This comes against the backdrop of rising concerns in various quarters about steep fluctuations in airfares.
E-commerce players may soon rent out drones, so you can use them the way you book a cab on an app, and test viable use-cases for last-mile delivery.
Air India had placed an order for 68 aircraft, including Boeing 737s, 777s and 787s, all valued at $11 billion in Dec 2005.
The airline has launched a series of discount offers since January this year.
The aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday that it was extending the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country till July 31 but added that some international scheduled services on selected routes may be permitted on a case to case basis. Scheduled international passenger flights were suspended in India on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Facing threat of terror attacks, the home ministry has ordered security audit of nearly 100 civil airports and decided to bring all such facilities under the Central Industrial Security Force cover gradually.
The issue had come up during a presentation by the Civil Aviation Ministry.
In a statement, the DGCA said it will be conducting "random checks" in aircraft across the country to see if the COVID-19 protocol is being enforced or not.
Passengers coming from 'at-risk' countries to six major Indian airports have to compulsorily pre-book for the on-arrival RT-PCR test from December 20 onwards, the civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday.
This was in response to the assertion of some officials of the finance ministry and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion that a strategically placed comma in DIPP's press note on FDI in civil aviation meant foreign airlines were allowed to hold up to 49 per cent stake in existing Indian carriers, as well as new airline companies being set up.
The finance ministry on Wednesday reimposed expenditure curbs on ministries and government departments for July-September quarter. There will be no spending restrictions on the ministries of health, rural development, agriculture, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) and railways as part of a two-pronged strategy. "The existing guidelines for expenditure control have been reviewed. "Keeping in view the evolving situation arising out of Covid-19 and anticipated cash position of the government, it is felt essential to regulate Quarterly Expenditure Plan (QEP)/Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) of specific ministries/departments for July-September, 2021," the Department of Economic Affairs in the finance ministry said in a notification.
Civil aviation ministry raises procedural issues in FIPB meeting.
Pakistan has declined to allow the use of its airspace for flights from Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, sources said.
The intellectual vacuum that the government is often accused of is more than evident in the policy draft.
In one step forward, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Wednesday met for the first time to decide on allowing the Airbus A-380s to operate at some airports, years after some major foreign carriers sought the right to fly these superjumbos to India.
The defence ministry said Maharashtra was voted as the best tableau among the states/union territories in the popular choice category.
It is not often that the head of a regulator is removed by the nodal ministry, even after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the prime minister, clears an extension.
The civil aviation ministry on Wednesday said the use of masks is not compulsory during air travel but passengers should preferably use them amid the declining number of coronavirus cases.
On Monday, the ministry withdrew foreign traffic rights it had granted to Kingfisher Airlines.
The Civil Aviation ministry has sought reports from Air India on the recent incidents involving Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju which allegedly led to delay of flights.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said it's a pity that since switching sides, Scindia has adopted the Modi government's "uncaring attitude" to the public.
The decision has been taken after Kamra was found 'guilty' for alleged misbehaviour by an internal committee of IndiGo, an airline official said. The ban on Kamra comes into effect immediately.
The government has decided to restart scheduled international flight services from March 27 after a two years hiatus due to COVID-19, according to civil aviation ministry officials.
Bharatiya Janata Party's National Democratic Alliance partners have got five cabinet ministerial berths in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as against none in the outgoing government, given the party's dependence on allies for a majority in the Lok Sabha.
Air India will very soon get funds from the government for its day to day operations and will even place orders for a couple of aircraft
According to civil aviation ministry records, there were 340 foreign pilots employed by airlines and charter companies in India as of December 2012. It said the number of foreign pilots in India had reduced from 526 in 2011 to 340.
Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to acquire the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet in Mumbai. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also decided to waive off around Rs 250 crore unrealised income and interest on the property, an official said.
The watchdog would also endeavour to do its best to help the company revive its operations within the set regulatory framework.
Govt to not determine the price but come up with a formula.
A fund, Essential Air Services Fund or EASF, will be created for paying the subsidy.
So should airlines play the keening, trance-like Siddi folk music from the Kutch peninsula? The Sufiana Kalam of Kashmir? Carnatic music? Rabindra Sangeet? Bihu melodies? Classical music from the Hindustani gharanas? Ghazals? Bhajans? Bollywood hits?... asks Kanika Datta.
Meanwhile, the civil aviation ministry has announced the appointment of a task force, lead arrangers and consultants for the development of 35 non-metro airports in a phased manner at a cost of Rs 5,500 crore.
The air carriers' liability and insurance draft bill has proposed a five-fold increase in compensation in case of death or injury, the report said.
In the previous decade, the government, with Praful Patel as the civil aviation minister, saw the introduction of an irrational 5/20 policy.
The number of forms to be filled to operate drones in the country have been reduced to six in draft 'Drone Rules, 2021' in comparison to 25 forms mentioned in the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, it said.
Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said it is a major step to place the right talent for the right role.
The government is likely to take a final decision on allowing foreign airlines to pick up stakes in Indian carriers in a 'couple of weeks', with the Union civil aviation ministry proposing a 24 per cent cap as against 26 per cent recommended by the industry ministry.
The government has allowed 11,000 more seats on Dubai-India sector.
The engineers of Kingfisher went on a strike on Sunday to protest the non-payment of salaries since March.
The MEA said Indian nationals residing in Iraq are advised to be alert and may avoid travel within Iraq. The DGCA asked airlines to take all precautions in airspace over Iran, Iraq, Gulf of Oman and waters of Persian Gulf.
