Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews, Delhi  - IHS Jane's Airport Review 05 July 2017     International consortia are pursuing a 25-year operating concession for Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. Source: ANT The deadline for submitting binding bids for Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport has been pushed back to 4 September 2017, Serbian transport Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said on 22 June. The contract is expected to be signed by the end of 2017 "depending on the binding bids", Mihajlovic told Serbian state news agency Tanjug. The government - which owns 83% of Nikola Tesla - and operator Aerodrom Nikola Tesla (ANT) aim to award a 25-year concession for financing, upgrading, expanding, and managing the airport, which is a hub for flag carrier Air Serbia. "If there is intent and people are serious, the decision can be made as announced," a representative from one bidder told  Jane's  . An initial 27 bids were received, narrowed down in Phase 2 to the followin...

Airports Neelam Mathews  - IHS Jane's Airport Review 06 June 2016     Indian defence minister Mohan Parrikar has released 16 acres of land at Lohegaon Air Force Station to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), for expansion at Pune Airport. The Indian Air Force (IAF) owns the dual-use Pune Airport, with the AAI as operator. "AAI under the guidance of the IAF will erect a safety wall in order to restrict entry into the secured zone of [the] IAF [base]," Parrikar said. Lohegaon Air Force Station is home to 20 Squadron and 30 Squadron, both of which operate the Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighter. Passenger traffic at Pune soared by 29.3% in 2014-15 to 5.42 million, while aircraft movements on the two runways grew by 10.6% to 33,760. Want to read more? For analysis on this article and access to all our insight content, please enquire about our subscription options　 ihs.com/contact

Jane's Airport Review Neelam Mathews Read full story on janes.ihs.com (subscription) Mattala Rajapaksala International Airport represents part of the island's bid to position itself as a tourism and cargo-handling destination For decades, Sri Lanka relied on a single international gateway at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport. However, this airport has reached saturation point beyond its designed capacity of 6 million passengers per year, processing 7.32 million in 2013. 1565965 The first phase of Mattala Rajapaksala International Airport went operational in 2013. (Neelam Mathews)   "Sources at the airport indicate that AASL is in advanced discussions with Oman Air and held talks with AirAsia X. SriLankan CEO Kapila Chandrasena told  IHS Jane's  that he expects MRIA to become a hub for leisure traffic to the Maldives. The airline plans by 2015 to shift its narrowbody MRO operations from Bandaranaike International to a ne...

Paris Air Show  »  2013 by  Neelam Mathews A multiple flamingo strike on a SpiceJet Boeing 737 in 2007 climbing out from Delhi airport resulted in damage costing $200,000 and grounding of the aircraft. June 14, 2013, 11:30 AM As congestion increases, avoiding collisions between aircraft and birds is becoming a more pressing issue. The Indian Air Force, which conducts many operational and training flights and often at very low level, attributes around 10 percent of accidents to bird hits. It took the lead last year by issuing global bids to four companies for 45 bird detection and monitoring radar systems ( BDRS ) to be installed at airports and air bases across India. India’s civil and military aviation is ...

  Neelam Mathews  April 22, 2013 Complications don’t go away in India- more so for late entrants like AirAsia India, likely to be faced by a flood of pain points. Tony Fernandes has time and again declared Chennai as its hub, but at AerospaceDiary, we won’t be surprised if this decision may need to be re-looked. Little wonder, the carrier has not approached the authorities for an NOC as yet. As they say, never forget to look over your shoulder- there might be a competitor lurking there. In Chennai, where SpiceJet is safely enconsed with night parking for its six 737s and 4 Q400s using seven gates for their early morning flights and Indigo with five aircraft parked, possibly using the other two, and just 24 takeoffs and landings an hour, one wonders how the Asian giant will tap its early morning flight requirement with limited runway slots. Horror stories are aplenty about the new large terminal referred to by an operator, as a “white elephant”, not helpful to a ...