An Air India Express flight bound for Visakhapatnam was cancelled at Gannavaram Airport due to a technical issue detected before takeoff. Passengers included prominent figures like former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the reduction in airport charges is aimed at containing airfare increases and supporting both airlines and passengers.
The DGCA has revised air ticket refund norms, allowing passengers to cancel or change tickets without additional charges within 48 hours of booking, subject to conditions. The new rules also address name correction fees and medical emergency cancellations.
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Such direct import was formally allowed in February 2012 but the aviation companies lack the infrastructure to do so.
Following allegations of foul play, the Maharashtra government has requested a CBI investigation into the plane crash that tragically killed Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, promising a thorough probe into the incident.
The EC is learnt to have invoked the 'party in power' clause of the poll code in the case as it could be averred that party in power' is using government transporter for election publicity.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has alleged a link between a godman and the fatal plane crash involving his uncle, Ajit Pawar, and has demanded a CID interrogation.
The prevalent practice is that airlines have to pay between Rs 4,000 and Rs 4,500 per filled seat as departure tax.
The civil aviation ministry is open to the idea of raising the foreign direct investment level from the present 40 per cent to 49 per cent, even as there are indications that a decision on the issue could be taken in the Union Budget.
All colleagues, who came in contact with the employee, have been asked to go into self isolation as a precaution, the ministry said.
Due to airspace restrictions resulting from the conflict in the Middle East, Indian domestic carriers have cancelled 278 international flights. Some airlines are operating limited services and special flights to assist stranded passengers.
Govt to introduce new aviation policy on May 15.
The civil aviation ministry on Monday said all probable causes leading to the Air India plane crash in June last year are being investigated, and all efforts are being made to complete the probe in a time-bound manner.
Though NOC was issued by the Ministry last week, this was the first formal statement by the AirAsia CEO on microblogging site Twitter.
IndiGo is operating 1,650 flights of its 2,300 daily domestic and international flights on Sunday, and 650 remain cancelled for the day, amid the airline's operations gradually stabilising after massive disruptions in the last five days, the airline said.
'It has got to be the biggest error in aviation. If it is the biggest error, then all those individuals in positions of power should be removed because they have caused the biggest meltdown in Indian aviation history.'
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The ministry of civil aviation has disagreed with a proposal of the Prime Minister's Office to explore raising the cap on the number of weekly flights from Qatar in exchange for discounts on additional supplies of liquefied natural gas from there.
Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal on Tuesday met civil aviation secretary Madhavan Nambiar on Tuesday against the backdrop of pilots of the private carrier refusing to report to work to protest against the sacking of two of their senior colleagues.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Friday said various operational measures, including keeping new flight duty norms in abeyance, will help address the IndiGo flight disruptions, and complete restoration of services is expected in next three days.
'IndiGo will receive a sharp rap on the knuckles -- a punishment, a huge penalty. 'I look towards them creating a compensation fund.' 'I would like to think they would do that for all the passengers who are affected on every single day since cancellations began.'
At least 148 flights were cancelled and over 150 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport on Wednesday due to dense fog and low visibility conditions.
Aviation regulator DGCA plans to implement measures to control excessive air ticket price increases, following concerns raised during a parliamentary panel meeting. The meeting also addressed air safety issues in light of the Ahmedabad plane crash.
IndiGo has vacated over 700 slots at various domestic airports after the DGCA curtailed its winter flights by 10% following operational disruptions in December. Other airlines are invited to request these slots.
In recent times, there have also been instances of GPS spoofing and interference incidents at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu addressed the Lok Sabha regarding the recent IndiGo flight disruptions, assuring that the airline will be held accountable and strict action will be taken for non-compliance and passenger hardship.
The national carrier to get lion's share of the Rs 1,978 crore budgetary support demanded by the ministry for 2010-11.
DGCA provided temporary relief to IndiGo, which is partially owned by Rahul Bhatia, by rolling back the night duty definition to 12 am-5 am from 12 am-6 am earlier, and allowing its pilots to do six night-landings from two earlier, besides other relaxations.
The MoCA said on Twitter on Wednesday that it 'has designated all the airlines operating under Vande Bharat Mission & air transport bubble arrangements as designated agencies for this purpose'. 'Passengers may book tickets directly with the airlines concerned. They need not apply/register with the Ministry of Civil Aviation,' it added.
The budget has increased the outlay for the Ministry of Civil Aviation by 21% at Rs 12165 crore from Rs 10031 crore for FY2008-09. However, the revised estimate for FY2008-09 was at Rs 7490 crore against the outlay of Rs 10031 crore.
Out of the total Plan outlay of Rs12164.76 crore (Rs 121.65 billion) for the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Rs 190 crore (Rs 1.9 billion) is the budgetary support.
The civil aviation ministry is monitoring the impact of volcanic ash plumes from Ethiopia on flight operations, leading to cancellations and delays. The situation is being closely monitored, and necessary precautions are being taken.
IndiGo has processed refunds totalling Rs 610 crore and delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers after recent flight disruptions, according to the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened the Cabinet Committee on Security to address the impact of the West Asia conflict on Indian citizens, focusing on safeguarding them from the conflict's effects and ensuring the smooth flow of essential supplies.
IndiGo has seen its pilots' strength depleting by 378 pilots in the last nine months despite its chief operating officer and Accountable Manager, Isidro Porqueras stating to the DGCA in a letter last December that "the overall impact of implementing the proposed changes above (now-implemented FDTL) norms would amount to an approximate 3 per cent increase in crewing requirements.
Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take measures to protect Indian citizens in the Middle East due to escalating geopolitical tensions, including initiating evacuation plans and enhancing diplomatic efforts.
Russian air defence units reportedly destroyed 28 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow, marking the second consecutive day of such incidents. Airport operations were temporarily suspended due to the drone attacks.
IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights on Friday and said operations are expected to normalise in the next 10 days, as the country's largest airline received flight duty norms relaxation from watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which will probe the disruptions that have impacted thousands of passengers for four straight days.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices have more than doubled to a record high, impacting airlines and consumers, while commercial LPG rates also see a significant increase.
With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
Sri Lanka has established emergency hotlines and is in close contact with its diplomatic missions in West Asia following escalating tensions in the region. The country is also preparing its airports for potential flight diversions and emergencies.
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