International flights from the Srinagar airport would operate from February 14, when it would be formally inaugurated as an international airport. The first international flight will take off for the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, according to a statement issued by the Union Water Resources Minister, Saif-ud-Din Soz.
The first fresh-mint aircraft of the state-owned carrier, Indian, which has ordered 43 aircraft from the European manufacturer Airbus Industrie, arrived at the Indiara Gandhi International airport on Thursday morning.\n\n
The Nagpur-Bangkok flight would depart at 1010 hours IST and arrive in Bangkok at 1455 hours (local time), a spokesman of Indian told PTI on Friday.
The government would infuse additional equity of Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) into Air India over the next few months and review its performance to decide on the future course, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said.
Families of each of those killed in the Mangalore plane crash will get up to Rs 76 lakh as compensation.
Airport employees on Monday threatened to disrupt air services nationwide if the government proceeded with the privatisation process for modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports
A group of Air India unions on Friday asked Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to fix the accountability on those who are "sabotaging" the airlines merger process
The government on Saturday said it is expected to take a decision on privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports at the meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers on January 24.
Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Indian Airlines, is facing the brunt of pilot exodus with as many as 29 pilots leaving the airlines for greener pastures during the current year.
The minister said under the agreement between the Airports Authority of India and the joint venture companies -- Delhi International Airport Limited and Mumbai International Airport Limited -- 'the target rating after completion of the stage 2 shall be 3.75 on the scale of five.'The stage II of development of the Delhi airport is expected to be completed by 2016. Patel added the two companies had undertaken several initiatives to improve the satisfaction levels of customers.
Government has rejected a recommendation for a review of the present policy of not allowing foreign airlines to pick stake in domestic carriers, Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday.\n\n
The government will infuse equity into Air India by March, but only if the ailing state-run carrier manages to generate another Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) by increasing revenue and cutting costs.
India and Qatar on Wednesday signed a bilateral air services agreement to improve connectivity and decided to further bolster multifaceted ties between the two countries.
The skies have opened up for Indian carriers in the US and the UK with the government liberalising the air services agreement with the two countries.
India has told the US government that due consideration would be given to the offer of American aircraft major, Boeing for the fleet acquisition plans of Air India and Indian Airlines, US Transportation Secretary Norman Y Mineta said on Thursday.
By joining Star Alliance, Air India will gain access to member airlines' common facilities at airports across the world, as well as code sharing and joint marketing opportunities.
With an aim to link the unconnected destinations in the country, Indian Airlines and its subsidiary Alliance Air would soon acquire small aircraft to fly to smaller cities, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in New Delhi on Thursday.
Air-India proposes to add six services to London by next summer, including one in January, subject to availability of slots, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The low cost public sector carrier, Air India Express, will soon start operations from some southern cities to the Gulf and West Asia at 30 per cent lower fares than the regular ones, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Thursday.
The Airports Authority of India would raise nearly Rs 5000 crore (Rs 50 billion) through bonds and other instruments to upgrade about 30 airports across the country by 2007-08, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said on Wednesday.
The Airports Authority of India, would be turned into a company by amending laws to enable the body raise funds from market for carrying out modernisation of a large number of major airports across the country, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Tuesday.
Replying to questions on losses to Air India, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said the rally in international crude oil prices that touched $147 a barrel in July 2008, hit Indian carriers by Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) in jet fuel bill. Air India loses are a result of high jet fuel prices and fall in air traffic following global economic slowdown, he said. "There are (also) systematic issues which need to be corrected."
Some of the Congressmen, though, are opposing such a alliance saying that the party would waste seats if they have pre-poll alliance with the NCP.
"We have not received any official list of Indian nationals present in the crashed plane," Patel, who was in Surat to inaugurate Surat airport, said.
Divestment in major state-run firms is set to perk up the IPO space, with about six PSUs including Air India, BSNL, Oil India and NHPC, gearing up to sell equity sale in the primary market.
Indian Airlines has proposed to acquire 43 aircraft comprising A319, A320 and A321 for replacement of the ageing fleet of A300 and B737-200, government informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The move will help mop up not more than Rs 10 billion, which is only a fifth of the capital requirement of the industry, led by Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, say experts. The expected investment has been calculated on the basis of a 100 per cent premium on the current valuations of Jet Airways and Kingfisher -- two of the country's largest carriers by market share -- which require over Rs 50 billion.
'The government will not remain a mute spectator to the goings-on in both the carriers.'
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora will meet Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and chiefs of airlines and oil companies to discuss a solution for dues of over Rs 2,000 crore that the domestic carriers owe the state-owned oil marketers on fuel sales.
"We have leads about the Bombay blasts but no arrests have been made," Home Secretary V K Duggal said.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Nilotpal Basu said his party was not satisfied with the answer that Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had given on the floor of the House on a similar motion last week.
The government will decide on the new head of the Bangalore International Airport Authority Ltd in January, Karnataka Finance and Industries Minister P G R Sindhia said on Friday.
Public sector carriers Air-India and Indian Airlines would not offload more than 20 per cent of their equity in their proposed initial public offer slated to be announced within this fiscal.
Air-India has informed the Kerala government that it would start budget flights to Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait, state finance and excise minister Vakkom Purushothaman told the assembly on Friday.
India is ready to give Gulf carriers more routes and seats provided its airlines are given the same on the lucrative India-UAE route, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said. Various Gulf carriers are seeking access to more cities as well as increased seats but "we have asked them to give more seats to us since there are more Indian carriers now seeking rights to fly to this sector," he told PTI in an interview.
Domestic Airlines have been permitted to fly overseas except to the Gulf region, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Wednesday.
