Delhi Airport

The Chandigarh international airport will be functional for round-the-clock flying operations by March 31, the Central Government told the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

As a petition filed in public interest for making the airport fully functional came up during high court the hearing, the Centre submitted that the entire work related to night operations at the Chandigarh international airport was expected to be over by March-end.

Assistant Solicitor-General of India Chetan Mittal added that a substantial amount of work for making the airport fully operational round the clock had been completed.

He added that issues related to delay in payments of the agencies involved in the work at the airport would also be resolved expeditiously.

The Bench, during the course of the hearing, was also told that the Chandigarh international airport was already receiving offers from some airlines willing to start Chandigarh-Delhi flights till 11.45 pm and at 6 am.

Giving details, Mittal added that the airlines had shown interest in late-night and early-morning flights after the airport decided to extend the airplane parking facility at the Chandigarh airport.

The High Court has already been told that several new flights from Chandigarh to Delhi, Mumbai and the Middle East were on the cards.

The flights to Mumbai would further connect to international destinations such as London, Manchester, Paris and Amsterdam.

To ensure the safety of passengers and success of the Bengaluru air show, the Kempegowda International Airport will be partially closed for commercial flight operations during the days of practice and the main show.

Aero space exhibition “Aero India 2019” will be held in Bengaluru from February 20 to Feb 24.

KIA will be shut for commercial flights during particular hours from February 14 to February 24, which includes practice days, full dress rehearsal, inauguration ceremony and air display, among others.

BIAL is working with airlines, whose services will be impacted during this period, to ensure minimal disruption to their existing schedule during the reduced operating hours.

Passenger convenience will be ensured with the respective airlines sharing all information on the change in airport operations and the cancelled/revised flight timings during the show.

The 12th edition of the trade event will showcase technologies and products of global and Indian aerospace and defence firms, with static and flying display of military and civil aircraft, including fighters, jets, helicopters and air weapons.

Besides global leaders and investors in the aerospace industry, think-tanks from the world over are expected to participate in the event, organised by the Defence Ministry along with other related organisations.

Here are the details of the closure timings:

• Feb 14^th –  Feb 17^th (1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
• Feb 18^th – Feb 19^th (10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
• Feb 20^th (09:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
• Feb 21^st – Feb 24^th (10:00 a.m. & 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

A new proposal under consideration might allow fliers to leave the airport if their flights are delayed, and return to board them without any hassles.

The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) raised this issue during a meeting with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security of India (BCAS), that takes care of security at the airports across the nation.

As of now, passengers can’t leave the airport until they inform the airline and their name is dropped from the flight manifest. Further, the fliers need to be escorted by airline officials and handed over to security.

But soon this ‘tedious’ process will be modified and they can head out in the city or even go back home if the flight is delayed.

About the current process, Hemendra Singh, an assistant inspector general of the Central Industrial Security Force said, “We allow passengers to exit the terminal on directions of the airline. In such cases, the passenger leaves the airport with his luggage”

If the passenger has completed check-in and wishes to return, a new boarding pass is issued and airlines takes a call on luggage.

But the new proposal hopes to do away with the new boarding pass. One way to do that would be an option of leaving through a separate gate.

However, the proposal could take a few months before it is implemented. The facility will be available for both domestic and international fliers but not to those whose visa is expiring or those who have single-entry visas.

Flights to and from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport will be affected for seven days till January 26 as the airspace will remain closed for over 1.5 hours every day on account of Republic Day rehearsals.

Flight movement at Delhi airport will remain restricted from 10:35 AM to 12:15 PM from 18^th January to 26^th January.

The shutdown, which is proposed by Indian Air Force (IAF) every year ahead of Republic Day, is likely to hit nearly 800-900 flights during the time period. Last year, around 1,000 flight movements were hit due to the closure of airspace.

The final tally of affected flight operations will also depend on the weather conditions as Delhi witnesses heavy fog during the month of January.

All airlines are aware of the closure. The airport will try to accommodate as many rescheduled flights as possible but given the slot constraints at Delhi airport, a considerable number of flights may eventually get cancelled

Delhi airport is the busiest aviation hub in the country, in terms of passenger traffic as well as cargo traffic. The airport has three terminals, one for domestic and other two for both international and domestic operations.

The airport handles over 1,200 flights a day and handled 65.7 million passengers in 2018. This figure can cross the mark of 80 million by 2019-20, a report by centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said.

Airlines are known to charge a hefty amount of money during festive seasons. For selecting seats of your choice while booking the tickets you have to pay an extra sum.

Now, you will have to pay a little more money if you need to get your bags checked-in at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.

Delhi International Airport (DIAL), from February 1, will charge airlines X-ray baggage fees, ranging from Rs 110 to Rs 880 for domestic and $149.33 to $209.55 for international flights.

With the decision, air passengers flying out from the Delhi airport would have to shell out up to Rs 50 as airlines are expected to pass on the X-ray baggage charges to us.

While passenger frisking and hand bag checks are done by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, check-in baggage comes under the supervision of airport operators.

In a four-page order dated January 10, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) said that DIAL can levy X-ray baggage charges from February 1.

According to an airline official, X-ray baggage charges would be passed on to passengers. He also went on to say that a passenger, who takes a domestic flight, is unlikely to pay more than Rs 5 as ‘X-ray baggage charge’. On an international flight, the per passenger charge would be not more than Rs 50.