Page 8 - Civil Aviation Ministry

Airlines considering special discounts for travellers with only cabin bag

The latest move may pivot frequent travelers from staying in hotels to flying even more

Civil aviation ministry organises chintan shivir for official, stakeholders

The civil aviation ministry on Monday organised a chintan shivir with the participation of ministry officials and other stakeholders. Addressing the participants, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia emphasised on the government as a whole approach as well as the need for developing soft skills. The leadership has to be earned for which teamwork, compassion and empathy are very important for motivating the team. This can help in translating and focusing onto the larger aim, and also stressed on flat egalitarian structure. "During the second chintan shivir, brainstorming sessions were organised on subjects of self and team motivation, India as a drone hub, and coordination and collaboration amongst various offices/officials and the agencies involved in the sector," an official release said. Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said that inter-personal skills are not only important for understanding each other but one also has to be open-minded as that will help in

IndiGo gets aviation ministry's nod to wet lease planes for US, Canada ops

The country's largest airline IndiGo, which is focusing on internationalisation, has received approval from the civil aviation ministry to wet lease up to two planes for operating flights to the United States and Canada, according to a senior official. For the first time, IndiGo started operating wide-body Boeing 777 on Delhi-Istanbul route in February. The plane has been taken on wet lease from Turkish Airlines. The airline has received nod from the ministry to wet lease two aircraft that can be utilised on this route. The official, on the condition of anonymity, said on Friday the ministry has also given approval for IndiGo to wet lease up to two wide-body aircraft which can be used for flying to the US and Canada. Queries sent to IndiGo on this issue remained unanswered. It could not be immediately ascertained whether IndiGo has firmed up plans on operating flights to the US and Canada. Indian carriers require approval from the ministry to wet lease aircraft. Under the wet le

Delhi-bound IndiGo flight diverted to Ahmedabad due to bird hit: DGCA

A Delhi-bound IndiGo aircraft originating from Surat was diverted to Ahmedabad after a bird hit during a climb at Surat, said DGCA in an official statement on Sunday

Urinating incident unfortunate, efforts were made to cover it up : DGCA

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Arun Kumar has described the Air India urination incident as "unfortunate", and said that there were efforts to cover it up

SpiceJet board to consider fundraising to cover outstanding liabilities

SpiceJet on Tuesday said its board will meet on Friday to consider options to raise funds as well as to convert certain outstanding liabilities into equity shares of the company. The no-frills airline, which has been grappling with multiple headwinds, including legal woes, is looking to raise fresh capital through issuance of eligible securities to qualified institutional buyers. Besides, the carrier plans to issue equity shares on preferential basis consequent upon conversion of outstanding liabilities into equity shares of the company, subject to applicable regulatory approvals, according to a filing to the BSE. Both plans will be taken up by the board of directors during its meeting scheduled for February 24. Specific details about the proposals could not be immediately ascertained. In December last year, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh told shareholders that the company is engaged with investment bankers to raise up to USD 200 million in order to achieve its

State-run HAL to provide maintenance support for GA-ASI's MQ-9B engines

State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will provide maintenance support services for engines of American MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft System, considered one of the most sophisticated armed drones globally. The HAL will provide the maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the operations of MQ-9B drones in India, officials said on Wednesday. The announcement of the project comes amid India's ongoing talks with the US to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion primarily to crank up its surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region. The HAL and US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI), the manufacturer of the MQ9Bs,, announced the collaboration on the MRO (maintenance repair and overhaul) services for the drones on the sidelines of Aero India-2023 at the Yelahanka air base complex. In 2020, the Indian Navy had taken on lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones fro

Drone use not limited to pesticide spraying in agriculture sector: Govt

Union minister of civil aviation on Tuesday said the applicability of drone in the agriculture sector is beyond pesticide spraying and has tremendous scope in organic and natural farming as well. Drone industry in India has grown 6-8 times in the last one-and-a-half years. The drone infrastructure set up in the country is "extremely robust" and an Indian case study of drones as pioneer in agriculture will be exhibited in the ongoing meeting of G20 agriculture working group. India's aim is to become a global hub for drones by 2030, for which an industry friendly policy including the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) is in place, he added. Addressing the media on the sidelines of the first G-20 Agriculture Deputies Meeting here, the Union minister said: "Don't look at drones through narrow lines. The versatility and diversity of the application of using drones as service is vast." The use of drones in agriculture should not be limited to pesticide spraying. It can be used in .

Civil aviation ministry says 63 passengers put on 'No Fly List' in 2022

The civil aviation ministry on Monday said three passengers have been put on the 'No Fly List' this year while a total of 63 passengers were placed on the list in 2022. A total of 143 passengers have been put on the list since 2017, according to data provided by the ministry to the Rajya Sabha. These passengers were placed on the list as recommended by airlines' internal committees set up as per aviation regulator DGCA's Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) pertaining to the handling of unruly/disruptive passengers. The CAR was notified in September 2017 as a measure to deal with the issue related to the handling of unruly/disruptive passengers. "As on date, there are 143 passengers who have been placed in 'No Fly List' for such period, as per the recommendations of airline's internal committee... since 2017," Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. As per the data, Air India has put three passengers on the list in 2023. In 2022, IndiG

Budget 2023-24: Civil Aviation Ministry's allocation dips to Rs 3,113.36 cr

The Budget allocated Rs 3,113.36 crore to the ministry, against Rs 10,667 crore in 2022-23, which was later revised to Rs 9,363.70 crore

India has become world's third-largest aviation market: President Murmu

India has become the third-largest aviation market in the world and is growing rapidly, with the number of airports increasing to 147 from just 74 in 2014, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday. She also said the Indian Railways is emerging as a modern institution and many inaccessible areas are being added to the rail map of the country. In her first address to the joint sitting of Parliament, Murmu said the country's aviation sector is also growing rapidly. "Up to 2014, the number of airports in the country was 74, it has now increased to 147. Today India has become the third-largest aviation market in the world. The UDAN Yojana has played an important role in this regard," she said. UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is the government's ambitious regional air connectivity scheme and UDAN flights have carried around 1.15 crore people over the last six years. Talking about the India Railways, Murmu said a modern and semi-high-speed train has become part of it in the form of Vande

Scindia assures speedy action over urinating incident on Air India flight

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said speedy action will be taken in the case where a man allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger on a New York-Mumbai flight last November. Delhi Police on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old accused, Shankar Mishra. He allegedly urinated on the woman, a senior citizen, in an inebriated condition in the business class of the Air India flight from New York to Delhi on November 26 last year. "Further action will be taken speedily after the completion of the ongoing proceedings, Scindia told reporters here on Saturday without elaborating. The carrier's CEO on Saturday issued an apology over handling of the incident and said four cabin crew and a pilot have been de-rostered and the policy of serving alcohol on flights is being reviewed. The Delhi Police arrested Mishra from Bengaluru after he was traced to that city through technical surveillance, officials earlier said. A Delhi court on Saturday sent Mishra to judicial remand f

MoCA asks airlines to modify check-in systems from China, 5 other countries

The civil aviation ministry on Friday asked airlines to modify their check-in systems for international passengers coming into India as part of the revised Covid guidelines, which makes a negative Covid test report a must for travellers coming from China and five other countries from Sunday. The ministry's direction comes a day after the health ministry decided to make RT-PCR negative test reports compulsory for passengers coming on all international flights from six high-risk countries --China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan. The new rule will come into effect from January 1, 2023, amid rising coronavirus cases in these six countries and some other parts of the world. Airlines are directed to modify their check-in functionalities to incorporate the changes and issue boarding passes only to those international passengers travelling from the six countries who have submitted self-declaration forms on the Air Suvidha portal, the Ministry of Civil ...

Centre asks Tata to deduct salary of those overstaying in government colony

The Centre had asked its employees to vacate the accommodation by July 26, six months after AI's disinvestment

2,613 air incidents reported in India in last 5 years, IndiGo tops the list

IndiGo has the highest number of air incidents in these five years from 2018 to 2022. Gen VK Singh (Retd) said in a written reply in Lok Sabha that IndiGo reported 215 incidents in 2022

IndiGo seeks final approval from DGCA to wet lease B777 aircraft

IndiGo airline is planning to wet lease aircrafts to meet the growing demand for air travel

Necessary actions resulted in 'least wait time' for boarding at IGI: Centre

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Wednesday said necessary actions taken to reduce congestion at the Delhi airport have resulted in "least wait time" for boarding at check points and entry gates. In recent weeks, there have been rising passenger complaints about long waiting hours at the airport here and authorities have taken various measures to deal with the situation. Listing out the measures, the ministry in a series of tweets said more Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) manpower are underway and four X-ray machines have been added for baggage check. "Domestic security increased with 6 personnel with evenly distribution on all gates," it said. There is a command centre and count meter for crowd management. Besides, display boards have been installed at all departure entry gates of the airport, which provides real-time data and is being shared via social media, according to the ministry. The ministry said in order "to curb congestion and waiting time at @DelhiAirport,

Unmanned check-in counters causing congestion at airports, says govt

Airlines ask passengers to arrive early to ensure 'smooth' security check

Aviation ministry lists five-point action plan to decongest Delhi airport

A surge in air travel has strained the infrastructure at the country's busiest airport and forced the civil aviation ministry to order a reduction and shifting of peak-hour flights

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