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.
The airline has launched a series of discount offers since January this year.
In a statement, the DGCA said it will be conducting "random checks" in aircraft across the country to see if the COVID-19 protocol is being enforced or not.
Air India will very soon get funds from the government for its day to day operations and will even place orders for a couple of aircraft
The next step is the charter, which aims to safeguard consumer rights and address criticism about the government not doing enough for passengers.
The finance ministry on Wednesday reimposed expenditure curbs on ministries and government departments for July-September quarter. There will be no spending restrictions on the ministries of health, rural development, agriculture, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) and railways as part of a two-pronged strategy. "The existing guidelines for expenditure control have been reviewed. "Keeping in view the evolving situation arising out of Covid-19 and anticipated cash position of the government, it is felt essential to regulate Quarterly Expenditure Plan (QEP)/Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) of specific ministries/departments for July-September, 2021," the Department of Economic Affairs in the finance ministry said in a notification.
This was in response to the assertion of some officials of the finance ministry and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion that a strategically placed comma in DIPP's press note on FDI in civil aviation meant foreign airlines were allowed to hold up to 49 per cent stake in existing Indian carriers, as well as new airline companies being set up.
Pakistan has declined to allow the use of its airspace for flights from Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, sources said.
Signalling both change and continuity, India's new government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term, got into work gear on Tuesday with cabinet ministers and ministers of state filing into their respective offices to assume charge.
In signs of increasing differences, Jet Airways' winning bidder Jalan Kalrock Consortium on Tuesday asked the airline monitoring committee's authorised representative Ashish Chhawcharia not to issue any communication on behalf of the grounded carrier without approval of all the members of the committee. Amid the continuing uncertainty over the fate of Jet Airways, which shuttered operations in April 2019, the consortium on Tuesday wrote a letter to Chhawcharia. The latest development comes more than a week after Chhawchharia reportedly shot off a letter to Sanjiv Kapoor, asking him to refrain from using the title of CEO as he was only a CEO-designate.
This announcement comes a day after the DGCA asked IndiGo to take 'appropriate action' after it found alleged violation of safety and social distancing protocols by mediapersons in the airline's Chandigarh-Mumbai flight that had actor Kangana Ranaut as a passenger.
Fearing poaching from the BJP, the MLAs were moved and expected to be lodged in five-star hotels or resorts.
This is part of the initiatives that the ministry is undertaking to use technology in order to make airport check-in seamless and formation of a no-fly list.
Ajay Singh will team up with two blue-chip investors to bail out the airline
The defence ministry said Maharashtra was voted as the best tableau among the states/union territories in the popular choice category.
The aviation ministry stated it has decided to review the on-board meal services in domestic flights considering "the increasing threat of COVID-19 and its variants".
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said it's a pity that since switching sides, Scindia has adopted the Modi government's "uncaring attitude" to the public.
Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said it is a major step to place the right talent for the right role.
India may make peak-time allocation of airport slots for its airlines an essential part of any bilateral signed in future. Arindam Majumder reports.
Of 1,400 pilots the airline has, 200 have quit in the past few months because of salary delays.
The airline's accounts are yet to be audited.
'The DGCA, the ministry of civil aviation, Air India, the Airports Authority, all of them together form what I call an organised syndicate' 'In India, it is a fashion to blame the pilot because then nobody asks questions about the incompetence and grave negligence of this State-run syndicate.'
"We are waiting for any input from any quarter," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said, adding, "We have not received anything so far".
The moves comes as novel coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.
The government has decided to restart scheduled international flight services from March 27 after a two years hiatus due to COVID-19, according to civil aviation ministry officials.
A total of 406 aircraft are in the fleet of eight scheduled airlines in the country, most of which were suffering losses, Lok Sabha was informed.
While the Saudi drone strike has put the focus back on anti-drone measures, caution also stems from the fact that India has a number of large oil refining assets close to India-Pakistan border.
Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to acquire the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet in Mumbai. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also decided to waive off around Rs 250 crore unrealised income and interest on the property, an official said.
Overseas airlines can operate unlimited number of flights into and out of India.
Scheduled international passenger flights have remained suspended since March 23, 2020 in the wake of the pandemic and they will now restart from Sunday.
The issue of fog and low visibility primarily impacts airports in northern India and Bengaluru.
Govt has no plan to divest stake in Air India.
