The home ministry has given security clearance to Air India CEO-designate Campbell Wilson, paving the way for him to take charge of the airline, according to a senior official. The appointment of Wilson as the chief executive officer and managing director of Air India was announced by Tata Sons on May 12. Tata Sons took over the loss-making carrier on January 27.
In their new venture, Tata SIA Airlines Ltd, Tata Sons would hold 51 per cent stake and Singapore Airlines 49 per cent.
According to the people aware of the matter, there are currently 10 different variants of COVID-19 in the country, with the latest being BF.7.
Budgetary support of Rs 10,00,000 each was provided to Hotel Corporation India, Aero Club of India and Indira Gandhi Rastriya Uran Akademi.
A video clip of the heated exchange onboard the flight on December 16 was shared on social media on Wednesday.
Bids to be evaluated according to guidelines by the civil aviation ministry, following which a buyer will be selected. Transfer of control to the buyer to be effected by June-end.
In a letter to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal, the ICPA said, "In the press conference by Honourable Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri dated 16th July 2020, you had stated 'we are in negotiation with the pilots', which is far from reality." "It was not a negotiation, but the 'diktat' of the MoCA (ministry of civil aviation) which was conveyed to us. We would also like to place on record that the so-called negotiation was 'not harmonious' in any aspect," the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) noted.
"All efforts are being made to help passengers. A formal enquiry will be conducted by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau," the minister said on Twitter.
Aviation regulators says airlines are free to fix fares.
The issue of fog and low visibility primarily impacts airports in northern India and Bengaluru.
Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday said it has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Air India for denying boarding to passengers holding valid tickets and thereafter not providing the mandatory compensation to them.
The airlines in their representation had said that pilots had to be spared for the renewal procedure, which took a lot of time.
Arvind Jadhav, a senior IAS officer and the current CMD of Air India, was sent back to parent Karnataka cadre.
Hit by soaring fuel prices, the aviation industry is mulling introduction of a "differential fuel surcharge" based on VAT rates in each state to partially offset losses suffered by the air carriers. "Airlines would not be able to survive if the cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is so high and competition brings down the fares," V Thulasidas, chairman and managing director, Air India said.
Air India passenger flights were barred from landing in Hong Kong between August 18 and August 31 after 14 passengers on its Delhi-Hong Kong flight of August 14 tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival.
He was also the first to be booked under the stringent Anti-Hijacking Act which had replaced the vintage law of 1982.
On Thursday, DGCA issued a public notice seeking suggestions and objections to the grant of permit.
While the Saudi drone strike has put the focus back on anti-drone measures, caution also stems from the fact that India has a number of large oil refining assets close to India-Pakistan border.
This announcement comes a day after the DGCA asked IndiGo to take 'appropriate action' after it found alleged violation of safety and social distancing protocols by mediapersons in the airline's Chandigarh-Mumbai flight that had actor Kangana Ranaut as a passenger.
In Chandigarh, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda expressed shock over the death of 10 persons in the crash and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the three deceased persons hailing from Faridabad. He also announced a financial assistance of Rs 20,000 to each of the three injured
Jet Airways has complained to India's aviation regulator about the use of its livery on SpiceJet aircraft, saying the practice could "mislead the public" and is a safety hazard. Jet collapsed in 2019 and lessors repossessed its Boeing 737s. Some of these aircraft were leased to SpiceJet, which operates them without changing the livery. Jet, which is now being revived by the Kalrock Jalan consortium and aims to restart operations in September, has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ask SpiceJet to stop using its livery.
In another tweet, Gandhi also expressed concern over frequent emergency landings of flights due to one snag or another at a time when domestic air fares have almost doubled.
Tightening the rules for allowing foreign pilots to operate in India after the May 22 Mangalore air crash that claimed 158 lives, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation now wants them to get fitness certificates from Indian doctors apart from the ones which they may get from abroad.
The airline is currently working to normalise its operations with the support of its pilots and cabin crew and expects to be on track by the end of this week, it said.
While techniques of handling air turbulence are crucial, a pilot from a major airline said the training provided isn't enough.
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.
Over 30 passengers have suffered ear and nose-bleed after the crew on Jet Airways flight 9W 697 reportedly forgot to select a switch that helps maintain cabin air pressure
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has come out with a fresh circular making it clear that "in case the airline is compelled to operate a particular flight with a higher capacity aircraft, it shall be ensured that the capacity is restricted to that of the original aircraft".
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has refused to validate the licenses of about 25 foreign pilots operating in India, owing to their failure in English proficiency.
In a rare move, the DGCA has filed a police complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.
If all goes well, from December, drones can be used for purpose like mapping, surveying and photography, which till now was illegal due to absence of any guidelines.
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 base will be used by carriers such as Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, to operate 70-seater ATR aircraft to places such as Bengaluru.
These measures follow the Germanwings crash last month.
Banerjee also stated that the plane did not fall into any air pocket, rebuffing reports that had claimed otherwise.
The process of getting a new promoter on board is likely to take another two to three months and once that happens, the banks would offload their stakes.
The aircraft involved in the incident were operating on Coimbatore-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Cochin routes.
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.
Terming SpiceJet's offer of rupee one fare across its domestic network as "predatory" and a "malpractice", aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday came down heavily on the no-frill carrier and asked it to stop such pricing immediately.
IndiGo and Jet Airways took the second and third rank, alternatively, during this period.
