Sunday, October 30, 2011

‘Don’t have Misconceptions - Mangalore Airport is Safe’

Pics by Ramesh Pandith
Daijiworld Media Network



Mangalore, Oct 30, DHNS: Let no misconceptions prevail with regard to the Mangalore Airport as it is a ‘DGCA Licensed’ airport, the runway has been constructed with the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) norms inclusive of RESA (Runway End Safety Area) and it is eligible to be declared as an International Airport, said Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Dr M Veerappa Moily.

He was speaking after inaugurating the two-day workshop on ‘Table top airports and safety aspects’ organised by National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) and Mangalore Airport Diamond Jubilee Celebration Committee.

The present runway is 8000 ft and 205 acres of land is provided by the state government for extension of the runway. The runway needs to be extended to 9500 ft, said Moily. The total estimated cost for the extension of runway, construction of part parallel taxiway and link taxiway is Rs 51 crores and the proposal is likely to put up to AAI board for approval, he said.

The administrative approval and expenditure sanction for construction of new control tower cum technical block at Mangalore Airport for an amount of Rs 26.57 crores has been obtained.

The new air traffic control tower is under construction and will be ready in 18 months, he said and added that there are plans to convert the old terminal building for international and domestic cargo operation.

Speaking on the aviation industry today, he said that it is growing steadily and bears a strong correlation with the overall economic growth. The industry has been accounted for approximately 1.7 per cent of world GDP with over 1.1 trillion USD in turnover. Approximately 25 per cent of the value trade in manufactured goods is being transported by air. The air freight has increased by 65 per cent in 10 years and domestic fights has grown faster that the international flights in last five years, he said.

Airports Authority of India, Southern Region, Regional Executive Director D Devaraj said that Mangalore Airport can handle Airbus 320 type of aircraft at present. AAI always pays more attention to safety. Every airport will have an annual study, surveillance study and technical study, he said.

Mangalore Airport Director M R Vasudeva said that there are several misconceptions about the airport after the crash. “There is absolutely no problem in the airport. There is no need to fear unnecessarily. All misconceptions can be dispelled,” he stressed.

NITK Director Professor Sandeep Sancheti said very few cities can boast of all modes of transport such as air, water, rail and road and Mangalore is one of them. Many of the places which house IITs have an airport as this plays an important role, he said.
NMPT Deputy Director T S N Murthy said there is a need to remove the fear of air travel. As many as 30,000 airplanes have touched the Mangalore runway, he said.

Monday, October 03, 2011

Mangalore: 'International Status for Mangalore Airport Soon' - Vayalar Ravi

Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Oct 3: Union civil aviation minister, Vayalar Ravi, promised to complete the formalities connected with acquiring international airport status for the local airport on top priority.
“I know that getting this status for this airport is of prime importance,” he said, in response to a memorandum handed over by former union minister, B Janardhana Poojary, listing out various demands of the people of the district in this connection.
The minister was speaking after initiating the Mangalore Dasara celebrations at Lord Gokarnanatha Temple in Kudroli here on Sunday October 2. He said that one of the demands of Janardhana Poojary is to disburse maximum possible compensation to the families affected by the air crash here last year. “Some cases are pending in the court in this respect. The government is engaged with this issue,” he explained.
Ravi hailed Brahmasri Narayana Guru for spreading the notion of equality through his, ‘single caste, single religion, single god’ principle. “The principle of oneness preached by Narayana Guru has timeless and universal value. Our country strongly believes in this concept. I used to visit Varkala Shivagiri Mutt when young. The preaching of the Guru have had a lasting impact on my life and belief systems. Like me, crores of people have been influenced by the ideals of Narayana Guru,” he said.
He also said that his dream was to bring Air India back on tracks and enable it to function efficiently and compete with private airlines.
In his address, Janardhana Poojary said that the temple, which has been witnessing additions and renovations continuously, has been treading on the path shown by Brahmasri Narayana Guru. “This is not a centre of faith alone. It is also a centre of devotion, peace, and harmonious coexistence. Vayalar Ravi, who hails from the land of Narayana Guru, is a politician with deep humanitarian values,” he said.
President of Billavar Federation, Jaya C Suvarna, managing director of Hotel Deepa Comforts, Urmila Ramesh, and president of Akhila Karnataka Vishwamarka Mahasabha, K P Nanjundi, participated as chief guests.
Temple governing council president, H S Sairam, vice-president, Raghavendra Kulur, secretary, B Madhav Suvarna, and trustees were present.
Mangalore Air Crash - Vayalar Invites Victims' Kin to Delhi for Talks
A delegation of Mangalore Air Crash Victims Families Association met union civil aviation minister, Vayalar Ravi, on Sunday October 2. Ravi was here for attending a programme at Lord Gokarnanatha Temple, Kudroli.

He invited the office bearers of the association to New Delhi to discuss issues concerning payment of justifiable compensation to families of the air crash victims. He said he has been putting in efforts towards this end, and promised to hold detailed discussions in the issue during the visit of the delegation to New Delhi.

In reply to questions, the minister said that efforts towards infusing life into Air India through a rejuvenation process are on at present. “A new chairman has already been posted to Air India. Directors will also be appointed soon,” he clarified.

Saturday, October 01, 2011

Mangalore: Inaugural Mangalore-Hyderabad SpiceJet Flight Takes Off












Mangalore: Inaugural Mangalore-Hyderabad SpiceJet Flight Takes Off
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS)

Mangalore, Sep 30: SpiceJet limited kick started flight service between Mangalore and Hyderabad with Q-400 Hyderabad-Mangalore flight landing at the Mangalore Airport at 2.40 pm on Friday September 30.
The inaugural Mangalore-Hyderabad flight took off at 3 pm. SpiceJet will be operating a daily flight on the Mangalore-Hyderabad route.
Addressing the presspersons on September 30, Raja Vaidyanathan, vice-president, commercial also announced that the direct SpiceJet flight between Mangalore-Chennai will begin from November 9. Bookings on the Mangalore-Chennai sector have just commenced with an all-inclusive limited seats inaugural fare of Rs 1499, he said.
Abhaychandra Jain, MLA,Moodbidri, Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, Dakshina Kannada, Nagaraj Shetty, former president, Coastal Development Authority, Lata Kini, president, Canara Chamber of Commerce, V Raja, VP commercial, SpiceJet, M Shashi Kanth CASO and M R Vasudeva, Airport director witnessed the launch of the inaugural flight to Hyderabad.
The Q-400 NextGen turboprop aircraft from Bombardier can accommodate 78 passengers and is widely accepted as the best short-haul plane globally. SpiceJet had placed an order for 30 of these aircraft and have already taken delivery of the first five aircraft during September.
Samyukth Sridharan, chief commercial officer, SpiceJet Ltd was present