The government is likely to consider infusion of Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) as equity in the cash-strapped Air India on Wednesday, but wants the airline to take "extraordinary" measures to achieve a financial turnaround.
For harried passengers flying peak hours from metros, no respite from delayed flights and landings is in sight.
The decision was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the lockdown across the country will be extended till May 3 to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The incident took place on August 30 when Air India flight AI 102 was on its way to New Delhi from New York.
Earlier, liquor bottles went missing from the same flight and Air India's Vigilance Department conducted an enquiry.
This demand is over and above the Rs 1,200 crore.
Even after getting the civil aviation ministry's nod to levy user development fee on international passengers, the GMR group-promoted Hyderabad airport has decided not to impose the levy for at least a month. GMR has already decided to exempt domestic passengers for the time being. "We have decided to let issues like groundhandling charges stabilise before taking a call," said a Hyderabad airport executive.
This means a passenger flying between Delhi and Mumbai will now know that the minimum fare in the route will be Rs 95 (as being charged by SpiceJet) and can go up to a maximum of Rs 22,800 (as being levied by GoAir), plus around Rs 3,000 as components like passenger fees.
The average age should be around 35 years, the sources said, adding those older should be shifted to ground operations.
Thirteen years and several hurdles later, the plan has finally got a new "estimated time of departure".
The 'Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham' has become the 68th civil airport terminal in the country to come under the umbrella of the specialised aviation security group of the central force.
On Monday, the five independent directors of the company -- Anand Mahindra of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's secretary general Amit Mitra, Ambuja Realty chairman Harsh Neotia and former air chief Fali H Major -- met Prime Minister's principal secretary T K A Nair and reportedly expressed their anguish over the appointments being made by the company.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered a probe into the incident involving the ground security staff of Continental Airlines which subjected Kalam to security check before he was to board a Newark-bound flight on April 24.
Airlines may get to do terminal-side ground handling. Currently, it is an outsourced activity.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel, who held this portfolio in the first government of the United Progressive Alliance, too, has so far followed a liberal open-sky policy, sharply increasing the number of seats offered to West Asian airlines on flights connecting India. According to internal figures available with airlines, the total number of seats offered to West Asian carriers rose from 2.5 million in 2004 to 7.5 million last year.
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Officials in India's civil aviation ministry are now expected to meet SpiceJet stakeholders within a couple of days to discuss the revival plan
Jet Airways' plans to raise $400 million through a share sale to foreign institutions may get delayed as the government on Thursday deferred a decision on the proposal of the private air carrier.
A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Manmohan issued notice to Civil Aviation Ministry, DGCA and others and sought their response by October 30.
Domestic passengers using the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi will be able to use the new Terminal-3 only from October 28, a few weeks after the Commonwealth Games are over. The Games will conclude on October 14.
In a development that could speed up the about Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) Delhi Airport modernisation work, the Attorney General has supported project promoter GMR Group's plan to take advances from commercial developers. The report may help Delhi International Airport Ltd) achieve financial closure for the Rs 8,900 crore (Rs 89 billion) project for which the company has proposed to raise Rs 3,144 crore (Rs 31.44 billion) by way of trade advances and deposits.
The prevalent practice is that airlines have to pay between Rs 4,000 and Rs 4,500 per filled seat as departure tax.
The civil aviation ministry is planning to send air traffic controllers to Australia for training in simultaneous use of converging runways.
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.
DIAL, the GMR-led consortium modernising Delhi airport, had projected it would get only a Rs 800 crore-Rs 1,000 crore deposit for the entire 45 acre land in the hospitality district, leaving a gap in funding for the modernisation plan. The aviation ministry allowed it make up the shortfall by levying an ADF on passengers. With DIAL managing to persuade bidders for the hospitality district to increase security deposits by close to 50 per cent, the ADF may now be reduced.
This would be a key function of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority, to be set up to regulate tariffs, said a civil aviation ministry official.
Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said his airlines, if given permission, would start off by flying to Southeast Asian countries.
Plan maybe shelved with the Left mounting pressure on the government.
Three months after the Modi government withdrew SPG cover to Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, they are all set to lose another special status provided to them.
Even though the two state-owned airlines, Indian Airlines and Air India, have announced a merger, the country is on its way to once again have two scheduled airlines controlled by the government.
Private carrier Kingfisher Airlines on Wednesday got the crucial operational permit from the civil aviation ministry, recognising it as a scheduled carrier and enabling it to launch flights from Monday next.
Indian airports in future would have "intelligent terminals" fitted with sensors to operate various facilities - from lighting and air-conditioning to an IT-enabled building management system.
