Under the guidelines, pilots have less time to fly and airlines say they will have to recruit 20 to 25 per cent more pilots, at a time when there is a shortage of pilots across the globe. The DGCA has included non-flying hours within an overall annual duty cap of 1,600 hours per pilot, within which the number of flying hours has been capped at 1,000 hours a year.
The DGCA has derostered the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) who was on duty at the time of the incident on Saturday, while IndiGo has initiated a probe into the matter
Air services of cash-strapped Kingfisher airlines were badly hit on Sunday with almost half of its flights from major metros cancelled or delayed, causing hardship to passengers and prompting aviation regulator DGCA to contemplate action against the beleaguered carrier.
It is not often that the head of a regulator is removed by the nodal ministry, even after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the prime minister, clears an extension.
The DGCA has allowed SpiceJet to accept advance bookings beyond March 31.
Three groups blame companies of excluding locals from hiring in the country.
Having failed to receive their May salary as assured by the Kingfisher management, the airline pilots have now threatened to approach DGCA if they did not meet the commitment by today even as the regulator maintained that the issue is out of its purview.
The fledgling Akasa Air has told the Delhi high court it is in a "state of crisis" following the "sudden and abrupt" resignation of over 40 pilots who left the airline without serving the mandatory notice period. The airline and its CEO Vinay Dube approached the high court with their petition on September 14, seeking a direction to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take coercive action against these pilots for their "irresponsible actions". The high court has fixed the plea for hearing on Friday.
Facing headwinds due to pilot exits, Akasa Air on Friday said it had approached the Delhi high court seeking interpretation and clarification with respect to mandatory notice period requirements for pilots and that the move was not against the DGCA or the civil aviation ministry. Akasa Air, which started flying in August last year, has initiated legal action against a "small set of pilots" who left the carrier without serving their notice periods that led to cancellation of many flights. In a statement, the airline said it sought relief from the Delhi high court to stop the unethical and illegal practice by this set of pilots.
The incident came to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) only on January 4 and the latest actions are for violations of various norms.
Two of the cabin crew in the aircraft were also found to be without any proper training, they said.
International Lease Finance said on Monday it had removed one of six aircraft stranded in India by the dispute over the suspension of operations at Kingfisher Airlines. This decision comes after the DGCA's meeting with Airports Authority of India and the civil aviation ministry.
The new regulator will be called Civil Aviation Authority that will also administer financial matters.
Prabhat Kumar, who has been appointed as the DGCA chief three months ago, is taking steps to ensure safety of passengers.
The safety and security of citizens is primary for the government, he said.
"We will not regulate fares but there are cases of airlines charging very high fares in a particular route and such airlines will be asked to explain the reasons for that. They cannot charge such high fares without any valid reason," said a civil aviation ministry official.
The DGCA will probe the incident and the air traffic controller concerned has been derostered, one of the officials told PTI.
The aviation regulator has also laid down training guidelines for the flight crew to handle the new facility being given to the air travellers.
In a move which could affect the Jet-Etihad deal or start-up carriers like Tata-SIA or AirAsia India, DGCA has made it clear that foreign airlines or investors would not have the right to control the management of an Indian carrier.
The DGCA report, a copy of which is with Business Standard, stated that under the Madras high court direction, an inspection was carried out by a team headed by V K Arora, deputy director general, DGCA.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked senior officials of the airlines, including CEO Sanjay Aggarwal, to appear before it tomorrow to explain the cancellations.
The government is not considering closure of any airline, new DGCA chief Prashant Sukul said on Thursday while rubbishing reports that his predecessor, E K Bharat Bhushan, was removed for taking a tough stand against Kingfisher Airlines.
HC asks DGCA not to de-register SpiceJet planes till April 6.
Regulator says that it if Kingfisher is prepared to run the airlines DGCA is ready to renew license. However, the proposal from the airlines will be examined in all aspects before taking decision on revoking its license.
DGCA would look into the tariff structure of Indian airlines in view of the wide range of the base prices of air tickets, after the Supreme Court observed that the price bands were too wide and directed it to examine the matter.
The airline on Thursday night extended its partial lockout till October 12 as talks between its management and employees failed to break the deadlock over non-payment of salaries for the last seven months.
The Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to conduct an inquiry into allegations of pilots procuring flying license after submitting forged mark sheets.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation began an inquiry into the emergency landing of a helicopter on the terrace of a five-storey residential apartment building as the chopper was dismantled on Friday.
Sources in the government said the roof that collapsed at T1 was constructed during 2008-09 and that the work was contracted out by GMR to private contractors.
Six pilots of Kingfisher Airlines, GoAir and Air India have been de-rostered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation after they violated guidelines while landing on a short runway at Mumbai airport under rainy conditions. The DGCA also issued notices to the three airlines on the matter asking them to explain why the strict guidelines were not followed.
The average fares charged by Jet Airways and its low-cost carrier arm Jet Konnect were higher than the average industry fares on almost all routes, according to a monthly internal analysis for July by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Scindia claimed Tharoor is "lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus", and for him "data mining of selective press articles from the internet qualifies as "research".
Without identifying the airlines, official sources said notices had been issued to some carriers against which the Civil Aviation Ministry had received complaints. The sources said 'affirmative action' would be taken against carriers flouting the refund guidelines issued a few months ago.
The incident was reported on January 30, and it came to light after the United States-based traveller, identified as Meenakshi Sengupta, lodged a complaint against the flight attendant.
rediffGURU Parthiban TR offers career guidance to students and young professionals.
The move came after civil aviation minister Praful Patel warned it was time to act against any move towards cartelisation. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation shot off letters to all scheduled domestic carriers asking for information regarding the recent hike and transparency in airfare advertising, saying it should be furnished by Saturday.
TMC asks why the flight was made to hover in the sky despite reporting a fuel shortage.
'The ministry may like to consider setting up an ombudsman similar to electricity ombudsman and insurance ombudsman, to ensure a time-bound resolution of consumer issues within the airline sector.'
The government has approved filling up of 700 posts in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which is in a rush to meet critical conditions set by its US counterpart to meet global safety standards, to beef up the functioning of the aviation regulatory body.
