News

Darbhanga airport starts passenger flight operations ahead of Chhath Puja

Darbhanga airport in Bihar is not connected to airports in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The airport in Bihar started passenger flight operations on Sunday, November 8. According to the reports, the flagship flights that arrived at the Darbhanga airport from Bengaluru were given a traditional water salute, while the passengers were given a warm reception with Mithila Paags (a traditional cap) and garlands. Flights to Darbhanga will be run by SpiceJet, under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). Now that the Darbhanga airport has opened its gates for passenger flight services, it will help people save a lot of time travelling to and from Patna, which has the nearest airport. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri shared the news on Twitter by commending the wonderful teamwork by local leadership, professionals & officers. The AAI has constructed the airport as a civil enclave, which is part of an Indian Air Force base designated for civil aviation operations. It is located at Kevti, about 6 km from Darbhanga and the terminal can handle about 150 passengers at a time. The foundation ceremony for the Darbhanga airport was held in December 2018. It is the third airport in Bihar after Patna and Gaya. Reportedly, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had previously declared that the airport operations at Darbhanga will start ahead of Chhath Puja September 2020.

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Tripura's Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport to get new integrated terminal building by next year

Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Tripura will soon have a new integrated terminal building, said Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday. According to an official statement, the original building was saturated and there was no further scope of expansion, hence, the work for new integrated terminal building at an estimated cost of Rs 438 crores was undertaken. With built-up area of 30,000 sqm, the new terminal building will be equipped with 20 check-in counters, four-passenger boarding bridges, conveyor belts and passenger-friendly modern facilities and amenities, the AAI said. The terminal has been designed to process 1000 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours making the annual handling capacity of 3 million passengers. The development work also includes construction of the apron having capacity to park six aircraft at a time. "Bamboo is used as a widespread local material in the state for construction whereas tribal art work and crafts are included to promote cultural tourism. The art and craft work is displayed all over the terminal in form of sculptures, jaali work, furniture and murals," the statement added. More than 90 per cent of the work is completed and the building is scheduled to be ready by the beginning of next year.

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Domestic passenger traffic reaches over half of pre-Covid levels: Aviation Secretary

Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Tripura will soon have a new integrated terminal building, said Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday. According to an official statement, the original building was saturated and there was no further scope of expansion, hence, the work for new integrated terminal building at an estimated cost of Rs 438 crores was undertaken. With built up area of 30,000 sqm, the new terminal building will be equipped with 20 check-in counters, four passenger boarding bridges, conveyor belts and passenger-friendly modern facilities and amenities, the AAI said. The terminal has been designed to process 1000 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours making the annual handling capacity of 3 million passengers. The development work also includes construction of the apron having capacity to park six aircraft at a time. "Bamboo is used as a widespread local material in the state for construction whereas tribal art work and crafts are included to promote cultural tourism. The art and craft work is displayed all over the terminal in form of sculptures, jaali work, furniture and murals," the statement added. More than 90 per cent of the work is completed and the building is scheduled to be ready by the beginning of next year.

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SpiceJet to connect Nashik with Delhi, Bengaluru & Hyderabad

SpiceJet will add Nashik in Maharashtra as its 50th domestic destination connecting it with the key metros of Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. While flights on the Hyderabad-Nashik-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Nashik-Bengaluru sectors will commence from November 20, 2020, flights on the Delhi-Nashik-Delhi sector will begin from November 25, 2020. Hyderabad-Nashik-Hyderabad route comes under UDAN and will be the airline’s 14th destination under the Regional Connectivity Scheme. SpiceJet will also connect Udaipur with Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad and launch new flights on the Pune-Patna, Chennai-Jaipur and Kolkata-Bengaluru sectors. Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet, said, “We are delighted to add Nashik as our 14th UDAN destination and connecting this key city in Maharashtra with Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It has been our constant endeavour to take air travel to the smaller towns and cities of India and we see a strong demand for air travel to and from Nashik.” “Udaipur and Jaipur are two popular tourist destinations that see significant demand during the winters and I am sure our new flights to these cities will delight leisure and business travellers alike.” While the airline will operate daily flights on the Mumbai-Udaipur, Ahmedabad-Udaipur, Chennai–Jaipur and Bengaluru-Kolkata sectors, flights on Bengaluru-Nashik and Delhi–Udaipur sectors will be operational on all days except Tuesdays. While Hyderabad-Nashik and Delhi-Nashik flights will operate four-times-a-week, the Pune-Patna flight will operate twice-a-week. The all-inclusive one-way fares connecting Hyderabad-Nashik will begin from as low as INR 3,160/- and Nashik-Hyderabad from INR 3,385/- under the UDAN scheme. In addition, SpiceJet is celebrating the launch by announcing an introductory promotional fare starting at INR 3,662/- on Bengaluru-Nashik, INR 3,561/- on Nashik-Bengaluru, INR 4,060/- on Delhi-Nashik and INR 4,087/- on Nashik-Delhi routes.

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India, Maldives sign 4 pacts including $100M grant for key connectivity project

India and the Maldives on Monday signed four agreements, including one for a $100-million grant for a connectivity project, as visiting foreign secretary Harsh Shringla and the Maldivian leadership discussed ways to boost economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Shringla is on a two-day visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago as part of New Delhi’s outreach to key countries in the neighbourhood and beyond. The Maldives is the sixth country he has visited in the aftermath of pandemic-related travel restrictions, the others being Bangladesh, Myanmar, France, Germany and the UK. One of four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed by the two sides was for the grant of $100 million by India for the $500-million Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) that will link capital Male with three islands. India will also provide a $400-million line of credit for the project, the largest such infrastructure venture undertaken in the Maldives. The other MoUs were for setting up soil and plant testing laboratories through a grant of 1.71 million Maldivian rufiyaas, establishing a drug detox facility through a grant of 7.7 million Maldivian rufiyaas and cooperation in sports and youth affairs. The GMCP, “an economic lifeline connecting Male with Villingili, the new commercial port at Gulhifalhu and industrial zone at Thilafushi” will “conform to the hallmarks of Indian development cooperation – transparency, full participation and ownership of the host country, and competitive pricing”, Shringla said while speaking at the foreign ministry in Male. “We deeply appreciate the government of President [Ibrahim] Solih for its ‘India First’ foreign policy. This is reciprocated in full measure by our ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy in which the Maldives enjoys a very special and central place,” he said. Talks between Shringla and his Maldivian counterpart Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed focused on economic recovery. They emphasised “resilience efforts to curb the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, including boosting tourism, accelerating the implementation of the ongoing development cooperation projects across the Maldives, and the means of elevating connectivity and bilateral trade”, according to a statement from the Maldives’ foreign ministry. India has unveiled a slew of measures to boost economic recovery in the Maldives, where the tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. In September, India provided a soft loan of $250 million as budgetary support. The two sides also launched a cargo ferry service to cut transportation costs. Shringla began his visit with a meeting with President Solih, seen as one of India’s strongest allies in the neighbourhood. The two sides discussed ways to enhance regional trade and connectivity, economic cooperation, tourism and overcoming the pandemic. Solih thanked the Indian government for agreeing to implement an air bubble between the two sides and noted that increasing numbers of Indian tourists had visited the Maldives since it reopened its borders. Solih thanked India for backing development projects through a line of credit agreements, including the GMCP, Gulhifalhu port project, water and sewerage projects on 34 islands and a cancer hospital. Shringla also met Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and defence minister Mariya Didi, whom he assured of India’s “continued assistance to safeguard our shared interests in the Indian Ocean”, according to a tweet from the Indian high commission.

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India: New guidelines issued for international arrivals

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued new guidelines for international arrivals in the wake of rising Coronavirus cases in Europe. As per the news guidelines, travellers will not be required to undergo institutional or home quarantine if they can submit a negative RT-PCR report that has been conducted within 72 hours of their journey. As per the circular issued, it says, “They should also give an undertaking on the portal or otherwise to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India, through concerned airlines before they are allowed to undertake the journey that they would abide by the decision of the appropriate government authority to undergo facility/home quarantine/ self-monitoring of their health for 14 days, or as warranted.” For those seeking exemption from quarantine, they can submit a self-declaration form online, at least 72 hours before their scheduled travel. They can even opt to do so after arriving at the airport at the respective health counters. Those who could not undergo RT-PCR test done prior to their departure and are wishing to seek exemption from institutional quarantine, they can avail the facility at the airport and undergo the said test, where such a provision exists. As of now, such airports include Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Cochin. However, in cases such as international passengers arriving without a negative COVID certificate, and not opting for the RT-PCR test at the airport, or arriving at an airport where such a facility is not available, they will be required to undergo mandatory seven days institutional quarantine, as well as seven days home quarantine. Although these are the new guidelines issued by the Central Government, individual states are also allowed to impose additional restrictions with regard to isolation and quarantine rules on passengers arriving in the state from abroad.

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