The DGCA has asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes after a preliminary probe report into the Air India crash found that the switches were cut off before the accident.
Government officials say a shareholding structure has been mandated to discourage non-serious bidders from accessing Air India's data room
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed the deaths of six Indian nationals and one missing person amidst the escalating conflict in West Asia, detailing ongoing efforts for repatriation and diplomatic engagement.
Amidst escalating tensions in West Asia, India voices strong concerns over the safety of its nationals and the potential disruption to energy supplies, urging dialogue and diplomacy for a swift resolution.
Apart from the main company, five of Air India's subsidiaries and a joint venture firm have been included in the strategic sale plan.
Two aborted missions, three different ministers, multiple rule changes and two decades later, Indian taxpayers will no longer have to pay Rs 20 crore per day to keep the loss-making Air India flying. While opposition Congress expectedly attacked the decision as selling the family silver, DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said what Tata is getting is not a cash cow but an airline which is bleeding where money needs to be pumped in to refurbish obsolete aircraft and dust up strangled ones while being unable to touch any employee for one year and only be able to resize staff after paying a VRS. "It won't be a very easy task there. Only advantage is they (new Air India owner) are paying the price which they think they can manage. "They are not taking the excessive debt accumulated to fund years of losses. We are continuing it as an ongoing concern.... This process has also saved huge amount of taxpayers money going forward," Pandey told PTI.
Air India pilot unions IPG and ICPA on Monday sought Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's intervention on the wage cut issue and also requested for an "urgent" meeting with him on several other issues. "In our meetings in September, you had given us an assurance to look into our grievances positively. "While other airlines are rolling back the austerity pay cuts for their pilots, the wage cut for Air India pilots further increased from October.
The pilots have been "derostered" pending investigation, Air India Express later said in a statement.
Flight bookings for Halwara airport in Punjab are scheduled to begin in April, with the first commercial flight expected between May 10 and 15. The airport's opening is anticipated to significantly enhance air connectivity and boost economic growth in the region.
'It is high time to recognise that this is the greatest issue India is confronting.' 'Even the BJP should be raising concerns because polluted air suffocates everybody's child.'
National carrier Air India's strategy to cut full-service flights and replace them with low-cost services by Air India Express on its West Asian routes has backfired. The passenger load factor of the flag carrier's low-cost subsidiary for West Asia has fallen a steep 11 percentage points over the last six months as a result of competition from new low-cost entrants and fare wars by incumbents. The PLF on the Dubai-India route fell from 83 to 78 per cent in the same period.
Former CIA Analyst, Larry Johnson, said on Friday that US President Donald Trump asked US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Dan Caine, if they could use the nuclear weapons, but the latter denied.
Virtually addressing employees of Air India across the globe, he said for the airline to be the best again there will be an organisational redesign, and it will "require a huge transformation, probably the largest transformation and the change all of you would ever go through". The carrier will expand its "outreach both domestically and internationally" and it has the desire to connect India with every part of the globe, he added.
Air India buyer has to take over interest-bearing debt of Rs 16,500 crore a large portion of which is aircraft related, meaning they are backed by aircraft value
'I suspect that Bangladesh being given permission stuck in India's official craw, and this story was an attempt to balance the scales by giving the impression that a similar waiver had been given to India as well.'
Restricting air access to foreign carriers by not granting them more bilateral rights is akin to shooting yourself in the foot, as air transport is a wealth multiplier for India's economy, Emirates President Tim Clark said during a press conference held on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association.
With over 700,000 annual passengers and 21 per cent market share Air India is the largest carrier on India-United Kingdom routes.
An Indian national was among those killed in the UAE after debris from intercepted missiles fell in Abu Dhabi. The Indian Embassy is providing assistance.
Former Indian leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has retired from the BCCI commentary panel, citing a lack of opportunities and expressing dissatisfaction with his role.
Deepika Padukone has raised concerns about the deteriorating air quality in Mumbai, India, highlighting the impact on residents, especially children. Her comments come amid growing concerns about pollution levels in the city, which have worsened in recent years due to construction, vehicular emissions, and industrial pollution.
The civil aviation ministry reports six aircraft engine shutdown incidents and three May Day calls in India this year. The Air India plane crash investigation is ongoing, with all aspects being examined.
An Air India pilots' grouping has raised fatigue concerns in the wake of flight crew rosters generated using a new rostering tool, saying that extended waiting periods between duty time will jeopardise crew alertness and performance. "Extended waiting periods, occurring before active flight duties, run counter to enhancing crew readiness and, in fact, contribute to the accumulation of fatigue over time," the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) has said. In a letter to Air India head of safety Henry Donohoe last week, IPG said it has been recently observed that the relentless pursuit of operational efficiency and economic gains has led to an unintended overshadowing of the primary intent behind Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) regulations.
Civilian flight operations from the 32 airports across northern and western India, including Srinagar and Amritsar, were suspended from May 9 to May 15.
Donald Trump has expressed confidence that Tehran will engage in diplomatic talks, warning that the country will 'see problems' should it refuse to cooperate.
When the Tatas re-boarded Air India on January 27 last year, the price of aviation turbine fuel was at over Rs 80,000 per kilolitre. Rupee was trading at around Rs 74 to a US dollar. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was in prevalence - barely a week earlier, India had reported over 340,000 cases on a single day. Seven-day home quarantine of international travellers was the norm.
India addresses the escalating conflict in West Asia, outlining its diplomatic efforts to ensure energy security, the safety of its citizens, and advocating for a peaceful resolution through dialogue.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft -- VT-ANB -- was 11.5 years old and had flown for more than 41,000 hours, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Air India is likely to rejig its team of directors shortly in view of retirement of some of its top officials.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) expressed deep sorrow over the death of an Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, in a Tejas aircraft crash during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show. The incident involved the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and marked the second crash involving a HAL-manufactured aircraft in 20 months.
"The strategic divestment transaction of Air India successfully concluded today with transfer of 100 per cent shares of Air India to M/s Talace Pvt Ltd along with management control," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a tweet. A new board, led by the strategic partner, takes charge of Air India, he added.
In a bid to resurrect Air India privatisation, the government is planning to give flexibility to potential investors to decide on the humongous debt with the national carrier, a top official has said. The flexibility to potential investors on the quantum of the Rs 60,074 crore debt that they want to absorb will replace the current condition of the buyer taking over more than a third of the debt and transferring the rest to a special purpose vehicle, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.
Out of the total amount, Rs 17,359.77 crore is aircraft loan, while Rs 31,517.04 crore is working capital loan.
Two unions representing Air India pilots have asked members not to accept the revised compensation and employment offer, calling the company's proposals "unfair labour practices." They said any coercion on pilots to sign the offer would lead to industrial unrest. The Tata group airline announced on Monday a new salary structure for pilots and cabin crew.
The accident occurred at 7:45 pm while the pilot was attempting to land the B737 Air India Express from Dubai at the tabletop runway of the Karipur International Airport.
Apart from the Adani group, the Tata group, the Hinduja group, Indigo and a New York-based fund, Interups, are expected to submit EoIs.
IndiGo, which operates the largest fleet among Indian carriers, has reported the highest number of serious engine-related incidents.
The changes are in view of the requests received from interested bidders and the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19.
Divestment-bound Air India is looking to sell securities of its two provident trusts AIEPF and IAEPF, and has sought applications for transaction advisors to help with the proposed sale of the securities. The Air India Employees Provident Fund (AIEPF) trust and Indian Airlines Employees Provident Fund (IAEPF) trust are governed by the Provident Fund Trust Act, 1925. The two trusts' investments together amounted to Rs 4,500 crore as of August 31, 2021, according to the tender document, seeking RFPs for the appointment of the transaction advisors.
Though the airline has kept a reserve price of Rs 315 crore for these properties, it hopes to make around Rs 500 crore from the sale.
Domestic air traffic grew by over 18 per cent last month compared to October last year as Air India's passenger load factor overshot that of IndiGo which had the largest number of flight cancellations, official data showed on Monday.
