BIA, HAL dispute carries onSaturday July 5 2008 Monica Jha BANGALORE: The latest survey conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), on the passenger handling capacity of the two airports in Bangalore, indicates that there is just a minor difference in the capacities of the two airports, contrasting BIAL’s claims. The annual capacity of the HAL Airport has been …

Air Force opposes BIAL plan on second runwayRavi Sharma It has been thought of south of the existing runway The runways at AFS Yelahanka and BIA are parallel to each otherAir Force has no objection to a runway being built to the north of the existing one BANGALORE: The Air Force has strongly objected to the plans of the Bangalore …

5 Jul 2008, TNN NEW DELHI: As oil continues its relentless upward march, US aircraft major Boeing sees difficult days ahead for airlines. While hardly any airline has business model to cope up with fuel at these levels, this is the first time in history that the increase in oil prices is happening at a time when world economy is …

Vijay Mallya looks to fly away with SpiceJetNirbhay Kumar, ET Bureau NEW DELHI: Another round of consolidation in the domestic skies seems imminent with UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya engaging in talks with two major shareholders of SpiceJet to buy the budget carrier in an all-cash deal. According to industry sources, Mr Mallya is negotiating with Gulf-based fund Istithmar and …

User-charges norms for airports soonSindhu Bhattacharya/ DNA MONEY The user development fee (UDF) conundrum may finally get resolved next week when the Union civil aviation ministry holds a crucial meeting to frame a broad policy on this levy. At present, only two new airports (Hyderabad and Bangalore) have been allowed to charge a specific amount as UDF and that too …

BIA sees drop in domestic departures ENS BANGALORE: HERE is some bad news for the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), which wants to have sole rights on Bangalore’s commercial airspace. The BIA has been witnessing a dip in the number of domestic flight operations in its very first month after it started operations on May 24 and this continues. According to …

By Lakshmi Vishwanath | Bangalore Dragonair, the sister airline of Cathay Pacific Airways launched its daily service on Bangalore-Hong Kong route, day before yesterday. The first flight landed at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), at 01.18 hours on July 1, while the first flight from Bangalore to Hong Kong departed at 02.35 hours yesterday. Bangalore is the seventh new destination, being …

Jet Airways will enhance its network connectivity from Pune with the launch of its new direct services to Hyderabad, Nagpur and Ahmedabad, effective 15-Jul-08. The flight from Pune to Hyderabad and Ahmedabad will be a daily direct flight whereas flights between Pune and Nagpur will operate six days a week, with the exception of Saturdays. Jet Airways’ flight 9W 3421 …

BIA II phase suffers a setbackFrom B S Arun, DH News Service, New Delhi: Just as the first phase of the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) was finally declared open after hitting air pocket several times, the proposed second phase has received a blow. The Defence Ministry is opposed to the proposed second runway direction and wants it to be shifted. …

DH News Service, Bangalore: In its first step towards implementing the proposed high speed train project to Bangalore International Airport, the State government on Wednesday called for Expression of Interest (EI) from private firms to take up the project on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The EI has been issued by Karnataka Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (KSIIDC), which …

To introduce A-SMGCS for monitoring movements at Mumbai and Kolkata airportBy Anita Jain | Mumbai Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to introduce Advanced Surface Movements – Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS), to monitor Air Traffic Management (ATM) in Mumbai and Kolkata airport by next year. The System was introduced by USA based, Sensis Air Traffic Systems at Indira …

An official study by the Airports Authority of India assesses the annual passenger capacity of HAL Airport at 8 million passengers. 6.5 million domestic terminal and 1.5 million international terminal. This is contrary to popular belief of 3.5 million passengers. According to Mr. B.R. Sena, General Manager, AAI, Bangalore, the figure of 3.5 million is based on extremely old assessments. …

Mallya rethinks overseas plansAVIATION CRISIS DEEPENSManisha Singhal / Mumbai June 28, 2008 San Francisco may get delayed, New York on ice. Two months before its maiden overseas flight was to take off, billionaire Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines has decided to rethink its whole strategy of flying abroad. “Due to the increase in crude oil prices and no signs of stability …

Paramount Airways adds new routes to its networkWill enhance operations from 62 flights to 66 flights a day in the following weeksBy TBM Staff | Chennai Madurai based, Paramount Airways is planning to enhance its operations from 62 flights a day to 66 flights a day in the following weeks. The new routes include Bangalore-Vishakapatnam (direct), Chennai-Vishakapatnam (direct) and Chennai-Tiruchipalli …

Chennai’s Anna International Airport, to commence work on second domestic terminal within two monthsResidents oppose expansion of existing airportBy Lakshmi Vishwanath | Chennai Chennai’s Anna International Airport, will commence work on the construction of the second domestic terminal, within the next two months and is expected to be completed in 28 months. “It will have two-level terminals with departure area …

BIAL to raise $200 mn., eyes valuation of $2-2.5 bnBoby Kurian, Rajesh Unnikrishnan & Peerzada Abrar BANGALORE/MUMBAI THE operator of the newly-opened Bengaluru International Airport is seeking a valuation of up to $2.5 billion to raise about $200 million in equity to fund the second phase of the airport’s development. The valuation of Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which sources …