Civil Aviation Sector
Not in discussions for ventures with other airlines at present: flydubai
Gulf carrier flydubai on Monday said it continuously looks for opportunities to organically grow its network in India and is not in any discussions for ventures with other airlines at present. The statement comes against the backdrop of reports that the airline along with Busy Bee Airways might be looking at buying the assets of grounded Go First. Meanwhile, Nishant Pitti, the majority shareholder in Busy Bee Airways, on Monday said there are no discussions with flydubai. India has always been a very important market for flydubai, an airline spokesperson said in the statement and added that it continuously looks for opportunities to grow the network organically in India. "We are not currently in any discussions for ventures with other airlines. If this changes in the future, an official announcement will be made," the spokesperson said. On January 20, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ordered the liquidation of Go First, the budget carrier that stopped flying nearly two yea
Aircraft tech glitches reported by Indian airlines fall in last 3 yrs: Govt
The number of technical glitches in aircraft reported by various Indian airlines has reduced in the last three years, with the count at 273 for 10,69,680 flights operated during the period from January 2024 to January 2025. In 2023, there were 390 technical faults reported for 11,94,777 flights operated that year. In 2022, the number stood at 723 for 9,97,041 flights operated in that particular year, official data showed on Monday. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the data available for the last three years (2022-2024) shows there was a decrease in the number of technical glitches reported by the airlines. Technical snags are general phenomena in aircraft which may be caused due to improper function/malfunction of components/ system/ accessories fitted on the aircraft, he said in a written reply. Separately, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the government has been encouraging the development of the ecosystem for the manufacturing of aircraft, .
DGCA imposes Rs 30 lakh penalty on Air India for regulatory norms violation
Aviation safety regulator DGCA has imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Tata Group-owned Air India for allegedly allowing one of its pilots to operate a flight without complying with certain regulatory requirements. The DGCA in order of January 29 also said that it has found "recurrent rostering issues...," about the airline. The order to slap penalty came after the response of a show-cause notice to Air India's head of operations and head of rostering, among other executives, on December 13, 2024 was found "unsatisfactory." The pilot "operated a flight on 7th July despite not having the mandatory recency requirement of 3 take off and landings, leading to violation of para 3 of civil aviation requirement," the regulator said in its order. Air India did not respond to a PTI query on this issue. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its order also said that "the (rostering) controllers (at Air India) overlooked the multiple spurious alerts reflecting on CAE window, as pe
Budget 2025: Civil aviation gets Rs 2,400 cr, UDAN funds cut to Rs 540 cr
The budgetary allocation for the civil aviation ministry has been cut by nearly 10 per cent to Rs 2,400.31 crore for the next financial year, with the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN set to get a lower amount of Rs 540 crore. The allocation in the Union Budget 2025-26, presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday, is less compared to Rs 2,658.68 crore in the revised 2024-25 Budget. Out of the total allocation for the next fiscal starting from April 1, 2025, UDAN will get Rs 540 crore, which is 32 per cent lower compared to Rs 800 crore in the year-ago period. Interestingly, Sitharaman has announced that UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme will be modified to connect 120 new destinations. As per the budget papers, the allocation for the DGCA and BCAS have increased marginally to Rs 330 crore and Rs 95 crore, respectively, for 2025-26. For the Customs Cost Recovery (CCR) charges to Airport Authority of India (AAI) and AAI Cargo Logistics and
Centre entrusts SSB chief Amrit Mohan to hold additional charge as BCAS DG
Prasad, a 1989-batch IPS officer of the Odisha cadre, has been given the additional charge for six months with effect from November 1, 2024, or till the joining of the regular incumbent
JetSetGo partners with SkyDrive, Eve Air for urban air mobility services
Chartered aircraft and fleet services operator JetSetGo on Tuesday said it has entered into strategic partnerships with EVTOL technology firm SkyDrive and Eve Air Mobility for the development and deployment of urban air mobility (UAM) services in the country. As part of these partnerships, announced at the on-going Urban Air Mobility Expo and Conference, which is a part of the CII-organised Bharat Global Mobility Show, JetSetGo signed an initial pact with SkyDrive to explore deployment opportunities for its three-seat fully electric multi-copter 'SKYDRIVE'. Along with this, a Letter of Intent (LOI) was also finalised for a pre-order of up to 50 aircraft. The collaboration will validate use cases and market demand, with initial projects starting in Gujarat and with possible future expansion to other regions across the country, JetSetGo said. Besides, JetSetGo also signed a letter of intent with Eve Air Mobility to integrate Eve's advanced urban air traffic management (UATM) solution
Govt mulls regulatory sandbox for advanced air mobility solutions
The civil aviation ministry is looking to have a regulatory sandbox for advanced air mobility solutions that will also help address urban congestion. Emphasising that the time for electric air mobility has come, Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam on Tuesday said, "Our doors are open to promote and support advanced air mobility". He was speaking at the International Conference on Air Mobility in Greater Noida which was organised by the civil aviation ministry and industry body CII. Advanced air mobility solutions include eVTOLs (electric Vertical Take Off Landing) aircraft. For advanced air mobility, the secretary said, "We are looking at a regulatory sandbox within India". It will help entities working on R&D activities as well as developing solutions. Officials from the DGCA have started field visits to firm up sites where the trials and other activities related to advanced air mobility. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set up six working groups ...
Sarla Aviation unveils prototype air taxi, may launch flying taxis by 2028
Aerospace startup Sarla Aviation on Friday unveiled its prototype air taxi, Shunya, at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo amid its plans to introduce electric flying taxis in Bangalore by 2028 to revolutionize urban transport in India. With speeds reaching up to 250 km per hour and optimised for short trips of 20-30 km, Shunya is expected to significantly reduce travel times across congested urban areas, the company said. The Bengaluru-based platform named after India's first woman pilot Sarla Thukral recently secured USD 10 million in Series A funding led by Accel, with participation from notable angel investors including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. Founded in October 2023 by Adrian Schmidt, Rakesh Gaonkar, and Shivam Chauhan, Sarla Aviation prototype Shunya is designed to accommodate up to six passengers and can carry a maximum load of 680 kg, making it the highest payload eVTOL (electric vertical Take-off and landing) in the market. "Shuny
DGCA takes action against senior Akasa Air pilot for lapses in landing
Aviation watchdog DGCA has withdrawn the Line Training Captain approval given to an Akasa Air pilot for lapses in landing of a passenger aircraft in March 2024, till further orders, according to sources. Besides, the permission given to the pilot for carrying Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) has been withdrawn. This is the latest incident of Akasa Air coming under regulatory scanner for lapses. In an order issued on Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in an audit of Akasa Air conducted in October last year found that the pilot had made a hard landing, which means the aircraft had made an abnormal contact with the runway, the sources said. The incident was closed with a counselling session and no corrective training was imparted to the pilot concerned, as per the order. DGCA found that the replies by the airline and the pilot to its show cause notices, issued in November 2024, were not satisfactory. As a result, the sources said DGCA has decided to withdraw t
Regional air connectivity will remain govt's priority: Civil aviation secy
Regional air connectivity will continue to be a priority for the government and air passenger traffic is projected to touch 40 crore by 2029, Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam said on Monday. Speaking at a conference in the national capital, he also said the ecosystem is being developed for operations of seaplanes. Emphasising that there is "huge potential" for growth of the country's aviation sector, he said that 10 years ago, passenger traffic was at 11 crore and the count has doubled to 22 crore. By 2029, the number is expected to touch 40 crore, he said and added that there is aspiration among people for air travel. The Regional Air Connectivity (RCS) scheme or UDAN aims to enhance regional air connectivity from unserved and underserved airports as well as make air travel more affordable. Vualnam said RCS will remain a priority for the government and efforts are also on to push operations of helicopters and seaplanes. Under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), which was .
New aviation law 'Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam' to take effect from Jan 1
The new law that seeks to facilitate designing and manufacturing of aircraft in India as well as facilitate the ease of doing business in the aviation space will come into force from January 1, 2025. The new Act -- Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 -- that replaces the 90-year old Aircraft Act, was cleared by the Parliament earlier this month. According to a notification issued on Tuesday, the "central government hereby appoints the 1st day of January, 2025 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act, shall come into force". Among others, the Act provides for regulation and control of the design, manufacture, maintenance, possession, use, operation, sale, export and import of aircraft and connected matters. The legislation will also remove redundancies and replace the Aircraft Act, 1934, which has been amended 21 times. India is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets.
IndiGo launches daily direct flights between Chennai and Penang in Malaysia
IndiGo has launched daily direct flights between Chennai and Penang in Malaysia on Saturday, becoming the 37th international destination for the private airliner. The new route caters to the growing demand for travel between the two cities, offering both business and leisure travellers a convenient and affordable option, IndiGo said in a statement on Saturday. "We are extremely pleased to further expand our network into Malaysia with the launch of direct flights from Chennai to Penang, our third destination in Malaysia, alongside Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi. With the inclusion of these flights to Penang, IndiGo will now operate 28 weekly flights to Malaysia from 2 cities in India" IndiGo Head of Global Sales Vinay Malhotra said in a statement. At the inaugural ceremony, Chennai Airport director C V Deepak handed over the boarding pass to the first passenger on Saturday. "Your gateway to Malaysia's crown jewel! The inaugural flight (6E1045) of IndiGo from Chennai to Penang was marked
Akasa Air pilots flag training and safety practices, airline denies charges
The section of Akasa Air pilots wrote to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu and highlighted alleged unfair practices, harassment and safety concerns.
CISF sets up 'quality control' unit to enhance civil aviation security
CISF has set up a quality control unit to "enhance" the "operational efficiency" of its aviation security wing that provides a counter-terrorist cover to 68 civil airports of the country. An spokesperson for the paramilitary force said on Saturday that the Internal Quality Control Unit (IQCU) will play a "crucial" role in establishing "world-class" security procedures and technology for the airports that are used by lakhs of domestic and international passengers every day. The initiative is in compliance with the National Civil Aviation Security Quality Control Programme (NCASQCP) of 2024 issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Aircraft (Security) Rules of 2023, he said. The BCAS, under the civil aviation ministry, frames security policies for the Indian civil aviation sector. The new unit will bring about uniformity in civil aviation security procedures and training, recommend new technology available world over, allow internal audits of CISF security units
International Civil Aviation Day 2024: 50 wishes, quotes, messages to share
International Civil Aviation Day 2024 is celebrated every year on December 7. The day was established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Air India urination case: SC exhorts Centre for guidelines on unruly flyers
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and aviation regulator DGCA to frame more comprehensive guidelines to control unruly air passengers and observed "something creative" had to be done. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan was hearing a plea filed by a 73-year-old woman, on whom a male co-passenger allegedly urinated in an inebriated condition on board an Air India flight in November, 2022. The septuagenarian sought directions to the Centre, the DGCA and all the air carriers to frame a standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with similar incidents. The bench, hearing the plea, asked Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to instruct the authorities concerned to examine and suitably modify the existing guidelines on unruly passengers, in line with the international norms. Interestingly, Justice Viswanathan shared his own experience while travelling with Justice Surya Kant when they encountered a similar incident. "We had a recent experience. Two passengers w
Indian airspace getting more users, need to adapt new tech, says official
Emphasising the need for ways to further streamline air traffic movements in the Indian airspace, Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam on Saturday suggested that air traffic controllers should look at the use of new technologies such as generative artificial intelligence. He was speaking at the 40th Asia Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA), hosted by the Air Traffic Controllers' Guild (India), in the national capital. The three-day meeting, with the theme 'Safety in Future Air Traffic Management', began on Saturday. The participants will discuss cutting-edge technologies, innovative strategies, and sustainable practices that will shape the safety in future air traffic management, according to the meeting's website. Vualnam said airspace is getting crowded. "Airspace is getting more and more users". While mentioning about new technologies such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI), he ...
Aviation minister Naidu urges Airbus to make commercial aircraft in India
Minister inaugurated prominent aerospace company's new headquarters in Delhi
Total ban on drone imports to encourage local startups, says minister Naidu
Union Minister of Civil Aviation K Ram Mohan Naidu on Tuesday said India has totally banned the import of drones to encourage local talent to manufacture them. Addressing the two-day national drone summit at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, the Civil Aviation Minister noted that the government banned drone imports as it does not want some other country or company to benefit at the cost of India. We have banned the total import of drones, why did we do it? We want to encourage more startups to come in this drone sector. We want the people of this country to manufacture drones. We don't want to import drones and let the benefit go to some other country or some other company, said Naidu. According to the union minister, the government wants the young and bright minds of the country to develop new types of drones to cater to solutions which are indigenous to the country, so, with that mindset we banned imports. The aviation minister highlighted that the Centre has liberalised rules for the
Air India aims to double direct sales earnings in 2-3 years: CDTO
Air India is already investing heavily in digital marketing to boost direct sales and is working on enhancing its website
