The sky outside was a perfect blue with fair winds on that hot day in July, but inside the Jaguar an emergency was unraveling with every passing second. Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane had two options: Eject and see his beloved aircraft crash -- which would come at a great cost to the nation and cause harm to civilian life and property on the ground. Or try the limits of his training; push the aircraft and his flying skills to the edge of technical and human endurance and save them both.
The DGCA conducted the spot checks as there have been many technical malfunction incidents in Indian carriers' planes during the last 45 days.
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.
AI Express operates 195 weekly flights, mostly from Kerala.
With airlines reporting multiple technical malfunction incidents, aviation regulator DGCA on Monday said it conducted spot checks and found that there is an insufficient number of engineering personnel certifying planes of various carriers before their departure. Before each departure, an aircraft is checked and certified by an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME). The DGCA has now issued guidelines for airlines on the deployment of AME personnel and directed them to comply by July 28.
DGCA's move seeks to ban perfumes for pilots as they have alcohol and can affect the results of breathanalyser tests. But the FAA and EASA have different standards, says senior journalist Shobha John.
'We had been deceived by the clouds, taken to the brink of death, but saved by the Almighty.'
The company has dismissed 194 cabin crew and 11 pilots over past year for unauthorised absence and such reasons.
189 people working at 59 Indian airports were found drunk on duty in the first half of this year, marking a 32 per cent year-on-year increase.
Many states like Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were opposed to opening up of their airports in view of rising cases of the coronavirus infection.
The fledgling Akasa Air has told the Delhi high court it is in a "state of crisis" following the "sudden and abrupt" resignation of over 40 pilots who left the airline without serving the mandatory notice period. The airline and its CEO Vinay Dube approached the high court with their petition on September 14, seeking a direction to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take coercive action against these pilots for their "irresponsible actions". The high court has fixed the plea for hearing on Friday.
As fitness screening for pilots after the recent Germanwings crash come under scanner, mid-term psychometric tests for pilots of Indian air carriers are being mulled by the government to detect any cockpit crew who are too mentally ill to fly.
Sukanya Verma looks at how the 33 year old has fared in her decade-long career.
Airline executives said the rule is conflicting as regulator's own rules permits a passenger to carry multiple other things like laptop bag, ladies' hand bag, blanket, item bought at duty free shops, reports Arindam Majumder.
The pilot of Vishal Bhardwaj's much-anticipated adaptation of Agatha Christie's The Sittaford Mystery is here. Aditya Roy Kapur's hotel manager takes on Anil Kapoor's all-powerful arms dealer. Idris Elba is back in action. Sukanya Verma shares her OTT recommendations this week.
When the Tatas re-boarded Air India on January 27 last year, the price of aviation turbine fuel was at over Rs 80,000 per kilolitre. Rupee was trading at around Rs 74 to a US dollar. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was in prevalence - barely a week earlier, India had reported over 340,000 cases on a single day. Seven-day home quarantine of international travellers was the norm.
commercial airlines and air navigation service providers have to carry out random drug tests on at least 10 per cent of their flight crew and air traffic controllers every year.
The charges for security component of passenger service fees will not increase much and a passenger may have to bear an extra of Rs 50
'My adrenalin kicked in and the happiness returned! It was time to go in for the kill again.' IAF Veterans Group Captain Dilip Kumar Dass tells Air Commodore Nitin Sathe about how the IAF decimated tanks in the famous Battle of Longewala.
Extended check-in time, frequent disinfection every hour, additional queue managers at entry, exit, boarding point, check-in halls, security check areas and boarding gates, with social distancing markers and reminders - welcome to our airports post-coronavirus.
These would include passenger engagement initiatives, consumer offers, and curated menus at food and beverage outlets.
It is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company.
The Defence Ministry on Friday inked a nearly Rs 20,000 crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space of Spain to procure 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft which will replace Avro-748 planes of the Indian Air Force.
Passengers coming to India and not carrying dutiable goods will not have to fill up customs declaration form from Friday.
'At an altitude of 5,000 metres, the levels of oxygen in the blood of a healthy soldier would be similar to that of a patient with a severe lung disorder at sea level.' 'While such patients are admitted to ICUs, confined to bed and treated with continuous oxygen therapy, the soldier at 5,000 metres with similar levels of oxygen in his blood performs intense physical activity and fights the enemy!' BharatShakti.in founder Nitin Gokhale reveals the ordeals that await soldiers when they are posted to the Siachen glacier.
Empty middle seat, no duty-free shopping to be new normal till WHO all-clear.
'Through multiple transportation modes, flood waters, a couple of PPE kits, multiple temperature checks, quarantine check point, immigration approval, health declaration forms and through two Covid tests, which thankfully were negative, I finally reached home in Dubai.' Abhijit Masih reveals what it takes to embark on an international journey in the times of the pandemic.
DGCA sources pegged SpiceJet's total dues at Rs 1,600 crore (Rs 16 billion), which the airline owes lessors, vendors, income-tax department and airport operators.
When the staff member politely asked him to be civil and not use such language, he started shouting even louder and used abusive words.
Concerned about the deteriorating financial and operational performance of the Kalanithi Maran-promoted airline, the DGCA had on Friday withdrawn 186 flight slots of SpiceJet and directed it not to take bookings for flights beyond a month.
'Airlines will need a war chest to deal with post-COVID economics.'
The government's focus is on containing and controlling coronavirus the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday and advised Indians to stay put wherever they are and travel only under compelling reasons.
Men and women of the Indian Air Force who conducted rescue missions in Kerala's worst deluge speak to Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
If the initial analysis of this YJ-21 is correct, then China becomes the first country in the world to operationally field such a missile from a naval vessel.
Miscommunication with the ATC is said to have caused the near-miss. DGCA probe underway.
The national capital woke up on Tuesday morning to 'severe' air quality under a blanket of thick haze, as pollution levels breached the permissible standards by multiple times.
IndiGo's situation points to a deeper malaise where skill shortage can challenge India's status as the fastest-growing aviation market, say experts.
A day after the Ministry of Home Affairs allowed sports complexes and stadia to open without spectators, National Sports Federations were deliberating ways to facilitate training of at least the Olympic-bound athletes. The lockdown has been extended till May 31.
