Indian-Aviation

Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday said it is implementing an e-governance project that will provide all approvals and licenses online by the end of this year. In a statement, it said services pertaining to pilot licensing, medical examinations and services relating to flying training organisations have already been moved online under the e-governance project called eGCA. "The remaining functions of the DGCA such as issue/renewal of AOC/operating authorisation to operators, AME (aircraft maintenance engineers) licensing and approval of organisations (aircraft maintenance design/ production/maintenance/type/simulator, type training...)," it added. The project is being implemented in four phases and is expected to be completed by the end of this year, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. "Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers(PwC) have been engaged as service provider and as project management consultant (for the eGCA project), respe...

The incident at the Kozhikode airport, where an Air India Express plane crashed due to runway excursion, on 4 August claimed at least 19 lives and left more than 130 people injured. For passengers and their financial dependants, such injuries could result into a long period of income loss or income stoppage in case of death. If you’re someone who travels by air, it would be useful to know the kind of compensation the airlines are liable to offer you in case of an accident. An airline is liable to pay compensation to passengers if it is found to be at fault for flight cancellation or delay, denial of boarding and baggage loss. “Apart from this, airlines are also liable to pay compensation if a passenger dies or undergoes bodily injuries onboard an aircraft. This claim is as per the Montreal convention protocol as accepted by India in 2009," said Akanksha Anshu, co-founder and managing director, Refundme.in, a company that provides services for air passengers to claim compensation. ...

Domestic and international air traffic to and from India may decline by at least 50% in the current financial year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, causing significant job losses and force some airlines to ground aircraft to tide over the situation, according to an official note reviewed by Hindustan Times on Monday. Meanwhile, the tourism ministry has cited Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimates to suggest that the loss of revenue to tourism can range between Rs 72,000 crore and Rs 1.58 lakh crores in 2020-21. According to the ministry, branded hotels will take the biggest hit in the tourism sector, followed by tour operators. The civil aviation ministry’s note also stated that the sector and its stakeholders were focusing on reforms for a sustainable, safe and efficient revival of the aviation industry. The government suspended domestic and international flights in March to control the spread of the coronavirus disease pandemic; they have since resumed in a limited way. In...

In yet another exodus,  GoAir  has seen the exit of half-a-dozen senior executives in recent weeks amid the  budget airline  struggling to pay  salaries  and keeping a significant chunk of staff on leave without pay, according to two sources. The Wadia group-promoted carrier has around 6,700 employees and around as much as 4,000-4,500 of them are on leave without pay (LWP), one of the sources said. When contacted for comments on quitting of senior executives, a GoAir spokesperson neither denied nor confirmed the resignations. The airline "continues to assess the current market situation and will align its cost structures with the current flight operations. These are planned furloughs in order to minimise cash burn so that the staff count is aligned to the current scale of operations", the spokesperson said in a statement. The airlines industry has been grappling with strong headwinds due to the  coronavirus pandemic , with many of the carriers laying o...

The Tata Group is moving closer in its bid to acquire Air India. Last week, the group officially announced its intentions to bid for the carrier, the first time it has done so publicly. Tata is currently conducting due diligence as it prepares to bid before the August 31st deadline. If successful, Tata could have full control of Air India as early as January next year. Sole bidder One reason the Tata Group looks well-positioned to take over Air India is the fact that it could well be the only eligible bidder. Just a year ago, numerous  airlines  and companies were looking to invest in Air India and revamp the beleaguered carrier. However, the current downturn has forced airlines to struggle for survival and others to preserve capital. This has left few, or just one, bidder willing to spend billions on an airline. The Tata Group has a long history in aviation, including as the  founders of Air India . The conglomerate is still willing to invest in the carrier, hoping to ca...

एयर इंडिया की तरफ से रातों-रात 50 पायलटों को नौकरी से निकाल दिया गया है। ऐसे में इन पायलटों ने प्रबंधन से हस्तक्षेप करने की मांग की है। लगभग 50 पायलटों को कंपनी के सेवा नियमों के उल्लंघन को लेकर कार्मिक विभाग से अवैध समाप्ति पत्र प्राप्त हुए हैं। एयर इंडिया  के पायलटों ने 50 पायलटों की सेवाएं ‘‘अवैध तरीके से समाप्त’’ करने के मुद्दे को लेकर प्रबंधन से हस्तक्षेप करने की मांग की है। इंडियन कमर्शियल पायलट्स एसोसिएशन (आईसीपीए) ने शुक्रवार को एयर इंडिया के अध्यक्ष और प्रबंध निदेशक राजीव बंसल को एक पत्र लिखा है। इसमें कहा गया है कि लगभग 50 पायलटों को कंपनी के सेवा नियमों के उल्लंघन को लेकर कार्मिक विभाग से अवैध समाप्ति पत्र प्राप्त हुए हैं। आईसीपीए ने एक ट्वीट में कहा, ‘‘क्या हो रहा है? बिना उचित प्रक्रिया अपनाए रातों-रात हमारे लगभग 50 पायलटों की सेवाएं समाप्त कर दी गईं। इस महामारी के समय में राष्ट्र की सेवा करने वालों के लिए यह एक सदमे की बात है।’’ यह भी पता चला है कि दक्षिण में पांच साल पूरे कर चुके कई बेस क्रू के कॉन्ट्रैक्ट का नवीनीकरण नहीं किया जा रहा है। दक्षिणी क्षेत्र में 18 केबिन...

Four years ago, Air India Express mentioned Kozhikode international airport in a list of India's "most beautiful airports and runways". On Friday, the budget airline's Boeing 737 aircraft crashed at the same aerodrome killing at least 18 people. The tabletop runway at the airport, located in Kerala, poses challenges for pilots at the time of landing and there cannot be any margin for error. A tabletop runway is constructed on a hilly or an elevated terrain. In a  blog post titled 'India's Most Beautiful Runways and Airports' dated August 26, 2016 , the airline said the joys of flying are made even more spectacular when you are greeted by the scenic beauty of your dream destination. Listing out some of the "most beautiful airports and runways located in places that are even more picturesque", Air India Express mentioned about Kozhikode airport. Kozhikode is also known as Calicut. "Calicut International Airport, also known as Karipur Airport, ...

Indigo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ronojoy Dutta, who recently took a 35 per cent pay cut, was paid Rs 11.4 crore in salary for FY20, the company disclosed in its latest annual report. InterGlobe Aviation, which runs IndiGo, has sought shareholders’ nod for Dutta’s appointment as a whole-time director and CEO and remuneration payable to him for three years, including FY20. The company said remuneration to be paid to Dutta required approval of shareholders by way of a special resolution in case of no profit or inadequacy of profit made by the firm. This is as per the provisions of  Companies  Act. The resolution will be put to vote at the company’s annual general meeting on September 4. Dutta, an aviation veteran, joined  IndiGo  first as a consultant and was appointed as its CEO in early 2019. He took charge as the whole-time director in January. Earlier, Dutta had served as president of Sahara Airlines and United Airlines. According to the annual report, Dutta’s r...

Amid continuing subdued passenger traffic, market leader InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, which runs IndiGo witnessed a jump in its market share to 60.4% in July, data from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows. In June, IndiGo reported a market share of 52.5%. To be sure, while IndiGo has seen a surge in market share, the gains come at a time when overall passenger numbers continue to remain dismally low due to the covid-19 pandemic. Overall, passenger traffic in July grew to 2.1 million, just slightly better than 1.98 million passengers that Indian aviation industry carried in June. Year over year, passenger traffic in July fell 82.3% compared to the previous year when the industry saw a traffic of 11.9 million passengers. IndiGo carried 1.27 million passengers in July, followed by SpiceJet and Air India, which carried 0.33 million and 0.19 million passengers, respectively. The passenger load factor of major scheduled commercial airlines stood between 45.5% an...

In a sudden development, GoAir has announced that Vinay Dube has ceased to be its CEO, and has been replaced by Kaushik Khona, who returns to the seat after a gap of nine years. Dube, the former CEO of Jet Airways, had joined GoAir in February 2020. Initially, he was was serving as an advisor to the carrier. "Vinay Dube has ceased to be in the employment of GoAir with immediate effect and hence ceases to be the CEO of the Company," the low cost airline said on August 14. The company added that its  Nominations & Remuneration Committee and the Board met on Friday, and appointed Khona as CEO with immediate effect. Khona was the CEO of GoAir for two years, from April 2009. He was also Vice President, corporate finance and strategist for the Wadia Group. This is what Khona says about his stint in Linkedin: "After significant contribution to turn around Real estate and Textile divisions of Bombay Dyeing and after successfully handling other assignments for Britannia and B...