HAL can’t handle charter flights
Monday 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. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, who are in charge of the security for civil airports in India, are no longer stationed there.

The CISF men, who were deployed at the HAL Airport, were shifted to the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), Devanahalli, when it began commercial flight operations on May 24. Presently, the HAL Airport’s security is handled by the local police, who do not have the expertise required for the airport’s internal security checks, including customs and immigration/emigration. The local police are deployed just to guard the infrastructure and handle the law and order situation.

A senior CISF official told the this website’s newspaper: “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has written to the CISF Headquarters in New Delhi, asking them to deploy CISF personal at the HAL Airport. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) had recommended a joint survey by AAI and CISF to identify the security needs and the number of personal required. However, the CISF Headquarters has not yet responded.’’

“The HAL Airport will need at least 100 CISF personnel to handle charter flights. The local police is not good enough for airport security,’’ the officer said. A licence from BCAS is mandatory for anyone to be deployed for security checks at an airport and the CISF is the authorised agency for the job.

Once the HAL Airport starts charter flight operations, it will handle five to six charter flights per day.

Flight diverted

Recently, an international charter flight that was supposed to land at HAL Airport was forced to land at BIA, as the former did not have CISF personnel or the necessary security checks and immigration in place.

Source : The New Indian Express

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 aviation events and exhibitions are being held at other cities. Aerodrome India, an international exhibition and seminar for airport-related activities, whose inaugural edition was held in Bangalore in 2005, has moved out of the city, with its subsequent editions being held at New Delhi.

Now, India Aviation, the first international exhibition on the civil aviation sector, which will be held this Oct, will not be associated with Bangalore. Instead, Hyderabad will play host.

The exhibition, being organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, will be held at the Hyderabad Airport in Begumpet, which stopped commercial flight operations following the inauguration of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad earlier this year.

"India Aviation 2008 will be the first event on civil aviation in India to be hosted at an airport. The show will be hosted at the Hyderabad Airport. Hyderabad has a strong presence of IT companies and star hotels, which will make the participants’ stay a comfortable one," say the organisers.

They have complained in the past about the absence of proper infrastructure and sufficient accommodation facilities in Bangalore. The organisers of Aerodrome India, citing infrastructure constraints, had decided to hold the exhibition in Pragathi Maidan, New Delhi, after hosting the inaugural edition at Palace Grounds, Bangalore.

Wing Commander and former chairman of the Aeronautical Society of India AE Patrawalla said that poor infrastructure and road connectivity were the reasons why event organisers were opting for places apart from Bangalore.

"Travelling takes too much time in Bangalore. With the new airport, there is only more trouble in store until road connectivity improves. The organisers have made the right move by hosting the show at an airport," he added.

Source : The New Indian Express

BIA runway may be on course
DH 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 has concluded that the BIAL should be allowed to construct the second runway, as planned, to the south of the existing runway and observed that both the BIAL and the Flying Training School of the Indian Air Force at Yelahanka can “co-exist”.

A final decision in this regard is to be taken by the cabinet secretary.

The IAF had raised safety concerns if the second runway goes as planned, as it said the lateral separation between the existing runway at BIA and the nearby Flying Training School at Yelahanka would be too close for comfort.

The meetings were convened following objections from the IAF which demanded that the second runway be constructed either to the north or the east of the present runway as it restricted the flight operations its trainee pilots.

The DGCA, in its report submitted last month, has upheld the contentions of the BIAL and Karnataka government. The airport operator had asserted that it cannot change the alignment now as the master plan including the second runway, was given a no-objection certificate by the defence ministry itself in 2004.

The State government had conducted a survey of the land to the eastern and northern side and found that they cannot be acquired as the area contained reserve forests and water bodies.

‘Move to Bidar’
Informed sources told Deccan Herald here on Saturday that the DGCA favoured the IAF to consider the proposal of the State government to shift part of the Yelahanka operations to the Bidar airport.

“The IAF can consider the option of developing the Bidar airport for their training purposes. The State government is willing to support IAF in developing the Bidar airport.”

Another recommendation was that the IAF should give due consideration to use the defence airfield at HAL which will have reduced traffic after the closing of civil flights and can thereby accommodate the demands of IAF training flights.

Biennial air show
On the issue of the biennial “air show” at Yelahanka as raised by the IAF, the report favoured “flexi-air space” between the civilian and military authorities by temporary assignment of additional airspace to Yelahanka and/or restructuring the flying activities at BIA at that time.

Referring to the observation of the Airports Authority of India that the second runway at BIA cannot be put to optimum use because of the airspace constraints, the DGCA is understood to have said that the same can be worked out by AAI with the introduction of RNP/RNAV (required navigation performance and area navigation) arrivals and approaches and by using both runways for take off and landing to achieve optimum utilisation to the extent possible in coordination with the Yelahanka school.

Source : The Deccan Herald

BIA, HAL dispute carries on
Saturday 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 found to be 6.5 million for domestic and 1.5 million for international passengers, the total capacity of the airport being 8 million.

However, the HAL Airport, if used only for domestic flight operations, can handle 9 million passengers per annum, the report says.

The capacity of Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) is reported to be 9.87 million. The annual air passenger traffic in Bangalore for 2007-08 was 10.12 million, more than BIA's reported capacity.

Earlier, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) had told the High Court that the actual capacity of the HAL Airport is 3.5 million, whereas that of BIA is 14 million.

The BIA website, on the other hand, reads: 'The current airport infrastructure is designed to handle over 11 million passenger movements annually.'

BIAL has been maintaining that BIA has the capacity to handle Bangalore’s air traffic and that the city does not need two airports.

BIAL, reportedly, has written to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to register its disagreement on the reported capacity of both the airports.

However, the difference in the reported capacities of the old and the new airport has raised many eyebrows.

The main reason for developing a Greenfield airport (BIA) in Bangalore was the capacity constraints of the existing (HAL) airport. HAL Airport was closed for commercial operations with BIA's commissioning on May 24 this year.

Doubts about the capacity of the new airport, therefore, raises questions about BIA's exclusive status in Bangalore. In view of the report, the new airport does not seem to be capable of coping with the growing air traffic in Bangalore, while the infrastructure at the HAL Airport is not being used efficiently.

Earlier, the HAL Airport, the people and the industries had suggested many options (domestic/ short haul/ small aircraft) to retain commercial operations at HAL Airport.

The High Court of Karnataka and the Supreme Court have also given directions about exploring the possibilities of renegotiations between BIAL and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, on keeping HAL Airport open for commercial operations.

Source : The New Indian Express

Air Force opposes BIAL plan on second runway
Ravi Sharma

It has been thought of south of the existing runway

The runways at AFS Yelahanka and BIA are parallel to each other
Air 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 International Airport Limited (BIAL), the holding company that has built the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) at Devanahalli, to build a second runway south of the existing one.

In presentations made in New Delhi by the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) and an officer from the operations wing of Air Headquarters’ Air Traffic Control on June 16 and 25 respectively, the Air Force has stressed that a runway south of the existing one would drastically reduce the lateral separation between the flight paths of aircraft taking off and landing at Devanahalli and those from the Air Force’s premier training establishment, Air Force Station (AFS) Yelahanka.

During the presentations, which were made to the Cabinet Secretary and the Secretary (Coordination) respectively and included representatives from the BIAL and the Airports Authority of India, the Air Force has also said that it has no objection to a runway being built to the north of the present runway at Devanahalli.

The runways at AFS Yelahanka and BIA are parallel to each other with a lateral separation of around 3 nautical miles between them; a runway 1.5 km to the south will reduce this separation to 2 nautical miles. While the number of flight movements from BIA is around 160 per day, movements out of AFS Yelahanka, including those undertaken by pilots of the helicopter training school, counts to an average of 400.

Speaking to The Hindu Air Marshal V.R. Iyer, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, Air Force, said that a runway built south of the present one could jeopardise flight safety, and result in training activities at AFS Yelahanka coming to a standstill. “Currently, a good level of co-existence between the two airports has been worked out with only minor delays in flight movements. And crucially there is a safe distance between the flight paths from the two runways. But a runway to the south would result in the lateral separation between the flight paths from the two airports reducing drastically, resulting in the triggering off of the collision warning indicator.”

Explaining the Air Force’s position, Air Marshal Iyer said that with the first meeting proving inconclusive, the Cabinet Secretary had after stating that the issue was a delicate one, referred it to the Secretary (Coordination). With that meeting as well being inconclusive it had been referred back to the Cabinet Secretary.

“A runway to the South will result in AFS Yelahanka having to close down its flying activities. We usually have around 30 transport pilots and a sizeable number of helicopter pilots undergoing training at the station,” Air Marshal Iyer added.

The Air Marshal also termed as impractical suggestions that the Air Force shift some of its flying to the HAL airport.

© Copyright 2000 - 2008 The Hindu

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 slowing down.

"Most airlines business model are not designed and planned for these numbers (current and forecast oil prices). This time is a double problem as oil price hike is happening as the world economy slows down.

Normally lower consumption during a slowdown drives prices down. But today airlines are managing rise in operating cost with decline in revenues," said Dinesh Keskar, Boeing's senior V-P (sales). In the Indian context, Keskar said airlines have realised that low fares have no chance of ‘succeeding'. "Low fares may give one market shares but nothing concrete. Now airlines are cutting flights. Initially higher fares will mean exceeding capacity. But ultimately this will lead to airlines matching demand with supply at right fares," he added.

Boeing will present its annual outlook for India at the end of this month and remains bullish for the country. "We have always been realistic and never done a 100-aircraft deal," he added, taking a dig at a rival manufacturer's deal with a LCC here for 100 planes.

The aviation ministry is also not changing its outlook for the aviation sector's infrastructure requirement. "All the planned infrastructure projects will go ahead as schedule and there is not going to be any slowdown there," said aviation minister Praful Patel.

Patel is learnt to be extremely unhappy with states' refusal to reduce sales tax on jet fuel, something that could reduce airlines' operating costs and also put some check on the ever-increasing fares. In a bid to check the cost for passengers, the government had asked operators of new airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad not to charge any user development fee (UDF) for first there months.

Source : The Times of India

Vijay Mallya looks to fly away with SpiceJet
Nirbhay 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 the UK-based Bhulo Kansagra family, who together hold 26.33% in the low-cost airline. Acquisition of their stake by Mr Mallya would trigger an open offer for another 20% from other shareholders.

The Kingfisher chief had followed the same strategy to acquire the country’s largest low-cost airline Air Deccan last year. As per the current market price, the 26.33% stake is valued at Rs 158.40 crore. On BSE, SpiceJet shares closed at Rs 25 on Friday, up 7.76% over its previous close.

The Tatas too hold a minor stake in SpiceJet through two investment companies. There was speculation that the Tatas may take a larger role in the airline, but the group denied the buzz, insisting that the holding was purely a financial investment.

Mr Mallya’s move to acquire SpiceJet is expected to give Kingfisher enough muscle in the domestic market. If the deal goes through, the UB group would hold 40% share in the domestic market and could set fare levels across key sectors.

“Kingfisher has been talking to SpiceJet for a possible stake acquisition since a month. Mr Kansagra and Istithmar are likely to exit the company. While Mr Kansagra is keen for an early deal, Istithmar is looking for good value,” a source said.

SpiceJet is also talking to a non-aviation investor for infusion of fresh funds, the source added.

The Gurgaon-based SpiceJet has cut down its flights to 94 per day from 117 a day last month. The airline is not immune to the financial crisis in the aviation industry due to the spiralling fuel price. In a move to cut down losses, the low-cost carrier is reducing capacity and sub-leasing aircraft. It has already sub-leased one aircraft to the Netherlands-based Trasavia Airlines. SpiceJet is also planning to sub-lease two more aircraft soon.

Kingfisher, along with its low-cost arm Deccan, operates about 83 aircraft and flies 440 flights a day across the country. SpiceJet, which has nearly 11% market share, flies 94 flights a day with 15 Boeing aircraft. To expand its fleet and operations, the budget carrier is planning to raise $100 million from the market. It has been looking for an investor for months, but without success.

With oil prices reaching all-time highs, almost all the carriers in the country are reducing capacity.

Source : The Economic Times