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Kolkata ( NSCBI ) Airport: past, present and future.
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sabya99
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BA bid to boost revenues

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151027/jsp/business/story_49800.jsp#.Vi96ntKrTGI

New Delhi, Oct. 26: British Airways has increased the number of premium economy seats in its new Boeing Dreamliner 787-9, which touched down in New Delhi from London on its maiden flight today.
The move is aimed at increasing the demand for this class to boost revenues.
The 787-9, which is 20 feet longer than its predecessor 787-8, also features a first class cabin with broader seats and extra storage space to cater to premium corporate travellers.

"There is a huge demand for first class from the Indian business traveller, whereas a new class of leisure traveller has also emerged that is keen to pay extra for the comforts of the premium economy. We would be catering to both these significant segments with the new Dreamliner," said Moran Birger, regional commercial manager, South Asia, British Airways.
The first class cabin will only have eight seats compared with 14 on other British Airways long-haul aircraft. This will offer "even more exclusivity and privacy to customers", Birger added.
The UK's national carrier will fly the 787-9 to New Delhi five times a week from today.
Birger said the induction of the new aircraft was part of the airline's £5 billion plan to modernise and refurbish its fleet.
The plan includes the induction of more Boeing 787-8s, 787-9s and 787-10s besides a range of product upgrades. A total of 42 Boeing 787s are set to join British Airways, becoming the mainstay of the airline's fleet, Birger said. The carrier already operates Boeing 787-8s to other destinations, including Chennai.
"Tourism and trade between the UK and India is booming, and the UK hosts a huge and vibrant Indian diaspora, so no wonder India is British Airways' second largest market outside the UK. We're confident that traffic between our two great nations will continue to expand at a rate of knots," said John Gould, India director, UK Trade and Investment.
The airline has tied up with Vistara along with Air India and Jet Airways for the domestic leg of its international routes.
Comment: So BA will take care of white color pax. while EK will take care of very ordinary pax. !!
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AI tests night flight to Port Blair

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/AI-testsnight-flight-to-Port-Blair/articleshow/49564341.cms

KOLKATA: National carrier Air India operated a 'probing flight' to Andaman & Nicobar Islands from Kolkata on Tuesday evening to test the waters before night flights to Port Blair are commercially launched. SpiceJet had on September 14 operated a test flight to Port Blair after sunset.

If the flight report turns out to be positive, it would pave the way for international flights to operate to Port Blair and lead to a quantum jump in tourist influx to the Andaman archipelago. For any airport to get an international tag, it has to be operational 24x7.

Till now, commercial flights to Port Blair have been operating only during the day. Not only did this restrict the number of flights, passengers got stranded when poor weather prevented the flights from operating during the day. The recent installation of runway and taxiway lights has enabled it to operate after dark.

There are, however, other technical challenges in operating at night to Port Blair. The airport does not have an 'instrument landing system' due to the hilly terrain. So, pilots need to be careful while landing. They alsohave to contend with sea breeze at night.

Captain Jaideep Banerjee and JS Dhaliwal, who took off in an Airbus A319 aircraft from Kolkata at about 7.45 pm, reached Port Blair at 10. The return flight took off 45 minutes later and was scheduled to reach Kolkata around 1am.

Speaking to TOI, Banerjee said night landing would add to the flexibility of tourists and make Andamans a more vibrant destination. "There can be onward connections to Phuket and Bangkok or other South-East Asian destinations," said the captain who had also operated the inaugural Delhi-Port Blair flight on April 9 this year.


Recent youtube video on A319 landing at Port Blair airport without ILS system: https://youtu.be/fgs5NnWAok4
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dhaka international airport, landing, long taxing then to terminal : https://youtu.be/bo5FlQwiZis?list=PLvzpGp2AOwzGdj1K-dKEJLmzmwshxGz88
How to build a Boeing Dreamliner jet : http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34406362
Landing at Guwahati Airport : https://youtu.be/fxQ5gjc52tI
Runway at Guwahati airport and the river: https://youtu.be/aiFiPlo3E-w
Jishnu’s landing at Kolkata: https://youtu.be/Y7dFC1RTCc8
Lady air traffic controllers of Kolkata ATC : https://youtu.be/Xi4CBhfUyWE
Nat. Geo. Documentary : Inside air traffic control in India : https://youtu.be/Vyb0Sr_dNFA
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kolkata: Rooftop sensors for flight tracking app
Subhro Niyogi, TNN | Oct 31, 2015, 06.52AM IST

KOLKATA: It's not just Indian Air Force and Airports Authority of India (AAI) controllers that are tracking flights. Someone in your locality could be doing so. For that matter, even you could be monitoring the progress of aircraft as they arrive, depart or fly over the city!

Three overseas companies—Flight Radar of Sweden, Flight Aware of the US, and Flight Finder of the UK—have seeded tracking devices in various neighbourhoods of Kolkata and other cities to create a network of private aircraft monitoring stations that tracks the progress of flights in the region. The data is then fed into a tracking system real-time that can be accessed on the internet.

"Now you can see the progress of a flight in which your loved one is travelling, right from takeoff till it lands. And this isn't just from one Indian city to another but across the globe. So long as you have the flight numbers, they can be viewed real-time on your mobile phone, tablet or laptop from anywhere in the world," said Arya Ghosh, a bank executive who hosts devices that receive signals from flights and automatically loads the data on the internet.
The devices installed at a shack on the roof of his house in Behala's Pathakpara are Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receivers that captures signals pinged by aircraft within 150-200 (278-340km) nautical mile radius. The signal from each aircraft contains the plane's identity, position and other information. Most modern aircraft are equipped with ADS-B transponders that transmit this data.

Similar devices are located in Subrata Mallick's home in Dum Dum, Arif Md Khan's house on Elliot Road and Bhaskar Mallick's residence in Behala.

AAI's communication, navigation and surveillance wing also has radars and ADS-B stations installed across the country to track aircraft. In the Kolkata Flight Information Region (FIR) that covers nearly half of India's continental airspace, there are nine radars and eight ADS-B stations that feed data into the system for tracking from the air traffic management facility at Kolkata airport. The three private firms, on the other hand, have seeded several hundred ADS-B receivers.

"The private companies are promoting freelance ADS-B tracking in India. It's become quite popular in the West and is fast catching up here. With so many ADS-B receivers seeded across the country, there are instances like takeoffs from Dhaka that are first captured by the freelance ADS-B devices before we get to track them on our consoles," a senior controller at Kolkata airport said.

Till the end of last year, the companies had achieved 100% coverage of flights in Europe, North America and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) and substantial coverage in most of Asia and Africa.

"We have achieved good coverage of north, east and west India and are now concentrating on the south to improve coverage in Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa and other locations," Plane Finder chief operating officer Mark Daniels said.

The Fligth Radar ADS-B receiver installed at Ghosh's residence feeds around 300,000 positional reports of aircraft everyday. The Plane Finder ADS-B receiver provides another 100,000 positional reports daily.

While only aircraft fitted with ADS-B transponders can be tracked by the ground receivers (around 10% of planes that fly in India do not have ADS-B transponders), the private companies also use multilateration (MLAT), a navigational technique, and PlanePlotter to track these aircraft.

MLAT is based on the measurement of the difference in distance to two stations at known
locations that broadcast signals at known times. PlanePlotter is a Windows program that receives and decodes live data from aircraft. In case there's a plane crash, Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) and Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) are used to locate the aircraft.

Between February 2014 and now, nine incidents have been 'pinned' by Flight Radar including the hijacking of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 702; disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 over the Gulf of Thailand; shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 in Ukraine, and crash of Germanwings flight 4U9 525.

Ghosh, who was a member of the reservation staff of Damania Airways, one of the earliest private carriers to take off in India post-liberalization before being grounded in 1996, felt the apps helped family members to stay 'in touch' even when someone is 'incommunicado' while travelling in a flight.

"The disappearance of MH 370 and the crash of 4U9 525 has given rise to anxiety and fears, many a times irrational, among relatives of fliers. I would see people getting worried when flights were inordinately delayed or when there was a major weather event that forced diversion of flights. The apps allow people to check the status of the plane independent of the information that an airline may or may not volunteer. That is a huge reassurance," he pointed out.

Air traffic controllers, too, are taking a long hard look at the tracking sites to check if they can be relied upon in case its own system fails. At present, the protocol is to instantly increase the separation of distance between planes and then track them through regular communication with pilots.

"While VHF communication will remain the mainstay for navigation, we can perhaps use the technology that the private companies offer to keep an eye on the sky when there is no radar feed. But to do so formally, it needs to be ratified in a forum. Accuracy needs to be studied and collision risk model has to assessed. Once it undergoes safety assessment, it can be relied upon," an air traffic management official said.

WHAT ONE CAN DO WITH A TRACKING APP

* Watch planes move in real-time on detailed map

* Identify planes flying overhead by simply pointing your device at the sky

* Experience what the pilot of a an aircraft sees in real-time and in 3D

* Tap on a plane for comprehensive flight and aircraft information such as route, estimated time of arrival, actual time of departure, aircraft type, speed, altitude, and high-resolution picture

* Easy to search for individual flights using flight number, airport, or airline

* Easy to filter by airline, aircraft, altitude, speed, and more

* Easy to set bookmarks to enable quick navigation to areas of interest

* Turn the device into the arrivals and departures board of any major airport and get real-time status updates for flights plus current airport weather conditions (in-app purchase)

* Realistic aircraft symbols (in-app purchase)

* Set up custom alerts based on airline, aircraft type, flight number or registration (in-app purchase)

HOW IT WORKS

Most aircraft are equipped with so called ADS-B transponders that transmit positional data. The tracking companies have a rapidly growing network of several thousand ground stations around the world to receive this data that then shows up as aircraft moving on a map in the app. To calculate the position of aircraft that don't have ADS-B transponders, multilateration is used to.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Kolkata/Kolkata-Rooftop-sensors-for-flight-tracking-app/articleshow/49604229.cms

Comment: Recently I am used www.flightaware.com to monitor entire JFK to CCU flight. It has been posted earlier in this forum. I think these flight tracking programs are satisfying.
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nepal airline may resume flights from next year
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Nepal-airline-may-resume-flights-from-next-year/articleshow/49665849.cms


KOLKATA: Royal Nepal Airlines, which withdrew flight services from Kolkata about 15 years ago, is considering to start operations from Kolkata again from next year. Initially, the airline wants to start operations with three flights a week.

At present, Air India is the only airline that connects Kathmandu with Kolkata, operating four flights a week.

"We have been doing feasibility studies for a while. There is a good demand from tourists who are keen to travel to Nepal from the east, but are unable to do so due to lack of flight options. The airline is likely to begin flight services between Kathmandu and Kolkata again from the first quarter of 2016," an RNA official said.

RNA last flew out from Kolkata around 2000. Since then, several private airline carriers from Nepal, including Necon Air, Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines and Everest Air, tried to start operations from Kolkata. But, the proposals never took off.

RNA plans to operate an Airbus A320-200 aircraft with 150 economy and eight business class seats. The official said the airline had been advised to fly into Kolkata on days on which there would not be any Air India flight to Kathmandu to ensure good passenger load right from the beginning.
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Two squadrons at Hasimara to receive President’s Standards in Nov end

Jayanta Gupta,TNN | Nov 12, 2015, 09.19 PM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Two-squadrons-at-Hasimara-to-receive-Presidents-Standards-in-Nov-end/articleshow/49760015.cms


KOLKATA: Two fighter squadrons based at Air Force Station Hasimara in north Bengal will receive the President's colours/standards on November 28. Both squadrons, that were among the first to convert to the Mig-27ML ground-attack fighters (also known as Floggers) between 1985 and 1990, made major contributions during the 1971 War. During the 1971 War, the 22 Squadron (Swifts) flying Gnats out of Dumdum, became the 'Sabre Slayers' by shooting down three Pakistani Sabres over Jessore. The 222 Squadron (Tigersharks), flying Su-7s in the western sector during the 1971 War won battle honours and was decorated with one Mahavir Chakra and three Vir Chakras and other awards.

"On November 28, President Pranab Mukherjee will travel to Hasimara and present the President's Standards to the two squadrons. The ceremony will be unlike anything that Hasimara has witnessed in the past. There will be flypasts by Su-30 MKI and Mig-27ML fighters and Mi-17 helicopters. The Surya Kiran team will also put up an aerobatics display. After all, the award of President's Standard is one of the greatest honours bestowed upon an Air Force unit or squadron in recognition of exceptional service rendered by it to the nation, both during war and in peace. The two squadrons based at Hasimara are among the first to fly the Mig-27MLs and are a very potent deterrence at this key location," a senior IAF officer said.

Hasimara is located strategically near the Indo-Bhutan border. It is also the closest Indian air base to the Chumbi Valley - the tri-junction between the Indian state of Sikkim, Bhutan and the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). People's Liberation Army (PLA) mobilization has now become a routine feature in the Chumbi Valley region. Indian strategists believe that China, if it decides to get aggressive, will launch troops through Chumbi Valley towards West Bengal and the Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, thereby cutting off Sikkim and other Northeastern states from the rest of the country. Such a lightning strike through Bhutan would take merely a few hours as Bhutan would be in no position to offer resistance.

"The PLA would march across the Indo-Bhutan border well before India can mobilize sufficient troops to put up a credible resistance. This is where Hasimara has a crucial role to play. The Floggers have been stationed at Hasimara with a specific purpose of engaging ground targets. Air superiority fighters can fly in from the Northeast or other parts of the country after the Mig-27MLs launch attacks against ground forces. Indian still has superiority in the air over China and can hold out for a few days. The only option for China would be to send in troops and take India by surprise. Hasimara exists to prevent such a scenario," the officer added.

Comment: IAF still depend on half century old MIG-27? Its time to wake up!!
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 10:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sabya99 wrote:
Comment: IAF still depend on half century old MIG-27? Its time to wake up!!
Sir, the B-52 basic design was sketched on a restaurant table cloth in Dayton, Ohio in 1944, if I remember the story correctly. The B-52 is still the USAF's primary choice as a long-range bomber. The Tu-95 Bear is only a bit more recent, but still the mainstay of Russia's long-range bombing fleet. Ages of a plane is not quite an issue.
The Mig-27s will be around as bombers (along with the Jaguars) for some time more. The IAF has had suitable technical and operational modifications for the type to be used in high altitude operations.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jet-lagged: pitch for Europe flight
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151120/jsp/calcutta/story_54065.jsp#.Vk8mF9KrTGI

Calcutta's bid for direct air connectivity with Europe has been effectively grounded with Jet Airways saying it can't take any risk in a low-yield market despite a personal request from Mamata Banerjee.
Jet Airways' refusal to fly non-stop to Europe comes in the wake of Qatar, Emirates and Etihad deciding to increase seats or add flights to the Gulf, from where all three offer onward connectivity to Europe and the US.
Officials of Jet Airways recently conveyed to the airport authorities that it wasn't viable at this moment to start a direct flight to Brussels, the airline's hub in Europe, sources said.
A compromise had been suggested in the form of a hopping flight from either Delhi or Hyderabad that would bring domestic passengers to Calcutta and carry Europe-bound travellers to Brussels. The airport authorities turned down the proposal.
"Jet told us that the proposal was meant to cut potential losses since it didn't expect enough Europe-bound passengers from Calcutta alone. We had to reject the idea because civil aviation policies don't allow this model," a senior airport official said.
Jet sources said the Calcutta market was not conducive to a direct Europe flight yet.
Travel and aviation industry experts said the expansion of operations by airlines based in the Gulf countries was a factor in other carriers not showing interest in the proposal to fly direct to Europe from Calcutta.
Qatar Airways is bringing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to town in December in anticipation of higher passenger traffic on the Calcutta-Doha route. The airline currently operates an Airbus 320 in this sector with 12 business class and 132 economy seats. From next month, there will be a 76 per cent increase in capacity with 22 business class and 232 economy seats.
Based on market surveys, the airline hopes to fill about 60 per cent of the additional seats with Europe-bound passengers and most of the rest with travellers heading to the US.
Emirates, which connects Calcutta to Dubai with two flights daily, will also change its aircraft configuration next month. It is adding a first-class segment to its evening flight with 12 seats. Emirates' morning flight already has first-class seats.
In March, the airline plans to bring new Boeing 777 aircraft to Calcutta, sources said.
Etihad Airways, which flies to Abu Dhabi once daily, is planning to add a second flight in the morning. Sources said either Etihad or its partner Jet would operate the second flight from next year.
Increased competition has already led to a drop in fares to Europe. The average economy class return fare from Calcutta to a European destination is between Rs 50,000 and Rs 55,000.
"It's not viable for an European airline to operate from Calcutta in the present scenario. The Gulf carriers can fill flights and sustain themselves with low fares because they operate smaller aircraft. For an eight-hour flight, a European carrier would have to bring larger aircraft and fill at least 75 per cent of the seats with fares in the range of Rs 60,000 to 65,000," said Anil Punjabi, chairman (east) of the Travel Agents' Federation of India.
In any case, a direct flight to Europe from Calcutta is unlikely to be more than four times a week.
"Passengers prefer flexibility, which only an airline with daily connectivity can offer. This is something the Gulf airlines provide," Punjabi said.
Chief minister Mamata had said before taking off for London on July 26 that Bengal would waive tax on aviation turbine fuel if any airline operated direct flights between Calcutta and Europe.
Jet Airways is the seventh airline - the previous six were European carriers - to either refuse or not respond to the proposal.

Comment: Thanks Laluji, low yield passengers of Kolkata don’t need your help. ME3 airlines are doing a fine job.
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dubai Airshow: In pictures, in the air and on the ground
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34768662
BBC inside airbase where Russia carries out Syria airstrikes: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34790153
Russian Caspian sea fleet hitting Syria with cruise missile : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34465425
PCB chief Shahryar Khan detained at Kolkata airport by Immigration Department:
https://youtu.be/x0JkAYn600g

Inside Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, New terminal ,dumdum, Kolkata: https://youtu.be/RQX62jfvpcY
Indian Air force New Fighter Jets 2015-2025: https://youtu.be/vZNlE5gLmLg

Runway view of Kolkata airport : https://youtu.be/asO2eRgk8gI
Go Air landing at Kolkata airport and exit through alpha taxiway. Little red ILS antenna on 01L : https://youtu.be/3uw0vURDk7U

Kolkata to Kunming : https://youtu.be/wfImRWVw5Os
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kanika Datta: Life without Air India
Who gains, who loses if the national carrier ceased to exist


http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/kanika-datta-life-without-air-india-115111901300_1.html

Air India is India's largest domestic airline in terms of fleet size and number of employees. It is also the country's oldest airline. Yet, if it were to cease to exist tomorrow, Indian aviation is unlikely to feel the difference.

Among the Big Four airlines, Air India has the lowest market share, so the nine other private sector competitors will have little trouble accommodating approximately 20 million domestic and international passengers that the national carrier and its subsidiariesAir India Express and Alliance Air could carry this fiscal year. If Air India's competitors stand to gain a tad, it is mostly because domestic capacity expansion in terms of number of aircraft is expected to be at less than five per cent this year, most of it after the third quarter, against a growth in passenger traffic of 15 per cent.

On this basis, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation has forecast passenger load factors (the airline term for capacity utilisation) rising six or seven percentage points, a figure that could go up slightly to account for the theoretical departure of Air India and its subsidiaries.

From the consumer's point of view, Air India's departure is likely to cause short-term disruptions. As with the closure of Kingfisher Airlines, which enjoyed a market share of over 20 per cent in its heyday, fares may rise as airlines move to take up the slack.

Consumer inconvenience will be mostly reserved for those who use Alliance Air's regional routes - Bhubaneswar, Port Blair, Tezpur and so on - to connect to the major hubs. A new aviation policy in October proposes to auction these routes to private airlines, a solution that may not have full merit because many of these routes were picked to fulfil "social obligations" and are unlikely to be profitable.

In the circumstances, the government could consider one of three options. The simplest one, according to Amber Dubey, partner and head of aerospace and defence at KPMG, is to convert Air India into a holding company for special purpose vehicle (SPV) in which a strategic partner or consortium can be handed over 74 or 100 per cent shareholding through competitive bids. Air India's fleet and aeronautical assets could then be leased to this SPV and the lease payments used to repay the liabilities of the holding company and VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) to those staffers who refuse to join the SPV or are found suitable.

"The example of Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a case in point. It leased its assets at the Delhi and Mumbai airports to the private sector. The revenue share that the AAI earns from these lessees is several multiples of what it earned when it was running the airport on its own," says Dubey.

The second option would be to hand Air India over to the lenders' consortium to run, and the third is a fire sale, both of which are fraught with difficulties.

In a TV interview, Jitender Bhargava, a former Air India executive director who wrote a controversial account of the airline in The Descent of Air India, suggested the government hand Air India over to Air Vistara, the joint venture between the Tata group, the airline's original owners from whom it was nationalised, and Singapore Airlines, together with a "compensation" of Rs 10,000 crore. That way, he says, "the Tatas will get back their airline and Air India has a fighting chance of survival".
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

New updates in Kolkata airport satellite image ( Wikimapia ):
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=22.651968&lon=88.442366&z=17&m=b
1) This satellite image has a dark shadow on the main terminal area. I noticed both hangar 8 and 9 are demolished completely and good amount of space opened up north of old international terminal. Perhaps AAI will expand apron area here.
2) Extensive water drainage ditch have been constructed south side of the terminal.
3) Kilo taxiway extensively being used.
4) Old CPWD campus has been completely demolished. Perhaps it is waiting to be incorporated into the apron area of integrated terminal or new space for aircraft parking lot.
5) The new fire station east of main runway nearing completion.
6) One aerobridge being used from old domestic terminal just adjacent to integrated terminal.
7) No sign of new ATC tower or its new location. AAI must have forgotten!
Cool Outside the airport perimeter wall land has been reclaimed, water bodies filled up by sand. Don’t know what AAI going to do here.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 5:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Durgapur stop for Delhi flight
Sanjay Mandal

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151125/jsp/calcutta/story_54899.jsp#.VlT1N64qzTo

Air India, struggling to fill even half the seats on its Calcutta-Andal flight, is planning to introduce a second one linking Andal with Delhi.
The national carrier plans to deploy an Airbus 319 aircraft with 125 seats for three flights a week on the Delhi-Andal-Calcutta route. Airline officials said they expected the second flight to have good passenger volumes.
But representatives of private airlines insisted that the market wasn't ready for flights to and from Andal.
Air India barely gets passengers for the Calcutta-Andal flight that was launched in May. Sources said the 46-seater ATR aircraft that flies on this route six days a week gets less than 10 passengers on an average for the Calcutta-Andal leg. On the return journey, there are 18 to 19 passengers.
Most passengers are SAIL employees going from Durgapur to Delhi, where the PSU is headquartered.
To make the flight viable, the airline needs to fill around 40 seats, although it hasn't felt the pinch yet because Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) is paying for unsold seats. The state government has helped by waiving sales tax on aviation turbine fuel.
"Air India is trying to ensure that each flight meets its total operating costs," said a spokesperson for the airline.
Aviation experts said subsidies alone wouldn't work for long. For any airport to become self-sustaining, the base city or town must have industry and generate enough business to ensure round-the-year corporate fliers.
"Usually, a flight in any sector has a low passenger count at the beginning. If there is demand, the number starts increasing within three to four months. In Durgapur, Air India has operated for six months and yet the number of passengers hasn't grown, which reflects the lack of demand," said Anil Punjabi, chairman (east) of the Travel Agents' Federation of India.
The airline is scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding with BAPL, promoters of the airport, for the second flight. But private airlines said they weren't even planning to operate from Andal anytime soon.
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet conducted a market survey for Andal that sources said revealed the possibility of getting passengers from Andal to Delhi and then onwards to western or south India. "But there is no market for the Andal-Calcutta route, a distance of barely 100km. Even the route to Delhi isn't ready for tapping. It can be developed later," said a source in the airline, which owns 78-seater aircraft for short-haul routes between small cities.
IndiGo has done a market survey too but has yet to respond to the state government's request to start a flight.
Even Calcutta airport operates below capacity. The new terminal can handle 20 million passengers annually but gets not more than 12 million.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 2:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Boyra veteran watches as his squadron receives President's Standard

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Boyra-veteran-watches-as-his-squadron-receives-Presidents-Standard/articleshow/49972571.cms

HASIMARA: It was an emotional moment for Gr Capt (Retd) Donell Lazarus as he watched his former squadron receive the President's Standard at Air Force Station Hasimara on Saturday. On the afternoon of November 22, 1971, Lazarus - then a young Flying Officer - took off in a Gnat from Dumdum in Kolkata and flew towards Jessore in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) to intercept four P-86 Sabres of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) that were flying extremely close to the Indian airspace. Since morning, Sabres had been giving a lot of trouble to the Mitra Bahini that was fighting the Pakistan Army on the ground, Since the morning, two sorties of the Sabres had succeeded in getting away before the Indian Air Force (IAF) could reach Boyra from Dumdum.

Lazarus was in the third sortie of the day. The others flying with him were Flt Lt Roy Andrew Massey. The others were along with along with Flt Lt M A Ganapathy and Flying Officer S F Soarez. It took the Gnats eight minutes to reach Boyra. By then, the Sabres had already carried out several attacks on the Bangladeshi freedom fighters.

"I miss the other guys. They were the best 17 minutes of my life," Lazarus said. What happened in those 17 minutes created history. The IAF pilots, in what was then the smallest fighter aircraft in the world, took on the much superior Sabres. Two Sabres were shot down and crashed in Bongaon. The third was nearly crippled but succeeded in reaching Tezgaon airfield outside Dhaka. The No. 22 Squadron, known as the 'Hell's Angels' till then came to be known as the 'Sabre Slayers'. They were later re-christened 'The Swifts' and converted to the Mig-27ML ground attack fighters. Three pilots who participated in the Battle of Boyra, including Lazarus won Vir Chakras for the Battle of Boyra.

On Saturday, Squadrons 18 and 22 of the IAF were presented with Standards by President Pranab Mukherjee. This is the highest honour that any squadron or unit of the air force can receive. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha acknowledged the contributions of Lazarus and the others involved in the Battle of Boyra. "Flight Lieutenants Massey and Ganapathy have passed away. Flying Officer (later Gr Capt) Lazarus was the only one we could get here for the occasion. The IAF always remembers the hard work and sacrifice of those who fought for the country. We also remember the sacrifice of Flying Officer NJS Sekhon of Squadron 18 who gave up his life in the skies over Srinagar during the 1971 War. He destroyed two Sabres before attaining martyrdom. He remains the only Param Vir Chakra awardee of the IAF," the air chief said.

Not that the Pakistani pilots flying the Sabres were incapable. One of them, Flight Lieutenant Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi, who ejected and was captured in India, went on to become the PAF chief. During the Kargil War, Qureshi turned down Gen Pervez Musharraf's plea to use PAF aircraft. Qureshi had realised that use of the air force by Pakistan would only have aggravated the situation.

Saturday's event was crucial as one of the two squadrons of Mig-27MLs at Hasimara will be number-plated (decommissioned) in 2016. New aircraft will be deployed at Hasimara which is an extremely strategic base close to the Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet Autonomous Region tri-junction where the People's Liberation Army is known to hold regular maneuvers.

Comment: At last Mig 27 will be retired. It is high time!
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Qatar Airways doubles capacity on Kolkata sector with bigger plane

Subhro Niyogi,TNN | Dec 3, 2015, 08.32 PM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Qatar-Airways-doubles-capacity-on-Kolkata-sector-with-bigger-plane/articleshow/50030971.cms

KOLKATA: With no direct flights to Europe from Kolkata, Qatar Airways has seized the opportunity and deployed a bigger aircraft to fly passengers to Doha and onward to Europe and the US.
From Wednesday, the airline replaced the Airbus A320 aircraft on the sector with the Boeing B787 Dreamliner, nearly doubling the capacity from 144 seats to 254 seats. Apart from Kolkata, Delhi is the only other market that Qatar services with a Dreamliner. The airline operates a larger B777 aircraft to Mumbai and Bengaluru. Amritsar, Kochi, Trivandrum, Kozhikode and Goa are serviced by A320. Chennai is the only city that has an A340. The airline flies to 13 cities in India.

Qatar Airways vice-president Ihab Sorial said the deployment of the state-of-the-art Dreamliner to Kolkata was reflective of the market's potential. Though the airline has been operating to the cities in Kerala and Hyderabad for over a decade and a half unlike Kolkata where services started only in 2011, these cities are still serviced by the narrow-body A320 aircraft.

The Dreamliner will offer 232 economy and 22 business class seats, up from 124 economy and 12 business class seats in the A320. While the economy seats in the inaugural flight was choc-a-bloc, the business seats will pose a challenge with as Kolkata's share of business travellers is much smaller than Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru.

"On the first Dreamliner flight to Kolkata, all seats were sold out. The return flight had a decent load of 221 in economy and 4 in business class. Filling up the business class seats will be a challenge but we hope to create excitement around it with offers like a free travel for the spouse to get passengers to taste the product," an official said.

Qatar though did not want to let go of the opportunity given the stiff competition from the two other Gulf carriers vying for passengers travelling to Europe and the US. Emirates currently operates 13 frequencies a week and Etihad seven. While Emirates uses three variations of B777-200, Etihad operates A320.

"The daily flights from Kolkata offer onward connection to Paris, London, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas and several other cities," Sorial said.

The travel trade community is delighted and say the increase in capacity points to a buoyant market that challenges the usual narrative about Kolkata. "The city has a world class terminal and good passenger load that is encouraging airlines to operate bigger aircraft. This is great for the city," said Travel Agents' Federation of India eastern region chairman Anil Punjabi.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fog hit NSCBI airport:
At Kolkata airport, visibility dropped to near-zero after midnight, forcing diversion of several flights to nearby airports. With flight operations shut from 12am to 8.30am, nearly 40 flights were delayed.

As visibility plunged at night, a number of incoming international flights were diverted to Dhaka and Hyderabad. These include China Eastern Airlines flight from Kunming, Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur and Qatar Airways flights from Doha. These flights arrived in Kolkata only after fog cleared and operations resumed on Saturday morning.

Though the airport is equipped with instrument landing that allows operation till visibility is 50 metre, the situ ation was far worse, necessitating the shutdown.

So thick was the blanket of fog over the tarmac that a SpiceJet aircraft that was taxiing for take-off was stranded mid-way as the pilot was unable to see anything. A vehicle that was sent to guide the plane back to the parking bay was also caught in the blinding fog. Air traffic controllers had to then use the ground movement radar to guide them back to the apron.

The first flight to land on Saturday morning was a Druk Air flight from Paro that touched down at 8.30am. With so many flights held up, airlines clubbed as many as they could to reduce the domino affect.

The Meterological office said the sudden 1-1.5 degree centigrade drop in temperature on Friday night led to the dense fog formation. "The sky has been overcast for a couple of days. It had rained on Friday morning too. The lower reaches of the atmosphere was thus laden with moisture. When the temperature dropped suddenly , it became conducive for fog formation," a Met official explained. ( TOI news )

Comment: I know ground movement control radar was installed a few years back. What the use of it if not used in foggy day? Or AAI forgot how to use it?
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sabya99 wrote:
Comment: I know ground movement control radar was installed a few years back. What the use of it if not used in foggy day? Or AAI forgot how to use it?
Sir, I think you have answered your own question in what you have quoted above. And sometimes, fog can set in very quickly. I have seen it in person, in Delhi: it is a bit scary!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 7:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Take off from Kolkata airport: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI4HmhbURGA
Engineering marvel and traveler’s delight: https://youtu.be/j8-bw5tH28w
Indigo landing at Kolkata main runway (19L ) ; https://youtu.be/WJMjex-VuQM
Emirates A380 landing in heavy rain / fog. Pilot shaky (?) : https://youtu.be/FumKW0e8TA0
Landing on main CCU runway (19L ) and exit through taxiway R :
https://youtu.be/1YeTMT-dtkY?t=10 ,

Departure lounge of Kolkata airport : https://youtu.be/JN7coPsyBHg

Dec 21, 2015:
A Jet Airways bus crashed into an Air India aircraft parked at the Kolkata airport this morning, damaging it badly. There were no passengers in the aircraft when the incident took place at around 6.30 am. https://youtu.be/5PtfDJgYpjk
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Costly crash: Air India plane extensively damaged after Jet Airways bus rams into it

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Costly-crash-Air-India-plane-extensively-damaged-after-Jet-Airways-bus-rams-into-it/articleshow/50283629.cms

KOLKATA: An aircraft of Air India's subsidiary Alliance Air on Tuesday suffered "extensive" damage after a Jet Airways tarmac bus ferrying its crew rammed into the vacant stationary plane at the international airport in Kolkata.

No injuries have been reported in the incident which occurred at around 5.25am. Alliance Air's flights to Silchar and Shillong were cancelled as the plane was grounded.

While Air India said the incident was a "gross act of negligence", Jet Airways said that the coach accidentally collided with the stationary aircraft.

According to officials at the NSCB international airport, the plane was parked at bay 32 and was preparing to leave for Silchar when the driver of the Jet Airways bus lost control of the vehicle and hit the aircraft.

"The aircraft sustained extensive damage on the right engine, right landing gear and also some other parts because of which the flight operations to Silchar and Shillong had to be cancelled.

"AAI (Airports Authority of India), Police, CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) and other authorities have taken serious note of this gross act of negligence and are investigating the incident," Air India said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Jet Airways said "no one was injured in the collision" and it has started investigation into the incident.

"A coach transporting Jet Airways cabin crew at the Kolkata airport accidentally collided with a stationary aircraft of another airline," it added.

Air India said it was a clear fogless morning when the Jet Airways tarmac bus intruded into the slot marked at bay 32 and hit the aircraft VT-ABO (ATR 42).

Comment: It could be driving while intoxicated, over worked driver, negligence of CISF personal guarding Bay 32 or the Bay master, corporate rivalry, sabotage or act of God. All should be investigate. CCU airport getting busier day by day .But there are lack of professionalism. Airport needs larger apron space and well trained ground staff to service aircrafts. You cannot run that place with blue color semi educated junkies. Also background of all ground staff must be checked!
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 6:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bus driver over worked !!

The driver of a Jet Airways bus dozed off and rammed the vehicle into a parked Air India plane at the Calcutta airport early on Tuesday, an airport official said.
Momen Ali, the bus driver, has told police and airport security officers that he had dozed off while driving on the tarmac.
Ali who was on night shift (10.30pm-6.30am) was later arrested.
The bus, carrying members of Jet’s cabin crew, veered left from the designated path and hit the ATR 42 aircraft on the right at 5.25am, an airport official said.
The twin-turboprop plane suffered extensive damages, but there were no injuries, he said.
The official said the bus driver had picked up two flight attendants from the terminal to drop them near a Jet Airways aircraft parked on the remote side of the tarmac.
At the time of the accident, the bus was moving at the designated speed of 30kmph.
“The driver has said he was on night shift and had dozed off, which is why the bus deviated from its path
and hit the aircraft,” said airport director Anil Kumar Sharma.
In his report to the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), Sharma has said a medical test on Ali revealed he had not taken alcohol or drugs.
The DGCA has started an investigation into the accident.
An Air India spokesperson said the aircraft sustained extensive damage to the right engine, right landing gear, propeller, nose wheel and some other parts.
The nose wheel had turned 10 degrees under the impact, the spokesperson said.
Air India will send a detailed report to the ATR headquarters in Toulouse, France.
A source said ATR engineers would have to oversee the repairs since the aircraft has suffered structural damage.
Air India engineers carry out small repairs, apart from routine maintenance work.
The 48-seater ATR, parked at bay No. 32, was scheduled to take off for Silchar and Shillong at 8am.
The aircraft had an empty fuel tank at the time of the accident.
“Had the tank been full, a fire could have broken out, leading to a major safety hazard,” a pilot of a private airline said.
Air India has said in its complaint with the airport police station that there was no fog at the time of the accident.
Jet Airways has started an internal inquiry into the accident.
Air India flew engineers from Delhi to assess the damage and the repair expenditure.
Passengers for Shillong were accommodated on an Aizawl flight. Those going to Silchar were flown to Guwahati and taken to Silchar by road, an airline official said.
Air India has two ATR aircraft operating from Calcutta to the North-east.
Tuesday’s accident is likely to affect the airline’s operations to smaller airports such as Lilabari in Assam and
Shillong.
“Passengers would be flown to Guwahati and taken to these airports by road,” an airline official said.
Comment: No driver in the apron area should be on duty after 8 hrs.They also should maintain log of sleep schedule. This is the norm among Western countries having CDL.

Source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151223/jsp/calcutta/story_59910.jsp#.VnntMrYrLGg
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Durgapur-Delhi flights a hit with local flyers

Kolkata:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31812&articlexml=Durgapur-Delhi-flights-a-hit-with-local-flyers-22122015015029

The Durgapur-Delhi and Delhi-Durgapur sector in Air India's maiden commercial flight operated at near capacity on Monday , allaying concerns that it would take a while for loads to pick up on this new route. A bulk of the load, however, comprised of passengers who were travelling between Kolkata and Delhi and opted to take the onestop flight due to the attractive fare on offer.
On Monday , flight AI733 took off from Kolkata with 93 passengers on board, including seven travelling to Durgapur. From Durgapur, 29 passengers boarded the flight to travel to Delhi. Thus the 122-seater Airbus A319 aircraft had 115 passengers on board when it took off from Andal airport near Durgapur. On the return leg, 119 passengers boarded the flight from Delhi. While 17 disembarked at Durgapur, six passengers boarded the flight and it took off for Kolkata with 108 passengers.
Subsequent flights (the flight will operate three timesa-week on Monday , Wednesday and Friday) till January 4 already have 60-80%-plus load that will go up further as the departure date draws close. “It is a blockbuster takeof with the first week's flights ne arly booked to capacity ,“ said Partha Ghosh, managing di rector of Bengal Aerotropolis Pvt Ltd (BAPL), the developer of the greenfield airport.
Though the load is prima rily owing to passengers fly ing between Kolkata and Del hi, Ghosh is confident that high demand between Durga pur and Delhi will attract mo re flights. “We are sure that the people of Durgapur and its catchment area will welcome the direct connectivity with the national capital. Till now people from this region had to travel all the way to Kolkata or Ranchi airport, some 200 km away , to catch their preferred flights to New Delhi or else where,“ he said.
The Asansol-Durgapur belt has a population of 1.1cro re and is home to several po wer-intensive industries. The bustling industrial region has a large number of executives and businessmen travelling to various parts of the country on work. The BAPL management is hopeful that the demand for more flights will attract other carriers to the airport.
Built over 650 acre, the airport has a 2,800-metre runway and is equipped with CAT I instrument landing system (ILS) that makes it possible for all domestic airlines to operate in an out of the airport.
The airport's apron has four parking bays and an isolation parking bay . The 5,750-sq m passenger terminal building has a capacity of one million passengers per annum. It has six check-in counters in the departure lounge and two baggage conveyor belts at the arrival hall.
Comment: This news was expected!
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 2:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Baloon to lift the aircraft.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151225/jsp/calcutta/story_60242.jsp#.VnzKrBV97IU

The damaged ATR aircraft at the airport might have to be lifted with a special balloon to separate it from the bus that had crashed into it.

Engineers from ATR's service station in Bangalore inspected the Air India plane on Thursday and felt it would not be easy to lift it so that the bus can be moved, said airline sources.

Engineers from Air India's recovery team are scheduled to reach Calcutta on Friday and explore ways to lift the plane's undercarriage.

The special balloon, if used, would be put under the aircraft and inflated to raise it.

The Jet Airways bus had rammed into the ATR 42 on Tuesday at the parking bay number 32, after the driver apparently dozed off. The driver, Momen Ali, was arrested.

The front of the bus is stuck to the plane's right propeller and is also touching its right engine, said an airline official. Earlier Air India operated three ATR aircraft from Calcutta but the number came down to two when one of the aircraft was grounded because of the technical problems. After Tuesday's mishap, only one ATR plane of Air India is now operating from Calcutta to the Northeast.

The airline is now taking passengers to Lilabari and Silchar in Assam on vehicles from Guwahati as it cannot operate flights to these two destinations.

The directorate general of civil aviation has started an inquiry into the accident and has collected the duty roster of the bus driver.

Jet had hired the driver, who has several years of experience, from an agency.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I read the title above as `Baboon to lift...' and wondered whether The Telegraph had completely lost it. It turned out to be I, and not The Telegraph Smile
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kolkata: Air India aircraft and Jet Airways bus separated after 100 hours.

Air India's recovery team from the Mumbai Engineering division and the Engineering team of Kolkata used a balloon type equipment to pull the bus from the aircraft engine it had rammed into.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/air-india-aircraft-and-jet-airways-bus-separated-after-100-hours/1/556688.html

Comment: Free at last!
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AI make seek 65-70 crore compensation for Kolkata mishap
New Delhi, Dec 27, 2015, (PTI)

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/519825/ai-make-seek-65-70.html

Government-owned Air India may seek Rs 65-70 crore compensation from Jet Airways for the damage suffered by one of its aircraft in the last week's incident at Kolkata airport, sources said today.

A Jet Airways tarmac coach had on December 21 rammed into an Alliance Air stationary ATR aircraft, at Kolkata's NSCB airport, resulting in substantial damage to the plane.

The regional arm of national carrier Air India, Alliance Air has a fleet of 12 aircraft, comprising ATRs and Canadian Regional Jets (CRJs).

Alliance Air is assessing the damage to aircraft and revenue loss suffered due to the grounding of the plane and once the exercise is completed, it would serve a notice on Jet Airways, sources told PTI.

"A team from ATR has already completed inspection and has, prima facie, found substantial damage to aircraft. However, its report is awaited. Besides, our insurers (of Air India and Jet Airways) are also carrying out survey to assess the damage," Air India sources said.

Public sector insurers New India Insurance and Oriental Insurance Company are carrying out the survey for Air India and Jet Airways respectively, they said.

Based on reports, the legal notice for recovery of losses will be sent, they said adding "preliminary assessment suggests it should be to the tune of Rs 65-70 crore."

Alliance Air operates 32 flights per day to 29 regional routes including Agatti, Bhuj, Car Nicobar, Dehradun, Diu, Dharamshala, Durgapur, Kullu, Pantnagar, Port Blair, Rajkot, Shillong, Silchar, Surat, Vijayawada, Vizag and Tezpur from its bases across Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Christmas has replaced the Pujas as the biggest holiday season of the year.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151228/jsp/calcutta/story_60714.jsp#.VoFFnbYrLGh
Christmas has replaced the Pujas as the biggest holiday season of the year, going by the flight bookings in the run-up to New Year.
Most international flights out of Calcutta have no seats left till December 30. Even business class seats are full, prompting Emirates to downgrade the ticket of a passenger who had booked a premium berth.
Industry insiders have attributed the rush during the Christmas-New Year season to longer school holidays and a prolonged spell of political peace in Thailand, a sought-after holiday destination.
A couple who wanted to go to Thailand failed to get seats, including in the business class, on any Bangkok-bound flight of Thai Airways.
A Thai Airways flight has 39 business class and 254 economy class seats.
"Till December 30, there are no seats in both classes on Bangkok-bound flights," said Vichaya Singtoroj, the general manager of Thai Airways in Calcutta.
In response to the rush, Qatar Airways is flying a bigger aircraft with 110 additional seats on the Calcutta-Doha route.
Calcutta resident Jennifer Wahab had planned a winter vacation in Thailand with her husband and their 12-year old daughter from December 24 to 30. The plan had to be scrapped as the family did not get bookings on any flight.
"We told Thai Airways that we were ready to buy business-class tickets but they couldn't give us a single seat. Over the past five years we have been holidaying abroad during winter. This was the first time such a thing happened," Jennifer said.
Till the tickets were available on Thai Airways flights, economy fares (Bangkok, round trip) were as high as around Rs 30,000, compared with the average of Rs 16,000 to Rs 18,000.
Flights are full in other sectors, too. Emirates - which flies on the Calcutta-Dubai route twice a day, six days a week - has 42 business-class seats in the morning flight and 26 in the evening flight.
Sources said the business-class seats in the morning flights are 85 per cent full. On the evening flights, the business class is full on most days till December 30.
Qatar Airways, despite introducing a bigger aircraft, is flying full, an official of the airline said. "Most passengers are going beyond Doha, to Europe or the US," the official said.
Dragonair, a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, is flying "almost full" in the Calcutta-Hong Kong sector. A Calcutta-Hong Kong return ticket in the economy class is selling for Rs 44,000, against the usual price of Rs 30,000.
"The Pujas, a traditional tourist season, have not been selling much over the past couple of years. The winter holiday season has taken the place of the Pujas. Earlier, most outbound flights on all sectors had many empty seats in December," said Anil Punjabi, chairman, east, Travel Agents Federation of India.
The Calcutta market, he pointed out, still depends on seasonal and leisure traffic on international routes. "Round-the-year demand for premium seats still eludes the market."
Earlier, the international winter traffic in Calcutta was mostly inbound.
"Calcuttans staying abroad usually return home in December. The outbound flights used to get filled up in the first week of January, when these people would return to their place of stay," an industry insider said.
One reason for the high demand of seats on outbound flights is longer school holidays in winter. Schools now close early for the winter recess, in the second week of December.
The other reason, the source said, was political peace in Thailand. "People were avoiding Thailand because of political unrest and blasts. The situation has changed for better over the past few months.... Also, the trend of spending Christmas in Europe has picked up."
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 7:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Delhi nod eludes runway lights
- FOG TAKES TOLL AS AIRPORT STRUGGLES WITH OLD GUIDANCE SYSTEM


http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160105/jsp/calcutta/story_62188.jsp#.VovOJrYrLGI

An advanced runway guidance system eludes Calcutta as interminable talks between Delhi and the city airport have failed to remove the hurdles preventing the implementation of a project sanctioned a year and a half ago.
Calcutta airport was supposed to have by December 2015 the Category IIIB landing system - green-lighted in August 2014 - which allows flights to land or take off even when the runway visibility is as low as 50m.
Had the system been installed in time, none of the 40-odd flights cancelled or delayed because of fog on the night of December 18 and the morning after would have been affected.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport is now armed with the Category II system that allows take-off and landing till the runway visibility remains 350m or more.
"The Rs 120-crore project to upgrade the landing system is being held up because it has been linked with another project - that of relaying the main runway," an airport official said.
The airport authorities have decided that it would not be feasible to dig up large parts of the runway twice - for installing the Category IIIB lights and relaying the runway.
The Airports Authority of India had last year approved the Rs 122-crore runway rehabilitation project. "Work on both schemes were to start simultaneously," the airport official said.
However, the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body for civil aviation in India, is yet to grant safety clearance to the runway repair work. "As a result, both projects have been indefinitely delayed," the airport official said.
With the twin projects pending, fliers not only have to suffer fog-induced delays and cancellations during winter but also endure bumpy rides on the runway.
DGCA officials inspected the runway in September, October and November last year to assess whether work for relaying the surface and installing the advanced guidance system could start.
"Safety assessment for the projects is crucial as technical work related to installation of runway lights and other equipment is involved," a DGCA official said.
Since September, the federal regulator and the Calcutta airport authorities have exchanged a series of letters regarding the technical aspects of the projects.
"It has become a routine. We get a letter from the DGCA and send a reply, which in turn prompts another letter from Delhi. The projects haven't advanced a bit," an airport official said. The latest letter from the DGCA seeking clarifications had arrived in mid-December. The airport authorities have sent their reply.
Airlines blame the impasse on alleged indifference of the government-run airport.
"The airport authorities should have been more pro-active in pursuing the matter with the DGCA," said Captain Sarvesh Gupta, a veteran pilot and the chairman of the Airline Operators' Committee at Calcutta airport.
"Given the importance of both runway rehabilitation and Category IIIB schemes, the airport authorities should have stationed officials in Delhi to speak to the DGCA on a daily basis."
Engineers said it would be difficult to instal the guidance system even by next winter. "Normally, the runway relaying work takes seven-eight months. But work has to be stopped during the monsoon months. Since both projects will proceed simultaneously, it's unlikely Category IIIB will be ready by next winter," an engineer said.
Airport director A.K. Sharma was not available for comment.
Comment: Recarpeting of main runway is more important than Cat IIIB lighting system. Runways at NSCBI airport handles 300 flights per day and main runway shares bulk of them. In Kolkata region visibility less than 50 meter is not a frequent phenomenon. So airport can wait another two years for recarpeting the runway then install the Cat IIIB system!
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Landing at Kolkata Airport - AUH - CCU Etihad Airways
https://youtu.be/4CFJJSCmP1M
Inflight Experience Dubai to Kolkata on Emirates Airlines (HD): https://youtu.be/0Qcd1KdJPgI
Jet Airways bus crashes into Air India flight at Kolkata Airport: https://youtu.be/QVmh6xDIoi4
; https://youtu.be/99WiJmz7MHo

In Pics: Bus Taken out of Jet Airways' Plane at Kolkata Airport: https://youtu.be/hMKSNM3iSI0

Indigo Taking Off from Kolkata Airport.: https://youtu.be/mAXvYEiwKnQ

Kolkata airport at night: https://youtu.be/F88PcOALb4k
Departure lounge NSCBI Airport:: https://youtu.be/wc0GQJpXiAs
NSB Airport, Kolkata Inside by Masud Karim: https://youtu.be/gFeVm3790ps

Why PAKISTAN's J17 is not a threat to INDIA ?:TOP 5 FACTS :
https://youtu.be/s2wElN7PaWU
Landing on secondary runway 19R from north: https://youtu.be/hBGtsgvsqDU One could see probable land preparation for isolation bay or diversion of taxiway F around the mosque. We have to wait and watch for final outcome on next Google map.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 6:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kolkata: IndiGo will now have 60 flights daily from Kolkata after adding a new one to it's daily routine on Thursday. The airline will add two more flights next week, taking the number of departures from the city to 62.
On Thursday, the airline added a third flight to Bhubaneswar. This flight will depart at 7.15pm and reach Bhubaneswar at 8.20pm. The flight goes on to Bengaluru, touching down at 10.55pm. On January 15, the airline will add two more flights to Kolkata, one to Bengaluru and another to Delhi. The flight to Bengaluru will take off at 10.30pm.
That will take the direct flight count to Bengaluru to eight. With two indirect connections, the connection goes up to 10. The new Kolkata-Delhi flight will take off at 5.15am, taking the number of connections between Kolkata and Delhi to nine a day.
Across the network, IndiGo is adding 24 new flights by January 15, taking the daily fight count to 671 connecting 39 destinations and help further consolidate its market share of 36.8%. IndiGo is the fastest growing low cost carrier in the world. Its on time performance is one of the best in India. IndiGo's technical dispatch reliability is 99.91% making it the airline haswith the least number of cancellations in India. The ariline has a fleet of 100 Airbus A320 aircraft.
IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh said, "The new frequencies connecting the cities of Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Vishakhapatnam and Ahmedabad will offer much improved connectivity and choice across the IndiGo network." We will continue to expand our network to meet the requirements of our business and leisure travelers wherever they demand it. We are determined to provide the best travel experience to everyone who flies with IndiGo, as we continue to offer them on-time, hassle free and affordable flying experience.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/50489559.cms
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
The Spitfire, in worse times than when I saw it. All rights with the photographer, I am just shamelessly posting a link:
https://scontent-a-sin.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10801542_10152425644961022_2792876905833973983_n.jpg?oh=cd491e9dbd6061524318887b76e266fe&oe=54E0CCFC


I stumbled on this article, in a completely unexpected manner:
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?137343-Spifire-Mk-22-empennage

Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 12:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spitfires were extensively used in first Kashmir war ( 1949 ). That was the day of Air Marshal Subroto M.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sir: I was following up on the IIT Kharagpur Spitfire. This thread has three pictures of the ex-IAF bird, one in action as well!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 6:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bagdogra flight scrap

Siliguri, Jan. 23: All 24 flights to and from Bagdogra airport were cancelled today because of poor visibility and the absence of a landing system that guides flights through inclement weather.
The flights included 12 to and from Delhi and six to and from Calcutta, Airports Authority of India officials posted at Bagdogra said.
The visibility was around 1,000 metres, while the minimum requirement at the airport is 2,800 metres.
"Flights carrying around 1,200 passengers could not land because of dense fog. Another 1,800 passengers who were supposed to board planes from Bagdogra could not do so," said Rakesh Sahay, the airport director of Bagdogra.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160124/jsp/bengal/story_65573.jsp

Comment: Is it that expansive to install a ILS system? Bagdogra is almost the gateway to NE India!
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 9:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sabya99 wrote:
Comment: Is it that expansive to install a ILS system? Bagdogra is almost the gateway to NE India!
Sir, Bagdogra's civil aviation flights operate from the small civilian conclave of an IAF airfield. The IAF has on occasion, not been receptive to ILS iinstalled at many airfields: there are security and operational concerns.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 8:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Come April 2016 and West Bengal could see expanded operations at the Andal airport, which will also be the country's first greenfield.

While the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (Kolkata airport) will continue to cater to the needs of the metropolis, the Andal airport, officially called Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, in Burdwan district is poised to augment its domestic as well as international flight schedules.

Industry sources said the promoter of Andal airport, Bengal Aetropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL), is in advanced talks with SpiceJet and GoAir to commence operations on routes to western and southern India.

"These operators will start their departure from the summer schedule and may operate the flights to not just New Delhi but to Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad as well", a person familiar with the developments told Business Standard. yu67

This move follows state-owned carrier Air India extending its Kolkata-Durgapur route to the national capital last December.

According to sources, SpiceJet and GoAir are monitoring the flight occupancy rate of Air India which operates the Kolkata-Durgapur-Delhi route, based on which the talks have progressed.

"At this moment, we are getting around 97 per cent occupancy on the Air India flight which starts from Kolkata and lands in New Delhi airport via Durgapur", BAPL's managing director, Partha Ghosh told Business Standard.

Bhutanese carrier Druk Air is also poised to upgrade its presence in the airport from a technical stop to full-fledged passenger operations starting with this year's summer schedule.

The airport's promoter is also keen to bring in Bangladesh based Biman Bangladesh and Nepalese carrier Nepal Airways to commence passenger operations from the airport.

Neither GoAir nor SpiceJet, which is observing its 'silent period' pending a public listing, responded to queries.

While the Andal airport, which started commercial operations in May 2015, is seemingly aggressive in filling its cup to the brim this year, the Kolkata airport will not feel the heat on account of loss of traffic.

"The Andal airport cannot and will not affect the traffic in Kolkata airport", director of Kolkata airport A K Sharma told this newspaper.

Another official in the metropolis' airport pointed out that the catchment area of Andal and Kolkata are very different, and which will therefore not affect Kolkata airport's traffic volumes.

While the Andal airport's target area comprises the towns of Burdwan, Bankura, Bishnupur, Purulia, Suri, Bolpur and Rampurhat in southern West Bengal, with an additional catchment area extending to Dhanbad and Bokaro in neighbouring Jharkhand, Kolkata addresses a more metropolitan traffic.

During April-November 2015, total aircraft movement in the Kolkata airport grew by 4.6% to 68,191 flights, up from 65,178 flights in the same period of 2014. While domestic take-offs and landings grew by a nominal 1.3%, those for international flights rose by nearly 22%.

Passenger volume also saw a substantial increase by 13.7% at 8,021,076 footfalls during April-November last year as against the 7,056,319 footfalls during the same months in 2014.

Travel agents in the state are also in sync with the "mutual coexistence" of the Kolkata and Andal airports, adding that the sales tax exemption on aviation turbine fuel till 2021 for flights refueling at the Andal airport will help in attracting more airlines.

"There is going to be a huge surge in traffic on the Durgapur to other cities' routes and soon there may be a fare-war once private carriers start their operations", a travel agent having international operations told this business daily.

Another city based travel agent, who is expecting cheaper air-fares atleast in the initial days after the private carriers step in said there may be a rush as "it (air-fare) will be just above the rail fare to travel to cities like New Delhi".

The present airfare to Delhi from Andal is Rs. 4,724 while the one from Kolkata is Rs. 4,635.

http://www.business-standard.com/art...2300183_1.html

Comment : This trend of 22% growth of international traffic from CCU is a clear indication that CCU is not dead end as far as international load is concerned. I think with time Andal airport will have its own passenger base, will sustain its own flight without heavy subsidy. As Bengal is rapidly deindustrialized more people will migrate to DEL / BOM in search of job and keep the airport functioning. There is no need to invite Druk / Biman, it may not be economical.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

India's major airports to reach saturation in 10 years: CAPA
By Mihir Mishra, ET Bureau | 27 Jan, 2016,

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/50740893.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

NEW DELHI: The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation has said that key airports in the country will saturate in the next ten years and the government needs to start planning for alternative airports in the cities.

The report by the aviation think tank says that Bangalore and Hyderabad will saturate by FY26, Delhi and Kolkata will saturate by FY23 and Mumbai and Chennai will saturate by FY18.

"The government needs to consider this issue from a national interest perspective: Total airport traffic is forecast to grow from 190 million passengers in FY2015 to 556 million on FY2025. This will place immense pressure on metro and non-metro airports," CAPA said in its report.

It needs a mention here that the government has not even started work on alternative airports or expansion plans in cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

The government has, however, approved a second airport for Delhi in Bhiwadi and a proposal for Jewar in Noida is also being considered. The approval for an airport in Navi Mumbai has also come.
Comment : How about the saturation dates for NE airport and Port Blair. I think CCU may not saturate by 2023 because of economic stagnation of West Bengal. Also old domestic and international terminals could be refurbished leading to significant capacity enhancement. With newly added taxiway and parking stands this structure could function well till 2050. No need for new airport now!
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 1:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Landing on main runway 19L under Cat 1 condition: https://youtu.be/KFYlCHq4c2A
Emirates Airbus landing on Kolkata airport, night time ; https://youtu.be/wrdIpB_STtg
Tallest ATC tower in India at Kolkata airport: http://www.airports-india.com/emagazine/index.html
Why AAI changed the earlier design, it looked almost futuristic!
Extensive apron/parking lot/taxiway construction going on near 19R turning pad around the mosque and east side of main runway. http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=22.664254&lon=88.447527&z=17&m=b Perhaps this is the second phase of development of NSCBI airport by sleeping giant AAI!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Airport unsafe, warns Centre
- State must give land: Union minister

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160217/jsp/bihar/story_69648.jsp#.VsPWAMxX7To
Union minister of state for culture, tourism and civil aviation Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday said the Bihar government must provide 55 acres to expand runway and other facilities at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport in Patna "before any accident happens".
The minister, who was in Patna on Tuesday, said: "Patna airport has been a problem for the past several years. We have identified 55 acres adjacent to it. I request the state government to take an immediate decision to provide it to us for runway expansion and development."
Officials in the state civil aviation directorate, however, claimed ignorance about any demand for 55 acres from the civil aviation ministry for expansion of Patna airport.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials in Patna claimed that a formal proposal with regard to transfer of additional land would soon be sent to the state government.
Underlining the urgency of the situation, Sharma said the present length of the runway is just 7,000 feet while a minimum length of 9,500 feet is necessary for safe landing of A319, A320 or similar big aircraft.
Sources claimed that against the total runway length of 7,000 feet, only 6,409 feet remains available at the time of landing and take-off because of the airport's location constraint. There is very little scope for extending the runway as it is constrained by Peer Ali Path (Airport Road) on the northern side and Delhi-Howrah railway line on the southern side.
"At present, the pilots face risk while landing," Sharma pointed out. "There is the secretariat clock tower also which acts an obstacle in the approach funnel and further cuts down the length of runway that could be used. If we get the identified land, we will be able to increase the runway to 12,000 feet and ease the situation."
Of the land identified, 48 acres are with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research while the rest 7 acres are with police's special task force (STF). Both locations for the additional land are located on the southwestern side of the airport.
Cost of land acquisition has been the bone of contention between the AAI and the state government in matters related to either expansion of the existing airport or setting up an alternative airport.
The issue over transfer of 7 acres of land belonging to the STF continues to remain unresolved despite the state cabinet okaying transfer of the land to the AAI on January 15, 2013. The AAI had refused to buy this land at the price of Rs 114.66 crore fixed by the state government.
The usual practice across the country is that the state government bears the cost of land acquisition and the AAI looks after development, maintenance and operation of the airport.
"If we get land, we can improve Patna airport in 18 months," Sharma said. "The AAI is ready with money and labour resources to start the work. The state government just needs to give the green signal."
Sharma, an MP from Noida, said he was embarrassed to say that the Patna airport is not a licensed one and its terminal building unable to handle the influx of passengers of even two flights at a time.

Comment: Whose fault it is that Bihar does not have a respectable airport? Federal gov. or Bihar gov. ? May be babus in Delhi want to see Bihar down and under, but without a decent airport air connectivity will be affected. That becomes a central gov. issue. So both should join hands and build a bigger/ better airport over there!
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 12:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

AAI rejects early morning flight in Kol-Agt route.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20160216/2795690.html

Left front government in Tripura today expressed displeasure over the rejection of the proposed of an early morning flight between Kolkata and Agartala during summer.
Transport officials here today said that Indigo airlines had proposed to run a morning flight between two destinations in summer following repeated demand from the state government but Airport Authority of India (AAI) did not agree with.
Indigo in their new summer schedule proposed to include one flight which will leave Kolkata at 0555 hrs to reach Agartala at 0655 hrs. The same flight will leave Agartala at 0725 hrs and reach Kolkata at 0825 hrs.The proposed schedule is planned to begin their new schedule from middle of March.
However, AAI authority has turned down the proposal stating administrative difficulties and shortage of staff in Air Traffic Control in Agartala, which enraged the state government.
Early morning and late evening flights between Agartala and Kolkata were being demanded by the state government for past many years to facilitate convenient movement of the people.
Initially, airlines were not agreing but now when the airlines wants to run a flight AAI disagreed said Transport minister Manik Dey.''
The local director of airport S D Barman said that at present there are only four controllers who run the ATC in two shifts. They will require more controllers for accommodating the proposed schedule which they dont have in their disposal at the moment.UNI BB KK SB GC1329.
Comment: Did AAI forgot that Tripura is a land locked/ remote and isolated state within Republic of India. They should relocate more controllers from other parts of India to Agartala.
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Air India to launch direct flights between Kolkata and Port Blair
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/air-india-to-launch-direct-flights-between-kolkata-and-port-blair/1/603782.html

Travellers from Kolkata have got a reason to smile! Especially those who have been wanting to travel to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for a long time. According to a report by Travel Biz Monitor, Air India has announced the launch of weekly flights from Kolkata to Port Blair.
Starting its operations from February 25, 2016, the charter flight AI 3707 has been scheduled to depart Kolkata at 9pm, and will reach Port Blair at 11pm. The return flight has been scheduled to depart Port Blair at 11.40pm, and will arrive in Kolkata at 1.25am.


This move by Air India could prove beneficial not only for the residents of Kolkata, but travellers from all other parts of the country as it will be a major addition to direct connectivity between the Indian mainland and the Islands. This might also push up the number of tourist arrivals in the already-popular destination.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have always been a traveller's favourite, not only among Indians but the global tourists as well. The Islands are known to have pristine beaches, scenic landscapes with a lush vegetation, a rich coral reef ecosystem, and teeming wildlife -- all of this accompanied by a fine tropical weather.
Comment: This is a direct effect of recent infra. update at Port Blair airport by AAI/ Navy. That tropical paradise is now very close to mainland Indian subcontinent!
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 8:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sabya99 wrote:
Air India to launch direct flights between Kolkata and Port Blair
Comment: This is a direct effect of recent infra. update at Port Blair airport by AAI/ Navy. That tropical paradise is now very close to mainland Indian subcontinent!
Sir, this is a typical example of lousy newspaper reporting of aviation news. Air India (earlier, Indian Airlines) has always had direct flights between Calcutta and Port Blair, and Chennai and Port Blair. The only change now is this extra flight, which will happen thanks to the infrastructure for night landings. This will increase AI's financial bottom-line as well.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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