Hyderabad (HYD) | Rajiv Gandhi International Airport

[Babji]

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/05/s...0553960600.htm

Begumpet airport to be used for VIP landings
HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad International Airport at Begumpet will be used only for VIP landings and non-commercial aviation, including training, after the commercial operations move over to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad in March 2008.

The concession agreement between the Airports Authority of India and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which is developing the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, suggests that there shall be no airport within the vicinity of 150-km radius of the new airport at Shamshabad.

In a talk delivered at Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) here on Tuesday, Director of Hyderabad Airport (Begumpet), R. K. Singla said that there was a manifold growth in the patronage for domestic and international airlines in the last five years.

He said that 23,290 domestic aircraft and 4,088 international aircraft were operated from Hyderabad in 2002-03, while the number of domestic aircraft went up to 60,038 and international to 9,719 in 2006-07.

Mr. Sangli said that the airport handled 13.40 lakh domestic passengers and 4.20 lakh international passengers in 2002-03, while the number grew to 46.66 lakh domestic and 12.05 lakh international passengers in 2006-07.

While the airport had 435 staff working in all departments, 360 belonged to air traffic control and other critical operations. At least 70 to 80 per cent of the 360 would move to the new airport. The remaining staff would be adjusted in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati airports.

The personnel and finance departments would still function from Begumpet taking care of the employees working at the Shamshabad airport...

[ananth9803]

Part 2 from Hindu:

No decision yet on future of Begumpet airport’

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The competent authority is yet to take a final decision on the future of the Begumpet airport, while it continues its commercial functions as of now.

This was stated by Director of Hyderabad Airports (Begumpet) R. K. Singla in a release on Wednesday while referring to his talk at a meeting of the Federation of AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) that was reported in these columns. He had stated that the airport would be used for VIP landings and non-commercial aviation.

Mr. Singla pointed out that his statement was only a “presumption based on the concession agreement between the Airports Authority of India and GMR which is developing the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad.”

[irutavias]

Raze it and designate it as high density commercial and residential land only!

[IndiansUnite]

Cherry picking from the following article -

Hyderabad airport raises quality bar

Construction of India's most modern airport at Hyderabad is in full swing with over 82 per cent of the work completed. Flight tests are scheduled in January 2008.

A low-cost terminal is expected to be ready in the next phase by 2012, which will enable the airport handle 15 million passengers annually.

The airport will notch up a number of firsts. It will have the longest runway at 4.26 km. Singapore's Changi International Airport runway is currently the longest at 4 km. It will also have the tallest air traffic control (ATC) tower in the country at 75 metres. The airport would be the first to introduce a city check-in facility.

Equipment for ATC has already arrived at the Chennai port. The ATC tower is designed to look like a man in a hat overlooking the airport, says Srinagesh.

GHIAL has also been approached by golf legend Greg Norman to construct a nine-hole golf course.

From Oct 4, GHIAL is starting a series of trials for operations, readiness and airport transfer (ORAT). It will be conducted by Munich Airport that will stimulate a live airport environment.

[Babji]

Originally Posted by indiansunite

...

Hyderabad airport raises quality bar

GHIAL has also been approached by golf legend Greg Norman to construct a nine-hole golf course.

this is the best part ... this would serve as a great green carpet near the airport.
this would also help the mother earth to absorb some rain water in the midst of the concrete jungle ...

[d_rk]

Hello Magestom.. your Bangalore airport pics were amazing... Waiting for you HIAL Pics.. Post it soon yaar.

[harsh1802]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8195680@N07/1356339904/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8195680@N07/1356339880/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8195680@N07/1355394783/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8195680@N07/1355394757/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8195680@N07/1356218914/

Source: Mark D. Martin India's photos @ flickr

[mooktada]

good find Harsh, Could you ask mr Martin to upload the higher resoution versions?

[pding]

very nice find!

[p2p4]

Babji, not spoiling the fun here but the ground realities of golf courses are quite different. People see only the green on the top but the soil structure deep down does get affected with mega litres of chemicals and treatment fluids to keep the grass green. I could elaborate more but I could be seen as a die-hard environmentalist - which I am not. Just making clear that there are no 'GREEN' golf courses.

Originally Posted by Babji

this is the best part ... this would serve as a great green carpet near the airport.
this would also help the mother earth to absorb some rain water in the midst of the concrete jungle ...

[Babji]

Originally Posted by p2p4

Babji, not spoiling the fun here but the ground realities of golf courses are quite different. People see only the green on the top but the soil structure deep down does get affected with mega litres of chemicals and treatment fluids to keep the grass green. I could elaborate more but I could be seen as a die-hard environmentalist - which I am not. Just making clear that there are no 'GREEN' golf courses.

I don't know much about how they maintain the Golf courses - but imo, if they are so eco-un-friendly, countries like Japan, UK and USA would not have encouraged so many Golf courses...

Appreciate if you could share some know-how on how they maintain and what kind of chemicals they use ...

[ramkan]

source: www.livemint.com


Foreign airlines to help new Hyderabad airport take off.

The new airport, spread over a 5,000-acre site, can also handle new aircraft, including the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380By Tarun ShuklaHyderabad: Six months before a new international airport is set to open here, the company operating the facility says it has lined up several foreign airlines—Kuwait Airways, Etihad Airways, AirArabia, Iran National Airlines and British Airways—for flights.

“Even some other airlines which are not very well-known also want to start (flights),” said T. Srinagesh, chief operating officer of Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (Hial). “We have got very positive indications from Thailand’s NokAir and Singapore-based Tiger Airways. Once the facility is there, it is easier to convince them.”



The airport hopes to make most of the Rs2,478 crore spent on the first phase of development through non-flying operationsThe Hyderbad airport is nearly 80% complete and is finalizing most of the concession agreements, he said.
Both the airport here and a new one also coming up in Bangalore are set to start around the same time—around March—and are now wooing airlines with new facilities that promise better aircraft turnaround times, efficient processes and substantial passenger traffic.

“The growth rates are very robust,” maintains Srinagesh. “The domestic traffic is growing at 46% and international at 20%. The latter is mainly lower because of transfer of operations. For starting international services, you have to set up ground handling, operating offices (from scratch). So it’s a waste of resources if you start here (at an existing airport in Begumpet) and then move.”

The new airport, an hour away from much of the city and spread over a 5,000-acre site, can also handle new aircraft, including the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380 or the heaviest, the Russian-made cargo plane AN-225.

Meanwhile, it is not surprising that the initial interest in adding flights to Hyderabad has come primarily from airlines in West Asia. In addition to their aggressive global expansion, Hyderabad already has a strong traffic flow to that region. “Our traffic distribution is roughly 30% to US and 30% Middle East,” notes Srinagesh.

“The balance is shared between Europe and South-East Asia. The reason for this is that the city supplies a lot of manpower. Both the high-end, that is, the software manpower which goes to the US, and also a lot of trade skills like masons, carpenters, plumbers, drivers... that goes to the Middle East.” Emirates already has eight flights a week from Hyderabad to Dubai.
Hyderabad has an average of 12 daily international flights from 11 airlines, including Lufthansa.
Despite the seeming initial interest from overseas airlines, the airport isn’t counting on new flights alone to generate revenue. In fact, it hopes to make up for most of the Rs2,478 crore spent on the first phase of development through non-flying operations such as ground handling fees, hotel, aviation fuel and advertising.

The annual revenues from the current Begumpet airport, according to rough estimates by Hial, stand at about Rs200-250 crore. This excludes the airport charges such as landing parking and route navigation charges, which will continue to remain with the Airports Authority of India.
The bigger challenge for the new airport will be its distance from much of Hyderabad’s business and residential nei-ghbourhoods. Rental car rates will be “no less than Rs600,” predicts a driver for Raj Travels and Tours, a local car rental company. “For an AC (air-conditioned) cab, the rates are over Rs900.”
Such costs and commuting times to airport, both of which are likely to go down as connections improve, will factor into traffic especially for those who are using low-cost airlines on short hops into the city, says one airline official who did not wished to be named.

Hial’s Srinagesh says some of these issues are being addressed. Operators are being lined up to start bus services until connectivity impro-ves—an expressway will be at least 50% complete by next year. “We are tendering out for bus services from the city and to the airport, which will be ju-st under Rs100 one-way,” he said. “I don’t see connectivity as an issue.”

[Babji]

Originally Posted by ramkan

source: www.livemint.com
Foreign airlines to help new Hyderabad airport take off.

... it has lined up several foreign airlines—Kuwait Airways, Etihad Airways, AirArabia, Iran National Airlines and British Airways—for flights.

... hopes to make up for most of the Rs2,478 crore spent on the first phase of development through non-flying operations such as ground handling fees, hotel, aviation fuel and advertising.

... Operators are being lined up to start bus services until connectivity impro-ves ... “We are tendering out for bus services from the city and to the airport, which will be just under Rs100 one-way,” he said. “I don’t see connectivity as an issue.”

cool.

[ramkan]

GMR-Lufthansa Technik starts training personnel for MRO unit
16 Sep, 2007, 1433 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: GMR-Lufthansa Technik joint venture, which is setting up an aircraft maintenance and repair facility in Hyderabad, has started training personnel as it gears up to make the unit operational by 2008-end.

The Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility will have a 500-strong workforce and is likely to commence operations in the third quarter of 2008-09, sources told media.

The total expenditure on the project, in which Lufthansa Technik holds 74.5 equity while GMR owns the rest, would be over Rs 100 crore. Two parallel bays are being built initially, along with hangars and workshops.

The MRO, third coming up in the country, would provide base maintenance for the Airbus A-320 family and Boeing's B-737 families of aircraft. The product and services portfolio would be expanded to include wide-body aircraft like A-330s, A-340s, B-777s and B-787s at a later stage, depending on market demand, the sources said.

The facility would obtain approvals from Directorate General of Civil Aviation, US Federal Aviation Authority and European Air Services Authority.

Maintaining that the MRO would operate as an independent third party facility in which all airlines would be able to avail the services, the sources said a number of Indian carriers already have maintenance contracts with Lufthansa Technik, which was providing them facilities at Hamburg and Frankfurt MROs.

This would provide major benefits to the Indian carriers as they would not be required to send their planes abroad for major checks and incur heavy costs, the sources said.

[ferrari_fan]

WHERE IS MAGESTOM?????



cool finds Harsh - thanks for posting those..

[mooktada]

Hey guys,
Just thought I'd let you know the images on HIAL's website have been updated again. Might be insteresting to look at however I find that they are quiet badly composed and don't do a very good job of showing us the progess they've made.

[harsh1802]

Yeah....u r right....



and,,,,

AtC is coming up well...




Source: HIAL

[harsh1802]

Source: HIAL

[harsh1802]

and the cargo building



Source: HIAL

[harsh1802]

Source: HIAL