Page 19 - Civil Aviation Sector

Alliance Air pilots go on strike over salary, demad pre-covid level pay

A section of pilots of Alliance Air went on strike on Friday over salary issues, resulting in the cancellation of some flights, according to sources. Alliance Air, which is owned by the government, operates ATR planes. As per its website, Alliance Air connects 48 destinations within India with 100 departures per day. Pre-COVID, the airline was flying to 62 destinations. The sources said a section of the pilots has gone on strike, protesting against salary issues. One of the demands is the restoration of pilots' salaries to the pre-COVID level. In the wake of the pandemic, the salaries were cut by 60 per cent and till now, the pay has not been fully restored, one of the sources said. According to the sources, the management will be soon discussing the issues related to the salaries of pilots. When contacted, an Alliance Air spokesperson said the airline will be issuing a statement soon. The carrier has 18 ATR 72-600 aircraft in service.

SpiceJet likely to get funds under govt's credit guarantee scheme next week

SpiceJet, which is facing financial headwinds, is likely to receive around Rs 225 crore under the government's credit guarantee scheme next week, according to a source. Hit by high fuel prices and rupee depreciation, the budget carrier on Wednesday posted a net loss of Rs 789 crore for June quarter and also said its board has approved raising up to Rs 2,000 crore. On Friday, the source said the airline is expected to receive around Rs 225 crore next week under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). Under the scheme, announced in May 2020 in the wake of the pandemic to help various sectors, entities will get credit at a concessional rate of 7 per cent. On August 17, the Union Cabinet approved the enhancement in the limit of ECLGS by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore. The additional amount is being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors. The source also said that a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is expected to join the airline next

Air India to redesign flight schedules to improve OTP: CEO Wilson

Air India's on-time performance at four metro airports -- Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai -- was 83 per cent in July: DGCA

Why Capt Zoya Agarwal's flight into US aviation museum is significant

Becomes first female Indian pilot to join those who've contributed to advancement of commercial aviation

Boeing 787 aircraft exempted from GAGAN augmentation system compliance

The Civil Aviation ministry has exempted Boeing 787 aircraft from GPS-aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) augmentation system compliance till 2025

Can your pilot go off to sleep in the cockpit midair? Yes, but...

Both pilots of Ethiopian Airlines dozed off, missing the landing and causing safety concern

SpiceJet Durgapur incident: DGCA suspends pilot's licence for 6 months

Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the licence of a SpiceJet pilot for six months following an incident where the airline's flight from Mumbai to Durgapur had faced severe turbulence and resulted in injuries to many passengers in May. In the incident that happened on May 1, as many as 14 passengers and 3 cabin crew members were injured. A senior DGCA official on Saturday said the licence of the pilot-in-command of the flight has been suspended for six months due to various violations. Among others, the pilot could have dealt with the bad weather situation in a better manner, the official said. There were no comments on the issue from SpiceJet. Since it was a serious incident, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was probing the matter. As many as 195 people, including 2 pilots and 4 cabin crew members were onboard the flight. Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said the 14 passengers and 3 cabin crew members suffered injuries related to

Airlines will have to take action against flyers without mask: DGCA

Aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday asked all Indian carriers to strictly enforce COVID-19 protocol, including mask mandate for passengers, in aircraft amid a rise in infections across the country. In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it will be conducting "random checks" in aircraft across the country to see if the COVID-19 protocol is being enforced or not. Airlines have to ensure that passengers are wearing face masks properly throughout the journey and there is proper sensitisation of passengers through various platforms, it mentioned. "In case a passenger does not comply with the directions, strict action will be taken by airlines against the passenger," it added. In view of the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, the airlines have been advised again on August 16 to strictly comply with COVID-19 protocol inside the aircraft, it mentioned. India on Wednesday recorded 9,062 fresh COVID-19 infections that took its tally to 4,42,86,256, while t

Civil aviation sector's safety, security 'paramount': Jyotiraditya Scindia

The civil aviation minister also said the DGCA has target of carrying out 3,709 checks this year as part of its annual surveillance plan. Prior to coronavirus pandemic, target was around 2,775 checks.

Civil aviation sector to employ 100,000 more people by 2024: Ministry

During 2019, 2020 and 2021, at least 2,368, 400 and 296 pilots were recruited, the aviation ministry stated

Over 150,000 flights kicked off under Centre's UDAN Scheme: Scindia

Scindia also stressed that the nation has been witnessing the democratisation of the aviation industry and the country expects to reach 40 crore air travellers in the next four years

India's civil aviation to see phenomenal, healthy growth: Scindia

The country's civil aviation sector is poised for a phenomenal and healthy growth in terms of passengers, aircraft and airports, with the number of air travellers projected to touch 400 mn by 2027

Airline glitches: Aircraft maintenance sector in dire need of maintenance

Pool of engineers increasing every year, though jobs have failed to keep pace

IBS Software to provide passenger service systems for Jet Airways

The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium has selected IBS Software, a Thiruvananthapuram technopark-based SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally

IndiGo stock may reach for the skies soon if fuel prices cool off: Analysts

InterGlobe Aviation Q1: A strong revival in air passenger traffic going ahead, coupled with better cost management, and network (route) expansion may support IndiGo's profitability in the medium term

Frequent mid-air 'technical glitches' add to Spicejet's financial woes

Once an investor darling, SpiceJet is now the worst-performing airline stock in Asia, fighting a run of negative publicity triggered by a slew of seemingly innocuous but frequent technical glitches

Udan spreads wings, Delhi-Shimla and Kolkata-Deoghar among new routes

Delhi-Shimla route is among nine that airlines plan to launch in the next 50 days under the civil aviation ministry's Udan scheme

Fight for cabin crew, firm ATF prices to aggravate airlines' pain: Analysts

The Indian aviation sector is seeing headwinds like the Information Technology (IT) sector, where higher attrition rates have forced the management to dole out benefits like double-digit pay hikes

India, Canada discuss expansion of bilateral air service agreement

Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is on a nine-day visit to the US and Canada, met Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra on Wednesday

India's March domestic air passenger traffic increases over 36% YoY

Pent-up demand and accelerated economic recovery also pushed the air passenger numbers higher during the month under review