Page 19 - Aviation

Sri Lanka to resume flights from Jaffna to Chennai after 3 yrs from Dec 12

Sri Lanka is set to resume flights from the northern Jaffna peninsula to Chennai from Monday, three years after the island nation discontinued the services due to Covid, a spokesman from the Sri Lankan Airport Authority said on Friday. "The commercial flight operations from Chennai International airport to Jaffna International airport will be back effective 12th December 2022," SLAA spokesperson Sumith de Silva told PTI. This will be a resumption of flights since they were stopped for Covid," de Silva said. India's Alliance Air would operate four flights a week between the two cities, said de Silva. Earlier, Sri Lanka's Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told Parliament that flights will be operational between Jaffna and Chennai by December 12. However, there are still some improvements left to be done to the runway. The present runway can only accommodate 75-seater aircraft. The airport in Palaly was named the Jaffna international airport as Sri Lanka's third internation

Pak working to operationalise closed airports, revive aviation assets: Rprt

Pakistan has started working on a comprehensive plan for the operationalisation of long-closed airports on a commercial basis to boost regional connectivity and revive civil aviation assets worth billions of dollars that are lying idle in the country, a media report said on Sunday. As part of the project, regional connectivity will be promoted, closed airports will be made operational, and Pakistan Airways, a subsidiary of the Pakistan International Airlines, will be reactivated, The Express Tribune reported, quoting official documents available with the paper. A framework for regional connectivity was finalised at the domestic level, enabling the national airline to enter into a joint venture with any foreign company. For this purpose, Pakistan Airways can also be activated, which will operate as a regional airline, the report said. The objective of this project is to make air travel accessible to all Pakistanis, besides repurposing the civil aviation assets worth billions of ...

On a wing and a prayer

Among the many virtues of John Lancaster's delightful The Great Air Race is how vividly it conveys the entirely different world of aviation at the dawn of the industry a century ago

Airbus looking at India, Aus, Latin America for green hydrogen supplies

European aerospace major Airbus is looking to source green hydrogen from markets like India, Australia and Latin America as part of its decarbonisation efforts, a senior company official said. Airbus is currently developing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine for its ambitious zero-emission aircraft that will enter service by 2035. It has also signed a partnership agreement with HyPort to set up a low-carbon hydrogen production and distribution station at the Toulouse-Blagnac airport in France. The cost of renewable energy production in India and Latin America, among others, make them attractive as potential supply hubs, Glenn Llewellyn, VP Zero-Emission Aircraft at Airbus, said. "One of the key activities that are underway at Airbus is to make sure that when we have a hydrogen aircraft available, we also have green hydrogen at airports. So, we are doing a lot of work with different airports and energy providers all across the world to make sure that green hydrogen is available at t

A challenge to maintain, better India's aviation safety ranking: DGCA chief

With the country getting its highest-ever rank in the ICAO aviation safety rankings, DGCA chief Arun Kumar on Sunday said the challenge now is to maintain and further improve the air safety ecosystem. The comments also come against the backdrop of the country's aviation sector slowly coming back into the growth trajectory after being severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the domestic air traffic is also inching towards the pre-pandemic level. In the latest rankings by the Indian Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), India's position has jumped to the 48th place from 102nd spot in 2018. The ranking, which also places it ahead of China (49), is the highest ever received by India, according to DGCA officials. "A robust safety oversight system certified and acknowledged by the experts is sine qua non for flight safety and very assuring for the flying public... The DGCA team has worked tirelessly to strengthen aviation safety. Now, we are on a peak and so the challenge is to maintain a

India jumps to 48th place in ICAO aviation safety ranking: DGCA officials

India has jumped to the 48th position in the global aviation safety ranking by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to DGCA officials. Four years ago, the country was ranked at the 102nd position. In the ranking, Singapore is at the top, followed by the UAE and South Korea at the second and third positions, respectively, the officials said. China is at the 49th place, they added. Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9 to 16. On Saturday, DGCA chief Arun Kumar told PTI that the regulator has worked tirelessly to upgrade India's safety ranking and the results are there. "Hopefully, we continue to remain vigilant and improve further". The country's score in terms of effective implementation of key safety elements has improved to 85.49 per cent, the officials said. On November 16, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA

Go First inducts 55th A320 neo; to receive engines from P&W soon

Go First, which is facing multiple headwinds, has received an additional Rs 400 crore under a government scheme and expects to operate more planes once it gets 16 new P&W engines in the coming weeks, according to officials. The no-frills carrier has at least 25 planes on the ground, mainly due to the non-availability of Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines that power its A320 fleet. With many aircraft remaining non-operational, the airline is also grappling with flight delays and rescheduling of departure timings. Further, its On-Time Performance (OTP) has taken a beating. A government official said the airline availed an additional Rs 400 crore under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) this month. Go First, which can take up to Rs 1,500 crore under the scheme, has so far availed at least a total of Rs 800 crore. A Go First spokesperson said that 25-26 planes are on the ground and currently, 32 aircraft are operational. The airline is in active discussions with ...

Single-pilot operations only after thorough investigation, EASA says

European Aviation Safety Agency's proposal draws flak from pilots who say it is too risky

Year-end fares go through the roof as airlines fly on low capacity

More than 75 planes are grounded; Goa to see 11% fewer flights in December

DGCA asks SpiceJet to get engine oil samples of entire Q400 fleet examined

Following a recent incident of smoke in a SpiceJet plane cabin, the aviation regulator DGCA has directed the airline to send the engine oil samples of the entire Q400 fleet consisting of 14 operational aircraft to Pratt & Whitney Canada to ascertain the presence of metal and carbon seat particles.

Financial status of Indian airlines likely to remain under pressure: ICRA

The financial performance of Indian airlines is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, even as recovery in domestic passenger traffic has been healthy, said Corporate Rating firm ICRA

Akasa Air performance 'satisfying' in first 60 days; well capitalised: CEO

The country's new scheduled airline Akasa Air is "well capitalised" and will allow carrying of domesticated dogs and cats onboard along with passengers from November, according to its senior executives. The airline, which began operations on August 7, also plans to launch international operations in the second half of next year. Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube said the airline is well capitalised and is not looking to have new investors. Dube said the airline's performance in the 60 days since starting operations has been "satisfying". "We are very happy, satisfied with... our performance," he said. Currently, it has a fleet of six planes and the number is expected to touch 18 by March next year. Akasa Air, which currently has 30 daily flights, will start services from Delhi on Friday. The airline will be allowing carrying of pets in cabin and cargo from November. Domesticated dogs and cats can travel from November and the bookings in this regard will start from October 15, Co-Founder

Akasa Air to allow pets in cabin, cargo from Nov; to expand routes

Akasa Air, which took to the skies two months ago, will allow domesticated dogs and cats in cabin as well as cargo from November and will also be starting new routes in the coming weeks. The airline, which is "well capitalised", plans to start international services in the second half of 2023 once it has a fleet of 20 planes. Currently, the carrier has 6 aircraft and will have a total of 18 planes by the end of March next year. Akasa Air Founder and CEO Vinay Dube on Thursday said the airline's performance has been "satisfying" in the first 60 days. "We are very happy, satisfied with... our performance". Currently, the carrier has 30 daily flights, will start services from Delhi on Friday. It started operations on August 7. The airline is progressively expanding its network and connecting more cities, its Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer Praveen Iyer said. From November, domesticated dogs and cats can travel. The bookings in this regard will start from October 15, its ...

Airlines face difficulty in operating at full capacity amid low demand

The travel sentiment was impacted by several waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, people postponed travel plans to protect their savings. In this, high travel fares impacted the demand negatively

Recovery tracker: Vehicle registrations in latest week up 15% over 2019

Better aviation traffic in seven days to Oct 2, freight numbers improve

Indian airlines revamp their in-flight menus amid intense competition

Air India latest carrier to update menu, but others have tweaked their offerings too

Fly Blade to get Airbus helicopter; plans expanding services to 10 states

Urban air mobility company Fly Blade India P. Ltd. is likely to get one H125 helicopter from Airbus this October/November, said a top company official

ICAO calls on aviation regulators to productively engage with innovators

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) called on aviation regulators to operate in creative ways to productively engage with innovators, according to a statement issued by the UN agency

Race for net-zero emissions: Indian airlines take off on sustainable fuel

GREEN DEAL: Air India, AirAsia India, Vistara ink MoU with CSIR-IIP for sustainable aviation fuel

The real reason to turn on aeroplane mode when you fly is frequency band

Here's the real reason to turn on aeroplane mode when you fly