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Civil Aviation Ministry
The Centre would soon commence a new route connecting Vellore under its flagship UDAN scheme, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia said here on Saturday. As many as 473 new routes have been operationalised under the UDAN scheme launched by the Centre to boost air connectivity in Tier-II and -III cities, he said at an event here. "In terms of airport, Salem airport has been operationalised (in Tamil Nadu). Vellore will be operational in the next couple of months. Fourteen routes of UDAN will be coming in Tamil Nadu," he said soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the new integrated terminal building at the Chennai airport here set up at a cost of Rs 1,260 crore. Scindia said under the UDAN Yojana 1.20 crore people have benefited who could never have dreamt of travelling in an aeroplane. The Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme was launched as a programme to offer air connectivity in Tier-II and -III cities by the Union government. Scindia said the new integrate
A total of 10 passengers have been put on the 'No Fly List' this year till March 15, the government said on Monday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said that a total of 66 and 63 passengers have been placed in the 'No Fly List' in 2021 and 2022, respectively, for the period as recommended by the airline's Internal Committee constituted in accordance with Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on unruly passengers. "In 2023, 10 passengers have been placed in 'No Fly List' up to 15.03.2023. The majority of the passengers placed in 'No Fly List' were for violation related to not wearing masks or not obeying the instructions of the crew members," he said. To deal with unruly behaviour onboard flights, aviation regulator DGCA has issued a CAR titled 'Handling of unruly/ disruptive passengers'. As per the CAR, airlines are required to follow a prescribed procedure for holding passengers accountable before they are placed in the 'No Fly List
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
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
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 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
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 .
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