Latest news with #A-320
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
AAI designs Master Plan for Puducherry Airport expansion
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has developed a Master Plan for Puducherry airport with the provision for operation of A-320 class of aircraft, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said in Parliament on Thursday (July 24, 2025). Responding to a question raised by Member of Parliament V. Vaithilingam on the status of expansion of the Puducherry airport, Mr. Naidu said that the AAI Master Plan envisaged an extended runway length of 2,300m and 45m width. The total additional land requirement will be 402 acres, out of which 217 acres are situated in Tamil Nadu and 185 acres are in Puducherry. The Master Plan has been shared with the Government of Puducherry, the Minister said. Responding to another part of the starred question, Mr. Mohan Naidu said the Puducherry airport was currently connected to Hyderabad and Bengaluru. To the MP's query on whether the Union government proposed measures for operating flights from Puducherry to Kochi and Shirdi in view of a large number of people travelling to these places, the Civil Aviation Minister said airlines were free to decide on markets/routes following the deregulation of the aviation sector in the country. 'With the repeal of Air Corporation Act in March 1994, the Indian domestic aviation has been deregulated. Airlines are free to induct capacity with any aircraft type, free to select whatever markets and network/route they wish to service, depending on their commercial and operational feasibility,' the Minister said in his reply.
Time of India
07-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
AAI's incentives to boost intn'l flights at Bhopal
Bhopal: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) initiated a significant development for international air connectivity at Bhopal airport. AAI introduced a scheme of incentives to attract airline operators in Bhopal. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Director of Bhopal airport, Ramji Awasthi, stated that the operations department of AAI wants to boost international flights at thirteen underused international airports, including Bhopal's Raja Bhoj airport. "These airports currently have no international connections. To make this happen, they've proposed an incentive program for airlines," said Awasthi. He added, "The goal is to encourage airlines to start flying international routes from these locations. This will help these airports grow and better serve their communities." Airport officials mentioned that three of the 13 airports are major ones, while the other ten are smaller, non-major airports. The incentive scheme aims to encourage scheduled airlines to start international routes. The major airports included in the scheme are Patna, Srinagar, and Ayodhya. Srinagar and Port Blair are civil enclaves, meaning they share space with defence airports. The ten non-major airports are divided into three clusters. Cluster 1 includes Agartala, Imphal, Vadodara, and Bhopal. Cluster 2 has Rajkot, Gaya, Aurangabad, and Tirupati. Cluster 3 consists of Kushinagar and Port Blair. The incentive scheme offers benefits to airlines for each flight they land. For example, airlines flying to Agartala, Imphal, Vadodara, and Bhopal (Cluster 1) can get a full refund on landing fees, meaning they pay nothing to land their planes. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Let's look at a specific example. An Airbus A320-74 MT landing at one of these airports would normally pay Rs. 57,129 in landing fees. With the 100% incentive, the airline pays nothing, saving them Rs. 57,129 per landing. Airlines also collect a "User Development Fee" (UDF) from passengers. This fee is used to improve airport facilities. For an A-320 with 144 passengers, the UDF collected would be Rs 107,280. The incentive scheme offers airlines a percentage of this UDF as an additional benefit. In Cluster 1, which includes Bhopal, the incentive is 10% of the UDF collected. This means airlines get an extra Rs 10,728, bringing the total UDF revenue to Rs 96,552. The total additional revenue for airlines in Cluster 1 is calculated from landing fee savings and UDF incentives. The 'Net Landing' revenue (savings on landing fees) for all four airports is Rs 474,426.4. The 'Net UDF' revenue (incentives on UDF) is Rs 75,580, giving a total additional revenue of Rs 548,476. The incentive percentages vary across the clusters, meaning the financial benefits for airlines will differ depending on which airports they fly to. The operations department hopes these incentives will be enough to attract airlines. More international flights will boost local economies and connect people to the world. The scheme aims to encourage international air connectivity and boost local economic development through these financial incentives.
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Time of India
IndiGo flight from Delhi diverted due to unusual bird movement at Pune airport
Pune: An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Pune on Thursday morning had to be diverted to Surat allegedly due to the presence of birds near the runway area. The flight (6E-2471) had taken off from Delhi at 4.54am instead of its scheduled time of 4.40am and was set to touch down in Pune at 6.45am. Sources in the airport said that the flight reached Pune airport but could not land because of the presence of birds around the runway area. The aircraft, an A-320 with more than 100 flyers, hovered around the airport for around 20 minutes before heading to Surat as it had less fuel, sources said. Airport director Santosh Dhoke was yet to reply to a WhatsApp message on the matter at the time of going to press. Many WhatsApp messages sent to IndiGo also failed to yield any response. Sources in the airline said that one needed to contact Airport Authority of India and Air Traffic Control (ATC) in case of bird activities. ATC of Pune airport is managed by the Indian Air Force. Every aircraft while flying to a destination has a flight plan that includes a secondary airport on which it would land in case of problems or emergencies. If the destination of any aircraft might be hit by rough weather as the pilot sees, extra fuel is taken and in that case, load factor comes into play which includes deboarding luggage of passengers and cargo too. On May 20, a Hyderabad-bound IndiGo flight from Pune faced a major delay, resulting in passengers sitting inside the aircraft for around six hours, due to various reasons, including unusual bird activity in the airport. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Mint
01-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
PM Modi inaugurates Satna & Datia Airports: All you need to know about two new airports in Madhya Pradesh
PM Modi inaugurates Satna & Datia Airports: To boost the regional connectivity in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday virtually inaugurated two airports in Madhya Pradesh. By launching the newly developed Satna Airport and the upgraded Datia Airport, the government aims to extend the benefits of air travel to the Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand regions of the state under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme. The two airports will connect the historic towns Datia and Satna to the national aviation map. 'The operationalization of Satna and Datia Airports is expected to yield substantial economic and social benefits, providing improved connectivity, creating direct and indirect employment, and catalyzing the growth of related sectors such as hospitality, retail, education, and healthcare,' the government said in a statement. The Satna Airport has been developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at a cost of ₹ 36.96 crore. It is set to serve as a major regional hub in northeastern Madhya Pradesh. The terminal building, spread over 768 square meters, is equipped to handle 50 peak-hour passengers and up to 2.5 lakh passengers annually. The Satna district is known for its cultural and industrial prominence. Its new airport will provide seamless connectivity to religious and industrial centers such as Chitrakoot and Maihar. The airport has modern passenger amenities, a recarpeted runway, apron facilities for Dornier-228 aircraft, and dedicated infrastructure including an ATC tower and fire station. It also has sustainable features such as 100% LED lighting, solar streetlights, and treated water reuse for horticulture. The upgraded Datia Airport has been constructed at a cost of ₹ 60.63 crore. Its terminal building is spread over 768 square meters with the capacity to handle 150 peak-hour passengers and an annual footfall of 2.5 lakh. With operational readiness for ATR-72 aircraft and future plans to accommodate A-320 aircraft, Datia Airport is a critical gateway for pilgrims and tourists visiting the renowned Peetambara Peeth and Datia Palace.
