22-Dec-2022: AAI has approved the allotment of land measuring 50 acres to M/s TASL for setting up Final Assembly Line and MRO facility at Vadodara Airport

The Government has been promoting and facilitating the manufacturing of aircraft, including a Regional Transport Aircraft, and associated equipment by public and private enterprises in India. Hindustan -228 (Upgraded) civil aircraft developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is a 19 seater turbo prop aircraft suitable for regional connectivity. HAL has also entered into MoU with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) for Design, Development and Certification of 19 seat Light Transport Aircraft - SARAS MKII and subsequent Production, Marketing and Lifestyle Maintenance of the aircraft.

In order to promote the Government's initiative of "Atma Nirbhar Bharat" for manufacturing of C-295 Military Transport Aircraft by M/s Tata Advanced System Limited (TASL) (in collaboration with Airbus Defence and Space, a Final Assembly Line and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility), the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved the allotment of land measuring 50 acres to M/s TASL for setting up Final Assembly Line and MRO facility at Vadodara Airport. The foundation stone for the same was laid on 30.10.2022.

The extant policy enables domestic manufacturing of aircraft. The Government has been promoting and facilitating the manufacturing of aircraft, including a Regional Transport Aircraft, and associated equipment by public and private enterprises in India. Hindustan -228 (Upgraded) civil aircraft developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is a 19 seater turbo prop passenger aircraft suitable for regional connectivity. HAL has also entered into MoU with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) for Design, Development and Certification of 19 seat Light Transport Aircraft - SARAS MKII and subsequent Production, Marketing and Lifestyle Maintenance of the aircraft.

No proposal to create Special Economic Zones or Aviation Corridor on the lines of Defence corridor to manufacture Passenger aircraft in West Bengal has been received in the Ministry.

National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016 seeks to promote the growth of Indian aviation sector in a significant manner. The aim is to develop an entire ecosystem for the harmonized growth of various aviation subsectors i.e. Airlines, Airports, Cargo, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services, General Aviation, Aerospace Manufacturing, Skill Development etc.

26-Aug-2022: AAI signs MoU with Sweden to facilitate smart and sustainable aviation technology collaboration

Airports Authority of India (AAI) and LFV Air Navigation Services of Sweden (LUFTFARTSVERKET) signed a Memorandum of Understanding today at the Corporate Headquarters of AAI in New Delhi.

The agreement brings together two air navigation service providers, India and Sweden, with demonstrated capabilities in building and operationalizing the next generation of sustainable aviation technology, to explore smart aviation solutions. This MoU shall pave the way for bi-lateral exchange of aviation expertise and technology between the two countries. It will allow the Indian companies to accelerate growth while leveraging Swedish innovation and expertise. Under the aegis of the MoU, the companies can collaborate in areas of mutual interest.

The MoU was signed by Mr. M. Suresh, Member (Air Navigation Services), AAI and Mr. Magnus Corell, Deputy Director General, LFV Sweden. The event was attended by Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman, AAI; Ms. Malin Cederfeldt Östberg, State Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure, Government of Sweden, H.E. Klas Molin, the Ambassador of Sweden to India and H.E. Tanmaya Lal, the Ambassador of India to Sweden. The event was attended by senior officials from AAI, LFV, Embassy of Sweden, New Delhi, and Business Sweden –The Swedish Trade & Invest council.

Acknowledging the pressing need for rapid development concerning next-generation smart airports and the necessity to build sustainable transport systems, both parties consented to the following elements of the MoU:

• Exchange of aviation knowledge and technical transfer program
• Promote close and friendly relations between the two agencies
• Aim to expand technical cooperation in airports
• Support the development of a safe, secure, sustainable, and efficient aviation sector
• Positive contributions in promoting bilateral and international trade

On this occasion, Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman, Airports Authority of India, congratulated the Govt of India and the Govt of Sweden for taking this initiative of a collaborative effort towards strengthening India’s efforts for the development of an efficient, safe, secure and sustainable aviation sector. He expressed confidence that the mutual exchange in civil aviation between AAI and LFV Sweden will go a long way in building and operationalization of next generation of smart and sustainable aviation technology.

Mr. Klas Molin, Ambassador of Sweden to India, talked about the long-standing collaboration between India and Sweden. “We are looking forward to this addition to the already expansive India-Sweden collaboration, which already include sustainability, health, innovation, energy, and will now extend to civil aviation. I’m looking forward to seeing how the MoU can foster more opportunities for Sweden and India to explore climate-smart solutions within the aviation sector.”

While delivering his address, Shri Tanmaya Lal, Ambassador of India to Sweden mentioned that “India Sweden partnership is on the upswing.  This MoU covers one more new ground and will facilitate technology collaborations to improve safety, sustainability and efficiency in the aviation sector.  This is an important development also in the context of the booming regional air connectivity in India.”

Cooperation areas and plan of activity

AAI and LFV, both Government agencies of India and Sweden respectively, will jointly collaborate on the following co-operation areas:

1. Air Traffic Management
2. Air Traffic Control
3. Remote Airport Management and Traffic Control
4. Airspace Design and Planning
5. Airport Design and Infrastructure
6. Digitalized Airport and Aviation
7. Capability and Training
8. Sustainable Airports and Aviation
9. Processes for pilots
10. Processes for scale-up

A Joint Working Group shall be organized to prioritize interest areas and drive collaboration between the two countries. This MoU will play a crucial role in furthering government-to-government engagements between India and Sweden in the Aviation sector in addition to other existing engagements such as sustainability, healthcare, innovation, energy, and infrastructure etc.

25-Jul-2022: AAI has awarded 14 Water Aerodromes under UDAN across the country

Ministry of Civil Aviation has introduced seaplane operations from water aerodromes under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). Airports Authority of India (AAI), the implementing agency has awarded 14 Water Aerodromes under UDAN across the country, namely, (a) Sardar Sarovar Dam (Statue of Unity), Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad (b) Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island), Shaheed Dweep (Neill Island), Long Island, Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, (c) Guwahati riverfront and Umrangso Reservoir in Assam (d) Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in Telangana (e) Prakasam Barrage in Andhra Pradesh and (f) Minicoy, Kavaratti, Agatti in Lakshadweep Islands. Out of these Water Aerodromes, Sardar Sarovar Dam (Statue of Unity) and Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad have been operationalized on 31.10.2020. The airline operating the seaplanes comply with the extant provisions of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR)/guidelines for safety norms. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the seaplane operations which commenced on 31.10.2020 were suspended.

Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Implementing Agency has informed that Rs. 287 crore have been sanctioned for 14 Water Aerodromes and an expenditure of Rs 18.73 crore has been incurred so far.

A total of 115 RCS helicopter routes have been awarded under RCS-UDAN scheme out of which 36 routes have been operationalized. As per provisions in the UDAN scheme, helicopter operations are permissible only in priority areas viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, North Eastern Region states, Andaman Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Further, M/s Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) has been awarded 70 routes by AAI under RCS UDAN out of which the following are operationalized based on the availability of infrastructure and other necessary arrangements:

1. Chandigarh-Shimla-Chandigarh
2. Shimla-Rampur-Shimla
3. Shimla-Mandi-Shimla
4. Mandi-Dharmshala-Mandi
5. Mandi-Kullu-Mandi
6. Dehradun-New Tehri-Dehradun
7. New Tehri-Srinagar-New Tehri
8. Srinagar-Gauchar-Srinagar
9. Dehradun-Srinagar-Dehradun
10. Dehradun-Gauchar-Dehradun
11. Haldwani-Haridwar-Haldwani
12. Pantnagar-Pithoragarh-Pantnagar

28 sea plane routes connecting 14 water aerodromes and 115 RCS helicopter routes have been awarded.

No airline has submitted any bid from Visakhapatnam cruise terminal for UDAN seaplane and helicopter operations so far. UDAN is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted periodically for covering more destinations/stations and routes and in case, any airline submit any bid for routes in future rounds of bidding, the same may be considered as per provisions of the Scheme document.

28-Apr-2022: AAI successfully conducts flight trials using GAGAN based LPV approach Procedure at Kishangarh Airport

Airports Authority of India (AAI)today successfully conducted at Kishangarh Airport, Rajasthan light trial using GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation)based LPV Approach Procedures. The successful trial is a great achievement and major milestone in field of Air Navigation Services (ANS) in the history of Indian Civil Aviation Sector. India is the first country in Asia Pacific Region to achieve such a landmark.

LPV (Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance) permits aircraft guided approaches that are operationally nearly equivalent to Cat-IILS, without the need for ground-based navigational infrastructure. The service relies on the availability of GPS and GAGAN Geo Stationary Satellites (GSAT-8, GSAT-10 and GSAT-15), launched by ISRO.

GAGAN is an Indian Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) jointly developed by AAI and ISRO. It is the first such system developed for India and neighboring countries in the equatorial region. GAGAN System was certified by DGCA in 2015 for Approach with Vertical Guidance (APV 1) and en-route (RNP 0.1) operations. There are only four Space-Based augmentation systems available in the world namely India (GAGAN), US(WAAS) Europe (EGNOS) and Japan (MSAS). GAGAN is the first such system developed for India and neighboring countries in the equatorial region.

Indigo Airlines using its ATR aircraft has flown an Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP) with LPV minima of 250ft, using GAGAN Service. The tests at Kishangarh Airport were performed as part of initial GAGAN LPV flight trials along with DGCA team on- board. After the final approval by DGCA, the procedure will be available for usage of commercial flights.

LPV is a Satellite Based Procedure which has been used by the aircraft for landing purpose today at Kishangarh Airport (Rajasthan). LPV approaches will make it possible to land at airports not equipped with expensive Instrument Landing Systems, which includes many small regional and local airports. Lowering the decision height up to 250 ft provides a substantial operational benefit in poor weather and low visibility conditions. Thus, any airport which hitherto would require higher visibility minima, will be able to accept aircraft benefitting remote airports which are devoid of precision approach capability equipment.

Number of airports including airports under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) are being surveyed for development of GAGAN based LPV Instrument Approach Procedures so that suitably equipped aircraft can derive maximum benefit in terms of improved safety during landing, reduction in fuel consumption, reduction in delays, diversions and cancellations etc.

AAI in coordination with Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has implemented GAGAN Message Service (GMS) through which alert messages to fishermen, formers, and disaster affected people will be sent on the occurrence of natural disasters, calamities, such as flood, earthquake etc. The additional capabilities of GAGAN are also being explored to utilize it in non-aviation field such as Railways, Surveying, Agriculture, Power sector, Mining etc.

Design of GAGAN procedures require meticulous survey of the airport environment surroundings and obstacle surfaces. These data are correlated with the complex aircraft approach maneuvers and further simulated in a software to ensure safety of the procedure designed. These procedures can be developed for any of the airport in India for landing without help of Instrument Landing System. These types of procedures make aircraft to land in low visibility condition almost equivalent to Category-1 Instrument Landing System (ILS). Currently Indigo (35), SpiceJet (21), Air India (15), Go First (04), Air Asia (01) and other airlines have aircraft in their fleet capable to use these LPV procedures. Airports Authority of India has developed 22 such procedures and some are under process of approval from DGCA for commercial flight operations. In line with Govt. of India initiative of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, development of LPV procedures for all civil airports is also in progress to make Indian civil aviation sector more Self-Reliant,

AAI is making all efforts for ensuring availability, continuity and integrity of Air Navigation services by such technological enhancement in India. With this India becomes the first country in Asia to have satellite-based landing procedure.

Airports authority of India would like to place on record its sincere appreciation to ISRO for designing and implementing GAGAN program from 2002 onwards. DGCA was highly proactive in ensuring the operationalization of GAGAN.  AAI also appreciates the cooperation of Indigo airlines for executing the safe flight trials at Kishangarh.

13-Apr-2022: 14 AAI Airports now equipped with Ambulifts to facilitate flyers with reduced mobility

14 AAI Airports are now equipped with Ambulifts to facilitate flyers with reduced mobility under the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) of Government of India. To facilitate passengers with reduced mobility, Divyaang passenger on wheel chair and passenger on stretchers, AAI has procured 20 Ambulifts for the airports which are having scheduled flight operations of Code C & other advanced level aircraft but does not have aerobridge facilities. The Ambulift has been manufactured indigenously under the 'Make in India' policy.

The facility is presently operational at 14 airports namely Dehradun, Gorakhpur, Patna, Bagdogra, Darbhanga, Imphal, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jodhpur, Belgaum, Silchar, Jharsuguda, Rajkot, Hubli and remaining six are likely to be operational at Dimapur, Jorhat, Leh, Jamnagar, Bhuj & Kanpur airports by the end of this month.

The Ambulifts can cater to six wheelchairs & two stretchers with an attendant at a time and is fitted with Heating Ventilation & Air-Conditioning system. The initiative taken up by AAI under Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) of Government of India will provide convenient air travel to flyers with reduced mobility and. also help 'Divyangjan' at airports where aerobridge facility is not available. Procured at a cost of Rs. 63 lakhs per unit, AAI is providing Ambulift facility at a nominal token charge to the operating airlines at its airports

The Government of India has been working to take forward the vision of the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan in order to ensure fully accessible public infrastructure, including airports, railways stations and public transport systems. This new addition of Ambulift at various AAI airports will strengthen Transportation System Accessibility, which is an important vertical of the Accessible India Campaign.                           

24-Mar-2022: AAI and BEL join hands to develop indigenous Air Traffic Management Systems

In a major boost to Government’s “Make in India” Initiative, Airports Authority of India (AAI), under its R & D initiative, has entered into an agreement with Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the joint, indigenous development of systems for air traffic management and surface movement of aircraft at airports in the country which were hitherto being imported.

The Agreement was signed by Shri B K Sarkar, ED (ATM-ATFM) from AAI and Shri M V Raja Sekhar, Director (R & D) from BEL in presence of Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman AAI, Shri M Suresh, Member (ANS), AAI and other senior official of AAI & BEL at Wings India 2022 in Hyderabad today. Under this Agreement, BEL and AAI will jointly develop Civil Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) with Advanced-Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (ASMGCS), a complex ground surveillance system that manages air traffic at airports and in Indian Civil Airspace for safe operation of flights from take-off to landing.

Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman AAI said, “AAI is committed for safe and efficient Air Navigation Services across Indian airspace/airports enhancing capacity and cost-effective & environment friendly services to its customers. AAI regularly upgrades the ATM system at the airports in line with evolving global service standards. The present agreement is in conformity with AAI’s R & D Policy to upgrade its ANS Infrastructure in systematic, efficient and cost-effective manner and in compliance with the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ missions of the Government of India. This will reduce AAI’s foreign dependency for procurement of ANS infrastructure. I wish this will open a new chapter of collaboration in Indian Aviation Industry”.

After signing the agreement, Mr. MV Rajasekhar, Director (R&D), BEL said “BEL has been continuously striving to expand its array of solutions for various non-defense business segments. This Agreement with AAI is a major step towards ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ missions of the Government of India. The agreement aims at leveraging the complementary strengths and capabilities of BEL and AAI and enabling both to address airport modernization opportunities.”

The dual purpose of air traffic control is to ensure safety, maintaining separation between multiple aircraft, and efficient management of operations at the airport and Indian airspace. ASMGCS provides routing, guidance and surveillance services to aircraft and vehicles, on the ground, in order to maintain safe surface movement in all weather conditions at the airport.

The aim of ATMS with ASMGCS is to provide the air traffic controller with the complete air traffic picture of the coverage area while interacting with Primary/Secondary Radar, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast(ADS-B),Multi-lateration System (MLATs), and navigational equipment such as GPS, Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Doppler Very High Frequency Omni Range (DVOR). It also interfaces with multiple sub-systems including Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN), Airport Operational Database (AODB), Airport Collaborative Decision Making (ACDM) and Centralized Air Traffic Flow Management system (CATFM). The system is used in congested airports and airspaces to serve large volume of air traffic, including military flights.

The system comprises multiple, in-house developed technologies, such as Situation Display for Air traffic controller, Surveillance Data Processing (SDP), Flight Data Processing (FDP), Safety Net and Decision Support (SNET), Control & Monitoring Display (CMD), Advanced ASMGCS, etc. It helps in increasing capacity with improved safety by reducing controller workload, improving air traffic flow and minimising flight delays. Enhanced system reliability and availability are provided through redundant and distributed architecture, safeguarding ATM operations.

10-Feb-2022: 21 Greenfield Airports to be set up across the country

Government of India has formulated a Greenfield Airports Policy, 2008 which provides guidelines, procedure and conditions for establishment of new Greenfield Airports in the country. Under the Greenfield Airports Policy, Government of India has so far accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country namely Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga in Karnataka, Datia (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram and Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh. The airports accorded approval at Mopa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi, Noida (Jewar), Dholera, Hirasar, Bhogapuram, Kannur and Kushinagar are international airports and remaining are domestic airports. Out of these, eight airports namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur, Kalaburagi, Orvakal and Kushinagar have been operationalized.

Government of India granted 'in principle' approval to Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) on 08.05.2018 for setting up a new greenfield international airport at Jewar, Noida. GoUP appointed Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) as the implementing agency for the project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. GoUP has awarded the project to M/s Zurich Airport International AG for development of the airport. GoUP has informed that the task of acquisition of 1334 hectare of land for Phase-I of the project has been completed and the possession of the land has been obtained. As per the Master Plan submitted by YIAPL, the forecast for initial year traffic is 4 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) for the airport against the initial capacity of 12 MPPA for Phase I. The estimated project cost for Phase I is Rs. 8914 crore including the land acquisition cost. As per the Concession Agreement, the scheduled completion date of airport is 29th September, 2024.

9-Dec-2021: AAI owns 136 airports in the country including 7 Joint Venture airports

Airports Authority of India (AAI) owns 136 airports in the country out of which, AAI has formed Joint Venture in 7 airports.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has recently awarded six airports namely Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangaluru for Operations, Management and Development under Public Private Partnership (PPP) for a period of 50 years.

As per National Monetization Pipeline (NMP), 25 AAI airports have been earmarked for asset monetization over the years 2022 to 2025 namely Bhubaneshwar, Varanasi, Amritsar, Trichy, Indore, Raipur, Calicut, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Patna, Madurai, Surat, Ranchi, Jodhpur, Chennai, Vijayawada, Vadodara, Bhopal, Tirupati, Hubli, Imphal, Agartala, Udaipur, Dehradun and Rajahmundry. The criteria adopted for Monetization of airport assets under NMP is as following:

1. Airports having annual traffic above the threshold of 0.4 million passengers (in FY 2019 and 2020).
2. Airports with a sizeable ongoing/proposed capes plan as per the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).

6-Dec-2021: AAI to spend around INR 25,000 crores in next five years for expansion and modification of existing terminals

The aviation sector in India has been affected due to severe disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimated losses incurred by airlines and airports in India in the financial year 2020-21 is approximately Rs.19,564 crore and Rs. 5,116 crore respectively.

Due to the outbreak of COVID 19, scheduled domestic operations were suspended w.e.f. 25.03.2020 which were subsequently resumed in a calibrated manner w.e.f. 25.05.2020 with 33 percent of the capacity and fare capping (lower and upper limit on different sector) to ensure that airlines do not charge excessive fare. Evaluating the emerging scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic, the capacity restrictions have been relaxed w.e.f. 18.10.2021, and the domestic operations have been restored without any restrictions of the capacity.

Some of the other measures being taken by the Government to revive the civil aviation sector include the following:

1. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up a development programme to spend around INR 25,000 crores in next five years for expansion and modification of existing terminals, new terminals, expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services (ANS), control towers, technical blocks etc.
2. Three Public Private Partnership (PPP) airports at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have undertaken major expansion plan to the tune of INR 30,000 Crores by 2025. Additionally, INR 36,000 Crores have been planned for investment in the development of new Greenfield airports across the country under PPP mode.
3. Government of India has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country. So far, eight Greenfield airports namely, Shirdi in Maharashtra, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala, Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh have been operationalized.
4. Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate has been reduced from 18% to 5% for domestic Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services.
5. A conducive aircraft leasing and financing environment has been enabled.
6. Improvement in air navigation infrastructure at Indian airports is being carried out.
7. The number of freighter aircraft deployed by Indian carriers has increased from 7 in 2018 to 28 in 2021. As a result the share of Indian carriers in international freighter movements to and from India increased from 2% to 19% over the last two years.

Under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Scheme, as on 24 Nov 2021, 393 routes have commenced connecting 62 unserved and underserved airports, including 2 water aerodromes and 6 heliports. The Government of India has released over Rs. 2,062 crores for revival of unserved and underserved airports/heliports/waterdrome of State Government, PSUs and AAI etc. since April 2017 to October 2021.

Ministry of Civil Aviation introduced a new mode of transportation i.e. seaplane operations from water aerodromes under UDAN-3. Till date a total of 14 water aerodromes have been identified in the states of Gujarat, Assam, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep as under:

1. Sardar Sarovar Dam (Statue of Unity) in Gujarat
2. Sabarmati   Riverfront, Ahmedabad 3.Shatrunjay Dam in Gujarat
3. Swaraj Dweep in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
4. (Havelock Island) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
5. Shaheed Dweep (Neill Island) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
6. Guwahati riverfront in Assam
7. Umrangso Reservoir in Assam
8. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in Telangana
9. Prakasam Barrage in Andhra Pradesh
10. Minicoy in Lakshadweep Islands
11. Kavaratti in Lakshadweep Islands
12. Port Blair
13. Agatti in Lakshadweep Islands

28 sea plane routes have been awarded so far connecting the above-mentioned water aerodromes. The private entities that have won the seaplane routes are Spice Jet and Turbo Aviation. RCS flight operations from other water aerodromes will commence once these are ready for operations. The development of water aerodromes will now be taken up by Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW). A MoU in this regard has been signed between MoCA & MoPSW.

23-Nov-2020: AAI observes Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020

Airports Authority of India (AAI) commenced Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020 (23rd November to 27th November 2020). The week-long celebration is being observed at all airports and ANS locations managed by AAI across India.

Shri Arvind Singh, Chairman, AAI, requested all Regional Executive Directors & Airport Directors to be proactive and to devote time personally for monitoring safety performance of their respective region/station. Shri Singh further stressed that during Covid-19 situation in spite of reduced flight movements, it has been observed that wildlife/bird menace has increased at airports. Safety preventive measures should continue unabated irrespective of traffic volume.

To raise awareness on Aviation Safety, AAI will undertake various employee engagement programs at the airports and ANS stations like reviewing of documents and facilities, Mock exercises, preventive maintenance etc. Various social campaigns too will be rolled out to raise awareness on the issue. Banners and posters are being displayed across AAI offices and operational centres to educate both external and internal stakeholders on the significance of the Safety Awareness Week.

Shri Maneesh Kumar DDG, DGCA has emphasized to achieve long term objective of Zero fatality by the year 2030 as envisaged by ICAO in its Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP-2020-22) through better managed safety systems of stakeholders.

In order to make people of surrounding community aware about their role in ensuring safety of aircraft operation in local airport, Airport Directors will be organizing awareness programme in school/colleges on role of local residents in aviation safety.

27-Jan-2018: AAI signs agreement with Lao PDR in the field of Civil Aviation Co-operation

Celebrating 25 years of India - ASEAN relationship, Airports Authority of India signed a historic agreement with Lao Air Traffic Management, Department of Civil Aviation Lao PDR for providing SkyRev360, a comprehensive e-data gathering, invoicing and collection system. SkyRev 360 has been developed in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) under the Government of India’s Make in India initiative.