Delhi airport congestion to ease by April 2010: Patel

August 13th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Punjab Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) is holding talks with Delhi transport authorities to start a direct bus service from various cities in the state to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal said here Thursday. "We have told them to provide proper parking space to PRTC buses and other facilities to buses entering Delhi.

July 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital boasts of three well-equipped runways, but flights, including those on international routes, continue to be delayed, especially at night. Most international flights that operate during peak hours at night are generally delayed ever since the Delhi High Court restricted the use of the third runway (No.29) after 10 p.m.

July 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The frisking of former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam by Continental Airlines staff at the airport here will be probed and apologies would be asked for if "anybody is found wrong", Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here Tuesday.

July 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Five greenfield airports would come up in Karnataka and Sikkim in the next two years, said Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Thursday. In reply to a question by Congress parliamentarian Naveen Jindal, the minister told the Lok Sabha that four new airports would come up at Shimoga, Gulbarga, Bijapur and Hassan in Karnataka, and another at Pakyong in Sikkim.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The new aviation regulator, Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), will settle all contentious issues in the aviation sector, including the airport development fee issue, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here Thursday. Replying to questions in parliament, Patel said: "AERA has been constituted by an act of parliament and has started functioning.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel ruled out disinvestments of Air India (AI) and Airport Authority of India (AAI). Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Patel said there is no such proposal before the government and also said that the government is not considering Initial Public Offer (IPO) at this stage.

July 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The new runway at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here remains non-operational during peak hours at night causing congestion and delays at the airport, an official said Saturday. Over 20 international flights were delayed at Friday night as only one runway (28) was operational, the official said.

May 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was Thursday admitted to hospital with chest congestion, his office said. Chatterjee has been admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi.

March 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - With the newly-built departure terminal at Delhi airport set to be opened in the first week of April, India's national carrier Air India Friday said it would not shift its operations to the new terminal. 'We will continue to operate from the existing 1A terminal,' an Air India spokesperson told IANS.

March 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Saturday laid the foundation of a new greenfield airport at Pakyong in Sikkim and an airport terminal building at Dibrugarh in Assam. The minister, who began his tour to launch airport modernisation projects across the country Feb 20, has so far laid the foundation of nine airport terminal buildings and also inaugurated a swanky departure terminal at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi.

February 28th, 2009 SURAT - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Friday laid the foundation of a new terminal at Surat airport, the eighth such terminal project in the country since Feb 20. The new domestic terminal, a glass and steel structure, will have a floor area of 8,474 square metres and offer modern passenger friendly facilities like central heating and air conditioning system, Patel said.

February 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Defending the government's decision to levy surcharge on passengers at the Delhi airport, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Thursday said 'airports of certain scale' being developed by the Airports Authority of India could also do the same. 'This should be taken in the right spirit.

February 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A gleaming new domestic terminal awaits air passengers in India's capital when they fly out early April, with its developers giving a sneak preview of the upgraded infrastructure Thursday. Exclusive driveway for entry, inline baggage screening system, 72-counter check-in facility, spacious area for food and beverage outlets and attractive retail space are some of the features of the new terminal.

January 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With the telephone subscriber base rising to 374.13 million in November, the congestion levels between one network to another has risen considerably with Bharti Airtel's network emerging the most congested. Between July-September 2008, Airtel had 41 points of inter-connections (POIs) - the highest level of congestion among the various networks.

December 28th, 2008 KOLKATA - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Monday set the ball rolling for a Rs.16-billion modernisation of the international airport here, which will include a new terminal, modern taxiways and extension of a runway so that it can handle the giant Airbus A-380 aircraft. The modernisation project, the foundation stone for which was laid by West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, is targeted for completion by May 2011.