Crisis-hit SpiceJet may get the first round of its much-needed fund infusion in the next two days, while more may come in a month's time as part of an estimated $200 million investment plan, sources said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, approved the proposal of the civil aviation ministry to remove IA and A-I from the divestment roster.
The full-service airline has faced multiple challenges in its run.
The government on Wednesday directed online travel aggregators to process pending refunds related to air ticket bookings during the coronavirus lockdown period by the third week of November. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a nationwide lockdown for varying periods starting from March 25, 2020, and scheduled commercial flight services were also suspended for a certain period. On Wednesday, the consumer affairs ministry held a meeting with online travel aggregators to discuss issues prejudicial to consumer interest in the travel sector.
A notification in this regard is likely to be issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Monday.
About 350 Boeing 737 Max 8 are currently in service with airlines around the world, with thousands more on order. Boeing insists it has no reason to pull the popular aircraft from the skies.
In a serious safety breach, Nagpur airport runway was intruded by a drove of pigs when President Pranab Mukherjee's jumbo Boeing 737 was taxiing towards the runway after landing on Monday, prompting the civil aviation ministry to seek a report.
UAE's promise of $50-bn investment in Indian infra won't be included.
Aviation turbine fuel accounts for 35-40 per cent of the total operating cost of an Indian airline.
Air India Express on Thursday cancelled 85 flights or around 23 per cent of the total daily capacity as the disruptions due to the cabin crew shortage continue and said Air India will operate services on 20 of its routes to minimise inconvenience to passengers.
SpiceJet announced it has started a five-day "1+1 offer sale" where it was offering one-way base fares starting as low as Rs 899, excluding taxes, on its domestic network.
Indian Airlines' plans to add more planes to its existing fleet may not be delayed, even though the civil aviation ministry has sought a review of their plans, as the fresh proposal would be taken straight to the Public Investment Board the moment it
According to the resolution plan, the airline is planning to start with six to seven aircraft on domestic routes and looking to restart international service within six months of resuming operations.
Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have operated 31 inbound flights during the first five days of Vande Bharat mission, bringing 6,037 stranded Indians home amid the coronavirus triggered lockdown, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Tuesday.
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 the season of aviation action, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air has secured the crucial no-objection certificate (NoC) from the civil aviation ministry. It expects to start operations next summer. The airline will now have to apply for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for operations permit. Aviation sector has been in the limelight with the Tata Group winning the Air India bid last week.
Air India's financial and operational performance as part of its turnaround process came up for a review at the airline's Board meeting in New Delhi.
Aero India, the largest air show in Asia and one of the world's most important military aviation exhibitions, is all set to kick-start at Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bangalore, from February 6 to 11.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh and around 200 Indians, mainly students, also returned to India on the flight that landed at 6.15 pm, they said.
India's largest carrier IndiGo will cut 20 per cent of its flights due to lower demand as a rapidly spreading coronavirus upends the recovery of air travel. The airline was operating around 1,200 flights as on Saturday. Other airlines are being forced to cancel flights as states tighten restrictions to combat the spread of the virus, and people are dropping last-minute travel plans. Airlines carried 2,518 passengers on 260,251 flights on Saturday, compared to 2,794 passengers on 358,856 flights the day before.
Playback singer Sonu Nigam on Friday lashed out the Jet Airways for suspending the crew members, who allowed him to perform impromptu on the aircraft's address system.
The civil aviation policy and the fleet acquisition plan for both Air-India and Indian Airlines is expected to be completed within the next couple of months.
Four Indian airports are currently equipped to handle these super jumbos.
IndiGo confirmed the incident but said the aircraft did not face any technical issue in the past.
A parliamentary panel on Friday recommended for fixing of an upper limit for the economy class airfares to curb the "exorbitant" air fares during the peak tourist seasons.
Objections were being raised by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh, Communist Party of India's Gurudas Dasgupta, Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress) and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy over the deal, each of whom had shot off separate letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Aviation consultancy CAPA on Thursday said allowing domestic airlines to take advance bookings from April 15 is "unfair" to consumers since a decision on lifting the nationwide lockdown is yet to be taken. During the lockdown period only special flights approved by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, medical evacuation flights and those carrying cargo, including medical equipment, to and from different parts of the country are operational.
The facility will be available for domestic as well as foreign carriers flying in Indian skies.
Along with IAF officials, the AAIB will also reach out to experienced private sector executives, meteorologists, and aviation psychologists to be part of the probe.
Concerned over the fallout of the Red Sea crisis and severe shortage of containers against the backdrop of a steep decline in merchandise exports in August, the Union government is pulling out all the stops to find a solution. To begin with, the government has devised a strategy aimed at boosting container supply and supporting exporters.
The average age should be around 35 years, the sources said, adding those older should be shifted to ground operations.
Slots, parking bays unavailable at major airports
The government has begun consultations on relaxing the eligibility criteria for allowing Indian carriers to fly abroad, Rajya Sabha was informed.
The airline with a 66-aircraft fleet said on Monday that it would be inducting 16 planes this year and the remaining 12 by 2014.
The regulator has warned airlines and in an email on May 2 asked all Indian carriers to give compensation and facilities to passengers affected by such denial of boarding, failing which it would will impose financial penalties on them.
In his order last week, Civil Aviation Secretary K N Srivastava ruled the meanings of transaction fee, commission or convenience fee were the same -- payment of remuneration to an intermediary.
