Page 6 - Civil Aviation

DigiYatra data will be saved in decentralised manner, says Scindia

Passenger data shared for DigiYatra will be saved in an encrypted format in a decentralised manner, according to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The government on Thursday launched DigiYatra, which is based on facial recognition technology for air passengers, at Delhi, Bangalore and Varanasi airports. DigiYatra will be launched at four more airports -- Hyderabad, Pune, Vijayawada and Kolkata -- by March next year. Later, DigiYatra will be rolled out at other airports in the country, Scindia said at a briefing here. It will be available for passengers taking domestic flights. At Delhi airport, DigiYatra will be available for passengers taking domestic flights from Terminal 3 (T3). Scindia said DigiYatra data is stored in a decentralised manner. The minister was responding to queries about the privacy of data shared for DigiYatra. The data will be saved in an encrypted format and blockchain technology is being used. The data is stored in passengers' phones and the d

Airports, nearby areas may not get 5G network services anytime soon

DGCA asks telcos to ensure a buffer zone amid fears of C-band 5G interfering with aircraft altimeters

Air India gets first Boeing 777-200LR to fly on international route

The Boeing aircraft leased from Delta airlines has premium economy class along with standard classes

HCLTech signs multi-year contract with Swiss MRO firm SR Technics

HCLTech's role is to digitally transform the Swiss company's business, will implement a new greenfield SAP S/4HANA environment hosted on Microsoft Azure using RISE with SAP

Single-pilot operations only after thorough investigation, EASA says

European Aviation Safety Agency's proposal draws flak from pilots who say it is too risky

Air India leasing more planes to expand network, grow market share: CEO

Currently, the airline has 113 aircraft which include both narrow-body and wide-body Airbus and Boeing planes

Akasa Air to launch services on Visakhapatnam-Bengaluru route from Dec 10

Domestic carrier Akasa Air announced its plans to launch services to Visakhapatnam from Bengaluru, starting December 10, which will be the airline's 10th destination since its launch in August this year. The city-based airline recently announced connecting Pune and Bengaluru with double daily flights from November 26 and a third frequency on the route from December 10. Witnessing a rise in demand, the airline is further augmenting connectivity between Bengaluru and Ahmedabad by adding a third frequency starting December 17, Akasa said. Akasa Air will launch two daily flights on the Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam route, with the first frequency starting from December 10 and the second frequency from December 12, the airline said in a statement. With the introduction of these services, Akasa will now offer 24 daily non-stop flights ex-Bengaluru by connecting to eight cities - Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chennai, Kochi, Guwahati, Pune, and Visakhapatnam, it said. Of the 10 destinations, eig

Jet Airways consortium may take difficult decisions to manage cashflows

Amid the continuing uncertainty over the fate of grounded Jet Airways, the Jalan Kalrock Consortium on Friday said it has not breached any terms of the insolvency resolution plan and might take difficult near-term decisions to manage cashflows. The consortium's resolution plan was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June last year but the airline, which also got its air operator certificate revalidated by aviation regulator DGCA in May this year, is yet to start operations. "... while we await the handover of the company as per the NCLT process, the longer-than-expected time being taken for the same may result in some difficult but necessary near-term decisions to manage our cashflows to secure the future while the airline is still not in our possession," the Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC) said in a statement. It did not elaborate on the decisions that could be taken to manage the cashflows. "We have not breached any term of the resolution plan, and we remain ..

Civil aviation ministry to amend slot allocation guidelines for airlines

The civil aviation ministry is planning to amend the guidelines for the allocation of slots for airlines, wherein it has proposed to review the allocation every six months. A slot authorises an airline to operate a flight at a particular airport during a specific time. Under the proposal, the ministry has proposed changing the frequency of review of the slot allocation every six months from the current practice of one year. As per the proposed change, "historic precedence is only granted for a series of slots if the airline can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the coordinators that the series was operated at least 80 per cent of the time during the period allocated in the previous season". The ministry has sought comments on the proposal till November 28, according to a communication on its website. The country's civil aviation sector is slowly coming back to normal after being significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Udan levy on airlines to double from Jan due to inflation, route expansion

The official added that a 20 per cent contribution from state governments to the regional connectivity fund had been factored in while proposing the hike

Govt to increase levy for regional air connectivity scheme from January 1

The government will increase the regional air connectivity levy charged from airlines operating on major routes to Rs 10,000 per departure from January 1, a move that could push the airfares higher. Currently, the levy is Rs 5,000 per departure and the amount will further go up to Rs 15,000 from April 1 next year, according to a notification. To fund the regional air connectivity scheme -- UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) -- the civil aviation ministry has been collecting the levy from December 2016. As many as 451 UDAN routes were operational till November 1 this year and more such routes are expected to be added in the coming months. An airline industry official said the fares could rise by up to Rs 50 per person once the higher levy comes into force. As per the notification issued last month, the central government has decided to revise the levy and accordingly, the amount will be Rs 10,000 per departure from January 1 to March 31, 2023. From April 1, 2023 to April 30, 2027, the

India's scores in ICAO air safety audit to improve substantially: DGCA

India's scores in the ICAO's air safety oversight audit will improve substantially as the international watchdog's just-concluded validation mission was highly successful as per the initial reports, regulator DGCA said on Wednesday. ICAO is the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9 to 16. In a release on Wednesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the audit was conducted in the areas of legislation, organisation, personal licensing, operations, airworthiness and aerodromes. "As per the initial reports, the mission was highly successful. India has done extremely well and our scores will see a substantial improvement putting us in the company of nations with best safety standards and oversight systems," the release said. While the formal communication from ICAO will be received in due cours

India's aviation safety rank to improve after UN agency audit: DGCA

Says country fared well in ICAO audit of Nov 9-16 covering legislation, licensing, operations, airworthiness, among other areas; India was placed below Pakistan and Nepal an earlier exercise

Masks no more compulsory during air travel, says civil aviation ministry

The civil aviation ministry on Wednesday said the use of masks is not compulsory during air travel but passengers should preferably use them amid the declining number of coronavirus cases. Till now, the use of masks or face covers while travelling on flights was mandatory. In a communication to the scheduled airlines, the ministry said the latest decision has been taken in line with the government's policy of a graded approach to COVID-19 management response. "... the in-flight announcements henceforth may only mention that in view of the threat posed by COVID-19, all passengers should preferably use mask/face covers," the communication said. It also said that any specific reference to fine/penal action need not be announced as part of the in-flight announcements. The total number of active coronavirus cases in the country accounted was only 0.02 per cent of the total infections and the recovery rate increased to 98.79 per cent, according to the latest official data. The number o

India has potential to produce sustainable aviation fuel: IATA executive

India is among the countries that has the largest potential to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which will be a key enabler for the global airlines industry in reducing emissions, according to an IATA executive. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is a grouping of international airlines. Sebastian Mikosz, Senior Vice President for Environment & Sustainability at IATA, on Tuesday also suggested extending incentives for entities to enter the market for production of SAF. At a media roundtable here, Mikosz said that India is one of the countries which has the largest potential in producing SAF. Airlines will buy SAF, which is expected to account for around 65 per cent of decarbonisation and will be a key enabler in reducing emissions, he added. For production of SAF, there should be access to feedstock like biomass, he said and added that environmental problem has to be tackled at the global level. Earlier in the day, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said

SpiceJet posts highest ever quarterly loss amid high fuel prices

The airline has raised Rs 210 crore from the government's Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) this year

Domestic airlines industry may see up to Rs 17,000 cr loss in FY23: Report

The domestic airlines industry is projected to post a loss of Rs 15,000-17,000 crore in the current fiscal as their financial performance is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, a report said on Friday. Credit rating agency ICRA said the recovery in domestic passenger traffic has been healthy but elevated Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices will continue to pose a major threat to earnings and the liquidity profile of the airlines in the near-to-medium term. The domestic passenger traffic grew around 26 per cent year-on-year to about 114 lakh in October. In the year-ago period, the number was at 90 lakh passengers. However, the latest October figure remained 8 per cent lower when compared to the pre-pandemic traffic level, the rating agency said in a report. ICRA has a negative outlook on the domestic aviation industry. According to the report, the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar will have a major bearing on the airlines' cost structure. The debt

65% of passengers want cap on airfares, says LocalCircles survey

Sixty-five per cent of surveyed passengers want the civil aviation ministry to reintroduce a cap on airfares, according to a survey carried out by LocalCircles

Go First plans to avail Rs 600 crore loan under ECLGS for its operations

Budget airline Go First plans to soon avail Rs 600 crore loan under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for its operations amid rising air travel demand, according to a source. The source at the airline also said that promoters have infused around Rs 2,800 crore in the last 15 months which has helped the carrier tackle multiple headwinds, including due to the pandemic, travel curbs and higher fuel costs. To help the airline industry, which is on the recovery path after being significantly hit by the pandemic, the government, last month, modified the ECLGS by raising the limit of loan that can be availed by an entity to Rs 1,500 crore from Rs 400 crore earlier. The source said that so far, the airline has availed Rs 400 crore under the ECLGS. "We will be applying for Rs 600 crore under the ECLGS in the next few days. Banks like Central Bank, Bank of Baroda and IDBI are our lenders. We will be approaching them first to avail these funds," the source told PTI. Out of

Over 75 planes of Indian carriers grounded due to engine issues: Report

Aviation consultancy firm CAPA said on Tuesday said that more than 75 planes of Indian carriers are currently grounded due to maintenance and engine-related issues. These planes, which account for around 10-12 per cent of the Indian fleet, are grounded due to maintenance or engine-related issues. "These will have a significant impact on financials in the second half," CAPA said in its India Mid-Year Outlook 2023 released on Tuesday. As per the report, more than 75 aircraft are currently grounded, creating serious challenges against the backdrop of an already hostile cost environment and contributing to increased losses. The capacity has been impacted by serious supply chain issues impacting current and future deliveries, it said, adding that these issues are likely to proliferate in the fiscal starting April 2023 which, in turn, will impact future deliveries, the report said. Significantly none of the domestic airlines, including two listed companies -- IndiGo and SpiceJet -- have