Pune Airport

Pune Airport To Get Biometric Boarding System By April 2019!

AirWhizzJan 16, 2019 No Comments

Pune Airport To Get Biometric Boarding System By April 2019!

Aviation Insider

A seamless check-in awaits flyers at the Pune Airport with the authorities ready to roll out biometric boarding system from April 2019.

The system will enhance passenger movement at the airport through facial recognition under the civil aviation ministry’s “DigiYatra” programme.

The document of the ministry’s “Vision 2040”, which was unveiled on Tuesday at the inauguration of the two-day Global Aviation Summit in Mumbai, states that the pilot implementation of the project will be carried out at Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports by February-end.

According to an airport official, the project will be rolled out at the Pune, Kolkata, Varanasi &  Vijayawada airports by April.

The system will be similar during the security check. There will be no need of showing and stamping boarding passes after frisking. The boarding passes and flight details of the passengers registered in the facial recognition system would also be integrated.

Here’s how you can register for this :

  • There will be a one time registration process at the airport terminal entrance
  • A centralised registration system will be created to store passenger information
  • Each passenger will have a unique “DigiYatra” ID
  • The flyers facial features will be captured in a Hight Definition Camera

Once registered, the flyer has to look into the camera instead of showing their boarding pass, ticket or identity card. The flyers identity will be ascertained and he/she will be allowed to pass through the security gate.

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Construction Of Pune Airport’s New Terminal Takes Off

AirWhizzDec 22, 2018 No Comments

Construction Of Pune Airport’s New Terminal Takes Off

Aviation Insider

Keeping in mind the rising passenger demand, construction has begun on a new 40,000 square metre (sqm) terminal for the Pune airport in Lohegaon.

According to a Pune Airport official, the deadline for building the terminal building is August 2021 but they are going to fast track the project so that it can become functional by December 2019 or January 2020.

Earlier, it was announced that the bhoomi puja for the terminal building would be performed on October 20 after which the construction work would start.

Pune MP Anil Shirole’s statement that top ministers of the Union government were invited for the event had cast a shadow on the beginning of the construction work.

However, the issue has been resolved. According to the official, the invitations have been sent and the ceremony will happen according to the appointments given. But they decided to start the construction because the project is important and should not be delayed. Most of the big projects of the Pune airport’s expansion are on the right track.

Dhairyashil Vandekar, an aviation expert and analyst, speaking about various challenges the airport can face next year said that the airport would have to match the capacity with increasing demand for flights. Another sore area that needs to be tackled effectively in 2019 is the chaotic traffic situation on roads inside and outside the airport.

Once the construction of the new terminal is completed, the airport’s size would increase to 64,300 sqm. The total cost of building the new terminal building is pegged at Rs 400 crores. Over 12 million users are expected to use the airport in 2019-20. This new terminal building would be integrated with the existing one.

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Vijayawada Airport To Soon Get A Modern Makeover!

AirWhizzDec 06, 2018 No Comments

Vijayawada Airport To Soon Get A Modern Makeover!

Aviation Insider

A new state-of-the-art Airport Terminal Building is all set to be constructed at the Vijayawada Airport.

The terminal will have modern facilities like such as Baggage Handling System, Arrival Baggage claim Carousels, Central Air-conditioning , Public Address System, Flight Information Display System(FIDS), and Check-in Counters with Common Use Terminal Equipment(CUTE) will be available.

The building boasts of a peak hour handling capacity of 1200 passengers (800 Domestic +400 International). The annual passengers handling capacity will be around 3.33 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA).

Here are a few other details of the new Vijayawada Airport’s Integrated Terminal :

  • The building will have 24 check-in counters, 1 baggage conveyor belt in the departure area and 5 baggage claim carousels
  • Since the airport is international, it will have a total of 14 immigration counters, 10 for arrivals and 4 for departure
  • There will be 4 customer redressal counters, 3 for arrival and 1 for departure
  • It can hold up to 1200 cars out of which 200 parking slots will be for taxi
  • The total cost of the new building is Rs 611 crores.
  • The terminal building will be spread across 35000 sqm

The design is inspired by the rural-urban blend of Vijayawada’s culture. the exteriors and interiors of the airport have been designed to show the uniqueness of this region.

The local environment and cultural reference, as well as the historical art and architecture of the region, are interpreted in a modern way to add life to the building.

Construction of the new facility is being done by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It manages over 100 airports in India and has been taking major initiatives to improve air connectivity and enhance infrastructure at the airports by providing world-class facilities to passengers.

The Bhoomi Pujan of the new building was performed on Tuesday by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.

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Punjab To Soon Get Its 3rd International Airport!

AirWhizzDec 04, 2018 No Comments

Punjab To Soon Get Its 3rd International Airport!

Aviation Insider

After Mohali and Amritsar, Halwara near Ludhiana will be the 3rd city in Punjab to have an international airport.

The Punjab cabinet on Monday approved the setting up of an international civil terminal at the Indian Air Force station in Halwara, which is 32 Kms away from Ludhiana.

The Cabinet has also given a go-ahead to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority Of India(AAI) for the project.

AAI would have a majority stake of 51% in the joint venture company while the state government, through Greater Ludhiana Development Authority, will have 49% stake.

The state government as provided 135. 54 acres of land for the project. The expenditure for the development of the airport will be taken care of by AAI while the expenditure on operations, maintenance and repairs would be taken care of by the Joint venture.

Here are the details of the project:

  • The 1st phase will include the development of the international terminal, which is expected to be completed in 3 years
  • The terminal will be able to accommodate bigger airplane models like the Boeing 737-700 and Airbus A-320
  • The project is aimed at boosting the economic development of Punjab’s business and industrial hub Ludhiana

At present Ludhiana is serviced by a small domestic airport at Sahnewal under the operational control of AAI, which runs regional airplanes to Delhi. Ludhiana also has the advantage of being at the geographical center of Punjab, so this move will surely be beneficial for them.

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Mumbai Airport’s “GVK Lounge” Awarded The World’s Best Airport Lounge!

AirWhizzDec 03, 2018 No Comments

Mumbai Airport’s “GVK Lounge” Awarded The World’s Best Airport Lounge!

Aviation Insider

The “GVK Lounge” at Terminal 2 in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has been given the award for  the best “Business Class Airport Lounge” in the world.

The award was given at the prestigious ‘World Travel Awards 2018” which was held in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday.

The GVK Lounge, operated by Travel Food Services (TFS) and Zurich based firm, Performa, was among the 14 nominees for the “World’s Leading Airport Lounge – Business Class 2018” and was declared the winner.

It also won the award for “Asia’s Leading Airport Lounge” and “Asia’s Leading Domestic Airport Lounge”.

The GVK Lounge beat stiff competition from business class lounges from around the world, including lounges like Air Mauritius lounge at Mauritius airport, British Airways Galleries Lounge at Heathrow airport in London, Emirates lounge at Dubai airport, Etihad Airways lounge at Abu Dhabi airport, Qatar Airways’ lounge at Doha and Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse at Heathrow airport.

The management team from TFS and Performa, including Managing Director of Performa Beat Ehlers, Director of TFS Varun Kapur, Director Operations Methilda Pary and General Manager of Commercial of Mumbai Airport Lounge Services Kerrsi Rusi Mistry, were among those who were present at the awards ceremony.

This is the first time that GVK Lounge has won the award in “ Business Class” category. However, It has won awards for the World’s Leading Airport Lounge (First Class) & Asia’s Leading Airport Lounge for the last four consecutive years.

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Get Ready To Fly Abroad From Hubballi Airport!

AirWhizzNov 30, 2018 No Comments

Get Ready To Fly Abroad From Hubballi Airport!

Aviation Insider

Airlines in India will soon allow passengers to fly from Hubballi to international destinations in the coming few days.

It is reported that IndiGo, which operates daily flights from Hubballi to Bengaluru, Cochin , Ahmedabad and Chennai, will be the first to do so.

After the airport was developed to international standards at a cost of Rs 130 Crores, the city was chosen under the regional connectivity scheme, UDAN.

At present, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India are operating direct flights to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Mumbai, Kochi, and Mangaluru from Hubballi airport, which has resulted in an increase in the number of flyers from the city.

IndiGo is planning to provide connectivity to Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Doha, Singapore, Hong Kong & other international destinations from Hubballi for the convenience of fliers.

Currently, there are no direct flights to any international destination from Hubballi.

According to reports, IndiGo may start international operations from 1st December. Here are all the details about it:

  • Indigo will offer three connecting flights to Bangkok and Singapore via Chennai every day except Sunday
  • Three flights to Dubai via Ahmedabad on every Sunday
  • Five flights to Hong Kong via Bengaluru
  • Four flights to Male via Cochin
  • Six flights to Singapore via Bengaluru will also be run out of which three will be operated every day of the week except Sunday, while three flights will operate on Sundays
  • Of the six flights to Abu Dhabi via Cochin three will operate on every Tuesday and the other three will run on every day of the week except Tuesday
  • The three flights to Colombo via Chennai will be run every day of the week except Wednesdays and Sundays

Connecting Hubballi with international destinations will definitely help the city grow at a fast pace and may also attract big investors to Hubballi and other surrounding districts.

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Hassle-Free Security Checks Now At Delhi, Mumbai & Hyderabad Airports!

AirWhizzNov 28, 2018 No Comments

Hassle-Free Security Checks Now At Delhi, Mumbai & Hyderabad Airports!

Aviation Insider

Soon, air passengers will not have to take out laptops and small bottles of liquid for separate security checks.

In a big relief to flyers, India is all set to join the league of countries like the United States, United Kingdom and Netherlands to test new-age handbag scanners.

These scanners are based on a new technology that does not require air passengers to take out items such as laptops and small bottles of liquid at the airport for checking.

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) gave its nod for a pilot project on this 3D-based computed tomography scanner at Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad airports.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), had sought BCAS’ approval to do a trial of this machine at the security hold area at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

Once the trials are successfully conducted and the move is approved by BACS, the machine will likely be installed by airports in India.

If implemented on a permanent basis, this project will lend a hand to both passengers and security forces in saving time and ease up the security procedure.

Given the acute airport infrastructure crunch in India, the use of technology to speed up passenger movement is becoming vital.

Another thing that all the major airports across the country are introducing in a phased manner is hi-tech Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS), hand baggage belts at security checks.

The system can scan the boarding cards of flyers when they put their bags in trays for scanning. After they have been frisked, passengers can pick the cleared handbags from the other side.

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Flying From Delhi Airport To Become Costlier Starting 1st December!

AirWhizzNov 21, 2018 No Comments

Flying From Delhi Airport To Become Costlier Starting 1st December!

Aviation Insider

Flying from Delhi Airport may become costlier for travellers from December 1st following a hike in the airport charges levied by authorities on airlines and passengers.

Delhi airport charges have been increased seven times to a flat Rs 77 for each departing domestic and international passenger, starting next month.

Currently, domestic flyers pay Rs 10 each for departing from the IGI airport while an international traveller has to shell out Rs 45 as User Development Fee (UDF).

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India has approved this hike after Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) put forward their point citing the current tariffs were below the base airport charge set out in the government agreement when Delhi Airport was privatised in 2006.

Apart from higher passenger charge, airport fuel concession fee has also increased by Rs 500/Kilo liter. Aircraft landing charges have also been increased by about 5%  which will increase the cost incurred to a carrier.

Airline officials have said that a 3-7% hike in airfares may be necessary to meet higher airport charges however, this is not confirmed.

While discussing the hike sought by DIAL, Federation of India, an umbrella organisation representing IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and GoAir, told AERA that the application of basic airport charges would have an adverse impact on airlines and passengers.

The charges are expected to rise again as DIAL has capital expenditure plans between 2019 and 2024 control period. A new runway and taxiways will be built at the IGI airport, which has a capacity to handle 70 million passengers per year, apart from the expansion of Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 buildings.

The Delhi airport tariff is up for renewal from April next year.

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