Page 6 - Civil Aviation

DGCA to enhance regulatory capacity to induct more planes this year

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday said there are a total of 16 airlines in the country that are operating with 771 aircraft.The DGCA informed through an official statement on Thursday that in line with the anticipated increase in aircraft inductions in 2024, it was suitably enhancing its regulatory capacity to further speed up the regulatory approvals related to the induction of aircraft.It informed further that the DGCA grants Air Operator Certificates (AOC) to Airline Operators for undertaking Scheduled and Scheduled Commuter Air transport Services. As of December 31, 2023, there are a total of 16 AOC holders endorsed with a total of 771 aircraft, the topmost regulatory authority for flight operations informed.In addition, DGCA has permitted airline operators to induct 21 aircraft on a wet/damp lease basis in 2023 to cater for capacity shortfall due to the grounding of aircraft.Last year, the scheduled operators inducted a total of 112 aircraft in their fleet ...

IndiGo passenger finds worm in sandwich served on flight, airline responds

An IndiGo passenger found a worm in a sandwich served onboard a flight from the national capital to Mumbai, and a video was shared on social media, following which the airline apologised and said the matter is under thorough examination. The incident happened onboard flight 6E 6107 from Delhi to Mumbai on Friday. The woman passenger Kushboo Gupta shared on Instagram a short video of the worm in the sandwich onboard the flight. When contacted for comments on the video, an airline spokesperson said the airline is aware of the concern raised by one of its customers regarding the experience on flight 6E 6107 from Delhi to Mumbai. "Upon investigation, our crew had immediately ceased the service of the specific sandwich in question. The matter is currently under thorough examination, and we are working closely with our caterer to ensure appropriate corrective measures are taken. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to the passenger," the spokesperson said in a statement on

AI Express' flights connecting Ayodhya with Bengaluru, Kolkata from Jan 17

Air India Express on Friday said it will start direct flights connecting Ayodhya with Bengaluru and Kolkata from January 17. Earlier this month, the airline announced direct flight between Ayodhya and Delhi. In a release, the airline said the flights on the Bengaluru-Ayodhya and Kolkata-Ayodhya routes will be launched on January 17. The carrier will operate its inaugural flights between Ayodhya and Delhi on Saturday, alongside the inauguration of the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham, it added. The airport will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "As pivotal hubs in our network, Bengaluru and Kolkata will serve as gateways to Ayodhya, providing pilgrims from South India and Eastern India with convenient one-stop itineraries," Air India Express Chief Commercial Officer Ankur Garg said. Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said tomorrow will be a historic day for the country with the inauguration of the Ayodhya airport, which will be

Ayodhya airport inauguration will be historic day for India: Scindia

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said tomorrow will be a historic day for the country with the inauguration of the Ayodhya airport, which will be expanded hugely in the second phase by augmenting overall area and increasing the runway length. The Ayodhya airport, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, is built over an area of 6,500 square metres. In an interview to PTI, Scindia said the connectivity from the Ayodhya airport will only grow in the days to come. "There is tremendous potential with civil aviation across the country providing capability and especially for Ayodhya which is religiously and spiritually entwined in our hearts," he said. According to him, the second phase of the airport project will be hugely expansive going from the 6,500 square metres facility to 50,000 square metres. "We are expanding the runway to 3,750 metres which is good enough for international flights," he added. The first phase of the Ayodhya .

Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to go 'silent' from Jan 1

The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport here will be going 'silent' from January 1, 2024. In a 'silent airport', passengers will be provided a noise-free and peaceful travel experience, an airport statement here said on Wednesday. "The Silent Airport initiative is to ensure that passengers can enjoy a relaxed auditory experience while they utilise their wait time enjoying their favorite activities without disturbance," a TRV (Kerala) International Airport Limited (TIAL) spokesperson said. As part of the initiative, the airport will ensure that no vital information for passengers is missed and that TIAL will display flight information in all Flight Information Display Screens across Terminal-1 and Terminal-2, it said. Only announcements related to change in boarding gate as well as Inline Baggage Screening System will be made at the airport, it added. Emergency and security related announcements will continue on the public announcement systems as per the requirements. A campa

Grounding 200 aircraft to have minimal impact on passenger traffic: Report

The likely grounding of 200 aircraft by March next year will have minimal impact on air passenger traffic, according to a report. Air passenger traffic is expected to reach about 375 million passengers, 1.09 times of pre-pandemic levels, in the current fiscal, the report by credit ratings agency CareEdge said. Research and advisory firm CAPA India had late last month said Indian airlines fleet continues to be severely constrained and close to 200 aircraft may go out of operations by the end of FY24 due to supply chain issues and maintenance purposes. "Despite the projection of around 200 aircraft being grounded by March 2024, the impact on traffic is expected to be minimal, at 3-4 per cent," CareEdge Ratings Director Maulesh Desai said. This is attributed to the extension of wet leases and an increase in passenger load, he said. Noting that passenger traffic will reach new heights in the next fiscal, with a healthy Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14 per cent from FY23 to F

Domestic air passenger traffic rose by 9% in November; crosses 1.27 cr

Domestic air passenger traffic rose 9 per cent to more than 1.27 crore in November, according to official data released on Friday. Last month also saw daily air traffic touching new highs multiple times. IndiGo remained the country's largest domestic carrier but its market share declined to 61.8 per cent in November from 62.6 per cent in October. However, none of the scheduled carriers had an On-Time Performance (OTP) score of more than 80 per cent in November. Official data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday showed that airlines flew 1.27 crore passengers in November compared to 1.17 crore in the year-ago period. This marks a growth of 9.06 per cent on an annual basis. "Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-November 2023 were 1,382.34 lakhs as against 1,105.10 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering annual growth of 25.09 per cent and monthly growth of 9.06 per cent," DGCA said. The domestic

Air India unveils new uniform collection designed by Manish Malhotra

Private carrier Air India on Tuesday unveiled its new collection of uniforms, designed by Manish Malhotra, for its cabin and cockpit crew. The new uniforms will be introduced in a phased manner over the next few months, starting with the entry of service of Air India's first Airbus A350 aircraft, the company said in a statement. "Air India's crew uniforms are amongst the world's most storied in aviation history, and we firmly believe that Manish Malhotra's innovative ensemble will script an exciting new chapter for Air India's future narrative," said Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Air India. The crew's new uniform perfectly captures the essence of the airline's new identity, among others, he said. The female cabin crew attire features a ready-to-wear ombre saree with intricate patterns reminiscent of Indian heritage architecture (jharokha) and the Vista (new Air India logo icon), paired with a comfortable blouse and blazer, Air India said. "My ai

SpiceJet board okays Rs 2,250 crore fundraising from 64 investors

Airline slips back to loss in second qtr

SpiceJet-Wilmington Trust SP Services in deadlock over rental agreement

Spicejet said that as per the repayment schedule of arrears they received, the total amount due from February to December alone was $1,560,011

Scindia discusses airfares, ways to improve airlines' on-time performance

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday reviewed the self-monitoring mechanism for airfares put in place by individual airlines and emphasised keeping fares in check on select routes. During an advisory group meeting, there were discussions on airlines' on-time performance (OTP), and the minister instructed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to relook technical specifications at VFR-equipped (Visual Flight Rules) airports to help enhance OTP, according to an official release. Scindia held a meeting with the airline advisory group that was attended by representatives of various carriers, including Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan. In a post on social media platform X, Scindia said that he met the advisory group to discuss solutions to enhance on-time performance and "airfares on a few sectors, and in-house practices followed by each airline". Specific details about the discussion on airfares and the particular routes could not be immediately ascertained. There have been

SpiceJet board adjourns meeting, to discuss funding plans on Tuesday

Crisis-hit SpiceJet's board of directors will continue to discuss fundraising plans on Tuesday after it could only partially complete the agenda items on Monday. On Monday, the no-frills airline's shares touched a 52-week high and ended with more than 10 per cent gains on the BSE as investors were enthused by funding plans and the proposal to list the company's securities on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). In an evening filing to the BSE, SpiceJet said its board on Monday "could only partially complete the agenda items and the meeting has now been adjourned to December 12, 2023 (Tuesday)". Apart from options for raising fresh capital through the issue of equity shares and/or convertible securities on a preferential basis, the board will also consider the September quarter results, as per the filing. Earlier in the day, shares of SpiceJet touched its 52-week high and closed with a gain of 10.19 per cent at Rs 60.57 apiece on the BSE. The airline has been grappling with multiple

Govt data shows 500 bird hit incidents involving aircraft in Jan-Oct 2023

As many as 500 incidents of bird hits involving aircraft have been reported in various states in the first ten months of this year. The highest number of bird-hit incidents has been recorded at Delhi airport during the last three years, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday. According to data shared by the minister as part of the written reply, there were 169 bird-hit incidents in Delhi during January-October 2023. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued regulations and guidelines for the management of potential wildlife hazards at licensed airports. "Rule 91 of The Aircraft Rule 1937 prohibits dumping of garbage and slaughter of animals that may attract wildlife within 10 km of Aerodrome Reference Point. Aerodrome Advisory Circular AD AC 06 of 2017 has been issued to aerodrome operator for implementing an effective wildlife control mechanism for their aerodrome to control wildlife strikes. "Civil ..

India set to become most exciting civil aviation market, says IATA director

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that airline revenues globally will rise in 2024 as the sector is witnessing continued growth in post-pandemic travel

Air India pilot unions express concern over flight duty, rest period scheme

Air India pilot unions IPG and ICPA on Saturday expressed "deep concern" over the flight duty and rest period scheme adopted by the Tata Group airline, accusing the carrier of deviating from the DGCA-approved norms. The two unions -- Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) -- in a joint communication to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation also alleged that the introduction of a side policy, along with the flight duty time limitation (FDTL) scheme, by Air India seems to "undermine the authority and purpose" of the DGCA approval. The pilot unions have also sought a review and assessment of the issue by the DGCA, requesting it to take appropriate measures to address the matter. Pilots and cabin crew's flight duty time limitations are governed by the aviation safety regulator DGCA, which proposed more rest hours for the pilots last month. In recent months, the issue of fatigue has been in focus, especially after the death of an IndiGo pilot, wh

Go First CEO Kaushik Khona resigns amid airline's uncertain future

Grounded Go First's CEO Kaushik Khona has put in his papers, nearly seven months after the no-frills airline filed for insolvency proceedings. In an e mail to the airline's employees on Thursday, Khona said that November 30 is his last day at the company. Khona had returned to Go First in August 2020 as its CEO. "With a heavy heart, I have to inform that today is my last day with the company. I got an opportunity to work for Go FIRST once again in August 2020 and with your able and active support I tried to perform to my best abilities," Khona said in the e mail. Earlier, he was with the carrier from 2008 to 2011. "... the Board of Directors decided to file for Section 10 application under the IBC and we still continued to provide the best support to the company We were hopeful that we will resume the operations soon and at least from June 2023 but it got delayed" he said in the e mail accessed by PTI. Section 10 pertains to voluntary insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency a

Vistara flight from Kolkata to Delhi diverted due to air traffic congestion

Flight number-UK778 has been directed to Lucknow and is expected to arrive in Lucknow at 1845 hours

AI plane returned to Kathmandu after pilots heard noise during take-off

An Air India aircraft that was to fly to Delhi returned to Kathmandu airport on Saturday evening after pilots heard a noise while taking off, according to an airline official. Also, prior to taking off, it was noticed after boarding passengers that a door in the aircraft was unserviceable. The plane was cleared for take-off after following necessary airworthiness protocols. An airline spokesperson on Sunday said the two issues were not related and at no point was safety compromised. While a tail strike was suspected as the plane returned, it was later confirmed that there was no tail strike, the spokesperson said. The official said the pilots had decided to return as they heard a noise during take-off and had suspected a possible tail strike. Further, the official said that after checks, the A321 aircraft operated the flight to Delhi on Sunday morning. "AI 216 from Kathmandu to Delhi on Nov 26 experienced an unserviceable door after boarding was completed. All necessary airworthi

Air India set to receive new aircraft every six days in next 18 months: CEO

Air India has ordered 470 aircraft to serve the Indian economy and is set to receive a new aircraft every six days over the next 18 months, CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said on Friday. He was speaking at the 67th Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines here. We have new aircraft, we are recruiting many, many new crew and staff, improving the training regime and there is more work to do and we are making good progress, he said. Speaking at a session, Wilson said a vast majority of Air India customers want reliability and punctuality, and the challenge is to satisfy customers' requirements. Moreover, new aircraft are being put on international flights and most of the grounded planes have been restored, Wilson added. Tata-owned Air India has ordered 470 aircraft to serve the Indian economy which is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 per cent and it is set to receive a new aircraft every six days over the next 18 months, he said. He also exu

Five accidents in six months: DGCA grounds flight training at Redbird

This is not the first time the DGCA has cracked down on flight training academies in the country