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.
Rohit Pawar highlighted the atmosphere of suspicion, grief, and political intrigue currently surrounding these events in Maharashtra. He mentioned an investigation into the accident, citing a book that suggests killing a person's driver is an easy way to target them.
The DGCA has asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes after a preliminary probe report into the Air India crash found that the switches were cut off before the accident.
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.
Visuals from the spot showed mangled remains of the aircraft.
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.
The country's largest airline IndiGo, which faced massive operational disruptions earlier this month, saw its domestic market share slide to 63.6 per cent in November, according to official data. Air India Group, comprising Air India and Air India Express, and SpiceJet had their respective market shares in November rise to 26.7 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively.
Of these, as many as seven are Level-1 violations, which are considered critical safety risks and require immediate corrective action by the air operator, they said.
Amid mounting safety concerns and the cancellation of at least 66 flights that were to be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, DGCA officials held a detailed review meeting with top Air India and Air India Express executives.
Soon after the takeoff, the pilot of ill-fated Air India aircraft gave a Mayday call to the Ahmedabad air traffic controller.
Civil aviation authorities have directed Turkish Airlines to ensure 'full compliance' with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regulations, an official statement said on Wednesday.
India's largest airline IndiGo on Thursday reported a 78 per cent decline in December quarter net profit at Rs 549.1 crore as flight disruptions and implementation of the new labour code took a toll on its earnings. The airline reported a net profit of Rs 549.1 crore in the October-December quarter, compared with Rs 2,448.8 crore earnings in the year-ago period, according to a company statement.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 planes equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect.
An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar encountered severe turbulence near Pathankot on Wednesday, prompting the crew to request permission to enter Pakistani airspace to avoid the weather. However, their request was denied. The aircraft, an A321 neo operating flight 6E 2142, experienced hailstorm and turbulence, triggering various warnings and forcing the autopilot to trip. The crew managed to safely land the aircraft in Srinagar after a harrowing experience. The incident is under investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which confirmed there were no injuries to passengers but noted damage to the aircraft's nose radome.
The crash took place shortly after the aircraft operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 pm.
Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said there were four passengers, including two women and two pilots, in the aircraft. Captain Naveen and Captain Tarun were piloting the plane, he said.
The DGCA directive called for a series of specific checks before each flight's departure from India, including inspection of fuel parameter monitoring systems, cabin air compressors, and electronic engine control units.
A senior official told PTI that the AAIB will be visiting the crash site and it will be investigating the accident.
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.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta termed the exorbitant rise of airfares by airlines as "exploitation" and asked the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file their replies to a PIL seeking binding regulatory guidelines to control the unpredictable fluctuations in airfare and ancillary charges imposed by private airlines in India.
An air ambulance crashed in Jharkhand's Chatra district, killing all seven people on board. The incident has sparked grief and calls for investigation into the flight's approval during inclement weather.
IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights on Friday and said operations are expected to normalise in the next 10 days, as the country's largest airline received flight duty norms relaxation from watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which will probe the disruptions that have impacted thousands of passengers for four straight days.
An Air India Airbus A350 sustained engine damage after ingesting a baggage container while taxiing at Delhi airport. The incident occurred after the flight returned to Delhi due to the unexpected closure of Iranian airspace. The DGCA is investigating.
The board of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of IndiGo, has already set up a crisis management group in the wake of the significant operational disruptions that started on December 2.
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the truth would not emerge through existing mechanisms and called for a probe, several opposition leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge backed her demand.
Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports on Thursday, as the Gurugram-based airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.
Police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in connection with the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others in Baramati. The case will be handed over to the Maharashtra CID for investigation following the AAIB's inquiry.
'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.'
Pilots' body the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze."
Aviation watchdog DGCA has issued a warning letter to Akasa Air's accountable manager Vinay Dube, who is also its founder and CEO, for regulatory lapses, days after the airline was warned for violating norms related to handling dangerous goods.
Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the government has initiated an inquiry into Indigo's mass flight cancellations and will take strict action against the operator to set an example for other airlines.
Union Minister assures accountability after IndiGo flight cancellations cause widespread passenger distress and mental harassment. The DGCA has launched an inquiry and issued a notice to IndiGo.
According to sources, the crisis-ridden airline cancelled 137 flights at Delhi airport and 21 services at Mumbai airport.
As many as 338 A320 family aircraft operated by Indian airlines require the software upgrade to address a potential issue related to flight controls, and modifications have been carried out in more than half of the affected fleet, according to DGCA data.
The Black Box of the Learjet 45 aircraft that crashed near the Baramati airstrip on Wednesday has been recovered, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital is the country's busiest airport and RWY refers to runway.
"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.
'The CCI will first need to take a prima facie view on whether IndiGo's role warrants a detailed investigation.'
This comes after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee hinted at foul play behind the plane crash and demanded the Supreme Court's probe into the incident.
Pinky Mali was an attendant on the Learjet 46, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, that crash-landed at the Baramati airport
