The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government for taking over the development and operation of Kushinagar Airport. The MoU was signed by Surya Pal Gangwar, Special Secretary, Civil Aviation, Government of Uttar Pradesh and GD Gupta, ED (Planning), AAI in New Delhi in the presence of Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI and senior officials of AAI. Kushinagar Airport is located at a distance of 50 Kms from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. It is an important destination on the Buddhist Circuit for devotees visiting from all over the world. AAI has agreed to take over the existing non-operational airport at Kushinagar spread over an area of 589 acres along with existing infrastructure like the runway, apron etc. for its development and operationalisation to enhance air connectivity in the region. Bids have been received for the operation of flights to Lucknow and Gaya from Kushinagar under UDAN-3.

Indian visitors and tourist numbers saw strong growth in 2018. Visit visas increased by 10% to almost 477,000. More than 1 in 5 (22%) of all UK visit visas in 2018 were granted to Indian nationals. The number of student visas issued to Indians has also reached the highest level since 2011, according to the latest quarterly report on Immigration Statistics published by the UK Home Office. Just over 19,500 Indian nationals were granted a tier 4 student visa in the year ending December 2018. This was a 35 per cent increase on the previous year – the highest total in a single year since 2011. 2018 was a second year of significant increases in this category – meaning Indian student numbers are now over 70 per cent higher as compared to just two years earlier in 2016. Indian workers continue to receive more skilled work visas than the rest of the world combined – India is responsible for 54% of all skilled work visas granted globally. Over 55,000 skilled work visas were granted to Indian nationals last year – more than six per cent higher than in 2017 and the largest increase in numbers for any country. The British High Commissioner to India, Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG, said, “These latest figures show yet another major increase in the number of visas granted to Indian nationals. I particularly welcome the strong increases in work and student visas for Indian nationals in 2018. Almost 19,500 Indian students received a Tier 4 visa last year – a 35% increase and follows a 27% increase in 2017. Likewise, skilled workers from India in 2018 increased at the fastest rate for any country, showing …

The Indian civil aviation industry is set to attract an additional $250 billion by 2040, according to a latest report by CAPA India. The industry has attracted cumulative investments of $48 billion during the last 15 years. Over 90 per cent of incremental investments are expected on aircraft acquisition and airport development. By FY2040, India is expected to see its fleet increase by around 2500 aircraft and the construction of more than 50 new airports. Combined with investment in ancillary services such as ground handling, MRO and training, Indian aviation will require up over USD250 billion of capital expenditure over this period.

India once again earned the distinction of being the fastest growing inbound market for Australia, according to a report by Tourism Australia (TA). Arrivals for the year-ended November 2018 stood at 352,500 – a growth of 18 per cent over the previous year. During October 2017 to September 2018, Indian tourists spent $1.6 billion on their Australia trip, a growth of 10 per cent over the previous year. India is now on track to achieve fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in arrivals, as well as spend. Over the past few months, TA executed few marketing activities to raise Australia’s appeal and attractiveness among the Indian high value travellers: launch of #UnDiscover Australia campaign on television and digital media, showcasing unusual and unfamiliar experiences that Australia has to offer; partnership with ESPN cricinfo with television presenter and model, Shibani Dandekar, visiting five Australian states, and interacting with five Australian cricketing talents, showcased their hometowns and Australia as a holiday destination to their Indian fans and followers through a series of 22 destination videos; leveraged the popularity of our Friend of Australia — Parineeti Chopra and Harsha Bhogle, and Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, who showcased why there’s truly nothing like Australia among their followers; launched the fifth iteration of the Airline Marketplace campaign that delivered over 16,400 bookings in just 3 weeks; Strengthened relationship with the travel industry through the launch of the Premier Aussie Specialist Program, online webinars and face-to-face training initiatives.

The GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has been awarded the Best Airport by size and region in over 40 million passenger category by the Airport Council International (ACI) World. The accolade was in recognition of excellence in customer experience in the Asia-Pacific region. The award ceremony will be held at the second ASQ Forum & ACI Customer Experience Global Summit that will take place from September 2 – 5 in Bali, Indonesia. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA)has been a pioneer in introducing technological advancements for passengers by launching fully-automated check-in process, generating boarding pass and baggage tag through ‘Common Use Self Service (CUSS)’ kiosks. It also introduced the Surface Awareness and Guidance at Airport (SAGA) and implemented paperless boarding for all domestic airlines operating via T2 amongst many other firsts, making it a smart-digital airport for the convenience of its air travellers. CSMIA is also the first of the airports in the country to release the sustainability report on activities undertaken by the airport.

Cygnett Hotels & Resorts has launched its new property, Cygnett Inn Trendz, in heart of capital city, Itanagar of Arunachal Pradesh. Constructed in a modern contemporary design, the premium Inn offers spacious and stylishly designed rooms with all modern amenities including a well equipped gym, swimming pool and spa. The Inn offers a variety of dining option with Cygnett Pavilion, an all day dining restaurant. For children, the inn offers a swanky game zone that is fully equipped to ensure that the little ones cherish their play time. Cygnett Inn Trendz also offers conferencing and banqueting services. The Inn promises to serve both corporate events and social celebrations. The premium location allows guests to visit the commercial hubs and entertainment zones of Itanagar without travelling for long distances.

sbe, a leading international hospitality group that develops, manages and operates global hospitality brands has announced the launch of its new luxury global brand, The House of Originals in partnership with Accor. The House of Originals is a luxury collection of properties from sbe featuring a bold spirit that challenges and inspires. sbe has launched this new hotel brand collection which will include the Sanderson and St. Martins Lane in London, 10 Karakoy in Istanbul, and the Shore Club in Miami Beach. The House of Originals combines the best of what sbe has to offer. This new brand will create a community for its guests, predicated on luxury experiences and cantered around sbe’s iconic culinary and mixology offerings. Further, the support of sbe’s partner, Accor, will be critical in establishing the brand internationally by offering sbe’s customers and partners access to an unparalleled global distribution and procurement infrastructure.

SpiceJet has partnered with Amadeus to sell services and fares on its extensive global travel agency network. This is the first time that SpiceJet is working with a distribution partner. By connecting to travellers through the world’s largest community of travel sellers and buyers, the airline will be able to showcase its products on a global scale, access new markets and partners, and grow its customer base. This partnership offers travellers the opportunity to choose how, where and when to buy travel, which is a basic travel need today and such a distribution deal allows them to compare value instead of just price in the shopping process. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “I am delighted to announce our new partnership with Amadeus which will help SpiceJet reach new customers both within and outside India. SpiceJet is in the midst of its most exciting growth phase and I am sure that this new distribution network will enable a large number of customers to connect with our huge domestic and growing international network.” Cyril Tetaz, Executive Vice President, Airlines, Amadeus, Asia Pacific said, “With our partnership including distribution and IT solutions, we are very proud to support SpiceJet in its growth in India and beyond. SpiceJet will be able to differentiate its offers and empower travelers with the transparency and customization they need through our global travel network.”

Travelport has announced the launch of its global campaign to improve awareness and use of the DPNA Special Service Request (SSR) code, which can be used by travel agents, among others, to alert airlines when a passenger has intellectual or developmental disability and needs assistance. The campaign was initiated after Travelport found evidence of exceptionally low use of the code on bookings made through its global distribution system (GDS). GDS are vast hi-tech reservation networks that allow travel agents, travel management companies and large corporations, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items. Despite registering more than 250 million flight bookings through its GDS globally in 2018, and an estimated 200 million people worldwide having an intellectual disability2 (2.6% of the global population), the code was used just 4,309 times (approximately 0.0015% of total flight bookings). A poll of 136 of travel agents, conducted by Travelport, revealed just 24% know the code exists. Travelport’s six-month long campaign will reach more than 100,000 travel agents in over 30 countries. It features electronic direct mails (EDMs) as well as ‘sign on alerts’ and graphical ‘prompts’ delivered through the company’s flagship Travelport Smartpoint tool, which is used by travel agents, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms and more. The EDMs and ‘sign on alerts’ are being shown to its travel agent partners globally, while the ‘prompts’ are activated when a consultant is at the booking stage of a flight to over 30 of the most popular destinations in the world such as London, New York, Sydney and Delhi. The ‘prompts’ are also being shown when any flight is about to be booked …

SpiceJet has announced that it will be connecting Hyderabad with Colombo along with the launch of 11 other new direct flights on domestic routes from March 31 onwards. The Hyderabad-Colombo route, the first by any domestic carrier, will commence from April 15 and operate on all days except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, said the budget carrier in a statement. “Our new flight to Colombo reinforces our commitment to strengthening the network between India and Sri Lanka. We see tremendous potential in this sector for both leisure and business travelers,” said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales and Revenue Officer, SpiceJet. Expanding its footprint on the UDAN routes, SpiceJet will launch services on six new flights on the Kishangarh-Ahmedabad, Lakhimpur-Guwahati and Jaipur-Amritsar routes. With this announcement, the budget carrier became the first operate to fly between Hyderabad and Colombo and between Chennai and Patna. With the launch of its services between Hyderabad and Colombo, SpiceJet will connect the Sri Lankan capital with three direct flights from India, the release said. It currently connects the city with single daily frequencies from Chennai and Madurai each.