Civil Aviation Sector

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

Playing it safe: How a bomb threat is handled at an Indian airport

Goal is to verify credibility of a threat and neutralise any potential danger

Indian Airlines to fly 3% more weekly flights in 2024 winter schedule: DGCA

It has been observed that there are 25,007 departures per week which have been finalized to/from 124 airports as per Winter Schedule 24, DGCA said

Vistara stood out by empowering frontline employees: Chairman Bhaskar Bhat

Its 'differentiation' was dealing with customers inside and outside aircraft, he says

Airlines suspend flights in region amidst rising Middle East tensions

Airlines said they would avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Jordanian airspace amid rise in escalation

2 pilots among 3 killed as helicopter crashes, bursts into flames in Pune

Two pilots and an engineer were killed after a helicopter crashed and caught fire in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said. The helicopter belonging to the Delhi-based Heritage Aviation, a private firm, took off from the Oxford County Golf Course helipad here and was heading to Juhu in Mumbai when it crashed at 7.40 am, they said. The incident took place near a hilly terrain in Bavdhan area, which is close to the gold course, according to police "Three persons have died in the helicopter crash. Our teams along with fire department vehicles have reached the spot," Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinaykumar Choubey said. Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Gaikwad said the helicopter, belonging to Heritage Aviation, took off from the helipad of Oxford County Golf Course and crashed near Bavdhan in the hilly terrain, killing two pilots and an engineer onboard the chopper. An official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also said the

AI Express-AIX Connect merger key in transformation journey: Wilson

The merger of AIX Connect with Air India Express is an important milestone in the transformation journey of Air India Group and the merged entity will cater to the growing air travel demand, Campbell Wilson said on Tuesday. Wilson is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Air India as well as the Chairman of Air India Express. Aviation regulator DGCA has approved the merger of AIX Connect with Air India Express, which will now focus on future growth and transformation agenda, according to a release. The merged entity will operate under the 'Air India Express' name and a unified airline code 'IX'. With the merger completed, Air India Express will focus on a future growth and transformation agenda. "About a year ago, we started the integration of AIX Connect and Air India Express, bringing the two organisations together behind a common brand. "Alongside, we worked on the complex integration exercise culminating today in the operational and legal merger of the two ...

Air India passenger finds 'cockroach' in food; airline expresses concern

An Air India passenger has complained of finding a cockroach in an omelette served onboard the flight from the national capital to New York, with the airline saying the matter has been taken up with the catering service provider for further investigation. "We are aware of a social media post by a passenger regarding a foreign object in the onboard meal offered to them on AI 101 operating from DEL to JFK on 17 September 2024," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement and also expressed concern over the incident. In a post on X, the passenger said a cockroach was found in the omelette served on the flight from Delhi to New York. "My 2 year old finished more than half of it with me when we found this. Suffered from food poisoning as a result," she said. The passenger also shared a short video and pictures of the food items served during the flight. She tagged Air India, aviation regulator DGCA and Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu in the post. In the statement, the ...

Adani Group, Bombardier explore partnership to boost Indian aviation sector

Discussions between Adani Defence & Aerospace and Canadian jet manufacturer Bombardier primarily focused on aircraft services, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO)

Civil aviation growth, regional connectivity made air travel inclusive: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday highlighted the growth of the Indian civil aviation sector and said air travel has become inclusive with the regional air connectivity scheme. Emphasising that the civil aviation sector has a major role in growth and creates many jobs, Modi said efforts should be made to ensure that the skies remain open for all and that people's dream of flying is fulfilled. The Prime Minister was addressing the Second Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in the national capital, where he suggested the idea of having an international Buddhist circuit. Under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN, which has helped lower middle-class people to fly, 14 million people have travelled by air, Modi said. According to him, a growing middle class and their demand are driving forces for the civil aviation sector, and UDAN has made air travel inclusive. The government is preparing the country for advanced air mobility, and air taxis will be a reali

Efforts on to make India global aviation hub, build aircraft: KR Naidu

Highlighting the aviation sector's growth potential, Union minister K Rammohan Naidu on Wednesday said efforts are on to make India a global aviation hub as well as to start manufacturing aircraft in the country. With Asia-Pacific region poised to lead global aviation growth, Naidu said strategic investments in infrastructure and collaboration amongst the regional stakeholders is critical to achieving sustainable growth across the sector. Speaking at the second Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in the national capital, Naidu emphasised on three elements -- infrastructure, integration and innovation -- for the sector's growth. "My ministry is working with the vision of establishing a seamless aviation landscape in the country, integrating helicopters and seaplane operations alongside wide-body aircraft under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN," he noted. India is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets and the fleet size of domestic carriers

Civil aviation ministry trying to address SpiceJet's issues: Rammohan Naidu

The civil aviation ministry is looking at the issues being faced by SpiceJet and address them as the efforts are aimed at having a balance that will allow operations of more airlines amid the high demand in the Indian market, Union minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Monday. The airline is grappling with multiple issues, including financial and legal woes. On August 29, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) decided to place crisis-hit SpiceJet under enhanced surveillance that will entail increased spot checks and night surveillance to ensure the safety of the airline's operations. "We are looking at SpiceJet... with the demand we have, we need more airlines to operate. So we are trying to have a balance and address the problems and (ensure the) airline runs properly," the minister said. He was responding to a question about concerns regarding the budget carrier. To a query about air ticket prices, the minister said airfares are market-driven and it is being monitored by th