Page 3 - Pilots

Air India crafts action plan to resolve spectrum of pilot concerns

In light of pilots identifying errors in flight plans, the airline will randomly scrutinise five per cent of dispatched flight plans for enhanced oversight

Bombay HC reserves order on plea maintainability in Akasa-pilot matter

The order, which will now be pronounced on 27 September, will decide if the troubled airline can proceed with the case before the Bombay High Court

Can't interfere in employment pact between Akasa, pilots: DGCA in Delhi HC

The bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Arora recently kept the order reserved and asked the concerned parties to file their written synopsis

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

Akasa Air approached Bombay HC to save court fees: Pilot's counsel

He argued that the move to choose Bombay HC over Delhi HC is to 'reap the maximum payable amount'

DGCA is issuing pilot licenses within indicative timeline, MoCA clarifies

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday said the DGCA is meeting the indicative timelines for the issuance of pilot licences despite an increase in the number of applications. "It is clarified that the application processing time may vary depending upon the complexity and completeness of the application submitted. The indicative timelines published for Issue & Conversion of Commercial Pilot License (CPL) by DGCA is 20 & 30 working days respectively," it said in a statement. According to the ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been meeting the indicative timelines despite an increase in number of applications. "Average timelines achieved for applications during 2023 for CPL Issue & Conversion is 22 and 31 working days". The total number of CPLs issued in 2022 was the highest in the last decade and this number has already been surpassed in September 2023, it added. Further, the statement said the number of CPLs issued is likely to be the ...

Confident of overcoming crisis: Akasa Air pilots contradict airline

The airline's pilots said they were not worried about the airline shutting shop anytime soon

Akasa's future: CEO Dube seeks to douse fire lit by lawyers' closure claims

Akasa's lawyers had said in the Delhi HC on Tuesday that the airline was in a "state of crises" and might "shut down" due to the abrupt resignation of 43 pilots to join rival airlines

Former Akasa pilots challenge maintainability of lawsuits filed by airline

The pilots contend that since their employment contracts were signed in Delhi, the case should fall under the jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court

Akasa flying less after some pilots quit abruptly: CEO Vinay Dube

The company has initiated legal action against the pilots that have quit without serving their mandatory contractual notice period, Dube said

33 pilots, 97 cabin-crew members found drunk on duty in H1 of 2023: DGCA

According to DGCA rules, pilots and cabin crew members must undergo pre-flight breathalyzer tests

IndiGo to use tech to keep check on pilot fatigue, trial in next few months

It will also conduct a proof-of-concept trial for this system to assess the alertness of pilots over the next few months

DGCA is unlikely to hold radio communication skill test for pilots in 2024

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) might not hold radio communication skill tests, also known as Radio Telephony exam, for pilots in 2024, according to sources. On May 1, 2023, the Ministry of Communication, which presently conducts the test, officially handed over the responsibility of conducting the test to DGCA from 2024 onwards after aviation experts and pilots' bodies alleged lack of expertise and malpractices. However, the regulator has initiated a process to scrap the post of officers responsible to hold the exam. Radio communication skill tests, officially called Radio Telephony Restricted License or RTR(A) test, is conducted for pilots by the Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing of the Ministry of Communication to assess if they are fully trained to communicate with Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) for all kinds of situations. Radio telephone is a communication system operated between air crew members and pilots to connect with ATCs and ..

Pilot's death brings focus back on industry norms to handle fatigue

Rules in 2019 allowed pilot to fly commercial passenger flights for two consecutive nights

Pilots to unite to raise fatigue woes after colleague's pre-flight death

IndiGo, which operates 1,900 flights a day, said it has a comprehensive fatigue management system which tracks various parameters in line with international best practices

Pilots' lack of familiarisation factor for Pawan Hans chopper crash: AAIB

Pilots' lack of familiarisation with automatic flight control systems was one of the contributing factors that led to Pawan Hans' Sikorsky helicopter crash that killed four people off the Mumbai coast in June last year, according to an investigation report that has also called for various corrective measures. In its final report on the accident involving Sikorsky S-76D helicopter that was operated by Pawan Hans, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has also flagged the passenger safety briefing video did not provide correct guidance for inflation of life jackets. Out of the seven people who were onboard the chopper, the report said that all of them evacuated from the helicopter but only five could inflate the life jackets. The helicopter was to operate a crew change sortie to ONGC-operated Sagar Kiran Rig in Mumbai off-shore. The accident happened on June 28, 2022, as the helicopter entered into uncontrolled flight during its final approach and fell into the ...

Delhi HC dismisses plea against reduction in allowances of Air India pilots

The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with the Centre's decision reducing allowances of Air India pilots on account of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, saying the pilots, who were taking home lakhs of rupees in spite of the cut when many others in the country had lost their livelihood, cannot claim victimisation. A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad took judicial notice of the complete lockdown in 2020, when all aviation operations were suspended, as well as the fact that pilots across various airlines lost their jobs but Air India ensured there were no lay-offs. Dismissing an appeal by Executive Pilots Association against a single bench order rejecting its plea assailing the reduction, the bench remarked, "The fact that a pilot even without the allowance takes home a pay package of Rs 6 to 7 lakh as compared to many other people in the country who lost their entire livelihood during the pandemic cannot raise a grouse that they

Passengers stranded for three hours after Air India pilot refuses to fly

The stranded passengers were asked to look for alternative arrangements in Jaipur

Air India pilots suspended for inviting woman friend into cockpit

The Air India management suspended the two pilots after receiving a complaint from the cabin crew about the cockpit violation

Air India growing, hiring 600 cabin crew members, pilots every month: CEO

Bullish on growth prospects with a "healthy start" to Air India's five-year transformation plan, its chief Campbell Wilson on Monday said the airline is hiring 550 cabin crew members and 50 pilots every month and also expects to have six wide-body A350 planes in its fleet by the end of this year. After taking over the reins from the government in January last year, Tata Group has put in place various measures to turn around the fortunes of the loss-making carrier, including placing the largest order for 470 planes and expanding international operations. Talking about the airline's hiring plans, Wilson, who is the Managing Director and CEO, said there is no target per se, but about 550 cabin crew members and 50 pilots are coming in and trained afresh every month. "In the case of cabin crew members, it is about ten times and in the case of pilots, it is about five times on an annual rate of the pre-privatised airline," he told PTI in an interview in the national capital. According to