Page 3 - Aviation Sector

Korean Air signs $50 billion deal to buy over 100 Boeing aircraft

Korean Air has announced a USD 50 billion deal to buy more than 100 Boeing aircraft and several spare engines and obtain engine maintenance for 20 years. The deal was formalised at a signing ceremony Monday in Washington as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with President Donald Trump. The deal includes USD 36.2 billion for 103 next-generation Boeing aircraft; USD 690 million for 19 spare engines from GE Aerospace and CFM International; and USD 13 billion for the 20-year engine maintenance service contract with GE Aerospace, Korean Air said in a statement. This deal is a strategic choice to strengthen Korean Air's partnership with the US aviation industry, the Korean Air statement said. This strategic investment in the US market will further strengthen the airline's operational capabilities and global competitiveness, and foster robust commercial ties that will drive sustained growth. It said the aircraft purchase order includes 20 Boeing 777-9s, 25 Boeing 787-10s, 50 Boein

BS Infra Summit: CEOs flag key steps for India's airport hub ambitions

At the BS Infrastructure Summit, CEOs of Delhi and Noida airports said India's hub ambitions require smoother transfers, stronger bilateral agreements and collaborative industry efforts

IndiGo targets 40% fleet on finance lease by 2030: CFO Gaurav Negi at AGM

Most of IndiGo's fleet today is on operating leases, where an aircraft is rented from a lessor for a fixed term and returned at the end of the lease

Air India cancels Zurich-Delhi flight after Boeing 787 engine issue

Air India on Monday said it cancelled its Zurich-Delhi flight of August 17 due to a technical reason, days after the Tata Group-owned airline stated that it had carried out a detailed "inspection" of its Boeing 787 aircraft fleet and "no issues" were detected. However, a passenger on board said the flight aborted take-off at the last minute due to an engine issue. In the last two days, Air India has cancelled at least two flights, including one international, at the last moment, citing technical reasons. Air India operates its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet to cater to the European market. "Flight AI152 scheduled to operate from Zurich to Delhi on 17 August has been cancelled due to a technical reason, and subsequently due to night curfew in Zurich," Air India said in a statement. The airline said it has arranged alternative flights to the passengers' destination and is providing hotel accommodation, along with full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling options for

IndiGo aircraft suffers tail strike amid go-around at Mumbai Airport

The airline assured that all passengers and crew on board were safe

Over 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants go on strike, flights cancelled

More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike after a deadline to reach a deal passed, the union confirmed early Saturday. Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed the strike has started after no deal was reached. Air Canada has said all flights will be cancelled for the duration of the work stoppage. Canada's largest airline has already cancelled more than 620 flights, leaving travellers around the world stranded and scrambling during the peak summer travel season. A bitter contract fight between Canada's largest airline and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday as the union turned down the airline's request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.

Air Canada cancels flights ahead of work stoppage affecting thousands

Air Canada started cancelling flights on Thursday ahead of a possible work stoppage by flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travellers. A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to impact about 130,000 people a day. The union representing around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice Wednesday. In response, the airline issued a lockout notice. Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations. All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning, he said. Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete. He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will impact long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart Thursday night. By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 ...

Pakistan says India overflight ban cost ₹1,240 crore in just over 2 months

According to Pakistan's Defence ministry, the PAA's revenue shortfall from April 24-June 30 was PKR 4.1 billion after barring Indian aircraft

SC junks PIL seeking safety audit, says Air India tragedy singled out

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear a plea to appoint a retired top court judge for examining Air India's safety practices among other aspects and asked the petitioner why target the airline that witnessed an "unfortunate tragedy". A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi told the petitioner in-person Narendera Kumar Goswami to withdraw his PIL and asked him to move the appropriate forum in case of grievances. "Don't give the impression that you are playing with other airlines. Why target Air India only which recently witnessed an unfortunate tragedy? If you want some regulatory mechanism in place, then why did you not make other airlines as party in your petition? Why only Air India?" the bench asked Goswami, a lawyer. The petitioner claimed to be a victim of "some unfortunate incident" with the airline. Justice Kant then told him, "We also travel every week and know what is the status. There was a tragedy, a very unfortunate one. This is not a time to run down a

Air India may shift maintenance in-house with Singapore Airlines' help

The Indian airline is preparing to take on pre-flight and daily aircraft inspections, minor repair work and other troubleshooting activities from state-owned AI Engineering Services Ltd, or AIESL

Rail unions flag fake breaks: What is driver fatigue and why rest matters

Unions say rail zones are manipulating CMS data to conceal overutilisation of loco pilots amid staff crunch

Southwest replaces Chairman Rakesh Gangwal after less than one year in job

Doug Brooks, a Southwest board member for more than 15 years, has been tapped for the chairman job

'Air India to resume Goa-Gatwick direct flights by September-end'

The Air India flight between Goa and Gatwick in London, stopped following the horrific June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash, will resume by the end of September, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte has said in the state assembly. Improved connectivity to Goa from various locations is a "game changer" for the tourism sector, Khaunte said in the House on Tuesday during demands for grants for his department in the ongoing monsoon session of the assembly. The Air India flights from Goa's Manohar International Airport to Gatwick were suspended following the crash of the AI plane heading from Ahmedabad to London last month, which claimed the lives of 260 persons, including 241 on board. Khaunte said in the House that the direct flight between Goa and Gatwick will resume by the end of September this year. Notably, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant last week said in the assembly he will consult the Civil Aviation Ministry on resumption of the Air India Goa-Gatwick flight after BJP MLA Michael Lobo said it

Why hunt for the black box? There's a simpler fix for faster crash probes

Aircraft are equipped with sensors and recorders, which capture everything mechanical and electrical, and record cockpit conversations

Many Indian airlines spend more on publicity than passenger safety: Survey

Around 76 per cent of respondents in a pan-India online survey opined that many airlines in India are spending more on publicity than on passenger safety. The online survey conducted by LocalCircles revealed that as many as 64 per cent of these respondents had experienced at least one rough flight in the last three years, involving a difficult takeoff, landing, or inflight situation. The survey, which received 44,000 responses from citizens across 322 districts, assumes significance amidst a spate of incidents, both mid-air and on ground, reported recently. These included Tata Group-run Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft accident that crashed within seconds of taking off for London Gatwick from Ahmedabad last month, killing 241 of the 242 passengers on board and another 19 on the ground. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the crash and has already submitted its preliminary report. Also, on Monday, passengers on board Air India Kochi-Mumbai flight had

Passenger tries to open exit midair, forces emergency landing in Iowa

A regional airline flight heading to Detroit had to make an emergency landing in eastern Iowa after a passenger fought with a flight attendant and tried to open an exit door midair, according to the pilot's communication with air traffic controllers. The pilot of the SkyWest Airlines Flight 3612 contacted the tower at Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids shortly after 6 pm Thursday requesting to land because of a passenger causing a disturbance. He's in a fight with our flight attendant right now, trying to open the emergency exit, the pilot said, according to audio captured by LiveATC. The disturbance happened shortly after the SkyWest flight departed from Omaha, Nebraska, around 5.30 pm Thursday, according to police. The flight was diverted to and landed safely at the Cedar Rapids airport, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. Once on the ground, local police boarded and arrested the 23-year-old Omaha man, Cedar Rapids police said. The flight was abl

LAT Aviation has not bought any private jet, clarifies Deepinder Goyal

Eternal (formerly Zomato) CEO Deepinder Goyal on Wednesday clarified that LAT Aviation -- an aviation startup backed by him -- "has not bought any private jet". Earlier, a media report claimed that Goyal-backed LAT Aerospace has bought a Bombardier Global jet. The aerospace startup, co-founded by Surobhi Das, is in the regional aviation space. "For those who want facts more than clickbaity headlines LAT is a startup, and has not bought any private jet. LAT is about making planes for regional aviation, and is not in the business of buying planes," Goyal said in a post on X. "And, I don't own one personally either. Will be nice to have one, though," he added. The aviation venture faces uncertainty due to regulatory clearances, technological capability and public adoption.

AI171 crash: Both fuel switches moved to cutoff just after takeoff

AAIB's preliminary probe finds cockpit confusion and sudden loss of thrust as fuel switches moved to cutoff seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport on June 12

Preliminary report on Air India crash to give peek into jet's final moments

Preliminary findings indicated the fuel switches were turned off, though it's unclear whether it was accidental or intentional and whether any effort was made to turn them back on

DGCA to implement ranking system for flying training organisations

Aviation watchdog DGCA has introduced a ranking system for flying training organisations as part of efforts to improve the quality and safety of pilot training activities in the country. The move also comes against the backdrop of various incidents involving planes of Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) and apparent lapses. The ranking system will be implemented from October 1, 2025, and the rankings will be published biannually, preferably on October 1 and April 1 every year, according to a DGCA communication. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the initiative is part of its "continued commitment to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of pilot training in India, while fostering a performance-driven and transparent training ecosystem". FTOs will be ranked on the basis of various parameters and if the overall score of a FTO falls below 50 per cent, then the entity concerned will be served a notice for self-analysis towards improvement of their performance,