Five new airports to come up in two years: Praful Patel

July 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Wednesday airlines operating from India should follow the law of the land while frisking passengers in airports. Referring to the recent controversy over the frisking of Former President A.P.J.

July 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this week to discuss all the probable names for the post of independent directors on the struggling Air India board. "We are going to form the board of Independent Directors very soon.

July 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here Tuesday that he would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this week to discuss the appointment of independent directors to the board of Air India in a bid to revive the ailing national carrier. "I will be discussing names of eminent people who can give time and make a turnaround of Air India with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this week," Patel told reporters.

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 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 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The top brass of loss-making national carrier Air India is headed for a rejig, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said, with the government proposing to hire "people with proven track record". "You will see major changes in the next 30 days.

June 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Senior NCP leader and Union Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel said here on Monday that their party will completely dissociate itself from MP Padam Singh Patil, if the charges alleged against him are proved. "If the charges are proved, then the NCP will completely dissociate itself from Patil," said Praful Patel.

May 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Nursing state-run carrier Air India back to financial health will be the top priority for Praful Patel, as he listed his main agenda for the ministry soon after being named minister of state for civil aviation once again. "As soon as I was given aviation (portfolio), I got a call from the Air India chairman and managing director.

May 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Nationalist Congress Party is not big enough to bid for the post of prime minister, NCP leader Praful Patel said Friday, clearing air on speculation that party chief Sharad Pawar could get the top post. 'The UPA (the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance) is most likely to form the government...

March 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The international airports at Chennai, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Goa and Ahmedabad will soon get the government's nod to levy development fee on passengers to raise funds for their expansion, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said Thursday. 'We are doing this to bridge the capital funding gap.

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 VADODARA - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Thursday laid the foundation of a new terminal here, the seventh since Feb 20, after inaugurating the departure terminal at the Delhi airport earlier in the day. After Vadodara airport, the minister will lay the foundation stone of the terminal building at Surat airport Friday, officials of the Airports Authority of India said.

February 22nd, 2009 PANAJI - The number of airports in India will go up from the present 85 to about 400 in the next 10 years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here Saturday. It was a busy day for Patel, who visited three cities to inaugurate two new air terminals and lay the foundation stone of a third.

February 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel was on an overdrive Friday, flying to as many as five cities during the day to kickstart the upgrade and modernisation projects of their airports. If 8:30 a.m.