In an unprecedented action, Indian aviation regulator DGCA has directed low-cost airline Spicejet to operate only 50 per cent of its flights for eight weeks. This follows an unusually high number of incidents involving the airline, raising safety concerns. The curtailment of capacity is unlikely to have any commercial impact on the airline owned by entrepreneur Ajay Singh. SpiceJet already operates less than 50 per cent of the flights it had filed for the summer schedule.
The Indian aviation market's recovery has been significantly impacted by caps on fare and capacity that has been placed by the government since May last year, said Willie Walsh, the director general of global airlines body IATA, on Tuesday. When India resumed the scheduled domestic flights on May 25 last year after a two-month break in view of COVID-19 lockdown, it had allowed the carriers to operate not more than 33 per cent of their pre-Covid domestic services. This capacity cap has been gradually increased and it now stands at 65 per cent.
Airfares have nearly doubled in a matter of days on routes hit by the cancellation of 200 weekly flights linking Mumbai airport to 12 cities. The fares have soared as high as 193 per cent following a recent government order to cancel flights to ease "persistent congestion" that was causing delays. Aside from the reduction in flights on 12 routes, two destinations - Hubli and Jabalpur - have lost connectivity with Mumbai since last week, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium's data reviewed
The airline said it has filed a police complaint about the incident, but did not specify when the 30-day ban came into effect.
A helicopter carrying pilgrims from Guptkashi to Kedarnath crashed on Tuesday amid poor visibility and seven people on board are feared dead.
National carrier Air India became part of the 27-member global airlines grouping Star Alliance, as budget airline AirAsia India launched operations and Tata-SIA joint venture carrier Vistara received the flying permit and announced its intentions to start operations from January 9.
Each band would have its specific lower and upper limits of air fare, and the first such band will consist flights that are of less than 40 minutes duration.
In a series of tweets, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said Friday that all airlines must immediately respond to the concerns of passengers affected by Cyclone Fani.
If the Ministry of Civil Aviation has its way, the proposed regulatory authority for the sector will act as an arbitrator in case of disputes over airfare. The airlines, however, will be free to decide on ticket pricing.
An official of the aviation regulator DGCA had said that the pilots aborted the take off after they were informed about a 'barrier' on the runway
On January 31, the Indian Army intercepted a Maldivian fishing boat engaged in fishing activities within the Maldives' Special Economic Zone (EEZ), located 72 nautical miles northeast of Dhidhdhoo, Haa Alifu Atoll, the Maldives' defence ministry claimed in a statement on Friday.
Besides, airport operators must take help of the local police and security agencies and levy fines on people not wearing face masks, the DGCA said in a circular.
'If the airlines are not given a clear deadline to change the altimeters by the DGCA, why should they do it voluntarily?' 'It means that the aircraft will be grounded for a while and lose money.'
Seeking full utilisation of the Indian airspace, civil aviation authorities are in the process of training pilots and ATC personnel and introducing advanced technology to gradually reduce air distnce between two aircraft from 50 nautical miles to 15.
The US Federal Aviation Authority has approved Boeing's plan to fix the battery-fire problem in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday ruled out any move to regulate airfares saying the government only wants the system to be made transparent.
The official said that the licences of the two pilots -- Ajinkya Hanchate and Tushar Dasgupta -- have been suspended for one year and they also have to undergo corrective training.
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.
SpiceJet is the only Boeing 737 MAX operator in India, with 13 aircraft of the type in its fleet and a total of 205 planes on order.
Commercial pilot licenses will now be valid for ten years, with the government amending rules as part of efforts to further improve ease of doing business in the aviation sector. Till now, the validity of Commercial Pilot License (CPL) was for five years and after completion of that period, it had to be renewed. The civil aviation ministry amended the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
The aircraft involved in the incident were operating on Coimbatore-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Cochin routes.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapthy Raju remained unfazed on Wednesday saying his exemption from frisking at airports should not be taken as a threat to security.
The watchdog would also endeavour to do its best to help the company revive its operations within the set regulatory framework.
Predatory pricing is a big concern for the aviation sector.
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.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday reserved its order on crisis-hit airline Go First's plea seeking voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and interim moratorium on financial obligations while aircraft lessors vehemently opposed the petition. Amid the airline facing severe financial crunch and cancelling flights, a two-member NCLT bench comprising Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar and Member L N Gupta heard the arguments for and against the petition for nearly four hours. As aircraft lessors opposed the plea, the counsels for Go First said the petition was not a malicious one to avoid payment of dues to its creditors but to save the company.
The airline, which declared a partial lockout on Tuesday, has said it will start flying again from October 5.
An IndiGo aircraft grazed the wings of an Air India Express plane at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday, leaving the wings of both aircraft damaged, officials said.
This is the third incident of technical malfunction on a Go First aircraft in two days.
The watchdog has also asked the airlines to ensure various requirements are complied with by engineering and maintenance personnel with respect to 737 MAX planes.
After a rap from the aviation regulator for neglecting safety issues, Kingfisher Airlines on Monday submitted a detailed response to DGCA giving time-bound plans to resolve the lapses and discrepancies identified.
'Airlines are free to fix the ticket rates after taking into consideration various factors.'
A senior police officer said based on the complaint of the victim given to the Air India, a case has been registered under the the Indian Penal Code and the Aircraft Rules.
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.
Ticket sales to open from Friday, says group CEO Tony Fernandes
Ailing Kingfisher Airlines will have to satisfy aviation regulator DGCA about safe flight operations and also make sure that its employees are not disgruntled before it resumes its services, Civil AviationMinister Ajit Singh said.
There is no reason for keeping an entire ministry with a total staff strength of 2,300, just for the oversight of a few aviation sector laws and regulatory bodies, notes A K Bhattacharya.
The conference, being attended by some 700 aviation leaders including chiefs of airlines and aircraft-makers, is discussing issues like aviation safety, environment, distribution and financial sustainability among others.
Opposition Congress targeted Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, amid reports that the passenger, who accidentally opened the emergency exit of the plane was the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha chief.
'A passenger on our flight AI130, operating London-Mumbai on March 10, was found smoking in the lavatory. Subsequently he behaved in an unruly and aggressive manner, despite repeated warnings,' Air India said.
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