Increasing cases of aviators in India complaining of fatigue and in some cases leading to death have spurred the DGCA to bring in draft rules to reduce stress.
With airfares mounting in the last couple of weeks primarily due to cancellation of Kingfisher flights, aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday warned airlines not to raise air ticket prices beyond a given range.
The biggest let down for India's aviation sector has been the failure of the government to privatise Air India, says Anjuli Bhargava.
From a surge in airfares to rattled aircraft lessors to thousands of employees staring at uncertainty, it has been a month of continued turbulence since cash-strapped Go First suspended flights from May 3. As the government and other stakeholders hope that Go First restarts operations at the earliest, plans are being worked out for the budget airline's revival. A section of Go First staff are optimistic about restarting of operations, another section are pessimistic about the airline's future course considering what had happened to erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways, according to employees who spoke to PTI.
InterGlobe Enterprises on Thursday said it along with Archer Aviation plans to launch an all-electric air taxi service across India in 2026. Once launched, the InterGlobe-Archer flight will aim to take passengers from Connaught Place in the national capital to Gurugram in Haryana in approximately 7 minutes whereas by road, the 27-kilometre-long trip will take 60-90 minutes, according to a release. Both companies have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the goal of partnering to launch and operate an all-electric air taxi service in India, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and clearances.
At least nine people have been killed and 77 people trapped across Taiwan after a powerful earthquake struck the island's eastern coast, CNN reported, citing the National Fire Agency (NFA).
Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo and AirAsia India ready to fill in the gap.
The introduction of private players would mean that trains will be available on demand and that passenger waitlist will decrease.
Jet Airways CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor has quit the grounded airline, according to a source. He had joined the airline as the chief executive officer in April last year. The source said that Friday was the last working day for Kapoor at the airline.
Captain Sharan and Flight Engineer Anil Jaggia both confirm that the hijackers seemed to know a lot about flying an aircraft. Without help from the ISI or the Pakistan army, it was impossible, points out Utkarsh Mishra.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday agreed with the contention of Akasa Air that the DGCA is not completely barred from taking action against pilots who violate the terms of their employment agreements. However, the court did not grant any immediate relief to Akasa Air which sought direction to the DGCA and Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to take action against its pilots who have resigned without serving the notice period, saying it will first decide the issue of jurisdiction raised by the aviation sector regulator. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said since the Directorate General of Aviation (DGCA) has contended it has no jurisdiction to consider a representation made by the airline against the defaulting pilots under the extant law as it was a contractual dispute, the court will have to first decide the issue of jurisdiction before passing any other direction.
The government will transfer about Rs 16,000 crore of unpaid fuel bills and other pending dues that Air India owes to suppliers, to a special purpose vehicle before handing over the loss-making airline to the Tata Group, a senior official said. Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL), which will hold non-core assets of Air India such as land and building, will also be saddled with 75 per cent of the airline's debt that the Tata Group is not taking over. Besides the debt, the excess liability going to AIAHL comprises unpaid fuel bills to oil companies, airport operators and vendors, said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management - the department running the privatisation programme of the government.
The government was also working on a package to promote connectivity and airports in the North Eastern states
In a move which could affect the Jet-Etihad deal or start-up carriers like Tata-SIA or AirAsia India, DGCA has made it clear that foreign airlines or investors would not have the right to control the management of an Indian carrier.
IndiGo, Vistara, Air India, SpiceJet have cancelled their flights, while GoAir and AirAsia India announced waiving date change/ cancellation fee.
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After all its flights remained grounded for most part of the day on Wednesday, cash-strapped SpiceJet resumed operations in the evening as oil companies, which had stopped fuel supplies to its aircraft, eased the restriction.
Four French judges earlier in the day began questioning the passengers detained by the French authorities at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, since Thursday over suspected "human trafficking".
Amid concerns over alleged poaching of pilots, Air India told Akasa Air that petitioning a competitor to collude in restricting the rights of staff to change an employer could potentially violate the competition law. Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson wrote a letter to Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube against the backdrop of Akasa Air raising concerns about Air India Express hiring pilots from the airline. The letter, dated September 21, followed a letter by Dube to Tata Sons on September 11.
Jet's air operator certificate will lapse on May 19.
At present, it operates A380 on the Delhi and Mumbai routes.
Seeking to ensure strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols by air travellers, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday asked airlines to de-board passengers who do not wear their mask 'properly' despite repeated warnings.
Air India Express and AirAsia India have moved to a unified reservation system, whereby passengers can make bookings for both airlines through an integrated website. The move is part of the ongoing process of merging AirAsia India with Air India Express. The combined entity will focus on leisure-oriented and price-sensitive markets.
