India's duopoly in the domestic skies -- where IndiGo and Air India collectively control over 90 per cent of the market -- is highly skewed, leaving very little room for new players
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The DGCA has formed two specialised teams to internally monitor IndiGo's daily operations.
IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights on Friday and said operations are expected to normalise in the next 10 days, as the country's largest airline received flight duty norms relaxation from watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which will probe the disruptions that have impacted thousands of passengers for four straight days.
'I don't think it is right to remove him over one lapse. The focus should be on restoring operations, not on removing a key management personnel.'
The officer has been banned from taking any domestic, international or non-scheduled flights operated by the airline during this period, they added.
Gandhi said it is ordinary Indians who pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness.
SpiceJet on Sunday said a senior Army officer, who was to board a flight to Delhi, assaulted four airline ground staffers at the Srinagar airport on July 26, and one of them suffered a spinal fracture.
DGCA provided temporary relief to IndiGo, which is partially owned by Rahul Bhatia, by rolling back the night duty definition to 12 am-5 am from 12 am-6 am earlier, and allowing its pilots to do six night-landings from two earlier, besides other relaxations.
Indigo airlines cancelled 13 flights from Hyderabad airport, causing chaos and frustration among passengers. The cancellations were attributed to technology and operational issues.
India's market regulator is moving ahead to include real estate investment trusts (Reits) in benchmark indices in a phased manner, Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, while asserting that the regulator was working to strengthen the link between infrastructure building and the markets.
One of the major concerns highlighted by the DGCA was about the fact that not all staff had completed mandatory fatigue management training.
Where was the Board when a predictable regulatory change brought the country's largest airline to its knees? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
'Where rostering systems are automated and duty time software interfaces directly with DGCA, the assertion that they suddenly discovered crew shortages is simply implausible.' 'If adequate crew planning hasn't materialised within 12 to 24 months from inception, how will 45 days -- from December 5 to February 12 -- suddenly resolve matters?'
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the incident reported on November 26. The regulator had asked the airline to carry out an internal probe to fix the responsibility and ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
The Delhi High Court agreed to hear a plea regarding mass flight cancellations by IndiGo, while the Supreme Court acknowledged the chaos as a 'serious matter'. IndiGo has cancelled 500 flights, leaving many passengers stranded.
Ariana Afghan Airlines A310 aircraft operating flight FG-311 (Kabul-Delhi) was given clearance to land on runway 29L. However, the aircraft landed on runway 29R.
Soon after the takeoff, the pilot of ill-fated Air India aircraft gave a Mayday call to the Ahmedabad air traffic controller.
'They are saying that there is a pilot shortage which is not correct, but if it was true, did they suddenly come to know this on December 5?' 'If they didn't have crew, why did they seek approval for a winter schedule? To get the approval, the operator has to show crew strength and also a buffer of crew available.' 'If they had a crew crunch, why did they ask for extra flights? Or was it something else that made them so sure that they would get away with this exemption and bans?'
Aviation regulator DGCA has issued four show cause notices to Air India for various violations related to cabin crew rest and duty norms, cabin crew training rules and operational procedures, a month after the airline made certain voluntary disclosures to the watchdog.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport will be inaugurated on October 8, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani said on Wednesday. The airport, which received the aerodrome licence from aviation safety regulator DGCA on Tuesday, is being developed in multiple phases.
The Supreme Court has criticized the selective publication of a preliminary report on the Air India crash, calling it 'unfortunate and irresponsible'. The court raised concerns about privacy, dignity of victims' families, and the potential for biased narratives.
Father of deceased pilot and Federation of Indian Pilots petition Supreme Court for a court-monitored inquiry into the Air India flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad.
The DGCA has issued multiple fines and warnings to Air India over the past three years, flagging serious concerns in flight operations, cockpit discipline, and internal accountability.
India's aviation safety ratings have been downgraded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from the top to the second category, which would affect expansion of flights by Indian carriers to the United States.
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
Aviation watchdog DGCA has granted IndiGo a six-month extension to operate two leased Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines, subject to certain conditions. This decision comes after a previous extension and amidst geopolitical considerations.
Celebi Airport Services India withdrew its plea in the Bombay High Court against the revocation of its security clearance by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) following Operation Sindoor.
Of these, as many as seven are Level-1 violations, which are considered critical safety risks and require immediate corrective action by the air operator, they said.
The helicopter carrying a total of seven people, including the pilot, crashed on the Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway at around 8:45 am.
A SpiceJet employee, Mudasir Ahmad Khan, claims he was assaulted by an army officer at Srinagar airport for enforcing baggage rules. He demands action against the officer, while the army says it is cooperating with the investigation.
Air India has terminated the services of a trainer pilot for lapses during simulator training. Ten pilots who underwent training under the trainer pilot have been removed from flying duties pending investigation. The action follows a whistleblower complaint alleging that the trainer pilot failed to properly discharge his duties. Air India conducted a detailed probe and corroborated the allegations. The airline voluntarily reported the matter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and commended the whistleblower for coming forward.
The specific reasons for the crash of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick will be known only after the completion of the detailed probe by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
An airport operator will be responsible for maintaining overall service standards at an airport, including those delivered by third-party service providers, under new rules being framed by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), its chairman SKG Rahate told aviation stakeholders at a meeting on Wednesday
'...rectification has to happen then and there, and that takes additional time.'
An Air India flight bound for Indore made an emergency landing in Delhi after a fire indication in one of its engines. All passengers are safe and being transferred to another aircraft.
The process of identification of victims by matching the DNA samples is currently underway, and the bodies will be handed over to their relatives once the process is complete.
'In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism.'
'In multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
The truth about what triggered the fatal crash of the Dreamliner should not only help bring the guilty to book, but also outline the future course of action in aviation safety, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
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