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1. Aviation sector sees unprecedented growth: PM

Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said India's civil aviation sector has witnessed unprecedented growth in the recent past and will soon have the potential to absorb investment of over $120 billion.

'I am told the projected growth of India's aviation sector has a potential to absorb investment of over $120 billion with attendant job creation for lakhs of workers directly and indirectly,' Singh said at the inaugural function of the new terminal at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport.

'The government fully understands the importance of the civil aviation sector to the Indian economy, particularly as it gets more and more integrated into the global economy,' the prime minister said.

'The ministry of civil aviation and the Airports Authority of India have commenced the development and modernisation of existing airports on a mission mode to create world class air infrastructure in our country,' he said.

Singh said: 'Air transport in India has witnessed unprecedented growth in the recent past. During the last seven years, domestic air traffic has tripled and international traffic more than doubled. An exponential growth in passenger traffic is expected in this decade as well.'

The prime minister added that it is noteworthy the entire Rs.289 crore investment for the new international terminal building here was being met through internal resources of the Airports Authority of India.

The new terminal is a three-storeyed fully air-conditioned facility with a floor area of 20,000 sq metres. It is tubular in design and offers wi-fi connectivity to passengers.

This new terminal will now be open to international traffic as the domestic operations will continue at the old terminal.

2. AI Express's HQ to be shifted to Kochi: Ravi

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The headquarters of Air India's budget airlines Air India Express would soon be shifted from Mumbai to Kochi, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said here today.

This was being done since the low-cost service of the national carrier was mostly used by the Gulf-bound passengers from Kerala, Ravi said during the inauguration of the new International Terminal of Thiruvanathapuram Airport here.

He said India had already emerged as the 9th largest civil aviation market and the sector was poised for significant growth in the country in the coming years.

He said the demand for reduction in user-fee for the new terminal had already been accepted by the tribunal concerned.

Ravi said the Centre would extend all support for the development of multi-model transport system in Kerala.

3. Aviation min sacks Air India Express COO Pawan Arora

Pawan Arora, the embattled chief operating officer of Air India Express, has been removed from his post by the Union civil aviation ministry.

The orders for removal of Arora, one of the three men handpicked by COO of Air India Gustav Baldauf to turn around the airline, came late Friday evening.

Last year the airline had appointed Pawan Arora as COO of Air India Express, Stefan Sukumar as the chief of training and Kamaljeet Ratan as the head of corporate communications — and these appointments were seen strengthening the hands of Air India Baldauf.

Despite a series of objections emerging soon after his appointment, Arora was continuing with his duties as the COO of the low-cost arm.

Also, in the case of Sukumar, a two-member committee was set up to separately review his appointment after objections to his candidature, too, were received by the airline.

Airline sources now tell us that though the committee is yet to present its views, Sukumar has already begun facing trouble.

Last week, aviation regulator DGCA refused to hand over the FATA (Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authority) licence to Sukumar, saying it now wants documents supporting his claims of flying and training hours.

Sukumar has 4,000 hours of flying experience and 1,000 hours of training experience, mostly with foreign carriers including Lufthansa.

“Some elements within DGCA seem to be working against him...the licence was ready but at the last moment it was not handed to him. Now, the DGCA wants documents to prove his experience... all these details are available in the electronic form and Sukumar will now have to get these to get the licence,” the source said.

So have discrepancies been found now in Sukumar’s appointment also?

A civil aviation ministry official said that the ministry had found “nothing wrong” with Sukumar’s appointment and he had no idea about Sukumar facing any trouble.

On the issue of Arora, the official maintained that the AI Express COO was asked to leave and this was on record after minutes of a December board meeting were ratified by the board recently.

Since two of his three handpicked men are facing trouble, is COO Gustav Baldauf himself in the line of fire?

The ministry official said there was no review, at least till now, of Baldauf’s appointment. This, despite Baldauf trying to restructure his salary package.

“I believe that Baldauf has sought to increase the fixed component in his salary but this issue has not come to the board yet...he has no supporter in this demand anyway.”

Meanwhile, an aviation analyst pointed to the discrepancies in Air India’s management to suggest that all was not well with the ailing carrier.

“The CMD sits in Delhi, the COO pays weekly visits to Vienna instead of supervising the airline’s turnaround plan and he is also stationed in Delhi. All functional directors are expected to meet these two by flying to Delhi, wasting manhours and reducing productivity. This in itself shows how the airline top brass is damaging the functioning of the national carrier.”

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