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International flyers spend up to two hours at immigration, baggage belts
Chennai: If you are taking a long flight to Chennai from abroad, your travel, or travail, will not end after touchdown. Long queues at immigration counters and commotion at the conveyor belt to collect luggage await you.
International flyers have complained that they have to wait between 45 minutes and two hours to complete immigration at the airport. Though adequate counters are available, they are not always manned.

“Immigration and baggage clearance are major issues. Baggage delay is much more than the time taken at the immigration counter. After spending time at the immigration, passengers have to wait at the conveyor belt for 40 minutes or more,” said Air Passengers Association of India national president D Sudhakara Reddy.

“It took me 45 minutes to get bags when I returned from Colombo recently. The flying time was one hour and 20 minutes. We are getting complaints from passengers about delays at immigration and baggage delivery, especially during midnight,” Reddy said.

The international arrival terminal handles around 10,000 passenger a day, most of them at night. For almost a year now, passengers are being held up. Airports Authority of India (AAI) said it had requested for more manpower.

With little or no relief, passengers often take to social media to vent their ire. Dhananjayan, a national award winning writer and film critic, tweeted recently: “The biggest challenge faces is immigration & baggage arrival. Look at the mess of returning passengers - made to wait for 45 minutes & then wait for luggages to come for another 45 minutes. When will our Airports improve? ji kindly look into this”

Reddy said Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports do not face such congestion. “They manage the crowd well. They have the personnel,” he said.

11 return flights serving food stocked from India; will save Rs 49 crore annually: Air India official
New Delhi: Air India has started serving food stocked from India on 11 return flights from eight foreign cities, and it plans to save around Rs 49 crore annually through this measure, a senior official said Monday.
The 11 return flights are Copenhagen-Delhi, Stockholm-Delhi, Birmingham-Amritsar, Birmingham-Delhi, Vienna-Delhi, Madrid-Delhi, Singapore-Delhi, Singapore-Mumbai, Bangkok-Delhi, Bangkok-Mumbai and Shanghai-Delhi, the Air India official told PTI.
"When the aircraft departs from here (India), the food is stocked in chillers to keep it fresh. So, when the aircraft is returning from a foreign city to an Indian city, this food is served to customers," the official said, assuring that it remains "fresh and tasty".
"According to our estimates, we will be able to save Rs 48.97 crore annually on catering costs on these 11 return flights," the official said, adding that the national carrier is planning to replicate the measure on "all flights where it is feasible to do 'return catering'".
Air India spends around Rs 600 crore to Rs 800 crore annually on catering costs and it plans to cut down on this expenditure.
The official told PTI that according to the airline's estimates, it would be able to save Rs 17 crore per year through "return catering" on Stockholm-Delhi and Copenhagen-Delhi routes.
"Through 'return catering', we will be able to save Rs 19 crore on Singapore-Bombay and Singapore-Delhi flights. On Shanghai-Delhi flight, we will save Rs 1.94 crore per year. On Vienna to Delhi flight, we will save Rs 4.38 crore per year," the official said.
"On Birmingham-Delhi and Birmingham-Mumbai flights, we plan to save Rs 4.17 crore. On Bangkok-Delhi and Bangkok-Mumbai flights, around Rs 1.87 crore will be saved," he said.
However, on Madrid-Delhi flight, the airline is estimated to save only Rs 61 lakh annually through "return catering".

100 additional airports to come up in years to come: Suresh Prabhu
Panaji: Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu on Monday said that in addition to existing 101 aviation facilities, country will have additional 100 airports in years to come.
Speaking after inaugurating country's first Geographical Indication Store at Goa International Airport at Dabolim in South Goa, he said,“Over a period of time, there are certain geographies with very specific skills. In some geographies, there is expertise available which is not seen in other place. In case of Goa it is a culture, art which is also a geographical indicator. But also something also which comes from nature like the cashews of Goa.”
Mr Prabhu said the GI stores would promote local products made by artisans of the state at the airport which in turn boost local manufacturing and talent.

Kerala eyes interlinked airports
Thiruvananthapuram: Domestic airline companies are actively considering the government’s request for better connectivity among the four airports in state using smaller aircraft. The idea was proposed at a recent meeting between chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and representatives of 12 domestic airlines, Union civil aviation ministry officials and senior government officials. It is reliably learnt that SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir – three major players in domestic sectorevinced interest to link all four airports.
Top sources said SpiceJet that already owns a fleet of small aircrafts, has evinced interest in the government proposal to launch services connecting Kannur, Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram airports. IndiGo and GoAir have already expressed plans to launch a Kannur-Thiruvananthapuram service and they have been asked to consider a stopover in Kochi or Kozhikode. Government has also suggested connecting nearby airports like Coimbatore, Mysuru and Madurai with intra-state destinations. “The main demand of airline companies is that tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) – charged at 29% – should be reduced substantially. At present, ATF is taxed at 1% for Kannur airport for the next 10 years. Airlines are seeking a fair reduction,” said a top source.
Airline companies said operating cost for smaller aircraft are much higher because of the lesser number of seats and hence taxes should be slashed to reduce fares and attract passengers. Government sources contended that if taxes were reduced, only the government stood to lose revenue and a balance in terms of ‘cost effectiveness’ should be struck before reducing the tax. It is learnt that the Union ministry of civil aviation favours launching more services connecting nearby destinations.
Another idea that was discussed was to connect more international destinations with one or more airports in state by domestic airline companies. Sources said the idea that is being seriously considered is that whether government would underwrite fares for an agreed percentage of seats in every flight to an international destination so that airlines can operate with a minimum guarantee.

Indian Air Force to acquire 15 HAROP killer drones from Israel
In a bid to enhance its unmanned warfare capability, the Indian Air Force is planning to acquire around 15 more HAROP attack drones which can crash into high-value enemy military targets to destroy them completely.

The Air Force already has an inventory of these drones which are equipped with electro-optical sensors to loiter over high-value military targets such as surveillance bases and radar stations before exploding them.

"A proposal to acquire these attack drones is expected to be discussed by the Defence Ministry at a high-level meeting in the coming week to strengthen the fleet of such drones in the Air Force," Defence sources told ANI.
Once approved, the Indian Air Force would be exercising the option clause in the previous deal signed a few years ago with Israel which is the main supplier of all types of drones to the Indian Air Force including the surveillance machines including the Searcher and the Heron.

India is also discussing the Project Cheetah with the Israelis under which almost all the drones of the three services would be turned into high-quality attack drones and their surveillance capabilities would also be enhanced.

Air India agrees to operate late night flight to Mumbai, Delhi from Vizag
Visakhapatnam: Air India Limited has agreed the proposal of operating late night flight to Mumbai and Delhi from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh Air Travelers Association (APATA) informed on Monday.
APATA representatives along with Air India Independent Director Daggubati Purandeswar, met Air India Limited Board Member and Director (Commercial) Capt Amitabh Singh, at Mumbai. The representatives requested the Capt Amitabh Singh for operating late night flight to Mumbai and Delhi from Visakhapatnam as these services are necessary to facilitate the international travelers to have access to the flights from Mumbai and Delhi so as to continue their travel to other countries.

Bringing home the dead: Govt ties up with Air India for a ‘flat rate’

New Delhi: For many Indian families whose loved ones died in foreign shores, transporting the mortal remains was a harrowing experience — not only did it take time, it was also very expensive.

The challenge was acute in the Middle East, where the Indian population has grown to almost 80 lakh, with a majority being blue-collared workers. Official estimates show about 10 Indians die in this region on an average every day, mostly due to natural causes and in road accidents.

But with Indian community leaders raising the issue over the years, and after many rounds of discussions between the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India, a solution has finally been arrived at.

The government has reached an understanding with Air India that a “flat rate” will be charged from families of the deceased.

To begin with, it has negotiated the rate for the six Gulf countries (see box), where the estimated Indian population is significant: UAE (33 lakh Indians), Saudi Arabia (27 lakh), Kuwait (9 lakh), Oman (8 lakh), Qatar (6.5 lakh) and Bahrain (3.5 lakh).

Officials said the “flat rate” — for Air India direct flights from earlier this month — is almost 40 per cent lower than the average cost of transfer of bodies from these countries. The transport of bodies of children — less than 12 years old — will cost half the flat rate, officials said.

Jet Airways seeks shareholder approval for converting debt into shares

Jet Airways said on Monday it would seek shareholder approval to issue new equity and convert existing debt into equity among other things at a special meeting on Feb. 21, as the beleaguered airline attempts to stay afloat.

The company will also seek approval to allow its lenders to nominate directors to its board, the airline said in a regulatory filing.

Saddled with a debt of about 80.52 billion rupees ($1.14 billion) as of Sept. 30, Jet is desperately searching for a deal that could help mitigate its severe liquidity crunch.

At the extraordinary shareholder meeting, the company proposes that share capital be increased 11-fold to 22 billion rupees from 2 billion rupees, by creating an additional 500 million shares and 1.50 billion preference shares.

The latest development comes after Jet on Jan. 17 said a plan involving a cash injection by stakeholders and board changes were in the pipeline.

Government To Infuse Rs. 1,500 Crore Into Air India Next Week
New Delhi: The Central government will infuse a fresh equity of Rs. 1,500 crore into national passenger carrier Air India early next week, a senior official said on Friday.
According to the senior official from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the amount is a part of second supplementary demands for grants for 2018-19 for gross additional expenditure.
In December 20, 2018, the Central government had sought Parliament's nod to infuse Rs. 2,345 crore into the financially strained national carrier under the airline's 'Turn Around Plan'.

Bengaluru: West Asia first, and Southeast Asia next: Made in India combat jet “Tejas” is going places, quite literally.
This fighter aircraft will demonstrate its prowess for the first time at Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), Asia Pacific’s premier maritime and aerospace event in Malaysia, March 26-30, 2019. The two-seater trainer variant of “Tejas” is also likely to debut at this exhibition as many potential customers, including Malaysia, are keen to weigh up the military jet after it garnered rave reviews at the Bahrain air show in 2016. One West Asian nation sent a senior minister to Bengaluru in 2018 to check out this multi-role, light combat aircraft, and has reportedly sought extensive flight trials back home—an indication that an export order is on the anvil.
Sources in Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) said IAF pilots would fly the fighter and the trainer variant to Malaysia from the air force station at Sulur in Tamil Nadu where the No 45 Squadron (Flying Daggers) is based. HAL has commenced production of combat-ready fighter jets which meets all parameters of final operational clearance (FOC) beginning this month though a formal announcement on crossing the FOC milestone is likely to be made by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman during Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru next month. Around the same time as the maritime and aerospace exhibition in Malaysia, HAL will hand over the 16th jet to the IAF to mark the formation of the first complete squadron of ‘Tejas’ combat aircraft of the air strike wing.

Pakistan blocking Indian cargo to Afghanistan
In what appears to be a violation of civil aviation norms, Pakistan is reportedly stopping Indian flights to Afghanistan. Recently, Pakistan's civil aviation authority denied passage thrice in the last week of December to SpiceJet cargo flights to Afghanistan and then again on January 11 and 14.

India raised the matter with Islamabad with Ministry of External Affairs sending a note verbale to Pakistan.

The development comes even as New Delhi has been trying to connect landlocked Afghanistan with India and rest of the world.

Pakistan has been blocking the land route for trade between Afghanistan and India.

The India Afghanistan air corridor, launched in 2017, connects Afghanistan with Delhi and Mumbai. The Chabahar port being built in Iran with India's help also provides Afghanistan goods gateway to the world.

Fog affects trains and air traffic again, 29 flights delayed at Delhi Airport
New Delhi: The MeT department on Sunday said that the Western Disturbance is likely to effect heavy snowfall and rainfall in Himalayan and adjacent states. The department has predicted snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand. It said that regions in Punjab, Haryana, north Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh may receive rain in coming days.

Foggy conditions were prevalent in Tripura, Delhi, UP, Andhra and Odisha. The fog affected train and flight traffic. 29 flights were delayed at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI). 25 long-distance trains have been cancelled. Almost all of them were scheduled to travel across northern states of the country.