The Civil Aviation Ministry has recommended an equity infusion of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) in Air India in the next financial year after the beleaguered national carrier gets Rs 1,200 crore soon.
With Kuwait threatening to disallow landing of India's state-owned carriers at its capital from Sunday, passengers planning to fly to India during summer holidays are now pinning hopes on the crucial talks between both countries.
Sending a strong signal to domestic airlines over abrupt hike in airfares by some of them during periods of high demand, the Union civil aviation ministry on Thursday warned them of action if they continued with such 'predatory pricing'.
National Aviation Company India Ltd, which runs Air India, is likely to receive government approval for its second equity infusion of Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) by next week.
The civil aviation ministry is planning to dedicate a separate terminal building for low-cost carriers at Delhi airport and efforts are on to create more space for them in Mumbai by shifting operations of small aircraft to Juhu aerodrome.
The civil aviation ministry is planning to set up an International Convention Centre at Mumbai Airport to cater to the needs of business community for holding international exhibitions and conferences.
A senior civil aviation ministry official said this was one of the key issues discussed during Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to ask for a relief on ATF. Top airline executives like Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya also met the PM to highlight the issue.
A Civil Aviation Ministry spokesperson said all airports have been on alert for the past four days due to the threat perception.
Air India's financial and operational performance as part of its turnaround process came up for a review at the airline's Board meeting in New Delhi.
India is likely to introduce the performance-based navigation system in its air space by June-July this year, a top civil Aviation Ministry official said. The performance-based navigation will make the longitudinal distance shorter by about three nautical miles from the existing 5-7 nautical miles. The civil aviation regulatory body of the country, DGCA, was also working on reducing the lateral displacement in order to meet the challenge of the growing air traffic in India.
No domestic commercial passenger flight would be allowed to operate in the country from March 25 onwards in order to restrict travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Union civil aviation ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The strike would impact all the operations of the airlines. The union has threatened strike if its demand for continuing the employees' present permanent jobs with the state-run AAI is not heeded to and they have to join private airport operators like Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL).
Four Indian airports are currently equipped to handle these super jumbos.
The government is ready to support Air India, but wants the airline to improve its performance.
About 70,000 employees consisting of all unions in the civil aviation sector, including Indian Airlines and Air-India, have threatened an agitation
Crisis-hit SpiceJet may get the first round of its much-needed fund infusion in the next two days, while more may come in a month's time as part of an estimated $200 million investment plan, sources said on Thursday.
The guidelines would also enable the proposed merger of national carriers Air-India and Indian.\n
The civil aviation ministry is hopeful of further reduction in the price of aviation turbine fuel this year.
India has announced suspension of all tourist visas till April 15 in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.
An independent probe from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is unlikely in the Jalgaon train tragedy due to the negligence of passengers, according to railway sources. The tragedy occurred when 12 passengers were killed after stepping down from their train due to a fire rumor and were struck by another train. Experts say the CRS probe is unlikely because the passengers' actions were deemed negligent. While the CRS is typically involved in serious railway accidents, the 1998 rules allow for discretion when deaths or injuries result from passenger negligence. Passengers had ample time to move to safer locations but remained on the side tracks, ultimately leading to the tragic incident.
The civil aviation ministry has received several complaints on the ongoing bidding process for modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports and it has forwarded them to appropriate authorities for examination.
The Indian aviation sector is on the cusp of a change as airlines look to induct a record number of aircraft. This, analysts said, will put the sector on a growth runway, though keeping it viable for only long-term investors. According to Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura Securities, expectations of strong air traffic, coupled with low penetration, is the prime reason for a solid long-term outlook.
A panel led by the secretaries of the DEA and the DIPP would conduct a quarterly review on the pending proposals.
The civil aviation ministry assured employees of state-owned carriers Air-India and Indian on Wednesday that the planned merger of the two would not involve retrenchment, cuts or losses in pay scale, perks or allowances.
Facing threat of terror attacks, the home ministry has ordered security audit of nearly 100 civil airports and decided to bring all such facilities under the Central Industrial Security Force cover gradually.
When the domestic passenger flights resumed on May 25, the ministry had stated that only one check-in baggage and one hand baggage per passenger must be allowed.
Unions boycott launch of new fleet to protest the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India.
The Airports Authority of India would enter the capital market to raise resources for funding the modernisation of about 30 airports across the country, for which an estimated Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) is required.
The Tehelka magazine on Friday claimed some officials, bureaucrats and other VIPs had 'abused' their status to get free tickets and other facilities from a private airline in gross violation of service rules and propriety.
The civil aviation ministry on Saturday said it was holding discussions with the Maharashtra government on launching an intra-state airline to operate services on feeder routes.
In 2015, India's domestic aviation market clocked 81 million flights.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
The new guidelines were issued a day after the unearthing of a terror plot targeting US-bound airliners by police in London.\n\n
A draft bill to set up a powerful Civil Aviation Authority for better regulation of the aviation sector is in an advanced stage of getting the official nod, official sources said on Thursday.
Around 1,000 passenger complaints have been received against Air India during the last three months related to various issues, including refund of fares, overbooking of flights, and staff behaviour, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Monday. The Tata Group on January 27 took control of Air India after winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year. "Ministry of Civil Aviation has been receiving grievances related to air transport, including Air India, on the various issues such as refund of fares, flight issues, staff behaviour, baggage issues, overbooking of flights, etc," Singh said in his written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
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