Indian-Aviation

Air India  has made it mandatory for its pilots and  cabin crew members  to check and confirm that their pre-flight  COVID-19 test  results are negative before they operate an aircraft, according to an official communication issued hours after the Delhi-Moscow flight incident involving a pilot on Saturday. An Air India flight from Delhi to Moscow with no passenger on-board was asked to return midway on Saturday after its  ground staff  realised that one of the pilots of the plane had tested positive for  coronavirus  but was assigned the duty following an oversight by a team checking pre-flight medical reports of the crew. "The COVID-19 test is being conducted by the airline at a substantial cost, with considerable effort. As it is a recent procedure and there is a shortage of staff in office, there is a possibility of an oversight in this matter," said Captain R S Sandhu, Executive Director (Operations), Air India in a circular, which has been accessed by. The test is primar

Alleging "harassment" of cockpit crew by health officials at Delhi airport, national carrier  Air India 's Airbus fleet pilots' body ICPA on Sunday warned that its members will not operate any flight other than the essential services if such "distasteful" treatment meted out to them is not stopped. In a letter to Air India Executive Director (Operations) R S Sandhu, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), which represents over 700 members, has also sought clarity on the protocol that is to be followed in case a pilot operating  Vande Bharat Mission  or domestic flights is tested positive for  COVID-19 . Air India has been operating special evacuation flights to transport stranded Indian nationals from abroad in the wake of  pandemic . "As you are aware, the crew of Delhi-Moscow flight on May 30 had a traumatic day after one of the pilots tested laboratory COVID-19 positive. The rest of the crew were made to wait the entire day without any food

As most aircraft stand parked amid the outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, March quarter of financial year 2019-20 (Q4FY20) could be first among the many loss-making quarters for the aviation sector, fear analysts. Almost all airlines, including  IndiGo  and SpiceJet, had drastically cut operations by mid-March, and had begun grounding fleet as net bookings fell into negative — meaning there are more cancellations than fresh bookings on domestic routes. It all came to a complete halt when the government on March 25 imposed a ban on domestic air travel to stem the spread of the virus. This was on top of a ban on international flights which had been in place since March 22. According to Gagan Dixit, research analyst at Elara Capital,  IndiGo  and  SpiceJet  could report a cumulative net loss of Rs 3,350 crore in Q4FY20, as against a profit of Rs 570 crore in Q3FY20 and Rs 650 crore in Q4FY19. "We expect a YoY yield decrease of  IndiGo  by 8 per cent and  SpiceJet  by 10 per

When the Union civil aviation ministry gave a go-ahead to domestic flight operations from May 25 after a gap of two months the condition that was imposed on airlines was that they would have to stick to the one-third of the original summer schedule. As from June 1, the country is entering its first phase of unlock 1, the rule will not be applicable anymore, a TOI report said. In general, the summer schedule includes 24,643 weekly domestic flights run by all airlines. For operations from May 25, only 8,214 weekly flight schedules were allowed. Yes. There is no cap on the airlines to fly more routes. But most busy airports, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, have a strict upper limit on daily arrivals and departures, which will restrict the airlines to run on more routes. But the airlines can run more flights on comparatively lesser busy routes which have considerable demand. Lockdown 4.0 comes to an end on May 31. In the guidelines released by the MHA, there is no change as

The airline is unsure about the travel demand one month from now as this would largely depend upon on the government's decision on the lockdown, states relaxing or modifying their quarantine rules and public confidence in air travel, Vistara's chief commercial officer Vinod Kannan said. Full-service carrier  Vistara  is reviewing its business plans and renegotiating vendor contracts as uncertain travel demand and government restrictions continue to pose challenges to its operations, a senior executive of the airline said. Domestic air travel  resumed on Monday after a span of two months and a majority of passengers in the first four days were those stranded in different parts of the country. On day one,  Vistara  operated 20 flights, and that increased to 43 on Friday. "Efforts are on to reduce cash burn. Getting some inflows from operations does help,”  Vistara  Chief Commercial Officer Vinod Kannan said. But the airline is unsure about travel demand one month from now as

Two of the worst hit sectors due to coronavirus — aviation and hotel industries — are eyeing alternate revenue streams as lockdown dries up revenues. India’s domestic carrier SpiceJet has taken to flying cargo and airlines have also issued credit shells to those whose flights were cancelled. On the other hand, hotels are now offering discounts on bookings made for the future and have also started to deliver food to tide over the issue of short-term working capital deficit. Aviation and hotel industries typically have a high fixed-cost and have made almost zero revenue in almost a quarter as coronavirus lockdown put restrictions on movement. While the government put restrictions on flights, some airlines have now taken to flying cargo and SpiceJet recently called it an “opportunity in crisis” as it expanded its cargo operations by converting passenger planes. Hotels have taken to giving discounts via gift vouchers to get some respite from the cash crunch as the sector continues to emplo

AirAsia  India can appreciate limits placed on airfares as it is a "very very short term" measure, its CEO and MD  Sunil Bhaskaran  on Friday said, adding that the airlines and the market should ideally be left alone when it comes to deciding  ticket prices . On May 21, the central government issued coronavirus-related guidelines to restart  domestic flights  from May 25 and prescribed a lower limit and upper limit on airfares after setting up seven categories of routes as per the flight duration. It clarified the fare limits would be in place till August 24. "Ideally, we would like it to be a free market, as far as prices are concerned. But given the circumstances and as a very very short term measure, we can appreciate it (limits on fares)," said the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the low-cost carrier at a webinar of aviation consultancy firm  CAPA India . "We can understand this. But I don't think this could ever be or this should be a

More than 1.65 lakh people have travelled in 2,198  flights  till Friday afternoon after the government allowed partial resumption of domestic services from Monday amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Civil aviation minister  Hardeep Singh Puri , who has been sharing daily updates on number of flights and flyers, said, “Our  airports  continue to function smoothly.” So far, 16  asymptomatic passengers  on seven different flights have tested positive for the novel  coronavirus  after landing in their respective destinations. Private carriers have operated a total of 2,198 flights till 5 pm on Friday - 428 on Monday, 445 on Tuesday, 460 on Wednesday, 494 on Thursday and 371on Friday. During the pre-lockdown period, Indian airports handled around 3,000 daily domestic flights, aviation industry sources said. “Day 5, May 29, 2020 till 1700 hours. Departures 371. 30,814 passengers handled. Arrivals 324. 27,212 passengers handled,” Puri tweeted. In another tweet, he said, “Figures for domes

An    Air India  aircraft winging its way from Delhi to Moscow on Saturday morning had to be called back to Delhi from over Uzbekistan after the airline realised that one of the pilots onboard had tested corona positive. An oversight by the team checking pre-flight test reports of crew members had mistakenly read this captain’s positive report as negative and released him for the ferry flight (meaning with no passengers and only crew) to fly back Indians from Moscow. The Airbus A-320 Neo (VT-EXR) returned to Delhi at about 12.30 pm and now the crew will be quarantined as per norms. This plane will be fumigated and the airline is sending another A320 Neo to Moscow later on Saturday afternoon to fly back Indians from there. “It was a genuine oversight due to the massive amount of test results that need to be gone through. Delhi base alone sees testing of 300 crew members daily due to which more labs had to be roped in. The volume of tests has meant results come in an excel sheet now. The

Days before it resumes service, low-cost carrier GoAir has revised the salary structure of its senior pilots, many of whom will see a cut of over 50 percent in their pay. For a few, depending on their flying hours, the cut could be as much as 65 percent. For instance, a senior captain could see his monthly gross salary plummet to Rs 2.5 lakh from over Rs 7 lakh. This is probably among the steepest salary cut seen in the industry till now. Along with the cut, the airline has also done away with some benefits, including variable allowance for flying more than 70 hours a month, deadhead allowance and incentive given during a layover. Deadhead is when a crew or pilot travels to a destination to assume duty. He or she doesn't work on that flight. In early May, GoAir promoters Nusli and Jeh Wadia  had written to employees , stating that the airline has paid salaries to 40 percent of its employees, and the rest will be paid on a graded and deferred basis. Moneycontrol has reached out to t

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday issued an operation circular directing all airlines’ staff, including pilots, to maintain caution about locust swarms hitting aircraft on landing or take-off or when planes are parked at the airport. “Generally, locusts are found at lower levels and therefore pose a threat to aircraft in the critical landing and take-off phase of the flight. Almost all air intake ports of the aircraft will be prone to ingestion in large numbers, if the aircraft flies through a swarm," the DGCA said in its circular. The aviation regulator advised pilots to consider that impact of large number of locusts on the windshield is known to have impacted the pilot's forward vision, and that using wipers on the windshield might only worsen the situation. The DGCA also asked the air traffic controllers to warn pilots of locust presence in the aerodrome if they are aware of it, and also asked pilots to keep an eye on it during flights. “All pilots are al

Venkataramani Sumantran, the chairman and managing director of Chennai-based  Celeris Technologies , has been appointed the independent director of  IndiGo , the airline said on Friday. Sumantran will hold the post for the next five years. He serves as an adjunct professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is on several statutory and advisory boards in India, Europe and the US, it said. "Dr. Sumantran, with a rich experience of over 35 years having worked in the USA, Europe and Asia, has been an industry leader, technocrat, academic and author," the airline said in a press release. Between 2001 and 2005, he held the position of the executive director of  Tata Motors Ltd.  and was the chief executive of its car business during its formative years, the airline stated. "Until 2014, he served as Executive Vice-Chairman of Hinduja Automotive, UK, the auto and manufacturing sector holding company of the Hinduja Group as well as Vice Chairman of  Ashok Leyland  L

Global airline  lobbying body  the International Air Transport Association  ( IATA ) said it found it disappointing that the  Indian government ’s Rs 20 lakh crore relief package for industries hit by the Covid-19 virus contained nothing for the country’s  aviation industry . “It is particularly disappointing that the package of economic relief unveiled earlier this month contained nothing for airlines in the form of direct financial relief. Compare that to the $123 billion in government financial aid that has been announced around the world, including $26 billion in the Asia Pacific region,” said Alexandre De Juniac, director general, IATA said in a webinar organsed by Sydney-based consultant  CAPA-Centre  for Aviation. “I urge the Indian government to support the airlines with a financial aid package that provides a bridge over this challenging period. Specifically, help the airlines with measures that raise equity financing rather than to increase debt. This needs to be done urgentl

The world’s largest all-electric aircraft is set to fly for the first time. Christened as the Cessna Caravan, the aircraft is retrofitted with an electric engine and is slated to fly for about 20 to 30 minutes over Washington today. The plane holds a seating capacity of nine passengers. However, for the maiden flight, there will be only the test pilot present. The aircraft can cruise at 183kmph and its makers, magniX hopes that it could enter commercial service by the end of 2021 with a range of 100 miles. Ahead of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the aviation sector was one of the leading contributors to carbon emissions around the world. In light of the same, a slew of companies has taken up building electric planes. One of the biggest obstacles that stand in the way is the challenge of building lightweight batteries that can be accommodated in large planes. By retrofitting an existing plane, magniX hopes to accelerate the process of approval in the industry that is otherwise heavily re

Domestic flights operations will return to normal by Diwali (in November), Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, mentioning that to restart economy was crucial as extending the nationwide lockdown could be “more devastating than Covid” for the country. “By Diwali (in November), we will have all our 650 aircraft operated by Indian carriers (flying),” the minister told  ET  in an interview. “This may sound optimistic but what else we are going to do?” Puri highlighted that India's recovery rate from coronavirus disease was higher than those of other countries. Exuding confidence, the minister stated that the aviation sector will recover fast as the country has a huge captive market and travellers will feel the need to start flying again. On May 25, passenger flights took to the skies in a limited manner for the first time in two months, and the first flight in the country took off from Delhi for Pune at 4.45 am. The sector is operating at 20 per cent of pre-Covid cap

Budget carrier  SpiceJet  on Friday said its freighter arm  SpiceXpress  has received approval for conducting  drone trials  from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ). Post trials and approvals, the airline plans to use  drones  in  delivery of essential supplies  to remote areas, the company said in a release. "A SpiceXpress-led consortium had submitted a proposal to the regulator for conducting experimental beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations of remotely piloted aircraft in response to a DGCA notice inviting expression of interest,” SpiceJet said. Based on the recommendations of the BVLOS Experiment Assessment and Monitoring Committee, SpiceXpress was granted permission for conducting experimental BVLOS operations, it stated. The consortium includes Throttle Aerospace, a drone manufacturing company, AeoLogic, an analytics and software solution firm and Involia, which is a provider of air traffic awareness and collision avoidance services.

Boeing is cutting more than 12,000 US jobs through layoffs and buyouts as the  coronavirus   pandemic  seizes the travel industry. And the aircraft maker says more cuts are coming. Shortly after disclosing the job cuts, Boeing announced Wednesday that it has resumed production of the grounded 737 Max jetliner. Two deadly crashes of Max jets pushed Boeing into a financial crisis months before the coronavirus squeezed global air travel to a trickle. Boeing, one of the nation’s biggest manufacturers, said it will lay off 6,770 US employees this week, and another 5,520 workers are taking buyout offers to leave voluntarily in the coming weeks. The company had said it would cut 10 per cent of a workforce that numbered about 160,000. A Boeing spokesperson said Wednesday’s actions represent the largest number of job cuts, but several thousand additional jobs will be eliminated in the next few months. Nearly 10,000 of the layoffs and buyouts are concentrated in the Seattle area, home to Boeing’

A Bhopal-based high net worth individual hired a 180-seater A320 plane of a private carrier to ferry four family members to New Delhi, in a bid to avoid crowd at the airport and in-flight amid the  COVID-19  outbreak, officials said on Thursday. The person, who is a liquor baron, chartered the aircraft to send to Delhi his daughter, her two children and their maid, who were stuck in Bhopal since the last two months due to the  coronavirus -induced lockdown, sources said. The plane arrived here from Delhi on Monday with crew only and flew back with just four passengers for whom it was specially hired, they said “The A320 180-seater plane arrived here on May 25 to carry four members of a family, probably due to the coronavirus scare. It was chartered by someone and there was no medical emergency, an airline official said, refusing to divulge any further details. Bhopal Rajabhoj Airport Director Anil Vikram could not be contacted for comments. According to aviation experts, the cost of hi

With homebound students, young professionals, small-time businessmen and workers accounting for most travellers,  airlines  have managed to operate flights at about 50% occupancy rates, although industry insiders say demand will plunge once the spate of essential travel is over. Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri wrote on microblogging platform Twitter that airlines ferried 30,136 passengers on 367 flights till 5 pm on Thursday. This means airlines are operating with only 82 passengers on average per flight. Most aircraft in India have 180 seats. The number Puri cited for previous days also threw up similar occupancy numbers. Load factors for low fare carrier IndiGo, which carries nearly half of India’s domestic passengers, was below 50%, said an  IndiGo  executive. “Majority of the travel is from metros to non-metros, primarily cities in the east and northeast like Patna and Guwahati. Those routes are seeing 60% loads or slightly higher. Flights to metros are barely filling mo

An asymptomatic passenger who took an  IndiGo  Bengaluru-Madurai flight on Wednesday was found positive for COVID-19 during mandatory testing on the same day at a quarantine facility in Madurai, the airline said on Thursday. Domestic passenger flights resumed in India from Monday. Since then, five passengers of three different airlines have tested positive for COVID-19. "An asymptomatic passenger who travelled on IndiGo on 6E 7214 from Bangalore to Madurai on May 27, 2020 was discovered to be COVID-19 positive during the mandatory testing at the quarantine facility in Madurai on 27th May," the airline said in its statement. The passenger had observed all precautionary measures, including wearing face mask, face shield and gloves, like other passengers on the aircraft, IndiGo added. "All our aircraft are regularly sanitized as a standard operating procedure, and the aircraft operating these flights were immediately disinfected as per protocol," the airline said. &quo

A joint forum of  Air India  employees and staff unions has sought a Rs 50,000 crore financial succour from the government for the  national carrier , stating that the airline is a necessity for the country. In a letter to Prime Minister  Narendra Modi , the Joint Forum said that Air India is a "necessity" for the country, especially in times of crises, and a  financial package  will not only help the flag carrier but also the entire aviation sector and the economy. The prime minister earlier this month announced a Rs 20 lakh crore package, which combined the government's earlier announcements on supporting key sectors as also measures rolled out by the Reserve Bank of India, to help revive the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic crisis. Leading rating agencies have forecast the Indian economy to contract by 5 per cent in the current fiscal due to the impact of the crisis. "We thank you for the financial package of Rs 20 lakh crores to boost industry and the econom

Domestic flight operations to and from Kolkata will resume from today, 63 days after the flights ban were announced to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Though domestic flight operations across the country began on May 25, it could not be restarted in Kolkata as the state machinery was involved in the relief and restoration work after the extremely severe Cyclone Amphan whiplashed many areas of the state. On Thursday, 10 flights will take off from Kolkata and an equal number will arrive in the city, sources at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport told PTI. Here are the new guidelines issued by the West Bengal govt: 1) People entering West Bengal must submit a self-declaration form stating that they had not tested positive for COVID-19 in the past two months. 2) All passengers shall undergo health screening at the point of departure and only asymptomatic passengers shall be allowed to board the plane. 3) On arrival, health screening shall be done for all the pas

In a great news for air passengers, India’s largest carrier in terms of market share  IndiGo  and  AirAsia  India have started refunding passengers for tickets that were booked on flights, which the airline had to cancel due to one reason or the other. However, there is no clarity on the procedure or time to be taken to redeem credit shells issued to passengers, who were booked on fights that were cancelled during the lockdown announced by the government to contain the spread of virus. “All passengers – booked on AirAsia and IndiGo - who want  refund  instead of credit shell would be refunded and we have started refunding money to customers in their bank account, as these airlines have also started refunding us,” said  Nishat Pitti , CEO & co-founder at Easemytrip.com. “According to me, it will boost trust factor among customers to book future tickets which are generally lower priced,” added Pitti. Passengers of all other airlines, however, will have to wait till these airlines sta

The Rajasthan government is exploring possibilities in new sectors such as maintenance, repair and overhauling (MRO) of aircraft to boost the state’s economy, officials said. The government has directed the industries department to study possibilities of MRO in the state following Chief Secretary D B Gupta’s meeting with various departments on Tuesday to discuss ways to boost the economy and provide employment. In wake of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package recently announced by the Centre to kickstart the economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Rajasthan is keen on new sectors such as MROs. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said that steps will be taken to make the country a hub for MRO of aircraft. “Rajasthan has tremendous potential in this area. We have the required infrastructure with 19 state owned airstrips,” said Kesari Singh, Director Aviation department. A senior official, who participated in the meeting on anonymity, said the meeting focused on how economy and

A total of 445  domestic flights  carrying 62,641  passengers  operated on Tuesday, said  Civil Aviation  Minister  Hardeep Singh Puri  on Wednesday, asserting the  airports  functioned smoothly on the second day of the recommencement of domestic services in  India . On Monday, a total of 428 flights had operated in the country. India resumed its domestic services on Monday after a gap of two months. All scheduled domestic services were suspended in India from March 25 to May 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic. "Our skies & airports are busy again. On 26th May, the 2nd day of recommencement of domestic passenger flights in India, our airports handled 62,641 flyers on 445 departures & 447 arrivals. All airport functioning was smooth. Only 6 departures were rescheduled," Puri said on Twitter on Wednesday. Source:  https://m.economictimes.com

Three  migrant labourers , who pooled all their savings and sold goats to buy airline tickets to Kolkata only to be told that their flight got cancelled, will finally fly home. IndiGo  has agreed to help the three to fly from  Mumbai  to their state. "We are reaching out to these passengers right away. Rest assured, we shall be accommodating them on the next available flight or providing them with a full refund,'' the airline said, reacting to a TOI report. The three have been booked on a June 1 flight after they decided not to take the first flight out on May 28. The workers, from  West Bengal , haven’t earned any income since the end of March when Prime Minister Narendra  Modi  imposed a nationwide  lockdown  to contain the spread of the coronavirus. They’d managed to raise Rs 30,600 for the air tickets, only to be told their flight was canceled and there wouldn’t be any refunds. The family of at least one of them raised the money by selling three goats, the newspaper re

ne passenger on Air India Delhi-Ludhiana flight on Tuesday has tested positive for coronavirus. Air India has said a total of 36 passengers on the flight along with 4 crew members have been put in institutional quarantine following the Punjab government rules. Air India has said, “The passenger who works in the security department of Alliance Air was traveling on a paid ticket. 36 passengers and 4 crew under institutional quarantine as per Punjab government rules.” The passenger flew on AI 9I837 Delhi-Ludhiana flight on the second day of flight operations in India in the lockdown. Earlier, a  passenger on an Indigo flight from Chennai to Coimbatore , tested positive for coronavirus. Indigo has grounded the entire crew of the flight for 14 days and said they were trying to reach out to the passengers of the flight as per government norms. The passenger himself has been quarantined at ESI state medical facility at Coimbatore. India on Monday resumed domestic passenger flights after a gap

According to data shared by EaseMyTrip.com, 35.51% of the total bookings on its platform came for travel to or from Delhi. As lockdown eases and states negotiate their stance on air travel, tread carefully and assess the pros and cons before you book a flight ticket. After over 60 days of nationwide lockdown, air travel has finally resumed from most states in the country. But the decision to restart flights came after a considerable amount of back and forth, leaving passengers in a lurch. When the civil aviation ministry, on Wednesday, announced the resumption of air travel from 25 May, online travel agents witnessed a flood of bookings. Most airlines which had earlier opened for bookings starting 1 June, started accepting new bookings from 25 May, assuming all states would play ball. According to data shared by EaseMyTrip.com, an online travel booking portal, 35.51% of the total bookings on its platform came for travel to or from Delhi. Another 16.81% bookings were made for travel to

Faced with the calamitous fallout from the coronavirus on airline customers and the broader economy, Boeing found itself in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable position in March. The company, a longtime symbol of American industrial power, was unable to raise the funds to finance its business. Since that low point as the coronavirus health crisis was mushrooming into an economic crisis, private bond markets have improved considerably, enabling Boeing to fill its liquidity gap with $25 billion in bonds issued last month. But that bitter reality at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic underscores how deeply the 103-year-old company has fallen, in no small part due to its own missteps. Boeing, which alone accounts for about one percent of US gross domestic product, has suffered numerous cancelled orders for the 737 MAX, the jet that has been grounded for more than a year following two crashes that killed 346 people. Demand has also diminished the 787 "Dreamliner" amid the downturn in

IndiGo on Tuesday said its crw has been grounded for 14 days after a passenger on Chennai-Coimbatore flight tested positive for coronavirus. The airline said passengers on the flight, which operated on Monday, have been notified. "We received confirmation from the Coimbatore airport doctor that a passenger who travelled on 6E 381 from Chennai to Coimbatore on 25th May evening, has tested positive for Covid-19," said the airline in a statement.He is currently quarantined at an ESI state medical facility in Coimbatore. "All our aircraft are regularly sanitised as a standard operating procedure, and the aircraft operating this flight was also immediately disinfected as per protocol. "The operating crew has been grounded for 14 days and we are in the process of notifying other passengers as per the government guidelines, to ensure safety of our passengers and staff," the airline said in a statement. The development assumes significance as an infection was found the