'The CCI will first need to take a prima facie view on whether IndiGo's role warrants a detailed investigation.'
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.
Pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers are responsible for planning and conducting flights, and these decisions must rely on technical judgment rather than external influence.
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.
'Extending 'flight duty period' and 'flight time' limits for minimum crew complement operations increases exposure to fatigue-related performance degradation'
Following a fatal Learjet crash, the AAIB is urging the DGCA to implement stricter standard operating procedures for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flights at uncontrolled airfields to improve aviation safety in India.
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.
The flights have been cut across sectors, particularly on high-demand, high-frequency routes, according to a DGCA statement.
An investigation into the matter is currently ongoing, and police have stated that no further details will be released at this stage.
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.
Air India has been issued nine show cause notices for safety violations in the last six months, according to the civil aviation ministry. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken enforcement action on one violation. This follows a fatal accident involving an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Father of deceased pilot and Federation of Indian Pilots petition Supreme Court for a court-monitored inquiry into the Air India flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad.
'I don't think it is right to remove him over one lapse. The focus should be on restoring operations, not on removing a key management personnel.'
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.
Authorities will conduct a survey of the areas surrounding the Ahmedabad airport, in the wake of last week's Air India plane crash that claimed 270 lives, to check whether any structures were violating height norms and posing a threat to aircraft safety, an official said on Thursday.
The process of identification of victims by matching the DNA samples is currently underway, and the bodies will be handed over to their relatives once the process is complete.
The Delhi High Court dismissed Turkish-based firm Celebi's challenge to the revocation of its security clearance by aviation watchdog BCAS in the "interest of national security."
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team probing last year's fatal Air India plane crash is examining certain components of the aircraft and assessing various aspects, and 'nothing has been ruled out' in terms of the factors that could have led to the accident that killed 260 people, according to a source.
The crash took place shortly after the aircraft operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 pm.
Fair trade watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) is examining whether the country's largest airline, IndiGo, violated competition norms, a senior official said on Friday amid the carrier facing regulatory scrutiny over significant flight disruptions.
Air India's ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12 underwent comprehensive maintenance checks in June 2023 and was due for the next scheduled comprehensive checks in December this year, according to airline officials.
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."
India and Russia have agreed to jointly produce a twin-engine narrow-body passenger aircraft for short-haul flights, marking a significant step in their strategic ties. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Russia's Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC-UAC) have signed an agreement for the production of SJ-100 aircraft in India.
GPS spoofing occurs when fake satellite signals are transmitted to an aircraft's navigation system, confusing pilots or onboard systems about the plane's actual position or altitude. Such false signals pose a serious safety risk, especially during landing.
Passengers may think they are just booking a ticket, but airlines' clever design tricks are quietly picking their pockets.
An Air India plane from Kochi veered off the runway at the Mumbai airport on Monday morning, and the aircraft has been grounded for checks.
'Deeply shocked and terribly heartbroken to learn that we have lost Ajit Dada in a tragic accident.'
Aviation watchdog DGCA has granted IndiGo a six-month extension to operate two leased Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines, subject to certain conditions. This decision comes after a previous extension and amidst geopolitical considerations.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela also asked how could other airlines take advantage of the crisis situation and charge hefty sums for tickets from the passengers.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Thursday said India will need at least 20,000 pilots in the coming years to meet the rising air-travel demand in the country -- one of the world's fastest growing aviation market. Addressing a gathering at the UDAAN Bhawan here following the launch of Electronic Personnel License (EPL) for pilots, the Minister said aviation has always been the backbone of connectivity, economic growth, and technological advancements.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu assures a clean investigation into the Air India plane crash, dismissing concerns of manipulation. The statement follows calls for a judicial probe and criticism of selective leaks from the preliminary report.
Residents of Ahmedabad recall the Air India crash of June 2025 after news of the Baramati plane crash involving Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The earlier tragedy, which killed hundreds, remains a painful memory for those who witnessed it and lost loved ones.
Aviation regulator DGCA has issued four show cause notices to Air India for various violations related to cabin crew rest and duty norms, cabin crew training rules and operational procedures, a month after the airline made certain voluntary disclosures to the watchdog.
The principal problem lies in lack of training infrastructure and relatively lax safety standards.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the incident reported on November 26. The regulator had asked the airline to carry out an internal probe to fix the responsibility and ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
Aviation watchdog DGCA stations personnel at IndiGo's headquarters to monitor flight cancellations, crew deployment, and operational disruptions after thousands of flights were cancelled, causing passenger inconvenience.
The Noida International Airport (NIA), being developed as a greenfield aviation hub in Jewar, Gautam Buddh Nagar, is on track to begin operations by the end of this year.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is 'totally unbiased' and is carrying out a definitive and thorough rule-based probe to find out what exactly led to the Air India plane crash that killed 260 people last month, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Under the civil aviation ministry, AAIB is responsible for the classification of safety occurrences, involving aircraft operating in the Indian airspace into accidents and serious incidents.
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
