Airport Spotlight: Indore Airport (IDR)

Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport (ICAO code VAID, IATA code IDR), serving the Indian city of Indore is the busiest in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is named after the 18th Century Queen of the Malwa Kingdom. The airport is operated by the state run Airports Authority of India (AAI) which inaugurated a new integrated terminal building in 2012. We hopped over to take a look.

The terminal can handle 700 passengers per hour and cost Rupees 135 Crores to build. Though there are no scheduled international services from this airport at the time this post was written, the airport features an international departures section for future use. 

Airside view

City Side Entrance

A portrait of the Queen in the arrivals hall.

AAI loves potted plants, it seems.

Security Hold area

Check-in Counters.

Escalators leading up to departures

Arrivals area seen from the departures section

Restaurant in the Departures section

Signage

Towards the boarding gates.

Another view of 'Saptagiri', the restaurant.

Busy Apron

Air side facade

Air Odisha Cessna Caravan

The airport is also home to the local Flying Club

New Aerobridge under construction at Coimbatore Airport.

A Fixed Link Bridge under construction at Coimbatore's airport in Tamil Nadu, India. AAI plans to add two aerobridges to increase passenger handling capacity of the terminal building.

UDAN scheme breathes life into 5 unserved airports in Maharashtra

The Five airports will be connected to Mumbai Airport.

Kolhapur airport will see flights to Mumbai soon. Image source: Wikipedia

The Government of India announced 45 new air routes awarded to airlines under the first round of its Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) for civil aviation, also known as UDAN – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik. The scheme seeks to make flying more affordable. 

The RCS will connect eight cities in the State of Maharashtra. Of these, five airports have not seen a commercial flight in years!

Under UDAN, the operators would be extended viability gap funding (VGF) in which 80 percent of the subsidy will be provided by the Central government and the remaining by the State Government. Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey said that on each flight, 50% of the seats would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said the scheme provides for various benefits including no airport charges and three-year exclusivity on the routes. 

Two operators have won bids to fly the intra-state routes. Hyderabad based Turbo-Megha Airways (parent company of TruJet Airlines) were awarded the Mumbai - Nanded route. Their aircraft will also connect Nanded with Hyderabad. The services are expected to begin by June 2017 and will depend on the preparedness of the airport and operator.

Bengaluru based Deccan Charters, promoted by Capt. Gopinath of Air Deccan fame, will operate on the following routes in Maharashtra.

Mumbai- Nashik- Pune

Mumbai- Aurangabad

Mumbai - Jalgaon

Mumbai - Kolhapur

Mumbai - Solapur

Deccan Charters are expected to commence by September 2017 depending on the preparedness of the airports. While Pune and Aurangabad airports are AAI owned airports that already have some services and are likely to require little or no preparation for these RCS flights, the same cannot be said for the other airports which have been lying idle for quite some time. While Jalgaon and Kolhapur are run by AAI, Solapur is run by the Maharashtra Airports Development Corporation (MADC) and Nashik (Ozar) is run by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). These airports will now need to prepare their premises for receiving regular flights.

Indian Naval Air Enclave at Mumbai Airport Inaugurated

An Indian Navy P8I Neptune at BOM.

The Indian Navy has established a new Air Enclave at Mumbai airport (BOM). The Indian Naval Air Enclave, Santacruz (NAE Scz) has a large hangar and dispersal area located adjacent to the airport's main Runway. The enclave was inaugurated by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command of the Indian Navy on 1st February 2017. 

This is a significant development from the point of view of Naval Operations, since, it now provides Indian Navy, capability to stage through all types of fixed wing aircraft held in the Naval Inventory including the highly potent and versatile Boeing P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft. This gives a major boost to the surveillance and offensive measures on the areas of interest in the Western Seaboard.

P8I LRMR aircraft are presently operating from their base at Arakkonam, near Chennai. With the operationalization of the NAE at Santa Cruz, the Indian Navy can operate the P8I’s from this enclave thereby enabling them to operate for longer durations in the Arabian Sea resulting in vast area coverage.

In his address, Vice Admiral Girish Luthra complimented the efforts of all those involved in creating this facility. He said that the city of Mumbai and Indian Navy have had long standing relations which were not restricted to the Dockyard or harbour areas. He amplified that, decades ago, naval helicopters and Super Constellation surveillance aircrafts operated from the same airport. He thanked, among others, the Airport Authority of India, Mumbai International Airport Limited (the airport operators), the Central Industrial Security force (CISF), Air India, contractors and Military Engineering Service for their support and co-operation in operationalizing this facility and solicited their continued support and cooperation in the future.

Sourced from the PIB, GoI

Chandigarh Airport Registers Exponential Growth: AAI

Chandigarh International Airport located in Mohali, Punjab in India has been registering exponential growth according to statistics released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Chandigarh is the capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh Airport (IXC) is located in Sector 17, around 14 kilometres from city centre. the airport operates as a civil enclave, meaning the runway and other air-side infrastructure are controlled by the Indian Air Force.

This airport commenced operations in 2006 with three flights a day. Today the number of flights operating daily from the airport is more than 24. In 2006-2007, the total annual traffic was just 154,000. Ten years down the line this number has multiplied, with the total number having reached 1,534,000 in 2015-16!

From April to December 2015-16, the total number of passengers using the airport was 1,158,111, while for 2016-17 for the same period, the number was 1,282,243 - an increase of 124,132 over the previous year. According to AAI stats, traffic at this airport peaks in the months of October and November. Air India, Air Asia India, Jet Airways, IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet connect IXC to a steadily increasing number of domestic destinations like Srinagar, Pune and Kochi to name a few apart from the usual Delhi and Mumbai.

International operations at the airport commenced in September 2016 after all operations were shifted to new integrated terminal building, inaugurated in September 2015. The eco-friendly terminal, built by Larsen & Toubro, covers 53,000 square metres and is designed to handle 1,600 passengers per hour.  IndiGo (6E) operates to Dubai International (DXB) while Air India Express (IX) flies to Sharjah International (SHJ). The number of international passengers recorded in November and December were 12,127 and 12,797 respectively. Other international destinations like Bangkok (BKK), Singapore (SIN) and Abu Dhabi (AUH) are expected to be connected to Chandigarh shortly.

View our detailed walk-through of the New Integrated terminal building here.

Air India moves to Terminal 2 at London Heathrow Airport

Air India, the national carrier of India, has moved to London Heathrow Terminal 2: "The Queens Terminal" on January 25, 2017.

The move is in keeping with the Star Alliance policy of getting all its member carriers under one roof, ensuring seamless connectivity of passengers between Air India and other Star Alliance carriers.
Air India joined the Star Alliance in July 2014. Initially the goal was to make the move by September 2016 but got delayed to January 2017. The move finally brings all 24 Star Alliance carriers together under one roof for the first time at London Heathrow Airport (LHR). The Air India Check-in counters will be located in Zone-D.

Terminal 2 is LHR's newest Terminal. It was opened in 2014 and includes automated kiosks for multi airline check-in and a smoother connection between Star Alliance carriers. The terminal has four Star Alliance lounges, including the Air Canada, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines lounges so Air India passengers travelling in either First or Business Class or holding Star Alliance Gold status can now choose whichever lounge they would like to use.

AI operates 7 daily flights from LHR, including twice daily to Delhi, once daily to Mumbai, Four times a week to Ahmedabad and thrice a week to Newark. Incidentally, the Indian national carrier has been continuously operating from LHR to India for the past 69 years, having commenced flights from  Bombay to London in June 1948!

Air India deploys their Boeing 747-400 on the Delhi-Mumbai route.

Air India deploys its veteran Boeing 747-400 on the heavily congested Delhi-Mumbai route.

VT-ESO Khajuraho basks in the Mumbai Sun

The Delhi-Mumbai air-route is the world's 6th Busiest route by Aircraft movements and by seat capacity! More than Four Million passengers flew this route (one way) in 2016. Six Indian domestic carriers flew a total 140 daily services (both ways) in 2013! A cursory glance at FlightRadar24 data reveals that the route is presently served by a whopping 66 daily services each way! This includes 60 on narrow body aircraft and 6 on wide-body aircraft.

 The route has obviously had a lions share in the astonishing 20% growth that Indian aviation has been witnessing in the past few years. However, growth on this route is hitting a plateau thanks to air-side congestion at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja International Airport (BOM). The airport runway already handles around 50 air traffic movements during peak hours, making BOM the world's most efficient single operational runway airport. Airport operators MIAL stopped allocating new slots during peak hours in the Summer16 schedule, meaning that airlines couldn't add more services during peak hours to cope with the demand. Deploying larger aircraft on the densest of routes out of BOM ended up being the most practical solution for airlines who were struggling to match demand with capacity.

In December 2016, the national carrier decided to deploy its iconic Boeing 747-400 aircraft on the BOM-DEL route. This aircraft has more than twice the capacity of their regular 'two-class' Airbus A320, meaning a 100% increase in capacity for the same landing slot! This is not the first time a wide-body has been deployed on the route, though. Air India already operates their Boeing 777s and 787s on BOM-DEL as international connector flights. Their competitor Jet Airways also operates the wide-body Airbus A330 on the same route.

AI's move is reminiscent of domestic routes in Japan back in the day when 747s with dense seat configs used to be the mainstay for short domestic journeys. These routes are now operated by 777s and 787s.

AI's jumbo-jet domestic flights were launched on December 14 2016 with one daily flight each way. Air India operates a total 12 daily flights each way on this, the busiest domestic route in the country. Buoyed by the positive response, Air India deployed a second 744 on the route within weeks, one flying BOM-DEL-BOM and the other DEL-BOM-DEL. The airline also upped the free baggage allowance on these 'jumbo' flights, allowing 40 kilos and 50 kilos in Economy and Business class respectively. 

The domestic operation is currently being managed with two aircraft, VT-ESO, based in DEL and VT-ESP based in BOM. VT-ESO, named Khajuraho, operates AI678 to BOM in the morning and then flies back to DEL as AI888 in the evening. VT-ESP, named Ajanta, operates in the reverse rotation, flying to DEL as AI806 in the morning and flying back to BOM as AI805 in the evening. 

Air India's 747-400s can carry 423 passengers; 12 First class seats on the upper deck of the aircraft, 26 seats in business, and the rest 385 in economy. The aircraft sub-type joined the fleet in 1993 and were the flagships of the national carrier for more than a decade before making way for the next generation long range aircraft like the Boeing 777 and 787. Today, almost 25 years down the line, the few 747-400s that continue in service are the only remnants of the once large fleet of thirty B747s (all variants) that once handled all of the Maharajah's long haul duties around the world.

The Boeing 777 (left) has taken over long haul duties from the 747-400

Apart from the BOM-DEL route, AI deploys the 747-400 on the BOM-HYD-JED and COK-JED routes. The 747-400 is also used for  "Air India One" duties on international state visits. However, due to the relatively high cost of operating these ageing beauties, the domestic utilization of the 747-400 is deliberately being kept low with each aircraft only operating one flight in each direction per day. With the aircraft slated to be phased out of AI's fleet by the end of 2017, these domestic flights provide many with the opportunity of flying "The Queen of the Skies" one last time before she flies into the sunset!

Chandigarh Airport. A walkthrough.

 Gf1011 visits the new integrated terminal at Chandigarh (IXC) and comes away feeling impressed.

Chandigarh Airport. A walkthrough

Chandigarh is the capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh Airport (IXC) is located in Sector 17, around 14 kilometres from city centre. the airport operates as a civil enclave, meaning the runway and other air-side infrastructure are controlled by the Indian Air Force and that all civilian operations are run from a small plot adjacent to the military airfield allocated specifically for carrying out civil aviation activites. This 'enclave' is managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is a Public sector undertaking (PSU) of the Government of India. IXC's new terminal technically lies in Punjab State, outside Chandigarh City limits, hence, it's officially called International Airport, Mohali, causing much political grinding of teeth!

Approaching IXC's new integrated terminal

This terminal is India's first civil enclave terminal with vertical separation of Arrivals and Departures.  Previously AAI would build the two sections side by side, leading to a waste of real estate, although being cheaper to construct.

A two lane ramp leads to the departures forecourt. International and domestic departures have separate entrances.

Ramp leading up to the Departures fore-court at IXC

Departures forecourt at IXC

Signage at IXC

City-side Facade seen from the Arrivals level

A large arrivals forecourt, sheltered by the departures forecourt above, protects the 'meet-n-greet' crowd from the elements..

Arrivals forecourt at IXC

This new integrated terminal building was inaugurated in September 2015. The eco-friendly terminal was built by Larsen & Toubro and covers 53,000 square metres and is designed to handle 1,600 passengers per hour. After the customary checking of ID and tickets, one enters the spacious Check-in hall. AAI seems to have learned a lot about terminal design in the last few decades.. We noticed that AAI had made provisions for future expansions everywhere, a departure from old school AAI design philosophies. However, the terminal does not have an 'inline baggage scanning" facility (even for internationals). This means that all passengers have to pass their check-in luggage through an X-Ray machine before checking it in with the airline.

The Check-in hall has 6 islands. IndiGo uses Island A on the left, 9W uses C while Check-in for the international flights were being handled from E on the far right.. Domestic pax proceed for Security check between islands C and D, while international SC is between E and F.

Check-in hall panorama

Check-in Island - IXC

AAI has provided for the addition of more Security check counters in the future between Islands A and B (as can be seen in the above image as a transparent partition on the right, with the standard AAI 'solid red circle'). Past security check, passengers are ushered into the 'Security hold' area before boarding their flights. This area has ample seating and also some F&B and retail outlets.

Shopping at IXC departures

Ample seating in the upper level, meant for the two aerobridge gates (Gate 1 and 5). International gates can be seen in the far background.

Seating in Domestic departures at IXC

Seating in IXC: Domestic departures

Gates 3 & 4 are Domestic bus gates downstairs, and have a large dedicated waiting area on the ground floor. There are no F&B options here. Note more transparent partitions separating the domestic bus gates from intl. bus gates for future expansion.

Waiting area for remote gates

The new terminal was built keeping future expansion in mind. The terminal has three aero-bridges, Two dedicated for Domestic ops, One for International. The two in the next image are for domestic flights. Apart from the the three contact stands that have aerobridges, the apron has an additional 10 remote parking bays.

Aerobridges at IXC

Airside view of IXC terminal

6E A320 parked at IXC

Arrivals Section

The new terminal is a good effort at landscaping inside the terminal, as well as an attempt to increase natural lighting, contributing to its eco-friendliness.

Garden inside IXC

Heading towards Baggage Reclaim

FIDS at IXC

In the Arrivals section, IXC has four baggage belts, fed from a management system underneath the hall.. Belts 1 and 2 are for Domestic. 3 and 4 are for International. The way IXC is growing, they should have made provisions for making belt No. 3 available to domestic pax in the future.. Many of the baggage trolleys seem to be from the older terminal. Cant say how many are new, perhaps the new ones were placed in the international section.. All in all, a very good effort by AAI in developing  the terminal.

Baggage Belts at IXC

Baggage Trolleys

Photos: Vistara Lounge at T3, Delhi International Airport

Quick early morning visit to the Vistara (UK) lounge at their hub at T3, DEL. Unlike other lounges at T3, this one is close to the  boarding gates.

Vistara Lounge at DEL T3

Breakfast Buffet at UK Lounge in DEL

Bar at Vistara DEL Lounge

Seating arrangement at the Vistara Lounge at DEL

Bar at UK Lounge DEL T3