Kerala mulls chartered flight for UAE returnees

KOCHI: The state government is likely to introduce chartered flights to bring in Keralites who want to return from the UAE taking advantage of the amnesty declared there.

Immigrants from other countries who are staying in the UAE without proper documents can return if they are not involved in any criminal case, as per the two-month amnesty that began on December 4.

"We are considering chartering flights as a last option to bring in those Keralites who are staying in the UAE illegally if they are absolutely unable to pay their travel bills. A flight chartering company based out of the Fujairah airport in the UAE has agreed to operate flights to bring in Indians during the period. The company had operated chartered flights to India during an earlier Haj season,'' a top official of the non-resident Keralite affairs (NoRKA) department told TOI here.

The chartering company representatives had reportedly made this assurance during their talks with NoRKA officials who had visited the UAE last week to make arrangements for the return of Keralites under the scheme.

"At the current ticket prices, it will be possible to operate a chartered flight with a seating capacity of 120 at a cost of Rs 10 lakh. Each passenger fare would be around Dh600 (around Rs 7,800)," a state government official said.

The state government has also decided to bear the fee that the returning migrants have to remit to get out-passes, which will come to around Dh69. Help desks will be set up in the three airports in the state for providing assistance to the returning migrants, he said.

M K Lokesh, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, said the embassy had also written to the Indian government to waive that fee. "About 300 Indians had approached the embassy till Monday for returning to the homeland using the amnesty provisions. Over 35,000 Indians had returned when amnesty was declared earlier in the UAE in 2007But we have no idea how many would return this time, though the general impression is that the number would be less,'' he told TOI here over phone.

Lokesh said no other state governments had approached the embassy so far for making arrangements for the return of migrants.

The NoRKA officials said preliminary estimates indicated that around 5,000 Keralites staying in the UAE without proper documents were likely to return during the amnesty period.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Kerala-mulls-chartered-flight-for-UAE-returnees/articleshow/17566286.cms

Ajit Singh's plans for airports in UP grounded

Plans are stuck because of alleged lack of support from state administration

Even though civil aviation minister Ajit Singh has the power to approve import of planes and construction of new airports, the minister is facing problems in developing airports in his home turf.

Singh has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to hand over air strips at Meerut, Faizabad and Moradabad to the Airport Authority of India and also sought land from the state to develop facilities at Agra and Allahabad airports but the plans are stuck because of alleged lack of support from state administration.

"Why is the local government not taking any interest. Even a small state like Chattisgarh is promoting aviation. Development of aviation will only improve connectivity to tier II and III cities. It is vital for the economy," Singh stated. 

According to Singh, the number of persons travelling from his state to Gulf is higher than Kerala but number of flights is less. Uttar Pradesh handles less than 2% of aviation traffic with  most residents flying via Delhi, he said.

"Agra handles nearly 500 flights a year all of which are non-scheduled or charter flights. It is an air force airfield and we want to develop a civil enclave. The defence minister has agreed and we would require 50-60 acres of land to develop passenger amenities, terminal building and access. The district administration has identified land but I have not received response from the state government," Singh said.

He claimed that Airbus is keen to set up maintenance repair and overhaul facilities at Meerut.

"Airport Authority of India is preparing plans for the airports," Singh said refusing to divulge cost of modernising the air strips.

Singh's critics and experts point out that developing airports in towns like Meerut or Moradabd could be a loss making proposition.

"Developing airports for fixed wing planes involves a lot of cost. There is no potential in some of the small towns and it will just be a waste of funds," said an expert. He pointed out that the government had proposed developing helipads in all district headquarters across country. "That would have helped in connectivity and be useful in disaster management but the plan is on paper," he said.

"Our focus is on connectivity. We are amending the route dispersal guidelines facilitating more flights to tier II and III cities with small planes," Singh said responding to criticism.

Airports in four metros plus Bangalore and Hyderabad handle 70% of air traffic in India while Delhi-Mumbai route alone accounts for nearly 40% of all passengers flown, according to a civil aviation ministry report. 

Airlines flew over 60 million passengers in 2011, up 16% over previous year but growth has slowed down in 2012.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ajit-singhs-plans-for-airports-ingrounded/198867/on

Plane on runway forces Indigo flight to abort landing

Passengers of an Indigo airline flight experienced tense moments when the flight’s landing was aborted at the Chennai airport on Monday.

The flight which left Mumbai at 10 a.m. with over 150 passengers was scheduled to land in Chennai around 11.40 a.m. But when the flight was about to land, the pilot was informed there was another flight on the runway. He had to abort the landing and stay in the air for a while.

J. Joher, a frequent flyer said that he along with the other passengers were worried when the captain apprised them of the situation

.

“The pilot would have touched down in a few seconds but all of a sudden, we were continuing to fly. Then, the pilot informed all the passengers that there was another flight on the runway and that we would keep flying till that flight took off,” Joher said.

After fifteen minutes, the take off for the flight on the runway was cleared and the Indigo airline flight was able to land at 11.55 a.m.

However, airport sources said that such incidents were not uncommon at the airport.

“Sometimes, they occur because there may be a delay in the take off of some other flight on the runway for various reasons. But this is not such a big issue. Whenever the pilots find that they are not able to land due to the presence of some other flight on the runway, they keep flying for a while till they get the clearance to land,” said an airport official.

Pilot informed there was another flight on the runway, forced to stay in air for a few minutes

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/plane-on-runway-forces-indigo-flight-to-abort-landing/article4186384.ece

SpiceJet launches direct services from Kochi to Dubai

Kochi, Dec 10:  

Spice Jet, the low cost airline, on Monday launched its second international flight from Kochi connecting Dubai.

The company is offering daily direct flight from Kochi to Dubai and the inaugural ticket fares are as low as Rs 4,999 (one way fare inclusive of all taxes). Currently, Spice Jet operates direct daily flights to Dubai from Delhi and Mumbai. The airline will also be launching a flight to Dubai from Ahmedabad later this month. The inaugural flight from Kochi to Dubai was flagged off today by Neil Mills, CEO, Spice Jet, at a function at Cochin International Airport. On Kochi–Dubai route, Spice Jet will deploy Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a capacity of 189.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-logistics/spicejet-launches-direct-services-from-kochi-to-dubai/article4185619.ece

Airfares now touch the skies

heaper to fly to West Asia than to the national capital from State

Now, it is cheaper to fly from the State capital to Dubai, Doha, Muscat, and Riyadh than taking a flight to the national capital.

Those booking a Y class ticket can fly in a scheduled airline from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai for Rs.30,104, Doha Rs.33,144, Muscat Rs. 33,313, and Riyadh Rs. 34,196 while an air ticket in the same class to New Delhi will cost Rs.35,841.

Travellers are bearing the brunt as high fares are in place from Thiruvananthapuram to destinations in West Asia and Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Kolkata. The worst hit are the tourists and year-end travellers.

Jolt for travellers

The increase in air fares by 25 to 30 per cent to various domestic and international destinations has come as a jolt for the travellers.

Airline sources said seats were not available in the Y class (economy) in the Delhi- Kochi- Thiruvananthapuram sector in the national carrier. The cancellation of an evening flight in the Delhi- Kochi sector had also aggravated the problem.

An economy class ticket from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi will cost Rs. 9,190, to Chennai Rs.14,543, Bangalore Rs.13,452, Mumbai Rs.24,238, Kolkata Rs. 36,577, and Hyderabad, Rs.28,693.

With Christmas, New Year and peak tourism season round the corner, air fares are expected to reach the pre-Diwali level when fares in the domestic sector went up by 70 per cent.

Reasons

The increase in fares has been attributed to rupee depreciation, hike in aviation turbine fuel prices, introduction of additional user fees by airports, withdrawal of the fare ceiling by the Director General of Civil Aviation, and the inability of Kingfisher Airlines to resume operations.

The travel industry has demanded restoration of fare control by the DGCA to bring down the fares.

Short-haul destinations in Southeast Asia have benefitted the most from this situation. Due to high domestic fares, travellers are now looking at international destinations for holidaying.

The low-cost foreign carriers are taking advantage of the situation and have started charging higher fares than those by scheduled airlines.

The seats are usually in demand from the Gulf in March, April, August, and September.

The Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, in its report tabled in Parliament recently, has recommended that “in future all the airlines may be asked to increase their fares only with the approval of the DGCA. It has asked for a “transparent formula” for pricing of air tickets and to implement it within three months.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/airfares-now-touch-the-skies/article4186585.ece