Indian Airlines

Govt directs airlines to ensure passenger support amid delays due to fog

Amid flight disruptions due to fog and low visibility conditions, the civil aviation ministry on Friday directed airlines to strictly comply with facilitation requirements for passengers and ensure adequate staffing at airports. Hundreds of flights are getting delayed and many are being cancelled due to dense fog at various airports, including Delhi's IGIA. In an office memorandum, the ministry mentioned about mandatory compliance with passenger facilitation requirements during fog and low-visibility conditions. According to the ministry, there should be timely and accurate information about flights, meals and refreshments for extended delays, rebooking or refunds in case of cancellations and boarding should not be denied after timely check-in. "Where adverse weather prevents operations despite reasonable efforts, airlines shall clearly inform passengers about the nature of disruption and the measures being undertaken. "Appropriate passenger entitlements (refreshments, reschedulin

FIA moves Supreme Court challenging TDSAT order on airport charges

The Federation of Indian Airlines has moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of telecom tribunal over the principles for determination of aeronautical tariff in respect of airport operators. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has challenged the July 1 order of the Telecommunications Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) saying the tribunal while passing the order has "gravely erred" in going far beyond the limited scope of remand directed by this court. It said the tribunal has reopened and readjudicated issues relating to the computation of Hypothetical Regulatory Asset Base (HRAB), which had already attained finality by apex court's verdict dated July 11, 2022. The FIA has filed an intervention application in pending matters where the two operators of Delhi and Mumbai airports, the DIAL and MIAL, have challenged the tribunal's order. "The impugned judgment not only suffers from legal error but also has grave financial consequences. By inflating HRAB to Rs .

SpiceJet plans to add 100 daily flights to boost winter operations

Domestic carrier SpiceJet on Wednesday said it is planning to introduce up to 100 additional daily flights during the current winter schedule. The airline said it is looking to ramp up its flight operations amid the growing demand across key routes this winter, and also to ensure adequate capacity in the market. The statement came a day after the government announced a 10 per cent cut in IndiGo's winter schedule in a bid to help the crisis-hit airline stabilise its operations and lead to reduced cancellations following the large-scale disruptions that started on December 1. "As part of this (ramping up operations) effort, we plan to introduce up to 100 additional daily flights during the current winter schedule, subject to regulatory approvals," SpiceJet said in a statement. Under the current winter schedule, SpiceJet has been allowed to operate 1,568 flights per week or 224 per day, which was 20.89 per cent higher compared to 1,297 flights per week, operated by the carrier during

Govt to curb IndiGo's winter schedule, reassign slots: Aviation Minister

The Civil Aviation Minister made these remarks hours after he warned of strict action against IndiGo following days of chaos led by the massive number of flight cancellations

Still far from normalcy: IndiGo board steps in, forms crisis mgmt group

Board-led team includes chairman, ex-FAA chief, Amitabh Kant; ₹610 cr in refunds processed as airline eyes Dec 10 stability

Parliamentary panel to summon airline execs, regulator over disruptions

A parliamentary panel is likely to summon top executives of private airlines and the civil aviation regulator over the mass cancellation of IndiGo flights that has left thousands of travellers stranded across the country's airports. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, is likely to seek an explanation from top executives of airlines and officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation about the cause of disruption in air services and possible solutions. A member said the panel has taken serious note of the difficulties faced by thousands of passengers due to disruption in air services. Even parliamentarians, who were in the national capital for the Winter Session, faced the brunt of flight cancellations by IndiGo and delays by other airlines, the panel member said. Several MPs also received complaints from people about air fares shooting up due to the ...

Airlines complete software upgrades for 323 operational A320 family planes

Aviation regulator DGCA on Sunday said Indian carriers have completed the software upgrades on 323 operational A320 family planes to address a potential issue related to flight controls. On Friday, Airbus said intense solar radiation might corrupt data critical to flight controls in a significant number of A320 family aircraft and that the software changes required to fix the issue would lead to operational disruptions. A total of 338 A320 family aircraft with the three Indian airlines -- IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express -- were initially identified for the software upgrades to address the issue. Among them, 323 were operational, 6 were under base maintenance and later it was found that the upgrades were no needed for 9 such planes in the fleet of Air India, according to a senior DGCA official. IndiGo has completed the upgrades on all the 200 of its operational A320 family planes. Air India had 113 affected aircraft and out of them, the upgrades have been done for the ...

Ash cloud from Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi volcano reaches India: Key details

An explosive burst of activity at the Hayli Gubbi volcano, which is situated in Ethiopia's Erta Ale Range, started at about 8:30 am on Sunday

India, China drive Asia-Pacific need for nearly 20,000 new planes: Airbus

Asia-Pacific will need nearly 20,000 new planes in the next 20 years, with India and China driving most of the demand as passenger traffic grows and airlines expand their fleets

Akasa Air to start international flights from Delhi in coming weeks

Akasa Air will soon start overseas flights from the national capital and also expects faster aircraft deliveries from Boeing, a senior airline official said on Monday. The airline, which started flying in August 2022, currently has a fleet of 30 planes and flies to 24 domestic and six international destinations. "We will soon have international departures from Delhi," Akasa Air Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer Praveen Iyer said. Currently, the airline has 24 daily departures from Delhi. At a briefing in the national capital, he also said the airline will look at operating flights to various overseas destinations, including Singapore, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Tashkent. Akasa Air, currently, flies to six international cities -- Doha (Qatar), Jeddah, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kuwait City (Kuwait) and Phuket (Thailand). The airline has a firm order for a total of 226 Boeing 737 MAX planes and has been facing aircraft delivery delays. With Boeing increa

Airlines to operate 26,495 weekly domestic flights in winter schedule

Airlines will operate 26,495 domestic flights every week connecting 126 airports in the winter schedule starting from October 26. The winter schedule is from October 26, 2025, to March 28, 2026. "There are 26,495 departures per week which have been finalised to/from 126 airports as per WS25 compared to 25,610 departures per week from 129 airports in Summer Schedule 2025 (SS25)," the civil aviation ministry said in a release on Friday. The ministry said there will be a 5.95 per cent increase in departures per week in the Winter Schedule (WS25) compared to WS24. In the latest winter schedule, Amravati, Hissar, Purnia and Rupsi will be the new airports that will have flight services, while operations will be suspended at Aligarh, Moradabad, Chitrakoot, Bhavnagar, Ludhiana, Pakyong and Shravasti airports, the ministry said.

Indigo to launch direct flights to Copenhagen from Mumbai starting Oct 8

Domestic airline IndiGo on Tuesday said it will launch flight services to the Danish capital city of Copenhagen from Mumbai, starting October 8, further expanding its international network into Northern Europe. The airline said the new services will be operated three times a week, using its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, taken on wet/damp lease from Norse Atlantic Airways. Copenhagen will be the airline's 44th international and 138th overall destination, it said. "With growing demand for travel between India and Northern Europe, we will be connecting Mumbai to Copenhagen, marking IndiGo's entry into the Scandinavian region. This expansion strengthens our presence in Europe, offering Copenhagen as a gateway to the Nordic region for Indian travellers," said Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo. For Indian travellers, this direct link provides efficient access to the Nordics, while strengthening trade, education, and tourism ties between the two regions, IndiGo said. Ind

SpiceJet Kathmandu flight faces suspected tailpipe fire at Delhi airport

SpiceJet's Kathmandu-bound plane faced a suspected tailpipe fire at the Delhi airport on Thursday and returned to the bay. The airline said the aircraft underwent detailed engineering checks and no abnormalities were found. The flight SG041 was being operated with a Boeing 737-8 aircraft, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com. Sources said the flight, which was scheduled to depart in the morning, was delayed by more than four hours. "On September 11, 2025, a SpiceJet aircraft scheduled to operate from Delhi to Kathmandu returned to bay after another aircraft on the ground reported a suspected tailpipe fire. No warnings or indications were observed in the cockpit, but the pilots decided to return as a precautionary safety measure," the airline said in a statement. In broad terms, a tailpipe is the exhaust pipe of an engine. The aircraft underwent detailed engineering checks, and no abnormalities were found. The aircraft has since been cleared fo

Indian airlines to start flights for Kathmandu int'l airport on Sep 11

Indian airlines will resume normal services to Kathmandu from Thursday, with Air India and IndiGo will also be operating additional flights to bring back people stranded in the Nepalese capital amid the unrest in the neighbouring nation. Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu reopened on Wednesday evening after it was shut for operations on Tuesday. Airlines cancelled their flights to Kathmandu on Tuesday and Wednesday. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Wednesday said Air India and IndiGo will operate additional flights to Kathmandu to bring back people stranded there. The minister also said airlines have been advised to keep their fares within reasonable levels. Air India said it is operating special flights today and tomorrow from Delhi to Kathmandu and back to help passengers who have been stranded due to the recent developments in Nepal. "Our scheduled operations will also resume from tomorrow. "We thank the government and other agencies for the quick coordin

Indore-bound Air India flight returns to Delhi after 'fire indication'

An Indore-bound Air India flight returned to the city on Sunday shortly after take off as the pilot received a "fire indication" in the right engine of the aircraft, the airline said. The aircraft has been grounded for inspection, and passengers are being transferred to an alternative aircraft which will operate the flight to Indore shortly, Air India said. "Flight AI2913, operating from Delhi to Indore on August 31, air-returned to Delhi shortly after take off, as the cockpit crew received a fire indication for the right engine," the Tata Group-owned airline said without divulging further details. Following standard procedure, the cockpit crew elected to shut down the engine and returned to Delhi where the flight landed safely, it said. The air safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been duly informed of the incident, the airline said.

Greenfield airports to give India global aviation edge: Noida airport CEO

At the BS Infrastructure Summit, Noida airport CEO Christoph Schnellmann said greenfield airports give India an edge as they use modern tech and focus on faster, smoother passenger transfers

Indian airlines reported 183 aircraft defects till July 21: Govt

Five Indian airlines reported 183 technical defects in their aircraft to the aviation regulator DGCA this year till July 21, including 85 by Air India Group, according to the government. IndiGo and Akasa Air reported 62 and 28 technical defects, respectively, while SpiceJet reported 8 defects, as per data shared by the civil aviation ministry in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Air India and Air India Express together reported 85 technical defects, respectively. All the figures are for this year till July 21. In 2024, the number of technical defects reported stood at 421, lower than 448 reported in 2023. In 2022, the count of technical defects reported stood at 528. The figures for these three years also include those of Alliance Air and erstwhile Vistara. In 2021, the number of technical defects reported in aircraft was 514. At that time, Akasa Air had not started operations. "All defects reported by the airline to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) a

Many Indian airlines spend more on publicity than passenger safety: Survey

Around 76 per cent of respondents in a pan-India online survey opined that many airlines in India are spending more on publicity than on passenger safety. The online survey conducted by LocalCircles revealed that as many as 64 per cent of these respondents had experienced at least one rough flight in the last three years, involving a difficult takeoff, landing, or inflight situation. The survey, which received 44,000 responses from citizens across 322 districts, assumes significance amidst a spate of incidents, both mid-air and on ground, reported recently. These included Tata Group-run Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft accident that crashed within seconds of taking off for London Gatwick from Ahmedabad last month, killing 241 of the 242 passengers on board and another 19 on the ground. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the crash and has already submitted its preliminary report. Also, on Monday, passengers on board Air India Kochi-Mumbai flight had

India and Kuwait ink deal to clear runway for more flights and flyers

India and Kuwait have signed a new aviation deal expanding seat capacity to 18,000 weekly, addressing high demand and easing operational constraints for airlines

Air India's Riyadh-Delhi flight diverted to Jaipur due to bad weather

The flight was originally scheduled to land at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 1 am on July 7 but inclement weather in Delhi forced the aircraft to be rerouted to Jaipur