Will operate only after FAA and DGCA gives green light.
The DGCA official who wrongly assigned the code of Antonov AN-32 -- an aircraft used by the IAF -- to the SpiceJet aircraft has been suspended, report Arindam Majumder and Aneesh Phadnis.
'We have seen some videos wherein mediapersons are standing too close to each other in the 6E264 flight on Wednesday. It seems to be a violation of safety and social distancing protocols'
The aviation regulator slapped fines amounting to Rs 2.75 crore on Indian airlines in 2023, marking a 39 per cent rise in financial penalties from Rs 1.97 crore in 2022. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it imposed fines on domestic carriers such as Air India, IndiGo, AirAsia India and SpiceJet for issues related to non-compliance in 2023. The regulator also carried out a record number of 5,745 surveillance activities in the year to ensure compliance by airlines, aerodrome operators, and aviation personnel among others.
The recent Cabinet approval to private and greenfield airport policies has enhanced the powers of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is now one of the key licensing authorities for almost all future airport projects in the country.
SpiceJet, Air India Express and GoAir have been involved in three, two and one such incidents, respectively, in the past few days, prompting the DGCA to take action against the 12 pilots.
In a sudden development, DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan was on Tuesday removed as head of the aviation regulator with immediate effect, six days after his tenure was extended till this year end.
The regulator has been facing criticism from aviation experts who believe it has been lenient on the issue.
Indian airlines will operate a total of 23,732 flights every week during the winter schedule, which is more than 8 per cent higher than the year-ago period, amid rising air traffic demand. The winter schedule 2023 -- effective from October 29 to March 30 next year -- for the scheduled carriers has been approved by aviation regulator DGCA. Go First, which stopped flying from May 3 and is undergoing an insolvency resolution process, will not be having any operations during the winter schedule.
In a major relief for pilots in dealing with fatigue, aviation watchdog DGCA on Monday came out with revised norms that increase their weekly rest time to 48 hours and limit the number of landings to two during night operations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also extended the night hours for pilots and now, it covers the period from 0000-0600 hours whereas it was 0000-0500 hours earlier. Besides, all airlines have to compulsorily submit quarterly fatigue reports, which "should follow a follow a non-punitive and confidentiality policy".
The DGCA has derostered the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) who was on duty at the time of the incident on Saturday, while IndiGo has initiated a probe into the matter
The regulator will audit an airport's ground facilities, its turnaround and general safety procedures, and the movement of vehicles. Underground facilities, ground servicing equipment, passenger boarding bridges, condition of the apron, marking and lighting, and availability of foreign object dustbin bins will be checked.
In its submission to the Competition Commission of India, in response to a complaint filed by a travel agents body, DGCA said travel agents should be compensated by the airlines directly by paying commission, which should be a part of the fare itself.
Now, harried air travellers can lodge their complaint on any problem faced by them relating to flights or airport facilities directly to aviation regulator DGCA for speedy action.
Concerned over the deteriorating condition of SpiceJet, aviation regulator DGCA on Friday withdrew 186 of its slots and asked it to clear salary dues of all its employees in the next ten days.
On July 25 and 26, the regulator's team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.
As the majority of Pakistani airspace has remained closed for Indian airlines since the Balakot strike on February 26, the decision to avoid affected Iranian airspace on Saturday is going to further disturb the routes of their international flights towards middle-eastern and European countries, and the US.
Kingfisher has a total debt of about Rs 7,057 crore (Rs 70.57 billion) and accumulated losses of about Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion).
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 Minister Suresh Prabhu said appropriate action would be taken in case anything is 'found wanting'.
Air Marshal Denzil Keelor was an Indian Air Force legend. His nephew Basil Keelor, son of another war hero Wing Commander Trevor Keelor, remembers a remarkable officer and gentleman.
Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended two pilots of Tata Group's Taj Air, a non-scheduled airline that flies Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and Chairman Cyrus Mistry among others, for allegedly falsifying medical records.
Sources in the government said the roof that collapsed at T1 was constructed during 2008-09 and that the work was contracted out by GMR to private contractors.
rediffGURU Parthiban TR offers career guidance to students and young professionals.
In a rare move, the DGCA has filed a police complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.
The AAI owns and manages more than 100 airports, including those shut temporarily Wednesday, in the country.
The routes, for which ticket pricing information has been sought, include those connecting Jammu and Kashmir, Leh and Port Blair.
In a circular, the DGCA said, "Crew should be well aware of the aircraft limitations and of takeoff/landing performance calculations during the adverse weather operations." The regulator also said that the airlines must "make available sufficiently experienced crew in the cockpit".
The airlines in their representation had said that pilots had to be spared for the renewal procedure, which took a lot of time.
Pilots say the initiative is a waste of funds.
Aviation watchdog DGCA has asked crisis-hit Go First to submit a comprehensive plan for the revival of its operations, a source said on Thursday. The budget carrier, which is undergoing a voluntary insolvency resolution process, stopped flying on May 3.
The license of Kingfisher was issued on August 26, 2003, and is valid till December 31 of this year.
The decision comes hours after an A320 neo aircraft of IndiGo suffered engine failure mid-air and made an emergency landing at Ahmedabad airport.
Spelling fresh trouble for Kingfisher Airlines, aviation regulator DGCA is likely to issue a show-cause notice asking why its flying license should not be suspended or cancelled.
This is the third enforcement action against a Tata Group airline in over a month.
SpiceJet will have to refund fare to passengers due to a flight delay.
As Go First awaits the NCLT verdict on its voluntary insolvency resolution plea, lessors have sought deregistration of nine more aircraft of the crisis-hit airline. In one week, various lessors have approached aviation regulator DGCA for deregistration and repossession of a total of 45 planes of Go First. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is set to pronounce the order on the carrier's petition on Wednesday.
Aviation watchdog DGCA will conduct a special audit of grounded airline Go First's facilities in the national capital and Mumbai from July 4 to 6 before approving the revival plan for resumption of flights, according to a senior official. Cash-strapped Go First stopped flying on May 3 and is undergoing a voluntary insolvency resolution process. Meanwhile, a senior executive at the airline expressed hope of resuming ticket sales -- which was paused by DGCA following the grounding of the carrier -- from July 7 or July 8 and subsequent relaunch of the operations from middle of next month.
The controversy over a DGCA note on beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines refused to die down with new DGCA chief Prashant Sukul saying there was no such document and his predecessor E K Bharat Bhushan seeking a probe into whether it was removed from the official file.
The safety and security of citizens is primary for the government, he said.
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