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Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Hubballi Airport leads in solar power generation among AAI airports
1 2 3 Hubballi: The Hubballi Airport, where an 8MW solar power plant was installed in Dec 2022, has emerged as the highest power-generating among Airport Authority of India (AAI) airports in the country. It produces 8MW of electricity per day, meeting its own needs before supplying excess power to other state airports. It's also said that Hubballi Airport is the first AAI-run facility in the country to export solar-generated power to multiple establishments. Rupesh Kumar Sripad, director of Hubballi Airport, told TOI that Hubballi is India's first airport-based solar plant supplying renewable energy to multiple airports. "The plant generated 2.4 crore units of power in the last two years. We saved Rs 12.4 crore that was supposed to be paid as the electricity bill for all AAI establishments in Karnataka. AAI establishments like Ballari Radar Station, Bengaluru Gagan Air-navigation monitoring station, Bengaluru-Devanahalli Airport-AAI staff residential colony, and Mangalore Airport AAI staff residential colony benefit from the Hubballi solar plant, whose project cost was Rs 33.2 crore," he explained. He further said, "Revenue generated from balanced energy after feeding to AAI establishments in Karnataka is Rs 2.1 crore." Sources added that the airport is selling electricity to KPTCL, earning over Rs one crore annually, while saving around Rs 3.6 crore in power bills every year. Earlier, Belagavi and Hubballi airports were shortlisted for the setting up of a solar plant, and Hubballi was preferred based on its weather history. The plant is installed by Madhav Infra Project Limited of Gujarat under the Sustainable Green Airport Mission, in an area of 38 acres, offsetting an estimated 2.1 lakh tonnes of carbon emissions during its lifespan. Thanks to such a green effort, the airport was honoured with the Platinum In The Green Airport Recognition-2025 award, meant for global green airports, in April, by Airports Council International Asia-Pacific and Middle East. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Chandigarh airport tops AAI's service quality rankings with perfect score, ranks 36th globally
1 2 Chandigarh: Chandigarh International Airport has emerged as the top performer in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) rankings among all Airports Authority of India (AAI)-operated airports across the country. It secured a perfect score of 5 on a 5-point scale and ranked 36th in the world. The rankings, compiled by the Airports Council International (ACI) for 2024, were revealed in a written reply in the Lok Sabha by Union minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol, in response to a question raised by MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy. The Chandigarh airport's stellar score reflects its excellence in passenger satisfaction, service delivery, and operational standards. It was the only AAI-managed airport to achieve the maximum ASQ score of 5.00, outperforming major airports like Chennai (4.91), Goa (4.92), and Kolkata (4.88). The average ASQ rating for AAI airports was 4.81. Despite being managed by the Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) — a joint venture in which AAI is the majority stakeholder — the airport matched the quality levels seen at top privately operated airports managed under public-private partnership (PPP) models, which averaged a score of 4.96. In the PPP category, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad airports also secured a perfect 5 ASQ score and were placed jointly at the top of the global rankings. Chandigarh's 36th global ranking put it ahead of larger airports like Bangalore (53rd), Jaipur (51st), Goa-Mopa (60th), and Ahmedabad (52nd), reinforcing its reputation as a high-performing regional hub. The ministry of civil aviation noted that as per the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016, AAI-run airports handling over 1.5 million passengers annually are required to maintain an ASQ score of at least 4.5, while PPP airports must meet quality benchmarks as per their contractual obligations. Previous Awards Won by the Airport Earlier, Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport (IXC) was adjudged the 'best airport' (2-5 million passengers category) in the Asia-Pacific region for 2024 by Airports Council International - Airport Service Quality (ACI-ASQ). This was the sixth time the airport won the prestigious award, which includes a total of 95 airports globally. The airport got a 5/5 rating in 'overall satisfaction' and experience. The airport also won the 'best hygiene measures by region' award in 2021-22 and 2020-21, and the best environment and ambience by size awards in 2019-20 and 2018-19. It received India's Best Airport Award under the 25 million passenger categories at the Wings India awards for excellence in the aviation sector by the ministry of civil aviation and Ficci. The Swachhata Award for the year 2019 was won for being the second cleanest and safest airport of AAI. It ranked 1st for the 'clean & safe airport' award out of 22 AAI airports conducted by the quality council inspection team. It won the First in India Swachhta Award presented by AAI for the year 2018-19. Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) is the only company out of ten companies under the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) graded with an excellent rating in compliance with guidelines on corporate governance, acknowledged by the department of public enterprises (DPE) from 2018 to 2022 in succession.
