The government on Tuesday said the major private domestic airlines owed over Rs 274 crore (Rs 2.74 billion) to the Airports Authority of India for availing its services.
However, the court refused to stay the order of the Delhi high court that upheld such levy, saying, "we are not inclined to stay it. . . No airport could be developed if they don't have funds."
The government on Monday assured the Rajya Sabha that it was not seeking to privatise the Airports Authority of India, but was only trying to spruce up the country's image by providing world-class airports.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which is monitoring individual airports' adherence to safety standards, is in the process of issuing licenses to three airports based on their security compliance.
Unrest is again brewing among airport employees with the unions threatening another bout of workers action if urgent steps were not taken to meet their 'long-pending' demands.
This would be a key function of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority, to be set up to regulate tariffs, said a civil aviation ministry official.
Overlooking opposition from the Left parties and airport employees, the government on Tuesday signed two agreements to set up joint venture companies between Airports Authority of India and the GMR and GVK groups.
BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari allegedly entered the ATC room without permission.
The country needs a whopping Rs 36,000 crore (Rs 360 billion) investment for developing airports, two-third of which is expected to come from private players, a senior civil aviation ministry official said on Wednesday.
Work on modernising, expanding and renovating the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport will be taken up from January next year, civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said on Friday.
A total of 406 aircraft are in the fleet of eight scheduled airlines in the country, most of which were suffering losses, Lok Sabha was informed.
Kingfisher owes Rs 257.62 crore (Rs 2.57 billion) to the AAI, while Jet Airways Rs 38.49 crore (Rs 384.9 million) and its low cost arm JetLite Rs 13.96 crore (Rs 139.6 million), as on January 31, Civil Aviation Minister and Minister for Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Kerala Home minister Ramesh Chennithala said an inquiry has been ordered.
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The bill to set up an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority, which will fix tariffs for different agencies involved in airport operations and management, will be introduced in the budget session of Parliament next year.
The Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday ordered action against former prime minister Raja Parvez Ashraf and several others in the multi-billion rupee development funds case.
Govt is considering making connectivity an integral part of airport projects as it would benefit the passengers in the long run.
Funds are not a problem for the the modernisation of the Kolkata airport by the Airports Authority of India, Civil Aviation Secretary Ajay Prasad said on Tuesday.
The United States on Sunday shot down another unidentified airborne object in its airspace, a day after it brought down a similar 'cylindrical' object over Canada.
After snapping up Air Sahara in a $500-million deal, Jet Airways is likely to operate it as a wholly-owned subsidiary till regulatory and other clearances are granted to the acquisition process.
Approval was held up due to CBI investigation into international flying permit of Tata group-owned AirAsia India.
commercial airlines and air navigation service providers have to carry out random drug tests on at least 10 per cent of their flight crew and air traffic controllers every year.
The Karnataka government plans to develop new airports at Gulbarga and Hassan.
Days after exchange of words between the Planning Commission and the Civil Aviation Ministry, the process of Kolkata airport modernisation is all set to start with the Public Investment Board meeting in New Delhi later this week to give its nod to the Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) project .
Wreckage washed up on a remote Indian Ocean island is "very likely from a Boeing 777", Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday as speculation mounted it could be from MH370 that vanished mysteriously over a year ago with 239 people, including five Indians, on board.
The civil aviation minister is facing charges of 'milking' the PSUs for personal gains.
"We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe," the airlines said in statement.
'People have been flying for years on the basis of a police clearance and an airport entry pass.' 'Then they came out with a convoluted thing -- that your police clearance must be from your place of residence.' 'Now if a pilot is sitting in Delhi but is from Timbuktoo, the papers will have to come from there.' 'So at any point, you have a certain number of pilots sitting on the ground because his AEP has expired and the papers haven't come.' Revealed: India's bizarre processes to get pilots to fly planes.
Air-India proposes to add six services to London by next summer, including one in January, subject to availability of slots, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
As many as 170 out of the 454 airports and airstrips available in the country were non-operational, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday.
The Airports Authority of India would raise nearly Rs 5000 crore (Rs 50 billion) through bonds and other instruments to upgrade about 30 airports across the country by 2007-08, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said on Wednesday.
These airports are those at Amritsar, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Indore, Raipur and Trichy.
Kishor, who earlier worked with the BJP but turned into its strident critic of late, reacted with indignation, saying he would retire from public life if the allegations were proven true. He also asserted that those levelling the allegation against him should apologise.
To meet the exigencies on highways, the civil aviation ministry has suggested to the surface transport ministry to earmark space for helipads every 100 kilometres on major national highways.
The steering committee on foreign direct investment has recommended enhancement of foreign direct investment limit in domestic airlines sector from 40 per cent to 49 per cent.
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The government will decide on the new head of the Bangalore International Airport Authority Ltd in January, Karnataka Finance and Industries Minister P G R Sindhia said on Friday.
Ending the monopoly of government-owned airlines to fly abroad, the DGCA has initiated the process of allowing private carriers to launch overseas services by asking them to file their schedules and fares for operating to Colombo.
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