The Centre expects cooperation from the state governments to slash the surcharge and taxation on aviation fuel to control its prices, a senior Civil Aviation Ministry official said in New Delhi on Thursday.
New Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi on Thursday sought the support of all employees of ailing Air India in restoring its lost glory and said the staff and the management should work in coordination to achieve this.
Issues raised by the industry, like rationalisation of the eight per cent central excise on jet fuel, still remain to be addressed. As a result of the government abolishing five per cent customs duty on aviation turbine fuel from Tuesday, state-run oil firms have cut jet fuel prices by Rs 2,100 per kilo litre, on top of the 17 per cent price reduction announced late last week.
The proposal is awaiting final policy sanction from the home ministry.
The panel will be asked to give report by March-April next year.
Scheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
With airfares spiralling, members of a Parliamentary panel grilled top officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry and demanded quick action to curb overpricing of air tickets.
The Indian aviation sector is on the cusp of a change as airlines look to induct a record number of aircraft. This, analysts said, will put the sector on a growth runway, though keeping it viable for only long-term investors. According to Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura Securities, expectations of strong air traffic, coupled with low penetration, is the prime reason for a solid long-term outlook.
Around 1,000 passenger complaints have been received against Air India during the last three months related to various issues, including refund of fares, overbooking of flights, and staff behaviour, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Monday. The Tata Group on January 27 took control of Air India after winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year. "Ministry of Civil Aviation has been receiving grievances related to air transport, including Air India, on the various issues such as refund of fares, flight issues, staff behaviour, baggage issues, overbooking of flights, etc," Singh said in his written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
The civil aviation ministry on Friday asked airlines to ensure that there is no abnormal surge in airfares for flights to and from the national capital amid suspension of operations at Delhi airport's Terminal 1 following the roof collapse incident.
Amid Delhi's worsening air quality, which has plunged into the severe plus category with an AQI consistently above 450, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday called for immediate intervention from the central government.
Speaking at an interactive session on the sidelines of Wings India 2022, Dube on Friday said the airline hopes to have a fleet of 72 aircraft in the next five years. "We hope to launch our first commercial flight in the month of June.
India is preparing to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, after a three-year hiatus. The decision comes as part of efforts to improve relations between India and China, which have been strained since a military standoff in 2020. The two countries have also agreed in principle to resume flight services between them.
A notification from the ministry has raised the minimum equity capital requirement for a five-fleet carrier that wants to fly Airbuses and Boeings (or aircraft above 40,000 kg weight) from Rs 30 crore to Rs 50 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia to take stock of the situation following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The meeting also included Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. The attack, which killed at least 26 people, including tourists from the UAE and Nepal, has sparked nationwide shock and outrage.
Air India Chairman Rajiv Bansal has been appointed as the new aviation secretary as part of a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Wednesday. K Rajaraman, additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been appointed as secretary, department of telecommunications, a personnel ministry order said.
The government has not taken any decision to privatise Air India, however, it was close to finalising a short-term strategy to strengthen the burgeoning civil aviation sector, including slashing taxes on jet fuel.
The fewer the number of central ministries that matter, the better the efficacy of India's reforms.
The policy has been finalised after nearly eight months since the Ministry came out with the revised draft in October 2015.
The relaxation has been given to facilitate "smooth conduct of air operations", the ministry's order stated.
An additional 1,400 CISF personnel have been sanctioned to secure the expanding terminal areas of the Delhi airport and also to meet the challenge of its growing passenger traffic, officials said on Thursday.
Last year too, the competition regulator had sent notices to airlines whether they were acting together to raise or lower airfares.
Though levy of service tax on domestic air travel is negative, given the rebound in air travel, the players can fully pass on the impact to customers through hike in fares
On Wednesday, Air India had carried out a test flight landing at the naval base.
The potential entrants include the Essar Group, Punj Lloyd, Larsen & Toubro, real estate developer Atlanta, Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction and Delhi-based DS Constructions.
Differences have cropped up between the civil aviation ministry and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) over the closure of the airport's main runway.
A Bengaluru-bound A320 ceo aircraft, carrying 184 people, aborted takeoff at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi due to fire in one of its engines Friday night.
The civil aviation ministry initiated and then made a mess of the merger of the erstwhile Indian Airlines with Air India, according to a Comptroller and Auditor General report.
'In 50 seconds, the pilots were fighting drag, trying relight, throttling up and avoiding obstacles.' 'They had neither height nor speed. There was no margin.'
Singapore Airline along with its Indian JV partner have got clearance from the aviation ministry.
Shubham Upadhyay, a resident of Uttam Nagar in the national capital, was arrested for posting two bomb threat messages to draw attention after seeing similar news reports on TV, the police said.
The Union health ministry said 6 persons who returned to India from the UK have tested positive for the new strain of the virus.
Goa's second airport began operations last week and if all goes according to plans, the state will be the base for a new regional airline, Fly91. Promoted by the ex-executive vice-president of now grounded Kingfisher Airlines, Manoj Chacko, and Fairfax India's former head, Harsha Raghavan, the airline will offer no-frills buy on board product and serve unconnected routes with two ATR 72 aircraft. An application for the initial no-objection clearance was filed with the civil aviation ministry last week.
Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the process of merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself.
Following random testing, if anybody is found Covid-positive, the sample should be sent for genomic testing at the designated INSACOG laboratory network, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote in a letter to his civil aviation ministry counterpart Rajiv Bansal.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
The union cabinet is likely to consider on Thursday a policy, which, among other issues, suggests relaxation of norms to allow domestic carriers to fly abroad.
