Aviation Ministry rename Chandigarh airport as Shaheed Bhagat Singh airport

The Chandigarh International Airport will be renamed Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, according to a notice from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). PM Modi announced the renaming on September 25 and said it would be done in commemoration of the freedom fighter.

On September 28, they honoured the freedom fighter's 115th birthday. The Chandigarh airport's renaming to honour Bhagat Singh was announced on the same day.

In a statement dated November 2:

“It is notified that the Chandigarh International Airport in Chandigarh is named as 'Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh' with immediate effect.”

-MoCA (Ministry of Civil Aviation)

ALSO READ - Chandigarh airport officially named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh

The Punjab and Haryana governments both own 24.5 per cent of the Chandigarh Airport and the rest is owned by the Airports Authority of India. Different names have been suggested by the two state governments.

Haryana wants it to be known as “Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh”, whereas Punjab wants to call it “Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh International Airport, Mohali”.

The Chandigarh International Airport will be renamed Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport

Haryana CM Khattar and Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala both expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 25, the day he announced the renaming of the Chandigarh airport in his Mann Ki Baat programme.

Following a decade of efforts by various governments, the dispute between Punjab and Haryana over their claims to the airport has finally been resolved with the official naming of the Chandigarh international airport after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on Wednesday, September 28, the anniversary of his birth.

Airport renaming and naming follow a complex process, and the Union Cabinet has given its final approval.

Typically, airports are identified by the name of the city in which they are found. The convenience of travellers in general, and particularly foreign visitors who are unfamiliar with the local history of the area, was taken into consideration when this decision was made in 2016.

The idea of naming airport terminals after notable people and naming airports after the cities they are located in had gained traction.

The principles and regulations were altered, and names were changed by personalities. In some cases, the state government in question will propose a name, and the relevant state legislative assembly will then approve it by a resolution. For final clearance, the same is then forwarded to the Union Cabinet.

The creation of 21 new greenfield airports across the nation has received "in principle" clearance from the aviation ministry.

India anticipates building up to 80 airports in the next 5 years to accommodate the rising passenger demand, keeping up with the country's consistent growth trend in civil aviation. According to the civil aviation ministry, the nation's airports need to be developed, and the current infrastructure needs to be upgraded to meet the needs of the nation. The new airports in the pipeline are part of that vision.

ALSO READ - Centre has approved the construction of 21 new greenfield airports

The creation of 21 new greenfield airports across the nation has received "in principle" clearance from the aviation ministry. Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi, and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan, and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dabra in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar), in Uttar Pradesh, and Dholera and Hirasar (Rajkot), in Gujarat, are a few of these.

ALSO READ - Government plans to build 220 airports by 2025 with 80 new ones

The government intends to establish a total of 220 airports by 2030 due to the strong growth potential of the nation's civil aviation sector. Under the regional RCS-UDAN project, many of these airports, helipads, and water aerodromes are slated for development in FY 2022–2023.

A major provider of National Security Solutions, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, has been given a subcontract to expand American capability for hypersonic flight testing.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Kratos partner and prime contractor Dynetics received the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) program award from the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division's Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) other transaction authority (DoD).

By utilizing commercial infrastructure and launch vehicle suppliers, the Team will expand the nation's capacity for ground and flight testing of hypersonic technologies and payloads under the terms of the MACH-TB contract by creating an affordable and flexible hypersonic testbed platform.

Representative | Teknonel

The MACH-TB Experimentation project will produce a prototype and proof-of-concept demonstration of a modular Experimental Glide Body (EGB) testing hypersonic technologies/experimental payloads in operational trajectories utilizing existing available boosters. A wide range of U.S. military hypersonics projects, DoD research programs, commercial partners, and academic stakeholders will be able to use the national hypersonic testing capabilities that the MACH-TB program will provide to the DoD.

With the recent acquisition of the Kratos Southern Research Engineering (SRE) business unit as well as decades of demonstrated experience with hypersonic flight testing and launch vehicles within the Kratos Defense & Rocket Support Services (DRSS) Division, MACH-TB will make use of many of Kratos' strengths, products, systems, and solutions.

Kratos’ DRSS Division

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A market leader in the development of rockets, ballistic missile defense, suborbital research, hypersonic, and other systems it also has substantial experience with hypersonic flight tests and commercial launch vehicles. By offering flexible, dependable, and reasonably priced launch and fly systems, vehicles, and services at the operational pace and cadence required to meet the DoD's evolving needs, Kratos will support MACH-TB.

At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we are leading from the front in developing launch vehicle and flight-test technologies for the hypersonics community. A recent example of Kratos internally funded, rapid development leadership is our Zeus family of solid-propellant rocket motors, which will provide an affordable and reliable launch capability to support the MACH-TB program and the DoD in meeting their hypersonic test objectivessaid Dave Carter, President of the KDRSS Division

Kratos specializes in areas where technology advances can have a force multiplier effect.

We are happy to be a part of this incredibly capable and diverse Team tasked with boosting our nation’s capability to conduct responsive and affordable hypersonic testing to more rapidly develop technologies that can be inserted into current and future DoD hypersonic programssaid Michael Johns, Senior Vice President of Kratos SRE

Kratos creates and provides platforms and systems that ensure Warfighters are prepared for the future as threats and technologies develop. These include tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAVs) that perform at levels far beyond those of conventional aerospace companies while costing less, as well as training systems that incorporate mixed reality to reduce training costs and improve Warfighter readiness.

SOURCE : asdnews | kratosdefense

COVER: asdnews

IndiaOne, the regional airline started operating commercially on October 31, 2022, as part of the winter schedule 2022. Daily service Bhubaneswar-Jeypore-Visakhapatnam-Jeypore-Bhubaneswar will be provided.

IndiaOne Air, a regional airline that specialises in connecting tier 2 and tier 3 cities, has soft-launched a UDAN (Ude Deshka Aam Nagrik) route from Bhubaneswar to Jeypore. IndiaOne Air is the country's first regularly scheduled airline to fly a single-engine aircraft.

On October 31, 2022, IndiaOne Air flew for the first time between Jeypore and Bhubaneswar (Biju Patnaik International Airport). To commemorate the first scheduled flight into the city, the airline also provided an introductory cost of Rs 999 (for a short time only). IndiaOne Air allowed reservations up until November 9th, 2022, and all available seats were sold out in a short period. 

https://twitter.com/IndiaoneA/status/1587004168623226881

The daily scheduled flights will cut the distance between Jeypore town and the state capital of Odisha to 1.5 hours. 

Beginning flight operations from Jeypore will increase connectivity, trade, and tourism while also achieving regional residents' objectives. Jeypore Airport received a licence in October, making it the first state-owned airport to do so.

"It was a long-standing demand of the people of this region and we are extremely happy about the announcement. At present, it takes nearly 12 hours to reach Bhubaneswar by road but with the introduction of flight services, the travel time will be reduced to just 1 hour and 45 minutes." Tara Prasad Bahinipati, MLA, Jeypore

Under the UDAN programme, the Odisha State Government, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Government of India, and the Airports Authority of India worked together to grant the airport a licence for regularly scheduled commercial flight operations.

Currently, a nine-seater flight will operate and efforts will be made to replace it with a 19-seater plane soon. Regional airline IndiaOne Air is headquartered in Ahmedabad, India. A brand-new aircraft Cessna Grand Caravan will be flown, which is a single-engine aircraft, making it India's first scheduled carrier to do so.

The airline received the AOC on June 24, 2022, after the proving flight was completed on June 22, 2022. IndiaOne Air will offer safe, effective, affordable, and punctual services to connect tier 2 and tier 3 cities with major cities.

A brand-new aircraft Cessna Grand Caravan will be flown by IndiaOne Air

To connect underserved and unserved cities that would otherwise be challenging and time-consuming to reach by road and train, they work to offer both interstate and intrastate scheduled flights beginning in Eastern India.

To promote regional air connectivity and lower the cost of air travel for the general public, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) Called UDAN on October 21, 2016.

The Implementing Agency, Airports Authority of India (AAI), has so far identified 154 RCS airports under UDAN for the use of RCS flights, including 14 water aerodromes and 36 helipads.

It has allocated 948 routes, of which 405 have been operationalized under UDAN as of March 9, 2022. These routes involve 65 airports, 8 heliports, and 2 water aerodromes.

GE Aerospace and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd have extended their long-term contract worth USD 1 billion for the production and supply of several commercial aircraft engine components. The engine parts will be manufactured at the Tata Centre of Excellence for Aero Engines (Tata-TCoE).

In a joint release on Friday, November 4, GE Aerospace and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) said they have extended the manufacturing agreement under which TASL will continue to produce and supply several commercial aircraft engine components to GE's global engine manufacturing factories.

"The multi-year long-term contract is valued over USD 1 billion and showcases the growing relationship between GE and TASL in the aerospace industry," the release said.

https://twitter.com/GEIndia/status/1588487468789428225

The contract was first signed in late 2017. Tata-TCoE was established in 2018 to manufacture CFM International LEAP engine components in India for wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. CFM International is an equal joint venture between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines. A significant number of commercial aircraft in the country are powered by CFM engines.

"The LEAP engine continues to deliver improved fuel efficiency and asset utilisation for today's newest commercial narrow-body aircraft, logging more than 23 million engine flight hours since entering service in 2016," the release said.

GE Aerospace & TASL extends contract for commercial aircraft engine components

Mike Kauffman, VP & GM of Purchasing at GE Aerospace, said its relationship with TASL has matured over the last five years. "The Tata Centre of Excellence for Aero Engines has grown in scale and importance for us over time and is an excellent showcase of Make in India, for the world." Sukaran Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TASL, said it continues to invest in growing the aerospace skill base, technology, and production capability in the country.

"The Tata Center of Excellence for Aero Engines has been set up as the state-of-the-art modern shop for complex aero-engine manufacturing for global customers. As a leading commercial engine manufacturer, GE has helped us develop critical aero-engine manufacturing processes here in India with support from GE's engineering team."Sukaran Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, TASL

ALSO READ - GE Aerospace expands its supply chain for Indian aero-engines

GE runs 14 own or joint venture manufacturing units in the country, including the multi-modal factory at Pune that builds aviation parts. GE’s aviation supply chain partners in India include Tata Advanced Systems, Mahindra Aerostructures, Godrej & Boyce and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited among others.

Tata Advanced Systems Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, focused on providing integrated solutions for Aerospace, Defence and Homeland Security.

Interglobe Aviation, the parent firm of low-cost carrier IndiGo, on November 4 reported a net loss of INR 1,583.33 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2022-23.

The net loss in Q2 FY23 has increased as against Q2 FY22 when it stood at INR 1,435.65 crore and has significantly widened as compared to the first quarter of the current fiscal when it came in at INR 1,064.26 crore.

IndiGo's revenue from operations in the September 2022 quarter climbed to INR 12,497.58 crore, which is 122% higher as compared to INR 5,608.49 crore clocked in the year-ago period.

IndiGo reports a loss of INR 1,583.33 crore in Q2 of the fiscal year 2022-23

The company recorded an EBITDAR of INR 229.2 crore, with a margin of 1.8%, as against an EBITDAR of INR 340.8 crore (6.1% margin) in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.

ALSO READ - IndiGo reports net loss of INR 1,064 crore in Q1

IndiGo, in a press release, noted that the airline's capacity has increased by 75%. The passenger numbers jumped by 75.9% on-year to 19.7 million, it added. "Yield improved by 21% to INR 5.07 and load factor improved by 8 points to 79.2%," the company said.

“This is the second consecutive quarter wherein we have operated at higher than pre-covid capacity. In spite of a seasonally weak quarter, we witnessed relatively good yields with strong demand across the network. However, fuel prices and exchange rates have adversely impacted our financial performance.We are on a steady path to recovery, benefiting from enormous opportunity both in domestic and international markets. With an industry challenged by global supply chain disruptions, we are working on various counter measures to accommodate this strong demand. We have an unparalleled network presence enabling air travel to 74 domestic and 26 International destinations, we will continue to accelerate and build on this."Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo 

ALSO READ - IndiGo to debut with widebody aircraft for international expansion

He also said the airline's international operations have sequentially "risen by 20%". "Pricing discipline in the domestic market in India helped revenues in Q2 which is a seasonally weak quarter," Elbers added.

The carrier's chief financial officer Gaurav Negi said they expect a 25% on-year rise in passenger load in Q3 FY23. Depreciation of the rupee and high ATF prices are, however, a "major headwind for IndiGo's growth going forward", Elbers noted.

During the quarter, the airline said fuel prices increased by 86.7% leading to an increase in fuel CASK (cost net of finance income per available seat kilometre) by 79.8%.

IndiGo's revenue from operations in the September 2022 quarter climbed to INR 12,497.58 crore, which is 122% higher as compared to INR 5,608.49 crore clocked in the year-ago period.

IndiGo's passenger ticket revenues were INR 11,110.4 crore, an increase of 135.6% and ancillary revenues were INR 1,287.2 crore, an increase of 57.4% compared to the same period last year.

The airline's fuel cost went up threefold to INR 6,257.9 crore during the quarter on a YoY basis. The airline's fuel cost went up threefold to INR 6,257.9 crore during the quarter on a YoY basis.

IndiGo's fleet strength at the end of the September quarter stood at 279, a net decrease of 3 passenger aircraft. In the third quarter, the airline expects capacity in terms of ASKs (available seats per kilometre) to increase by around 25% as compared to the third quarter of the fiscal year 2022.

ALSO READ - IndiGo reports loss of INR 1,682 crore due to a surge in aircraft fuel expenses in Q4

Chief Minister of Goa announced on Friday, November 4 that the international airport in Mopa in Goa will be inaugurated after December 8 depending on the schedule of PM Modi.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated on Friday that the air traffic control tower and passenger terminal building at the Mopa international airport is currently around 95% finished. He took stock of the airport's development in the evening and declared, “The remaining 5% of the ongoing work is mostly of landscaping and beautification.” So, the remaining work would be finished most probably in the next 15 days.

??Sawant stated that the lounges for arrival and departure as well as the facilities for baggage claim are essentially ready for air passengers. The construction of the airport is proceeding as planned and the public opening of the airport is almost complete. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's availability will determine when the ceremony will take place.

PM Modi will inaugrate Mopa airport after December 8

The Chief Minister responded to concerns about the delay in road construction by stating that road connectivity from the national highway to the airport would be finished by October 2023. 

“The government has undertaken road widening for which the deadline is November 23. The airport will also get road connectivity to Kudal in Maharashtra.-Sawant said

In November 2016, the Goa government and GMR Airports Ltd (GAL), a division of GMR Infrastructure, inked a concession agreement for the development and management of Mopa's new international airport.

According to GMR Goa Chief Executive Officer R. Seeshan, who will be in charge of managing the facility, only domestic flights will be taking off following the airport's December opening. International flights will begin to operate in January 2023.

“Almost all domestic airlines are interested in operating from the Mopa airport with requests for 100 parking slots made so far by the airlines.” -Sheshan disclosed

He also said that five international airlines have so far requested parking spaces. Major retailers will occupy space in the passenger terminal to provide a full shopping experience.

With plans to raise capacity after 80% of the goal is accomplished, it will initially have a 4.5 million passenger capacity. In Phase 1, the airport's integrated cargo terminal will be able to handle 25,000 tonnes of cargo.

https://twitter.com/dip_goa/status/1588578392852828160

“The airport can handle 4.4 million footfalls annually. This will be increased depending on demand. We have also installed a 25,000-ton Temperature Control Facility at the airport to handle pharma, fruits, floriculture, horticulture items etc,” he added.

ALSO READ - Dabolim Airport will remain operational

On Wednesday, November 2, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh announced that the current Dabolim airport of Goa and the planned Mopa airport will operate simultaneously. 

Dabolim airport and Mopa airport in Goa will work simultaneously

These airports' traffic management would be carried out to prevent any losses for either of them. Only 70 planes currently land each day at the airport in Vasco City, a civic enclave in the southern part of Goa, which is located near Dabolim.

After the commissioning, of the Mopa airport, the number of flights landing in Goa will go up to 150, Chief Minister Sawant said in July this year.

ALSO READ - First test flight conducted at Goa’s new Mopa International Airport

The GMR company will run the airport in Mopa while the Indian Navy manages the airport in Dabolim. On October 26, the Mopa Airport received an aerodrome licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), opening the door for the launch of commercial aviation operations there.