Online Ticketing for Air Sahara:  Passengers can now buy tickets up to 4 hours before a flight from Air Sahara website using Visa/Master credit cards. The gateway is operated by the ICICI bank.

Chinese Flight to India : China will start direct flight to India in March, it has been reported. This move is expected to boost tourist traffic between the two countries.

New Landing System at Delhi Airport:  The Category (CAT) III Instrumental Landing System has finally been inaugurated at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. It is expected to help in the safe landing and take-off of aircraft in poor visibility.

          The airport had been operating with the help of CAT II system so far. CAT III has cost Rs 44 cr. It has a Runway Visual Range (RVR) of 200 metres as against CAT II's 350 metres, and height 15 metres instead of 30 m of the latter.

Charter Licence Cancelled:  The Home Ministry has cancelled the licence of the Delhi Flying Club to operate private chartered planes on the ground of security. Chartered flights earn revenue for such clubs. The Delhi club used to charter an aircraft from Kingair. The club has another five trainer aircraft.

CCTV for Delhi Airport : The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has installed a closed circuit television network (CCTV) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhito strengthen security as well as keep a watch on airport officials.

           Forty cameras have been installed at variious places such as Customs clearance, immigration counters, arrival lounge, police control room. The step follows reports of large-scale corruption at almost all airports in the country.

Jet Airways Cuts Fare:  The Jet Airways has cut fares on Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram route by Rs 1300 and on Mumbai-Kolkata, Mumbai-Chennai and Mumbai-Hyderabad routes by Rs 100.

          At the same time, the airlines has hiked insurance surcharge from Rs 100 per flight coupon to Rs 250. This is a sequel to the terrorist attack on the WTC in the US. It has also increased flights on Delhi-Kolkota, Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Goa routes. New flights have been introduced in Jodhpur, Ludhiana and Bhubaneswar sectors.

Award for Indian Journal:  Vayu Aerospace Review, an Indian defence journal, has received the award for the best aviation journal. Flight International of the UK, Aviation Week of the US and Aviation International of Europe were the other journals considered for the award.

Cathay Pacific Resumes Flight:  Cathay Pacific has resumed flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong. It was suspended in July 2001. The new flights are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 0320 hrs from Delhi, according to an airlines statement.

Pawan Hans to Expand: The state-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters has plans to acquire 10 helicopters during the course of the next five-year Plan. The airline's present strength is 30 helicopters. The new batch will include two Dauphins, which will be inducted in the coming months at a cost of Rs 50 cr.

Indian Held for Threatening Passengers: An Indian student heading for Australia on Singapore Airlines on Christmas Day was arrested for going on the rampage in the plane, damaging equipments, and threatening passengers. He was found drunk and jailed for three months for endangering the lives of passengers.

India Overseas
Jan, 2002

          BACK FILE                                                GO TO TOP