Work on Noida International Airport's runway, terminal building and ATC to begin in May

Radhika Bansal

08 Apr 2022

The work on the Noida International Airport's terminal building, first runway, and the air traffic control (ATC) tower will begin next month and is scheduled to be completed by September 2024, officials said on Thursday, April 7.

The development plan of the Greenfield airport was approved by the board of the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) on Wednesday, April 6 during its 13th meeting in Lucknow and the project's first phase would cost INR 5,730 crore, the officials said.

Uttar Pradesh government's chief secretary and chairman of the NIAL Board Durga Shankar Mishra chaired the meeting during which he reviewed the progress of the project.

Work on Noida International Airport's runway, terminal building and ATC to begin in May

The project is being developed by the Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100% subsidiary of Swiss firm Zurich International Airport AG.

In the meeting, NIAL CEO Arun Vir Singh informed Mishra that the development plan was examined by an independent engineer firm - Engineer India Limited - and approved by the board, according to an official statement.

Shailendra Bhatia, the airport's nodal officer, who also attended the meeting, said the master plan of the airport was passed on August 17, 2021, and the first phase of development is based on the master plan.

"All approvals for whatever sanctions required, including those regarding financial closures, have been granted by the Board and now no obstacle remains in development work, which is to be done by the concessionaire. The concessionaire has to hire the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor and complete the construction work for the first phase by September 2024. In the first phase, the airport will have one runway and a capacity of handling 12 million passengers annually. The development cost for the first phase is INR 5,730 crore. The focus will be on developing a green building. Energy and water conservation factors are priorities along with digital technology. The airport will be paperless." Shailendra Bhatia, Nodal Officer, Noida International Airport

Asked which company could be selected for EPC, the officer said the mandate for it lay with the concessionaire as the airport is being built on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The UP government's mandate includes granting land for the project, which is coming up on the DBOT (design-build-operate-transfer) model by the private partner

He said the work for the air traffic control (ATC) tower, the terminal, and the runway will "definitely begin next month" and currently ground levelling work and construction of the boundary wall of the airport are underway.

The first phase of the Noida International Airport will be spread over 1,300 hectares

The Noida International Airport coming up in Jewar in western UP's Gautam Buddh Nagar district is billed to be India's largest airport upon completion. It will be spread over an area of 5,000 hectares. The first phase will be spread over 1,300 hectares, according to officials.

Currently, three companies are in the fray for the construction of the runway and terminal building — Tata, L&T and Shapoorji Pallonji. Two companies will likely be selected on April 28. The 4km-long and 45-metre-wide runway will be equipped with CAT I, II and III instrument landing systems, which allow aircraft to land in low visibility conditions and during the night.

So far, over 50% of the 17km boundary wall of the airport has been constructed while the site is being cleared so that runway work can begin. The work is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks.

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HAL signs MoU with Israel's IAI to convert B767 passenger aircraft into mid-air refuellers

Radhika Bansal

08 Apr 2022

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has entered into an MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to convert civil (passenger) aircraft into multi-mission tanker transport (MMTT) aircraft in India, the state-run aviation firm announced Wednesday, April 6.

After years of trying to buy mid-air refuellers for its military, India is now looking to convert existing Boeing 767 passenger aircraft into tankers. 

https://twitter.com/HALHQBLR/status/1511631642066300933

Under the pact, HAL will convert civil aircraft into mid-air refuelling aircraft with cargo and transport capabilities. Sources said that the contract pertains to converting the Boeing 767 passenger aircraft, which is also used by the Italian and Japanese militaries.

"We are glad to join hands with our long-standing partner IAI in this venture of MMTT conversion business which is one of the strategic diversification avenues identified by HAL."R Madhavan, CMD, HAL

The scope of MoU also covers "passenger to freighter aircraft" conversion along with MMTT conversions.

Boeing has a specialised tanker called KC-46 Pegasus, which is a variant of the Boeing 767. The conversion of passenger aircraft into cargo and tankers has been a lucrative business for IAI, which has emerged as a key player in this business.

"We are proud to come together with our counterparts to bring our best value MMTT solution in India while utilising local resources to manufacture and market the platform. By collaborating with HAL and bringing conversion directly to India, we are supporting the 'Make in India' campaign".Boaz Levy, President and CEO, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)

Mid-air refuelling has been a critical capability gap for the IAF. This technology gives a fighter jet the ability to cover enhanced distances without having to land to refuel.

India currently uses six Russian Ilyushin-78 tankers, first inducted in 2003, but they are facing maintenance and serviceability issues. 

There have been efforts underway to procure new mid-air refuellers, with both Boeing and Airbus in contention.  India has been in talks with France to lease one A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) from the French Air Force for training purposes under a government-to-government deal. 

Mid-air refuelling gives a fighter jet the ability to cover enhanced distances without having to land to refuel.

The sources said leasing, for a limited period, is still being looked at, but there are no specialised tankers that will be bought. “It is much cheaper to convert passenger aircraft into tankers rather than buy new ones,” a source said.

India is looking at converting at least six aircraft into tankers. The development is a setback to Airbus, which had emerged as the frontrunner in the IAF’s plans to get mid-air refuellers.

Sources said while the contract in question is between HAL and IAI, Boeing will be a key component of any future programme to convert passenger aircraft into tankers since they are the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). 

HAL will convert civil aircraft into mid-air refuelling aircraft with cargo and transport capabilities.

Lohia Aerospace Systems, part of the Lohia Group, in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, has a tie-up with the IAI through its Israeli subsidiary Light and Strong Ltd, which specialises in the production of aerospace and military carbon-fibre and glass-fibre composite components.

Aerial Refuelling

Aerial refuelling, also referred to as air refuelling, in-flight refuelling (IFR), air-to-air refuelling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one military aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) during flight. 

Aerial refueling has been considered as a means to reduce fuel consumption on long-distance flights greater than 3,000 nautical miles.

The two main refuelling systems are probe-and-drogue, which is simpler to adapt to existing aircraft, and the flying boom, which offers faster fuel transfer, but requires a dedicated boom operator station.

Aerial refueling has been considered as a means to reduce fuel consumption on long-distance flights greater than 3,000 nautical miles. Potential fuel savings in the range of 35–40% have been estimated for long-haul flights (including the fuel used during the tanker missions).

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Aviation ministry urged for a complete ban on serving non-vegetarian food on domestic flights

Radhika Bansal

07 Apr 2022

Members of Gujarat Animal Welfare Board and the Jain community have written to civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking a ban on serving non-vegetarian meals to passengers on domestic flights so that there’s no scope for “strict vegetarians” to be even mistakenly given such food.

“This request is being made on behalf of vegetarian passengers…Strictly vegetarian passengers feel much more distressed and offended when non-veg food is served instead of veg food,” board member Rajendra Shah, who had campaigned against livestock export from India a couple of years ago, said.

The aviation ministry urged for a complete ban on serving non-vegetarian food on domestic flights

The letter was triggered by an alleged incident on a Tokyo-Delhi Air India flight when a vegetarian passenger was allegedly served non-vegetarian food. “This traveller doesn’t even eat onion, garlic and potato. His parents were also offended,” Shah told TOI.

The traveller had reserved a Jain vegetarian meal for himself. However, the two crew members mistakenly served him a non-vegetarian meal, officials said. When the passenger realised that he had been served the wrong meal, he put in a complaint with the crew members.

The airline has grounded the two crew members and initiated a probe into this incident. This isn’t the first time that the air carrier has been involved in a controversy.

The letter was triggered by an alleged incident on a Tokyo-Delhi Air India flight when a vegetarian passenger was allegedly served non-vegetarian food.

Last week, attendants on an Air India London-Ahmedabad flight found that the catering company had messed up the order and mostly uploaded non-vegetarian meals.

The London based catering company had uploaded 28-non-vegetarian and four vegetarian meals onto the aircraft while the correct order was just the opposite - 28 vegetarian and four non-vegetarian meals.

In February 2019, a cockroach was found in the food on the Bhopal-Mumbai flight and the airline company had apologised and initiated corrective action internally.

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Air India suspends Delhi-Moscow flight over flight insurance concerns

Radhika Bansal

07 Apr 2022

Air India on Thursday, April 7 cancelled its Delhi-Moscow service over the fear that its flight insurance may not be valid in Russian skies amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, sources said. Flight insurance is generally provided by companies based out of western countries.

Western countries banned all Russian airlines from their airspace after Russia started a war against Ukraine on February 24. However, Air India has been operating Delhi-Moscow flights twice a week. India has not banned Russian airlines from its airspace.

The Air India's Delhi-Moscow flight that was scheduled to operate on Thursday, April 7 stands cancelled, the sources said. They stated that the flight was cancelled as it was feared that the insurance may not be valid in Russian skies.

Air India suspends Delhi-Moscow flight over flight insurance concerns

Air India operates Delhi-Moscow-Delhi flights twice a week and in absence of an Air India direct flight, passengers flying to Moscow will have to use transit routes through Tashkent, Istanbul, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

Air India renews the insurance for its flights and aircraft every financial year beginning April 1. It typically buys insurance cover from Indian reinsurers such as New India Assurance, National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and the United India Insurance Company, and the covers are underwritten by international companies, including some UK-based firms.

Airlines buy insurance covers to protect themselves against windfall losses in case of any untoward incident or accident involving their aircraft. Every insurance cover is tailor-made for a particular airline and is generally provided by a consortium of reinsurers and underwriters.

Airlines buy insurance covers to protect themselves against windfall losses in case of any untoward incident or accident involving their aircraft

ALSO READ - Russia plans to resume international flights to 52 “friendly” countries

Earlier, Russia said it plans to end COVID-19 restrictions on flights to and from 52 "friendly countries" after Saturday. These include those that have not joined the latest wave of Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

ALSO READ – Russian Aeroflot barred from entering the UK and its airspace

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Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country’s aviation was sanctioned by the West, leading to the suspension of services operated by European and American carriers. Russia’s airlines were also barred from using foreign airspace. After these sanctions, Air India was among the only few airlines, in addition to some Chinese carriers, that were still flying to Russia.

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Jet Airways returning with a hybrid premium and no-frills model, first flight likely by October 2022

Radhika Bansal

07 Apr 2022

Jet Airways India Ltd., which is undergoing a court-monitored restructuring, plans to return with a hybrid of premium and no-frills services that would allow the former top local airline to claw back market share while managing costs in the fiercely competitive Indian aviation market.

The bankrupt airline, now helmed by a new set of owners, will have a two-class configuration where business class passengers will be offered services including free meals, its new chief executive officer Sanjiv Kapoor said in an interview near New Delhi on Wednesday, April 6.

ALSO READ - Sanjiv Kapoor named as the CEO of Jet Airways

The economy class will, however, be modelled similar to low-cost carriers where flyers pay for meals and other services, he said.

Jet Airways will have a two-class configuration where business class passengers will be offered services including free meals

“It’s very difficult in the domestic Indian market to take on the cost of the food and everything else in economy class, where the customer in India chooses primarily based on fares,” said Kapoor, an aviation veteran who took charge of the defunct airline this week. “Let’s just accept that and let’s not burden ourselves with extra cost.”

A successful revival of Jet Airways, which collapsed under a pile of debt in 2019 and became the first airline to enter a reformed insolvency resolution process, will be a landmark moment for India’s bankruptcy laws.

ALSO READ - Jalan-Kalrock consortium committed to bringing Jet Airways back to life

The new owners -- Dubai-based, Indian-origin businessman Murari Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch, the chairman of London-based financial advisory and alternative asset manager Kalrock Capital Management Ltd. -- have pledged to make investments of as much as USD 120 million, Kapoor said.

Jet 2.0 will use Boeing 737 Next Generation (737NG), a narrow-body type aircraft powered by two jet engines, to prove flight

Kapoor himself is not new to navigating carriers through turbulent skies. He spearheaded SpiceJet Ltd. as its chief operating officer in 2014, helming it through a time when the low-cost carrier was severely cash strapped. He was also the chief strategy and commercial officer for Tata Group-led airline, Vistara.

Flying permit

Jet Airways will operate a so-called proving-flight -- one or more test flights with no passengers to assess safety -- as early as this month, using a leased Boeing Co. 737, Kapoor said, adding that this will immediately make the airline eligible for a flying permit.

This permit allows the new owners to bring in investments and enables the airline to negotiate landing and parking slots with airports.

Jet Airways will return to Indian skies which are expected to get more crowded and competitive

“We are confident that we are very close to a proving flight,” Kapoor said. “Proving flight is the last step. If you pass the last step nothing is preventing you from getting the AOP,” he said, referring to an air operator permit which is a license to start commercial operations.

Jet Airways will return to Indian skies which are expected to get more crowded and competitive as billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-owned Akasa Air gears up to fly later this year. The unprofitable and former flag carrier Air India was recently acquired by the Tata Group, which is looking to turn it around.

Even though air travel is rebounding strongly after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, India is a tough place to make money in aviation and several carriers have failed amid bruising fare wars and high costs.

Founded by ticketing agent-turned-entrepreneur Naresh Goyal after India ended a state monopoly on aviation in the early 1990s, Jet Airways became popular among fliers as an attractive alternative to formerly state-run Air India Ltd., offering full-service flights to cities including London and Singapore, before a bunch of low-cost airlines ushered in cheap fares for no-frills services.

The Jalan-Kalrock consortium is currently in court seeking another extension of 90 days to implement the rescue plan it proposed for the bankrupt airline. The successful bidder had proposed to make payments worth INR 13.75 billion (USD 180 million), out of which INR 3.5 billion would be paid in the first 180 days, failing which the plan could be scrapped, according to court documents.

The consortium infused INR 500 million into Jet Airways 2.0 -- as it is dubbed by the new owners -- in January, and lenders have said they don’t object to an extension of 60 days. A court decision on the deadline extension request is awaited.

Jet Airways is also evaluating aircraft from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer, and has yet to decide on a model

Leasing Aircrafts

The delay in implementing the resolution plan is in part hampered by the lack of a flying permit, Kapoor said. While the plan initially envisaged renewing the old permit of Jet Airways, that license is no longer valid, which forced the carrier to apply afresh, he said.

Jet Airways is also evaluating aircraft from Boeing, Airbus SE and Embraer SA, and has yet to decide on a model, Kapoor said. Due to a heavy backlog with manufacturers of the most-popular planes, Jet Airways will initially start with leased aircraft.

ALSO READ - Jet Airways in negotiation with Boeing and Airbus for a $12 billion order

The insolvent carrier, in which creditors were forced to take a 95% haircut, was in talks with Airbus and Boeing to induct at least 100 narrowbody jets, Ankit Jalan, a representative for the consortium, said in December 2021.

In Jet 2.0, priority will be given to old employees.

The airline doesn’t want to be pushed into an aircraft only because it is available now, according to Kapoor. “We’d rather take a longer-term view and do the analysis, and evaluate the entire syllabus and pick what we think is best,” he said. “We don’t want the tail to wag the dog.”

First Flight

Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said he expects the airline to restart operations by October 2022, a few months after it clears the process for revalidation of the Air Operator Permit (AOP). He said that AOP approval will come by the end of April.

Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said he expects the airline to restart operations by October 2022

It is a very complicated, lengthy and stringent process and we’re in the final stages now. We want to make sure that all the pieces are in place. We expect a few more months after the Air Operator Permit (AOP) to be ready to restart operations. We plan to take off by October, potentially a bit earlier, but it's going take us a few months for us to be able to fly again,” he added.

He further added we have a staff of 200 working exclusively on getting Jet flying again, he added. Kapoor further said that Jet 2.0 will use Boeing 737 Next Generation (737NG), a narrow-body type aircraft powered by two jet engines, to prove flight.

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India's first domestic-to-domestic passenger transfer service now functional at Mumbai airport

Radhika Bansal

07 Apr 2022

Travellers with a domestic layover at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) can now easily transfer with reduced congestion and transit time, its officials said on Monday, April 4.

With this new development, CSMIA is now the first airport in the country to create and begin operations from a dedicated domestic to domestic passenger and crew member transfer facility within Terminal-2 (T2).

This dedicated space has requisite security screening infrastructure along with pre-embarkation security checks conducted by the CISF.

India's first domestic-to-domestic passenger transfer service now functional at Mumbai airport

This transit area will considerably cut down the minimum connection time (MCT) for transfer passengers and crew members, thereby enabling passengers with a shorter time gap between connecting flights to board.

Besides, it will add flexibility to the airline operators in planning their flight schedule and rostering of crew members as they will now be able to accommodate passengers with a lesser time interval between their connecting flights.

This enhancement will, in turn, help decongest the airport, like the passengers who otherwise would earlier exit & re-enter the terminal and further wait for their onward flight will now be able to board without undergoing the process of re-entering the terminal building.

CSMIA is now the first airport in the country to create and begin operations from a dedicated domestic to domestic passenger and crew member transfer facility within T2

With domestic travel on the rise and summer travel booking seeing a surge, this dedicated space would benefit passengers to travel faster, smoother and more conveniently than ever before, officials claimed.

The international terminal at Mumbai airport has become much busier. Mumbai saw 109 international arrivals and departures on March 27th, the day the Indian government lifted the ban on scheduled international flights.

It operated nearly 238 commercial international flights the next day, the majority of which had been cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.

Mumbai saw 109 international arrivals and departures on March 27th

Mumbai has also resurfaced on the radar of many international carriers, who are either increasing frequency or resuming previously halted services. Emirates will reintroduce the A380 to the city, bringing the total number of weekly flights to 35. In fact, after London-Heathrow (42 weekly flights) and Male (38 weekly flights), Mumbai is Emirates' third-largest international destination.

ALSO READ - Finnair to launch a direct flight between Mumbai and Helsinki

LOT Polish is also set to return to Mumbai with a Dreamliner service, while Finnair’s eight destinations from its Helsinki base also feature the city.

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