India's tallest Air Traffic Control tower, at Mumbai airport, inaugurated

By BA Staff

Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), inaugurated India’s tallest ATC tower with a height of 83.8 metre and built within an area of 2,800 square metres.

The location and the height of the new ATC tower will enable the tower controllers to have unobstructed view of the entire operational area, which will help in optimizing air traffic separation and increase the traffic handling capacity at the airport.

The tower will be equipped with the latest technology including electronic flight strips which will soften the work load of the tower controllers, enhance safety and overall capacity of the airport.

The airport operating company Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) is upgrading the air-side with new taxiways and rapid-exit taxiways to help reduce the time aircraft occupy the runway to further increase the ability of the airport to handle more flights per hour.

GVK CSIA awarded the iconic design and architecture project to Hong Kong based renowned architectural design firm HOK and international engineering design firm ARUP following a global architectural and engineering design competition. International lighting consultant Spiers and Majors were mandated for the innovatively designed lighting of the tower to bring out the sculptural qualities of the tower.

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AAI makes progress on PPP for six airports

by BA Staff

Yesterday, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) announced that it has invited the Request For Qualification (RFQ) for selection of the prospective bidders for Chennai and Lucknow Airports for conversion of these airports to a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The RFQs will remain open till mid-October, and applications are allowed from a single entity or a consortium.

As per a report from the Press Information Bureau,

The SPV shall be formed for this purpose. In order to secure representation of the Airports Authority of India on the Board of the SPV, the Concession Agreement will include a provision for issue of a golden share in accordance with a Shareholders’ Agreement that would form part of the Concession Agreement. 

The concessionaire can levy tariffs for aeronautical services including the User Development Fee (UDF) as may be determined by AERA to start with. Such charges would be revised normally once every five years by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) in accordance with the AREA Act. The RFP would indicate the parameters for determining charges for aeronautical services as well as the UDF 

It is expected that similar RFQs will be opened at the remaining four airports earmarked for transition to PPP (Kolkata, Jaipur, Guwhati, and Ahmedabad) soon. No applicant will be allowed to participate in the PPP at more than two of the six airports involved. 

The new PPPs will help bolster AAI's finances at a time when the authority is struggling under the weight of nearly Rs. 1,900 Crore worth of unpaid dues from several airlines. 

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Air India constitutes over 80% of dues to Airports Authority of India

by Devesh Agarwal

Air India is well known for receiving thousands of crores of tax-payer rupees in bailouts, however, the unfettered largesse to the beleaguered national carrier does not end there. The airline is the constant recipient of indirect dole in the form of huge overdues to state-run service providers like the Airports Authority of India which runs most of the airports in India, and the state-owned oil marketing companies like Indian Oil which sell aviation fuel.

While these entities are quick to put private carriers on a "cash and carry" basis if they default, Air India is given a free run of their resources.

Airlines' dues to AAI as of 31-Mar-2013

Last week, Minister of state in the ministry of civil aviation, Mr. K.C. Venugopal informed the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) on the dues of airlines to the Airports Authority of India. The statement says

AAI takes adequate efforts to recover the dues by regular monitoring. Action is also taken as per the approved credit policy of AAI. Defaulting companies have to pay interest as per AAI Credit Policy on delayed payments. In cases where delay persists, besides encashing the Security Deposit, the defaulting airlines are put on 'Cash and Carry Basis'. Interest @ 12% per annum is charged in respect of traffic dues. Interest on non-traffic dues is charged as per terms and conditions of the agreement which could be either 18% or 12%.

With about 19% of domestic market share, Air India's dues of Rs. 1,539.75 crores, constitutes over 80% of the total dues, while leader IndiGo, whose market share is almost 30%, owes just Rs. 2.89 crore or 0.15% of the authority's total dues.

In March, Minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Ms. Panabaaka Lakshmi informed the Lok Sabha, Air India owes state-owned oil companies Rs. 4,324 crore in outstanding fuel bills as on February 28, 2013. This is more than three times all the other domestic carriers combined.

It will be interesting to see the details on the Interest being charged to Air India, and why they are not being put on a cash and carry system.

Share your thoughts via a comment.

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Opinion: Kingfisher Airlines' license suspension actually helps Vijay Mallya

On Saturday India's civil aviation minister Ajit Singh, announced that aviation regulator, the DGCA had suspended the operating permit of Kingfisher Airlines, after the carrier failed to respond to their show-cause notice.

With mountains of unpaid debts, the airline has been on life-support for some time now. Unpaid employees have been striking since October 1, resulting in a suspension of all flight operations by the Dr. Vijay Mallya promoted airline.

While many proclaimed their eulogies, the PR folks at the airline, called the suspension temporary

"We would like to clarify that this is not a cancellation but a temporary suspension which is valid only till such time that we submit a concrete and reliable revival plan to the satisfaction of DGCA."

The alcoholic beverages (alcobev) business in India is at the intersection of public relations, sexually aspirational marketing, board-room machinations, manoeuvring around the hundreds of contradicting laws, gratification and slush funds of administrators and politicians.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I refuse to accept that a man who made his billions in this tricky business, will just fold up his airline, risking his personal assets and those of the UB Group, which have been given as surety on the loans to the airline.

Going out on a limb, I suspect, this suspension may be one last, desperate move by team Mallya, to scare the stakeholders, employees, banks, vendors, and government, into saving the airline.

The striking employees who have been unpaid for seven months have been taking a hard line. With the management offering only one month salary, reconciliation meetings till now have proved futile. Ahead of their meeting with the management on Monday, the suspension suddenly gave the employees a preview of cold, hard reality. If the airline goes under, not only will they not get their unpaid salaries, but they will have to look for new jobs in a shrinking Indian aviation market.

The banks which are refusing to lend any more funds, demanding the Mallya bring in about $500 million (Rs. 2,500 Crore) to re-capitalise the airline, were given a preview of Kingfisher going under. Banks have collateral for only about 10% of their loan exposure. A lengthy, expensive, legal recovery process is not a desirable situation for them. Recovery proceedings may also bring to the surface undesirable information and questions, about potential political influence in these government owned banks granting loans to the airline.

The vendors, especially the airports, the fuel companies, and lessors, who will have to commence lengthy and expensive litigation to recover their dues if Kingfisher goes under. The mess will get further complicated due to cross litigation between the various vendors. For example the lessors who own the aircraft will have to pay the dues of airports before they can take away their aircraft.

The Government, by ordering the suspension or cancellation of Kingfisher's permit, has given Mallya the perfect escape route. He can now dump the entire problem in to the government's lap, saying "What can I do? I did my utmost to save the airline, but the government cancelled the permit. Now they must deal with the consequences."

The spin doctors are UB Group are masters in PR. We recently experienced how well they diverted the media's attention away from the Rs. 60 Cr. humanitarian loan extended by banks. Get a Kingfisher stewardess out in protest saying she is out on the streets, and all the TV news channels will cover it from head to toe. In no time, public opinion will be turned, that the government must be humane and take care of those poor unpaid employees who are now out on the streets.

Last, but not the least, is us passengers and tax payers. Thanks to capacity reductions, fares are already up 20% in the last few months, and over 50% compared to last year. With the Dussera festival this week, kicking off the peak travel season till mid January, and Kingfisher out of the picture, fares will rise to astronomical levels. There will be a public outcry and the government will be forced to defend the situation with the Kingfisher spin doctors saying "See, we tried to save the airline. The government closed us down. These fare increases are due to that."

The situation is being unfolded exactly how the King of Good Times wants it.

What are your thoughts on the suspension of Kingfisher's permit? On my conspirator theory? Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

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New terminal at Lucknow airport found defective

A note from the Press Information Bureau of India about Lucknow airport, which is incidentally named after the father of present civil aviation minister Ajit Singh. The airport is owned and operated by the Airports Authority of India.

Taking a serious note of the complaints of irregularities in the construction of the New Terminal Building of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport, Lucknow, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Ajit Singh has decided to refer the matter to the Chief Technical Examiner’s Wing of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for conducting a detailed enquiry into construction of the building. The decision of Shri Ajit Singh is based on a preliminary enquiry report submitted by a committee which was headed by Shri Samir Sahai, Chief Vigilance Officer, Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited. This committee was constituted by the Minister himself following various complaints received from Members of Parliament and news items published in this regard in newspapers. The report submitted by the enquiry officer has prima facie substantiated various defects in the construction quality, design and maintenance of Lucknow Airport Terminal.

The committee members visited the Airport in Lucknow and found the quality of work of the New Terminal Building below standard. The major defects included leakages from the roof above the check-in counter, in the ceilings near the departure lounge corridor and from some of the thermal expansion joints. The rain water harvesting method was also found prone to leakage as proper drainage system was not in place. The Committee also found that the flooring in the Arrival and Departure Terminal was not proper with granite stone cracking at some places. The electrical fittings were also not properly fixed up at many places. The overall maintenance of the building was found in poor condition, despite the fact that it was inaugurated only about two months back.

As the Committee was of the view that the architectural design as well as construction shortcomings and defects and quality of work need to be verified in detail, it was decided to refer the matter to the CVC. The building was constructed by M/s IPL, Brahmaputra Infrastructure Ltd. (JV) at a cost of about Rs. 90 crore out of which Rs. 85 crore has already been paid to the contractor. This is also noteworthy that the award of the construction was finalized in October 2007 and stipulated date of completion was April 2009. However, the completion was delayed and completed in May 2012. Inauguration of the airport was done on 19th May 2012. The Civil Aviation Minister has taken a serious note of the fact that the airport was inaugurated without ensuring the complete and quality construction. The Minister has clarified to the authorities that stern action will be taken against those found guilty.

The contractor has already received almost all his money. The delay of three years itself would have invoked certain cost escalation clauses in favour of the contractor. What are your views on these developments? Will the true facts ever see the light of day? Will ALL those guilty and culpable face justice?

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Kingfisher operating payments at Mumbai International Airport are overdue

It appears that Kingfisher's troubles may not yet be over.

After the carrier flirted with financial disaster last month, a report from the Economic Times suggests that new trouble is on the horizon for India's self professed "King of Good Times."

According to the report, Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) has sent notice to Kingfisher that it must pay the dues owed to CSIA, or risk the possibility of shutting down its operations.

"From Saturday, Kingfisher will be put on a cash and carry mode if it wants to continue operating out of Mumbai airport," a CSIA spokesperson said.

Kingfisher apparently has about 90 crore rupees worth of unpaid operating charges in Mumbai, and checks written from Kingfisher over the past three or four months to CSIA to clear these operating dues have bounced.

Under a cash and carry system, Kingfisher, which has around 57 daily domestic departures from Mumbai in winter 2011-2012, would be forced to pay cash at the beginning of each operating day before starting up flights in Mumbai. With Kingfisher's credit worthiness in the tank after its recent shenanigans, CSIA will no longer honor non-cash payments from them.

The CSIA spokesperson stated that they [CSIA] have asked Kingfisher to pay Rs. 50-60 lakh daily, about half of which will fund operations with the remainder being used to pay off Kingfisher's bills. He added that, "If the airline does not pay up then we have the option of going to he civil aviation regulator to explore which airlines have sought extra slots from Mumbai as if the airline does not pay up it will be asked to stop services from here."

Kingfisher assured its passengers in a statement Thursday that operations from Mumbai would continue as normal, and that there would be no disruption of operations.

These types of issues are not new for Kingfisher, as the airline has been shut out by its suppliers numerous times over the past year, most notably with fuel.

Beyond its troubles in Mumbai, Kingfisher also has outstanding lease payments due to lessors, who have already begun to re-possess their aircraft. Furthermore, Kingfisher has been placed on cash-and-carry by the Airports Authority of India as well, and its 400 crore equity line hinges on a sustainability report from SBI Caps, which will be presented to lenders in the near future.

While these types of problems are understandable as Kingfisher attempts to right its financial state, one can only wonder at how this type of headline will affect the business travelers that are Kingfisher's new core passengers.

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Indian government gives itself extension for mandatory airport licensing

The Indian government has issued a notification effectively extending the mandatory licensing deadline for most of the airports operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is a government body.

“no person shall operate scheduled air transport services to/from an aerodrome with effect from the 30 June 2011, unless it has been licensed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)."

The licensing procedure for airports was initiated as a part of the standards notified by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO pronounced Eye-Kay-Oh) in its Annex-14 on the subject of Aerodrome Design and Operations. Accordingly, Part XI of the Aerodrome Licensing in India's Aircraft Rules 1937 was amended to include the provision for licensing.

While all ten privately operated or joint-venture airports have been required to obtain licensing in order to commence/continue operations, the airports operated solely by the Airports Authority of India which is part of the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation, have been given this extension vide notification SO 1735 (E) dated 19th July 2010.

The private/JV airports are: Lengpui airport, Aizwal, Manipur, Jindal Vijaynagar, Karntaka, Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, Cochin, Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, Sri Satya Sai Airport, Puttaparthy, Jamshedpur Aerodrome, Jamshedpur, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore International Airport, Devanahalli, Bangalore, Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Airport, Nanded, Maharashtra.

Total number of AAI airports to be licensed : 53
Initial Licenses issued : 15
License applications received : 15
Aerodrome inspected for issue of licence : 14
Applications yet to be submitted : 23

In addition to the AAI operated airports, there are 22 defence airports which have civil enclaves for civil aviation operations. Some notable airports include Lohegaon at Pune, Dabolim at Goa, and at Guwahati, Assam. The Ministry reports that they have taken up the issue of licensing of these airports with the Ministry of Defence, but no further information is available.

Airport licensing backgrounder

Regulations for licensing of aerodromes in India existed since 1956 as provided in Rule 79 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. The Rule however excluded Government aerodromes, which were managed and operated by the regulator – Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

In 1971, the management of four Government managed international aerodromes i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata was given to the International Airports Authority of India (IAAI). In 1985, the management of all Government managed domestic aerodromes was transferred from the DGCA to the National Airports Authority (NAA) along with the aerodrome directorate.

Subsequently, in 1995, the IAAI and NAA were merged to form the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

With the transfer of all airports and CNS/ATM (communication and navigation systems / air traffic management) functions, from DGCA to the NAA in 1985, there was a void in the DGCA, so in 1999 the aerodrome standards directorate was established within the DGCA. However, the activities remained minimal due to the manpower constraints and lack of regulatory framework for aerodrome licensing.

In March 2001, ICAO adopted Amendment No. 4 to Annex 14, Volume I, which required all airports used for international operations to be certified by November 27, 2003. Accordingly, the rules in India were amended to comply with the ICAO provisions. Rule 78 of India's Aircraft Rules, 1937 states

No aerodrome shall be used as a regular place of landing and departure by a scheduled air transport service or for a series of landings and departures by any aircraft carrying passengers or cargo for hire or reward unless it has been licensed for the purpose.

Detailed requirements and guidance in the form of Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) and advisory circulars have been developed based on ICAO's Standards and Recommend Procedures (SARPs) and guidance material provided in the ICAO document on aerodrome certification procedure.

In India, there are about 87 airports used for scheduled flight operations. As of date eleven international and twelve domestic airports have been licensed.

Priority has been given to international airports to ensure compliance to India's obligations to ICAO and the Chicago Convention.

Does the phrase "Do as I say, not as I do" come to your mind too?

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Gouging passengers at airports to subsidise airlines

At the 65th annual general meeting and world air transport summit held in Kuala Lumpur in early June, Giovanni Bisignani, CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) put India's two largest airports -- New Delhi Indira Gandhi International and Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International on the ‘IATA Wall of Shame’ for their steep hikes of 207% in fees which, he said, added to the jeopardy of the aviation industry.

In parallel, for some time we have been hearing from airlines and their association IATA about India increasing its airport landing, parking and aero bridge (as called PBB) fees by 10% at a time when airports across Asia Pacific like Hong Kong International and Singapore Changi were reducing their fees by 10% or more, in a bid to attract or retain airlines.

Across the world, landing fees are based on the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of an aircraft. When comparing the figures from Bengaluru International airport (BIA) and Singapore Changi airport, some very interesting numbers come up. It must be highlighted that the fees at all Indian airports are the same, so conclusions positive or negative apply to all airports in India equally, not just to BIA.

Indian airports are very cost effective in terms of their landing charges and their aerobridge charges. However, their parking charges for an overnight parking could best be classified as price gouging. God forbid an aircraft has a technical fault and is "aircraft on ground" (AOG). The airline will rue the day the parking bill comes to them.

Click on image for a larger view

The pricing structure also reflects the lack of synchronisation between current realities and the policy framing at the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This is no longer the 1950s when flying was a luxury and international air travel was only for the super rich and famous. Air travel and air cargo, domestic or international, is a vital and integral part of any economic activity today and politicians and bureaucrats alike, need to rapidly time warp their policies to align with the realities of the 21st century.

In India, pricing is heavily skewed in favour of smaller aircraft operating domestic flights. For the same aircraft the landing fees for an international flight are 33% higher than a domestic flight, reflecting the legacy thinking that a person travelling abroad must have boatloads of money. Compare this with the fact that today a 3.5 hour international flight from Bangalore to Singapore and back is probably cheaper than a 2.5 hour domestic flight to Delhi and back. This skewed thinking extends all through the aviation chain be it passenger fees or taxation on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) which is at a ridiculous 28% in most states.

For narrow body operations Indian airports' fees are 7% to 36% lower than Singapore, but for wide body operations India is more expensive by about 10% due to the 33% mark-up for international flights. For the Boeing 777-200 India is 10% cheaper than Singapore which is surprising when one considers the fact that Singapore Airlines is the world's largest Boeing 777 operator.


The biggest surprise came when passenger paid fees are added up. In India, airport operators gouge passengers with passenger service fees topped off by User Development or Airport Development fees which are amongst the highest in the world. The 207% hike in fees Mr. Bisignani was referring to, is essentially borne by passengers. Populism is running amok here with international passengers being asked to fork out airport fees three times greater than their domestic counterparts. Surely an additional customs and an emigration officer does not dictate such an enormous hike in fees?


Let us face facts -- there is no airport in India that can compare itself to those in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Bangkok or Shanghai who are amongst the top airports in the world. The airports in India are monopolies, public or private does not matter, they are taking maximum advantage. Citing the slowdown in air travel, airport operators in India, government and private, are trying to increase charges and obtain the same income from the lesser number of travellers. It is like killing the proverbial golden goose, and Mr. Bisignani is right in his concern, air passengers are turning the Indian railways and various bus services in unheard of numbers.

At the same time, Mr. Bisignani should also introspect, India is not alone; globally, in this triangle of fees and charges, it appears that the airports and airlines have teamed up, leaving passengers to bear the brunt of airport income. Using IATA's own definition of a "typical flight" i.e. 73% passenger load factor, comparing the total fees paid by passengers on a narrow body (Airbus A320 with 110 passengers) or a wide body (Boeing 747-400 with 271 passengers) flight :

• In India :
• On a narrow body domestic flight passengers pay $1,178 as fees or 345% of the $341 an airline pays
• On a narrow body international flight passengers pay $2,749 or a mind boggling 631% of the $435 an airline pays
• On a wide body international flight passengers pay $6,772 or 247% of the $2,744 an airline pays
• In Singapore (only international flights) :
  
• On a narrow body international flight passengers pay $2,096 as fees or 419% of the $500 an airline pays
• On a wide body international flight passengers pay $5,164 or 203% of the $2,548 an airline pays

The skew is probably the worst in Europe with London charging a mind numbing $100+ per passenger in fees, and the United States is not much better, offering extremely crowded main airports with poor amenities compared to the fees they charge.

Despite the government in India announcing the formation of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), let us not be under any illusion -- the AERA will have no representation from passenger rights groups, and will essentially mediate only the charges between airports and airlines, leaving passengers to increasingly bear the brunt of airport fees and charges keeping India's air traveller numbers miserably low.

Additional source : Airport Authority (AA) of Hong Kong report.

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Official report of Presidential helicopter near miss at Mumbai in February

The Joint Investigation team constituted on February 19, 2009 to investigate the serious incident of a near miss between the Presidential Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter and a Air India flight IC-866 on February 9, 2009 at Mumbai airport has submitted it report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

To translate the official findings (shown below), the Presidential formation called Pratap (comprising of three helicopters Pratap 1, Pratap 2 and Pratap 3) landed on the active runway without reference to or permission from the Air Traffic Controllers causing the Air India Airbus A321 VT-PPV to perform a high speed take-off reject.

As in this article by 737 instructor pilot Captain A. Ranganathan, the team has also criticised the lack of modern recording and safety equipment like DFDR (Digital Flight Data Recorder), CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder), GPWS (Ground Proximity Warning System), TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) on many Indian Air Force equipment.

The lack of such equipment on many official government aircraft is widespread and was also considered responsible for another near miss between an Ilyushin IL-76MD and an Air India flight just two days after the Mumbai incident. It was later discovered that the IL-76 did not belong to the Indian Air Force but the Aviation Research Centre which is directly under the Prime Minister’s Office. There is no release of information on that incident.

With apologies in advance for the plethora of acronyms, the findings of the Committee were:

• Pilot of IC-866 were appropriately licensed and aircraft was airworthy and maintained as per the Regulations of DGCA.
• Pilots of the IAF helicopter were authorized as per Indian Air Force Regulations and Helicopter was maintained as per Regulations and was airworthy.
• Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) on duty had proper expertise and rating of their units.
• Weather at Mumbai airport at the time of incident was not suitable for VFR [Visual Flight Rules] Operations but it is not considered as a contributory factor.
• The coordination among various agencies was unsatisfactory and coordination meeting was not carried out as per the existing instructions.
• There is no common SOP [Standard Operating Procedure] between the Indian Air Force [IAF] and Airports Authority of India [AAI] for VVIP [Very Very Important Persons] operations.
• RT reporting procedure for formation is not satisfactorily documented. There was a difference of opinion between Airports Authority of India [AAI] and Indian Air Force [IAF] on procedure to be followed.
• Transfer of control from approach to Tower should have been earlier.
• Helicopter was given direct routing from INS Shikra (Kunjali) to Mumbai which was as per the regulations.
• There was a difference of opinion and understanding about the VFR circuit to be followed especially for Helicopters between Indian Air Force and Airports Authority of India.
• No closure of airport is required for VVIP flights at present as per the instructions of Home Ministry. VVIP flights are however to be given priority landing. There was a lack of common understanding on the concept of priority landing between AAI and IAF.
• IC-866 rejected take off at high speed after sighting Helicopter on the side of Runway and turned to taxi track ‘W’ to avoid direct collision with the Helicopter which was in front of him at distance of 30-40 meters.
• MI-8 and MI-17 Helicopters are not equipped with FDR and other safety equipments which are installed on civil version of these Helicopters.
• Pratap formation (all three helicopters) landed without landing clearance from ATC.
• According to the Committee the following factors can be attributed to the serious incident. These factors are listed according to sequence of events and not in terms of gravity:
• Unsatisfactory coordination among various agencies, involved in the incident.
• The late transfer of control of aircraft from approach to tower.
• Landing of Pratap 2 directly at the place of landing on Runway 27 by making a very short circuit.
• Landing of Pratap 2 without landing clearance from ATC even before Pratap formation reported the finals.
• Landing Pratap 1 and Pratap 3 without landing clearance.

In typical bureaucratic form the recommendations of the Committee are wide-spread, with no central agency responsible, and no fixed time frame for implementation.

• The instructions given in the Home Ministry’s Bluebook for coordination procedure should be strictly followed and all Members be invited for Coordination Meetings. The minutes of meeting should be documented and circulated to all concerned for compliance.
• Last minute local changes, if required, can be carried out after consultations among Aerodrome Operator, ATC, IAF and Security Agencies which should be documented and should be duly informed to Protocol Department of State Government.
• Airport Level coordination Meeting should be conducted to discuss the operational issues between AAI, IAF, DGCA [Directorate General of Civil Aviation] and Security agencies.
• Ministry of Home Affairs should send a copy of Bluebook to AAI in case it is not done at present. Based on the same, AAI will make internal confidential circulars for use of their own officers.
• AAI and Indian Air Force shall designate senior level officers for effective coordination for VVIP movements.
• AAI shall issue a Standard Operating Procedure for handling of VVIP flights incorporating all instructions already issued, to make a comprehensive document. IAF and AAI will mutually share SOPs.
• An Airport specific Standard Operating Procedure for VVIP movement in case of AAI managed airports be prepared by AAI and will be approved by AAI headquarters. In respect of IAF airfields, the Standard Operating Procedure shall be prepared and approved by IAF. For private airports, the Standard Operating Procedure for VVIP movement will be prepared by aerodrome Operator and shall be approved by DGCA. The standard operating procedure so prepared will be used by Indian Air Force, Airports Authority of India and Aerodrome operator jointly, covering all phases of operations. This task may be accomplished at the earliest.
• The two organizations namely IAF and AAI should exchange, documents in connection with VVIP flights whenever required.
• Priority landing and privileges attached with it may be defined and documented.
• Issue regarding routing, special VFR, position reporting etc. should be discussed and resolved at Airport Level Committee 24-48 hours before commencement of VVIP flights.
• The formation shall report position of lead Helicopter even during entering the aerodrome circuit or for asking permission for landing. However, vacation report of runway etc. will be that of last Helicopter. This procedure should be documented by Indian Air Force and Airports Authority of India in respective Standard Operating Procedures and in common Standard Operating Procedure, for correct understanding of procedure.
• Helicopters and aircraft used for VVIP flights must have a DFDR, CVR with multi channels, GPWS, TCAS and other safety equipments used on similar civil aircraft/helicopters, once these equipments are installed, regular monitoring of these flights be carried out on the lines of FOQA (Flight operations quality assurance), by other airlines for safety oversight.
• The Helicopter Committee set up by MOCA/DGCA [Ministry of Civil Aviation/Directorate General of Civil Aviation] should expedite identification of landing places for Helicopter at Delhi and Mumbai and to work out the traffic circuit for Helicopters.
• Till the time the above recommendation is implemented, all Helicopters will report finals at the beginning of Runway and thereafter land at desired spot on the runway. This should be immediately documented and circulated by both Indian Air Force and Airports Authority of India.
• Three minutes before and after ETA/ETD of VVIP operations, airspace should be closed. This closure should be informed by issuing a NOTAM.
• Existing Regulations of aircraft landing only after obtaining permission from ATC units should be strictly enforced and circulated to all concerned including pilots of VVIP flights.
• The Airport Committee comprising AAI, IAF and Aerodrome Operator should work out airport specific operational issues 24-48 hours before actual operations of VVIP flights.
• The existing laid down procedure for missed approach will remain in-force. However, the consequences of missed approach on the security, health and other aspect of VVIP on board need separate examination. In this regard MOCA in consultation with MHA may examine this aspect to asses whether any other procedure can be evolved in such an eventuality of missed approach.
• The committee re-emphasizes that Transfer of control from Approach to Tower and vice versa, should be followed strictly as per ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation] DOC 4444.
• Visual surveillance before landing, especially for VFR flights should be re-emphasized on all aircrew members and ATCO.

The report has been accepted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

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Bengaluru International Airport performs well despite the slow down

At a recently meeting of the infrastructure committee of the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce we had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Marcel Hungerbuehler about India's second greenfield private airport Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), which opened last May.

Based on his discussions and presentation, I compiled some graphs on airport and air travel performance.

There is little doubt that BIA is suffering the effects of the slowdown. Overall passenger traffic is down 17.3% with domestic traffic crashing by 20.5%. The saving grace has been a 6.68% increase in international passenger traffic.

Click on images for a larger view

Bangalore constitutes about 10% of India's total air passenger traffic. There were some apprehensions that the distant location of the airport has contributed to the crash in regional traffic. The graph shows that Bangalore is generally following the same trends as the rest of India, but the recovery in Bangalore seems to be slightly muted when compared to all India. Compared to this, the buses and trains are running quite full, indicating a switch in travel mode by passengers.


From a peak hour load of over 33 flight movements per hour at the old HAL airport, the new airport is down to a maximum of 23 movements per hour, alleviating fears about immediate runway capacity once the recovery commences. At present BIA is around eight million passengers per year. Sources at the airport inform me that BIAL the consortium operating the airport considers the terminal capacity to be around 12 million passengers per year. Once the traffic crosses 9.6 million, they will consider construction of the second terminal to the east of the current terminal, where the current VIP terminal, staff parking and L&T project office is located.


I am sure passengers in the United States will be envious of the baggage delivery times at BIA. The first bag in on the belt five to service minutes after the aircraft arrives, with Oman Air being the most efficient. International flights take as much as 48 minutes for the last bag to be placed on the belt. The reason for this appears to be the x-ray screen by Indian customs of all international arriving baggage. The two Boeing 747 operators Lufthansa and British Airways have the longest arrival times thanks to the volume of baggage.


BIA has the dubious distinction of being on Forbes' "World's most delayed airports" list. The February data shows a significant improvement with 61% on-time flight performance, and another 21% delayed less than 15 minutes (which is considered on-time) for a total of 82%.


It is clear that the capacity constraints caused by airport infrastructure at other Indian airports and the early morning fog during the winter months of December and January are major causes for the poor performance at BIA. Addressing the infrastructure constraints at Mumbai and Delhi will take time, and out of BIAL's control, but address the early morning fog related delays is within BIAL's control.

BIA must upgrade to Cat II ILS and that will require correction of the steep glideslope by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) who are responsible for the air traffic control and navigation at the airport including the initial faulty installation of the ILS equipment. This will require each side of the runway to be shut down for 25 days.

Sources at the airport tell me that correcting the glideslope has been the top-most priority since the airport opening. The incorrect installation was done by the AAI and now a new hut is required to re-locate the ILS equipment. The sticking point is cost. Naturally BIAL will expect AAI to bear the cost. AAI while agreeing verbally is not issuing a letter to this effect, leaving the corrective actions hanging and passengers suffering.

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Government approves fee hike by Airports Authority of India

The Indian government has approved a ten per cent increase in aeronautical charges at 84 airports across India operated by the state owned Airports Authority of India (AAI).

This at a time when airports across Asia and in many parts of the world, are reducing airport and passenger charges to stimulate air travel.

These charges include landing, parking and terminal area navigation fees that airlines pay for using airports. Naturally, one should expect the airlines will pass on the costs to us passengers, in the form of higher fares, but at a time when airlines globally are in meltdown, will they be able to ? Conveniently, the ministry expect airlines to absorb the increases. They are already bleeding so what difference will a little more make.

Since the start of this year, the Civil Aviation ministry headed by Mr. Praful Patel, has approved increases in aeronautical charges at the now privately operated brownfield airports at Mumbai and Delhi, which account for close to 60 per cent of India's total air traffic.

The three privately operated greenfield airports at Bangalore, Kochi, and Hyderabad can also be expected to increase their charges, since they are allowed, by contract, to charge what AAI charges.

The government is also expected to clear AAI's proposal for charging development fees from departing passengers at places like Thiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Goa, Amritsar and Ahmedabad. Reflecting a warped thinking at the ministry, as demonstrated by the exorbitant fee differential between domestic and international passengers, we can be certain that airports with higher international traffic will have their development fee proposal cleared cleared first.

Airport developers claim a resource crunch in implementing their development plans during the current economic slowdown. The sharp fall in passengers and freight have affected revenue and business plans. Thanks to its lopsided planning, the government has created monopolies and cartels out of airports. Let us not forget, this is the same government which screamed "cartelisation", just two weeks ago, when private airlines raised their fares.

Risks are inherent in any business, and in a competitive scenario economic downturns are great drivers of efficiency maximisation, leaner organisations and cost effective operations.

Indian passengers have no problem paying for facilities -- once they are built; but asking us to pay for them in advance and cover the business risks of these monopoly airport operators is not acceptable. Instead of protecting passengers, the government is only aiding this huge cartel of monopolies called airport operators.

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Air India flight in near miss incident at Mumbai airport with presidential helicopter - Update 4

Read the official investigation report here.

February 9, 2009, 10:00 IST (04:30 GMT)

TV channels are reporting that an Air India Airbus A321 performing flight IC866 was involved in a rejected take-off/near miss at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport earlier this morning.

The flight had commenced its take-off run, when a helicopter which was given permission to land, strayed across the runway to land on the helipad. On sighting the helicopter the flight crew of IC866, rejected the take-off, applying emergency braking.

All passengers on board, estimated at 148 are safe. The tires of the aircraft require changing which is being done right now.

Initially it appears a fault of the air traffic control, which appears to have given permission to the helicopter to land, while at the same time, giving permission to the Air India flight to take-off.

Update 1 - 10:55 IST (05:25 GMT)

The shocker. The army helicopter was part a three helicopter convoy of Indian President Pratibha Patil.

The presidential convoy was conveying the President from the Governor's mansion, The Raj Bhavan, along with the top most leadership of the state of Maharashtra, to the airport. Due to security procedures, it is unknown whether the President was on board the chopper which strayed on to the runway.

Clearly a major mishap has been avoided, and there is bound to be a major investigation.

Information from aviation experts indicate the plane was at V-1 speed (around 100 knots). This is why the plane was able to perform a "rejected take-off", with the autobrake system kicking in. In another few seconds, the plane would have crossed the V-2 threshold, at which point the aircraft is travelling just to fast for it to stop on the runway. That would have surely resulted in a disaster of epic proportions.

The wheels of the Airbus A321 aircraft jammed after the rejected take-off, and the aircraft tyres burst due to the excess heat caused by the emergency braking. It has been taken back to the terminal. The passengers have been dis-embarked and are in the terminal. Arrangements for an alternate aircraft are being made.

Update 2 - 13:25 IST (07:55 GMT)

A Mumbai Airport official told news agencies.

"At around 09.00 hrs today, an Air Force chopper landed on the same runway from which Air India flight IC 866 (with 150 passengers on board) was taking off for Delhi, forcing the pilot of the plane to abort take off at the last minute,"

However there is some confusion. News reports claim

the Air India aircraft was taxiing to reach the main runway for the take off when the Air Traffic Control talked to the pilot regarding the helicopter. The pilot applied the brake to bring the aircraft to a halt

Whereas, all reports indicate a high speed take-off reject, resulting in the nose wheel tyre blowing out, indicating the pilot had commenced the take-off run and was not taxiing.

Credit is being given to the alertness of Captain SS Kohli, pilot of IC 866, who aborted the take off. Captain Kohli said,

"The the chopper and our aircraft got the clearence from the ATC at the same time. The ATC had lost contact with the chopper."

"The chopper just landed without taking a landing clearance. I cannot say much more,"

Meanwhile, an official spokesperson of the President told news agencies that "Everything is perfectly fine. The President was attending her normal functions."

As per Timesnow TV.

A fleet of three helicopters including the one carrying Patil, along with Maharashtra Governor SC Jamir and some other dignitaries, had taken off from Mumbai's Naval base 'INS Kunjali' and were on their way to the airport since the President was to fly to Gondia by her special Indian Air Force Plane (IAF) plane to attend a function.

A probe into the incident has been ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the sources said. A senior DGCA official is coming from New Delhi to Mumbai to join the investigation, they said.

An IAF spokesman said, "the pilots of the chopper had followed the instructions from Bombay approach meliculously. The Presidential entourage was cleared to take off from INS Kunjali and land at Santa Cruz between two taxiways". An inquiry has been ordered by the IAF into the incident, he said.

While full information is not yet available, this appears to be the most likely situation based on past knowledge, historic traffic patterns, and information.



Update 3 - 17:00 IST (11:30 GMT)

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) released a statement at 16:10IST ((10:40 GMT)

Mumbai Airport, the busiest airport in India was witnessing heavy air traffic and operations today morning. The ATC Mumbai was aware of the Presidential visit and were watching the approach movement of the Presidential convoy of helicopters. At that time an aircraft of Air India was on the active runway-27. The ATC, noticing movement of the aircraft on the runway, asked the aircraft to immediately apply brakes and exit through the taxiway. The aircraft exited immediately and the helicopters landed safely.

Director General Civil Aviation has ordered an investigation of the incident under rule 77 and appointed Jt. DGCA as the Inquiry Officer for the purpose of carrying out the investigation. Jt. DGCA has reached Mumabi and started investigation proceedings.

Considering this incident involved the President of India, the poor controller on duty is in for a very rough time.

Update 4 - 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT)

The Air India aircraft is registration VT-PPF. An Airbus A321-211 construction number 3340, it did it first test flight on December 5, 2007, and was delivered by Airbus on December 14, 2007. It is powered by the CFM56-5B3/3 engines.

Image copyright Flickr user Pallav105

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Delhi passengers to pay more from March 1, as Government approves airport Development Fee

The Government has approved the levy of Development Fee (DF) by the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) @ Rs.1300/- per departing international passenger and @ Rs.200/- per departing domestic passenger with effect from 1 March, 2009. The DF which is being levied purely on an adhoc basis, is inclusive of all applicable taxes and is for a period of 36 months only.

This approval shall be reviewed specifically upon the following milestones:

• DIAL will submit final project cost estimates within 6 months of the commencement of the levy of DF, i.e. latest by 31 August, 2009. The project cost so submitted, including amount of contingencies, and their utilization shall be audited by an independent technical auditor to be appointed by Airport Authority of India (AAI) or as the Regulator / Government may decide.
• DIAL will undertake a review of the bidding process in respect of the hospitality district. They may approach the Government with the outcome of the review within 6 months of the commencement of the levy, i.e. latest by 31 August, 2009.

The approval is subject to the following conditions:-

• The final determination of levy may be made by the Government/Regulator upon compliance of the above two milestones.
• Following procedure monitoring mechanism shall be followed:
1. DF receipts would be deposited in a separate Escrow Account. Modalities of the Escrow Account may be decided by DIAL, with the approval of the AAI, atleast one week before the commencement of levy.
2. AAI and the Central Government would have supervening powers in respect of Escrow Account to ensure that all receipts are properly accounted for and are utilized only for permitted purposes. These powers may include stoppage of withdrawal by DIAL.
3. Presently, other capital receipts like equity and debt funds are channelized through another Escrow Account of DIAL as per OMDA requirements. The Independent Auditor appointed by AAI, presently verifies only the revenue as defined in Article 1.1. of OMDA and not the receipts of capital nature and utilization thereof. As a condition of this approval, DIAL would be required to subject such capital receipts and expenditure also to AAI supervision.
4. All accounting and auditing practices, as would have been applicable to AAI, will be applicable to DF receipts and expenditure by DIAL. The modalities in this respect should be worked out between AAI and DIAL, atleast one week before the commencement of levy.
5. The compliance in respect of the above issues will be furnished by AAI and DIAL to the Central Government on event basis as well as on a periodical monthly basis.

• It will be ensured that DF is utilized for the development of such “Aeronautical Assets” only, which are “Transfer Assets” in terms of OMDA.
• DIAL should report the collection and usage of DF on a monthly basis to Central Government / Regulator through AAI.
• The levy will be reviewed 6 months after commencement by the Regulator/Central Government and thereafter at such intervals as the Regulator/Central Government may decide.
• At the stage of final determination, Regulator/Central Government will ensure adequate consultation with the users.
• The amount collected through DF would not in any case exceed the ceiling of Rs.1827/- crores (NPV as on 1.3.2009). The ceiling amount would be exclusive of taxes, if any.
• The balance amount of Rs.1250 crores received as shareholders advance (i.e., Rs.1750 crores net of Rs.500 crores to be appropriated towards equity) would be retained by DIAL. Any escalations of cost would be met from the amount so retained. In case the cost escalation is less than the retained amount, the ceiling amount of Rs.1827 crores would be reduced by an amount which is equal to the difference between the retained amount of Rs.1250 crores and the amount representing project cost escalation beyond Rs.8975 crores.
• Rate and tenure of levy are premised upon the traffic projections and other estimates. In case due to actual figures being different than those estimated, the collections during levy period exceed the amount of Rs.1827 crores (NPV as on 1.3.2009) or any other amount which the Regulator/Central Government may determine, the excess amount so collected shall not be utilized, for any purpose whatsoever, without the prior approval of the Regulator/Central Government.

The Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL) are undertaking modernization, development and upgradation of IGI Airport, New Delhi as per the approved Master Plan. DIAL had estimated that the Master Plan will be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs. 8975 crores. Requisite funds were to be raised through Rupee Term Loan, External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), Base Equity, Internal Accruals and Refundable Security Deposits (RSD) from Hospitality District (commercial property development). However, it has now been brought to the notice of the Central Government that DIAL are unable to raise Refundable Security Deposits to the extent anticipated and a substantial short fall is expected. It has also been stated that the lenders have not agreed to extend any further debt as the existing debt arrangement takes into account all possible revenue streams and have suggested that levy in the nature of capital receipts to leverage any additional debt. The shareholders have brought in shareholders’ advances to the extent of Rs. 1250 crores and are not in a position to take additional equity exposure beyond Rs. 1200 crores. Further, the present declining air traffic scenario has adversely impacted the revenue streams of DIAL and the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR). Accordingly, DIAL have proposed a levy of DF under Section 22A of the AAI Act, 1994 @ Rs. 350/- per departing domestic passenger and @ Rs. 1000 per departing international passenger for a period of 39 months.

The proposal of DIAL was examined by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Airports Authority of India. The Government also engaged M/s KPMG Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd. to undertake diligence and verification of the proposal submitted by DIAL. Government has been advised that DIAL can levy DF under Section 22A read with Section 12A of the AAI Act for the purposes mentioned in clause (a) of Section 22A. Further, the completion of project by March 2010, i.e., in time for Common Wealth Games 2010 was of utmost importance. Keeping in view the position that all other funding options appeared to have been exhausted, there was no option but to levy a pre-funding charge as contemplated under Section 22A so as to ensure timely completion of the project. Such pre-funding charges are accepted by ICAO subject to compliance with laid down guidelines/principles.

The Central Government have, accordingly, approved the levy of DF by DIAL @ Rs. 1300 per departing international passenger and @ Rs. 200 per departing domestic passenger w.e.f. 1.03.2009 for a period of 36 months, inclusive of all applicable taxes, purely on an ad-hoc basis, to fund an estimated short fall of Rs. 1827 crores. This approval is subject to review after 6 months when DIAL is expected to furnish the final project cost, which will be audited by an Independent Technical Auditor. DIAL have also been advised to review the bidding process of the Hospitality District to explore the possibility of raising further resources therefrom. A detailed accounting/monitoring mechanism is required to be put in place, inter-alia, including deposit of all DF receipts in a separate Escrow Account where AAI and the Central Government will have supervening powers; the account will be maintained as per accounting and audit procedures followed by AAI etc. AAI will play a critical role in the monitoring of levy and usage of DF and keep the Ministry apprised. The DF receipts shall be utilized only for construction of such “aeronautical assets” as are required to be “transferred” to AAI by DIAL upon expiry of the lease of IGI airport. The shareholders advances amounting to Rs. 1250 crores shall be retained in the project to fund expected increase in project costs.

Source : Press Information Bureau, Government of India

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Steep glideslope at Bengaluru International Airport contributes to delays and safety concerns

In my previous article I highlighted the faulty glideslope at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) being a contributor to delays, especially in times of fog. Last Sunday January 24, 2009, BIA, again, experienced significant delays due to fog.

This issue has been hanging fire at Bengaluru International Airport since opening day.

I came across an article by Capt. A. Ranganathan, an Airline Instructor Pilot on Boeing 737 with a flying experience of 20,000 hrs, which explains the situation more technically, and with the right dose of humour.

To err is human but when an error is committed repeatedly, one must credit them with complete incompetence. They have proved that they are champions in “Bending it like Beckham”!

New Greenfield airports are constructed in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The runways are located in areas free of obstacles and the builders install PAPIs (Precision Approach Path Indicators) at a perfect 3° angle. PAPIs are mandatory equipment required by ICAO for airfields where airliner jets operate. These assist pilots to complete a precise landing in the touch down zone after they transition from an instrument approach. All the four runways, two in each city, had these installed at 3° angle.

The AAI installed the ILS (Instrument Landing System) for all the four runways. And they showed why they are great fans of the footballer. They bent the glide slope angles to 3.30° and 3.40°, instead of synchronising them with the 3° PAPIs. With this master-stroke, they killed the two airports from being capable of operating flights in CAT 2 and CAT 3 ILS conditions in fog. The recent diversions from Bangalore and Hyderabad, and the resultant air traffic congestion at Mumbai could have been avoided if the ILS Glide Slope had been less than 3.25° . The airport owners should have insisted on the AAI redoing the glide slopes. Instead, they bend the PAPI angles up to synchronise with the ILS! This is progressive thinking! Airports which should have functioned ‘24 x 365’ hours in a year are restricted to operations ONLY when the visibility is more than 550 metres,

High Glide Slope angles at Hyderabad and Bangalore. Photos: Naverus and Capt. A. Ranganathan

The implications do not stop there. All aircraft have a structural limit for their landing gear. The maximum rate of descent permitted is 600 feet per minute. A glide slope up to 3.25° will ensure a controlled flare and landing within this limit. Any higher angle will require a descent rate of 800 to 900FPM. A positive flare in the correct time is required. Any delay can result in a hard landing or a late touch down. These are a major threat while landing in heavy rain conditions. If the rain condition is accompanied by changing winds, especially tail winds, it becomes a dangerous recipe.

Read the full article here.

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Financial manoeuvring hurts DIAL and AAI

In his weekly column "Rational Expectations", Sunil Jain has written an excellent article titled "Mr. 20 per cent" highlighting the financial shenanigans played by the operator of Indira Gandhi International Airport, GMR promoted Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), and the resultant negative impact not just on Airports Authority of India (AAI), but also on DIAL itself.

His postscript says it all

If DIAL hadn’t tried to shortchange AAI and had its plans thwarted last year, it could have given 46 per cent of the deposits to AAI and still kept Rs 9,500 crore (54 per cent of Rs 17,590 crore) — if prices fall by half now, it gets to keep just Rs 4,475 crore! Playing by the book helps.

It is important to remember, the owners of GMR are rumoured to be "close" to various politicians of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, as well as the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the parent of AAI.

Read the full article.

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Air travel control systems modernised at major airports

According to a PIB release, at a recent parliamentary session of the Rajya Sabha, Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel informed that major work in modernisation of Air Traffic Control System (ATCs) has been undertaken at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Mangalore, Bangalore, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Varanasi and Guwahati.

The expenditure incurred by Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the modernisation of the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance and Air Traffic Management systems (CNS / ATM) during the last three years is as follows: (Rs. 5 Cr. = 1 Million)

• for the year 2005-06, Rs 118.20 crores;
• for the year 2006-07, Rs 66.15 crores;
• for the year 2007-08, Rs 200.71 crores.

After the installation of modern navigational/landing aids, increase in the handling capacity of airspace and airport, enhanced safety, reduction in delays in flight, saving of fuel and thus minimisation of adverse affect on environment, have been observed. Other benefits accrued include uninterrupted operation of flights through airports during the periods of poor visibility, monitoring of aircraft movements in avoiding over-flying over the restricted and prohibited areas and more effective and efficient monitoring of runways during periods of poor visibility.

Patel informed that Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radars (MSSRs) have been installed at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Guwahati, Nagpur, Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Behrampur and Varanasi, by the AAI, at a cost of Rs 229 crore.

MSSR provides position, distance, call sign and altitude of the aircraft and data link between controller and pilot. It also provides seamless surveillance over territorial airspace by filling the radar coverage gaps for smooth and efficient air-traffic flow.

New Delhi, and Mumbai will be installing a GBAS navigation system similar to the one proposed at Newark Liberty airport, by 2010.

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Air India and Kingfisher biggest defaulters at Indian airports

In the Rajya Sabha today, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel informed the Parliament today that airport developers both in public and private sectors are not getting their dues from the airlines on time which is causing them financial problems.

As per the minister's statement in the house

In respect of Airports Authority of India’s (AAI), the dues, in Rs. Crore (Rs. 5 Cr = $1 million) of defaulting airlines are :

NACIL-Air India - 739.50; Kingfisher Airlines / Kingfisher Red - 286.62; Jet Airways / Jetlite - 32.78; Spicejet - 15.76; Paramount Airways - 12.50; Interglobe Aviation - 6.00; Go Air - 8.81. Total dues are Rs. 1,101.87 Cr.

Mumbai International Airport’s dues are as follows: NACIL-Air India - 52.90; Kingfisher Airlines / Kingfisher Red - 14.11; Jet Airways / Jet Lite - 7.51; Go Airlines - 2.29; Air Indian Charters Ltd - 0.80; Lufthansa Airlines - 0.80; Malaysia Airlines - 0.63; Emirates - 0.61;
Indigo Airlines - 0.57; Spicejet Ltd - 0.55; Singapore Airlines - 0.42; British Airways - 0.30;
Kuwait Airways - 0.27; KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - 0.26; Airlines Allied Services - 0.25; Kenya Airways - 0.25; El-al Israel Airlines - 0.23; Qatar Airways - 0.21; Saudi Arabian Airlines - 0.20; Ethiopian Airlines - 0.20; Other airlines - 3.18. Total dues are Rs. 86.54 Cr.

The total dues of airlines as on date owed to Hyderabad International Airport Limited (HIAL) is Rs. 48.75 Cr.

The total dues of airlines as on 15.12.2008 on Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is Rs. 84.50 Cr.

The total dues of airlines on Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) is Rs.41 Cr.

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) have also informed that there are some dues from airlines, but it appears no details are provided.

Government has given instructions to AAI to take all possible steps including legal action, if warranted against the defaulting airlines.

Just two airlines, Air India and Kingfisher owe 93% of total AAI dues, and 80.5% of MIAL dues. I suspect the trends at other airports will be similar.

Without political directive, it is career suicide for anybody at AAI, which is a government body, to even dream about, let alone execute, pursuing recovery operations against Air India, which is a government owned entity. In any case, Air India, just does not have the money. It is waiting for Sugar-Daddy a.k.a. Government of India to bail it out.

In case of Kingfisher, I am completely stupified. Dr. Mallya runs a global empire, he is astute and I am told, an extremely driven man. Aviation and Kingfisher, the airline, is his passion. What has gone wrong ? Have the liabilities of the Air Deccan merger finally caught up ?

Rs. 1,100+ Crores is not a trivial amount. This is money of the taxpayers of India, that should be put to better use, than left as overdues.

How seriously can we treat the minister's statement about instructing AAI to use all possible means to recover their dues ? It will be a simple step for AAI. All they have to do is stop the airlines from landing at their airfields, and seize the aircraft already parked. It will probably take, all of 2 seconds, before holy hell will break loose.

All the airport operators are suffering due to the economic crisis, and the subsequent reduction in overall aviation activity, be it flights, passengers or cargo.

AAI revenue has decreased by Rs. 228 Cr., April to September 2008, as compared to the corresponding period in 2007. MIAL's aeronautical revenue is down Rs. 79.83 Cr., April, 2008 to November, 2008. DIAL is down Rs. 50 Cr., and is already begging for financial assistance for its ambitious expansion plans, needed to meet the requirement of the Commonwealth Games 2010. HIAL has seen a total revenue decline by 15%. BIAL is down, but has not provided figures. The only other major airport operator, CIAL, has not been affected significantly, due to the constant middle east traffic, the one area of global aviation that is still escaping the global meltdown.

Overdues impose unneeded operational expenses on airport operators, and that ultimately comes back to passengers in the form of decreased services, delayed facilities, and higher fees. MIAL has been given permission for a 10% across the board rate hikes at Mumbai, Delhi can be expected to follow very soon.

Mr. Praful Patel is in difficult position of being the "boss" of both the defaulting airline and the airport operator owed the money. He has to make up his mind, and fast.

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V P Agarwal to take over as AAI Chief

PTI reports, V P Agarwal, a senior Board member of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), will take over as its Chief from January 1, 2009.

As per official sources, the appointment of Agarwal, who will replace Dr K Ramalingam, has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet.

Agarwal has been Member (Planning) of the state-owned airports body since November 2006 and had served as Executive Director of the Northern and Northeastern Region earlier.

Ramalingam, an electronics and communication engineer, is currently on the Navigation Systems Panel of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which sets standards and practices for airlines and airports.

He is also associated with the implementation of the India's GAGAN satellite-based navigation project, being jointly developed by the AAI and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to provide total coverage of the Indian skies as well as that over the vast Indian Ocean area.

Both, Ramalingam and Agarwal have been key figures responsible for the ongoing process of modernisation of airports across the country.

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Air navigation to be out of AAI hands ?

The Times of India reports that air navigation services, could soon be hived off from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). In a move that would bring India in line with much of the world, these services could be free to upgrade, evolve and create another successful world-class corporation like the ONGC. Government plans are understood to be well on their way towards slimming AAI's responsibilities.

Airport operators in most other countries don't manage air traffic, explains a former civil aviation secretary, because they are generally private parties unlike India's state-controlled AAI. A sensitive service such as navigation is generally not left in private hands, he says, adding the focus is skewed here. "The focus in India is on visible infrastructure such as airports and terminal buildings and little on the crucial navigation services which would lead to seamless air travel," he says. Air Navigation Services (ANS) are responsible for roughly 2.8 million sq nautical miles of Indian airspace. With India increasingly seen as the hub between East and West, air traffic is expected to grow.

It is thought there is a conflict of interest between private airport operators in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore and the government-owned AAI. ANS include communication, navigation, surveillance (CNS) and ATC. Civil aviation ministry sources admitted that "private operators felt AAI had undue advantage over them in levying various navigation charges."

Separating air navigation from overall airport management would not come a day too soon. This was recommended by the Naresh Chandra panel. Three years ago, the Roy Paul Committee too had recommended it. It criticized AAI's "recruitment and policies" for ATC which it described as "a unique and highly-specialised job, calling for a high degree of mental alertness." It added that AAI was "not capable of attracting high-quality manpower here and there's an urgent need for drastic changes." These may be in the offing.

The ministry asked consultancy firm KPMG to suggest the way forward. It recommended taking air navigation away from AAI.

Hive off Air Traffic Control: Create a separate ATC company that works for AAI on a contract basis. This would allow it to work for any air navigation company in the world. But this isn't feasible as this service is vital for the security of the country.

Hive off Air Navigation Services: Turn it into a government-owned corporation with AAI holding a stake and representation from the aviation sector. "It'll give them responsibility and credit for good performance and help them focus on their core function," say experts. This is the most likely scenario.

KPMG refused to comment.

An ATC source says, "We welcome this move. Though we generate 45% of the revenue for AAI, its investments are on other infrastructure. AAI should look at non-aeronautical sources of revenue such as hotels and amusement parks so that it can sustain itself without us."

Adds another ATC official, "A separate entity would give us the freedom to procure the latest radars and Instrument Landing Systems, tackle manpower shortages and enhance training facilities. Have a good management person to head it and see how it becomes a successful corporation like ONGC."

Private airport operators have welcomed the proposed autonomy for air navigation, saying such a move has worked well in other sectors, be it infotech, auto or telecom. "Anything which gives us efficient, safe air traffic services, whatever be the structure, is welcome. Old mindsets have to change. In a bureaucracy, procedures often overtake proficiency," says a source. Also, AAI should have invested the money it got from its assets on improving ATC services.

"Instead, it has behaved like a civil engineering department dealing with huge contracts," says a source. Hopefully, these air pockets may disappear soon.

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Government approves GAGAN project to provide seamless navigation over India

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reports that the Government of India has approved the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Reseach Organisation's (ISRO) proposal for the implementation of the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) project for seamless navigation over Indian airspace at an estimated cost of INR 7.74 Billion.

Ex-post facto approval has also been given to the amount of INR 1.48 Billion already spent in the first phase of the project. With GAGAN, India will be only the fourth country in the world to have a satellite based navigation system.

The management of airspace, a sovereign function, has been assigned to the AAI. The AAI presently uses ground based terrestrial navigation system for providing safe navigation over the Indian airspace. The ground based system has site limitations and range problems.

To overcome the limitations of ground based navigation systems, in 1993, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) endorsed use of a Global Satellite Navigation System as a future Air Navigation System for Aviation. Following this, the AAI and ISRO entered into an MoU in 2001 for the implementation of the GAGAN project for seamless navigation over Indian airspace.

The United States has put in place a Global Positioning System (GPS) using 29 satellites at an altitude of 20,000 km orbit. However, the position accuracies required for precision approach and landing, for Civil Aviation, cannot be met by the core GPS constellation, due to the uncertainties in the position accuracies caused by Ionospheric delays, satellite ephemeris and clock errors. The constellation needs to be augmented to provide higher accuracy, reliability and integrity, with the help of a Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS).

In order to provide enhanced accuracies with integrity, reliability and continuity, it is essential to have an augmentation system capable of collecting data in two frequencies over the service area, separate these errors at the master control centre and communicate and correct message to the aviation user in the frequency as that of the core GPS.

To achieve this, an SBAS consisting of a geo-stationary space segment for the core constellation, a ground segment consisting of reference stations, the master control centre and an uplink earth station are required. The reference stations collect dual frequency data, which is communicated to the master control centre. At the master control centre, the errors are separated and the corrected navigation message is sent to the navigation transponder on board the geo stationary satellite, which translates it to the user GPS civil frequency. The GAGAN system proposes to augment the GPS data with the help of a geo stationary satellite to be launched by ISRO and the ground based infrastructure of reference stations, uplink earth stations and master control center created by the AAI.

The implementation of the GAGAN programme is being realized in two phases:

• GAGAN TDS phase (Technology Demonstration System) - to develop and demonstrate the technological capability. This phase was successfully tested and completed in August 2007.

• GAGAN FOP (Final Operation Phase) – to be implemented for operational use and to be certified by DGCA. This phase is expected to be completed by May 2011.

INR 1.48 Billion has already been spent in the TDS phase and the balance INR 6.26 Billion is to be spent in the FOP phase. Of this, the AAI contribution is expected to INR 5.96 Billion, from its internal resources, and ISRO’s contribution will be INR 1.78 Billion, from ISRO budget. The AAI has already spent INR 1 Billion and ISRO INR 480 million in the TDS phase.

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