03 Oct 2022

India Aviation Industry Newsletter 3 October

Agartala and Guwahati are now part of Akasa Air's expanding route network

Akasa Air announced its entry into eastern Indian towns, adding Guwahati as its seventh destination and Agartala as its eighth. The airline has also announced additional daily flights on the Bengaluru-Chennai route, also beginning on October 21st, in order to further improve connectivity on existing sectors. Akasa Air Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer Praveen Iyer stated “We are excited to announce the addition of Agartala and Guwahati as our latest destinations. Guwahati is the gateway to Assam and Agartala is one of the fastest growing cities in the region and we are pleased to enhance air connectivity to provide a boost to the immense potential of the region's aviation, industrial, and tourism prospects. Apart from flights between Bengaluru and Agartala, we further augment our network between Bengaluru and Chennai by adding a 5th frequency between this route."

For the second consecutive year, Bengaluru Airport tops all other airports for shipping of perishable goods

Bengaluru Airport (BLR) has retained its number one position for handling perishable cargo from India. In FY 2021–22, BLR Airport received 52,366 Metric Tonnes (MT) of perishable cargo, up from 48,130 MT in the prior year. BLR Airport now handles 41% of South India's air cargo perishable tonnage, making it India's busiest perishables airport. Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) Chief Strategy and Development Officer Satyaki Raghunath stated “BLR Airport has the advantage of dedicated cold zones enabling processing of perishable goods for export, which is the highest in India. The infrastructure that we provide ensures cold-chain integrity and seamless movement of perishables, without any change in the optimum storage temperature. Our recent partnerships with multiple cargo partners for infrastructure and technology will only make the Airport’s cargo capacity stronger and even better”.

Improved Refund Processing Capability & Turnaround Time by Air India

Recognizing that refunds have been a problem for many airlines during the global pandemic and subsequent recovery, Air India announced the specifics of an operational plan implemented to improve its capability and performance in this area. This plan involves improving processes and systems and utilizing technology to process new refund cases more quickly. Air India Chief Customer Experience Officer and Global Head, Airport Operations Mr Rajesh Dogra stated “At Air India, the customer is our top most priority. The processing of a record number of pending refund cases is a testimony to the different teams coming together and addressing a key legacy issue in a comprehensive and effective manner. As part of our transformation, we are committed to bring standardised structure across our functions which is critical for us to emerge as one of the world class airline brands globally.”

In place of CISF, Private Security Agency (PSA) security officers would be stationed at 60 airports for non-core duties

According to the decision of the Indian government, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) employed at non-core duty posts will be replaced by a total of 1924 Private Security Agency (PSA) Security officers at 60 airports. The aforementioned choice will lower security spending, and by redeploying these CISF troops to other airports, the security setup will be strengthened even further. This will aid in the domestic and international airports' operationalization.

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