The presence of an engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India could have prevented Go First airline from going "belly up", as sending engines abroad for servicing is not an efficient way to operate a carrier, Piyush Srivastava, senior economic advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said in a statement on Tuesday. On May 3, Go First suspended its flights and filed for insolvency, squarely blaming engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney (PW) for its cash crunch. The airline claimed that about half of its 54 aircraft were grounded on May 3 due to a delay in the supply of engines by the US-based company. PW has denied the charges.
The DGCA circular also said that the suspension does not affect the operation of international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by it.
The suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country has been extended till February 28, aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday.
The DGCA has has commenced an investigation to ascertain the cause of the incident.
The woman said she was constrained to approach the court because Air India and the DGCA failed to treat her with care and responsibility after the incident.
Telecom operators will need to shut down 5G services in high-frequency bands in and around airports following restrictions imposed by the Department of Telecom at the request of the civil aviation ministry, according to sources. Based on buffer and safety zone details provided by the aviation ministry, the DoT has asked telecom operators to not install 5G base stations in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz band in the area of 2.1 kilometres from both ends of the runway and 910 meters from the centre line of the runway of Indian airports with immediate effect. "Telecom operators will need to shut down 5G service in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz band only in and around airports based on the order.
India has formed air bubble pacts with around 27 countries including the US, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.
Asthana is at present working as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in New Delhi.
Aviation watchdog DGCA has taken off SpiceJet from its enhanced surveillance regime, a senior official said on Tuesday. The airline, which has been facing multiple headwinds, was placed under enhanced surveillance recently. The senior DGCA official said that in view of the observations made in the past concerning inadequate maintenance and in view of the incidents during the monsoon season last year, SpiceJet was placed under enhanced surveillance.
An IndiGo aircraft grazed the wings of an Air India Express plane at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday, leaving the wings of both aircraft damaged, officials said.
Pant, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan cadre, is currently secretary in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
Forty-five specialists will soon be joining key posts of joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries in different central ministries as part of the Modi government's ambitious plan to infuse fresh talent to further improve ease of governance.
This isn't the first instance of Vistara facing scrutiny from the regulator over improper pilot training.
A passenger on a New York-New Delhi American Airlines flight allegedly urinated on a fellow male passenger in a drunken state, sources said on Sunday.
Aviation regulator DGCA has temporarily suspended SpiceJet's licence for the transportation of 'dangerous goods' for alleged violations, according to sources. The suspension is for 30 days, and during this period, SpiceJet will not be allowed to carry dangerous goods, including lithium-ion batteries, on its domestic as well as international flights, the sources told PTI on Friday. When contacted, a SpiceJet spokesperson did not directly mention the suspension.
'The BJP's numbers in this government are almost the same as those enjoyed by the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao when the reform process was kicked off in 1991.' 'As before, the only constraints on the prime minister's actions are internal, not external.' 'They come from his own assessment of the political consequences of any action,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
"We have found that a couple of international airlines are not adhering to the rules. Failure to adhere to rules shall entail strict action," said Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar.
The commercial flight operations of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air will be launched in July instead of June. "As we get closer to the airline launch date, we can now confirm refined estimates on our timelines. "We expect our first aircraft delivery by early June 2022, with the intention to start commercial operations in July 2022," Vinay Dube, CEO, Akasa Air, told PTI.
Singapore Airline along with its Indian JV partner have got clearance from the aviation ministry.
Akasa Air said on Thursday said it has received the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from aviation regulator DGCA and will start commercial operations later this month.
On May 28, following the bomb threat, which later turned out to be hoax, all the passengers were evacuated through emergency slides from the aircraft at the Delhi airport.
This incident was also not reported to the DGCA, for which the regulator pulled up the full-service carrier, stating its conduct was unprofessional and issued show cause notices to the airline, its director of flight safety and the crew that operated the New York-Delhi flight, asking them to explain within two weeks why action should not be taken against them.
All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from May 25. SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by the ministry of civil aviation.
There was no damage to the plane and no one was injured, aviation industry sources said.
Akasa Air's launch of services is likely to be delayed further as the airline is expected to receive its first aircraft only in June or July, according to a senior DGCA official. The carrier, backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, initially planned to start operations in June and then postponed the plan to July. A top airline official said it intends to start services in July. The Mumbai-based airline, registered as SNV Aviation, received the mandatory no-objection certificate from the civil aviation ministry in October last year.
IndiGo carried 69.09 million passengers last year, compared to 67.9 million in 2019.
Grounded Go First's CEO Kaushik Khona has put in his papers, nearly seven months after the no-frills airline filed for insolvency proceedings. In an e mail to the airline's employees on Thursday, Khona said that November 30 is his last day at the company. Khona had returned to Go First in August 2020 as its CEO.
New airline Akasa Air on Monday said it is on track to receive its first Boeing 737 Max plane by mid-June and launch commercial operations by July. The airline on Monday released the photographs of its first Max plane from the Boeing production facility in the USA's Portland as it gets ready for delivery. "The airline recently reaffirmed its commitment of being on track to receive its first aircraft in India by mid-June and launch commercial operations in India by July 2022," its statement mentioned.
So far, carcasses of 32 flamingos have been recovered from Ghatkopar area, the police said.
The bench asked the respondents to file their response to the petition which seeks the constitution of a committee to examine 'workable solutions' to ensure that a kirpan permitted to be carried on the flight is 'appropriately designed and crafted' and does not have a blade length beyond 4 cm.
Crisis-hit airline Go First has suspended sale of tickets till May 15 and is working to refund or reschedule existing bookings for future dates, aviation regulator DGCA said on Thursday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued a show cause notice to the airline after it suddenly decided to cancel flights for three days starting May 3. "Go First has intimated that they have suspended sale of their flights till 15 May 2023 and are working to refund or reschedule for future dates, the passengers already booked to fly with them," the regulator said in a statement.
From a surge in airfares to rattled aircraft lessors to thousands of employees staring at uncertainty, it has been a month of continued turbulence since cash-strapped Go First suspended flights from May 3. As the government and other stakeholders hope that Go First restarts operations at the earliest, plans are being worked out for the budget airline's revival. A section of Go First staff are optimistic about restarting of operations, another section are pessimistic about the airline's future course considering what had happened to erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways, according to employees who spoke to PTI.
According to e-mails accessed by ANI, the Air India cabin crew supervisor had reportedly sent out emails on November 27 at around 1 pm to the head of the Inflight Service Department (IFSD), base operations in India, Lead HR head of IFSD, and head of the northern region of IFSD and of complaints (customer care), informing them about the incident.
Recent audit raised concerns about oversight functions exercised by DGCA and clubbed India with several African nations with poor aviation safety record.
Just over a three-hour flight from Delhi, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia have seen a big jump in visitors.
A helicopter carrying pilgrims from Guptkashi to Kedarnath crashed on Tuesday amid poor visibility and seven people on board are feared dead.
An airline official said the ban is with immediate effect and is in addition to the 30-day ban it had imposed on the individual earlier.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has released a draft procedure that calls for testing pilots, other aviation personnel and crew members for psychoactive substances before they take to the skies. The Indian civil aviation regulator has sought comments from stakeholders over the next 30 days before issuing a regulation to this effect. Asking airlines and airports to do random checks on crew and air traffic controllers, DGCA proposed that violators be suspended for a minimum of three years or their licence be permanently cancelled as maximum punishment.
Indian airlines will operate a total of 23,732 flights every week during the winter schedule, which is more than 8 per cent higher than the year-ago period, amid rising air traffic demand. The winter schedule 2023 -- effective from October 29 to March 30 next year -- for the scheduled carriers has been approved by aviation regulator DGCA. Go First, which stopped flying from May 3 and is undergoing an insolvency resolution process, will not be having any operations during the winter schedule.
A video clip of the scuffle inside the aircraft was shared widely on social media on Wednesday. In the clip, a man could be seen being slapped multiple times by a few co-passengers.