Page 2 - Civil Aviation

Crew crunch amid network expansion forces Air India to cut six US flights

A few flights to Bangkok and Dubai will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft instead of the wide-body Boeing 787

'Pee' gate: DGCA to place on record details where offender can appeal ban

The DGCA Wednesday told the Delhi High Court it will place on record the details of a committee under the Civil Aviation Requirements for Unruly Passengers that will hear the appeal of Shankar Mishra, the man accused of urinating on a woman on board an Air India flight, against the 4-month flying ban slapped on him after the incident. The DGCA made the submission when the court was hearing a plea by Mishra seeking direction to the authorities to expeditiously constitute an appellate committee in accordance with Rule 8.3 of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) for Unruly Passengers issued by the Office of the Director General of Civil Aviation. Noting the submission of DGCA, Justice Prathiba M Singh listed the matter for further hearing on March 23. During the hearing, the counsel for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said he will be placing on record the constitution of the committee within one week and Mishra can file the appeal there. In his plea, Mishra said an inquiry

17 airstrips cleared for private sector investments in Uttar Pradesh

UP government is bullish on the aviation sector after tourist inflow surged by 27% in the past five years

Ensure airlines do not practice predatory pricing: Parl panel tells govt

A parliamentary panel has asked the civil aviation ministry to cap the upper and lower levels of airfares, and ensure that predatory pricing mechanism is not adopted by the airlines under the cloak of free market economy. "A perfect balance has to be maintained between the commercial interest of the private airlines and the interest of the passengers so as to enable the private airlines to grow and at the same time the interest of passengers should also be kept in mind, so that they are not fleeced in the garb of commercialisation," the panel said. The recommendations have been made by the Department -related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in its report on the ministry's demand for grants for 2023-24. The report was tabled in Parliament on Monday. Among others, there have been complaints about sudden surge in air ticket prices during peak travel seasons. The committee also observed that presently the surge in airfares does not reflect any sort of

No proposal to lease non-operational airstrips for pilot training: Govt

The civil aviation ministry on Monday said there is no proposal to lease non-operational air strips to pilot training institutions for the purpose of training pilots. There are 35 Flying Training Organisations (FTO) in the country operating from 53 bases that provide aircraft flying training to obtain Commercial Pilot License (CPL). These FTOs have been approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said that in 2021, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) awarded nine FTO slots at five airports at Belagavi (Karnataka), Jalgaon (Maharashtra), Kalaburgi (Karnataka), Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) and Lilabari (Assam). These slots were awarded through a competitive bidding process. Last June, 6 FTO slots were awarded at five AAI airports -- two at Bhavnagar (Gujarat), and one each at Hubballi (Karnataka), Kadappa (Andhra Pradesh), Kishangarh (Rajasthan) and Salem (Tamil Nadu). To a que

Man accused of smoking, unruly behaviour on Air India flight gets bail

A 34-year-old US citizen booked for allegedly smoking on board an Air India flight and unruly behaviour towards the crew was granted bail by a court here on Monday, police said. The passenger was found smoking in the lavatory of London-Mumbai flight AI130 on March 10 and behaved in an unruly manner with the crew after they were alerted by the smoke alarm and threw the cigarette from his hand, the official said. The airline officials handed him over to police when the flight landed in Mumbai, he said. "The man, who is of Indian origin and holds a US passport, was produced in Andheri court and was granted bail on a surety of Rs 20,000. He will be released once he deposits this amount," the Sahar police station official said. He was charged under section 336 (whoever does any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others) and other provisions of Indian Penal Code and Aircraft Act, the official added.

Civil aviation ministry organises chintan shivir for official, stakeholders

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

Air India plans single pay structure, common seniority list for pilots

Air India was unable to create a single seniority list of pilots after merging with Indian Airlines in 2007 as pilots from both sides bickered on the issue

Amid record aircraft orders, aviation remains a long-term play: Analysts

A linear profit growth is unlikely for the Indian aviation players as high oil prices hit the industry every two-three years

India has enough potential for recurring aircraft orders: GE Aerospace

Leading engine maker GE Aerospace has said there is enough potential for recurring aircraft orders by Indian carriers as massive growth is happening in the country's civil aviation space. Against the backdrop of Tata Group-owned Air India placing firm orders for 470 aircraft, a top official of GE Aerospace also said that India, which is the world's third largest aviation market, has the potential for growth in both wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. Besides, GE Aerospace's Country Head for South Asia & Indonesia Vikram Rai told PTI that the supply chain situation will be better this year, compared to 2022. There are around 700 commercial planes flying in India, with a majority of them being narrow-body aircraft. The civil aviation ministry is also working on ways to make an international aviation hub for which Indian carriers will have to have more wide-body planes in order to carry international traffic. Referring to the aircraft orders, Rai said these orders are huge "but there

Air India order accounts for 25% of Boeing, Airbus pre-Covid book

Earlier this week, Tata group-owned Air India announced a mega order for 470 new aircraft from Airbus (250) and Boeing (220)

HAL receives DGCA approval for indigenously developed 'black boxes'

The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd said on Thursday it has received the Indian Technical Standard Order (ITSO) authorisation from Directorate General of Civil Aviation for its indigenously developed Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR). The ITSO is a minimum performance standard for specified materials, parts, processes, and appliances used on civil aircraft, the Bengaluru-headquartered HAL noted in a statement. CVR and FDR are popularly known as 'black boxes'. However, these recorders are painted in orange colour to help in their recovery following an aircraft accident. CVR and FDR are used to record critical flight parameters and audio environment in a crash proof memory which is later used for investigation of aircraft incident or accident, it was noted.

A jumbo deal

Air India's purchase commitment has multiple implications

Air India seals world's largest aircraft deal at $70 bn, orders 470 planes

Air India had last ordered planes in 2006, when it had booked 111 aircraft: 68 from Boeing and 43 from Airbus

A350 is centerpiece of Air India's long-haul strategy: Airbus India chief

Remi Maillard says first A350 will be delivered before end of this year; it only takes 11 days to qualify an A320 plane pilot into an A350 pilot

Air India to add over 90 planes in two years in first order since 2006

This includes 56 planes that are part of mega aircraft order signed with Airbus and Boeing. These will be in addition to previously announced leases of 36 planes

UP to soon have maximum number of domestic flights in India: Scindia

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said Uttar Pradesh will soon have the maximum number of domestic flight services in the country. Addressing a session on "Civil Aviation in Uttar Pradesh: The Emerging Opportunities" on the second day of the three-day Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit-2023 at Vrindavan Yojna here, Scindia said, "Uttar Pradesh will soon become the number one state with the maximum number of domestic flights." He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have rejuvenated the country and Uttar Pradesh, a state that had only two airports earlier and which has nine operational airports now. Scindia said the land of Ayodhya, Kashi (Varanasi) and Mathura has always shown a new path to the country. Describing Uttar Pradesh as a favourable destination for investment, he said the state has made great strides in every field. Ten new airports are being built in the state and the land survey work has started for two mo

Civil aviation ministry asks users to update DigiYatra app to fix cache

The civil aviation ministry on Friday asked users to update the DigiYatra app to address app cache issues. The ministry's clarifications came a day after fintech firm BharatPe's co-founder Ashneer Grover tweeted that DigiYatra "won't work after new update". In a series of tweets, the ministry said the shared boarding pass QR code is available on the home screen of the app, so that passengers can easily scan it at the airport entry gate. Passengers can also go to the device folder, search and open the airline issued boarding pass PDF. "Android users are requested to update to version 2.0.1 which takes care of the app cache issues. Apple iOS App users, are also requested update to version 2.0.2 which is now available on the App Store. "Once you scan/ upload the boarding pass, a pop up window allows you to directly share the boarding pass to the Airport," it said. In another tweet, the ministry also appreciated the feedback given by Grover, saying it only helps to make the app work .

Foreign tourists quadrupled to 6.19 mn in 2022, but 43% lower than 2019

The government hopes a hundred per cent recovery in foreign tourist arrivals by December-end

Indian civil aviation system jumps to 55th rank in latest ICAO audit: DGCA

The audit was done in five areas, following which India received an updated overall effective implementation (EI) of 85.65%