Page 5 - Aviation

IndiGo signs contract to buy additional 30 A350 widebody planes from Airbus

India's largest carrier and the European aircraft manufacturer had, in June this year, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for these additional 30 planes

Air India Express to launch direct Agartala-Bagdogra flight from Oct 26

The service will coincide with the beginning of the winter flight schedule, marking a new chapter in Tripura's aviation connectivity

Aircraft lands safely after windshield cracks ahead of its Chennai arrival

A crack in the windshield of an aircraft belonging to a private airline carrying 76 passengers from Madurai was detected by the pilot ahead of its landing at the airport here on Saturday, authorities said. The pilot noticed the crack in the front glass and informed the Air Traffic Controller at the airport here. On receipt of the information, arrangements were made at the airport and the plane landed safely, they said. The aircraft was taken to a separate bay (Bay No 95) for parking and passengers later safely disembarked. Currently, arrangements are being made to replace the windshield, they said. The cause of the incident is not yet known, they said. Due to the incident, the flight's return journey to Madurai has been cancelled, they added.

Akasa Air plane flying from Pune to Delhi suffers bird hit; lands safely

An Akasa Air aircraft flying from Pune to Delhi suffered a bird hit on Friday and landed safely in the national capital. The plane is being examined by the engineering team and will be released for service after a thorough inspection, an airline spokesperson said in a statement to PTI. "Akasa Air flight QP 1607 flying from Pune to Delhi on 10th October 2025 experienced a bird hit. The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew members were deplaned," the spokesperson said. Details regarding the number of passengers were not disclosed. The flight, operated with a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, landed in the national capital little past 10 am on Friday, according to information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com. The aircraft that suffered the bird hit was scheduled to operate the flight from Delhi to Goa. This service was delayed by a few hours as another plane was deployed for the route, according to sources.

Pilot body demands grounding of Air India's B-787s over technical failures

The Federation of Indian Pilots highlighted two recent incidents when the aircraft suffered serious systems' failures, including deployment of the emergency turbine motor in one case

Fewer flights, firmer fares: Why air tickets are not getting any cheaper

With fewer planes flying and steady passenger demand, airfares are likely to stay firm or rise modestly through the festive and winter travel season

Air India Colombo-Chennai flight suffers bird hit, return journey cancelled

An Air India Colombo-Chennai flight carrying 158 passengers suffered a bird hit on Tuesday, forcing the airline to cancel its return journey, airport authorities said. The aircraft landed safely, and all the passengers were safely disembarked from the plane, they said. The bird hit was detected after it touched down at the airport here, the authorities added. The aircraft has been grounded, and extensive checks were carried out by the Air India engineers and the airline officials cancelled its return journey due to the incident, they said. The airliner arranged another aircraft for 137 passengers who later left for Colombo, they said.

Boeing preparing to raise 737 Max output to 42 jets as soon as October

The company is also laying the groundwork to increase the manufacturing pace again in April and once more in late 2026

DGCA probes Air India Boeing Dreamliner's RAT deployment incident

Aviation watchdog DGCA will carry out a detailed probe into the incident of Ram Air Turbine (RAT) getting deployed in an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft few minutes before landing at the Birmingham airport on Saturday, according to an official. In an aircraft, RAT gets deployed automatically in the eventuality of a dual engine failure or total electronic or hydraulic failure. RAT uses wind speed to generate emergency power. The senior DGCA official told PTI that RAT got deployed during landing of the plane at 400 feet but the pilot did not report any related abnormality. The maintenance actions for uncommanded RAT deployment recommended by Boeing have been carried out and no discrepancy were observed, the official said and added that the aircraft is being released for service. The official also said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will carry out a detailed investigation into the incident. "The operating crew of flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham o

Boeing 777X first flight delayed to 2027, driving billions in charges

The jet, already six years late, is of major strategic and financial importance to Boeing in its duel with Airbus SE for a bigger slice of the lucrative long-haul market

Global air passenger traffic expected to hit 9.8 billion in 2025: Report

Global air passenger traffic is projected to touch 9.8 billion in 2025, nearly 4 per cent higher compared to last year, according to Airports Council International (ACI) World. In 2024, the total passenger traffic stood at 9.4 billion. Its bi-annual World Airport Traffic Report (WATR) released on Tuesday said the global aviation market is expanding, but its trajectory remains sensitive to geopolitical events, macroeconomic conditions and region-specific headwinds. "Current projections estimate total passenger traffic will reach 9.8 billion in 2025, a 3.7 per cent increase from 2024. International traffic is expected to reach 4.3 billion passengers (44 per cent of the total), while domestic traffic is projected at 5.5 billion passengers (56 per cent of the total)," ACI World said. In the Asia Pacific region, the traffic number is forecast to reach 3.6 billion passengers in 2025, with Southern and Southeast Asia driving growth while East Asia's outlook remains cautious. The figures

IndiGo: Analysts advise 'Hold' despite rich valuations, sector headwinds

Nuvama flagged 'high valuations' and 'near-term industry weakness' as key reasons for caution, even as structural positives remain intact.

Airport passenger traffic likely to hit post-Covid low in FY26: Icra

The ratings agency revised its full-year projection to 5-7 per cent year-on-year from its earlier estimate of 7-9 per cent

Mid-air scare: Passenger attempts to enter cockpit on AI Express flight

The incident occurred on the flight IX-1086, which departed Bengaluru airport's Terminal 2 at 8 am on Monday and landed in Varanasi at 10.27 am

oneworld Alliance considers Indian airline partner as market expands

Given that many of its members currently serve India, the alliance is also considering ways to leverage their joint presence in country like with a loyalty deal or a joint lounge initiative, CEO said

IndiGo to start 6 weekly direct flights on Athens route by early Jan 2026

Domestic carrier IndiGo on Monday said it will deploy its maiden Airbus A321 XLR aircraft, which is scheduled to be delivered by the end of this year, on its Athens, Greece route from January next year. The Gurugram-based airline had earlier this year announced that it would launch its flight services to 10 international destinations this financial year. IndiGo is all set to bring home India's first A321XLR by the end of 2025, and begin six weekly direct flights to Athens by early January 2026, subject to regulatory approval, the airline said in a statement. This will make IndiGo the only Indian carrier to offer direct flights between India and Greece, it said, adding that on the receipt of the appropriate approvals, the airline intends to connect Athens to both Delhi and Mumbai, with operations of three weekly nonstops on both routes. The next-generation narrow-body A321 XLR is designed for longer ranges, allowing IndiGo to expand deeper into Europe, while maintaining the ...

SpiceJet settles long-standing $24 million liability with Credit Suisse

The liability stems from a 2011 10-year aircraft servicing deal with Swiss firm SR Technics, which transferred its payment recovery rights to Credit Suisse

Trump admin scraps Biden-era plan of airlines paying for flight disruptions

The Trump administration on Thursday said it is abandoning a Biden-era plan that sought to require airlines to compensate stranded passengers with cash, lodging and meals for flight cancellations or changes caused by a carrier. The proposed rule would have aligned US policy more closely with European airline consumer protections. It was proposed last December in the final weeks of then-president Joe Biden's administration, leaving its fate in the hands of his Republican successor. In a document posted on Thursday, President Donald Trump's Transportation Department said its plan to scrap the proposed rule was consistent with Department and administration priorities". Industry trade group Airlines for America, a vocal critic of the proposal, said it would have driven up ticket prices for consumers. We are encouraged by this Department of Transportation reviewing unnecessary and burdensome regulations that exceed its authority and don't solve issues important to our customers," the gr

Domestic air traffic drops 2.94% to 12.6 mn passengers in July: DGCA

Domestic air passenger traffic declined 2.94 per cent year-on-year to 1.26 crore in July, according to official data released on Wednesday. The fall in air passenger traffic also came against the backdrop of the fatal Air India Ahmedabad-London Gatwick plane crash on June 12 in which 260 people were killed. Indian carriers had flown 1.29 crore passengers in July 2024 on domestic routes, as per the data posted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on its website. On a sequential basis, Air India Group lost 1 per cent market share during the month under review at 33.08 lakh passengers against 33.08 lakh carried by the airline in June. Air India had in the last week of June announced a 5 per cent reduction in the domestic capacity to carry out comprehensive checks on its fleet. On the contrary, market leader IndiGo, increased its market share to 65.2 per cent from 64.5 per cent in overall traffic, though on a month-on-month basis the Gurugram-based carrier flew fewer ..

InterGlobe-CAE to open new pilot training centre in Mumbai by 2026

A joint venture of InterGlobe Enterprises and Canadian flight simulation firm CAE on Tuesday announced plans to set up a pilot training centre in the financial capital as it looks to cash in on the boom in the domestic aviation sector and to cater to the increasing demand for cockpit crew in the country. The new facility centre, to be spread over a 44,000 square-foot area, will have a capacity for up to six full-flight simulators (FFS). It will begin operations in the first quarter of CY 2026 with two Airbus A320 FFS, CAE Simulation Training Pvt Ltd (CSTPL) said. The JV already operates three commercial aviation training centres, one each in Greater Noida, Gurugram and Bengaluru, with a capacity of up to 23 FFS. The new facility will also offer comprehensive pilot training programmes on Airbus, ATR and Boeing aircraft, including type rating, recurrent training, and proficiency checks. CAE's 2025 Aviation Talent Forecast predicts a demand of 98,000 for new pilots in the Asia Pacific