An Air India A320 flight from Phuket to Delhi experienced a sudden 300-foot altitude drop due to multiple technical glitches, including triple hydraulic failures and autopilot disconnection, injuring 17 people. An investigation by AAIB, with assistance from French agency BEA and Airbus, is underway, while the pilot-in-command is undergoing confirmatory psychoactive substance testing.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) demonstrated 'Vayu UTtaM', an indigenously developed multi-mode Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system, at 'Dronathon 2026' in Pokhran. This ground-based system is designed to manage drone operations in congested airspace and identify rogue drones, with applications extending to critical infrastructure, civil aviation, and public safety. The event also saw the release of the 'IAF UAS Roadmap' to guide indigenous innovation in unmanned systems.
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Such direct import was formally allowed in February 2012 but the aviation companies lack the infrastructure to do so.
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.
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.
All colleagues, who came in contact with the employee, have been asked to go into self isolation as a precaution, the ministry said.
Govt to introduce new aviation policy on May 15.
The pilots testing positive have been removed from duty, with their samples sent for confirmatory testing.
Though NOC was issued by the Ministry last week, this was the first formal statement by the AirAsia CEO on microblogging site Twitter.
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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.
Indian carriers have cancelled over 10,000 flights since the onset of the West Asia conflict, as escalating tensions and airspace restrictions disrupted international operations, a senior government official said.
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.
The preliminary report on the plane crash that killed NCP leader Ajit Pawar is expected to be released by February 28, according to Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol. The incident has sparked speculation and calls for investigation into potential irregularities.
IndiGo has the lowest pilots-to-aircraft ratio among domestic airlines in India, according to data presented in Parliament. SpiceJet and Akasa Air have the highest ratios. Air India Express employs the most expat pilots.
The government has suspended its directive requiring airlines to offer at least 60% of seats on flights without additional charges, following industry concerns about the impact on fares and pricing structures.
The national carrier to get lion's share of the Rs 1,978 crore budgetary support demanded by the ministry for 2010-11.
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 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.
Indian airlines are now required to offer 60% of seats for free and ensure families sit together, as the government strengthens passenger rights and addresses concerns about high seat selection fees.
Airports across the country have been placed on operational alert to manage potential flight diversions, unscheduled landings and passenger facilitation requirements.
Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have told the government that the country's airline industry is under extreme stress and on the verge of "stopping operations", as they sought revision in ATF pricing and financial support.
The Black Box of the Learjet 45 aircraft that crashed near the Baramati airstrip on Wednesday has been recovered, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
Pilots' grouping FIP has suggested that the AAIB should investigate whether a 'pre-lift off electrical disturbance' could have led to the Air India Dreamliner crash in June last year, which resulted in 260 fatalities.
Wingtips of Air India and IndiGo planes came in touch with each other at the Mumbai airport on Tuesday evening, and both aircraft have been grounded for checks, according to officials. Aviation regulator DGCA's team is at the site and will be probing the incident.
Two new airlines -- Al Hind Air and FlyExpress -- are set to take to the skies, with the carriers receiving their no objection certificates from the civil aviation ministry.
Ajit Pawar and four other persons on board a chartered aircraft were killed when it crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of a tabletop runway at Baramati airport in Pune district on January 28.
In 2017, 60 million passengers flew between India and the UAE, the largest overseas air travel market from India.
There are 394 unserved and 16 under-served airports in the country.
Indian airlines are expected to cancel 444 international flights due to airspace restrictions in the Middle East following attacks on Iran by Israel and the US. The civil aviation ministry is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with airlines to ensure passenger safety and minimize disruptions.
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 K Rammohan Naidu announced that public sector oil marketing companies will implement a partial and staggered increase in jet fuel prices for domestic airlines, aiming to protect passengers from steep fare hikes.
Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu has requested the Maharashtra government's cooperation in the investigation into the plane crash that killed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has initiated a formal investigation.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, the IAF chief, has strongly advocated for India to achieve greater self-reliance in unmanned aerial systems and other critical defence technologies, stating, "Technology delayed is technology denied." He stressed the importance of indigenous development to avoid dependency on other countries for components.
"The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 0843 IST (8.43 am). However, they did not give a readback of the landing clearance (did not respond to ATC). Next, the ATC saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 0844 IST (8.44 am)," the civil aviation ministry statement said.
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 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.'
The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to rationalise airfares and provide relief to flyers, highlighting discrepancies in pricing for the same routes and airlines. The court is addressing a plea seeking a robust regulator to ensure transparency and passenger protection in the civil aviation sector.
