Category: Travel

AAI gets 32 bids for 6 airports, highest interest for Jaipur, Ahmedabad

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

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The Airports Authority of India has received 32 bids from 10 companies for privatisation of six airports with Jaipur and Ahmedabad getting the maximum interest, sources told CNBC-TV18.

Out of the 10 companies, Adani Enterprise and GMR group submitted bids for all six airports.

Other than these two, the privatisation drive of six airports currently managed by AAI has also received bids from AMP Capital Investors (UK) Ltd, Italy’s Autostrade, Cochin International Airport Ltd, I Investments, KSIDC (Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation) , NIIF (National Investment and Infrastructure Fund), PNC Infrastructure and Sanna Enterprises, sources said.

In terms of interest, Jaipur and Ahmedabad have received the highest number of bids at seven each from all companies except CIAL, KSIDC and Sanna Enterprises.

The two Western airports were followed by Lucknow and Guwahati airports at six bids each. Chaudhary Charan Singh International airport of Lucknow has received interest from Adani Enterprise, AMP Capital, Autostrade, GMR Infrastructure, I Investments and PNC Infrastructure. In the case of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport of Guwahati, Adani Enterprise, AMP Capital, GMR Infrastructure, NIIF, PNC Infrastructure and Sanna Enterprises submitted bids.

Mangalore and Trivandrum received three bids each. While GMR and Adani Enterprise submitted bids for both, CIAL showed interest in Mangalore and KSIDC submitted bids for Trivandrum.

The state-run airport operator had floated a single-stage tender in December for operation, management and development of six airports, namely Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Mangalore and Trivandrum with February 14 is the date of submission of bids.

The winners of the six airports will be announced in a matter of ten days after the financial bids are opened on February 25, a senior official said.

In November, the Union Cabinet had decided to privatise six airports to increase their efficiency and quality. The airports will be given out on a lease period of 50 years and in order to invite greater participation, prior airport experience was not a mandatory bidding criterion.

As of now, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Cochin are the only private-run airports in the country.

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A day after being flagged off, Vande Bharat Express runs into trouble

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

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A day after being flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s first semi-high speed train, Vande Bharat Express, ran into some trouble early Saturday while returning to Delhi from Varanasi.

The train reached Delhi around 1 pm on Saturday and is scheduled to begin its first commercial run on Sunday with all tickets already sold out.
While officials said the problem was caused by “skidding wheels”, those on board the train claimed it was a case of malfunctioning of brakes.

Train 18, which was recently rechristened Vande Bharat Express, had left Varanasi Junction for Delhi at 10:30 pm Friday, nearly 45 minutes after reaching the holy city on its inaugural journey.

The first breakdown occurred around 15 kilometres from Tundla junction in Uttar Pradesh around 6:30 am.

“It was a case of skidding wheels after the train ran over cattle,” Northern Railway CPRO Deepak Kumar had said in the morning.

According to sources, including several journalists on board the train, it was stuck near Tundla for over an hour.

They said before the train came to a halt, its end coaches started making a rattling sound.

“There was some smell in the last four coaches which had no power. Also some smoke was noticed. Loco pilots decreased the speed for some time. I heard the officials talking about brake malfunction,” a source on the train said.

Around 8:15 am, the engineers fixed the problem and the train started moving at 10 kmph which was increased to 40 kmph after some time.

Then the reporters and officials on board were transferred to another train bound for Delhi.However, around 8:55 am the Vande Bharat express again came to a halt. After necessary repairs it started the last leg of the journey towards Delhi at a speed of over 100 kmph, officials here said.

“This disruption appears to be because of a possible cattle run over. The train was returning at night and cattle run over is a possibility at odd times,” maintained Railway spokesperson Smita Vats Sharma.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury took to Twitter to hit out at the NDA government saying, “This train is the best example of the performance of Modi govt. A lot of hype and PR when the reality is a total disaster (sic).”

Train 18 has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15. It became India’s fastest train by hitting speeds of over 180 kmph during a trial run on a section of the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani route.

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IndiGo cancels around 130 flights for Friday

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

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Acute shortage of pilots along with NOTAMs at some airports forced IndiGo to cancel around 130 flights for Friday, a source said. The cancelled flights account for almost 10 percent of the airlines’ operations, the source said.

An Indigo spokesperson, however, said the airline has not cancelled any additional flights other than the schedule cancellations. The Gurugram-based budget carrier operates over 1,300 flights per day with a fleet of 210 planes.

“IndiGo has cancelled around 130 flights for Friday as it continues to face a shortage of pilots,” the source said. The airline has not pulled out any additional flights other than the schedule cancellations but refused to issue a statement. A query sent to IndiGo spokesperson and also to its chief operating officer Wolfgang Prock-Shauer remained unanswered.

The budget carrier has been cancelling flights since last Saturday after rain and hailstorm hit the Delhi-NCR region last week.

On Thursday it did not operate as many as 70 flights, citing reasons like planned cancellations and partial closure of the Bengaluru airport due to the Air Show.

“As stated earlier, the anticipated cancellations are 30 flights per day. The operations will be completely normalised by the start of the summer schedule from March 31.

“Additionally, a NOTAM in Bangalore started effective today (February 14), which caused additional 40 flight cancellations, rescheduling for which had been completed a month back and passengers were informed and reaccomodated accordingly,” the airline said in its earlier statement.
It had cancelled 49 flights on Wednesday as well.

“The cancellations on February 13 were caused by several factors like anticipated weather conditions on February 14 and NOTAMS at various airports. This resulted in extended duty times which then made it necessary to re-roster our crew and optimise our operations,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Further, the airline said it has decided to curtail its schedule for the remaining period of this month by “approximately 30 flights a day”. “This is in order to stabilise its operation and adjust crew rosters due to the reasons mentioned above. Passengers are in the process of being informed and re-accommodated,” the carrier had said.

However, IndiGo, in a statement ‘strongly refuted’ the above claims made by PTI.

“A list of these 130 flights was shared by PTI with IndiGo. IndiGo has verified this data and confirms that it is operating 120 of these 130 flights, as scheduled, with more than 20,000 travelling passengers. The origin of this alleged cancellation list is unknown to IndiGo and is false and misleading,” the statement said.

The airline, in the statement, confirmed its previous claim of cancelling 30 flights every day until March-end. “These cancellations do not include NOTAMs which are issued by various airports due to operational reasons,” the airline added.

(The IndiGo clarification and statement has been added by the CNBC-TV18 Web Team)

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

Bookings start for first commercial run of Vande Bharat Express on February 17

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

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Bookings have started for the first commercial run of the Vande Bharat Express, billed as India’s fastest train, on February 17 between Delhi and Varanasi, railways said Thursday.

Tickets can be bought over the counter or booked on irctc.co.in.
Train 18, which was recently renamed as Vande Bharat Express by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, became the country’s fastest train by hitting speeds of over 180 kmph during a trial run on a section of the Delhi-Varanasi route.

However, speed restrictions on the route will mean that the new train set can hit a maximum speed of 130 kmph.

The train will leave the national capital at 6 am and reach Varanasi at 2 pm. On the same day, it will leave Varanasi at 3pm and reach Delhi at 11 pm. The Vande Bharat Express will operate for five days in a week, except on Monday and Thursday.

From Delhi to Varanasi, an air-conditioned chair car ticket will cost Rs 1,760 and the executive class fare will be Rs 3,310, while in the return journey, a chair car ticket will cost Rs 1,700 and that of a seat in the executive class Rs 3,260. Both fares are inclusive of catering charges.

The chair car fares are 1.4 times the base price of Shatabdi trains running the same distance and that of the executive class 1.3 times of a first class air-conditioned ticket in the premium train.

The Vande Bharat Express is a all air-conditioned luxury train and will take around eight hours to travel between Delhi and Varanasi, halting at only two stations – Kanpur and Allahabad.

The tatkal quota would be five per cent of the total accommodation for the respective classes on the Vande Bharat Express, and no concessions or a different fare for a child passenger are being offered, the railways said.

“However, passes of MPs, coupons of MLAs, other coupons, military/para military warrants and others having fully reimbursable fare to railways shall be allowed. Booking shall be allowed only on duty passes for railway servants.

“No other railway passes like privilege, complimentary, post retirement complimentary passes shall be permissible in this train,” a railway order said.

The ticket fares between Delhi and Kanpur will be Rs 1,090 in the chair car (CC) class and Rs 2,105 in the executive class (EC) for a distance of 447 km, it said.

Between Delhi and Allahabad (642 km), the ticket price for CC class will be Rs 1,395 and Rs 2,750 for the EC class, Kanpur and Allahabad (195 km), the price for CC will be Rs 595 and for EC Rs 1,170, the order said.
The price of ticket between Kanpur and Varanasi (319 km) will be Rs 1,020 and Rs 1,815 for CC and EC classes respectively. The train will have differently priced meals as well, it said.

Tickets include meal charges.Passengers travelling from New Delhi to Varanasi in the executive class will be charged Rs 399 for morning tea, breakfast and lunch, and travellers in the chair car Rs 344 for the same.
Those travelling from New Delhi to Kanpur and Prayagraj will be charged Rs 155 and Rs 122 for executive and CC classes, respectively. From Varanasi to New Delhi, passengers Rs 349 in the executive class and Rs 288 in chair car, according to the order.

Passengers cannot opt out of meals. But those travelling from Allahabad to Varanasi and on the return journey Varanasi to Allahabad can opt out of meals, saving Rs 222 on CC tickets and Rs 244 on EC tickets by opting out of the meals provided by the IRCTC.

The Vande Bharat Express was manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative at Indian Coach Factory in Chennai

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

6 flights diverted from Delhi airport due to bad weather

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

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Six flights have been diverted from the Delhi airport due to bad weather between 9.30 am and 12 noon on Thursday, airport officials said.

“Four flights have been diverted to Jaipur. Two flights have been diverted to Lucknow due to heavy rains,” an official said.

The flights that were diverted to Jaipur were of Air Astana, Jet Airways, Indigo and GoAir, they said.

“One flight of Vistara and one flight of IndiGo were diverted to Lucknow,” the official added.

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IAF arranges sorties from Jammu& Kashmir for GATE aspirants and stranded people

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

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The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday arranged special sorties for Graduate Aptitude Test Exam (GATE) aspirants, locals residents and tourists stranded in the Kashmir Valley due to the continued closure of Jammu-Srinagar highway.

“The IAF launched special sorties of C-17 Globemaster and came to the assistance of those stuck in Srinagar,” Defence Ministry spokesman, Lt. Col. Devender Anand said here.

“The students were relieved by this humanitarian concern of the armed forces and conveyed their thanks for this timely effort which in the long run will shape up their career,” he said.

Civilians and stranded tourists were also air-lifted from Srinagar airport to Jammu airport.

“All of them were very appreciative and thankful of the humanitarian activities of the armed forces,” he added.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

Budget 2019: Tax rebates for middle class to benefit travel, tourism sector, say industry players

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

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Various initiatives in the interim budget such as tax rebates for the middle class will benefit the travel and tourism sector, industry players said.

“On the whole, the interim budget is promising for the travel industry, complemented by further tax rebate for the middle income group – more savings, more travel,” said FCM Travel Solutions MD Rakshit Desai.

Expressing similar views, EaseMyTrip Co-Founder & CEO Nishant Pittie said the budget announced promising initiatives that will definitely augur well for the Indian travel and tourism industry.

The focus on tax rebates for the middle class has brought a sigh of relief for them and now they will be able to spend more on vacations.

The government has increased the funds for the tourism ministry to Rs 2,189.22 crore for 2019-20.

“The exemption of income tax for middle and lower class segment of the society will increase the disposable income, which in line will trigger demand across consumer focused industries,” Royal Orchid Hotels MD Chander Baljee said.

Highlighting that tax exemptions will provide a boost to the sector, Cox & Kings Group CEO Peter Kerkar said the move will lead to additional savings thereby leading to more discretionary spends and travel and tourism can be one of the beneficiaries.

Thomas Cook India ED and CEO Mahesh Iyer said: “While the interim budget 2019 has seen no direct mention of the travel and tourism sector, focus on tax breaks for the middle class will result in increased disposable income and a cascading boost to consumption- offering the sector an opportunity for increased travel and tourism spends.”

Sambhav Rakyan, Head of Talent and Rewards Consulting, India at Willis Towers Watson said measures on taxation front will have a positive impact on disposable income and savings, which in turn can increase domestic expenditure and enhance the sense of security amongst salaried class.

L Badri Narayanan, Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan attorneys said the tax exemptions will go a long way in providing relief. At the same time, the tax mop-up may not be affected too severely as the total contribution as percentage of overall tax may be low.

Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Drip Capital, Pushkar Mukewar said the finance minister has announced a few steps that could prove beneficial to MSMEs, including lower interest rates and tax changes.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

Budget 2019: Budget allocates enough funds for Mumbai Urban Transport Project, say railway officials

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

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The budget has made a provision of Rs 584 crore for various phases of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). The interim budget presented by finance minister Piyush Goyal has allotted Rs 7,672 crore for the Central Railway in total, of which Rs 744 crore are for various transport projects.

It will cover the Belapur-Seawood-Uran railway line project in the Mumbai region. For the Western Railway, the budget has proposed allocation of Rs 6,128 crore to execute various existing projects. For Mumbai, these projects include construction of a second terminal at suburban Jogeshwari, bringing in 15-car local rakes and improvement in passenger amenities.

A provision of Rs 584 crore has been made for works planned under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project. Mumbai is the headquarters of Central Railway and Western Railway. Railway projects in the city are executed by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), a joint venture of the Railway ministry and the Maharashtra government.

“We have got Rs 584 crore to execute projects under the MUTP phase 2, phase 3 and phase 3A. The same amount will be contributed by the state government, which means we will be getting Rs 1,168 crore. This much funds are quite adequate for us,” said the chairman and managing director MRVC, R S Khurana.

Major projects under the MUTP-3A include fast elevated corridor between CSMT Mumbai-Panvel, a new suburban corridor between Panvel-Virar, extension of the Harbour Line from Goregaon to Borivali, construction of 5th and 6th line between Borivali and Virar, 4th line between Kalyan-Asangaon and 3rd and 4th line between Kalyan and Badlapur.

Khurana said Rs 50 crore have been allocated for MUTP 3A, which means the state government will also provide Rs 50 crore, and a total of Rs 100 crore will be available. “All these projects of MUTP-3A are under final consideration for sanction. As soon we get sanction, the work will start,” Khurana told PTI.

CR officials also expressed hope that they will not face a fund crunch. Chief PRO of Central Railway Sunil Udasi said, “Like the past few years, we have got sufficient allocations. We will continue executing various projects as per target.”

Western Railway chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said, “With the funds earmarked, we will be able to carry out different works such those related to track renewal, bridge safety, Integrated Security System, signalling and telecommunication.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

Unchartered waters: Uber to launch speedboat service

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

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Taxi hailing app Uber entered into a new mode of transport in the country by introducing boat services to connect the mainland Mumbai with popular
tourist attractions nearby.

Users will be able to book speed boat services from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island to the east and Mandwa to the south, the company said, adding it is being implemented on a pilot basis.

While the island houses cave structures dating back to the medieval times, while Mandwa in the neighbouring Raigad district is largely used by week-enders as a gateway to Alibag.

It can be noted that area in the Arabian Sea where the boats will be operating is also the channel of the Mumbai port and the adjoining JNPT, the country’s largest container port, making it one of the busiest in the country.

Many a time, oil rigs are also bought for maintenance in the same channel.

“Our vision is to make Mumbai as the sea transport and tourism hub of the country in collaboration with Maharashtra Maritime Board,” Mumbai Port Trust chairman Sanjay Bhatia was quoted as saying in a statement.

People will have to do group bookings for the two types of boats. A ride is available on the 6-8 seater boat for Rs 5,700, while the same for the second option, which can accommodate over ten people, will be Rs 9,500.

The services will start from February 1.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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