Mes: noviembre 2018

Publicado el

Philippines: High Priority ‘Build Build Build’ airport projects seen to vitalize PH aviation industry

In line with the administration’s ambitious Build Build Build program, 28 airport projects for construction/rehabilitation/ upgrade are listed in the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) priority agenda. Of the 28, three international airport projects – Lal-Lo, Puerto Prinsesa, and Mactan-Cebu –  and four domestic airport projects – Tuguegarao, Calbayog, Ozamis, and Naga – have already been finished.

The Clark International Airport expansion project is due to be completed on June 2020.

These projects are projected to upgrade the country’s aviation industry, and will ensure greater regional accessibility. In the long run, this will propel a sustained economic growth through an improved and more convenient movement of people and products, and generate quality jobs for Filipinos.

Night-rating of airports
Equipping airports with night-rating capabilities allows them to accommodate evening flights, thereby increasing their daily service capacity. As of October 2018, 20 out of the existing 42 airports nationwide have already been night-rated. In 2017, four airports – Legaspi, Roxas, Dumaguete, and Caticlan – were equipped with night-rating capabilities. And early this year, the Tuguegarao airport has also been night-rated.

Four more airports – Naga, Dipolog, Cotabato, and Cauayan – are targeted to be completed this year.

Construction of new airports
With a 2.1-kilometer runway to accommodate heavier aircrafts, the Lal-lo International Airport in Cagayan commenced operations last March 2018. With this, the airport is now capable of catering to commercial jet aircrafts and other heavier aircrafts, besides chartered flights. The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) also aims to fast-track the construction of the remaining runway facilities for smoother and safer flights.

Meanwhile, the the Bohol Panglao International Airport is scheduled for inauguration on November 22, 2018.

NAIA Rehabilitation
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport is also in line for rehabilitation. The four-year project involves improvements and expansion of terminals, as well as the construction of additional runways, taxiways, passenger terminals and other support infrastructure.

This P101 Billion upgrade is seen to benefit 65 million passengers per year, and will be funded through unsolicited proposal, subject to Swiss challenge.

Notably, through this administration’s efforts, NAIA, the country’s main international airport, has risen from being dubbed as one of the world’s worst airports into the 10th most-improved airport in the world. (DBM).

Source:

Publicado el

At least 20 cities in India will need a second airport by 2030

At least 20 cities in India will need a second airport by 2030, the initial findings of a study by the civil aviation ministry has revealed, two officers directly involved in the exercise said on condition of anonymity.

Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, Pune, Ahmadabad, Rajkot, Patna, Kolkata and Bangalore are among cities that will need a second airport by 2030. By 2035, more cities will join this list. The study is still work-in-progress and will also calculate by when each airport will reach its capacity.

Once it is completed, the ministry will write to respective state governments, sharing the information and asking them to identify land for a new airport at least five years before the airport reaches its capacity.

India’s airports currently handle 183.90 million passengers a year, according to the 2017-18 data released by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The number has grown in recent years. It was 158.43 million in 2016-17 and 134.98 million in 2015-16.

This year, it is expected to cross 200 million. Some of the bigger airports are already operating in excess of their capacity. For instance, the Delhi airport handled 63.5 million passengers in 2017, and is expected to reach 70 million this year and will start operating beyond its capacity. It is also among the busiest airports worldwide, according to Airports Council International (ACI).

For the first time, the Delhi airport breached the 60 million-mark in 2017, making it to the list of the world’s top 20 busiest airports. The Indira Gandhi International Airport also became the seventh busiest in Asia, ahead of Seoul, Singapore and Bangkok.

«The study should be completed by the end of this year, and the aim is to map the saturation point,» said one of the two officials mentioned in the first instance, a senior official at Airports Authority India (AAI), which is conducting the study.

«Some airports are already operating beyond the capacity but still have scope for expansion. But most of us agree that expansion is not matched with the growth in aviation sector, which is why we are observing congestion at airports. We do not want this when we are aspiring for one billion trips in next 15 years, up from around 200 million (trips a year) now,» the AAI official said.

The issue isn’t just passengers but also runways, flights, and parking slots for aircraft. The number of aircraft with scheduled airlines in India is 620 as on July 31, 2018, up from 448 in March 2016. India’s 17 scheduled airlines operated 9.22 lakh flights in 2017-18, up from 8.1 lakh from previous year. International aircraft movement was 3.79 lakh in 2017-18 against 3.45 lakh in 2016-17.

«When we are looking at saturation point, we are not only looking at terminal capacity. At some places we might not have space for another runway, while terminals can be expanded. But if the airport can’t handle more flights, there is no point in expanding the terminal. The study will reflect that and will also

point out the projected traffic so that expansion can be planned accordingly,» said the second person cited in the first instance, who also works for AAI.

In May, Hindustan Times had reported that at least 25 of the 50 busiest airports in India are already operating beyond their capacity, while almost all the others will reach optimal capacity in 2018-19.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on May 2 approved investments in expansion and upgradation of integrated terminals in Chennai, Guwahati and Lucknow by AAI at a cost of Rs 2,467 crore, Rs 1,232 crore and Rs 1,383 crore, respectively.

Increasing capacity requires both development of greenfield airports and expansion of existing airports; the plan is to use AAI and also involve private firms.

AAI, which runs all the non-private civilian airports in the country, is in the process of implementing plans to create additional capacity in airports in Agartala, Patna, Srinagar, Pune, Trichy, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jaipur, Mangalore, Dehradun, Jabalpur, Kolhapur, Goa, Rupsi, Leh, Calicut, Imphal, Varanasi and Bhubaneswar with a capital expenditure of Rs 20,178 crore over the next four to five years.

The private firms that run the Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad airports are also working on expansion plans that will require an investment of Rs 25,000 crore over the next five years.

«Airports are not just a shiny terminal building; airside is equally important… capacity of runway and taxiway also need to be expanded. More holistic action plans need to be developed for the modernisation of airports. AAI along, with private developers, should form a joint action group to come up with a modernisation plan,» said Mark Martin, founder and CEO of Dubai-based Martin Consulting

Source: AviationPros

Publicado el

Fraport USA Sets RFP Workshops for BNA Expansion

Fraport USA in conjunction with BNA has launched its much anticipated Request for Proposals (RFP) for approximately 40 food and beverage locations in Nashville International Airport.  The airport is the gateway to the City of Nashville, therefore the focus of this program will be to bring the incredible dining experience of Nashville and the Tennessee region into the airport, creating the ultimate passenger experience.  This solicitation is open to all.

To help potential respondents, Fraport will conduct two workshops in which we will review the RFP Letter, RFP Instructions, the Term Sheet, the Lease Plans and Lease Outline Drawings (LODs) as well as the Development Plan.  It is important to review the RFP and bring your questions to the workshops for further discussion.

Source: The Tennessee Tribune

Publicado el

Last orders? Morning drinking at airports faces ban

Home Office to review licensing laws following rise in arrests for drunken behaviour
 Stansted airport’s departure lounge. Airlines have been calling for a crackdown on alcohol sales before flights. Photograph: PR company handout

Round-the-clock drinking at UK airports could become a thing of the past under proposals being put forward by the government.

The Home Office is set to launch a review of licensing laws at airport terminals across the country, which could signal an end to early-morning drinking in airport bars and restaurants.

Airlines have been calling for a crackdown on alcohol sales before flights following a spike in arrests for drunken behaviour, claiming they are saddled with the consequences of intoxicated passengers.

The Guardian understands the government intends to release more details on the proposals on Thursday. Home Office minister Victoria Atkins said disruptive or drunk behaviour on flights was unacceptable.

In September, the airline industry warned that drunk passengers could expect to face fines of up to £80,000 if a plane has to be diverted because of disruptive behaviour. Passengers found drunk on a flight could be fined up to £5,000 and jailed for up to two years for breaching air navigation orders.

The same month, a Ryanair flight to Ibiza was forced to return to Manchester airport 36 minutes into the journey because of a “disruptive passenger”. Police later arrested a woman on suspicion of being drunk onboard an aircraft.

In August last year, an investigation by BBC One’s Panorama revealed there had been a more than 70% increase in arrests relating to drunken behaviour on flights or at UK airports, rising from 225 in the year running up to February 2016 to 387 in the subsequent 12 months.

Source: The Guardian. UK.