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Issue 5 2011 / 5 October 2011 /
Mumbai is the financial capital and most popular city in India. Capital of the state of Maharashtra and home to 20 million people, diversity and vibrancy display the city’s true personality. With its diverse set of people, Mumbai is the home ground for many reputed enterprises and organisations.
Mumbai is an archipelago of seven islands. Its rich history can be experienced through its architecture and the relics of the past. This global city is ever-evolving and welcoming. Mumbai offers a wide choice of attractions for tourists that they should not miss whilst visiting the city. This city with its intrinsic charm delights every kind of tourist; whether a foodie, a shopaholic or a history enthusiast. One of the best ways to get connected with all this is via the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
CSIA is a befitting welcome to the iconic city of Mumbai. CSIA offers leisure and connectivity options to suit the needs of the modern day traveller. Equipped with the best facilities, CSIA sets the tone for seamless travel. With state-of-the-art technology, soothing lounges and shopping bargains, CSIA offers a pleasant travel experience for all. (more…)
Issue 4 2011 / 8 August 2011 /
As a result of the influx of air traffic in the past decade, AAI have embarked upon a plan to modernise and upgrade its airports with two aims; firstly, to not only match but to keep on top of the increase of air traffic, and secondly, to create world class standard airports within India for the comfort and benefit of passengers.
Sixty airports within the country were identified as candidates for the modernisation programme. The theory behind the initiative is to develop state capitals and other airports which have the potential to attract tourist and business travellers who can contribute towards the economic growth of that particular region.
The level of investment involved has certainly mirrored the size and magnitude of this project. Indeed, the fact that the capital expenditure of the AAI five year plan has increased by 300 per cent shows the scope of what we are trying to achieve with this modernisation. (more…)
Issue 4 2011 / 8 August 2011 /
As the Indian aviation market continues its growth, the involvement of Shell Aviation Fuels has had much influence. International Airport Review spoke to CEO Sanjay Varkey to find out why the Indian market will continue to flourish.
IAR: Shell Aviation first began its operations in India back in 2008 at Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports respectively, with nine further airports in the three years since. Has the growth in aviation in that part of the world meant that the expansion into those nine other airports was inevitable? Could it have been quicker?
SV: When Shell MRPL Aviation Fuels and Services Private Limited (SMA) launched aviation fuel operations in India in 2008, Bangalore and Hyderabad were the country’s only two open access airports. Further expansions in India needed to align with access, permissions and developments at airports. In the two years since then, SMA has concluded industry first infrastructure sharing agreements in India that have enabled a rapid network expansion. Shell is currently the only multinational oil company with a government license to market aviation fuels in India. The network expansion into 12 airports across the country reinforces our strong focus on this market, which is growing at a remarkable rate. (more…)
Issue 4 2011 / 8 August 2011 /
Our goal is to establish Bangalore International Airport as India’s leading airport in terms of quality and efficiency as well as setting a benchmark for other airports in India. The facility has been built and is being operated to international standards and is now a pioneer in the country due to the passenger experience that takes place on the ground.
Situated on a 4,000 acre plot of land, the airport currently has a 4,000 metre runway and a terminal building of around 70,000 square metres, the capacity of which is soon to be doubled. The airport handles nearly 12 million passengers annually and is growing at a rate of 18 per cent higher than the national average of 16 per cent. This makes Bangalore one of the busiest greenfield airports in the country. With a passenger profile of over 50 per cent that comprises business travellers, the airport has prided itself on efficiency and processes that make air travel a pleasant and hassle free experience. This customer orientated organisation is dedicated to meeting the needs of its passengers. Being a greenfield airport allows the ability and freedom to deploy state of the art, industry leading solutions. Given the airport’s location in the home of India’s formidable IT industry, it is entirely appropriate that this world-class airport remains at the forefront of cutting edge technology while ensuring efficiency and security. (more…)
Issue 5 2009, Past issues / 29 September 2009 /
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) was formed to design, finance, build, operate and maintain the Greenfield Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on 5,495 acres in Shamshabad, located 25km from the city centre of Hyderabad. The airport is the first Public Private Partnership in the Indian airport infrastructure sector between GMR Infrastructure Ltd (63%), Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad (11%), Airports Authority of India (13%) and Government of Andhra Pradesh (13%).
The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, which opened to commercial traffic from 23 March 2008, provides world-class facilities and infrastructure, in accordance with ICAO standards and practices to handle large aircraft and international traffic. Its integrated domestic and international terminals are equipped with 12 contact boarding bridges, 30 remote stands, Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE), self service check-in kiosks (Common User Self Service – CUSS) and 46 immigration counters. It also incorporates modern IT systems, including Flight Information Display Screens (FIDS), Baggage Handling System (BHS), and Airport Operational Database (AODB) technology for the first time in India. RGIA is the first Indian airport to have the Airport Operations Control Centre, which acts as the nerve centre for all coordination within the airport. (more…)
Issue 5 2009, Past issues / 29 September 2009 /
Realising the dream of giving Bangalore an airport of world class standards has not been an easy one. If not for the relentless commitment and enthusiasm of the thousands of people involved in the making of the airport, the many complex issues faced could have slackened the pace and the outcome.
On May 24 this year, one year from the airport opening date, the airport handled over 8.7 million passengers and over 120,000 aircraft movements. We have come a long way in these 13 months of operations and can proudly say that we have reached a high level of efficiency.
Departure punctuality reached over 80% in the last few months, within 15 minutes of scheduled time. Baggage delivery remained constant over several months and stands at seven minutes of the first baggage being on the belt for both domestic and international arrivals. By international standards, this is a good record. (more…)
Issue 5 2009, Past issues / 29 September 2009 /
It gives me great pleasure indeed to present the Indian Regional Focus in International Airport Review. At the outset, I would like to compliment IAR for the yeoman service they are rendering to the Global Aviation fraternity by keeping us up to date with developments the world over.
A decade and a half after the open sky policy was launched in India, it catapulted into a globalisation era and the aviation fraternity of India at large is trying to come to terms with the situation. As a result of the phenomenal and unprecedented surge experienced in the aviation sector in the last decade, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken on numerous development works at almost 50 airports in the country and it will be appreciated that the venture embarked upon by AAI requires huge sums of money, which was envisaged to be catered from in-house sources.
The past year has indeed been the most turbulent period in the annals of AAI history, due to the global economic meltdown. This meltdown in turn was the basic cause of the germination of the tense economic situation the world over and in particular the financial market, which has had a strong influence on development activities. As a corollary of the scenario so developed, the air traffic growth and revenue receipts worldwide have been adversely affected. (more…)
Issue 5 2008, Past issues / 30 September 2008 /
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is undergoing a major transformation, under the stewardship of Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL). The airport is being modernised with the addition of new terminals, runways and other passenger convenience infrastructure.
DIAL is a consortium led by GMR Group, one of India’s leading infrastructure developers. Other partners in the consortium include: Fraport AG, Eraman Malaysia, India Development Fund and Airports Authority of India under the Public Private Partnership Initiative of the Government of India. DIAL was awarded the mandate for the modernisation and restructuring of IGI Airport into a world class facility, after an international competitive bid in January 2006.
The airport, with a traffic throughput of 24 million passengers (2007-08), is the second busiest airport in the country. Currently, the airport is served by nearly 70 domestic and international airlines, connecting more than 110 destinations across the country and the globe. (more…)
Issue 5 2008, Past issues / 30 September 2008 /
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) is poised to make Hyderabad a truly global air travel hub in India. The new airport which commenced operations on 23 March 2008 has stabilised its operations and passengers are enjoying the new experience.
In terms of safety, security and passenger services, RGIA has been able to stabilise itself faster than similar Greenfield international airports across the globe. During the first 150 days of its hassle-free commercial operations, RGIA handled over 250 ATM per day, 2.5 million passengers and 22,500 metric tonnes of cargo. (more…)
Issue 5 2008, Past issues / 30 September 2008 /
The North of Bangalore witnessed an avalanche of activities during the second half of 2007. By then, Bangalore’s Greenfield International Airport was in its last stage of completion, in preparation for its launch in March 2008. An enthusiastic team of BIAL employees and staff from the service provider such as ground handling, food and beverage, flight catering, retail and cargo were all geared for the grand Airport Opening Day. Unfortunately, the Airport Opening Day (AOD) was delayed by almost two months, holding-up the commercial operations till 24 May 2008 (the original airport opening date was 2 April 2008).
The airport readiness plan was revisited time and again to ensure all primary and secondary core processes within the airport were foolproof and that all the agencies involved in the performance of these processes were established, trained and tested before the airport opening date. (more…)
Issue 2 2008, Past issues / 28 March 2008 /
Travel to any airport in the country and among the many things you will see are trucks re-fuelling aircraft while they are parked on the apron area. It is not just in India. This is commonplace in many other airports across the globe. The new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, Hyderabad, being developed by a consortium led by the GMR Group, is going to be the exception to this. In fact, it’s going to be the first airport in our country that has done away with the old system of deploying trucks to carry fuel to the aircraft.
The new system, created at the airport in Shamshabad, ensures that the supply of fuel to the aircraft goes through an underground pipeline. This system, named the ‘Open Access Model’, is based on the Hong Kong Airport fuel farm system.
After undertaking a rigorous screening for selecting the fuel farm operator, GHIAL has awarded the mandate to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). About 10 companies, including the Indian fuel giants, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and ONGC, took part in the tender process; among them, five submitted their bids. Subsequently, Reliance Industries emerged the winner based on its technical and financial bids. (more…)
Issue 5 2007, Past issues / 28 September 2007 /
Noted Indian economist Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao, said more than two decades ago, “The link between infrastructure and economic development is not a once and for all affair. It is a continuous process; and progress in development has to be preceded, accompanied and followed by progress in infrastructure, if we are to fulfil our declared objectives of generating a self-accelerating process of economic development.”
Globally too, the critical role of infrastructure in facilitating growth is widely recognised and well borne out by cross-country experience. The transformation of countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Malaysia were preceded and reinforced by substantial investments in physical infrastructure.
As India moves towards becoming a mature and vibrant economy, the need for infrastructure to support broad based inclusive growth is ever more pressing. Infrastructure development will undoubtedly play a crucial role in helping India sustain high growth rates. India’s performance in recent years has been among the best in the world. The reforms initiated since the early 1990s have unshackled the economy. The long-term trend rate of growth has steadily increased from an average of 3.5% a year between the 1950s and 1970s, to around 7% to 8% in recent years. It goes without saying that a reliable infrastructure network will lay the foundation for a future of sustainable economic growth in the country. (more…)
Issue 5 2007, Past issues / 28 September 2007 /
India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the Indian aviation sector is moving even faster. The aviation sector has clocked a phenomenal growth rate of 20-25% over the last few years and it is projected that it will maintain a healthy growth rate in the coming decade.
At the epicentre of this unprecedented growth is the Indira Gandhi International Airport, serving the capital city – Delhi. The airport, with a traffic throughput of 20.44 million passengers (2006-07), is the second busiest airport in the country and is expected to assume the top position in the country by 2011. Currently, the airport is served by nearly 80 domestic and international airlines, connecting more than 120 destinations across the country and the rest of the world.
The airport is operated by Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL), a consortium led by GMR Group – one of India’s leading infrastructure developers. Other partners in the consortium include Fraport AG, Eraman Malaysia, India Development Fund and Airports Authority of India, under the Public Private Partnership Initiative of the Government of India. DIAL was awarded the mandate to modernise and restructure IGI Airport into a world class facility, after an international competitive bid in January 2006. (more…)
Issue 5 2007, Past issues / 28 September 2007 /
A jewel in the crown of India’s rapidly expanding airport system is rising on a Greenfield site, approximately 30 kilometres south of downtown Hyderabad. The new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), scheduled for operation in March 2008, is being developed by the GMR Group in a public-private partnership that also includes the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Airports Authority of India and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. The shareholding pattern of this consortium (GHIAL) has 63% held by the GMR Group, 11% by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad and the remaining 26% is held equally between the State Government and Airports Authority of India, a Government of India body.
One of the primary drivers of the growth in the Indian aviation industry stems from the buoyancy in passenger traffic, witnessed in the metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and also at Hyderabad. The existing airport, in the heart of the Hyderabad city, has witnessed a growth of over 40% in the last two years and 43% alone in 2006-07, as the graph below depicts, for both domestic and international passengers. A study, conducted by Lufthansa, on possible growth in passenger numbers over the next five years, also supports the optimism that the GMR group reflects in its pace to build this world-class international airport at Hyderabad. Presently over 20 airlines are connecting passengers to over 32 destinations, in India, the Middle East and the Far East. This number will keep increasing in the coming years. (more…)
Issue 5 2007, Past issues / 28 September 2007 /
In order to keep pace with the rapid development of Bangalore as India’s leader in information technology, biotechnology and the services industry, the Government of Karnataka and the Airport Authority of India decided, in 1999, to call for international consortia to build, own and operate a new Greenfield international airport in Bangalore through an open bid.
Construction of the airport began on 2 July 2005 and will last, including the testing phase, 33 months. The new Bangalore International Airport is estimated to open for commercial operations on 2 April 2008. The current progress is very good and the construction is on track (see Panel 1).
It took almost a decade from the stage of land allocation and acquisition, to the signing of the shareholder agreements in January 2002 and finally the start of construction. In the time BIAL had to negotiate the legal framework (see Panel 2), the Government of India had already planned to privatise other airports. BIAL, being the first private airport, had to set the right precedents for the other private airports and therefore all agreements, like the concession agreement and the CNS ATM agreement, had to be finalised carefully. (more…)
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