Air India's ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12 underwent comprehensive maintenance checks in June 2023 and was due for the next scheduled comprehensive checks in December this year, according to airline officials.
When specifically asked about the reason for the crash and whether Air India is privy to any preliminary findings, Chandrasekaran said, "One would have to wait for the probe to conclude."
The Adani group plans to bid for setting up duty-free shops at the Macau international airport, as India's largest airport operator spreads its wings overseas. In a stock exchange filing, Adani Enterprises, the flagship firm of the conglomerate run by billionaire Gautam Adani, said it has completed the incorporation of a wholly-owned subsidiary, MTRPL Macau Ltd, in Macau on November 20. The subsidiary has been incorporated for the purpose of getting into the duty-free industry.
Air India, which is operating flights to evacuate Indians stranded in foreign countries, have asked its pilots to undertake coronavirus test before they operate such flights.
The recent spate of technical glitches in aircraft has prompted the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to issue an order on July 18, making aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) with category B1/B2 licences the final authorities in certifying planes. This has put the spotlight on the availability of such personnel. According to the order, airlines were resorting to frequent one-off authorisation by the Category A certifying staff at transit stations, which is not in line with existing regulatory provisions.
'Airports must look at their maximum capacity to handle passengers.'
The government will start working on selling the ground-handling arm of erstwhile national carrier Air India and the Expression of Interest (EoI) is expected in the next fiscal, an official said. "We already have the Cabinet approval for selling the subsidiaries of Air India. "So we will come out with an EoI inviting bids for one of the ground-handling arms in the next fiscal," an official told PTI.
Two custom-made B777 aircraft, which will be used to fly Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top Indian dignitaries, are likely to be delivered by Boeing to Air India by September, senior officials said on Monday. In October last year, government officials had said that the delivery of these two planes, which are earmarked for VVIP travel only, would be done by July.
The government has notified the agreement between Air India and special purpose vehicle AIAHL for the transfer of non-core assets, ahead of the national airline's takeover by the Tata Group. The government had in October last year, inked the share purchase agreement with the Tata Group for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore. The Tata Group is expected to take full control of the airline, it founded in 1932, on Thursday. The cash component of the deal would come once the handover process is completed. The Tata Group would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and take over Rs 15,300 crore of the airline's debt.
The plane was scheduled to arrive in India during the first half of this week, the officials noted. Senior officials of the national carrier reached the US earlier this month to receive the plane from aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the officials said.
The government will transfer about Rs 16,000 crore of unpaid fuel bills and other pending dues that Air India owes to suppliers, to a special purpose vehicle before handing over the loss-making airline to the Tata Group, a senior official said. Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL), which will hold non-core assets of Air India such as land and building, will also be saddled with 75 per cent of the airline's debt that the Tata Group is not taking over. Besides the debt, the excess liability going to AIAHL comprises unpaid fuel bills to oil companies, airport operators and vendors, said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management - the department running the privatisation programme of the government.
The plane was scheduled to be delivered by aircraft manufacturer Boeing to Air India in July but its delivery was delayed twice --once in July for a few weeks due to COVID-19 pandemic and then in August for a few weeks due to technical reasons -- the officials noted.
The two new B777 planes will come to India from US facility of Boeing by July next year. They will have the call sign 'Air India One'. Only IAF pilots will be flying the two new aircraft for PM, president and vice president.
After its unsuccessful bid to sell Air India in 2018, the government this time has decided to offload its entire stake.
Rains made the job more challenging as it was making the ground soft, the AIESL CEO said.
Air India has planned to monetise its unutilised and surplus immovable real estate assets over the next few years.
The national carrier's capacity is expected to grow by 9.2 per cent with the addition of six more Boeing 787 Dreamliners to the fleet, they said. As of February this year, the airline has 13 Dreamliners in its fleet out of a total order of 27.
The national carrier has drawn a blueprint to cut the number of recognised unions in the airline from 15 to two -- one for pilots and another for the rest of the employees.
Not needed, it says, with 4,600 staffers to retire over next 3 years, plus transfer of 12,000 to new subsidiaries
Airline told to transfer non-core assets, subsidiaries to special purpose vehicle
Policy lays out a 5-year road map seeking creation of 3.5 mn jobs and promoting 10,000 start-ups.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances