Fourth special flight from Libya returns with 331 Indians

New Delhi: Another batch of 331 Indians from strife-torn Libya arrived early on Tuesday, taking the total number of people evacuated by the four Air India special flights to 1083.

Air India flight AI-170 landed at the terminal-2 of Indira Gandhi International Airport here at around 4:30am, bringing 331 passengers, an airport official said. The plane took off from Tripoli airport at around 8:30pm IST.

Earlier, minister for civil aviation Vayalar Ravi said the third special flight with 226 Indians on board arrived here at around 1:30am from Libya.

Ravi, also the minister for overseas Indian affairs, received the passengers of the third special flight, an Airbus 330, at terminal-2 of the IGI Airport.

The AI-800 was originally a Jeddah-Mumbai flight, but it was converted into a special ferry aircraft and diverted to Tripoli to evacuate Indians who are stuck in the African nation, which is witnessing mass anti-government protests.

Three more planes -- two Boeing 747-400 and Airbus 330 -- left on Tuesday morning for Tripoli to airlift Indians who are still there.

Ravi said 1,100 people have been evacuated from Benghazi and ferried by a ship to Alexandria in Egypt.

"Out of 18,000 Indians, 10,000 are stranded in Tripoli," he said.

One of the passengers of the fourth flight Dinesh Kumar Sahni, working in Libya with a construction firm for two years, said "Situation in Libya is not good. The condition in Tripoli during day is normal, but it is not safe to venture out in night."

01/03/11 PTI/Times of India

Airlines to pass on service tax increase, fares to go up

New Delhi: Domestic air travel will cost more from the next financial year with the government raising service tax on it by Rs 50 and Rs 250 for domestic and international journeys respectively.

Presenting the 2011-12 budget in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also proposed to tax travel by higher classes on the domestic sector at the standard rate of 10 per cent.

The hike in service tax on air travel would be effective from April one.

From then on, the tax on economy class domestic travel would stand at Rs 150 instead of the current Rs 100 and Rs 750, as against Rs 500, for international travel.

Domestic travel on Business or high class would attract a flat service tax of 10 per cent of the fare. This would bring domestic air travel on higher classes on par with international journeys by the same classes, Mukherjee said.

However, there was relief to the Air India as the Finance Minister made a budgetary support of Rs 1,200 crore to the ailing national carrier as additional equity infusion.

This would be the third tranche of equity for Air India, which received Rs 800 crore and Rs 1,200 crore respectively in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 budgets.

28/02/11 Economic Times

Air travel set to become costlier

Air travel is set to become costlier with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee proposing to raise the service tax on air travel in the Union Budget for 2011-12 which was presented on Monday.

"I propose to raise the service tax on air travel by Rs. 50 in the case of domestic air travel and Rs. 250 on international journeys by economy class," Mr. Mukherjee said.

He also proposed an increase in the service tax by 10 per cent on business and first class travel only on domestic routes to bring the fares at par with international journeys in similar categories. The hike in service tax on air travel would be effective from April 1 when the tax on economy class domestic travel would stand at Rs. 150 instead of the current Rs. 100 and Rs.750, as against Rs. 500, for international travel.

However, there was relief to the public sector Air India as the Finance Minister made a budgetary support of Rs. 1,200 crore to the ailing national carrier as additional equity infusion.

28/02/11 The Hindu

Air travellers not the happiest

Chandigarh: Presenting the 2011-12 budget in the Lok Sabha, the union finance minister also proposed to tax the travel by higher classes on the domestic sector at the standard rate of 10%.

With this, the tax on economy class domestic travel would stand at Rs 150 instead of the current Rs 100 and Rs 750, as against Rs 500, for international travel.

Domestic travel on business or high class would attract a flat service tax of 10% of the fare. This would bring domestic air travel at par with international journeys by the same classes.

The hike in service tax on air travel would be effective from April 1.

At present, there are 11 flights operating from the Chandigarh airport to various domestic destinations. Prominent among those are Delhi, Mumbai, Banglore, and Srinagar. Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Air India and Indigo fly from the local airport. But with the proposal, only the business class will have to shell out more money than those travelling in the economy class. With the proposed hike, passengers travelling from Chandigarh to New Delhi in business class will have to pay around Rs 7,700 (approximately) instead of the present fare of around Rs 7,000.

Similarly, travelling in business class from Chandigarh to Mumbai will cost around Rs 20,500 instead of the present rate of around Rs 18,000.

01/03/11 Times of India

Budget cripples airline wings

The Indian airlines limping back to normalcy after gruelling economic meltdown has received further set backs in Budget 2011. Union budget 2011-12 has proposed to raise the service tax on air travel by Rs50 in the case of domestic air travel and Rs250 on international journeys by economy class. It also proposed to tax travel by higher classes on domestic sector at the standard rate of 10% to bring it on par with journeys by higher classes on international air travel.

“Air travel has become more expensive though there has not been a change in the rate of service tax. The major impact being on premium class travels in the domestic sector, which will no longer be chargeable to tax at a fixed rate (previously Rs. 100) but at the applicable rate of service tax of 10.3%. Separately, the fixed service tax amounts on economy class air travel has been enhanced from Rs. 100 to Rs. 150 for domestic and from Rs. 500 to Rs. 750 for international journeys,” said Saloni Roy, partner (infrastructure practice) at consulting firm Ernst & Young.

According to Vivek Nair, vice chairman and managing director The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts and chairperson of the World Tourism and Travel Council India Initiative (WTTCII) said this levy will directly affect both foreign and domestic tourists as it will increase the cost of tour packages.

A senior executive at country’s largest airline by passengers carried Jet Airways (India) Ltd said his airline will be forced to pass on the hike to passengers. He did not want to be identified.

28/02/11 P R Sanjai/Live Mint

Oil retailers raise ATF price by 3.4%

New Delhi: For the 10th fortnight in a row, state-owned oil firms today raised jet fuel price by 3.4% in line with spike in crude oil prices.

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) rates in Delhi have been hiked by Rs 1,870 per kilolitre, or 3.4%, to Rs 54,933 per kl with effect from midnight tonight, an official of Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer, said.

The hike comes on back of two massive hikes effected on February 1 and 16.

This is the 10th straight increase in jet fuel prices since October 2010, when international crude oil prices started soaring.

The ATF price in Delhi in October 1 was Rs 40,728.52 per kl. The rates were increased by Rs 14,204.48 per kl or 34.87% in 10 tranches since then, in tandem with surge in global oil prices.

28/02/11 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

Air-hostess accuses flier of clicking her pics, security finds nothing on his phone

A wheel chair-bound Kingfisher passenger, who was accused by an air-hostess of clicking her pictures on board a Delhi-Mumbai flight on February 23, has filed a complaint against her with the airline.

The passenger’s iphone was checked at the Mumbai airport by the airline’s security and no pictures of the crew member or any other images of the aircraft’s interiors were found on it.

A Kingfisher Airline spokesman on Monday said the air-hostess’s conduct in under investigation. “If she is found guilty, appropriate action will be taken against her,” said Prakash Mirpuri, vice-president, corporate communications, Kingfisher Airlines.

Anand P Nair, principal trustee of Shree Ramanugrah Trust, had put his iphone on ‘airplane mode’ just before the take-off and was drafting some e-mail replies which he wanted to send on landing in Mumbai.

When an iphone is put on ‘airline mode’, its wireless features get disabled, but its camera and music capabilities remain active.

A few minutes into the flight, a fight attendant asked Nair to switch off his phone. Nair told her the phone was on ‘air-plane mode’ and would, thus, not interfere with the plane’s communication devices.

While the air-hostess, claims Nair, first appeared satisfied with his explanation, she came came back a little while later and asked him again to switch off the phone.

This time, Nair pointed to the ‘on airplane mode’ icon on his phone. The air-hostess, however, insisted that he switch off the phone and alleged that she had seen him clicking her pictures.

“I was shocked. I told her I would record what she was saying. To this, she said I could do whatever I wished to and that she would report me to the airline’s security at Mumbai airport,” said Nair, talking to Mumbai Mirror over the phone from his residence on Monday.

As the plane landed, the air-hostess asked him to remain seated while other passengers deplaned.

At the airport, Kingfisher security personnel took Nair aside and told him they would have to check his phone. “When I asked them what I was being detained for, they told me an airline crew had reported that I was clicking her pictures.

I have these conversations with the security staff and the airhostess recorded and made the security listen to them,” Nair said.

The security found nothing on Nair’s phone and let him go. “As I was being questioned, fellow passengers surrounded me. It was so embarassing,” said Nair.

01/03/11 Mumbai Mirror

Northeast to get Rs.93 crore for airport development

New Delhi: Giving a major boost to the air transport segment for the remote northeast region, the government Monday allocated Rs.93 crore in the union budget 2011-12 to airport development in the region.

'Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been provided with budgetary support of Rs.280.15 crore, out of which Rs.93.48 crore has been earmarked for development of airports in the northeastern states,' according to the union budget 2011-12.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee allocated a total of Rs.9,071.56 crore to the civil aviation sector, which includes Rs.7,371.56 crore in unplanned and Rs.1,700 crore in planned expenditure.

28/02/11 IANS/Sify

Airport Terminal: A long wait finally ends

Thiruvananthapruam: It is a new dawn for the aviation sector of the State capital as the new international terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram Airport is being thrown open to the public on Tuesday.

The new terminal, which boasts of state-of-the-art facilities, will become operational on Tuesday with an Air India Express (AIE) flight from Sharjah reaching the new terminal at 6 pm and another AIE flight leaving for Dubai at 7 pm.

Airport Director G Chandramouli said that except for certain issues pertaining to cargo, everything was in place. “We are hopeful that the new terminal will become operational on Tuesday itself,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE) Deputy General Manager (Cargo) Abdul Rehman said that all arrangements for operating cargo from the new terminal were ready. “The Customs authorities will be giving temporary notification for operating air cargo from a temporary facility set up near the new terminal,” he said.

It is a long-pending demand of city residents being realised. Cries for a new terminal date back several decades. The state capital had also witnessed a series of agitations demanding a new terminal for the Thiruvananthapruam Airport.

The city airport had come into existence in 1932 following the initiative of Colonel G V Raja, husband of Karthika Thirunal of the Travancore royal family. The first flight landed in Thiruvananthapuruam in 1935. It was none other than J R D Tata who had flown an aircraft of the Tata Airlines then.

The airport was later developed as a domestic terminal and was upgraded as an international airport in 1991.

Following persistent demands from the State, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) prepared a master plan that envisages a new international terminal, a domestic terminal, a new air traffic control station and a cargo complex. The State Government has so far acquired 30 acres of land, where the new international terminal has come up.

01/03/11 ExpressBuzz

Water seeps, Patna airport officials see red

Patna: Airport authorities at the Jaya Prakash Narayan International Airport here had to face acute embarrassment on Monday when water seeped through the ceiling of the terminal building causing great inconvenience to waiting passengers.

Water seepage took place in the area housing the Air India office in the terminal building. The area leading to the only eatery shop in the terminal building was covered with a thick layer of water from early morning to around noon.

28/02/11 Alok K N Mishra/Times of India

Looted of Rs. 4 Lakh at Delhi airport

Delhi: Three people stole Rs. 4 Lakh from a Delhi-based businessman at Indira Gandhi International airport on February 25.

"I was to board a flight to Lucknow and was standing in a queue to get my boarding pass at Air India counter EO3 when three men surrounded me. After a little while, I noticed that Rs. four lakh cash which I was carrying was missing from my pocket. I immediately reported the matter to the CISF personnel posted there. We checked the CCTV footage and found that the money was stolen by three persons who had left the airport immediately after committing the crime," said the victim Sunil.

The IGI police registered an FIR after going through the CCTV footage provided to them by CISF personnel. Police said that no one has been arrested so far.

01/03/11 MiD DAY/NDTV.com