Aviation Sector

Akasa Air joins airlines' association IATA after completing mandatory audit

Akasa Air has joined global airlines' grouping International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a member. IATA represents over 360 airlines, including Indian carriers Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and SpiceJet. In a release on Friday, Akasa Air said it became an IATA member after completing IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) which is mandatory for the membership. "We are excited to welcome Akasa Air as an IATA member. India's aviation potential is huge, with the industry supporting 7.7 million jobs and USD 53.6 billion in economic contribution," Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific for IATA Sheldon Hee said. With a fleet of 31 Boeing 737 MAX planes. Akasa Air connects 26 domestic and 6 international cities. About the IATA membership, Akasa Air Founder and CEO Vinay Dubey said the association will strengthen the airline's global credibility and position it as a future-ready Indian airline on the world stage.

Airlines move to bar power bank use in flight after DGCA circular

Airlines have begun restricting the use of power banks on board flights after a DGCA circular warned of fire risks from lithium batteries and asked operators to strengthen onboard safety measures

South India back on aviation runway with new airlines, eVTOL plans

New airlines and eVTOL startups plan regional and electric takeoffs

Telecom firms, Navi Mumbai airport operator lock horns over network access

The COAI said NMIAL is statutorily obligated to provide "right of way" permission in a non-discriminatory and time-bound manner for the installation of telecom infrastructure

Transport Canada warns Air India of losing flight rights over alcohol rules

An Air India pilot was arrested at Vancouver International Airport last week as he was preparing for a flight, with Canada's transportation agency warning the airline that it faced loss of its flight authorisations if it did not comply with rules about alcohol consumption. Transport Canada said in a statement Friday that the incident took place on December 23, and it would engage with Air India and Indian aviation authorities to ensure appropriate followup actions were taken. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the arrest occurred after a report of concern involving an airline crew member. Police said an investigation is ongoing and no further information would be released. A spokeswoman for the airport said the pilot had been preparing for Air India's scheduled daily flight from Vancouver to Delhi, which was delayed for several hours but later departed safely. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows that the December 23 Air India flight from Vancouver to Delhi via Vienna w

Indian carriers likely to induct 55 planes to their fleet in 2026

In 2025, the total net induction was 35 planes -79 added and 44 returned - making it much lower than even 2024

India's aviation boom is straining workers, systems and service quality

The new rules on Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) mandate more liberal duty rosters and rest periods for pilots and the cabin crew

Commercial flights begin at Navi Mumbai Airport, airlines plan to scale-up

Domestic services are expected to be operated by Indian carriers such as Air India Express, Akasa Air, IndiGo and Star Air with a plan of 24 scheduled departures daily

IndiGo beats Air India group in international scheduled flights, seats

IndiGo increased its seats from 7.4 million to 8.6 million

StatsGuru: A trinity of turbulence - Airbus, IndiGo and glitches

Recent Airbus A320 groundings and IndiGo flight disruptions have put India's fast-growing aviation sector under the spotlight, raising questions over fleet reliability and safety oversight

IndiGo's real crime is letting government act as private sector's saviour

Don't blame misfortune. This is colossal incompetence and insensitivity. So bad that heads would have rolled even in the old PSU-era Indian Airlines and Air India

Datanomics: Pilot fatigue a concern in a growing aviation sector

The survey highlighted the impact of frequent tail swaps-when airlines switch the aircraft assigned to a flight

Govt asks crisis-hit IndiGo to cut 10% domestic flights until March

The cancellations will apply to high-frequency domestic routes and not to the roughly 600 routes where IndiGo is the sole operator

ICSI flags IndiGo lapses, urges stronger corporate governance norms

Company secretaries' apex body ICSI on Tuesday cited the governance lapses at the country's largest airline IndiGo and called for stronger governance practices to ensure proactive risk identification, timely intervention and transparent communication. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has more than 78,000 members. In a statement, the institute flagged the "recent governance lapse highlighted by the IndiGo incident". ICSI President Dhananjay Shukla said the IndiGo incident serves as a reminder for corporates and professionals to ensure sound governance frameworks that can create as well as preserve shareholder value along with public trust. It is not often that ICSI publicly mentions governance issues at a company. IndiGo has been facing significant operational disruptions for the last one week, resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations and delays. The situation is stabilising now. Lack of proper planning in implementing the new flight duty norms is one of t

With 2 airlines in command, market concentration in aviation skyrockets

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) in the sector is up by 1800 points in the last decade to record high of 4500 in FY25

IndiGo may face penalties if non-compliance is deliberate: Experts

The revised FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitation Rules) rules entered their second and final phase on November 1, activating seven clauses deferred during July's rollout

Northeast Railway deploys special trains after IndiGo cancellations

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) will be running special trains to clear passenger rush in view of flight disruptions, its chief spokesperson said on Sunday. NFR CPRO Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said extra coaches of various classes have also been attached to different trains. "The NFR has taken these initiatives in view of IndiGo flight cancellations," he said. Two special trains -- one each from Dibrugarh to New Delhi, and Guwahati to Howrah -- would run on Monday, the CPRO said. "Further, 20 coaches will be attached to 18 different trains to help clear the rush of passengers. These trains are running on different sectors," he added. IndiGo, the country's largest airline, has cancelled thousands of flights over the last few days as it grappled with significant operational disruptions mainly due to crew shortage.

Why airline pilots hide mental-health struggles despite stress at work

Despite growing stress and burnout, many pilots avoid reporting mental-health concerns due to lengthy medical reviews and career repercussions

IndiGo's lean manpower strategy behind current disruptions: Pilots' body

Pilots' body Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze." FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" under the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms. In a letter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) late Wednesday, FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages." On Wednesday (December 3), IndiGo cancelled over 150 flights and delayed hundreds by considerable time across various ...

Air India execs who let plane with expired licence fly de-rostered: DGCA

The airline's 164-seater Airbus A320 aircraft, with an expired airworthiness review certificate (ARC), flew eight times on November 24 and 25