Page 19 - Dgca

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

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

Passenger traffic at B'luru international airport increases by 35% in 2023

The Bengaluru international airport had a footfall of 37.2 million passengers in 2023, marking a 35.3 per cent increase compared to the previous calendar year, airport authorities said on Friday. The airport, known as Kempegowda International Airport, said that 32.7 million of these passengers were domestic and 4.5 million were travellers to international destinations. On April 29, 2023, the airport recorded the highest number of passengers in a single day--1,16,688. In 2023, factors such as reduced travel limitations, improved economic conditions, and increased demand for leisure and business travel led to a notable rise in growth numbers, a statement issued by the airport said. It said that March 17, last year had 748 air traffic movements (ATMs), defined as the landing or take-off of an aircraft, the highest for a single day in the year. "It is a notable recovery, considering that the highest ATMs on any single day in calendar year 2022 was 693. Domestic ATMs last year saw a ...

Here's what airlines and regulators are doing about Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets

US regulators have ordered a temporary grounding for safety checks on 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets installed with the same panel, while investigations and safety checks take place.

Washer found missing on a B737 Max plane in India during inspection: DGCA

Aircraft released after rectification; all Boeing 737 Max airplanes being inspected after Alaska Airlines incident

The right flight path

DGCA aligns Indian rules with global norms

48 hrs weekly rest, only 2 night landings in rules to avoid crew fatigue

The revision in FDTL regulations is expected to influence flight schedules and may result in certain implications when it comes to operating costs, aviation sources said

DGCA confirms satisfactory checks on B737 Max after Alaska incident

Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air have 32 operational B737-8 Max aircraft in their fleet in the country. None of the Indian airlines found anything adverse during the inspections

DGCA increases rest time among other reforms to address pilot fatigue

The new reforms include weekly rest periods of 36-48 hours for flight crew, increasing the official "night period" by an hour, and limiting maximum flight time & duty periods to 8 hours and 10 hours

DGCA says checks of Boeing 737-8 Max planes completed satisfactorily

Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday said the checks of Boeing 737-8 Max planes have been completed satisfactorily. On Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed domestic airlines to immediately carry out inspection of emergency exits of all Boeing 737-8 Max planes in their fleets as an "abundant precautionary measure" in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident. "These checks have been satisfactorily performed on the fleet of operational fleet of Boeing B737-8 Max aircraft by Air India Express (4), Spicejet (8) and Akasa (20)," DGCA said in a statement. Akasa Air fleet includes one B737-8200 aircraft which has a mid-cabin door on which the operational check has also been completed satisfactorily, it added. On January 5, Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft was involved in an incident of an in-flight departure of a mid-cabin door plug which resulted in rapid decompression of the airplane.

DGCA orders urgent checks on Max aircrafts after Alaska Airlines incident

Indian carriers directed to check B737-8 Max planes following Alaska Airlines' emergency landing due to depressurisation

Untrained pilots in fog: DGCA issues notices to Air India, SpiceJet

Hundreds of flights were delayed during the fog season in December

Domestic carriers inducted a total of 133 planes in 2023, says DGCA

Domestic airlines inducted a total of 133 planes in 2023, which is 51 per cent higher on an annual basis, as they continued to expand their networks to meet rising passenger demand. Out of the total, 21 aircraft were taken by the carriers on wet lease. In a release on Thursday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that in line with the anticipated increase in aircraft inductions in 2024, it is "suitably enhancing its regulatory capacity to further speed up the regulatory approvals related to the induction of aircraft". Specific details about the measures to increase the regulatory capacity could not be immediately ascertained. "During the year 2023, the scheduled operators have inducted a total of 112 aircraft in their fleet against 81 aircraft inducted in 2022, which is an increase of 38 per cent. "Taking into account the 21 wet/damp lease aircraft, the total induction of aircraft stands at 133 as against the corresponding figure of 88 in the previous year 2022,

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 ...

DGCA issues notice to Air India, SpiceJet for rostering untrained pilots

A senior DGCA official confirmed that the notice was issued to airlines after it was found that a large number of flight diversions that were reported at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi

DGCA imposes penalties worth Rs 2.75 cr on India carriers in 2023

DGCA said it imposed fines on domestic carriers such as Air India, IndiGo, AirAsia India and SpiceJet for issues related to non-compliance in 2023

Aviation watchdog DGCA carried out 5,745 surveillance activities in 2023

Regulator DGCA carried out 5,745 surveillance activities with respect to airlines, airports and approved organisations in 2023 as part of its efforts to ensure compliance and enhance safety standards in the aviation space, The activities included 4,039 planned surveillance and 1,706 spot checks and night surveillance. Subsequently, the findings resulted in 542 enforcement actions, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a release on Wednesday. The number of surveillance activities rose 26 per cent last year compared to 2022. Also, the number of enforcement actions increased 77 per cent last year compared to 305 enforcement actions taken against non-compliant personnel, airlines, and other operators in 2022. These enforcement actions included financial penalties against airlines such as Air India, AirAsia (India), IndiGo and SpiceJet. Besides, the watchdog had temporarily suspended its approval to Air India's training facilities, as per the release. Enforcement acti

DGCA probes A-I plane hard landing at Dubai in Dec; airline derosters pilot

Aviation watchdog DGCA is probing the hard landing of an Air India A320 neo aircraft in Dubai last month, an incident in which the airline has derostered the pilot, officials said on Monday. The aircraft that operated a flight from Kochi to Dubai made a hard landing in Dubai on December 20 and the plane remained grounded there for almost a week, a senior DGCA official said. Air India said it has initiated a probe into the incident and the pilot concerned has been derostered pending investigation. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the incident, the official said and added that the aircraft concerned returned to Mumbai on December 27, according to the official. Details about the number of passengers onboard and whether any one was injured could not be immediately ascertained. An Air India spokesperson said an investigation has already been initiated as per DGCA norms into the incident. "The pilot was appropriately trained and licensed to fly the aircraft.

DGCA issues decade-high commercial pilot licenses for second time in a row

GCA said the number of CPLs given to women rose by 22.5 per cent year-on-year

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