Page 8 - Aviation Sector

Jamnagar airport faces huge traffic due to Anant Ambani's pre-wedding bash

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has permitted the airport to handle international flights from February 26 to March 6

Flyers with special needs share ordeal: Airlines ensure enough wheelchairs

The number of people with disability and reduced mobility travelling by air has gone up over the years

Go First resolution professional not able to maintain aircraft: Delhi HC

The court warned the RP that it may issue him a notice in the contempt petition if a consensus is not reached on the issue

Air India detects cabin lighting issue in B777 planes' economy class

Air India has found a technical issue in its leased Boeing 777-200 planes that has resulted in economy class cabin lighting remaining in the bright mode and the airline has decided to provide eye masks for the passengers of the aircraft. The Tata Group-owned Air India has leased five B777-200 LR planes from American carrier Delta Airlines. "A technical issue has been identified with the cabin lighting system on the B777-200 LR (leased aircraft) in the economy (EY) cabin. This has led to the EY cabin lighting to remain on bright mode throughout the flight," the airline said in a circular on Wednesday. To overcome the issue of the crew being unable to switch the lights to dim/off and to avoid guest inconvenience, eye masks will be provided to the passengers, it added. The airline operates B777 aircraft on ultra-long haul routes connecting Indian cities with San Francisco in the US and Vancouver in Canada.

India expected to become centre of world aviation in 15 years, says Airbus

The world's two largest aircraft orders were placed by IndiGo and Air India in the last year. In June 2023, IndiGo had placed an order for 500 A320neo family planes with Airbus

DGCA unlikely to extend June 1 deadline to implement new FDTL rules

In a bid to ensure better fatigue management, the DGCA on January 8 revamped the FDTL regulations

Carriers between a rock and a hard place amid govt notification: Air India

In 2008, India signed the Cape Town Convention, an international treaty providing time-bound remedies for lessors to repossess planes, mitigating their risks

Not looking to acquire stake in Indian carriers: Malaysian carrier AirAsia

Budget airline flies to 14 Indian cities from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, plans to expand service in India

Reached settlement with Celestial Aviation, formalities remain: SpiceJet

SpiceJet informs NCLT of near resolution in dispute with aircraft lessor Celestial Aviation requested an adjournment to finalise the settlement process

Passengers on Air Mauritius plane stuck for over 5 hours at Mumbai airport

Passengers on board an Air Mauritius flight were stuck on the aircraft for over five hours at Mumbai airport on Saturday before the airline decided to cancel it, one among the flyers said. The Air Mauritius flight MK 749 from Mumbai to Mauritius was to depart at 4.30 am and passengers boarded the plane from 3.45 am onwards, he said. There were nearly 200 passengers on board, including a 78-year-old man who developed a breathing problem as the aircraft's air-conditioning system was not working, he alleged. Air Mauritius GSA (general sales agent) in India did not respond to phone calls from PTI. The plane developed an engine problem but the passengers remained locked inside the plane for over five hours and were not allowed to come out, he said. Though the airline called engineers with spare parts to fix the engine glitch, it could not be rectified. Finally, around 10 am the captain announced that the flight had been cancelled, he said.

Qantas A350 delivery delayed due to redesigning of extra fuel tank: Airbus

Airbus says regulator has asked for design changes

Decade after MH370, aircraft still at risk of vanishing off the map

With no mayday call, no known flight path and no wreckage, MH370 remains modern aviation's biggest mystery

Post-pandemic recovery fuels robust attendance, hopes at Singapore Airshow

About 50,000 trade delegates attend Singapore Airshow, the most since 2018

Airlines witness dip in use of freight-carrying capacity in January

Passenger load factor also sees decline after year-end jump

You've money to buy Go First but not to pay Credit Suisse: SC to Ajay Singh

Credit Suisse and SpiceJet have been entangled in a legal conflict since 2015 over outstanding debts of approximately $24 million

Etihad reports 10% rise on pre-pandemic levels; aims 35-40% further growth

Gulf carrier Etihad has seen strong growth in the domestic market post pandemic and is expecting to fly more Indian passengers this year than 2023, which saw around 3-million Indians boarding its flights, a top executive at the airline has said. The Abu Dhabi-based national carrier, according to its chief revenue and commercial officer Arik De is also a strong "believer" in competition and is not afraid of it. "Etihad is actually back with a bang in the Indian market. Our numbers are over 10 per cent higher than they were pre-pandemic," De told PTI. Noting that the airline came back "pretty strongly" in 2023 itself, he said, "we grew capacity by over 40 per cent and then in 2024 we plan to finish the year with around 35-40 per cent further growth." Moreover, the airline carried around three million Indians last year and this number is obviously set to grow this year as well, he stated. Emphasising that a 10 per cent capacity growth ahead of pre-pandemic numbers is a strong growth

SpiceJet's Ajay Singh, Busy Bee Airways jointly submit bid for GoFirst

The bid has been submitted by SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh, in his personal capacity, along with Busy Bee Airways Private Limited

Nearly 500,000 passengers affected due to flight delays in Jan 2024: DGCA

A whopping 4.82 lakh passengers were affected due to delayed flights (beyond two hours) in January this year, forcing the airlines to shell out Rs 3.69 crore towards facilitation, according to the DGCA monthly traffic data released on Thursday. At the same time, domestic passenger traffic grew 4.69 per cent in January to 1.31 crore over the same month of last year, according to the DGCA. The domestic passenger traffic for January 2023 was recorded at 1.25 crore. In addition to delays, some 1,374 passengers were denied boarding in the previous month by the various airlines, resulting in a spend of Rs 1.28 crore in compensation other than providing alternate flights and accommodation, refreshments and meals, according to data. In addition to this, the airlines also coughed up Rs 1.43 crore, along with offering refund and re-bookings to the 68,362 passengers whose flights were cancelled during the month, as per the DGCA data. On the domestic passenger traffic front, no-frills carrier

Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney establishes R&D centre in Bengaluru

IDCC will facilitate close collaboration with other RTX (Raytheon) businesses in India, including Collins Aerospace and RTX Enterprise Services

Akasa Air cancels 10 flights in two days, says it is an 'aberration'

Akasa Air on Monday said it has cancelled 10 flights in two days and termed it as an "aberration". While the airline did not disclose the reasons for the flight cancellations, sources in the know said it was facing a shortage of trained pilots. However, Akasa Air asserted that there was no shortage of pilots. Various social media users flagged cancellations of flights by Akasa Air. Against this backdrop, an airline spokesperson said the cancellations were an "aberration". "We apologise for the inconvenience caused due to the cancellation of some flights on February 11-12, 2024. This was an aberration...," the spokesperson said in a statement to PTI. The spokesperson said 10 flights were cancelled in two days. The sources said the carrier was not getting adequate slots for training pilots who have joined it. As a result, there is a shortage of trained pilots, the sources added. In response to queries, the airline said there was no shortage of pilots. Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube in