Vistara to discontinue its Bangalore-Calcutta-Guwahati route from June 16

Vistara, owned by the Tatas and Singapore Airlines, have decided to discontinue its Bangalore-Calcutta-Guwahati route from June 16 because of lack of patronage of business class traffic between the eastern cities and one of the most popular destinations in the country. Analysts point out that the discontinuation was a telling sign of the lack of corporate traffic from and to Calcutta.
This is reported in telegraphindia.com dated 31 May 2017.

Incidentally, the lack of demand for premium seats has been one of several reasons that international airlines had dropped Calcutta from their radar. However, low-cost airlines have not lost heart. This is because they operate all-economy class flights that depend to a great extent on students and patients on their way to educational institutions and healthcare facilities in the south. Techies do travel in and out of the city but this type of traffic is usually confined to weekends and the holiday seasons.
Vistara had started operations from Calcutta a year ago in June 2016 and the Bangalore services later last year - it operates two flights on the Bangalore-Calcutta-Guwahati route on a daily basis.


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Andaman Islands are emerging as a tourist hotspot for people of Kolkata

The Andamans is an archipelago of 572 islands in the Bay of Bengal and it is gradually emerging as a top destination for tourists from Kolkata - thanks to better connectivity with the mainland by virtue of the introduction of a number of flights between Kolkata and Port Blair.
The Andamans are a beautiful part of India which has a rich history and breathtaking natural beauty.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 31 October 2016.

Vistara is the latest airline to add a Kolkata-Port Blair service - it has aligned its flight arrival and departure timings with ferry and catamaran services to Havelock. The daily count of flights to Andamans, therefore, has increased to six. A large number of flights have been added within the past 18 months. Capacity has increased while fares have gone down by nearly 50%. Obviously, tourist traffic to the islands has surged.
Right now, IndiGo Airlines, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Air India and Go Air operate daily flights.
Port Blair has white sandy beaches, rich flora and fauna and its calmness and serenity has remained unexplored by the average holidayer from Kolkata because of poor connectivity. There used to be only a couple of flights, seats were difficult to get and fares were high. The return fare in the off-season was Rs 20,000-25,000 and it doubled in the peak season. Now, the average return fare has come down to around Rs 12,000 in the off-season.
Out of the islands, Havelock Islands has emerged as a major attraction among tourists. It is set against a backdrop of lush forests. The most attractive beaches are Radhanagar Beach, Beach 5, Neil's Cove and Kalapathar Beach.


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Bhubaneswar airport wants more air traffic but bird menace is a major obstacle

Bhubaneswar airport wants to handle more air traffic but bird menace is a major problem because there are water bodies in the vicinity that attract the birds. The pond and open drains nearby that attract the birds and flocks of them near the airport pose a serious threat to flights during take off and landing.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 13 July 2016.

As revealed by joint general manager (civil engineering), Airports Authority of India, the airport was located in a low-lying area. Hence, waterlogging during monsoon continues to remain an issue. As per data of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bhubaneswar airport had registered 19 bird hits in 2011, 18 in 2012 and 10 each in 2013 and 2014. In the month of May, a Vistara Airlines flight from Delhi suffered a bird hit while landing at the airport. The airport figures in the DGCA's surveillance list because it is prone to bird-hit incidents and wildlife intrusion.
In order to contain the bird menace, in September last year, the municipal corporation had demolished meat and fish shops located around the city airport. The civic body had demolished at least 74 shops selling chicken, meat and fish at Siripur, Baramunda, Khandagiri, Bharatpur, Rental Square, Fire Station and in the Kargil slum areas.


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