Seeking to further democratise air travel with dependable and affordable services, airline Akasa Air is aiming to start flights in late May or early June after getting its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in April. Bullish on the long term growth potential of the country's civil aviation sector, ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed carrier is looking to have 18 planes in its fleet by the end of March 2023. Despite COVID clouds continuing to cast a shadow on the airlines, Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube is more than optimistic as he asserted that "if you look at the long term future of commercial aviation in India, it is as exciting as anywhere in the world".
The pilot-in-command has been sacked for violating aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation's safety norms after following due process, SpiceJet said in a statement.
A family of five, returning to their hometown at Koducalli in Kozhikode from Dubai, were aboard the fateful Air India Express flight that crash-landed at the Kozhikode airport claiming at least 18 lives on Friday.
The move would come as a relief to air passengers.
In a serious safety breach, Nagpur airport runway was intruded by a drove of pigs when President Pranab Mukherjee's jumbo Boeing 737 was taxiing towards the runway after landing on Monday, prompting the civil aviation ministry to seek a report.
Air India and IndiGo have already suspended Kamra from flying until further notice and six months, respectively.
Whether this happens because DGCA actually cares about the future of the national carrier or for other motives is not clear.
Some 30-odd co-pilots were being "forced to work overtime" without any remuneration.
The plane suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body, the complainant said.
The US is set for a geographically limited 5G rollout this Christmas, after a bumper $81 billion spectrum auction earlier this year. Just as the rollout date nears, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sounded alarm bells over potentially fatal consequences of 5G interference on aircraft. Similar consequences could apply in India, where 5G spectrum auction is scheduled in January 2022, with the rollout beginning later next year (though reports suggest impending delays).
SpiceJet has been most affected by the grounding of 737 Max 8 aircraft as it has 12 of them in its fleet.
The Irish firms had sought to deregister SpiceJet.
DGCA rules require pilots to service a six-month notice.
The move comes after the civil aviation ministry decided to allow Indian carriers to charge passengers for add-on services like their foreign counterparts.
The remarks by the DGCA head is of great significance.
A ferry flight will soon reach the national capital from Tehran with around 300 swab samples of Indians suspected of having coronavirus infection.
A GoAir plane carrying 168 passengers from Mumbai hit an aerobridge after landing at Chennai airport damaging a portion close to its front door, but there was no report any injuries.
India's aviation safety ranking was on Wednesday upgraded to Category-I.
All the five passengers were safe.
FAA, in audits in September and December, downgraded India to Category-II in safety rankings, clubbing it with Zimbabwe and Indonesia.
No-frills carrier IndiGo's market share stood at 36.8 per cent in February while that of Jet Airways was 18.4 per cent.
Arun Mishra takes over as Director General of Civil Aviation at a time when questions are being raised on its leniency with airlines. Being also grossly understaffed, it faces an International Civil Aviation Organisation safety audit this December. The new DG talks about these and other issues.
Jet is the largest player in the Mumbai airport, with over 110 domestic slots and 30 international slots from the city.
The airline is expected to submit a fresh flight schedule to the DGCA.
In a fresh trouble for the budget carrier SpiceJet, aircraft lessors have approached the aviation regulator DGCA, seeking its permission to repossess 11 Boeing planes of the airline, even as its revival plan is under review of the Civil Aviation Ministry.
At present, six A320 Neo of IndiGo & GoAir are grounded waiting for engine replacement
Recruitment and import of aircraft still to get going
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said that there was no question of any bail out to the beleaguered carrier
India took the first step towards legalising drones by officially publishing draft rules for drone operations in the Official Gazette on Friday. The rules, termed The Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2020, are open for public consultation for 30 days.
The company will meet DGCA next week and is putting in place a strategy to contain the damage
Heeding to the demands of business jet operators, DGCA has amended its proposal to bar them from commercial flying if they did not have a three-aircraft fleet and come up with a new rule reducing the minimum requirement of planes to one.
DGCA asks those likely to be affected by a scheduled air operator's permit to the airline to give suggestions, objections within 30 days.
The official said that the licences of the two pilots -- Ajinkya Hanchate and Tushar Dasgupta -- have been suspended for one year and they also have to undergo corrective training.
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 ministry of civil aviation has initiated a probe into the incident. It would look into the records of conversations between the ATC and the pilots.
International and Indian airlines are refusing to refund cash and giving credit that can be used later.
Malaysian carrier AirAsia has tendered an apology, withdrawn all copies of its in-flight magazine Travel 3Sixty from circulation, and removed the same from its website, complying with a Directorate General of Civil Aviation order, for wrongly depicting India's map.
The circular, issued on Saturday, also reiterated that all visas as well as e-visas issued to Chinese nationals before February 5 have been suspended with immediate effect.
New DGCA rules stipulate airlines have to apply for permit at least 90 days before launch
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw posted the matter for hearing on Friday.
