The Indian government disclosed that 176 aircraft operated by non-scheduled and general aviation operators lack flight data and cockpit voice recorders, raising safety concerns. The disclosure was made in response to a query in the Rajya Sabha.
India's aviation sector is facing fresh turbulence, with rising fuel costs, the Ministry of Civil Aviation's free-seat directive, and geopolitical disruptions in West Asia clouding near-term earnings visibility.
Aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan claims human error led to the Air India plane crash and calls for more transparency in the AAIB's preliminary report.
Under the proposal, if a foreign carrier does not operate flights to a particular Indian airport for 'four consecutive IATA seasons', the regulator may suspend that airport authorisation.
Adani Group and Brazilian aerospace firm Embraer have selected Dholera, Gujarat, as the location for a final assembly line for Embraer's regional jets. This strategic collaboration, formalised by an MoU in January, aims to boost India's Regional Transport Aircraft programme and align with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative and UDAN scheme. Embraer sees immense potential in the Indian market across various aviation segments.
Private carrier Air India on Monday announced placing an order to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft, comprising 10 wide-body A350 and 90 narrow-body A320 family aircraft including A321neo.
Known for his jovial and kind nature, Neeraj left a lasting impression on his neighbours in Akola, which is why the news of his passing devastated the entire town, even though many had not seen him in years.
About 1,500 employees of various departments took part in the rally.
In about a fortnight, Vistara - known for its premium service - will take off on its final flight before merging into the legacy of Air India. Set for November 12, the merger has sparked discussions on how these two distinct brands will blend.
In little over a year, Air India and IndiGo have announced plans to purchase up to 170 wide-body planes as they bet on ambitious expansion and efforts also continue to make India a global aviation hub. Also, the two carriers' orders usher in European aircraft maker Airbus into the country's wide-body space, which has traditionally been dominated by US major Boeing. If narrow-body aircraft orders of Air India, IndiGo and Akasa Air are added to the list, the order book is well over 1,200 planes and that too in less than 14 months or since February 2023.
On Friday, the Alaska Airlines plane's outer section, including a window, fell off mid-air.
Amid concerns over alleged poaching of pilots, Air India told Akasa Air that petitioning a competitor to collude in restricting the rights of staff to change an employer could potentially violate the competition law. Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson wrote a letter to Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube against the backdrop of Akasa Air raising concerns about Air India Express hiring pilots from the airline. The letter, dated September 21, followed a letter by Dube to Tata Sons on September 11.
'When we start describing somebody as an enemy that is the start of politics and emotion after which no business can take place.' 'We need to get out of this, allow Indian businessmen to do business with China.'
The mega-merger of state-run carriers Air India and Indian received the final government nod on Thursday, with the Union Cabinet giving a go ahead to the proposal of the Group of Ministers in this regard.
Indian carrier Vistara on Monday announced voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for its permanent ground staff ahead of its merger with Air India, which had announced similar plans for its non-flying permanent staff two weeks ago.
As many as 338 A320 family aircraft operated by Indian airlines require the software upgrade to address a potential issue related to flight controls, and modifications have been carried out in more than half of the affected fleet, according to DGCA data.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others were killed after their aircraft crashed in Baramati on January 28, 2026. Here are 11 other prominent Indians who died in air crashes.
The Federation of Indian Pilots, said the union has written to the DGCA raising concerns over the extension.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its preliminary report this week on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people. The investigation is ongoing, with the help of foreign experts, and the black box and voice recorder data are being analyzed.
TN rallied to beat Air India while Indian Airlines got the better of BSF in the quarter-finals of the Nehru hockey tournament.
As the majority of Pakistani airspace has remained closed for Indian airlines since the Balakot strike on February 26, the decision to avoid affected Iranian airspace on Saturday is going to further disturb the routes of their international flights towards middle-eastern and European countries, and the US.
Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu highlights challenges in aircraft procurement due to global supply chain disruptions, impacting India's aviation sector growth and expansion plans.
'A lot of people feel there is pressure on the AAIB not to go against Boeing or GE -- both enormous American companies.' 'If the AAIB implicates Boeing or GE, it will impact their sales.' 'If their sales are impacted, jobs are lost in the United States. No government would willingly do that.'
'All they need is proper leadership.'
Though India's airlines are certainly bleeding, they haven't yet faced the ignominy of shutting down.
Aviation fuel prices for domestic airlines remain unchanged, providing stability for local carriers, while commercial LPG and 5-kg cylinders see a significant rate hike due to rising international energy costs.
Tata Sons on Thursday announced the appointment of Campbell Wilson as chief executive officer and managing director of Air India. Wilson is the founding CEO of low-cost airline Scoot.
The unions claimed that wrong policy decisions of the previous government, poor practices, lack of accountability and general mismanagement by top administration and allowing private carriers to flourish at the cost of Air India were some of the factors for the current state-of-affairs
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.
"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.
Air India is running into losses
Events from mid-2025 to early 2026 exposed deeper systemic concerns for India's aviation safety architecture.
According to the latest data from the aviation regulator DGCA, IndiGo and Air India did not cancel any flights, while Air India Express cancelled four flights due to the system modification process.
While this doesn't mean that air travel is now a breeze, what it does mean is that you now have more rights and more control over your money.
According to sector estimates, it takes at least six months to develop a route.
Pilots' bodies at Tata Group-owned Air India have accused the airline management of making unilaterally "rapid" and "regressive" changes in the service conditions of pilots. In a letter to Air India Chief Human Resources Officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi on Tuesday, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) also stated that "all unilateral violations of their rights and service agreements are creating industrial unrest and shattering employee confidence in the current management". The communication comes amid Air India reducing drastically the annual limit of privilege leave accumulation to 60 days from 300 days earlier, as per a source.
Air India (AI)'s rise could be at the expense of three "super-connector" hubs - Doha in Qatar, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE - as the Indian passenger would any day prefer direct flights of their national airline that is providing excellent on-time service, Arved von zur Muehlen, chief commercial officer of Saudia Airlines, said on Thursday.
The airline has been bleeding continuously for a long time and pilots are anyway paid a lot of money.
The Mumbai side shocked star-studded Indian Airlines in the final of the tournament.\n\n
