Maintaining that the air cargo and some other areas in the Indian aviation sector were very weak, the government on Thursday said it was mulling the opening of these areas to private and foreign investment.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel on Friday virtually gave the clean chit to the NDA government over the sale of the Centaur Hotel at Juhu in Mumbai, saying that there have been no serious irregularities noticed in the deal of the hot
Let's take a detailed look at why this project is yet to take off.
Indian airlines on Wednesday filled aviation turbine fuel (ATF) into the tanks of their aircraft at Rs 68,000 a kilolitre. Around the same time, ATF sold at $1,037.8 (Rs 41,500) a kilolitre at the Singapore airport -- full 39 per cent below Indian prices.
Mumbai airport, which has limited capacity for expansion, is being expanded to handle 40 million passengers annually by 2010.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Tuesday lashed out at the Planning Commission, holding it responsible for the delay in the modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports.
Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel on Wednesday said the modernisation and restructuring of major airports has started with Delhi and Mumbai airports.
Asked about a possible bailout for Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said, "I think it will happen because as the owner of the airline, the government has its responsibility to put in equity, like private airlines where their promoters put in money." Asked if the government was looking at a Rs 15,000 crore bailout, Patel said: "No, Rs 15,000 crore is not the number. The number is far less than that."
Air India on Friday said it had operated a charter flight to carry IPL players from Chandigarh to Chennai as per rules and procedures and maintained that Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's daughter, Poorna, was not involved in this operation.
As senior Air India pilots withdrew their agitation, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Wednesday said the airline would soon set up a committee, including representatives of the ministry and pilots, to work on a turnaround plan and discuss issues relating to their pay and incentives.
He said this in his keynote address at the Business Standard Open Sky Summit 2008 held here today. Airport charges in India are 50-60 per cent higher than global airport charges and account for over 12 per cent of an airline's cost. Patel, however, added that his ministry has not yet initiated any talks with airports on this issue.
In the wake of recent hike in airline fares owing to rise in aviation turbine fuel prices, the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Thursday met Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and sought reduction in excise duty on the fuel in the Budget.
Construction of 12 greenfield airports in different parts of the country is likely to start soon with the government granting them approval, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Tuesday.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Indian airlines had suffered major losses in the past two years over the unprecedented rise in prices of aviation turbine fuel.
"Please crucify me if I am guilty. What have I done wrong?" said Praful Patel, minister of civil aviation, reacting to the criticism he has been facing in the country after the Dubai-Mangalore flight crashed on Saturday.
Indian Premier League authorities on Friday dismissed media reports that Poorna Patel, IPL Hospitality Manager and daughter of Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel, leaked a confidential e-mail from the league's COO Sundar Raman's office.
In a bid to allay the apprehensions of the Left parties and the trade unions, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Monday said the Delhi and Mumbai airports were not being privatised
Taking a serious view of the strike by a section of Air India employees, the government on Wednesday asked the management to take 'strong' and 'decisive' action against them as they have indulged in an 'irresponsible' behaviour causing inconvenience to travellers.
The government plans to formulate a separate set of policies for regional airlines, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Monday.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's plans to make India a maintenance, repair and overhaul hub for aircraft in Asia are set to crash. China, once again, has left India way behind. While over 300 MRO companies are in operation in China, only three have set up shops in India - Max Aerospace, Airworks and Indamer.
But if the minister signals that he is on the side of the unions on key staff issues, he reduces the management's scope of action as well as the likelihood of better service.
The Centre will come out with a policy by next year that will prescribe guidelines to state governments, private investors and Airports Authority of India for building airports. This was announced by the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel at an Assocham function to discuss the need for building aerotropolis (cities around the airport).
The bill to set up an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority, which will fix tariffs for different agencies involved in airport operations and management, will be introduced in the budget session of Parliament next year.
The runway length of Mangalore airport, which saw a major air crash a week ago that claimed 158 lives, will be increased from the present 8,000 feet to 9,000 ft to include a larger spillover area, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said.
Kingfisher will be permitted to fly abroad this year, following its acquisition of Air Deccan. Since Air Deccan will be eligible for the international arena this August, Kingfisher too will enjoy this right.
The new entity formed after the merger of state-run carriers Air India and Indian will be in place within four months, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Parliament on Friday.
Jet Airways, Kingfisher and NACIL, which operates Air India, owe over Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) to the oil PSUs in unpaid fuel bills, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.
The civil aviation ministry recently held a series of meetings to review the restructuring exercise of Air India, besides related issues.
The Union civil aviation ministry would take up the issue with the finance ministry, Patel said, expressing the hope that the latter would respond favourably to the civil aviation ministry's representation.
India's Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that he expects the country's newly regulated airline sector to boom 20 per cent annually over the next five years on the back of surging investment and traffic.
The radar blip on the flight path of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special plane, which created a mid-air scare, was caused by an Indian Air Force aircraft and the incident cannot be considered a serious security lapse, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said. "Primary investigation has revealed that there was some mix-up in the signals," he said. The special aircraft carrying Prime MinisterManmohan Singh had the mid-air scare on Tuesday evening.
Government is considering setting up an airport economic regulatory authority to deal with tariff and service standards at airports, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
When specifically asked about the reason for the crash and whether Air India is privy to any preliminary findings, Chandrasekaran said, "One would have to wait for the probe to conclude."
The first thing that needs to be addressed is Air India's cost structure. If it were a private airline, Air India could apply for bankruptcy, but as a national airline that option is not on the table, says Vinay Bhaskara.
Strengthening the Indian Airlines and Air-India and putting in place a comprehensive civil aviation policy would be accorded top priority by the new government, Union Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel said on Monday.
Civil aviation authorities have asked all private airlines to withdraw the congestion surcharge of Rs 150 imposed per passenger, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
