Category: Aviation

Skytrax World Airport Awards: Four Indian airports among top 100; know the winner

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Changi Airport in Singapore and Hamad International Airport in Doha have long been in a close contest for the renowned Skytrax World Airport Awards. This year Doha Airport edged out 12-time champion Singapore for the top spot in what’s known as the Oscars of the aviation sector.

The Hamad International Airport also won the titles of the ‘best airport in the Middle East’ and ‘world’s best airport shopping’ for a record-breaking ten and two years, respectively. Four airports in India were also included in the top list.

The Delhi airport remained 36th on the list, while the Mumbai airport slid to 95th from 84th the previous year.

Hyderabad airport moved up to 61st place from 65th place in 2023, and Bengaluru airport pushed ten spots, moving up to 59 from 69 last year.

In addition, JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity received recognition as South Asia’s and India’s top airport hotel.

Incheon Airport in Seoul was awarded the best family-friendly airport for 2024 and ranked 3rd number; Haneda and Narita airports in Tokyo came in 4th and 5th.

In contrast to US airports, which were far from being seen at the top of the ranking, Hong Kong Airport stood out, moving up 22 spots to rank 11th.

US cities fell six spots to 24th position, including the top-ranked Seattle-Tacoma.

The airport in Dubai, which was recently flooded when the glitzy city had 1.5 years of unprecedented rain in a single day, rose remarkably in the rankings of the world’s greatest airports. From 17th place the previous year, it rose to 7th place.

As for the top rank, it went to Hamad International Airport, which serves as the primary airport for Doha and is around one-third the size of the capital of Qatar. It covers an area of 600,000 square metres or 75 football fields. Despite coming in second place the previous year, Hamad International Airport was hailed as the world’s most opulent and architecturally significant terminal complex.

Since 1999, the Skytrax World Airport Awards have been handed out based on surveys of passenger experiences in several areas, including arrivals, check-in, immigration, shopping, transfers, security, and departure.

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Flight operations at Dubai International Airport limping back to normalcy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Over the past two days the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai witnessed unexpected scenes. The streets were flooded with rainwater as the city received over 142 mm of rainfall in two days, which it ideally receives in one season. The water not only flooded the streets but also flooded the Dubai International Airport (DXB). Flooded runways, taxiways and terminals, such were the scenes at DXB.

However, the situation is now improving and flight operations are limping back to normalcy. In a post on social media platform X, DXB said, “We have now resumed arriving flights of airlines operating out of Terminal 1. Flights continue to be delayed and disrupted, so we urge you to only come to Terminal 1 if you have a confirmed booking. Please contact your airline for the latest information on your flight status.”

We have now resumed arriving flights of airlines operating out of Terminal 1.
Flights continue to be delayed and disrupted, so we urge you to only come to Terminal 1 if you have a confirmed booking. Please contact your airline for the latest information on your flight status.

— DXB (@DXB) April 17, 2024

The airport also informed passengers about food distribution.

Terminal 1: Food has been distributed with more on the way
Terminal 2: Food is currently being distributed
Terminal 3: Restaurants are open and accepting meal vouchers
(2/2)

— DXB (@DXB) April 17, 2024

Also Read: Heavy thunderstorms lash Dubai — roads and airport submerged | Watch Video

The freak weather situation affected the entire operations, not only for its carriers but also for airlines globally. Emirates suspended check-in for passengers at DXB. In a post on X Emirates said, “Emirates is extending the suspension of check-in for passengers departing Dubai effective until 09:00 am on 18 April, due to continued operational challenges caused by bad weather and road conditions.”

Indian airlines IndiGo, Air India, Vistara and SpiceJet have several daily flights from India to Dubai. Just like other airlines, operations for Indian airlines have been affected as well. India’s largest airline in terms of market share and fleet size has suspended operations till noon (Indian Standard Time) today.

In a post on X IndiGo said, “Flights to/from Dubai stand cancelled until 12 PM on Apr 18, due to Airport restrictions and operational challenges caused by bad weather and road blockages. Do explore our alternate flight options or request a full refund by visiting bit.ly/36u4Mh9.”

Air India has also cancelled several flights to and from Dubai and is offering alternate flight options and refunds to customers. SpiceJet is also offering the same to its passengers.

DXB is one of the top three busiest airports globally. The airport’s Terminal 3 is one of the biggest terminals in the world and it has two runways. The airport is the hub for Emirates, Fed Ex Express and FlyDubai. The airport has over 500 daily departures and arrivals. The city of Dubai received the highest rainfall in the last 75 years.

Also Read: Adverse weather hits Dubai flights; Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet flights affected

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Alaska Airlines flights resume after brief nationwide halt

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Alaska Airlines began resuming normal flight operations after a technology issue led to a temporary grounding of its aircraft nationwide.

The carrier requested that federal regulators halt operations early Wednesday after experiencing an “issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance,” it said in a statement. The grounding, which affected all mainline operations and those of its Horizon subsidiary, lasted for about an hour.

Accurate weight and balance calculations are a crucial element in safe flight operations and must be established before aircraft depart.

Alaska said it mitigated the issue but expects “residual delays” to last throughout the day. The US Federal Aviation Administration, which issued a notice of the ground stop online, confirmed that operations had returned to normal.

Shares of the carrier’s parent, Alaska Air Group Inc., rose 3% as of 11:54 a.m. in New York.

The disruption, coming about three months after a mid-flight safety problem with a Boeing Co. plane upended Alaska’s operations, recalls a similar ground stop issued in September for United Airlines Holdings Inc. flights after a software update caused a “widespread slowdown” in the carrier’s technology systems. In early 2023, an FAA system outage forced a nationwide grounding of aircraft.

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Adverse weather hits Dubai flights; Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet flights affected

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Flights from India to Dubai have been disrupted significantly as heavy rains resulted in flooding of the emirate’s airport, also one of the world’s busiest airports. Air India, which operates 72 weekly flights from various cities to Dubai, and IndiGo cancelled their services on Wednesday.

Apart from Air India, Air India Express, Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet also operate flights from various Indian cities to Dubai, which is also home to a large number of Indian diaspora. An Air India spokesperson said due to the impact of adverse weather in Dubai, it had to cancel flights to and from the Gulf nation on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We are doing our best to get affected passengers on their way as soon as possible by re-accommodating them on flights in the next few days. “We are also offering a one-time date change waiver to passengers with valid tickets on 16 and 17 April, allowing them to reschedule their flights to future dates within the validity of the tickets,” the spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, an official said 10 flights from the Delhi airport to Dubai were cancelled on Wednesday. Also, nine flights that were to arrive from Dubai to the national capital were cancelled. Details about cancelled flights could not be immediately ascertained. “Inclement weather has impacted air travel to the UAE, causing delays and diversions. Three to four of our flights on the 16th and 17th were among those delayed. We regret the inconvenience and have offered the option of a full refund or free rescheduling to all impacted guests,” an Air India Express spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

In a post on X on Wednesday, IndiGo said all flights to and from Dubai stand cancelled due to operational challenges caused by bad weather and road conditions. SpiceJet, in a post on X, said flights to and from Dubai are affected due to adverse weather conditions in Dubai.

There was no statement from Vistara. Unprecedented heavy rains lashed Dubai on Tuesday, disrupting normal lives and flooding the Dubai International Airport.

The Dubai airport was ranked as the world’s second busiest airport in 2023, handling more than 8.69 crore passengers, according to Airports Council International (ACI).

Also Read: Emirates extends Dubai halt into Thursday on flooding

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Thiruvananthapuram Airport to suspend flight services for four hours on April 21

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd (TIAL) will suspend flight services for five hours on April 21 for the smooth continuation of the holy ‘Painkuni Arattu’ procession of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple across the runway.

The flight services will be suspended from 4 pm to 9 pm on April 21, Sunday.

Every year, the airport has been pausing operations and rescheduling flights twice every year to enable the bi-annual centuries-old ceremonial procession of the shrine to pass through the runway.

The practice of the temple procession taking that path to reach the Shangumugham beach for the holy bath of the idols began centuries ago. The ritual continued even after the establishment of the airport in 1932.

When the airport was constructed at the particular place, the then Travancore King Sree Chithira Thirunal had made it clear that then facility would be open for the public for 363 days in a year and two days for Lord Padmanabha, the titular deity of the royal family, according to historians.

The royal era ritual has continued even after the Adani Group took over management of the airport.

The airport issues a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) twice every year before the runway is closed during the bi-annual Alpassi festival which falls in October-November and the Painkuni festival in March-April.

With inputs from PTI

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Permanent staff at Air India Engineering Services demand salary revision, threaten industrial action

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Just days after the contractual employees of Air India Engineering Services Ltd ended their strike, the permanent technicians and engineers of the government-owned Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility have now issued a warning of potential “industrial action” if their longstanding salary revision matter remains unresolved.

These employees, represented by the Joint Forum, addressed a letter to Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam on Tuesday, urging for the prompt disbursement of revised salaries before the payment of revised wages to technicians under Fixed Term Contracts.

Established as a separate entity from Air India in 2014, AIESL operates under Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL) and employs approximately 5,000 individuals, including 1,900 permanent aircraft technicians, service engineers, aircraft maintenance engineers, and executive grade engineers.

The Joint Forum emphasised the urgency of their demands, warning of potential spontaneous actions or industrial unrest among their members if the matter is not addressed promptly by the AIESL management. Despite their acceptance of a pay revision effective from January 2017, the employees highlighted the management’s failure to implement it to date.

Last week, the union representing FTE (fixed-term employees) staff at the company withdrew its call for strike after arriving at a settlement regarding their grievances, including salary revision and promotions.

The Joint Forum expressed confusion over the management’s decision to revise salaries for only a specific group of employees, particularly in light of recent substantial salary increases for all FTEs, including non-technical staff.

The letter urged the Civil Aviation Secretary to consider their concerns and take immediate steps to rectify the situation. Given AIESL’s status as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), the employees argue that wages for permanent staff should align with those of other PSU employees.

The Joint Forum also emphasised that swift resolution of these issues would not only rebuild trust and confidence among its members but contribute to fostering a harmonious and productive work environment.

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Boeing pushes back on whistleblower’s allegations and details how airframes are put together

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Boeing is defending the integrity of the fuselages on two of its largest planes, which have come under criticism from a whistleblower who warns that panels on the outside of one of the planes could eventually break apart during flight.

Two Boeing engineering executives went into detail on Monday to describe how panels are fitted together, particularly on the 787 Dreamliner. They suggested the 787’s carbon-composite skin is nearly impervious to metal fatigue that weakens conventional aluminum fuselages.

Their comments during a lengthy media briefing served as both a response to news reports last week about the whistleblower’s allegations and a preemptive strike before he testifies to a congressional panel on Wednesday.

The whistleblower, Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour, said excessive force was applied to fit panels together on the 787 assembly line, raising the risk of fatigue, or microscopic cracking in the material that could cause it break apart.

The Boeing officials described how sections of a fuselage are brought together, shims are added to fill gaps, holes are drilled and cleaned, and fasteners attached to apply “pull-up force” that 99% of the time results in margins no greater than .005 inches (0.127 millimeters) apart — the width of a human hair, they said. A gap problem was discovered in 2019 between two panels, which led to design and assembly changes, they said.

Boeing conducted testing replicating 165,000 flights with no findings of fatigue in the composite structure, Steve Chisholm, Boeing’s vice president of structural engineering, said. The average 787 makes 600 flights a year, he said.

The company said planes already in use are proving safe. Chisholm said 671 Dreamliners have undergone the intensive inspections for 6-year-old planes and eight have undergone 12-year inspections with no evidence of fatigue in the composite skins.

Cracks have been found on metallic parts, including a piece above where the wings join the fuselage, and Boeing issued inspection guidelines for those parts, the officials said.

The 787 Dreamliner is a two-aisle plane that has often been used on international flights since its debut in 2011. The composite material makes the plane lighter, contributing to better fuel efficiency.

A series of battery fires briefly grounded the planes. Deliveries of the aircraft have been stopped at times because of questions about gaps between fuselage panels that were wider than Boeing’s standards allowed, the use of unapproved titanium parts from a supplier in Italy, and flaws in a pressure bulkhead.

The Federal Aviation Administration must inspect and approve each 787 that rolls off the assembly line before it can be flown to an airline customer.

The whistleblower Salehpour claims that after he raised safety concerns about the 787, Boeing transferred him to work on an older widebody plane, the 777. He told the Seattle Times that he saw workers jumping on fuselage panels to get them in alignment, which Boeing disputes.

The New York Times reported that the FAA is investigating Salehpour’s claims. The FAA, while not commenting specifically on Salehpour, said it investigates all safety reports.

Boeing says it is “fully confident” in both planes.

Salehpour is the latest in a line of Boeing whistleblowers to come forward, often alleging retaliation for raising safety concerns. The company said it encourages employees to speak up about problems.

Lisa Fahl, the vice president of engineering for Boeing airplane programs, said employee reports have “exploded” — with as many reports in January and February as were filed in all of 2023 — “which is what we want.”

Also Read: American Air pilots cite ‘significant’ jump in safety issues

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

American Air pilots cite ‘significant’ jump in safety issues

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The union for American Airlines Group Inc. pilots warned members to be vigilant amid a “significant spike” in safety- and maintenance-related problems at the carrier.

The Allied Pilots Association cited “problematic trends” in a memo sent April 13, including instances of tools like a hammer being left in airplane wheel wells and an increasing number of collisions between aircraft while they’re being towed. The union, which represents about 15,000 pilots, implored its members to avoid rushing while doing their jobs and to not be pressured into doing anything unsafe.

Shares of the carrier fell 1.6% Monday in New York. The stock has fallen 5.8% this year, the worst performance in a Standard & Poor’s index of the four largest US airlines.

The union message underscores the heightened scrutiny on airline safety following a January incident in which a panel blew off the side of an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight. United Airlines Holdings Inc., in particular, has garnered unwanted attention over a series of headline-grabbing mishaps, including a wheel falling from a plane after takeoff and an aircraft skidding off an airport runway.

“While United Airlines is currently under public and government scrutiny, it could just as easily be American Airlines,” the APA said in its memo.

American said in a statement Monday that it has a “robust safety program.” That includes “a multitude of collaborative programs — and regular touchpoints — with the FAA and all of our unions, including APA, to further bolster our strong safety record and enhance our ever-evolving safety culture.”

The union recently spoke with senior management at the carrier about becoming involved earlier in assessments of safety risks and the “initial response to our request was encouraging,” said Dennis Tajer, a union spokesman. “We fully intend to do everything we can to assure that American maintains strong margins of safety.”

The union cited other problems, such as increasing instances of equipment being left in sterile areas where planes pull into gates and faulty paperwork documenting when damaged aircraft are ferried to another location.

APA also warned members to watch for hazards “while operating on the ramps and taxiways in congested airports staffed with inexperienced controllers and ground personnel.”

The Federal Aviation Administration recently increased its oversight of United as part of a broad safety review, delaying some activities including the postponement of two new routes the airline had planned to begin this summer. The carrier is conducting its own internal review, as well.

Boeing Co.’s manufacturing and quality practices also have been under intense FAA scrutiny since the Alaska Airlines incident involving a nearly new 737 Max 9. The harsh spotlight now extends to the 787 Dreamliner, after an engineer at the planemaker alleged the company took manufacturing shortcuts on the aircraft to ease production bottlenecks.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Delhi airport among world’s top 10 busiest airports: ACI

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Delhi airport has been named among the world’s top 10 busiest airports for 2023 in a list topped by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital is ranked tenth while Dubai and Dallas airports are at the second and third positions, respectively, according to the Airports Council International (ACI) World.

Releasing the list on Monday, the ACI also said the global total passenger forecast for 2023 stands close to 8.5 billion (850 crore), reflecting a remarkable recovery of 93.8% from pre-pandemic levels and 27.2% higher than 2022.

“Notably, international traffic recovery drew nearer to that of domestic traffic, emphasising its essential role in propelling the industry’s resurgence and expansion,” it said.

Also read: Airfares could rise as crude oil prices spike, say experts

Among the top 10 busiest airports, five are in the US. At the tenth place, Delhi airport handled more than 7.22 crore passengers in 2023. In 2022, the airport was at the ninth position.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is on top and it handled over 10.46 crore passengers last year. It is followed by Dubai Interntional Airport, which saw more than 8.69 crore passengers, and Dallas Forth Worth International Airport.

The latter handled over 8.17 crore passengers in 2023. Others in the list are London’s Heathrow airport (4th spot), Tokyo’s Haneda airport (5th), Denver International Airport (6th), Istanbul airport (7th), Los Angeles International airport (8th) and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (9th).

The passenger number for an airport includes emplaned and deplaned passengers, and those who transited have been counted once. “The top 10 airports representing close to 10% of global traffic (806 million passengers), witnessed a gain of 19.8% from 2022 or a gain of 0.7% vis-a-vis their 2019 results (801 million pax in 2019),” ACI said in a release.

In terms of aircraft movements (landings and takeoffs) also, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was on top. ACI is a trade association of the world’s airports.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Airfares could rise as crude oil prices spike, say experts

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director and Global Head of Transport, Mobility, and Logistics Consulting, at CRISIL Market Intelligence and Mayur Milak, Senior Research Analyst at Asian Markets Securities believe India’s leading airlines could raise airfares to counter the impact of rising crude oil prices.

Crude oil constitutes roughly 40-45% of an airline’s overall costs.

However, they do not predict any major negative impact of rising crude on the margins of aviation companies.

“I have maintained one stand, especially post-COVID, that there has been a lot of discipline in the Indian skies. The kind of pain the aviation industry went through. So despite everything quite sorting out, we’ve never seen this airfare war back again despite crude coming in the correction zone. These guys made  healthy money,” Milak noted.

Apart from the potential to raise airfares, the margins of most players are healthy enough to absorb the rising costs, said Padmanabhan, pointing out that “the margins for the single largest player is quite healthy at about 24%”

Padmanabhan estimates India’s domestic passenger air traffic to grow by 12-15% during April-March 2024-25 (FY25) versus a 13% growth last year. 

“For the fiscal 2025, the domestic passenger traffic is expected to rise by about 12 to 15%. This is because of the supply issues getting eased out and also we see a lot of additional capacity is coming into the system later part of the year,” Padmanabhan said in a conversations with CNBC-TV18.

For the summer schedule, Padmanabhan expects domestic passenger traffic growth of about 8-12% YoY,  and international traffic growth of about 10 to 12%

He also noted positive travel sentiments across various segments including leisure, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), and business travel.

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Milak is not worried about any supply side constraints despite the recent flight cancellations by Vistara. He believes the issues at Vistara are temporary.

The emergence of new players such as Akasa Air and expansion plans by established carriers like InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) and Air India signal a robust supply trajectory.

He believes the demand-supply situation looks pretty sorted. “…more of a worry is the International things really happening at this point and its impact on crude. So that is where, as an analyst, I’m more worried really not worried much on the demand side as such,” he said.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow