Page 3 - Civil Aviation

Domestic air passenger traffic up by 96% in Jan from last year: Icra

Domestic air passenger traffic touched 1.25 crore in January this year, an increase of 96 per cent compared to the year-ago period, according to rating agency Icra. However, it said the traffic remained around 2 per cent lower compared to the pre-Covid levels -- January 2020. The traffic stood at 64 lakh in January last year. Icra is maintaining a negative outlook on the Indian aviation industry, reflecting the view that the financial performance of Indian airlines is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, even though the recovery in domestic passenger traffic has been healthy. While a meaningful improvement in passenger traffic is expected in FY2023, the pace of recovery in the industry earnings will be gradual, it said on Wednesday. Icra noted that the net loss in FY2023 is expected to be notably lower compared to Rs 235 billion (RS 23,500 crore) net loss in FY2022, primarily due to recovery in passenger traffic, fare hikes and lower interest burden. In January this y

Passenger traffic at Bangalore International Airport surges 71% in 2022

Passenger traffic at Bangalore International Airport surged 71 per cent to 27.5 million in CY2022 aided by massive recovery in the domestic passenger volume, which reached 85 per cent of the 2019 (pre-pandemic) level and stood at 24.36-million during the year. The rapid recovery in traffic was driven by a host of factors including relaunching of key routes and introduction of new routes connecting leading business hubs and travel destinations, among others, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said on Tuesday. The international traffic recovered 65 per cent of the pre-Covid level at 3.14-million in 2022 as compared to around 940,000 in 2021. The private airport operator had flown a total of 12.39 million passengers as of December 31, 2021. There was a sharp increase in passenger numbers during the year-end holiday season with as many as 3.13 million passengers travelling in December 2022 (of which, 2.74 million were domestic passengers) surpassing the pre-Covid record of 3.0

846 domestic, 458 international flights delayed at IGI airport in Dec-Jan

20 domestic departures, three international departures, 31 domestic arrivals and three international arrivals were cancelled at IGI Airport in December 2022 and January 2023

IndiGo Q3: Focus on international destinations lifts outlook, say analysts

IndiGo's international business during the quarter stood at 105 per cent compared to pre-Covid levels

Number of airports in country to go up to over 200: Jyotiraditya Scindia

The Civil Aviation Ministry has drawn up plans to boost air connectivity by taking the total number of airports operating in the country to over 200 over the next five-six years under its vision of increasing the 'width and depth of air penetration,' Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said here on Saturday. Scindia, here on a brief visit, said in its 67 years of independence the country saw only 74 new airports being built while in the last 8.5 years it has been increased to 147 under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi rule. "We are just one short of doubling that number. The 148th airport will be also completed this month itself which means that what India took 66-67 years to build and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has been done in a period of nine years." he told reporters. Scindia said the Ministry has envisaged to take the number of airports operating in the country to over 200 in the next five to six years. "Another 50 additional airports, waterdromes and

Air India, AirAsia to tweak 'flight path' to avoid internal competition

Under this "streamlining" plan, Air India is likely to completely exit from five routes and AirAsia India might stop operating services on four other routes, sources said

8 accidents involving planes of flying training org occurred in 2022: Govt

Eight accidents involving planes of flying training organisations happened in 2022 and investigation related to one accident has been completed so far, according to the government. At present, there are 35 Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) operating at 53 bases as approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said there were a total of eight accidents in 2022 involving FTO aircraft. Probe into the accidents are carried out by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). As per data provided by the minister, the investigation into the accident at Jakkur Aerodrome in Bengaluru that happened on April 21, 2022 has been completed. A Cessna 185 plane was involved and the operator was Agni Aero Sports Adventure Academy (P) Ltd. Singh, in another written reply, said in June 2022, six FTO slots were awarded by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at five airports -- ...

Budget 2023-24: Civil Aviation Ministry's allocation dips to Rs 3,113.36 cr

The Budget allocated Rs 3,113.36 crore to the ministry, against Rs 10,667 crore in 2022-23, which was later revised to Rs 9,363.70 crore

Budget 'progressive'; ticks all boxes, powers India's growth drive: Scindia

The Union Budget is "progressive" and ticks all the boxes and powers the country's growth drive, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday. In a series of tweets, Scindia said the Budget is rightly focused on consumption and investment stimulus, and more money in the hands of the growing middle class. On Wednesday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for 2023-24, which is also the last full-fledged budget of the current government before the general elections next year. Among other announcements, Sitharaman said the capital investment outlay is being increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be in 2023-24. "#AmritKaalBudget strikes a fine balance b/w uplifting women,youth, Kisan & the middle class, unleashing of animal spirits of MSMEs, and fiscal consolidation. A "progressive" budget that ticks all the boxes & powers India's growth drive. A budget for all! @nsitharaman," Scindia ...

Queen of the Skies: Boeing's iconic jumbo B747 set to fly off into history

The iconic jumbo B747, also called the 'Queen of the Skies', is set to fly off into history when Boeing delivers the last such plane to Atlas Air from its Everett manufacturing facility in Washington on February 1. The US aircraft maker had rolled out the first B747-100 plane on September 30, 1968, while the first 747 entered service on launch customer Pan Am Airlines' New YorkLondon route on January 21, 1970. In March 1993, the aircraft maker brought out the cargo version of the plane. However, in July 2020, after running the iconic jumbo aircraft programme for nearly 52 years, the aircraft maker announced it will end production of the 'Queen of the Skies' by the end of 2022 due to market preference. Atlas Air was the final 747 customer with an order of four 747-8 freighters, according to Boeing. The last B747 was rolled out from the production facility on December 6 last year. In the 55-year period, Boeing built a total of 1,574 B747 aircraft with four engines for over 100 ...

Great potential in civil aviation sector; air travel rebounded: Eco Survey

The country's civil aviation sector has "great potential" owing to growing demand from the middle class, higher disposable incomes and favourable demographics, while air travel has rebounded with the lifting of the coronavirus pandemic-related curbs, according to the Economic Survey. The survey for 2022-23, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, listed various factors that are helping the civil aviation sector, including the UDAN scheme, which has considerably enhanced regional connectivity through the opening of airports in the hinterland. Under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which is aimed to facilitate/ stimulate regional air connectivity by making it affordable, the total number of tourism routes has increased to 59 and presently, 51 are operational. "The civil aviation sector in India has great potential owing to growing demand from the middle class, growth in population and tourism, higher disposable incomes, favourable demographics, and greater penetration of aviation .

IndiGo's Turkish treat: Wide-body plane, hot meals, blankets on flight

The carrier has leased Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 for operations to Istanbul starting Wednesday

IndiGo Q3 preview: Airline to turn profitable amid healthy traffic, low ATF

The domestic air traffic capacity reached close to full capacity in Q3, while a pick up in international commercial flights provided the much needed relief to the aviation industry

Go First to get Rs 210 crore under govt's credit line guarantee scheme: CEO

Wadia group-owned Go First expects to receive Rs 210 crore under the government's credit line guarantee scheme next month as the budget airline seeks to boost its financial position and expand operations. The airline, which received Rs 210 crore from the promoters last month, aims to have 53 operational aircraft in its fleet by the start of April this year, its CEO Kaushik Khona told PTI. The airline currently has 37 aircraft in operation. Apart from the coronavirus pandemic headwinds and intense competition, the no-frills airline is grappling with the Pratt & Whitney engine issues that have forced it to ground many planes due to a shortage of spare engines. Under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), which has come as a relief for many pandemic-hit sectors, Go First has so far availed Rs 600 crore. With promoters' infusing Rs 210 crore, the airline will be able to get an equal amount under the ECLGS next month, Khona said. In an interview, Khona said the engine ...

AIX Connect Lucknow-Kolkata flight aborts take off after bird-hit; grounded

A Kolkata-bound AIX Connect (earlier known as AirAsia India) flight from Lucknow aborted take-off and returned to the bay on Sunday following a bird hit. The aircraft has been grounded for a detailed inspection, the airline said in a statement. There were 147 passengers onboard the aircraft. "Flight i5-319, scheduled to operate from Lucknow to Kolkata, encountered a bird strike during the take-off roll. As a result, the aircraft returned to the bay and was grounded for detailed inspection," AIX Connect said. The budget carrier said the impacted passengers were attended to, and it is making efforts to mitigate the impact on the integrity of other scheduled operations.

Industry expects Budget to provide thrust to UDAN, help more airports

The govt has set a target to operationalize 1,000 UDAN routes during the currency of the scheme and to revive and develop 100 unserved and underserved airports, heliports, water aerodromes by 2024

UK regional airline Flybe slumps into bankruptcy for second time in 3 years

Struggling UK regional airline Flybe collapsed for the second time in three years Saturday, putting jobs on the line and leaving passengers stranded. The airline initially slumped into bankruptcy in March 2020, shedding 2,400 jobs, as coronavirus restrictions decimated the travel industry. It relaunched in April last year, flying many of the same routes out of Belfast, Birmingham and London Heathrow. In a statement, the grounded flyer said it had called in bankruptcy accountants again, and warned passengers not to travel to airports as all flights were now cancelled, including its international routes from Switzerland and the Netherlands. The UK's Civil Aviation Authority said passengers should make their own alternative travel arrangements via other airlines, rail or coach operators, leaving customers with lengthy and potentially expensive trips to get home. CAA consumer director Paul Smith said: It is always sad to see an airline enter administration and we know that Flybe's ...

DGCA imposes Rs 10-lakh penalty on Go First for 9 January incident

This is the third case of an airline getting penalised for lapses

Tata's Air India to seal half of jumbo plane order of 495 jets: Report

The order, once finalised, aims to put Air India in the league of large global airlines

British Airways sees strong India demand, adds third flight from Mumbai

UK airline adding capacity for 'incredibly important market' in face of increased competition