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A trainer aircraft crash-landed at a field in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday, and the trainee lady pilot who was operating the plane is reported to be safe, according to the aviation regulator DGCA. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the incident. "Chetak Aviation Cessna 152 aircraft VT-AFB engaged in solo flying at Aligarh has crash landed in a field in Kasganj. She (pilot) is reported to be safe," the regulator said in a statement. Further details are awaited.
The CBI has arrested a deputy director general of civil aviation and the senior vice president of a major corporate group in a Rs 2.5 lakh bribery case to facilitate the import of drones for another private company, officials said Sunday. In an operation on Saturday, the CBI arrested M Devula, Deputy Director General at the Airworthiness Directorate, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bharat Mathur, who is also associated with an aerospace company involved in drone technology- Asteria Aerospace Ltd. The CBI has booked Mathur, Devula and Asteria Aerospace Ltd under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The major corporate group where Mathur was working is not listed as accused in the FIR and is the "ultimate parent company" of Asteria Aerospace, according to Asteria Aerospace's financial statements for 2024-25. No immediate reaction was available from Asteria Aerospace or the corporate group. The accused DGCA public
Airline regulator DGCA has temporarily relaxed pilot flight duty time limitation (FDTL) for long-haul flights, a senior official said on Tuesday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) move is aimed at ensuring pilot availability for smooth operations, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Asangba Chuba Ao, told reporters during a media briefing.
The Delhi government's proposed drone policy is likely to focus on creating drone research clusters, establishing dedicated flight testing facilities, enabling the use of drones in traffic management, and providing subsidies to support the drone ecosystem, officials said on Saturday. According to officials, in a recently held meeting, the policy framework was discussed, where plans to rope in the Drone Federation of India (DFI), a leading non- government organisation in this area, were approved. Earlier this year, the government set up a committee under the chairmanship of the IT department secretary to examine the feasibility of the Delhi Drone Policy. "A comprehensive drone policy is being planned to ensure safe and regulated drone operations. Along with this, the government is working on an IT dashboard, a digital monitoring system to provide effective governance," IT minister Pankaj Singh said. According to officials, the policy's key objectives include regulating drone usage t
Airlines will start offering at least 60 per cent of seats in a flight without levying any additional charge from April 20, as well as maintain a transparent seat allocation policy, according to aviation watchdog DGCA. On March 18, the civil aviation ministry announced that directions have been issued to the DGCA to direct airlines to allocate a minimum of 60 per cent of seats for selection on any flight free of charge to ensure fair access for passengers. In this regard, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued the amended Air Transport Circular dated March 20. A DGCA official said the circular would come into effect from April 20. The regulator has said that airlines should ensure at least "60 per cent of the seats in any flight shall be offered free of charge". "Airlines should maintain transparent seat allocation policies and clearly communicate the availability of free seats and applicable conditions on their booking interfaces," as per a revised circular dated
Airlines will be operating lesser number of flights in the current summer schedule as the civil aviation authorities decided to be 'little more moderate" in approving the number of services in the backdrop of IndiGo's massive operational disruptions last December. A highly-placed source said the civil aviation ministry and regulator DGCA do not want a situation similar to what happened at IndiGo in December last year. The summer schedules of the airline have been approved after taking into consideration the availability of aircraft, pilots and other aspects, the source said. In the domestic summer schedule, airlines are set to operate at least 10 per cent less flights compared to the number flights flown during the same period a year ago. Aviation watchdog DGCA has published the domestic flights summer schedule, which is from March 29 to October 24, for nine scheduled airlines. During the 2025 summer schedule, there were 25,610 weekly flights and this time, a 10 per cent reduction
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is trying to promote ease of doing business for airlines to help them grow and flourish as well as taking steps for passenger rights, its chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai said on Thursday. There are big challenges for airlines, including taking longer routes and higher operational costs due to airspace restrictions, he said, expressing hope that there would be "better days". The ongoing West Asia conflict is posing more challenges for airlines, which have curtailed services to the region. "It is not only passenger rights which we are looking at... we are trying to ease things for the airlines also and the rules and regulations which are there, promote ease of doing business because we want our airlines to grow and flourish," Kidwai said. He said many airlines have gone bust in India and emphasised the need to support carriers. India is one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets and the DGCA as well as the civil aviation minist