The panel will be asked to give report by March-April next year.
Fifty-six-year-old Piccard, who completed the first non-stop flight around the world in an air balloon in 1999, said he and his team were hopeful of getting permission for landing in the two Indian cities.
The civil aviation ministry has mandated airlines and ground-handling companies to phase out airport equipment older than 12 years and switch to electric or fuel-efficient variants by May 2022. While companies have welcomed the ministry's green initiative, they said that the deadline for implementation is tight. This is especially in the wake of financial challenges faced by the aviation sector during the pandemic.
The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday night set up a four-member committee to probe the cause of Andhra Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's helicopter crash in which he was killed.
Omaxe, L&T and Unitech have already applied for the Rs 200-crore (Rs 2 billion) development projects at Udaipur and Amritsar. The work includes commercial operations and maintenance of the airport terminal building, besides development of 46,268 sq metres and 110,308 sq metres of land for city-side development and cargo handling facilities at Udaipur and Amritsar, respectively.
Goa's second airport began operations last week and if all goes according to plans, the state will be the base for a new regional airline, Fly91. Promoted by the ex-executive vice-president of now grounded Kingfisher Airlines, Manoj Chacko, and Fairfax India's former head, Harsha Raghavan, the airline will offer no-frills buy on board product and serve unconnected routes with two ATR 72 aircraft. An application for the initial no-objection clearance was filed with the civil aviation ministry last week.
Aviation Minister Praful Patel has requested FM to rationalise taxes on aviation fuel in Budget 2008-09.
First and business class air travellers would find flying costlier.
A total of Rs 30,000 crore was allocated for five years to Air India by the United Progressive Alliance government in its second term.
Civil aviation ministry raises procedural issues in FIPB meeting.
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.
In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.
The issue had come up during a presentation by the Civil Aviation Ministry.
The government on Monday announced the implementation of a 5 per cent uniform IGST rate on all aircraft and aircraft engine parts to boost the industry. The decision, which comes into force with immediate effect, marks a significant milestone for the domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) industry, aimed at making India a global aviation hub, an official release said. Earlier, IGST rates on all aircraft and engine parts were ranging from 5 per cent to 28 per cent.
'During our recent rescue flights, the protective equipment being provided to the flight crew has been failing with an alarming frequency or has been plagued with other issues'
The on-time performance (OTP) of Indian carriers took a major dip in January as dense fog foiled their flight schedules. According to data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation reviewed by Business Standard, five out of six major Indian carriers - IndiGo, Air India, AIX Connect, Akasa Air, and Vistara - recorded their lowest OTPs in at least the last 11 months. In response to queries, an Air India spokesperson said that during this winter, northern India experienced unusually prolonged periods of dense fog affecting traffic at the airline's two largest hubs -- Delhi and Mumbai.
On Monday, the ministry withdrew foreign traffic rights it had granted to Kingfisher Airlines.
Akasa Air said on Thursday said it has received the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from aviation regulator DGCA and will start commercial operations later this month.
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 home ministry has asked the civil aviation ministry to go ahead with its plan to review the list of 33 categories of people, including the Dalai Lama and Vadra, who are currently exempted from frisking at airports in the country.
To become a type-rated pilot, a person has to take additional training.
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.
Cabinet may decide on airport sell-off on Fri.
This comes against the backdrop of rising concerns in various quarters about steep fluctuations in airfares.
Amid Delhi's worsening air quality, which has plunged into the severe plus category with an AQI consistently above 450, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday called for immediate intervention from the central government.
After the accident on Friday, Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor alleged on Twitter that there were safety lapses on the part of the civil aviation ministry.
With low-visibility conditions significantly disrupting flight operations at the Delhi airport, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday said all stakeholders are working round-the-clock to minimise fog-related impact as well as passenger inconvenience, and asserted that unruly passenger behaviour is unacceptable.
Civil Aviation Ministry has a few ready answers at hand.
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.
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.
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 safety and security of citizens is primary for the government, he said.
Govt to not determine the price but come up with a formula.
Among the new entrants to the Union cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development portfolios, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda the health portfolio and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar the power portfolio.
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 engineers of Kingfisher went on a strike on Sunday to protest the non-payment of salaries since March.