Indigo Cargo awarded 'Indian Air cargo Transport Leader of Covid Vaccine'

Jinen Gada

17 Jun 2022

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., which operates IndiGo, India’s largest airline, had operated cargo flights during the pandemic which resulted in a massive boost in their cargo operations all over India.

India's leading carrier, IndiGo, won the Indian Air cargo Covid Transport Leader of Covid Vaccine award at the recently held CarGo India Conference in Mumbai. IndiGo won the award for swiftly transporting COVID vaccines across India during the pandemic. IndiGo's actions saved innumerable lives and livelihoods and helped the country emerge from the pandemic quickly. 

Indigo Cargo awarded 'Indian Air cargo Transport Leader of Covid Vaccine'

IndiGo has won its customers’ trust with its fleet of specialized vehicles and equipment that ensure safe and secure movement of cargo, safeguard cargo in even the harshest weather, and help every delivery arrive on time.

The company is continuously expanding the size of its fleet and the number of destinations it serves. As a result, IndiGo provides customers with access to an extensive network, competitive air cargo rates, and reliable service.

At a time when the passenger flights were restricted or limited, CarGo revenue was a critical input for the business and helped maintain the cash flow. And for many airlines, cargo became a vital source of revenue when passenger flights were grounded.

IndiGo won the award for swiftly transporting COVID vaccines across India during the pandemic.

In 2020, the air cargo industry generated USD129 billion, which represented approximately a third of airlines’ overall revenues, an increase of 10–15% compared to pre-crisis levels. 

Talking about the airline's cargo business, the CCO said, "Our cargo business has been one of the successes during the pandemic. Actually, we have operated close to 8,000 cargo-in-cabin charter flights." Domestically, the carrier was currently operating in 71 cities in India and each of those points has a cargo capability.

They are planning to source four converted A321ceo planes, which can each carry 27 tonnes, for full-time cargo operations on both domestic and international routes. It said it expected to take delivery of its first freighter in the first half of 2022 and the remaining three within a year of that first delivery. 

On the topic of four cargo aircraft that have been ordered, the first aircraft has just gone to Singapore Technologies Engineering Limited as it's being converted (from passenger aircraft to freighter aircraft). It will be out sometime in the first half of next year.

Overall, IndiGo is very serious about cargo and that cargo is going to become a significant part of our business.

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Bengaluru airport set to open T2 in the first week of October; PM Modi to inaugurate

Radhika Bansal

18 Jun 2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consented to declare open the second terminal of Bengaluru Airport (Kempegowda International Airport) in the first week of October. 

The communication from the Prime Minister’s Office was sent to the airport operator, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) on Wednesday, June 15.

According to airport sources, BIAL had requested Modi to do the honours for the INR 13,000-crore terminal. The exact date will be conveyed by the PMO shortly, a top source said.

Bengaluru airport is set to open T2 in the first week of October; PM Modi to inaugurate

BIAL authorities said that the second terminal will be declared open in the final quarter of 2022. BIAL had recently invited Requests for Proposals from qualified and experienced bidders for the inaugural launch event of the second terminal.

With Modi set to formally dedicate to the nation, the suburban railway project and the Sir M V Visvesvaraya Terminal on June 20, the airport terminal will be the third major infrastructure project to be declared open by him the city.

The much-delayed ‘garden terminal’ is set to boost KIA’s passenger capacity by an additional 25 million annually, which is only phase I of the expansion project.

The much-delayed ‘garden terminal’ is set to boost KIA’s passenger capacity by an additional 25 million annually, which is only phase I of the expansion project. An additional 20 million passengers per annum can travel when phase II  is completed.

KIA, the country’s third-biggest airport had recorded 33 million passengers in 2020 before Covid-19 struck. Labour shortage and flying restrictions shrank patronage. T2 It will have a total built-up area of 2.54 lakh sqm.

It will have a total built-up area of 2.54 lakh sqm.

All arrivals have been planned on the ground floor while departures will happen on the first floor. A lagoon with a big outdoor garden around it, a multi-modal transport hub, including Namma Metro, solar panels on the roof, artificial waterfalls, elevated walkways and green seating areas are among its special features.

While Larsen and Turbo are carrying out construction work, US architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is designing T2. All International flights will be operated from T2.

ALSO READ - Bengaluru Airport Named Best Regional Airport in India and South Asia 

ALSO READ - Bengaluru Airport introduces AI-driven robots to provide an improved passenger experience

(With Inputs from The New Indian Express)

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DGCA reviews 30 flying training organisations; suspends certified flight instructors

Radhika Bansal

17 Jun 2022

Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday, June 16 said it has audited 30 out of a total of 32 flying training organisations (FTOs) in India since March 21 and found them violating multiple safety regulations.

Consequently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the approval of one FTO, issued a warning letter to two accountable managers, and suspended four certified flying instructors (CFIs), three Deputy CFIs and one assistant flying instructor (AFI), its statement noted.

The regulator found in the audit that "the facilities at the airfield/training organization are not being maintained as per the requirements -- runway surface was found worn out, wind sock was found torn or nonstandard."

DGCA reviews 30 flying training organisations; suspends 2 certified flight instructors

Aircraft were being operated with faulty or unserviceable instruments such as fuel gauges, stall warning, etc, the DGCA said. The pre-flight alcohol test regulations were not followed at multiple FTOs, it stated.

ALSO READ - 50% of instructors and 40% of student pilots shall be subjected to pre-flight breath-analyser daily - DGCA

"Few of the instructors, student pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers did not undergo BA (breathalyser) test or submit undertaking before the commencement of duty/exercise of privileges," the DGCA noted.

In a few cases, the testing equipment being used was not in compliance with the requirements or calibrated as required, it added. The DGCA said it observed false logging in official documents.

DGCA has suspended four certified flying instructors (CFIs), three Deputy CFIs and one assistant flying instructor (AFI)

"In few cases, the dual flight was logged as solo flight and in few other cases, the taxi time was calculated towards the instrument flying time of the student pilot," it added. There were deficiencies in the ground training of student pilots, it said.

Student pilots were not appropriately briefed and trained on emergencies and essential exercises before being released to operate solo flights, it said.

There was "adhocism in the allocation of trainers as trainers were frequently changed and thereby affecting the learning experience of student pilot", the regulator noted.

During the last couple of months, there have been numerous incidents and accidents at FTOs across the country.

The emergency response plan was not practised and contained obsolete contact details, the DGCA said. The emergency response plan is of great importance when an incident occurs.

During the last couple of months, there have been numerous incidents and accidents at FTOs across the country.

"Based on these audit findings and findings in a recent accident, enforcement action has been issued i.e., warning letter to two Accountable Managers, suspension orders to two CFIs (certified flying instructors) for a year, two CFI for 3 months, one Deputy CFI for a year, two Deputy CFI for 3 months, one AFI (assistant flying instructor) for 3 months and one student for 3 months.In addition approval of one FTO has been suspended. Enforcement actions against other individuals/ FTOs are at various stages."Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

Two training aircraft were involved in separate non-fatal accidents in India on March 16, following which aviation regulator DGCA had ordered a safety audit of all flying training organisations (FTOs).

In the first accident, the pilot had allegedly forgotten to open the landing gear in Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, while the second plane crash-landed on the runway in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur. The audit then commenced on March 21.

ALSO READ - IGRUA FTO trainee aircraft crash lands in UP, DGCA orders probe

ALSO READ - DGCA fines two flights schools for violating rules

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Air India to add A350 aircraft to its fleet; first aircraft likely by 2023

Radhika Bansal

16 Jun 2022

The Tata Group-owned Air India has decided to procure its maiden batch of wide-bodied A350 aircraft from Airbus and the first plane is likely to be delivered to the airline by March 2023. The A350 order would be worth more than USD 6 billion based on list prices, before traditional industry discounts.

However, it was not immediately clear how many A350 aircraft will be purchased by Air India. But Air India can place an order of up to 50 Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Additionally, the airline is also in talks to order more than 100 A321 neo aircraft- a popular version of Airbus’ single-aisle version.

Air India has not bought a single aircraft since 2006 when it had placed orders for purchasing 111 aircraft — 68 from the US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing and 43 from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Air India to add A350 aircraft to its fleet; first aircraft likely by 2023

A wide-bodied plane like Airbus A350 has a bigger fuel tank that allows it to travel long distances such as India-US routes. The Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27 after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year.

Sources on Wednesday, June 17 said Air India has started asking its senior pilots if they will be interested in getting the "conversion training" to operate A350 aircraft.

Air India's pilots are trained to operate the wide-bodied aircraft of Boeing. Therefore, they have to undergo "conversion training" to operate the A350 aircraft of Airbus. Transition training from A320 to A350 will require only around six months as Airbus has ensured cockpit commonality in the two aircraft.

Transition training from A320 to A350 will require only around six months as Airbus has ensured cockpit commonality in the two aircraft.

According to Air India's website, the airline has a total of 49 wide-bodied aircraft — 18 Boeing B777, 4 Boeing B747 and 27 B787 — in its fleet. The carrier has 79 narrow-bodied planes in its fleet too. Sources said Air India is purchasing A350 aircraft and is likely to get its first A350 plane by March 2023.

Such an early delivery of the aircraft is possible because the airline is eyeing aircraft already built for Russian airline AeroFlot, which Airbus couldn’t deliver due to the sanctions placed by the company on Russia.

Aeroflot had a total of 22 A350-900 aircraft on order. Out of those, only one has been delivered to Aerflot while six aircraft are being taken by Turkish Airlines, which will be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

Air India has a total of 49 wide-bodied aircraft including 18 Boeing B777

The Russia-Ukraine war has led to Western nations taking swift action against Russia, imposing sanctions and airspace bans. The actions restricted plane makers like Airbus and Boeing from selling and delivering aircraft to their Russian customers.

Multiple delays by Boeing for the commercial launch of its competing product like the 777X due to regulatory issues also contributed to the order swaying in Airbus’ favour. Plans of Vistara, the group’s joint venture with Singapore, have been hit due to the delay in delivery of 787 aircraft.

ALSO READ - Tata negotiating aircraft order for Air India with Airbus and Boeing

A team of top executives of Tata Sons, which includes the conglomerate’s Chief Financial Officer Saurabh Agrawal and Air India’s Chief Commercial officer Nipun Aggarwal, is in Hamburg to finalise details on the seating layout and interiors.

Airbus had earlier showcased a more advanced version of the aircraft A350-1000 to Tata Sons executives including group patriarch Ratan Tata.

Airbus had earlier showcased a more advanced version of the aircraft A350-1000 to Tata Sons executives including group patriarch Ratan Tata.

ALSO READ - Air India to renew grounded planes for commercial operations

The airline is simultaneously working to restore its grounded aircraft. Around 30 of Air India’s 113 aircraft have been grounded for varying periods due to lack of engine overhaul or non-availability of components and spares. This includes aircraft from both the Airbus and Boeing fleet such as Airbus A320, Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft.

While Air India has a fleet of 141 aircraft, a mix of narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the airline has agreed to hand over only 118 of them in fly-worthy condition to the Tatas.

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran who is also the chairman of Air India had earlier said that the group will need to order new aircraft to augment the fleet of the airline.

Since April, the airline's chairman N Chandrasekaran — who also is the chairman of the Tata Group — has rejigged the top management of the airline, bringing in senior and middle-level executives who have worked in other companies of the Tata Group such as Tata Steel and Vistara.

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran who is also the chairman of Air India had earlier said that the group will need to order new aircraft to augment the fleet of the airline.

“We will address it with utmost urgency. We’ll upgrade our fleet, we’ll bring modernity in our fleet, we’ll bring a new fleet,” he had said in a video address to employees.

Once known for its premium services and advertisements featuring Bollywood stars, the airline still has lucrative landing slots at most major airports, but it faces competition from foreign airlines with non-stop services to India and carriers that fly via hubs in the Middle East.

Tata, which now owns four airline brands, including the local affiliates of Singapore Airlines Ltd. and AirAsia Group Bhd., is widely expected to consolidate the businesses. It already got antitrust approvals for Air India to take over AirAsia India.

ALSO READ - Air India gets CCI’s approval to acquire the entire stake in AirAsia India

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Intrusion Detection Systems to be installed in all hyper-sensitive airports by 2023 - Here's what we know

Prashant-prabhakar

16 Jun 2022

A safe and robust airport perimeter fencing acts as the very first line of defence against security risks and potential threats at airports. Failure to install one that meets all safety regulations could thereby result in an increased number of security breaches.

Representative | Senstar

All hyper-sensitive airports in the country shall install the PIDS by December 31, 2023 as per minimum technical specification... Further, non-RCS greenfield airports shall plan installation of PIDS at design stage itself for the purpose of obtaining clearance of design stage security vetting in terms of rule 5 (3) of the Aircraft (Security) Rules 2011BCAS stated in the circular which comes into force with immediate effect

According to a circular released by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), all hyper-sensitive airports in India are advised to have a perimeter intrusion detection system installed by December 2023. While airports that come under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) will plan the installation at the development stage itself, Greenfield airports that don't fall under the scheme will also have the system installed-the circular said.

Why has the government ordered the installation now?

According to the 2011 World Airport Traffic Report by ACI (Airport Council International), worldwide airport passenger numbers increased by 5.3% in 2011 to 5.44 billion and global passenger traffic is expected to top 12 billion by 2031.

Videotec

While a fortune has been spent on internal screening measures, explosives detection systems and air cargo security for airports, the focus has been comparatively less on the actual physical security of the airport.

Timely detection and intervention of external threats would ensure the safety and the security of the passengers, crew, ground personnel, and the general public while also safeguarding against all acts of ‘unlawful interference with civil aviation.

List of hyper-sensitive airports in India:

S.NoAirport1Amritsar2IGI Delhi3Jaipur4Varanasi5Lucknow6Agartala7Bagdogra8Guwahati9Imphal10Kolkata11Raipur12Bengaluru13Chennai14Hyderabad15Mumbai16Pune17Jodhpur18AhmedabadSource

Intrusion Detection System | How does it work?

While airports today feature advanced security measures which integrate multiple screening layers, body scanners and explosion detection tools, the actual physical security of the airport has been relegated to the back seat. With the growing incidence of sophisticated security attacks and evolving threats, it becomes highly imperative to plan the overall physical infrastructure in a way that drives actionable intelligence.

Perimeter security is both a fundamental and critical aspect of any airport security strategy.

Representative | Optex Principle

As unique as every airport design is, how the perimeters of airports are protected, will have to be customised to suit each airport.

Traditional methods of protection include fence systems and fence alarms. They are often susceptible to false alarms and often while it sounds, the security breach is either in progress or has already occurred.

Radar and thermal imaging

Representative | Defense Studies

Although they operate in different modes, it allows suspects to be spotted and tracked as soon as they enter pre-defined zones. Simply put, they can be monitored potentially while they are still beyond the perimeter and can be tracked if they cross it.

Taut wire

Representative | Senstar

Taut wire signals fence movement or tampering, although it can be quite expensive over long distances.

Fibre optics

Fibre optic cable is designed to detect and pinpoint the location of intrusion anywhere on the airport perimeter fence, providing real-time reporting of intrusion. They require no electronics, power or infrastructure in the field, thereby making it impervious to external weather conditions and hence, no change in sensitivity and virtually no nuisance alarms

Access control system (ACS)

Representative | Source

ACS is a subsystem that supports intrusion detection systems in controlling access to individuals to certain areas of an airport.

Volumetric sensing

Representative | Detection Technologies Blog

Volumetric sensing monitors the physical space adjacent to fence lines for system penetration. Typically infrared, microwave or proximity sensors but can also be CCTV with Video Analytics.

Video Analytics analyses CCTV video for specific data, behaviour, or objects and is not to be confused with video motion detection (VMD)-they are prone to nuisance alarms.

The massive scale of infrastructure and the magnitude of people concentrated in a particular location makes airports worldwide attractive targets for terrorism and other forms of crime. Implementing one or more of these solutions, would ensure timely prevention of security breaches and hence avert loss of life or property.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: OptaSense

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Sri Lanka to resume flights from Jaffna to India

Radhika Bansal

15 Jun 2022

Sri Lanka will soon resume flights from Jaffna to India, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday, June 14 as he asked tourism authorities to draw up plans to attract more Indian tourists.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said it has plans to attract 800,000 tourists during the rest of the year.

Sri Lanka's national carrier - Sri Lankan Airlines along with Air India and IndiGo operate direct flights to Jaffna.

Sri Lanka to resume flights from Jaffna to India

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe instructed to resume flights from Jaffna's Palaly airport to Indian destinations to facilitate travel. This was discussed during a meeting held with the industry stakeholders.

Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city.

The majority of the city's population are Sri Lankan Tamils with a significant number of Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamils and other ethnic groups present in the city before the civil war. Most Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus followed by Christians, Muslims and a small Buddhist minority.

Most Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus followed by Christians, Muslims and a small Buddhist minority.

India in May re-emerged as Sri Lanka's top inbound tourist market with 5,562 arrivals while over 3,723 came from the UK.

However, the total number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in May plunged by almost 52%, in comparison to April and 72% in comparison to March.

The tourist arrivals have lessened due to the effects of the current economic and political situation in the country with main market countries issuing adverse travel advisories. Sri Lanka is currently facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Sri Lanka is currently facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

The economic crisis has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and other fuel, toilet paper, and even matches, with Sri Lankans being forced to wait in lines lasting hours outside stores to buy fuel and cooking gas.

The island nation's economic downturn was largely blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic with the island nation's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.

ALSO READ - Air India to cut flights to crisis-hit Sri Lanka due to poor demand

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