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.
A three-member technical team of the FAA carried out the second round of audit of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to check whether corrective steps have been taken to resolve 33 deficiencies the US agency had highlighted during the first round in September.
The pilots and other senior staff have not been getting their full salaries since December.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that the country may need about 5,000 pilots in the next five years. The sector has started relying on expat pilots, whose current strength stands at 944. The civil aviation industry in the country is facing a shortage of type rated pilots. Patel said to bridge the gap between demand and domestic supply of pilots, govt has decided to establish a flying training institute at Gondia, Maharashtra.
The number of forms to be filled to operate drones in the country have been reduced to six in draft 'Drone Rules, 2021' in comparison to 25 forms mentioned in the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, it said.
There are about 400 unused airports and airstrips across the country.
Air India will no longer enjoy a priority in allocation of international traffic rights. This follows its takeover by Tata Sons in January. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has dropped a clause which gave Air India an advantage over other private airlines in the amended rules issued on April 19.
In a major relief to passengers, whose flights got cancelled due to the Covid-19 lockdown, the Supreme Court on Thursday accepted the recommendations of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to refund ticket fares and also approved a credit shell scheme which will be valid till March 31.
The sector requires proper implementation of policies, coupled with reasonable taxes and improved basic infrastructure.
The aviation regulator has also laid down training guidelines for the flight crew to handle the new facility being given to the air travellers.
Among the impacted flights, Air India's flight AI 185 from the national capital to Vancouver that was to depart early in the morning was rescheduled.
In a bid to support revival of sectors hit most by the Covid-19 pandemic, Reserve Bank of India on Friday decided to open a separate liquidity window of Rs 15,000 crore for certain contact-intensive sectors like hotels and restaurants, tourism and aviation ancillary services.
A source in the know said realistically two-three of the seven bullet train corridors could be included as a practical election promise.
In a rare move, the DGCA has filed a police complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.
Air India's handling of an incident in which an inebriated male flier allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger suggests an urgent need for stricter rules to deal with unruly passengers, according to legal and aviation experts.
Seeking to ensure strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols by air travellers, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday asked airlines to de-board passengers who do not wear their mask 'properly' despite repeated warnings.
Air India on Friday opposed before the Delhi high court the reinstatement and payment of back wages to over 40 pilots, saying that unless resignation is specifically made prospective, it is effective immediately and a pilot cannot withdraw it subsequently. "Unless otherwise specified, resignation is effective immediately. "There is no competence (with pilots) to withdraw on the ground that I am still serving notice period," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Air India, told a bench headed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher.
Air India had placed an order for 68 aircraft, including Boeing 737s, 777s and 787s, all valued at $11 billion in Dec 2005.
Irfan Pathan, who was travelling to Dubai from Mumbai with his family, was clearly upset with the staff at the Vistara check-in counter at the Mumbai airport.
The Nepalese citizen was handed over to security agencies on arrival at the airport in New Delhi.
As per the current policy, 100 per cent foreign investment is allowed in scheduled air transport service, domestic scheduled passenger airlines and regional air transport
So should airlines play the keening, trance-like Siddi folk music from the Kutch peninsula? The Sufiana Kalam of Kashmir? Carnatic music? Rabindra Sangeet? Bihu melodies? Classical music from the Hindustani gharanas? Ghazals? Bhajans? Bollywood hits?... asks Kanika Datta.
A K Chopra, a retired DGCA official, had flagged concerns regarding engineering, flight safety, operations, and training standards in the airline and subsidiaries, thus warning the management of grave safety risk. He also called for the replacement of the chief of flight safety Harpreet A De Singh, who, he said, did not meet the regulatory requirements for holding the post.
Aviation watchdog DGCA will conduct a special audit of grounded airline Go First's facilities in the national capital and Mumbai from July 4 to 6 before approving the revival plan for resumption of flights, according to a senior official. Cash-strapped Go First stopped flying on May 3 and is undergoing a voluntary insolvency resolution process. Meanwhile, a senior executive at the airline expressed hope of resuming ticket sales -- which was paused by DGCA following the grounding of the carrier -- from July 7 or July 8 and subsequent relaunch of the operations from middle of next month.
With a large number of senior pilots quitting jobs in Indian carriers for greener foreign pastures, aviation regulator DGCA has warned of stringent action, including cancellation of licences, against those leaving without serving proper notice.
"Unless he tenders an unconditional apology to AI employees, and undertakes in writing to abide by the Chicago and Tokyo Conventions & Rules of the Air and follow all cabin safety and public behaviour norms, we must not let him on board," says the letter.
He also assured the kin of victims that steps would be taken to get them compensation in line with an international convention of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Taking stock of the crash of the Dubai-Kozhikode AIE flight in Kozhikode and the relief measures, the minister said pilot in-command of the plane, Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, among those killed in the accident, was one of the most experienced commanders with more than 10,000 flying hours.
Around four months ago, GoAir had returned two aircraft to lessors as a part of its "dynamic fleet strategy" that involved inducting more aircraft in the peak season and letting go in the lean season.
In the aviation sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed under automatic route for MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul), ground handling, and aircraft purchase.
Bullish on the growth opportunities in the Indian civil aviation space, Europe's leading aircraft manufacturer Airbus today said it planned to invest about $1 billion in the next 10 years.
SpiceJet will have to refund fare to passengers due to a flight delay.
It takes only two hours - roughly the time it takes for a plane to fly from Delhi to Mumbai - for a pair of pilots to complete their training on the 737 MAX simulator at Boeing's centre in Noida, the only one of its kind in India. Going by this estimate, all the 90 Spicejet pilots who the civil aviation regulator barred from flying the 737 MAX can be retrained in 90 hours.
The Airports Authority of India would enter the capital market to raise resources for funding the modernisation of about 30 airports across the country, for which an estimated Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) is required.
Majority of India's international routes have been captured by foreign airlines.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited said on Monday it has successfully carried out the Ground Run and Low Speed Taxi Trials (LSTT) of the Hindustan-228 (VT-KNR) aircraft for DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) 'Type Certification'.
Incumbent airlines oppose the proposal.
Scheduled international passenger flights have remained suspended since March 23, 2020 in the wake of the pandemic and they will now restart from Sunday.
Pilots may soon get to fly beyond the age of 61 years.
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