Page 7 - Civil Aviation

Air India pilot unions express concern over flight duty, rest period scheme

Air India pilot unions IPG and ICPA on Saturday expressed "deep concern" over the flight duty and rest period scheme adopted by the Tata Group airline, accusing the carrier of deviating from the DGCA-approved norms. The two unions -- Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) -- in a joint communication to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation also alleged that the introduction of a side policy, along with the flight duty time limitation (FDTL) scheme, by Air India seems to "undermine the authority and purpose" of the DGCA approval. The pilot unions have also sought a review and assessment of the issue by the DGCA, requesting it to take appropriate measures to address the matter. Pilots and cabin crew's flight duty time limitations are governed by the aviation safety regulator DGCA, which proposed more rest hours for the pilots last month. In recent months, the issue of fatigue has been in focus, especially after the death of an IndiGo pilot, wh

Go First CEO Kaushik Khona resigns amid airline's uncertain future

Grounded Go First's CEO Kaushik Khona has put in his papers, nearly seven months after the no-frills airline filed for insolvency proceedings. In an e mail to the airline's employees on Thursday, Khona said that November 30 is his last day at the company. Khona had returned to Go First in August 2020 as its CEO. "With a heavy heart, I have to inform that today is my last day with the company. I got an opportunity to work for Go FIRST once again in August 2020 and with your able and active support I tried to perform to my best abilities," Khona said in the e mail. Earlier, he was with the carrier from 2008 to 2011. "... the Board of Directors decided to file for Section 10 application under the IBC and we still continued to provide the best support to the company We were hopeful that we will resume the operations soon and at least from June 2023 but it got delayed" he said in the e mail accessed by PTI. Section 10 pertains to voluntary insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency a

Vistara flight from Kolkata to Delhi diverted due to air traffic congestion

Flight number-UK778 has been directed to Lucknow and is expected to arrive in Lucknow at 1845 hours

AI plane returned to Kathmandu after pilots heard noise during take-off

An Air India aircraft that was to fly to Delhi returned to Kathmandu airport on Saturday evening after pilots heard a noise while taking off, according to an airline official. Also, prior to taking off, it was noticed after boarding passengers that a door in the aircraft was unserviceable. The plane was cleared for take-off after following necessary airworthiness protocols. An airline spokesperson on Sunday said the two issues were not related and at no point was safety compromised. While a tail strike was suspected as the plane returned, it was later confirmed that there was no tail strike, the spokesperson said. The official said the pilots had decided to return as they heard a noise during take-off and had suspected a possible tail strike. Further, the official said that after checks, the A321 aircraft operated the flight to Delhi on Sunday morning. "AI 216 from Kathmandu to Delhi on Nov 26 experienced an unserviceable door after boarding was completed. All necessary airworthi

Air India set to receive new aircraft every six days in next 18 months: CEO

Air India has ordered 470 aircraft to serve the Indian economy and is set to receive a new aircraft every six days over the next 18 months, CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said on Friday. He was speaking at the 67th Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines here. We have new aircraft, we are recruiting many, many new crew and staff, improving the training regime and there is more work to do and we are making good progress, he said. Speaking at a session, Wilson said a vast majority of Air India customers want reliability and punctuality, and the challenge is to satisfy customers' requirements. Moreover, new aircraft are being put on international flights and most of the grounded planes have been restored, Wilson added. Tata-owned Air India has ordered 470 aircraft to serve the Indian economy which is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 per cent and it is set to receive a new aircraft every six days over the next 18 months, he said. He also exu

Five accidents in six months: DGCA grounds flight training at Redbird

This is not the first time the DGCA has cracked down on flight training academies in the country

On-time performance of all Indian carriers falls in September, shows data

An airline executive mentioned that key cities like Delhi and Mumbai experienced heavy rainfall on certain days in September, compelling the airlines to either cancel or postpone flights

IIFCL sanctions loans worth Rs 8,800 cr to develop civil aviation infra

India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 8,800 crore for airports and civil aviation infrastructure development in the country, its Managing Director PR Jaishankar has said. The government has an ambitious target to develop the civil aviation sector in the country, and to realise the dream, huge investment is required, he noted. "So far, the IIFCL has sanctioned loans of about Rs 8,800 crore with the disbursement of around Rs 4,000 crore for the development of airport projects," he told PTI. The company is one of the major financiers of airports in India and has supported airports with a total project outlay of about Rs 74,000 crore, he said, adding that IIFCL is present in almost all major airports of the country. Over the past few years, India has seen massive growth in the airport sector with increasing investments from both government and private sector, mainly due to a rising proportion of middle-income households, infrastructure build

Pilot exodus: Akasa stops flights on 8 routes, reduces service on 10 others

The airline's spokesperson said that the airline is poised to take delivery of additional aircraft from Boeing in the remainder of 2023-24

Delay looms over Go First's revival as another bench will now hear matter

The bench highlighted that since the requests made by all involved parties were based on similar grounds, a fresh bench could determine the outcomes

Indian aviation has scope for 130-150 more wide-body aircraft: GE Aerospace

India's fast-growing civil aviation market has the scope to have 130-150 more wide-body planes as airlines expand their operations and there is also the potential for more such aircraft to be deployed in dense domestic routes, GE Aerospace South Asia CEO Vikram Rai said. GE Aerospace, a leading aircraft engine maker, sees a "great potential" in India, which is also the world's third largest aviation market and domestic airlines have nearly 1,500 aircraft on order. While emphasising that "India is a focus market and a priority market for GE Aerospace", Rai said that in his view, domestic airlines would consider having more wide-body planes in their fleet and also deploy them in dense domestic routes. "I see wide-body aircraft as a growth path for us and the airlines which is a win-win (scenario)," he told PTI in a recent interview. Currently, India has around 700 commercial planes in operation and out of them, there are only about 50 wide-body aircraft. Air India has around 49 ...

Air India Kochi-Gatwick flight gets cancelled due to technical fault

An Air India flight from Kochi to Gatwick was on Sunday cancelled following a technical fault in the aircraft that was noticed just minutes before it was set to take off, an airline source said. The AI 149 flight, which was scheduled to take off with 252 passengers on board at 2.15 pm, returned from the taxiway at 2.30 pm and everyone was deboarded as the aircraft was checked for the cause of the technical fault, the airline source said. As the aircraft was not found fit to undertake the flight today, it was cancelled and those not wishing to reschedule their trip or avail of seats in other airlines were issued a full refund and an appropriate monetary compensation, the source said. "We are trying to accommodate passengers (those who do not want to cancel their tickets) on other airlines and have arranged hotel accommodations for them as well as those who are unable to return to their homes today," the source said. "Since Air India accords top priority to safety issues, our ...

Weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy would reduce airlines' costs

There could be a more than $100 billion global market for such medicines, with sales climbing quickly through the end of the decade

Global aviation leasing body downgrades India in light of Go First case

With AWG's downgrade, it is probable that lessors will increase the aircraft leasing rates for Indian carriers

Amid pilot turmoil, Akasa Air mulling raising up to $400 million

The fundraising plan could involve fresh equity issuances of $75-100 million each and is set to be carried out over the next 12-18 months

No proof of flight cancellations due to Akasa pilot exits: DGCA to HC

Akasa had told the court that they have cancelled 24 flights per day and they operate 120 flights per day

Green deposits, corrosion on leased planes, Go First lessor tells Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court reserved its orders in three applications filed by aircraft lessors of the airline seeking permission to maintain their aircraft

DGCA suspends Air India's chief of flight safety, alleges lapses

Regulator takes action against Rajeev Gupta after two major safety violations at the airline in the last couple of months

Staff shortage at DGCA delaying issuance of trained pilot licences

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is taking at least a couple of months to issue licences to trained pilots as the regulator is grappling with the shortage of staff at key positions, according to sources. After training, individuals need to obtain a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) to be eligible to fly commercial flights. Sources in the civil aviation ministry said that at present, a pilot has to wait for a couple of months to get his or her licence and the pendency time is likely to go up in the coming months. "The Directorate of Training and Licensing (DTL), under the Operations Department which deals with licensing, has a total of 129 sanctioned posts of assistant directors. Of those, 92 posts or almost 72 per cent of the total strength are lying vacant," one of the sources said. Till July 2022, the DGCA had only 72 sanctioned posts of assistant directors. In August 2022, the ministry created 57 new posts and the sanctioned strength rose to 129 positions. "However

Air India offers one-time ticket waiver for those travelling during G20

The Delhi government on Tuesday issued a gazette notification on traffic restrictions imposed across the national capital in view of the upcoming G20 summit