Page 26 - Aviation Industry

India outpaces peers in recovery of int'l flight capacity, report reveals

Among the top ten international markets for India in August 2023, six have surpassed their pre-pandemic capacities

IndiGo to launch third Mangaluru-Hyderabad daily flight from October 19

In its official statement, the low-cost carrier IndiGo is augmenting its flight schedule from Mangaluru International Airport to Hyderabad starting October 19

SpiceJet, aircraft lessor Celestial Aviation working towards settlement

Budget carrier SpiceJet and aircraft lessor Celestial Aviation are working towards settlement, which is in the advanced stage, insolvency tribunal NCLT was informed on Tuesday. During the proceedings, counsel appearing in the matter informed about the development and requested the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to adjourn the matter, which was accepted. The development came during the hearing of a plea filed by Celestial Aviation Services Ltd, an operational creditor, to initiate insolvency proceedings against the airline. A two-member NCLT bench directed to list the matter on November 7 for the next hearing. According to some reports, Celestial Aviation Services Ltd is claiming a default of USD 29.9 million for nine aircraft. It is the fifth lessor, which had moved against SpiceJet. Some other lessors such as Willis Lease Finance, Aircastle and Wilmington have also moved pleas to initiate insolvency proceedings against SpiceJet before the NCLT. Earlier on September 5, NCLT

India offers lot of opportunities to aviation sector: DFS Secy Joshi

India offers a lot of opportunities to the aviation industry, and the government has taken many initiatives to promote investment in the sector, Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi said on Saturday. Addressing a roundtable conference on the airport sector organised by IIFCL, Joshi said the launch of the 'Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik' (UDAN) scheme has led to significant development of the sector in the past 7-8 years. As a result, the number of airports has almost doubled from 74 in 2014 to 148 in 2023, giving a boost to regional connectivity. The government has additionally given in-principle approval for setting up 21 greenfield airports across the country, he noted. Further, he said, two big airports coming up in Noida and Navi Mumbai will add to the capacity of the airports in the country. India's aviation industry has seen a remarkable boost in recent years facilitated by the government's investor-friendly legislation, supportive ecosystem and growing demand. The aviation .

IBC regime was costing carriers additional $1.3 billion, says Centre

Time period during which airlines incurred these costs is unclear

IndiGo introduces fuel charge up to Rs 1,000 to offset rising ATF prices

Other airlines may follow suit to offset ATF price rise

Corporate affairs ministry exempts aviation from IBC's moratorium clause

Section 14 of the IBC declares a moratorium on proceedings, transfer or disposal of any of the assets of the company from the date of commencement of its insolvency

Uganda Airlines launches non-stop Mumbai service, first in over 5 decades

The airline said India and Uganda are getting connected with a direct flight for the first time in over five decades

Breath analyser tests: DGCA may ask pilots not to use perfume, mouthwash

Pilots might soon be asked not to use perfume, mouthwash and tooth gel as that may result in positive breath analyser test. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought comments on a draft Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) wherein it has also proposed barring crew from using any "drug/formulation or use any substance such as mouthwash/tooth gel/perfume or any such product which has alcoholic content". Comments have been sought on the CAR, which pertains to procedure for medical examination of aircraft personnel for alcohol consumption, till October 5. Under the DGCA norms, for all scheduled operators, each flight crew member and cabin crew member shall be subjected to pre-flight breath analyser examination at first departure airport during a flight duty period. For all scheduled flights originating from destinations outside India, post-flight breath analyser examination of each flight crew and cabin crew shall be carried out at first port of landing in India, as per

Air India to open second hub in south India in a bid to improve operations

The hub may come up in Bengaluru or Hyderabad and will work primarily to strengthen its operation in Mumbai

COAI demands deadline for airlines to phase out radios, seeks 5G services

Telecom industry body COAI has written to the civil aviation ministry seeking a strict deadline for phasing out old altimeters used by Indian airlines as that will help in rolling out 5G service in areas around airports. Aviation regulator DGCA has imposed restrictions on the rollout of 5G services in mid-frequency range of 3.3 GHz band due to apprehensions that the wireless signals may interfere with those of the radio altimeters used by aircraft. Altimeters determine altitude of aircraft and any interference could lead to wrong readings that could also jeopardise the movement of a plane. Against this backdrop, the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), whose members include BhartiAirtel and Reliance Jio, has written to Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam seeking his intervention with respect to the curbs imposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The industry body has said the DGCA should mandate all airlines to phase out non-conforming radio .

Airbus names sales chief Scherer CEO of core planemaking operation

The appointment of Scherer, 61, heralds broad continuity inside the main commercial arm, which competes with Boeing and makes up about 70% of the company's revenues

3 new air routes to become operationalise in Arunachal in October: Scindia

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday announced that three new air routes would be operationalised in Arunachal Pradesh by October this year. Inaugurating the newly-developed infrastructure at the Tezu Airport in Lohit district of the northeastern state, Scindia said that under the Centre's UDAN-5 scheme, new flight services would begin between Itanagar and New Delhi from Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi near here, besides a service between Itanagar and Jorhat in Assam and between Ruksin in East Siang district and Itanagar. Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik (UDAAN) is a regional connectivity scheme aimed at developing smaller regional airports to allow common citizens easier access to aviation services. Tezu airport is the fourth in the state after Donyi Polo, Pasighat and Ziro airports and 17th in the northeast. The minister said that in the last 65 years, there were only 74 airports in the country but in the last nine years of BJP government rule at the Centre, 75 new airpor

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

DGCA suspends approval of AI's flight safety chief for a month for lapses

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Thursday said it has suspended the approval of Air India's Flight Safety Chief for one month for certain lapses. On July 25 and 26, the regulator's team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower. The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organisation and the availability of the requisite technical man power as required in the approved Flight Safety Manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements, DGCA said in a release. "The approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established," it said.

In crisis, may shut down: Akasa Air SOS to Delhi HC after pilots' exit

The airline, which operates about 120 flights per day, is expecting to cancel a total of approximately 600-700 flights in September if the spate of resignations continue

Dubai Aerospace flags corrosion in plane leased to bankrupt Go First

Foreign lessors have been engaged in a legal tussle to repossess their aircraft after the Indian airline was granted bankruptcy protection in May

Inadequate inspection of fan blades led to breaking of United jet engine

An engine on a United Airlines jet broke up over Denver in 2021 because of wear and tear on a fan blade that was not adequately inspected for signs of cracking, federal investigators said Friday. The National Transportation Safety Board said manufacturer Pratt & Whitney did not call for inspections to be done frequently enough, which allowed tiny cracks to grow undetected, until the fan blade broke. The NTSB said the design and testing of the engine inlet contributed to the severity of the situation, and other factors made the engine fire worse than it should have been. The right-side engine of the Boeing 777 broke apart shortly after takeoff from Denver International Airport, raining parts over suburban neighbourhoods. The pilots declared an emergency and landed the plane safely 24 minutes after takeoff. Pieces of the engine inlet, fan cowls and thrust reversers broke off and fell on a public park and residential areas. There were no reports of injuries on the plane or on the ...

Go First lessor seeks parts replacement 'robbed' from grounded planes

Go First has been locked in legal disputes with many of its foreign lessors since being granted bankruptcy protection in India in May

Qantas CEO to depart early as airline looks to rebuild reputation

Over a decade and a half Joyce faced regular criticism for cutting jobs, including a 2011 decision to ground the entire Qantas fleet over an industrial dispute