The government has amended aviation rules to make commercial pilot licences valid for 10 years now. This move is in line with the government’s efforts to further improve the ease of doing business in the aviation sector.Till now, the validity of the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) was for five years and after completion of that period, it had to be renewed. The civil aviation ministry amended the Aircraft Rules, 1937.Among various changes made, the...
Monday, October 16, 2023
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar lays foundation stone for Ambala Cantonment airport
In a bid to improve connectivity and spur economic activity, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar laid the foundation stone of a domestic airport in Ambala Cantonment on Sunday (October 15). This civil enclave project, sanctioned under the UDAN scheme, is set to occupy 20 acres adjacent to the Air Force Station. During the ceremony, attended by officials including Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala,...
Study estimates count of UAVs required for the three Services
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan recently ordered two studies to be conducted on major military platforms used by all three services. According to defence sources these platforms are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and armoured helicopters. The study on UAVs has since been completed with a recommendation to acquire 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs and 155 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs.“The studies, undertaken...
Prayagraj airport records highest footfall in Sept
Prayagraj: The Prayagraj airport has recorded a footfall of 55,000 passengers in September this year which is the highest in the past four years since the facility became operational in 2019. This achievement is given the fact that the number of flights during this month as compared to 2019 onwards has decreased. These figures are also important because September is off-season in the airline industry but this year, the number of passengers was quite...
Odisha: Puri's Sri Jagannath Greenfield International Airport Receives Site Clearance Approval From MoCA
In a significant development supporting the state government's vision of establishing the Sri Jagannath International Airport in Puri, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has granted site clearance approval for the project.This clearance comes exactly one year after the government had submitted all the necessary documentation to the ministry, in line with the Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy of 2008.While granting this clearance, sources indicate...
No Flight Operations At Mumbai Airport For 6 Hours Tomorrow
New Delhi: The flight operations at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) will remain temporarily suspended tomorrow due to routine maintenance work on its two runways. The runways in one of the busiest airports in the country will remain shut for six hours as part of a comprehensive post-monsoon runway maintenance plan."Both runways - RWY 09/27 and RWY 14/32 - will be temporarily non-operational on 17th October 2023,...
Gold pieces worth 1.8cr found in plane toilet
Bengaluru: Pieces of gold worth Rs 1.8 crore hidden inside the toilet of an IndiGo plane that flew from Male, Maldives, to Bengaluru were unearthed by sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Kempegowda International Airport.The agency is now trying to track the passenger who smuggled in the gold and placed it in the toilet, possibly for an accomplice to retrieve.Sources said the smuggling bid was foiled at KIA on October 7 evening...
India amends aircraft rules, commercial pilot licenses to be valid for 10 years
Commercial pilot licenses will now be valid for ten years, with the government amending rules as part of efforts to further improve ease of doing business in the aviation sector. Till now, the validity of Commercial Pilot License (CPL) was for five years and after completion of that period, it had to be renewed.The civil aviation ministry amended the Aircraft Rules, 1937. Among various changes made, the validity of licenses in relation to Airline...
Assam youths develop AI-driven traffic management platform for drones
Guwahati: As drones revolutionise military, commercial and other activities, an imperative need for 'traffic management' of these flying objects has emerged with a start-up by two entrepreneurs from Assam providing solutions for it.Already working with the Indian Air Force for detection and counter-measures of drones, the duo has now come out with an intelligent airspace management platform, which was launched at the 'East Tech 2023', a two-day defence...
Simaero announces the forthcoming opening of an Aviation Training Center in Delhi
Simaero is pleased to announce its latest milestone in the expansion of Simaero India with the upcoming opening of a state-of-the-art Training Center in Delhi. This announcement marks a significant step towards fulfilling the growing demand for airline pilot training in the region.Strategically located within a 10-minute drive from the main terminals of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), the new Simaero Training Center will...
SpiceJet plane faces tech issue in Tel Aviv, aircraft taken to Jordan
A SpiceJet aircraft that operated a flight from the national capital to Tel Aviv on Sunday is facing a technical issue and the plane has been taken to Jordan to rectify the problem, according to sources. SpiceJet had operated the flight, with an A340 aircraft, under Operation Ajay.On Monday, the sources said that after landing at Tel Aviv, a technical issue was detected in the aircraft. To rectify the problem, the plane has been taken to Jordan,...
Bengaluru customs seize 2.3 kg gold worth over Rs 1.3 crore at Kempegowda airport in three days
Bengaluru: The Customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport seized 598 grams of gold concealed inside a pasta maker. The passenger arrived in Bengaluru from Dubai on Indigo flight 6E-1486. Gold worth Rs 35,37,768 was concealed inside the rods of the pasta machine, according to the Customs officials.Bengaluru Customs officials had seized 1.7 kg of gold and four Dell laptops from three separate passengers on October 12 and 13. The passengers...
Vistara Retains 2nd Spot With 10% Share Of India’s Domestic Market
India’s air traffic continues to increase year-on-year, with September also registering similar growth patterns. While IndiGo remains far ahead of other airlines, Vistara increased its market share slightly to maintain its second spot in the overall rankings. September, however, was not a good month for punctuality, as all major Indian carriers performed poorly compared to the previous month. Let’s take a look at what the DGCA’s data reveals.India’s...
Indian steel giant front-runner to buy Go First - reports
Details are emerging in Indian media identifying entities that have lodged expressions of interest (EOIs) to buy insolvent Go First (GOW, Mumbai International). Applications closed on September 28, with the front runner reportedly Indian steel company Jindal Power. While several local and foreign airlines have also submitted EOIs, at least two foreign applicants are believed to be out of contention because their EOIs did not satisfy certain stipulated...
India-made light combat aircraft Mark 1A to be equipped with indigenous systems
Amid the government's push towards indigenisation in the military, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will equip its made-in-India Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark 1A fighter jets with 'Uttam' radar and 'Angad' electronic warfare suite, replacing the imported systems installed earlier.The IAF has already commissioned 83 LCA Mark 1A fighter jets, with plans to order an additional 97 in the near future. "The Uttam Active Electronically Scanned Array radar...
Make the aviation business cost-effective
India needs a thriving aviation sector, but for that to happen it has to ensure one or two players do not dominate the sector. Currently, there is a clear duopoly with IndiGo and Tatas (through Air India, Air Asia and Vistara) enjoying 90 percent of the market share. The two big players strengthened their grip over the market after Go Air went out of business in May this year. Meanwhile, SpiceJet, which has been struggling with its finances, and...
Air India Welcomes First Airbus A320neo From 2022 Lease Agreement
Air India’s aircraft deals and lease agreements after privatization are gradually bearing results. After taking deliveries of four Airbus A321neos on lease in the last few months, the carrier has now welcomed its first A320neo since becoming a private carrier. The latest aircraft is part of the leasing agreement Air India signed last year, which included 21 A320neos and four A321neos.Air India has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo aircraft...
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Air India Express and AirAsia India merger moves ahead
The merger of AirAsia India and Air India Express has been moving ahead as planned. Recently the low-cost airline AirAsia India which operates an all-Airbus 320 fleet started repainting their aircraft.Now the first Airbus A320 from the AirAsia India fleet has officially joined Air India Express.Soon, after the purchase of Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express the Tata Group made the decision to merge both the full-service carriers and the...
IAF may hold air show in Arunachal Air Marshal Dharkar
Guwahati: The Indian Air Force (IAF) may conduct an air show in Arunachal Pradesh, the first-ever such display of the force's air power in the strategically crucial state bordering China, Air Marshal S P Dharkar said on Sunday. The AOC-in-C of the Eastern Air Command told reporters that it's challenging to hold an air show in a hilly terrain like that of Arunachal Pradesh, but it is still an "interesting" idea for the force to have such...
Passenger, cargo transportation by air doubled in last 10 years: Aviation minister
The number of passengers and cargo transportation by air has experienced a twofold increase over the past decade, according to State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali."Air transportation of passengers and cargo in the last 10 years has doubled, while every airport in the country is in the process of being upgraded," the state minister said today.While speaking as a chief guest at the 58th DGCA conference organised by the Bangladesh...
Airports Authority Of India Invites Applications For 496 Junior Executive Posts
New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has issued a notification for Junior Executives (Air Traffic Control), announcing 496 vacancies. The notification, dated October 14, 2023, specifies that interested candidates must apply through AAI's official website; no other application methods will be accepted. According to the notification, the 496 positions include 199 for the general category, 49 for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), 140...
SpiceJet's 'Operation Ajay' continues; 2nd Tel Aviv-bound flight to leave
New Delhi: SpiceJet will operate its second flight as part of the Central government's 'Operation Ajay', aimed at repatriating stranded Indians from Israel, an airline official said on Sunday.According to the airline, SpiceJet's Airbus A340 aircraft will take off on Sunday evening at 7 p.m. from Delhi for Tel Aviv, returning to Delhi the next morning."A group of 120 Israeli nationals, among others, will be travelling from Delhi to Tel Aviv on the...
DRI sleuths bust gold smuggling racket, recover 6 kilos of gold worth ₹3 crore
Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), on Saturday, recovered 6 kg of gold in the form of bars and paste worth ₹3 crore in two separate cases.According to officials, based on a tip-off, they recovered 3.2 kilos of gold bars fixed in the washroom of an Indigo flight from Malaysia.The bars were supposed to be accessed by a domestic flyer of the gold smuggling ring, but before he could board the flight, the officials had accessed...
Uganda Airlines takes off as new Mumbai route adds to East Africa's air travel options
The long-awaited direct flights from Uganda Airlines to Mumbai have already begun, giving travelers more alternatives in the East Africa-India aviation corridor.The move may also place smaller airlines in a competitive position that will likely put pressure on costs and yields.On October 7, the national airline of Uganda flew for the first trip to the financial hub of India, a destination it would service three times each week, according to a report...
Strained relations between Air India’s senior pilots & management: A deep dive into issues
New Delhi: India's aviation industry has been experiencing a resurgence, with air traffic reaching new highs and a promising outlook for pilots who weathered the storm of the pandemic. However, beneath the surface, a less rosy picture emerges as the relationship between pilots and airline management becomes increasingly strained, particularly within Air India, which underwent a change in ownership almost two years ago.Since Tata Sons took over Air...
Air India Halts Tel Aviv Flights Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict Until 18 October
Air India has extended its suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel's economic hub, until at least 18 October. The private airline took to social media to announce this for the convenience of the passengers. "Air India is offering a one-time waiver on charges for rescheduling or cancellation of confirmed tickets on flights to and from Tel Aviv. The offer is valid on tickets issued before 9 October for travel until 31 October...