The suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country has been extended till February 28, aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday.
The government is likely to take a final decision on allowing foreign airlines to pick up stakes in Indian carriers in a 'couple of weeks', with the Union civil aviation ministry proposing a 24 per cent cap as against 26 per cent recommended by the industry ministry.
With terror threats looming large over the civil aviation sector, an advisory council of experts will be set up soon to deliberate on and recommend measures to step up aviation security.
There will be only three ground handlers at each of the six metro airports in the country.
'A few answers for the reason of the crash will be known -- whether it was a technical fault, design issue, human error etc.'
The Civil Aviation Ministry is looking to increase air seat entitlement to Dubai by 20%.
Air India to shift, unused capacity in existing bilaterals may be mobilised.
"We will not regulate fares but there are cases of airlines charging very high fares in a particular route and such airlines will be asked to explain the reasons for that. They cannot charge such high fares without any valid reason," said a civil aviation ministry official.
The proposal is awaiting final policy sanction from the home ministry.
The PMO directed the ministry of civil aviation and the Air India to find early resolution to stalemate. Besides, the PMO told the civil aviation ministry that a lockout is not an option to resolve the issue.
The new greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai will come up at the proposed site and not be shifted elsewhere. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has also written to the Civil Aviation Ministry for building the airport at the originally proposed site. There had been demands to shift the proposed Navi Mumbai airport to a new site due to environmental issues. The regulator would look into aspects like aeronautical charges, user development fee and passenger fee.
The panel will be asked to give report by March-April next year.
Fifty-six-year-old Piccard, who completed the first non-stop flight around the world in an air balloon in 1999, said he and his team were hopeful of getting permission for landing in the two Indian cities.
The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday night set up a four-member committee to probe the cause of Andhra Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's helicopter crash in which he was killed.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates India's largest airport, dismissed the expert committee report as "inaccurate", claiming it relied on "probabilities, hypothesis, and conjectures" rather than empirical data or complete documentation.
The civil aviation ministry has mandated airlines and ground-handling companies to phase out airport equipment older than 12 years and switch to electric or fuel-efficient variants by May 2022. While companies have welcomed the ministry's green initiative, they said that the deadline for implementation is tight. This is especially in the wake of financial challenges faced by the aviation sector during the pandemic.
Omaxe, L&T and Unitech have already applied for the Rs 200-crore (Rs 2 billion) development projects at Udaipur and Amritsar. The work includes commercial operations and maintenance of the airport terminal building, besides development of 46,268 sq metres and 110,308 sq metres of land for city-side development and cargo handling facilities at Udaipur and Amritsar, respectively.
Aviation Minister Praful Patel has requested FM to rationalise taxes on aviation fuel in Budget 2008-09.
A total of Rs 30,000 crore was allocated for five years to Air India by the United Progressive Alliance government in its second term.
First and business class air travellers would find flying costlier.
Civil aviation ministry raises procedural issues in FIPB meeting.
The issue had come up during a presentation by the Civil Aviation Ministry.
India is the third-largest domestic airline market in the world, up from number five position a decade ago, according to analysis based on OAG data. The data shows India's domestic airline capacity doubling in a decade from 7.9 million in April 2014 to 15.5 million in April 2024. In reaching the third slot, India has replaced Brazil (pushed to fourth place with 9.7 million) and Indonesia (relegated to fifth in the rankings with 9.2 million).
On Monday, the ministry withdrew foreign traffic rights it had granted to Kingfisher Airlines.
In one step forward, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Wednesday met for the first time to decide on allowing the Airbus A-380s to operate at some airports, years after some major foreign carriers sought the right to fly these superjumbos to India.
The home ministry has asked the civil aviation ministry to go ahead with its plan to review the list of 33 categories of people, including the Dalai Lama and Vadra, who are currently exempted from frisking at airports in the country.
To become a type-rated pilot, a person has to take additional training.
It is not often that the head of a regulator is removed by the nodal ministry, even after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the prime minister, clears an extension.
'During our recent rescue flights, the protective equipment being provided to the flight crew has been failing with an alarming frequency or has been plagued with other issues'
Cabinet may decide on airport sell-off on Fri.
This comes against the backdrop of rising concerns in various quarters about steep fluctuations in airfares.
Goa's second airport began operations last week and if all goes according to plans, the state will be the base for a new regional airline, Fly91. Promoted by the ex-executive vice-president of now grounded Kingfisher Airlines, Manoj Chacko, and Fairfax India's former head, Harsha Raghavan, the airline will offer no-frills buy on board product and serve unconnected routes with two ATR 72 aircraft. An application for the initial no-objection clearance was filed with the civil aviation ministry last week.
Civil Aviation Ministry has a few ready answers at hand.
After the accident on Friday, Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor alleged on Twitter that there were safety lapses on the part of the civil aviation ministry.
Akasa Air said on Thursday said it has received the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from aviation regulator DGCA and will start commercial operations later this month.
The Civil Aviation ministry has sought reports from Air India on the recent incidents involving Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju which allegedly led to delay of flights.
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