'In 50 seconds, the pilots were fighting drag, trying relight, throttling up and avoiding obstacles.' 'They had neither height nor speed. There was no margin.'
The aircraft crashed into the Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka's Uttara area.
The civil aviation ministry has issued guidelines for scheduled carriers to launch global operations, making it mandatory for them to have at least 20 aircraft, five years of domestic operations and security clearance from the Union home ministry.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has directed Bangalore International Airport Limited, the Siemens-led private consortium developing the new greenfield airport, to increase its capacity to handle passengers.
The move would come as a relief to air passengers.
The manufacturer of Bell helicopters has offered its assistance to authorities in probing the crash of the Bell-430 chopper which claimed the lives of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhar Reddy and four others.
The recent Cabinet approval to private and greenfield airport policies has enhanced the powers of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is now one of the key licensing authorities for almost all future airport projects in the country.
Akasa Air's launch of services is likely to be delayed further as the airline is expected to receive its first aircraft only in June or July, according to a senior DGCA official. The carrier, backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, initially planned to start operations in June and then postponed the plan to July. A top airline official said it intends to start services in July. The Mumbai-based airline, registered as SNV Aviation, received the mandatory no-objection certificate from the civil aviation ministry in October last year.
Amid Delhi's worsening air quality, which has plunged into the severe plus category with an AQI consistently above 450, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday called for immediate intervention from the central government.
Sun Network chairman Kalanithi Maran and his company, Kal Airways Pvt Ltd, which was incorporated on May 6, are the acquirers of the airline.
The team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which is probing the Air India plane crash that claimed 158 lives near the Mangalore airport on Saturday, has been divided into four groups to look at a particular aspect of the crash. The four teams will look into engineering and wreckage, operations, air traffic control and aerodrome.A release from the civil aviation ministry states that wreckage group has further been divided into smaller groups.
In the aviation sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed under automatic route for MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul), ground handling, and aircraft purchase.
The government on Wednesday asked promoters of the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) to keep in mind local sensibilities during its modernisation amid claims of change of name of the airport.The Civil Aviation Ministry has strongly refuted allegations that the present name of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is being altered and the location of the statue of the warrior king is being replaced.
The Mumbai airport has decided not to allow additional flights this summer, thanks to infrastructure bottlenecks. This is likely to spoil the expansion plans of all carriers, including private players like Kingfisher, Simplifly Deccan and Jet Airways. However, airlines have been allowed to re-apply for additional flights as & when they get delivery of new aircraft during the summer. Kingfisher had to shelve 11 additional flights out of Mumbai while Deccan has rescheduled too.
The department of personnel and training has asked the Union Public Service Commission to recruit such specialists through "lateral entry" mode in 12 government departments/ministries, he said.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government on Friday toughened its anti-hijacking law by declaring that a death sentence will be given to those involved in it.The Cabinet took up a proposal of the civil aviation ministry, to amend the Anti-Hijacking Act of 1982, to deter hijackers from using an aircraft as a missile. The Cabinet approval paves the way for amending Section 4 of the 1982 Act, which provides for life imprisonment and a fine for hijacking.
Patel is being questioned in connection with a money laundering probe related to losses suffered by Air India as part of an alleged multi-crore aviation scam.
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.
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.
The NCP leader said that he will be happy to cooperate with the ED so that the agency understands the "complexities" of the aviation sector.
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'.
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.
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 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.
Limits imposed on domestic airfares will be removed from August 31, after a span of approximately 27 months, the Union aviation ministry said on Wednesday. "The decision to remove air fare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel (ATF). "Stabilisation has set in and we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future," Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Twitter.
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.
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).
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.
Four Indian airports are currently equipped to handle these super jumbos.
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