Page 11 - Airlines

Centre plans strict norms to prevent hoax bomb threats to airlines

The civil aviation ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators on the no-fly list, a senior official said on Thursday. In four days, more than 20 flights of various Indian airlines received bomb threats, including international flights, and some of them were diverted. Most of the threats have turned out to be hoaxes. Against this backdrop, the ministry is looking at amending existing rules, including those related to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), in order to ensure stringent punishments are in place for the culprits, the official in the know said. Placing individuals making hoax bomb threats in the airlines' no-fly list is one of the proposals being looked at, the official said. The official also said legal opinions are being gathered with respect to making the changes in the rules. The provisions being followed in foreign countries to deal with hoax bomb threats are also bein

Indian Airlines to fly 3% more weekly flights in 2024 winter schedule: DGCA

It has been observed that there are 25,007 departures per week which have been finalized to/from 124 airports as per Winter Schedule 24, DGCA said

Accused behind threat messages being identified: Civil aviation secretary

The issue of multiple hoax threat messages to various airlines, which have disrupted many Indian flights, came up before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday as the civil aviation secretary told parliamentarians that accused are being identified and action taken. Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam suggested in the meeting of the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, which is headed by JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha, that investigators have gathered some information and are taking action. They are working on a few other cases of such hoax messages, he added. He, however, cited the sensitivity of information due to the ongoing probe into the matter to decline to share more details, sources said. They said Jha raised the issue of the number of hoax threat calls that airlines have received in the past couple of days, leading to diversion of flights, including one bound for Chicago. At least 10 flights have been disrupted due to bomb threat messages, mostly on social me

Domestic air passenger traffic rises 6% to 13 million in September

Domestic carriers flew 1.30 crore passengers in September, which is 6.38 per cent higher compared to the year-ago period, according to official data released on Tuesday. In September last year, airlines carried 1.22 crore passengers. IndiGo's market share rose to 63 per cent while that of Air India climbed to 15.1 per cent in September 2024, as per the data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). AIX Connect, which was merged with Air India Express this month, topped the list of airlines in terms of On Time Performance (OTP) at 70.1 per cent, replacing Akasa Air, whose OTP slipped to 62.1 per cent. The data showed that Vistara's market share dipped to 10 per cent and that of AIX Connect slipped to 4.1 per cent last month. The overall domestic market share of Air India Group comprising Air India, AIX Connect and Vistara touched 29.2 per cent. In September, Akasa Air and SpiceJet carried saw 5.73 lakh and 2.61 lakh passengers, respectively. While Akasa Air's m

A regional airline without call centre; FLY91 remains 'digital native'

After taking to the skies nearly seven months ago, FLY91 is on a steady flight path and that too with a difference. The regional carrier does not have a call centre for passengers. Focused on being a "digital native" company, the Goa-based carrier prepared a list of priorities before commencing operations and decided to do away with certain things that are traditionally done by the airlines. "We consciously wanted to go down that path (of not having a call centre)...," FLY91's Chief Technology Officer Prasanna Subramaniam said. There are huge cost savings with not having the call centre and it also gives the advantage as the savings are being used for building new digital applications somewhere else, he told PTI in a recent interview. Currently, FLY91, which commenced flying on March 18, operates two ATR 72-600 aircraft. It has around 16 departures a day. The airline has a fully automated bot that responds to customer queries. In case a customer wants to have a personal talk, then

A-I Express flight faces mid-air glitch post take-off from TN, lands safely

A Sharjah bound flight from Tiruchirappalli, shortly after departure on Friday evening, witnessed mid-air technical glitch and later landed safely, police said. Chief Minister M K Stalin held an emergency meeting with officials and directed them to follow all safety measures. Later, he congratulated the flight captain and crew for the safe landing. After taking off at about 5.30 pm from the airport, the fault related to hydraulic systems, the landing gear, was noticed. Deftly handling the situation, the pilots later safely landed the aircraft in Tiruchirappalli airport. The chief minister in a post on 'X' said: "I am heartened to hear that the #AirIndiaExpress flight has landed safely. Upon receiving news of the landing gear issue, I immediately coordinated an emergency meeting with officials over the phone and instructed them to implement all necessary safety measures, including deploying fire engines, ambulances, and medical assistance. "I have also now directed the District ...

Airlines suspend flights in region as tensions in Middle East rise

Rise in concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airlines to suspend flights to the region

DGCA issues advisory to airlines on rudder system risk in Boeing 737 planes

Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday issued an advisory to Indian airlines operating Boeing 737 planes regarding the potential risk of a jammed rudder control system. The move follows the recent probe report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that highlighted safety concerns involving Boeing 737 aircraft equipped with Collins Aerospace SVO-730 Rudder Rollout Guidance Actuators. Against the backdrop of the potential risk of a jammed or restricted rudder control system, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued safety recommendations to Indian carriers. Currently, Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet operate Boeing 737 planes. Together, they have nearly 100 such aircraft. Air India Express operates 61 Boeing 737s, while Akasa Air has a fleet of 25 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. According to data available on planespotters.net, SpiceJet has 11 Boeing 737s in service. In August, Boeing informed affected operators of 737 planes about the potential cond

DGCA issues advisory on potential rudder system issue in Boeing 737 jets

Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday issued an advisory to Indian airlines operating Boeing 737 planes regarding the potential risk of a jammed rudder control system. The move follows the recent probe report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that highlighted safety concerns involving Boeing 737 aircraft lanes equipped with Collins Aerospace SVO-730 Rudder Rollout Guidance Actuators. Against the backdrop of the potential risk of a jammed or restricted rudder control system, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued safety recommendations to the Indian carriers. Currently, Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet operate Boeing 737 planes. DGCA said all flight crews are to be informed through a circular/advisory regarding the possibility of a jammed or restricted rudder control system. "Appropriate mitigations must be communicated to help crews identify and handle such a situation," it added. Further, all operators have been asked to conduct a sa

IndiGo's punctuality drops to 54% on Saturday due to systems outage

The airline's OTP between October 1 and October 4 was somewhere between 74.9 and 80.3 per cent, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation's data

West Asia crisis flummoxes airlines, increases Mumbai-Europe flight times

Flights from Delhi or Bengaluru, while they may still fly over Iran, depending on the route, have alternative paths that may take them through Central Asia or northern routes

Airlines suspend flights in region amidst rising Middle East tensions

Airlines said they would avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Jordanian airspace amid rise in escalation

Airlines squeeze into Saudi airspace as West Asian conflict flares

Flying more circuitous routes increases flight times and fuel expenses for airlines, and complicates schedules that depend on aircraft being in the right place at the right time

Merger in full swing: Air India group to introduce uniform crew policy

Some of the new policies have been welcomed by pilots and cabin crew, while others have sparked criticism

Air India introduces new policy on room sharing, allowances for cabin crew

Air India is introducing a revised policy for the cabin crew members of domestic and international flights, wherein certain sections of the members will have to share rooms during layovers, according to a source. The revised policy will also be applicable for Air India Express, which has merged AIX Connect with itself. Among other changes, the source in the know said the allowances for cabin crew of international flights will be increased from USD 75-125 bracket to USD 85-135 bracket. There is no change in the allowances for the cabin crew of domestic flights. An airline spokesperson said that with the merger of Air India and Vistara formalising, there is a need to harmonise these policies for employees of both the organisations. "As part of that exercise, we have communicated the changes applicable to Air India employees. The revised compensation and benefits continue to be competitive and benchmarked to industry standards," the spokesperson told PTI in a statement. Under the re

Air Kerala appoints seasoned aviator C S Randhawa as VP for operations

Startup carrier Air Kerala on Wednesday said it has appointed seasoned aviator C S Randhawa as vice-president for operations and aviation security expert Ashutosh Vashishth as vice-president for security. The Kochi-based company, which received the civil aviation ministry's nod to start an airline in July this year, is in the process of securing an air operator certificate from regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation as it prepares for a likely launch early next year. Air Kerala had last month announced the appointment of aviation industry veteran Harish Kutty as its Chief Executive Officer. "We welcome Captain Randhawa and Captain Vashishth to the Air Kerala family. Their unmatched experience and dedication to aviation will undoubtedly strengthen our commitment to safety, security. "We believe in assembling a team of the best minds in the industry, and the addition of these professionals is a testament to our vision of setting new standards in aviation," said Afi Ahmed, ..

Plutus Wealth increases shareholding in SpiceJet, buys Rs 50 cr worth share

Plutus Wealth Management on Tuesday raised its holding in domestic carrier SpiceJet by acquiring additional shares for Rs 50 crore through an open market transaction. According to the bulk deal available with the BSE, Plutus Wealth Management purchased 75 lakh shares or 0.58 per cent stake in Gurugram-headquartered SpiceJet. The shares were bought at an average price of Rs 66.70 apiece, taking the transaction value to Rs 50.02 crore. Details of sellers of SpiceJet's shares could not be identified on the BSE. Shares of SpiceJet jumped 6.95 per cent to close at Rs 68.13 apiece on the BSE. On Monday, Plutus Wealth Management bought 85 lakh shares, amounting to a 0.66 per cent stake in domestic carrier SpiceJet for Rs 51 crore.

Lufthansa aims to revive 'problem child' airline by 2026: CEO Carsten Spohr

Lufthansa has struggled with competition on its transatlantic and Asian routes, recently cancelling its Frankfurt to Beijing flights as Chinese carriers increased capacity

Delhi HC asks SpiceJet to respond to execution petition on engines return

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked low-cost airline SpiceJet to file its reply to a petition seeking execution of an order directing it to ground three aircraft engines and hand those over to their lessors. The court also asked the airline to file an affidavit listing out its assets and posted the execution petition for further hearing on November 13. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora also issued a court notice to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), with a direction to its competent officer to remain present in the court on November 13, along with a status report confirming due compliance of the court's August 14 order. The court said in its status report, the DGCA will mention the status of the re-delivery of the engines. The high court had, in its August 14 order, directed SpiceJet to ground the three engines by August 16 and hand those over to their lessors within 15 days. The single-judge bench had directed the airline to offer prior inspection of the engines

AI Express-AIX Connect merger in Oct first week; 'I5' to fly into sunset

AIX Connect as well as airline designator code 'I5' will fly into the past in the first week of October as the merger of the no-frills carrier with Air India Express becomes a reality. "Everything is on track," a senior airline official told PTI earlier this week about the merger process that has been in progress for nearly one year. AIX Connect, which was earlier known as AirAsia India, will cease to exist after flying for 11 years. The aircraft registered under its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) will be transferred to the AOC of Air India Express under the legal merger that is to come into effect in the first week of October, another official said. Currently, Air India Express and AIX Connect operate around 400 flights daily and the operations are set to expand in the coming months. It has a fleet of 88 planes, including 61 Boeing 737 NGs and MAXs, and 27 A320 ceos and neos. With the legal merger, all flights of erstwhile AIX Connect will be operated with the airline designator c