Page 7 - Civil Aviation

On-time performance of all Indian carriers falls in September, shows data

An airline executive mentioned that key cities like Delhi and Mumbai experienced heavy rainfall on certain days in September, compelling the airlines to either cancel or postpone flights

IIFCL sanctions loans worth Rs 8,800 cr to develop civil aviation infra

India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 8,800 crore for airports and civil aviation infrastructure development in the country, its Managing Director PR Jaishankar has said. The government has an ambitious target to develop the civil aviation sector in the country, and to realise the dream, huge investment is required, he noted. "So far, the IIFCL has sanctioned loans of about Rs 8,800 crore with the disbursement of around Rs 4,000 crore for the development of airport projects," he told PTI. The company is one of the major financiers of airports in India and has supported airports with a total project outlay of about Rs 74,000 crore, he said, adding that IIFCL is present in almost all major airports of the country. Over the past few years, India has seen massive growth in the airport sector with increasing investments from both government and private sector, mainly due to a rising proportion of middle-income households, infrastructure build

Pilot exodus: Akasa stops flights on 8 routes, reduces service on 10 others

The airline's spokesperson said that the airline is poised to take delivery of additional aircraft from Boeing in the remainder of 2023-24

Delay looms over Go First's revival as another bench will now hear matter

The bench highlighted that since the requests made by all involved parties were based on similar grounds, a fresh bench could determine the outcomes

Indian aviation has scope for 130-150 more wide-body aircraft: GE Aerospace

India's fast-growing civil aviation market has the scope to have 130-150 more wide-body planes as airlines expand their operations and there is also the potential for more such aircraft to be deployed in dense domestic routes, GE Aerospace South Asia CEO Vikram Rai said. GE Aerospace, a leading aircraft engine maker, sees a "great potential" in India, which is also the world's third largest aviation market and domestic airlines have nearly 1,500 aircraft on order. While emphasising that "India is a focus market and a priority market for GE Aerospace", Rai said that in his view, domestic airlines would consider having more wide-body planes in their fleet and also deploy them in dense domestic routes. "I see wide-body aircraft as a growth path for us and the airlines which is a win-win (scenario)," he told PTI in a recent interview. Currently, India has around 700 commercial planes in operation and out of them, there are only about 50 wide-body aircraft. Air India has around 49 ...

Air India Kochi-Gatwick flight gets cancelled due to technical fault

An Air India flight from Kochi to Gatwick was on Sunday cancelled following a technical fault in the aircraft that was noticed just minutes before it was set to take off, an airline source said. The AI 149 flight, which was scheduled to take off with 252 passengers on board at 2.15 pm, returned from the taxiway at 2.30 pm and everyone was deboarded as the aircraft was checked for the cause of the technical fault, the airline source said. As the aircraft was not found fit to undertake the flight today, it was cancelled and those not wishing to reschedule their trip or avail of seats in other airlines were issued a full refund and an appropriate monetary compensation, the source said. "We are trying to accommodate passengers (those who do not want to cancel their tickets) on other airlines and have arranged hotel accommodations for them as well as those who are unable to return to their homes today," the source said. "Since Air India accords top priority to safety issues, our ...

Weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy would reduce airlines' costs

There could be a more than $100 billion global market for such medicines, with sales climbing quickly through the end of the decade

Global aviation leasing body downgrades India in light of Go First case

With AWG's downgrade, it is probable that lessors will increase the aircraft leasing rates for Indian carriers

Amid pilot turmoil, Akasa Air mulling raising up to $400 million

The fundraising plan could involve fresh equity issuances of $75-100 million each and is set to be carried out over the next 12-18 months

No proof of flight cancellations due to Akasa pilot exits: DGCA to HC

Akasa had told the court that they have cancelled 24 flights per day and they operate 120 flights per day

Green deposits, corrosion on leased planes, Go First lessor tells Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court reserved its orders in three applications filed by aircraft lessors of the airline seeking permission to maintain their aircraft

DGCA suspends Air India's chief of flight safety, alleges lapses

Regulator takes action against Rajeev Gupta after two major safety violations at the airline in the last couple of months

Staff shortage at DGCA delaying issuance of trained pilot licences

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is taking at least a couple of months to issue licences to trained pilots as the regulator is grappling with the shortage of staff at key positions, according to sources. After training, individuals need to obtain a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) to be eligible to fly commercial flights. Sources in the civil aviation ministry said that at present, a pilot has to wait for a couple of months to get his or her licence and the pendency time is likely to go up in the coming months. "The Directorate of Training and Licensing (DTL), under the Operations Department which deals with licensing, has a total of 129 sanctioned posts of assistant directors. Of those, 92 posts or almost 72 per cent of the total strength are lying vacant," one of the sources said. Till July 2022, the DGCA had only 72 sanctioned posts of assistant directors. In August 2022, the ministry created 57 new posts and the sanctioned strength rose to 129 positions. "However

Air India offers one-time ticket waiver for those travelling during G20

The Delhi government on Tuesday issued a gazette notification on traffic restrictions imposed across the national capital in view of the upcoming G20 summit

Amid lean season, average daily domestic air traffic rises 2.25% in August

After Go First suspended all flights from 3 May onwards, its passenger traffic shifted to other carriers, helping them achieve load factors of 90 per cent or higher in May and June

India to have 425 million air passengers by 2035: Jyotiraditya Scindia

India is expected to have 42.5 crore air passengers by 2035 from the current level of 14.5 crore and that is the growth potential that international players can look at, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday. The minister also said that the regional air connectivity has democratised civil aviation and has spawned four regional carriers. He highlighted the growth potential of the country's civil aviation sector and urged international players to "look at India". He was speaking at the International Aerospace Conference in Gwalior organised by industry body CII. According to him, the country is expected to have 42.5 crore air passengers by 2035 from the current 14.5 crore passengers. In July, domestic air traffic surged 25 per cent to 1.21 crore passengers compared to the year-ago period, as per official data. It is "imperative" to grow civil aviation as a service as well as a product, Scindia said and stressed that it is time for aerospace players to supplant

SpiceJet up 20% in 3 months despite analysts' skepticism; should you buy?

SpiceJet news: So far this calendar year, shares of SpiceJet have fallen 20 per cent, while they have tumbled 33.16 per cent over the last one year

DGCA suspends simulator pilots training at Air India's Hyderabad facility

Aviation watchdog DGCA has suspended simulator training activities for A320 pilots at Air India's facility in Hyderabad, close on the heels of suspending the training activities for Boeing pilots at the Tata Group-owned airline's facility in Mumbai, according to sources. The two decisions by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a span of just three days could pose operational challenges for Air India as currently the carrier cannot train narrow-body and wide-body pilots at its own training facilities. "The DGCA has now suspended the simulator training activities at Air India's facility for A320 pilots as well owing to certain lapses observed during an inspection," one of the sources told PTI on Wednesday. There was no comment from Air India on the regulator's decision. Regarding the inspection findings, a senior Air India official said that "whatever advice has been given by the regulator in its observations, we are looking into it and taking corrective measures". T

DGCA carrying out technical evaluation of 2 incidents with IndiGo planes

Aviation regulator DGCA in close coordination with IndiGo is carrying out the "technical evaluation" of the engine issues faced by the airline's two aircraft on Tuesday, according to an official. Two flights of IndiGo, one from Kolkata to Bengaluru and another from Madurai to Mumbai suffered engine issues on Tuesday. In a statement, IndiGo said its flight 6E 455 from Kolkata to Bengaluru returned to Kolkata after take off due to a technical issue. The pilot followed standard operating procedures and landed back in Kolkata. The flight 6E-2012 operating from Madurai to Mumbai had a technical issue prior to landing in Mumbai and the pilot prioritised the landing in Mumbai, the airline said in a separate statement. The aircraft is held at Mumbai and will be back in operation after necessary maintenance, it added. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is doing the technical evaluation of both the incidents "in close coordination with the operator", the senior official at the

India, New Zealand signs MoU to boost cooperation in civil aviation

India and New Zealand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in civil aviation, which includes scheduling of new routes, codeshare services, traffic rights and capacity entitlement, an official statement said on Tuesday. According to the MoU, the designated airline(s) of New Zealand may operate any number of services with any type of aircraft, with third and fourth freedom traffic rights to/from six points in India, namely New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, it stated. India and New Zealand had signed the Air Services Agreement at Auckland on May 1, 2016. Governments of the two countries have reviewed the existing arrangements relating to air service between the two countries, it said and added that the initial pact is expected to further boost the bilateral ties in civil aviation between the two countries. The MoU was signed by civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal and the High Commissioner of New Zealand, David Pine, it ...