Page 9 - Civil Aviation Sector

Domestic air passenger traffic rises 11% to 12.6 mn in Oct: Official data

Domestic air passenger traffic in the country recorded an annual growth of nearly 11 per cent to 1.26 crore in October, according to official data released on Thursday. The traffic stood at 1.14 crore passengers in October 2022 and at 1.22 crore passengers in September this year. The data released by aviation regulator DGCA showed that IndiGo carried 79.07 lakh passengers, garnering a domestic market share of 62.6 per cent in October. The market share was lower compared to 63.4 per cent registered in September. Last month, Air India's domestic market share climbed to 10.5 per cent from 9.8 per cent in September while that of Vistara and AirAsia India (renamed as AIX Connect) declined to 9.7 per cent and 6.6 per cent, respectively, in October. SpiceJet's market share grew to 5 per cent in October from 4.4 per cent in September while that of Akasa Air remained unchanged at 4.2 per cent. "Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-October 2023 were 1,254.98 lakhs as again

Airlines in India need to implement Rights of PwD Act provisions: Ruling

All airlines, including foreign companies, operating in the country are responsible for implementing the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Court of Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities said. The court's ruling came after it took suo motu cognisance of a post on 'X' by Smrithy Rajesh alleging that her son, who has Autism, was ill-treated at the Bangalore airport by SriLankan Airlines employees. The court's findings revealed a lack of awareness and sensitivity towards the needs of individuals with disabilities on the part of the airline's employees and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it said. The court also highlighted that the SriLankan Airlines' policy, if it necessitates medical clearance for select categories of persons with disabilities before boarding a flight, is inconsistent with the global civil aviation requirements. "All airlines, whether Indian or foreign, operating in the country are responsible for ...

New national policy may turn India's airports into global transit hubs

If enacted, the policy will address challenges such as double security checks and immigration bottlenecks to better streamline travel

Breath analyser: DGCA issues new norms; pilots, crew not to use mouthwash

Pilots and crew members cannot use mouthwash, tooth gel or any such substance that has alcoholic content, as that could result in positive breath analyser test, according to revised norms issued by aviation regulator DGCA. Besides, various changes have been made to the norms pertaining to the procedure for medical examination of aircraft personnel for alcohol consumption. In a release on Wednesday, DGCA said it has revised the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on procedure for medical examination of aircraft personnel for alcohol consumption with the objective of enhancing safety of aircraft operations coupled with streamlining provisions of the existing regulations in line with feedback from industry and stakeholders from time to time for more effective implementation. "No crew member shall consume any drug/formulation or use any substance such as mouthwash/tooth gel or any such product which has alcoholic content. "This may result into positive breath analyser test. Any crew memb

Air India Express will focus on routes with price-sensitive customers: MD

Air India's low-cost subsidiary Air India Express will focus on routes which have a higher component of price-sensitive customers and leisure travellers, airline's Managing Director Aloke Singh has said. Singh also said that Air India Express is not looking at spreading its capacity all over the country in the beginning and instead will first consolidate its presence on the existing routes. A subsidiary of Air India, Air India Express is in the process of merging low-cost domestic carrier AirAsia India with itself, and last week unveiled its new brand identity. Air India Group, comprising Air India, Air India Express, AIX Connect and Vistara, is owned by the Tatas, which is also in the process of consolidating its airline business. As part of it, Vistara, which is a 51:49 joint venture airline between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, is also in the process of merging with AI India. "The focus of Air India Express will be on routes which have a higher component of leisure travelle

Akasa Air plans to list on bourses by end of the decade: CEO Vinay Dube

India's newest airline Akasa Air, which is set to soon fly on international routes and will be placing a three-digit aircraft order, plans to list on the bourses by the end of the decade, its Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube told PTI. The 14-month-old Akasa Air, which already operates more than 750 weekly flights across 16 domestic destinations, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Delhi, is looking at "gathering a little more history" before launching an initial public offering (IPO), he said. The airline plans to start international services by the end of this fiscal and has placed a firm order for 76 Boeing 737 MAX aeroplanes, all of which will join its fleet by mid-2027. Currently, Akasa Air has a fleet of 20 aircraft and is looking to place an order for three-digit aircraft before the end of 2023, he noted. Dube, the founder and CEO, said the airline is already generating free cash from operations and is well-funded for the new aircraft order it is going to place. Abo

Air India seeks to boost its talent pool with interactive program SOAR

Air India has started an interactive programme to hire students from business schools as the airline expands its fleet and operations. The Tata Group-owned carrier on Thursday said it started SOAR (Spirit of Aviation Reimagined) in August and is a first-of-its-kind student interactive programme in the aviation industry. This unique move to engage fresh talent to the nuances of the aviation sector will go a long way in augmenting Air India's employee pool with the best talent, it said in a release on Thursday. SOAR is the airline's business challenge-based annual nationwide B-school competition and part of its campus outreach programme. The loss-making carrier, which has embarked on a five-year transformation journey under the Tata Group, said its talent augmentation drives over the last one year have been receiving overwhelming response from the market and leading institutes with the initial recruitment drive for management post-graduates drawing response from over 25,000 applicant

Go First extends flight cancellation till Nov 30 citing operational reasons

The airline has approximately 4,200 employees, and it reported total revenue from operations at Rs 4,183 crore in the financial year 2021-22

DGCA implements new rules for powered hang gliders to enhance safety

On October 7, an infiltrator of Hamas, a terror group, used a motorised hang glider to enter Israel

Govt amends aircraft rules; commercial pilot license to be valid for 10 yrs

Commercial pilot licenses will now be valid for ten years, with the government amending rules as part of efforts to further improve ease of doing business in the aviation sector. Till now, the validity of Commercial Pilot License (CPL) was for five years and after completion of that period, it had to be renewed. The civil aviation ministry amended the Aircraft Rules, 1937. Among various changes made, the validity of licenses in relation to Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and CPL holders has been increased from five years to ten years. "This change is expected to reduce administrative burden on pilots and aviation authorities like DGCA, promoting a more streamlined and efficient licensing process," the ministry said in a statement on Monday. Besides, rules have been amended to address concerns related to the display of lights in the vicinity of an aerodrome. It has also been clarified that the term 'light' encompasses lantern lights, wish kites, and laser lights. Also, the

Pilot licence now valid for 10 years, says civil aviation ministry

These licences will be issued to pilots at the time when their pilot's licence is up for renewal

IIFCL sanctions loans worth Rs 8,800 cr to develop civil aviation infra

India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 8,800 crore for airports and civil aviation infrastructure development in the country, its Managing Director PR Jaishankar has said. The government has an ambitious target to develop the civil aviation sector in the country, and to realise the dream, huge investment is required, he noted. "So far, the IIFCL has sanctioned loans of about Rs 8,800 crore with the disbursement of around Rs 4,000 crore for the development of airport projects," he told PTI. The company is one of the major financiers of airports in India and has supported airports with a total project outlay of about Rs 74,000 crore, he said, adding that IIFCL is present in almost all major airports of the country. Over the past few years, India has seen massive growth in the airport sector with increasing investments from both government and private sector, mainly due to a rising proportion of middle-income households, infrastructure build

Air India commissions mega warehouse facility in Delhi for engg spares

Air India on Friday said it has commissioned a mega warehouse facility in Delhi for storing over 1,000,000 engineering spares for aircraft maintenance. Spread across 54,000 sq ft and located near Terminal 3, at Delhi Airport's cargo complex, the centralised warehousing facility will improve the turnaround time of flights operating out of Delhi, the company said. The facility will offer a one-stop solution for storing aircraft spares, tools and ground support equipment ranging from hardware to sophisticated and complex avionics, hydraulics, structural, pneumatic, and mechanical components, it said. "This facility will not only boost Air India's fleet and operational efficiency but will also strengthen India's aviation ecosystem. The warehouse will offer us more proximate access to and better control over our aircraft spares enabling us to meet any engineering requirement promptly -- leading to improved punctuality of flights," Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said. The warehouse

90% of our MRO expenses directed to foreign firms: IndiGo to MoCA

Reach out to aircraft equipment makers to set up MROs in India: IndiGo to govt

Pilot exodus: Akasa stops flights on 8 routes, reduces service on 10 others

The airline's spokesperson said that the airline is poised to take delivery of additional aircraft from Boeing in the remainder of 2023-24

Indian aviation has scope for 130-150 more wide-body aircraft: GE Aerospace

India's fast-growing civil aviation market has the scope to have 130-150 more wide-body planes as airlines expand their operations and there is also the potential for more such aircraft to be deployed in dense domestic routes, GE Aerospace South Asia CEO Vikram Rai said. GE Aerospace, a leading aircraft engine maker, sees a "great potential" in India, which is also the world's third largest aviation market and domestic airlines have nearly 1,500 aircraft on order. While emphasising that "India is a focus market and a priority market for GE Aerospace", Rai said that in his view, domestic airlines would consider having more wide-body planes in their fleet and also deploy them in dense domestic routes. "I see wide-body aircraft as a growth path for us and the airlines which is a win-win (scenario)," he told PTI in a recent interview. Currently, India has around 700 commercial planes in operation and out of them, there are only about 50 wide-body aircraft. Air India has around 49 ...

Bomb threat triggers emergency landing of Akasa flight in Varanasi

The aircraft landed on a separate runway and passengers were disembarked immediately. CISF personnel conducted a thorough search of the plane for about an hour. Nothing was found during checking

DGCA can act against noncompliance of pilots to aviation rules: Delhi HC

The court clarified that pilots who are resigning without serving their notice periods during the pendency of the current case do so at their own risk

No proof of flight cancellations due to Akasa pilot exits: DGCA to HC

Akasa had told the court that they have cancelled 24 flights per day and they operate 120 flights per day

Can't interfere in dispute between Akasa Air and its pilots: DGCA

The DGCA "does not have any power or delegated authority to interfere in any employment contract," it said