Airports

New Delhi, 12th January, 2023: Airports Authority of India has undertaken the expansion work of Trichy Airport which includes Construction of a New Integrated Passenger Terminal Building, a new Apron, Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower, and upgradation of Air side facilities to cater the growing passenger traffic and reduce congestion during peak hours at the airport. The new terminal building being constructed at the cost of Rs.951 Crore has been designed to process 2900 passengers during peak hours. Equipped with 48 check-in counters and 10 boarding bridges, the terminal will be an energy efficient building with sustainable features. With an area of 75000 sq m, the new terminal building has been designed as an iconic structure of dynamic and dramatic building form with majestic roof. The interiors of the building reflect the colors and culture of the city through materials and textures in a contemporary manner. The intuitive form of the new terminal will create a unique architectural identity in southern region and will add a new dimension to the terminal design. Strong references to the local culture and traditional architecture will be expressed by the building’s architecture. Arriving and departing passengers will sense this identity and reference to the place. The airport expansion project also includes, new apron, associated taxiways, isolation bay to make the airport suitable for Multiple Apron Ramp System i.e. five wide-body (Code E) or 10 narrow body aircraft (Code C).Other than this, construction of a Control Room, supporting Equipment Rooms, Terminal RADAR, RADAR simulation, Automation facilities, VHF, AAI offices and Meteorological offices are also the part of the project. Project also includesfour-lane elevated access road connecting the Terminal Building tothecity. More than 85% of the construction work for terminal building is completed and the project will be ready by June, 2023. Trichy is the third largest airport of Tamil Nadu in terms of passenger Traffic after Chennai & Coimbatore. Development of Aviation Infrastructure will ensure enhanced air connectivity for the travelers of Trichy and surrounding area in Tamil Nadu.

New Delhi, 04th January, 2023: To cater the growing population of the Fourth largest city in the state of Gujarat and increasing flow of air traffic in this region, Airports Authority of India has undertaken the work for construction of New Greenfield Airport at Rajkot in Gujarat. With the project cost of Rs. 1405 crores, the new airport is envisioned to be a transportation hub for people traveling abroad from the state. Spread over 1,025 hectares, a new greenfield airport has been developed with modern facilities and conveniences for the travellers. The location of the new airport is approximately 30 kms from Rajkot city and on Rajkot-Ahmadabad highway. With total built-up area of 23,000 sqm, the terminal building of this new airport will be capable to handle 1800 passengers during peak hours. The terminal of the airport will be equipped with state-of-the-art passenger facilities, four passenger boarding bridges, three conveyor belts and 20 check-in counters along with modern firefighting and fire alarm system. With 3040 m long runway, the airport will be capable to serveAirBus-321 type of aircraft and the apron will be suitable for parking of 14 aircraft.The city side area of the airport is also being developed for adequate parking facilities for car, taxi and buses along with landscaping The façade design of the terminal building is influenced from the existing Palaces of Rajkot like the Ranjit Vilas Palace, integrating traditional elements into a contemporary form. The terminal building will depict various art forms including dandiya dance through its dynamic external façade and splendid interiors. Rajkot is famous for its golden jewellery and filigree work and that has inspired the exterior panel work at drop-off area of city side kerb. Runway and other pavement works along with more than 95% of earth work have been completed.The work for terminal building is in progress and the airport will be ready for operations by December, 2023.

New Delhi, 1st Dec 2022: Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia launched Digi Yatra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi for three airports in the country, namely New Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru. Digi Yatra is conceived to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). Speaking about the Digi Yatra project conceived by Digi Yatra Foundation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Minister said that the project envisages a traveller today pass through various check points at the airports through a paperless and contactless processing using facial features to establish her identity which could be linked to the boarding pass. To use this facility, one-time registration on Digi Yatra app is required using Aadhar based validation and a self-image capture. The project has tremendous advantages of improving passenger convenience and ease of travel. About the privacy features of the project, the Minister said that keeping in mind the privacy, there is no central storage of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Passenger’s ID and travel credentials are stored in a secure wallet in the passenger’s smartphone itself. The uploaded data will utilise blockchain technology and all the data will be purged from the servers within 24 hours of use. With Digi Yatra, India will now stand in the ranks of world class airports like Heathrow in London and Atlanta in United States of America. Elucidating on the benefits of Digi Yatra, the Minister stated the example of Dubai Airport where passenger time upto 40 percent was saved due to this technology. A similar technology saved nine minutes per aircraft time at the Atlanta Airport. The Minister also said that compared to other ports of call, the Indian system has been made far more seamless from entry to exit and therefore will be one of the most efficient systems from across the world. Digi Yatra in the first phase, will be launched at 7 airports. However, it has been initially launched at 3 airports i.e., Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi today, to be followed by 4 airports namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023. Later it would be implemented across various airports in the country. The service is presently being launched for domestic flights passengers only. Digi Yatra App is available on both IoS and android. It is voluntary is nature. With Digi Yatra, India is setting a new global benchmark for a seamless, hassle free and health risk free process at airports.

New Delhi, 28 November 2022: Airports Authority of India, India’s largest operator and sole Air Navigation Service Provider commenced Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2022 (28th November to 2nd December, 2022). The week-long celebration is being observed at all airports and ANS locations managed by AAI across India. Sanjeev Kumar, IAS, Chairman, AAI in his message stressed the importance of safety in all domains of AAI. Through the Safety Awareness Week,Chairman emphasized AAI’s commitment towards Aviation Safety in coherence with ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan. A.K. Pathak, Member (Planning) informed the audience attending the opening ceremony about criticality of safety awareness in all domains of life with a special emphasis to aviation. He stressed upon awareness of AAI employees about safety concerning their domain of operations and declared the Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2022 open. The Safety Awareness Week began with a Presentation by Capt. Dhruv REBBAPRAGADA, Regional Safety Director, South Asia, Airbus Group India. Capt. Dhruv emphasized on systematic development of safety culture from Occupational Safety to Aviation Safety. He has underlined the greater utility of modern technology like ADSB, PBN at smaller airports for enhancement of safety. Maneesh Kumar, Jt. Director General, DGCA in his address stressed upon service provider’s greater role in accomplishment of goals of State Safety Programme. As an ANSP and Airport Operator, it has always been AAI’s endeavor to achieve high standard of safety. In this process, AAI is committed for safe, transparent and accountable for its actions to stakeholders and the society at large. AAI’sDirectorate of Aviation Safety undertakes sincere efforts in aligning the functionsof accountable executives regarding safety compliance in line with aviation regulator and ICAO. Aviation safety is thus a highest priority in all operational activity and processes of the AAI. To raise awareness on Aviation Safety, AAI will undertake various employee engagement programs at the airports and ANS stations like reviewing of documents and procedures, Mock exercises, preventive maintenance of facilities etc. Various social campaigns too will be rolled out to raise awareness on the issue. Banners and posters will be displayed across AAI offices and operational centers to educate both external and internal stakeholders on the significance of the Safety Awareness Week.

Goa, India, 2nd Nov 2022: This week, Air Traffic Management (ATM) leaders from across the region are gathering in Goa for the CANSO Asia Pacific Conference 2022 (APAC) – hosted by Airports Authority of India. This year’s conference will be held from 1st Nov to 3rd Nov under the theme “Think Global, Collaborate Regional, Accomplish Local.”Across the three days, delegates and exhibitors from the Asia Pacific region and beyond will be discussing and collaborating on the key issues that will help shape the future of Asia’s aviation industry and turn the Complete Air Traffic System (CATS) Global Council’s vision for the skies of 2045 into a reality.As Poh Theen Soh, CANSO Director, Asia Pacific Affairs, stated: “With air travel recovering, it is now time to look beyond COVID-19 and to the future. Building on that CATS vision, Asia Pacific Air Navigation Service Providers can step up collaboration and tackle such crucial subjects as sustainability, and embracing and exploiting technology.”Other topics on the programme include digitalisation and automation as key enablers in delivering our vision for future skies. Delegates will also be able to view first-hand some of the cutting-edge technology that will help modernise ATM in the region.“Improving efficiency and creating a more scalable, sustainable and resilient system has never been more urgent for our industry” said Simon Hocquard, Director General CANSO. “I’m therefore looking forward to collaborating with colleagues across the region to raise the bar in ATM.” “Airports Authority of India is very honoured to be hosting this year’s event as we strongly believe that this will not only benefit the entire region’s aviation industry, but also will enhance the civil aviation of India through the exchange of knowledge and cooperation”, added Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman, Airports Authority of India.