Page 8 - Aviation

Dubai Airport retains title as busiest international hub, Heathrow second

Dubai International Airport remains the world's busiest international hub in 2024, with 92.3 million passengers, while London Heathrow secures the second spot in global rankings

IndiGo flight makes emergency landing in Mumbai after bomb threat

The alert was triggered when a bomb threat message was found inside one of the plane's toilets while the aircraft was mid-flight

AI Express to expand virtual interline ties with foreign low-cost carriers

Air India Express plans to have more virtual interline partnerships with foreign low-cost carriers and to deepen its network. The Tata Group-owned airline aims to carry 30 million passengers in 2025-26, higher than 20 million passengers in the current financial year ending March 2025, according to its Managing Director Aloke Singh. Currently, the airline has a fleet of 103 planes comprising 67 Boeing 737s and 36 A320s, and operates around 485 flights daily. Elaborating on the network strategy, he said the airline has grown significantly and the focus is to deepen the network. Among other initiatives, Air India Express will look to have more virtual interline partnerships with foreign low cost carriers and there are six such partnerships at present, Singh said at a briefing on Friday. The virtual interline platform 'AIX Connect' enables travellers to book self-connected itineraries between flights of Air India Express and those of the partner airline. As it pursues growth ...

Air India expects to complete refit of wide body planes by mid 2027: CEO

Air India CEO and MD also said the repainting and refurbishing of Vistara aircraft is expected to be completed in one-and-a-half years

From food to flight: Zomato's Deepinder Goyal bets $20M on aviation startup

Aviation startup LAT Aerospace will be developing low-cost 'short takeoff and landing' aircraft with up to 24 seats, and will focus on improving regional air connectivity

India will need 30,000 pilots in 15-20 years, says aviation minister

India will need 30,000 pilots in the next 15-20 years as domestic airlines have more than 1,700 planes on order as they expand their network, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Tuesday. Asserting that the ministry is working with a collective approach for the aviation industry, he also said that officials are verifying various aspects of 38 Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) and these organisations will be rated. The minister was speaking at a function to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for an order for 200 trainer aircraft. Indian airlines have placed orders for more than 1,700 aircraft and currently, there are over 800 planes, Naidu said. Presently, there are 6,000-7,000 working pilots and the country will need 30,000 pilots in the next 15 to 20 years, the minister said and also pitched for making India a training hub. India is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets. According to the minister, efforts are being made to

Qatar Airways to place large wide-body aircraft order soon, says CCO

He added the contract would be announced next month, declining to say whether it will be signed with Airbus, Boeing

Inspection done, Navi Mumbai airport likely to be inaugurated on April 17

Previously, the airport had encountered some setbacks. During a commercial flight test on December 29, an IndiGo A320 aircraft landed on runway, prompting the DGCA to highlight certain readiness

Pucca helipad every 45 km, airport every 150 km under new policy: MP CM

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday said that under the state's new civil aviation policy, a 'pucca' helipad will be built in every 45 km radius and an airport in every 150 km radius. He was speaking during a dialogue with industrialists in Indore during the 'Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global Investors Summit' organised in Bhopal on February 24 and 25. The cabinet headed by Yadav on Tuesday approved the Madhya Pradesh Civil Aviation Policy-2025. Talking about it, the CM said, "As per the policy, a pucca helipad will be built in every 45 km radius and an airport in every 150 km radius across the state." The state government will provide a grant of Rs 7.50 lakh on every new domestic flight connecting Madhya Pradesh to other states of the country through new routes and Rs 10 lakh on every new international flight to aviation companies. Tenders will be called soon to start helicopter service to connect Indore, Ujjain and Omkareshwar. The cabinet headed by Yadav also ...

FlyDubai eyes to start domestic airline in India by acquiring Go First

FlyDubai, owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, is looking to partner with Busy Bee for this venture

Air India rules out more Boeing jet orders for now, says CEO Wilson

The former state carrier is in the midst of a multi-billion-dollar revamp in the face of established competition, after Tata Group took it over more than two years ago

Boeing signals more orders needed before setting up assembly line in India

The country's civil aviation minister told Reuters in 2023 that the time had come for Boeing and Airbus to make civil aircraft in India

Missing commuter plane found crashed on Alaska sea ice, all 10 aboard dead

A small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska on its way to the hub community of Nome was located Friday on sea ice and all 10 people on board died, authorities said. Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard, said rescuers were searching the aircraft's last known location by helicopter when they spotted the wreckage. They lowered two rescue swimmers to investigate. The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot, according to Alaska's Department of Public Safety. The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m., and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air, has said. There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees (minus 8.3 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service. Officials lost contact with the plane less than an hour later. The Coast Guard said the plane went missing about 30 miles (48 .

GST authorities clamp down on IndiGo with Rs 115.86 crore penalty

GST authorities have imposed penalties totalling Rs 115.86 crore on IndiGo, the airline said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. According to the filing, the penalty order was passed on February 4. Of this, Rs 113.02 crore pertains to services provided to offshore recipients, which the goods and services tax (GST) authorities did not consider as "export of services", and denied input tax credit on certain services for FY18, FY19, and FY20 while the remaining Rs 2.84 crore penalty is on account of denial of input tax credit (ITC) for ?FY18, FY19, and FY20, as per the filing. IndiGo, in the filing said, "is actively engaging in contesting these orders before the appellate authority". The airline also said there is no material impact on financials, operations or any other activities of the companies.

IndiGo's profit drops by 18.3% due to rupee depreciation, grounded planes

The number of grounded planes, according to CFO Negi, in the airline's fleet is somewhere "in the 60s" now. The airline's fleet comprises 437 planes

Star Air is offering 66,666 tickets for discounted rates, starts at Rs 1950

From January 22 to January 29, 2025, travelers can book tickets with economy fares starting at Rs 1950 and business fares at Rs 3099. The promotion is available for flights until September 30, 2025.

SpiceJet to add 10 grounded aircraft by April amid weak stock performance

On January 10, 2025, its shares fell by 5.01 per cent to an intraday low of Rs 50.5, marking a total decline of 7.13 per cent over three days

Aeromexico, Saudia rank among the most punctual global airlines for 2024

The aviation analytics firm analyzes more than 25 million data points from 600-plus sources each day to determine whether airlines are meeting their scheduled arrival times

A deadly December for aviation: At least 7 plane crashes, hundreds dead

December 2024 has seen at least seven fatal plane crashes among commercial airlines, reminding public of the vulnerabilities in aviation safety and the need for emergency response measures

S Korea struggles to determine cause of plane crash that killed 179 people

South Korean officials are struggling to determine what caused a deadly plane crash that killed 179 people, with the nation saddened, shocked and ashamed over the country's worst aviation disaster in decades. Many observers also worry how effectively the South Korean government will handle the aftermath of Sunday's crash as it grapples with a leadership vacuum following the recent successive impeachments of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minster Han Duck-soo, the country's top two officials, amid political tumult caused by Yoon's brief martial law introduction earlier this month. New Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday presided over a task force meeting on the crash and instructed the Transport Ministry and police to launch investigations into its cause. He also ordered the ministry to implement an emergency review of the country's overall aircraft operation systems. The essence of a responsible response would be renovating the aviation safety systems on the whole to prevent