ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE AIRPORT OPERATORS

Monthly Newsletter March 2013

Members:

CONTENTS

1. Aviation Sector ...... 3 2. Airports 2.1 Bangalore International Airport Limited ...... 12 2.2 Cochin International Airport Limited ...... 12 2.3 Delhi International Airport Limited………………………………………………………13 2.4 GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited…………………………………….13 2.5 Mumbai International Airport Limited…………………………………………………14 3. Airlines 3.1 Air ………………………………………………………………………………………………16 3.2 SpiceJet………………………………………………………………………………………………17 3.3 ……………………………………………………………………………………….…17 3.4 IndiGo…………………………………………………………………………………………….…..18 4. International News…………………………………………………………………………………..19 5. Cargo ……………..………………………………………………………………………………………..20 6. AERA Appellate Tribunal …………………….…………………………………………………..21 7. Traffic…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………23

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ABBREVIATIONS

AAI Airports Authority of India AERA Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India ATF Aviation Turbine Fuel BCAS Bureau of Civil Aviation Security BIAL Bangalore International Airport Limited CCEA Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs CCI Competition Commission of India CIAL Cochin International Airport Limited CISF Central Industrial Security Force CSIA Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai DGCA Directorate General of Civil Aviation DIAL Delhi International Airport Limited FIPB Foreign Investment Promotion Board GHIAL GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited IATA International Air Transport Association ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation IGIA International Airport, MIAL Mumbai International Airport Limited MoCA Ministry of Civil Aviation PIL Public Interest Litigation RGIA Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad RTI Right to Information UDF User Development Fee CUTE Common Use Terminal Equipment FIDS Flight Information Display Systems CAR Civil Aviation Requirement CCS Cabinet Committee on Security

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1. AVIATION SECTOR1

1. MoCA on 1st March began the process of consultation with other ministries and security agencies to decide on new aircraft for VVIP usage – officially called One – for the official foreign VVIP travel of the President, Vice-president and Prime Minister. The Boeing 747-jumbo that is currently being used is being replaced. The three Boeings 777s that Air India is yet to receive are being viewed as a probable replacement.

2. ICAO had conducted audit of DGCA in December 2012 and in its audit report sent to Indian aviation authorities has issued “significant safety concerns” over aircraft charter operations in India. ICAO has raised concerns in areas of operations and airworthiness. It also questioned the licensing process and the process for approving modifications carried out in aircraft by the operator. Accordingly, DGCA has formed 5 teams of three officers each which will review the licensing of each of the 147 non-scheduled operators. The teams will examine the airworthiness of charter companies’ aircraft and examine their flighty safety standard. The teams will also check the preparedness of the companies’ crew to handle emergencies. DGCA has said that it will resolve the audit issues by June this year.

3. DGCA in its recent circular has made it clear that pilots will not be penalized by their airline or DGCA in case they take the decision for the aircraft to “go-around” before making a safe landing. DGCA has also made it clear that a missed approach or go-around will not be classified as an incident. According to the DGCA, if “an approach cannot be continued to a safe, successful landing”, ‘missed approach/go-around’ is flown.

4. The Cabinet has cleared a proposal linking salaries of the Air India’s senior most management pilots to the hours they fly, while giving a guaranteed pay package, equivalent to 70 hours of flying for the rest of Air India’s pilots.

5. The government is planning to set up a new airport city near Neemrana in Rajasthan.

6. Chennai International Airport has partnered with Juniper Networks and is using Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches, integrated with Juniper’s security and routing devices, within in its new terminals to support common use applications such as CUTE, passenger information processing systems, FIDS and video surveillance.

7. MoCA is contemplating issuing some guidelines to airport operators and government agencies not to hold on to or seize aircraft as security for unpaid dues of an airline. The primary aim of these guidelines would be to prevent foreign lessors from avoiding the India market by telling the airport operators and other agencies not to take aircraft as collateral from an airline company. The directive comes following complaints from 4 international companies about difficulties in repossessing aircraft leased to grounded .

8. Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh on 5th March made a fresh plea to states to reduce tax on the ATF.

9. DGCA on 6th March said it is considering creating a separate unit within it, changing the rules and recruiting skilled manpower in order to address the concern over the safety of

1 Newspaper Clippings

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business aircraft operators in the general aviation area and the problems encountered by them while flying in India. The number of business operators in India is 144.

10. The government is considering building the taxiway bridge to connect Mumbai Airport with Juhu airfield as land acquisition delays has stalled work on a proposed $2.7 billion new facility. The taxiway bridge will help ease congestion at Mumbai airport as smaller planes can be taxied to Juhu airfield. MoCA has also revived the plan to expand the Juhu Airport to enable taking away the burden of traffic from CSIA. Plans include extending Juhu Airport main runway into the sea to enable it to handle ATR turbo planed and even Airbus A320 planes.

11. AAI has signed a contract with the US Honeywell for installation of India’s first Ground Based Augmentation System at the Chennai Airport after Delhi and Mumbai. The system will enhance Chennai Airport capacity to handle more planes by providing multiple approaches.

12. The Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shri K. C. Venugopal on 7th March informed Rajya Sabha that DGCA has received complaints from some domestic airlines in March 2012, that certain on-line travel portals were selling airline tickets under opaque/bargain fare wherein the identity of the airline and flight details were not being displayed upfront. Acting upon the complaints, DGCA had stepped in and issued a Public Notice directing the airlines to immediately withdraw participation in any such scheme where the complete information about the carrier is not revealed upfront. DGCA has issued CAR on Computer Reservation System (CRS) / Global Distribution System (GDS), which has the provision that subscriber shall not make fictitious reservations in the CRS/GDS and shall not resort to any abusive ticketing practice. At present, no scheduled domestic airline is participating in opaque/bargain fares and online travel portals have removed these from their respective websites.

13. AAI has written to Kingfisher Airlines asking the airline to vacate space it occupies at its various airports across the country. AAI has also asked the airline’s management to vacate the two hangars – one each at Kolkata and Chennai – immediately.

14. Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh on 7th March informed Rajya Sabha that 15 more aircraft would be added in the fleet of as part of the turnaround plan of Air India.

15. The CCS on 8th March cleared Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) by civil and military users. There was a need to fulfill the demand of national security, where the need of airspace by the military was to be fulfilled in the fast changing environment of air warfare. Therefore, sharing of airspace on a need basis, by civil and military users was an urgent national requirement. With the implementation of Flexible Use of Airspace, there will be a fuel saving of 20,29,380 kg per annum and reduction of carbon dioxide emission by 63,93,600 kg per annum by direct routing between seven city pairs of Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi–Chennai, Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi- Begaluru, Kolkata-Chennai and Chennai-Mumbai. The primary objective of FUA is to enhance airspace Capacity, minimize delays, fuel conservation, emission reduction and ultimate benefits to travelling public. Implementation of FUA through efficient civilian military co-ordination is an essential requirement to foster the traffic growth with ultimate benefit to the nation’s economy.FUA permits both military and civil user to efficiently and effectively utilize the available airspace on sharing basis to

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gain optimum usage, thereby enhancing its capacity, which results into efficient operations. In this model a coordinated procedure between the civil and the military and vice versa, as per need and on a real time basis if it is not being used by the user assigned with the responsibility for its control. As a first step for implementation of the FUA in India, a National High Level Airspace Policy Body (NHLAPB) for airspace use, be set up, to take up the job of strategic planning and assess/reassess the national airspace requirements of various stakeholders. It will establish flexible airspace use structure/committee’s and introduce procedures for allocation of these airspace structures.

16. Supreme Court on 8th March approved renaming of Amritsar’s Rajasansi airport as Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport by rejecting a PIL challenging the government’s notification in this regard. The Court said “changing the name of an airport does not undermine the contribution of any individual to the national cause”. The Bench granted liberty to the petitioners to approach any appropriate forum (either the governed or the Punjab and Haryana High Court) questioning the renaming.

17. Supreme Court on 8th March dismissed a petition filed by Vijay Mallya Chairman, Kingfisher Airlines challenging a Karnataka High Court order which directed it to deposit around Rs 185 crore with the Income Tax department as tax deducted at source for its employees

18. The CISF will take over the cargo terminals of almost 8 big airports in Metro cities. This step is taken due to the concerns being raised about vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Till now, the terminals were guarded by private security personnel of the airport developer or the AAI.

19. The number of passengers carried on the international flights of domestic private airlines increased by 5% in 2012, even as fewer passengers took domestic flights. International traffic accounted for 13.2% of the total 55.35 million passengers carried by private airlines in 2012, up from 12.1% in 2011.

20. AAI partially opened the new terminal building of Kolkata Airport for flight operations from March 11. Out of approximately 130 departures daily, only 30 departures will take place from the new terminal for the time being. This means only 23% of flights would operate from the new terminal currently.

21. The Uttar Pradesh State Government has decided to construct a heliport at Knowledge Park- II in Greater Noida and has earmarked an area of 22 acres for it.

22. MoCA has asked the BCAS to develop a system for flyers to get bar-coded boarding cards on their phones with which they can go for security checks. At present, CISF stamp boarding passes after frisking passengers and this stamp is seen before a flyer is allowed to get on a plane. BCAS now have to work on the issue of allowing mobile phones with passengers during security check so that CISF personnel can see the card, doing away with the practice of stamping cards.

23. AAI has in-principle agreed to take over Lengpui Airport from Mizoram Government to expand operations.

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24. The state-run Oil marketing companies have agreed in-principle to share their storage facilities at T3, New Delhi. With this move, private ATF sellers will get overnight access to assets created by government firms. Reliance Industries Ltd, Shell and Essar will now be able to use state-run companies infrastructure built near the Delhi airport for a fee.

25. DGCA may seek further legal opinion from the law ministry regarding the Supreme Court’s observations about airlines giving greater transparency about fare bands and the seats available on those fare bands. The airlines are not keen on sharing the data as they consider it to be sensitive business information.

26. The Bureau of Immigration has decided to do away with disembarkation forms. Currently, a passenger spends more than 30 minutes to clear immigration during peak hours. Under the new advanced passenger information system, airlines flying into India would now have to pass on the passenger manifest to the destination airport within 15 minutes of the flight taking off. It will enable immigration authorities get details of both Indian and foreign arrivals. This will also reduce time spent at the immigration counter and allow passengers to leave the airport faster. Forms for Indian coming into the country and foreigners leaving the country will be done away with from June 1, 2013. Bureau of Immigration is aiming to implement the system across the country by September 2014 and is also planning to computerize the visa on arrival process.

27. Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Shri K.C Venugopal informed the Lok Sabha on 13th March that private airlines, including those that have closed down, have dues of Rs 526 crore towards AAI till December 2012. Kingfisher Airlines has a due of Rs 295.50 crore, Jet Airways Rs 82.17 crore, JetLite Rs 27.62 crore, SpiceJet Rs 58.77 crore, IndiGo Rs 9.26 crore and GoAir owes Rs 8.55 crore.

28. MoCA has set up a high-level committee after various security agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau, Delhi Police and Aviation Research Centre, raised concerns about the possible security threat posed by constructions under the Aerocity project coming up in the vicinity of IGIA, Delhi. The committee comprises of various agencies to examine the security implications of the project. Following the inputs given by various security agencies, MoCA has formulated certain stringent guidelines which will entail that all entities operating from the Aerocity will submit their programme as per the security requirements to the BCAS for approval and commence operations subject to BCAS approval. To start with, all entities will maintain strict access control for all buildings through biometric entry passes / card reader. All employees will be security vetted and updated records shall be maintained by the management. In the guidelines, the committee has asked hotels not to allow any guest on the rooftop and only authorized persons will have access to rooftops. The committee also banned firearms in the hotels except for government armed personnel; no one will be allowed to enter the hotels with firearms.

29. A member of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council has written a letter to Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh and Aviation Secretary Shri K.N. Srivastava informing that MoCA misled the Indian Parliament about a safety audit draft report by ICAO. MoCA had informed Parliament on 13th March that it wasn’t aware of ICAO safety audit draft report. However, some newspapers had highlighted ICAO safety concerns on 11th March issue.

30. BCAS is considering change in security check practice by asking passengers to takeoff their shoes for security checks at airports to shorten serpentine queues at frisking counters as well

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as enhance the quality of checking. The idea is not to have any metallic object (except medical implants) on the passenger before sending the passenger to detectors currently used or the millimeter wave technique body scanners being considered for some airports. BCAS conducted a pilot project at Terminal 1D, IGIA on security checks requiring fliers to take off shoes and belts.

31. MoCA is working on a plan to offer frequent flyer passengers special privileges across India’s 100-plus airports. These include quicker security checks and separate access. Currently, there are special security channels for business and first class passengers at certain airports like Delhi, but not for frequent fliers.

32. AAI on 15th March said that it would release the deregistered leased aircraft of grounded Kingfisher Airlines for the lessors only after a formal nod from MoCA.

33. The Karnataka High Court on 15th March urged the UB Group comprising UB Holdings and Kingfisher Airlines to come up with a concrete plan on how it intends to pay dues worth around Rs 330 crore towards a clutch of aircraft lessors, filing which the winding up petition would be pursued. Eight aircraft lessors had over the past 6 months filed petitions in the high court seeking to get back the money from Kingfisher Airlines. UB Group counsel has submitted that it will be able to furnish a deposit of Rs 100 crore as soon as the RBI clears the United Spirits stake sale to Diageo.

34. DGCA on 16th March said that Air India is likely to resume operations of Boeing Dreamliners by April end. DGCA also informed that Air India’s 6 Boeing 787 aircraft will start getting retrofitted with new battery units from end-March.

35. CCI on 16th March said that at present it has no reasons to intervene in the issue of ticket prices fixed by airlines terming supply and demand trends as key triggers for movement in air fares.

36. Kerala Government is launching seaplane service linking 20 tourist destinations from April. Kerala Tourism department has formed a nodal agency, Kerala Tourism Infrastructure, to implement the seaplane project. The 20 tourist destination will be linked with 3 airports in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. In the first phase six destinations will have the seaplane service. The nodal agency will set up necessary infrastructure like water dome for flight landing and boat jetty.

37. While addressing the media at 11th Route Asia Summit, Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh said that the Indian government is in the process of negotiating for more flying rights with Abu Dhabi government as they have been fully utilized by both sides. The government is also considering the Jet Airways request for a code partnership with Etihad Airways. The Minister also said the report in airline safety by ICAO that reportedly clubbed India with some of the African countries make no such conclusions and added that ICAO has communicated everything verbally and the report us likely to come out by March 20. Minister said that ICAO raised three main issues regarding safety in the Indian skies relating to approval and modification of aircraft. It said more documentation needs to be done for both scheduled and non-scheduled operators and about the shortage of staff in the air traffic control category. Minster said that the third issue is dropped now as the government will seek appointment of this highly skilled workforce outside of UPSC selection and that for this a levy of Rs 5 per passenger will be charged so as to finance the salaries of this highly

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paid section of officers. Minister said India's lack of effective implementation of safety recommendations dropped to 34% which is much better than countries in the south-east Asian region where the average is 39%.

38. The government is planning to post at least three to four BCAS officials at each airport to have a special oversight on security. Only 9 BCAS filed officers are posted at airports across the country that has over 70 operational airfields.

39. BCAS has mooted the proposal of installing special SMS reading machines at Airports to identify the genuine passengers in a bid to curb the spurt in instances of fraudulent entry to the airport premises. The SMS readers will be installed at the airport entry gate, check-in counter, security hold area and boarding gate and will read the bar coded message sent to each passenger by the airline. The proposal will be first implemented at the Delhi Airport and depending upon its success, it will be extended to other airports as well. The SMS bar code reader will be connected to the airlines server to access the passenger information.

40. MoCA has mooted a carbon credit-like system which will allow airlines to trade seat capacity as a part of its plan to promote regional routes. This system is expected to generate greater financial viability for regional operators. Each available seat-km operated by regional operators can be given one ‘credit’. The credits can then be auctioned off to a national carrier that is ready to pay the highest. This value of the seat credit would be market determined and the DGCA can play an observers role.

41. West Bengal State Government on 18th March signed a MoU with Helicopters Ltd for starting chopper services for developing infrastructure in the tourism, health care, industry sectors and for disaster management. The service will connect towns like Balurghat, Malda, Siliguri and Cooch Behar and the state government will provide subsidy in the first year if the seats are not filled.

42. Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh informed that AAI will convert redundant passenger terminals at 24 airports into cargo terminals for domestic cargo operations. The old passenger terminal buildings will undergo minor modifications since the facility requires both city side and air side access.

43. MoCA is expected to restart the process of expanding international flying rights agreements with key counties, starting with Singapore, despite criticism by the government auditor of previous such exercises, in the first week of April.

44. According to the Chief Minister of Manipur, Tulihal airport in Imphal will be made operational as an international airport from July 2013. The government would be introducing visa on arrival facilities (up to one month) to Myanmar citizens for medical treatment.

45. The Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shri K.C Venugopal informed Lok Sabha on 20th March that at present there is no Open Sky Policy with the ASEAN countries. However, there is a proposal for entering into Multilateral Agreement on Air Services with the Government of the Member States of ASEAN countries. The provisions of such Multilateral Agreement are to be based on principles of sovereignty of nations, nationality of carriers and reciprocity in terms of commercial opportunities for the airlines of the participating Member States, taking into account views of stakeholders. The development of facilities at the

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airports for improved services and management of Air Traffic is a continuous process and AAI has deployed and in some cases planned measures like radar integration, Harmonization of Upper Airspace, Central Air Traffic Management, Performance Based Navigation, Standard Instrument Departures, Standard Terminal Arrival Routes, Cross runway operations etc. to meet increased air traffic demand and eliminate delays in the air and on the ground.

46. BCAS is planning to set up a massive logistical exercise for domestic passenger profiling to create a database of passengers and enable their instant identification with photographs and other details. If a passenger books a ticket on a travel portal or directly with an airline, he/she will soon be asked to upload or submit his/her photograph and other personal details. This data will then be forwarded to BCAS to be stored in the database. The ticket barcode will instantly display the passenger’s photo at airport entry points.

47. DGCA has deferred the levy of UDF of Rs 667 for international passengers using the Chennai airport till further notice. However, the UDF will be applicable to all domestic passenger tickets purchased on or after April 2, 2013 instead of March 10, 2013.

48. According to IATA Financial Forecast, confidence in the outlook for both the global economy and the airline industry has improved during the first quarter of 2013 due to the rising optimism about the world’s economy particularly in the US and Europe. IATA has upgraded its projection for airline industry net post-tax profits in 2013 to US$10.6 billion, up from $8.4 billion in December. IATA said the industry’s overall revenue in 2013 I expected to rise to $671 billion from $637 billion in 2012, while costs will go p to $649 billion from $623 billion. Asia-Pacific airlines are expected to deliver the biggest contribution to the overall picture, with $4.2 billion in net profits forecast for 2013, followed by North American airlines contributing an expected $3.6 billion in net profits.

49. MoCA is considering relaxing the rules wherein an Indian carrier must complete at least 5 years of operation and have a fleet of 20 aircrafts before being allowed to go overseas. The minimum age of 5 years will remain the same but the fleet requirement could be cut by half to10.

50. According to the meeting held on 25th March, the government is planning to lay the foundation stone for National Aviation University (NAU) complex in Rae Bareli in June 2013 and hopes to being the academic session at the new university by July 2014. The total project outlay for the NAU for a five-year period has been pegged at Rs 202 crore. The proposed NAU will conduct certificate, diploma and degree programmed in various teams of civil aviation in order to create a strong pool of technical, manpower in the civil aviation sector. The Detailed Project Report on the proposed NAU has been sent to the Planning Commission seeking in-principle approval. After that, the proposal will be eventually placed before the CCEA. After getting the CCEA approval, it is proposed that the draft NAU Bill will be placed as the NAU Bill before Parliament during the current budget session.

51. Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh on 26th March said that AAI was considering giving the role of managing the newly renovated Chennai and Kolkata airports to global players through a competitive bidding process.

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52. IATA speaking on the occasion of ‘Aviation Day’ on 26th March asked the government to improve infrastructure and cut costs and “excessive” taxation on aviation, saying this could be done by preparing a national aviation policy in India.

53. According to an RTI application, it is revealed that the dangerous safety gaps that exist in air operations in the country, made worse by a shortage of staff at DGCA. The report also suggest a lack of routine maintenance at critical facilities, pilots that are regularly found drunk while on duty and people driving inside airports without proper documentation. In response to this, DGCA on 26th March warned of strict action against those flouting aviation safety norms, including airlines which conduct their own safety audits.

54. DGCA on 26th March deregistered 15 aircraft of Kingfisher Airlines to enable global leasing companies to take then back on grounds of default on their lease rentals by the carrier.

55. AAI is in the process of setting up a joint venture company with both state-owned and private oil marketing companies like Reliance Industries and Essar, and airlines to set up fuelling stations and infrastructure at airports to enable direct import of ATF by domestic carriers. AAI would hold a 13% stake in the joint venture. The supply of jet fuel to carriers through such a joint venture can reduce fuel costs of local carriers by nearly 10%.

56. Minster of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh said that the proposal for setting up a Greenfield airport at Jewar in Greater Noida has been finally scrapped by the government as it is too close to the IGI Airport.

57. CCI has said that the government cannot fix the “maximum retail price (MRP) of airfares” like other consumer items as fares are decided by market forces of demand and supply.

58. FIPB on 26th March approved the investment proposal of AirAsia to start a passenger airline in India in partnership with Tata Group with an investment of Rs 81 crore. Air Asia also got the approval of Ministry of Corporate Affairs for the name of its Indian venture that is to be called AirAsia (India) Private Ltd. AirAsia (India) Private Ltd was incorporated as an “Indian non-government company” with its registered office in Mumbai. It will be an “unlisted” company, as per the documents filed with the Registrar of Companies. AirAsia India will now approach MoCA for no-objection certificate and subsequently DGCA for flying licence.

59. According to MoCA’s 25th March order, MoCA has introduced a five-year cap on the in- principle approval it will grant to to import aircraft in future into the country. The ministry order applies to new airlines planning to order planes and makes it imperative that the order be for the next five years only. The rule will not apply retrospectively. The order also says that the ministry will retain the right to issue airline licences and “permission or starting new scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services including regional transport services shall be processed in the ministry for no objection certificate”.

MoCA on 21st March did away with the control over acquisition of aircraft by scheduled and non-scheduled operators, private operators and flying training institutes. The permission for actual induction of aircraft will no longer be required from MoCA. Henceforth, only initial No Objection Certificate for operating scheduled air transport services and non-scheduled air transport services including regional air transport services, and in-principle approval for acquisition of aircraft by scheduled operators will be required from the MoCA. MoCA

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also abolished the Aircraft Acquisition Committee as it is no more relevant. The matter relating to initial No Objection Certificate and in-principle approval for acquisition of aircraft by scheduled operators will now be processed by concerned Division of the Ministry. The only relaxation granted through the abolition of the aircraft acquisition committee is that permission won’t be needed every year for the actual induction of aircraft once the five year in-principle approval is in place.

60. The Jharkhand civil aviation department on 30th March slashed 16% sales tax on ATF prompting AAI to announce that it would make night parking of aircraft fee free at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi.

61. United Bank of India has filed a winding up petition on March 19 against United Breweries Holdings Ltd. (UBHL). The petition is pending admission before the Karnataka High Court. UBHL, which is the holding company of the UB Group, was the guarantor for the loans given by United Bank of India to Kingfisher Airlines. United Bank of India has an exposure of close to Rs 400 crore to KFA, which includes pre-delivery payment (PDP) financing for aircraft as well as working capital financing.

62. Super Airport Infrastructure India Pvt. Ltd. (SAIIPL) on 30th March said construction work on the country’s first fully-private Greenfield airport in Karaikal, Puducherry is scheduled to commence in May. SAIIPL has proposed to set up the airport in about 526 acres and has already acquired 300 acres for the first phase of the project, which involves construction of a 1.8 km runway and a 250 peak hour passenger capacity terminal.

63. AAI is considering developing 20 airports in the next 5 years subject to cooperation from the respective state governments and access to suitable sites free of cost. AAI has started identifying the towns and accepting proposals from various state governments. AAI is also considering a master plan proposal for Tiruchirappalli airport with components of additional terminal building, extension of passenger handling, capacity for the present 400 to 700 and an additional air traffic control tower subject to the state government handling over the requisite land adjoining the present airport.

ATF PRICES

1. Jet fuel prices from April 1 will be cut by a steep 5.5% reversing the rising trend of past two months. ATF price at T3 terminal in Delhi will be cut by about Rs 3,885 per kl to Rs 66,196 per kl from Rs 70,081 per kl. In Mumbai, jet fuel will be cut by about Rs 4,120 per kl to Rs 68,332 per kl as against Rs 72,452 crore previously.

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2. AIRPORTS1

1. Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh on 5th March inaugurated state-of-the-art new domestic terminal building of Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneshwar. The new terminal is built at a cost of Rs 145 crore by AAI and is spread over 18240 sq m. The terminal has the capacity to handle 800 passengers at a time - 400 arrivals and 400 departures.

2. Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh on 18th March inaugurated the new International Cargo Complex and CUTE facilities in the passenger terminal at Mangalore International Airport. The terminal gas 1400 sq mts for international cargo and 1100 sq mts for domestic cargo. The facility has an annual handling capacity of 5000 tonnes for international import cargo, 13000 tonnes for export cargo, 18000 tonnes for domestic in-bound cargo and 21000 tonnes for domestic out-bound cargo.

3. Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh on 24th March inaugurated new integrated terminal building of Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi. The building has sustainability design features to meet the need for conservation of environment for today’s as well as the future generations. The new building gas provision of energy efficient lighting, water harvesting etc.

2.1 Bangalore International Airport Pvt. Ltd.2

1. BIAL in co-ordination with ICAO hosted the first CASP-AP (Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific) specialized quality control workshop at the airport. This specialized quality control workshop assists airports with drafting the National Civil Aviation Security Quality Control Programme. Delegates from Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal attended this five-day workshop on Specialized Quality Control. Bengaluru International Airport took pride in being the first airport in the country to host this workshop.

2.2 Cochin International Airport Pvt. Ltd.3

1. CIAL on 22nd March joined 40 destinations across the country where Immigration, Visa, Foreigner Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) system have been activated. The system provides an elaborate network to monitor the arrival of foreigners and track their movement by roping in hotels and even home stays. Primarily, it envisages keying in the data submitted by foreigners in their disembarkation card to a New Delhi-based central server.

2. CIAL is planning to adopt solar power with installation of 400 solar panels. CIAL has also submitted the required documents to the Kerala State Electrical Inspectorate for approval. On getting the approval, the solar panels will be put to operations which will produce energy under the Rs 98 lakh project executed by Vikram Solar P Ltd, Kolkata. The project has received a subsidy of 30 per cent under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) brining down CIAL’s expenditure to Rs 63 lakh. The current project is a pilot project of 100 KW capacity with 400

1 Newspaper Clippings 2 Information provided by BIAL 3 Newspaper clippings

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poly crystalline silicon panels with 250 watts each installed. The combined production everyday would be nearly 450 units.

3. CIAL will commission the new radar system at the airport before April 1, once it is approved by DGCA. The trial run of the radar has already begun. The system will augment the safety of aircraft operations and reduce the holding time of aircraft landing at the airport. The radar would reduce the landing time from the current six to nine minutes to approximately three minutes. Besides aiding the airport to optimally utilize the runway, the system would also help in slashing fuel costs. The system is a combination of approach surveillance radar and Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR), capable of tracking approaching aircraft within a range of 20 nautical miles. The MSSR system detects and measures the position of aircraft and requests additional information from the aircraft itself such as its identity and altitude.

2.3 Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd.1

1. DIAL has won the Routes Asia Award at the Routes Asia Conference held at Mumbai. The award in the category of over 20 million passengers is for developing and sustaining the routes.

2. IGIA has been ranked second in 25-40 million passengers per annum (mppa) category in the world after Seoul’s Incheon airport in the Airports Service Quality (ASQ) Awards by ACI in 2012. IGIA scored 4.83 out of scale of 5 on the ASQ scale.

3. IGIA has been adjudged the 4th Position in the Asia-Pacific Region under the category ‘Best Airport by Region’ for their service quality for the year 2012 by ACI.

4. DIAL on April 1 further increased aeronautical charges by 7% on account of retail or consumer price index inflation (CPI). Delhi Airport was allowed to increase aeronautical charges by 346% effective 15 May 2012.

5. DIAL reported a net profit of Rs 4.7 crore for the quarter ended 31 December against an Rs 120.9 crore net loss for the same quarter of the previous year. In the last fiscal year, DIAL’S net loss was Rs 573.5 crore.

2.4 GMR Hyderabad International Airport Pvt. Ltd.2

1. RGIA has been adjudged as the second best Airport in the world for the year 2012, in the 5-15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) by the Airport Council International (ACI) for 2012. In 2011, RGIA was adjudged 3rd best airport in its passenger capacity category by ACI and was also ranked as the best airport in its passenger category in 2009 and 2010. Year after year RGIA had consistently raised its standards in terms of facilities and services for passengers and has made significant progress since 2009, when the score was 4.44. In 2010, the airport scored 4.51 overall, in 2011 the airport scored 4.58 and in 2012, RGIA scored 4.71, missing the No. 1 position by a whisker; precisely 0.004 points.

1 DIAL Website and Newspaper Clippings 2 Information provided by GHIAL

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2. GHIAL has received the “Quality Excellence Award for Best Customer Service Result” at the National Quality Excellence Awards, 2013. Being hosted by the Stars of the Industry Group, the award was presented at the World Quality Congress on 14th February, 2013 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai. The theme for the conference was the National Quality Excellence. These awards were decided by eminent Jury comprising senior professionals in the industry and the awards were given away in different categories.

3. RGIA has been certified with ISO 50001:2011 – Energy Management System Certification for improving its overall energy performance, including energy efficiency, use and consumption. ISO 50001:2011 developed in response or increasing global awareness of energy performance, this relatively new standard offers a systematic approach to reduce energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and other related environmental impacts.

4. RGIA observed safety week from March 4th to 11th to highlight the importance of safety in all spheres of life so as to prevent mishaps and accidents resulting out of neglect and lack awareness. The programme began on March 4th with the cutting of the cake at the airport terminal building by the dignitaries and employees of the RGIA and followed by a safety walk from the airport terminal building to the administrative office of the RGIA. A safety flag hoisted at the lawns of the administrative building and all the employees took the safety pledge. Various activities was undertaken during the week such as Poster making to promote and creating awareness of safety by school children, Safety competitions, essay writing, slogans, safety suggestions, exhibitions etc. The safety week concluded with a closing ceremony on March 11th with the distribution of prizes, certificates to the winners and participants of the safety week celebrations.

5. GHIAL has been awarded the prestigious National Tourism Award 2011-12 under the Best Airport category at an award ceremony in New Delhi on 18th March, 2013. The airport has been adjudged as the best airport in India for actively promoting tourism not only in Andhra Pradesh but also at the pan India level. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India presents the National Tourism Awards to various segments of the travel and tourism industry every year, which includes states/union territories, hotels, travel agents, tour operators, airports, etc., to recognize their performance with an aim to promote tourism. RGIA has now won this award for 3 consecutive years.

6. RGIA has won the 2013 Air Transport News (ATN) award for Airport of the Year under 10 Million Passengers, at the 2013 ATN Awards Ceremony held at Montreal, Canada. The ATN Awards, in its second consecutive year, established a reputation as a major distinction for leading companies and personalities in the Air Transport Industry. RGIA was shortlisted as one of the finalists in the ‘Airport of the year under 10 million passengers’ category by votes from ATN readers, many of who hold executive positions in the air transport industry and was finally chosen by a highly experienced panel of juries.

2.5 Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd.1

1. MIAL organized 11th Routes Asia 2013 from 17 – 19 March where in over 500 delegates participated. A total of 160 airlines, 260 airports and tourism boards took part in the event. Hosting Routes Asia 2013 not only gave MIAL the opportunity to showcase CSIA to a

1 Information provided by MIAL and Newspaper Clippings

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diverse group of industry professionals across the globe but also enabled to share relevant expertise and build relationships with industry partners including airlines.

2. CSIA has been awarded the prestigious ISO 14064-1:2006 certification for its Carbon Emissions Accounting by Bureau Veritas, a global leader in carbon certification worldwide, for the second consecutive year. In 2012, CSIA had become the first ever airport in India and the second in Asia to be recognized for its consistent efforts in reducing its carbon footprint. With the certification this year, CSIA is now in the process of upgrading its ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation Rating from Mapping (Level 1) to Reduction (Level 2).

3. MIAL has reduced its carbon footprint by 11.17% or 6,193 tonnes. The complex released 49,239 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2012 as compared to 55,432 tonnes in 2011. The airport reduced its emissions by changing the way its uses energy. Conventional lights in domestic and international terminals have been replaced with energy-efficient company fluorescent lights, high-powered lights in aerobridges have been programmed to switch off automatically, Conveyer belts have been put on “no bag sensing mode” so they stop working when there is no luggage, Air Conditioners in terminal have been set at 23 degrees Celsius, blowers which circulate air in crowded spaces are switched off on winter nights and non-peak hours, lights are switched off in the day so as to ensure less heat is generated and installation of high-speed air curtains at entrances has stopped hot air from entering the complex.

4. For the second consecutive year, CSIA has emerged as one of the top performing airports in the annual ACI airport service quality awards for 2012. It has been rated the third best airport worldwide for airports in the 25-40 million passengers per annum (mppa) category. The survey was conducted at 275 airports across the globe. During 2012, CSIA became the first airport to initiate the mapping process voluntarily and submit emission levels to DGCA.

5. MIAL is expected to inaugurate its four-level new terminal T2 for international operations at Sahar in October 2013. The new terminal is spread over an area of across 439,000 sq mt and has an annual handling capacity of 40 million passengers. The opening of new terminal will enable the airport to handle more flights and offer much better passenger convenience in terms of check-in, security hold and baggage delivery. T2 will also take care of immigration delays as the terminal will have 136 immigration counters compared to the 80 immigration counters at the existing international terminal. The top-most of the four levels will consist of international departure check-in area and will be accessible using the elevated road. The third will be used for domestic departures, while the second will be for arrivals. T2 will have 21,000 sq m of retail space.

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3. AIRLINES1

1. Air Mantra has suspended its operations from April 2013 because of poor bookings.

3.1 Air India (AI)

1. AI has been given two slots of the 11 slots which were earlier used by Kingfisher Airlines to operate flights from AAI-owned airports.

2. AI owes Rs 4,324 crore as on February 28, 2013 in outstanding fuel bills to state-owned oil companies. AI owes Rs 2.545 crore to IOCL, Rs 779 crore to BPCL and Rs 1,000 crore to HPCL.

3. AI is expected to post a positive EBITDA of Rs 65 crore for the FY 2012-13, on the back of higher passenger revenue and yield, as well as passenger numbers and is expected to post a net loss of Rs 4,270 crore. In 2011-12, the airline lost Rs 2,238 crore in EBITDA. AI has projected that it will post an operating profit or EBITDA of Rs 1,040 crore for the FY 2013- 14. Operating revenue is estimated to increase by Rs 3,235 crore and seat occupancy factor by 24%. The total revenue is budgeted at Rs 19,393 crore – an increase of 20% over the previous year.

4. AI is planning an aggressive strategy to increase ancillary business revenue, which will help the airline cut losses and reduce dependence on the centre. The airline plans to open a separate courier division within the company, which would cater to bulk government and corporate orders. AI also plans to let out space as is centrally locates properties, lounge spaces and aircraft to advertisers. AI is also tying up with hotels, malls, restaurants as part of its frequent flyer program and has signed an agreement with a prominent hotel group.

5. AI on 13th March announced 60-day advance purchase fare (apex) scheme, offering prices close to that of air-conditioned train fares, aimed at the leisure and holiday market. The new advance purchase fare tickets went on sale from 13th March, for travel commencing 60 days and beyond.

6. , a subsidiary of Air India, is reconnecting Bangalore with Agatti (via Kochi), with ATR turbo-prop aircraft from March 15. Alliance Air will also operate flights between Bangalore and Mangalore from March 15.

7. AI is evaluating a plan to drop first class seats in its long-haul planes. AI flies these wide-body planes to the US, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Saudi Arabia. AI has 12 Boeing 777-300 ERs with 4 first class seats and 8 Boeing 777-200 LRs with 8 first class seats.

8. A Committee constituted by the government to suggest cost cutting measures to reduce AI’s revenue-expense deficit of Rs 14 crore has suggested 46 recommendations, which if implemented could result in an annual saving of Rs 3240 crore. The main recommendations include serving only tea, coffee, cold drinks, peanuts and biscuits free of cost to economy passengers flying on domestic routes. Passengers should pay for anything more than this like

1 Newspaper Clippings

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a meal and sandwich. The committee wants passengers to pay for preferential seats of their choice which have extra leg space. The committee has recommended that the airline crew on international flights be put up at hotels near the airport as the rates are almost 25% lower than those in city centres or downtown. Another recommendation is to shut down its offices in many foreign cities like Rome and Washington where the airline does not fly. The committee also recommended that AI should seek government nod to issue tax-free bonds of Rs 10,000 crore to enable it retire its high-cost debt.

9. AI is hiking fuel surcharge on flight tickets by up to Rs 150. The surcharge has been increased by Rs 150 for travel beyond 1,000 km and Rs 100 for travel up to 1,000 km. The hike in surcharge comes in the wake of a 2% hike in ATF.

3.2 SpiceJet

1. SpiceJet has been given one slot in Pune of the 11 slots which were earlier used by Kingfisher Airlines to operate flights from AAI-owned airports.

2. SpiceJet on 12th March launched its low cost Sharjah – Lucknow services which will fly four days a week between the two cities. SpiceJet will launch Delhi – Dharamsala flights from the first week of April.

3.3 Jet Airways

1. Jet Airways has been given one slot in Pune of the 11 slots which were earlier used by Kingfisher Airlines to operate flights from AAI-owned airports. Jet Airways on 20th March approached MoCA for 10,000 additional weekly seats between Indian cities and Abu Dhabi. Jet Airways has also sought permission to operate more flights to Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Kuwait, among other destinations.

2. Jet Airways has taken 2 ATR 72-500s from lessors that were earlier leased to Kingfisher Airlines. Jet Airways has leased one A-330 aircraft along with 60 of its cabin crew to Etihad Airways and is planning to extend its code share agreement with Etihad Airways to the Mumbai-Brussels-Newark route. Jet Airways will also dry lease three of its Boeing 777s to the Turkish Airlines.

3. Jet Airways and JetKonnect on 14th March launched a ‘Special 60-day advance purchase fares on domestic flights’.

4. Jet Airways is planning to hire around 100 foreign pilots for its wide body Boeing 777s and has already approached several firms for this. It is also planning to increase capacity on international routes and induct 2 Boeing 777s this year. The airline has leased 5 Boeing 777s to Thai Airways whose lease term would end this year. The airline would induct 2 and wet- lease 3 to Turkish Airlines for a year.

5. Jet Airways is hiking fuel surcharge on flight tickets by up to Rs 150. The surcharge has been increased by Rs 150 for travel beyond 1,000 km and Rs 100 for travel up to 1,000 km. The hike in surcharge comes in the wake of a 2% hike in ATF.

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3.4 Indigo

1. IndiGo has sought RBI’s approval for an $849 million (Rs 4,661 crore) loan to finance the purchase of aircraft, indicating a possible shift in its aircraft acquisition strategy. In its application to RBI, IndiGo has asked for approval to raise funds through external commercial borrowings.

2. IndiGo has been given four slots – three in Chennai and one in Pune – of the 11 slots which were earlier used by Kingfisher Airlines to operate flights from AAI-owned airports.

3. IndiGo has launched 6 new flights on its domestic network from 20th March. It will operate its fifth daily and direct flight between Mumbai – Kolkata and third daily and direct flight between Mumbai - Nagpur and between Mumbai - Jaipur.

4. IndiGo will add 16 aircraft by December 2013 and start inducting an additional 12 from the month to retain its pole position and pre-empt competition from new entrants.

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4. INTERNATIONAL NEWS1

1. Tiger Airways has approached the governments of Singapore and India to open up more air traffic rights between Chennai and Singapore. Currently, the slots are exhausted between the two destinations. In this context, Tiger Airways is looking for a ‘strategic partner’ in India having a similar kind of operations. With over 80% occupancy, Tiger Airways has increased its flight frequency to 11 times a week from the initial 4 times. Tiger Airways is also looking to expand its services to places like Kolkata, Madurai and Coimbatore.

2. China Airline is planning to add more flights and routes to India on the back of over 60% growth in traffic between the two countries in the past 4 years.

1 Newspaper Clippings

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5. CARGO1

1. The Bangalore Customs has issued a notice stating that w.e.f March 1, 2013, imports under 100% EOU scheme, including under courier mode, will be allowed only on production of Procurement Certificates. The system of Block Transfer Certificates will be discontinued. The Customs has added that no fresh Block Transfer Certificates shall be registered although the Block Transfer Certificates already registered can be utilised in full and the Re- warehousing Certificates should be submitted by April 15, 2013. The initiative is part of the Customs implementation of Risk Management System for imports under the 100% EOU scheme.

1 Newspaper Clippings

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6. AERA APPELLATE TRIBUNAL1

1. Appeal No. 06/2012 (with IA No. 10/2012 for stay) of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) Vs. AERA & Anr. (DIAL) came up for hearing on 4th March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal clarified that their order dated 15.02.2013 was only restricted to joining AAI and MoCA as parties to this appeal. That was the limited liberty that Appellate Tribunal had granted on the oral application made by the Senior Counsel appearing for the appellant. In pursuance of that an affidavit has been filed now by the appellant which seems to be raising certain averments besides the request to join the two aforesaid entities as parties. The Appellate Tribunal accepted the contents of the present affidavit excepting those which relate to the joining of the two entities i.e. AAI & MoCA, as parties shall be treated to be an application for amendment of the appeal. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 9th April.

2. Appeal No. 11/2012 (with IA No. 11 & 21) of Lufthansa German Airlines & Ors. Vs. AERA & Anr. (DIAL) came up for hearing on 4th March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 9th April.

3. Appeal No. 10/2012 (with IA No. 14) of Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (DIAL) Vs. AERA came up for hearing on 4th March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 9th April.

4. Appeal No. 12/2012 of International Air Transport Association (India) Pvt. Ltd. Vs. AERA & Anr. (DIAL) came up for hearing on 4th March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 9th April.

5. Appeal No. 01/2013 of Business Aircrafts Operators Association (BAOA) Vs. MIAL & Anr. (AERA) came up for hearing on 7th March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 11th April.

6. Appeal No. 12/2011 (with IAs No. 05 & 06/2013) of Bangalore International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (BIAL) Vs. AERA & Anr. came up for hearing on 14th March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 11th April.

7. Appeal No. 01/2012 (Tagged with Appeal No. 03/2013) of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) Vs. AERA & Anr. (DIAL) came up for hearing on 21st March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 11th July.

8. Appeal No. 03/2012 (Tagged with Appeal No. 03/2013) of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) Vs. AERA & Anr. (MIAL) came up for hearing on 21st March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 11th July.

9. Appeal No. 07/2012 (Tagged with Appeal No. 03/2013) of Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (DIAL) Vs. AERA came up for hearing on 21st March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 11th July.

1 AERA Appellate Tribunal Cause List and Orders

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10. Appeal No. 02/2013 of Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL) Vs. AERA came up for hearing on 21st March 2013. The Appellate Tribunal listed the matter for hearing on 11th July.

11. Appeal No. 04/2013 of Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL) Vs. AERA & Anr. (MCA) came up for hearing on 21st March 2013. On 21st March, the Appellate Tribunal issued notice to AERA and MoCA and listed the matter for hearing on 18th July.

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7. TRAFFIC1

1. According to DGCA, Indian air passenger traffic shrunk for the 10th consecutive month, dropping 3.36% in February 2013. India’s domestic airline carried 4.89 million passengers in February 2013 compared with 5.06 million in February 2012.

Domestic air traffic in the first two months of 2013 fell by 3.57% compared to the same period last year, with number of passengers flying remaining more or less stagnant. Overall, the number of passenger’s carried by all domestic airlines in January and February was 100.23 lakh as against 103.95 lakh in the corresponding period the previous year, thereby registering a minus 3.57% growth. A major reason for the negative growth in passenger traffic was the closure of Kingfisher Airlines and the exit of its 25 aircraft for the market.

2. The market share of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of February 2013 is:

Air India (Dom), 18.9% Jet Airways, 19.1%

Jet Konnect, 6.3%

IndiGo, 27.4% Spicejet, 20.4% GoAir, 7.8%

3. According to IATA Air Passenger Market Analysis February 2013, the growth trend in global air travel continues to increase strongly. In February the size of the global air travel market expanded 1.2% compared to January, which equates to a double-digit annualized rate of growth. The year-on-year comparison shows air travel was up 3.7% in February.

Domestic markets climbed 3.9% in February compared to a year-ago, driven primarily by surging demand in China, as all other markets experienced declines with the exception of Australia, which rose 2.2%. Total domestic capacity was up 0.8% compared to February 2012 and load factor rose 2.3% points to 78.8%. Indian domestic traffic dropped 9.1% in February compared to a year ago. In addition to the slowing economy, Indian airlines have been reducing capacity from previously unsustainable levels. Capacity declined 7.5% in February and load factor slipped to 74.5%.

1 IATA, Press Information Bureau and DGCA

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4. According to IATA Air Freight Market Analysis February 2013, Air freight markets maintained the modest improvement seen over recent months in February. Global FTKs were 2.5% higher in February than the low point in October 2012, despite a 0.8% fall over the month. Compared to a year ago, air freight markets were down 6.2% in February, after being up 6.8% in January. After adjusting for seasonal factors, it is estimated that FTKs were 2.0% higher in February compared to a year ago. Middle Eastern airlines were the strongest performers, benefiting from robust trade growth in Africa and Asia. North American airlines saw another gain month-on-month, reflecting robust domestic demand. Air freight carried by Asia Pacific airlines declined in February, after strong growth during recent months. Globally air freight load factors slipped 0.8% pt in February compared to January, eroding gains made during Q4 2012.

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5. Foreign Tourist Arrivals during the Month of February 2013 was 6.88 lakh as compared to FTAs of 6.77 lakh during February 2012 and 6.28 lakh in February 2011. There has been a growth of 1.6% in February 2013 over February 2012 as compared to a growth of 7.9% registered in February 2012 over February 2011. Foreign Tourist Arrivals during the period January-February 2013 were 13.87 lakh with a growth of 2.1%, as compared to the Foreign Tourist Arrivals of 13.59 lakh with a growth of 8.7 % during January-February 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011.

6. Foreign Exchange Earnings during the month of February 2013 were Rs 10,186 crore as compared to Rs 8,502 crore in February 2012 and Rs.7,653 crore in February 2011. The growth rate in rupee terms in February 2013 over February 2012 was 19.8% as compared to 11.1% in February 2012 over February 2011. Foreign Exchange Earnings from tourism during January-February 2013 were Rs 20,584 crore with a growth of 20.2%, as compared to the Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs17,125 crore with a growth of 27.5 % during January-February 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011.

7. During the month of February 2013, a total number of 1,947 Visa on Arrivals were issued as compared to 1,259 Visa on Arrivals during the month of February 2012, registering a growth of 54.6%. During the period January-February 2013, a total number of 3,637 Visa on Arrivals were issued as compared to 2,618 Visa on Arrivals during corresponding period of 2012 registering a positive growth of 38.9%.

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Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO), 710, 7th Floor, Surya Kiran Building, 19 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi, India. Ph: +91-11-41510916, Fax: +91-11-23329153 Web: www.apaoindia.com, e-mail: [email protected]

Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter has been collected from news/articles appeared in various newspapers and other publications and also collected from respective airport operators. APAO makes no warranties as to the accuracy or authenticity or completeness of the information.

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