Page 8 - Civil Aviation Ministry

Akasa Air, IndiGo, Air India order 1,120 planes in less than one year

With Akasa Air announcing an order for 150 aircraft on Thursday, three Indian carriers together have ordered a total of 1,120 planes in less than one year as they expand their presence in the country's fast growing civil aviation market. The less than two-year-old Akasa Air has placed a firm order for 150 Boeing 737 Max planes, comprising 737 Max 10 and 737 Max 8-200 jets. In 2023, which also saw domestic air traffic climbing new highs, Air India and IndiGo together placed orders for 970 planes with Boeing and Airbus. Tata Group-owned Air India ordered 470 planes -- 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing -- in February last year. Later in June, the country's largest airline IndiGo announced an order with Airbus to buy 500 narrow-body planes. Now, Akasa Air, Air India and IndiGo together have placed orders for 1,120 planes since February last year. Besides these orders, Indian carriers are set to take deliveries of new planes that were ordered earlier. IndiGo alone has an order book o

As passengers eat on airport tarmac, BCAS issues notice to IndiGo, MIAL

Aviation security watchdog BCAS has issued show cause notices to IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL over the incident of passengers having food on the airport tarmac on Sunday, according to official sources. Many passengers rushed out of an IndiGo aircraft at the Mumbai airport, sat on the tarmac, and some were also seen having food there as soon as their diverted Goa-Delhi flight landed after a long delay on Sunday. Both IndiGo and MIAL were not proactive in anticipating the situation and making the appropriate facilitation arrangements for passengers at the airport, as per the notices issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The sources said the aircraft was allotted a remote bay C-33 instead of a Contact Stand, an aircraft parking stand that is suitable for walking passengers to and from an aircraft from an allocated boarding gate. This further added to passenger woes and deprived them the opportunity to avail basic facilities like rest rooms and refreshments

Public authorities can't claim relaxation in aviation safety: Bombay HC

Civil aviation safety norms cannot be relaxed even for a project by a public authority, the Bombay High Court held while dismissing the MHADA's petition against an order passed by the Union Ministry denying it permission to construct a 40-storey building near the airport here. A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata on January 10 dismissed the petition filed by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) against a decision taken by the appellate authority of the Ministry of Civil Aviation in December 2021 setting a height restriction for a residential building proposed near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The court, in its order, said the MHADA certainly cannot claim a legal, let alone constitutional, right to a taller building. "It cannot contend that civil aviation safety standards should not apply to it. It cannot contend that merely because this is an MHADA project, it exceeding a mandated height poses no danger to civi

Civil aviation sector on upswing, 75 airports built in 10 years: Scindia

Earlier people only heard about airlines getting shut down in India, but now things have changed and new air carriers are being established to make flying accessible to citizens, Scindia said

Navi Mumbai airport to become operational from this year-end: Scindia

Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said the Navi Mumbai international airport will become operational from November or December this year, and also announced that in the next 10 to 15 years, at least 10 cities in India will have two airports each. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of AAR-Indamer MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility at the MIHAN SEZ in Nagpur. "The country had been waiting since the last 60 years to see Mumbai getting connected to Navi Mumba, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is today bringing to reality the dreams of people," he said, referring to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) scheduled to be inaugurated by the PM later in the day. "The Navi Mumbai international airport will start its operations in November or December this year. This airport's first flight will land in November or December. The airport will pave the way for the big development of Navi Mumbai," the Civil Aviation Minister said. "In the nex

UP to get 5 more airports: Scindia after flagging off Ayodhya-A'bad flight

Uttar Pradesh will have five more airports in the next one month that will take the total number of airports in the state to 19, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday as he flagged off direct flight from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad. The Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30. Scindia said that five new airports will be inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh in one month. The airports will be at Azamgarh, Aligarh, Moradabad, Chitrakoot and Shravasti, taking the total number of airports in the state to 19. IndiGo, which has started services between Ayodhya and Delhi from January 11, will operate flights between Ayodhya and Ahmedabad thrice a week. The carrier will commence operations on the Mumbai-Ayodhya route from January 15. Scindia flagged off the flight from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad virtually from the national capital. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state's Tourism and Culture

Ram Mandir: Aviation minister flags off Ahmedabad-Ayodhya direct flight

Indigo will operate on the Ahmedabad - Ayodhya route, thrice a week, Thursday onwards

Airports are not only a medium of travel, but centre of growth: Scindia

After holding a convocation event at Bharathidasan University, PM Modi was felicitated by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin at the public programme

Air travel favourable option during new year, no festival surge in fare

This adjustment in airfares can be attributed to airlines' efforts to rectify the missteps observed prior to Diwali, according to aviation industry officials

Steps being taken to deal with fog impacting flight operations: Scindia

Amid dense fog disrupting flight operations at the Delhi airport in the last few days, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said the ministry is coordinating with the airport and airlines, and putting in place measures to deal with the issue. Terming the fog issue as a "transitory phenomenon", the minister in an interview to PTI also said this year the situation has been slightly unprecedented in terms of the density of fog. Many flights were diverted and scores were delayed at the Delhi airport due to dense fog. "Fog issue is an issue that we encounter 15-20 days every year... this year, there has been unprecedented fog for the last three or four days. We are coordinating with all the airlines to make sure that they have CAT II and CAT III-trained pilots during fog hours, thereby easing congestion," Scindia said. CAT II and III requirement pertains to operating flights in low visibility conditions. The civil aviation ministry is monitoring the fog situation on a

5G near airports? DGCA to ask all airlines to upgrade radio altimeters

This precaution is due to the potential interference of 5G emissions with radio altimeters (RAs) on airplanes

New surveillance tech to reduce midair gap between aircraft from Jan 1

A reduction in lateral separation of aircraft will enable flight operators to take more direct routes, saving fuel in the process

164 planes lying idle at 15 airports in country, govt shares data in LS

As many as 164 planes are lying idle at 15 airports in the country, the government said on Thursday. Out of the total, the highest number of grounded aircraft is at Delhi airport at 64, followed by Bengaluru (27), Mumbai (24) and Chennai (20). As per data shared by civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in a written reply to Lok Sabha, 164 aircraft are lying idle at 15 airports. The airports are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Goa (Mopa), Hyderabad, Jaipur, Juhu, Kolkata, Kannur, Mumbai, Nagpur and Raipur. The grounded aircraft include those of IndiGo, SpiceJet, Go First, Air India, Zoom Air and Alliance Air. At the Delhi airport, IndiGo's 24 aircraft and Go First's 23 planes are lying idle. Other carriers whose planes are grounded there are SpiceJet (6), Air India (2), Zoom Air (5), Jet Airways (3) and Alliance Air (1). According to the data, 17 planes of IndiGo, nine aircraft of Go First and one plane of SpiceJet are lying idle at the Bengaluru

IndiGo pays revised penalty of Rs 20 lakh to DGCA over 4 tail strikes

InterGlobe aviation -- the parent company of IndiGo -- said on Thursday that it has paid Rs 20 lakh towards revised penalty to the aviation safety regulator DGCA for four tail strikes involving some of its aircraft. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had in July issued a showcause notice to the company alleging four tail strikes on IndiGo's A321 aircraft and subsequently imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh, InterGlobe aviation said in a regulatory filing. "The company had filed an appeal against the said (Rs 30 lakh penalty) order. DGCA considered submissions made by the company in support of the appeal and revised the penalty to Rs 20-lakh vide its order dated October 13, 2023, to be paid within 30 days of the order," the company said in the filing. Accordingly, the penalty was paid on November 9, InterGlobe Aviation said.

AERA directs airports to drop extra charges on chartered flight operators

Regulator AERA has directed certain airport operators to withdraw additional charges being levied on chartered flight operators and the operators concerned are refunding the additional charges, according to the government. The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) regulates and approves the tariff cap for ground handling services at major airports in the country. On Monday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh told the Rajya Sabha that recently, AERA received complaints from some of the chartered aircraft operators that certain airport operators have increased operational charges relating to handling of chartered flights. "Accordingly, AERA took up the issue with the concerned airport operators for immediate withdrawal of additional charges/making of non-aeronautical services (elite meet and greet services) as a pre-requisite for charter aircraft operations for landing at these airports." "Subsequent to AERA's intervention, concerned airport operator had withdrawn

Scindia lays foundation for Rs 350 cr new terminal at Rajamundry Airport

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday laid the foundation for a Rs 350 crore new terminal building at Rajamundry Airport. Spread across 17,029 sq metres, the new terminal can handle 2,100 passengers during peak hours and has a capacity to handle 30 lakh passengers annually. "Andhra Pradesh is a culturally rich state with traditional festivals, arts and handicrafts. Expanding Rajamundry airport will protect and encourage this legacy," said Scindia's office in a post on 'X'. According to the Civil Aviation Minister, the new terminal will be four times larger than the existing one. Insulated roofing, LED lighting and a rainwater harvesting system are some of the environmental friendly features of the new terminal, which will also be equipped with 28 check-in counters and four conveyor belts.

Historic day for Rajahmundry: Scindia on new terminal building at airport

Rajahmundry Airport is a domestic airport that is spread over an area of 1223.46 acres. The Runway of the airport is 3165 metres long, capable of operating Code 'C' type of aircraft

DGCA plans to come out with framework on gender issues early next year

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) plans to come out with a framework early next year on what could be done to address gender issues, a top official said on Saturday. Speaking at an event here, DGCA chief Vikram Dev Dutt said the issue of gender has been debated at the regulator informally. "Systemically, when we as a regulator when we look within it... we thought we will show the mirror to ourselves as an organisation... early next year... we will come out with a framework for DGCA in terms of what we would do for gender, beyond paper and beyond official circulars," he said. Specific details about the proposed framework could not be immediately ascertained. Dutt also mentioned DGCA's larger role in influencing positive change within the private sector and sought suggestions from stakeholders. Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said the tremendous growth story in Indian aviation is synonymous with the vision, inspiration, and strength embodied by women in

Govt enacting checks to monitor airfares, says Jyotiraditya Scindia

The Civil Aviation Ministry has a tariff monitoring unit (TMU) that monitors airfares between 30 days to one day ahead of a scheduled flight

Airlines advised to self-regulate on airfares: Scindia on price concerns

The Civil Aviation Ministry has discussions with airlines over the airfares and these were advised to self-regulate and keep passengers' interest in mind while fixing the fares, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday, asserting that the airfare is neither established nor regulated by the government. Scindia made the statement in response to a written question in the Lok Sabha about surge in airfares and steps taken by the government to address the issue. "As per prevailing regulations, airfare is neither established nor regulated by the government. The airline fare system runs in multiple levels (buckets or RBDs) which are in line with practice being followed globally. "The fares are fixed by airlines keeping in mind the market, demand, seasonality and other market forces. The airfare increases with increase in demand of seats as the lower fare buckets get sold out faster and move to higher fare buckets," he said. Scindia informed that the Ministry had consultation