News Analysis India

Tag: aviation

  • India eases COVID-19 ear rules for international flyers, RT-PCR tests dropped

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: With the world returning to a new normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government on Wednesday announced the easing of its guidelines for international travellers.

    The Union Health Ministry said that the two per cent random testing of international flyers will be dropped from July 20th on account of India’s improving conditions following the pandemic. The Centre had earlier come out with guidelines for international travellers when the pandemic was raging in India and globally.

    “Taking note of the prevalent COVID-19 situation and the significant achievements made in COVID-19 vaccination coverage across the globe, the Union Health Ministry has further eased guidelines for international travellers in the context of Covid-19,” a statement issued by the ministry said.

    The new guidelines will be applicable at all points of entry including airports, seaports, and land borders. “However, the earlier advice for precautionary measures to be followed in the context of COVID-19 by airlines as well as international travellers shall continue to apply,” the statement said.

    On May 6, the WHO had announced that it is ending its highest level of alert for Covid-19 – three years after its original declaration, saying that countries should now manage the virus along with other infectious diseases.  However, the global health body also said the decision did not mean the danger was over and cautioned that emergency status could be reinstated if the situation changed.

    The health ministry said the dropping of the random testing doesn’t mean that India has stopped following the Covid-19 situation. “The ministry continues to follow the Covid-19 scenario closely,” the statement added. However, some measures are expected to continue.

    The ministry said that all travellers should preferably be fully vaccinated as per the approved primary schedule of vaccination against Covid-19 in their country. 

    During travel, the ministry said, “In-flight announcements about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic including precautionary measures to be followed, preferable use of masks and following physical distancing shall be made in flights/travel and at all points of entry.”

    “Any passenger having symptoms of Covid during travel shall be isolated as per standard protocol and the said passenger should be wearing a mask, isolated and segregated from other passengers in flight/travel and shifted to an isolation facility subsequently for follow-up treatment.”

    On arrival, the “de-boarding should be done ensuring physical distancing,” said the new guidelines.

    The guidelines said that all travellers should self-monitor their health post-arrival and shall report to their nearest health facility or call the national helpline number (1075)/ State Helpline Number in case they have any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. It also said that thermal screening should be done on all passengers by the health officials present at the point of entry. The updated guidelines are available on the official website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

    NEW DELHI: With the world returning to a new normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government on Wednesday announced the easing of its guidelines for international travellers.

    The Union Health Ministry said that the two per cent random testing of international flyers will be dropped from July 20th on account of India’s improving conditions following the pandemic. The Centre had earlier come out with guidelines for international travellers when the pandemic was raging in India and globally.

    “Taking note of the prevalent COVID-19 situation and the significant achievements made in COVID-19 vaccination coverage across the globe, the Union Health Ministry has further eased guidelines for international travellers in the context of Covid-19,” a statement issued by the ministry said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The new guidelines will be applicable at all points of entry including airports, seaports, and land borders. “However, the earlier advice for precautionary measures to be followed in the context of COVID-19 by airlines as well as international travellers shall continue to apply,” the statement said.

    On May 6, the WHO had announced that it is ending its highest level of alert for Covid-19 – three years after its original declaration, saying that countries should now manage the virus along with other infectious diseases.  However, the global health body also said the decision did not mean the danger was over and cautioned that emergency status could be reinstated if the situation changed.

    The health ministry said the dropping of the random testing doesn’t mean that India has stopped following the Covid-19 situation. “The ministry continues to follow the Covid-19 scenario closely,” the statement added. However, some measures are expected to continue.

    The ministry said that all travellers should preferably be fully vaccinated as per the approved primary schedule of vaccination against Covid-19 in their country. 

    During travel, the ministry said, “In-flight announcements about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic including precautionary measures to be followed, preferable use of masks and following physical distancing shall be made in flights/travel and at all points of entry.”

    “Any passenger having symptoms of Covid during travel shall be isolated as per standard protocol and the said passenger should be wearing a mask, isolated and segregated from other passengers in flight/travel and shifted to an isolation facility subsequently for follow-up treatment.”

    On arrival, the “de-boarding should be done ensuring physical distancing,” said the new guidelines.

    The guidelines said that all travellers should self-monitor their health post-arrival and shall report to their nearest health facility or call the national helpline number (1075)/ State Helpline Number in case they have any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. It also said that thermal screening should be done on all passengers by the health officials present at the point of entry. The updated guidelines are available on the official website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

  • Air India’s Dubai-Kochi flight diverts to Mumbai after pilot reports cabin pressure loss

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Air India’s Dubai-Kochi flight was diverted to Mumbai on Thursday after the pilot-in-command reported a loss in cabin pressure, officials of aviation regulator DGCA said.

    The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft and off-rostered this flight’s crew, they said.

    It has also started investigating the incident, the officials said.

    This is the third instance in the last three days when the aviation regulator grounded a plane after an incident.

    On Tuesday, Go First’s Mumbai-Leh and Srinagar-Delhi flights faced engine snags and both the planes were grounded by the DGCA.

    An Air India spokesperson said the matter has been reported to the DGCA.

    “Flight AI 934, operating from Dubai to Cochin, was diverted to Mumbai today due to a technical issue. The B787 aircraft landed safely at Mumbai at 1912 hrs with 247 passengers and crew. An alternate aircraft is being arranged to carry passengers from Mumbai to Kochi,” the spokesperson said.

    DGCA officials said that when the Air India flight was heading from Dubai to Kochi on Thursday, the pilot observed a loss in cabin pressure and immediately contacted the integrated operations control centre (IOCC) of the airline as well as the air traffic controller.

    Oxygen masks were deployed so that the passengers do not face any discomfiture.

    The plane was allowed to divert to the nearest airport, which in this case was the one in Mumbai and it landed safely, they added.

    An aircraft generally operates at an altitude of around 30,000 feet where the oxygen level is quite less.

    Therefore, all aircraft create pressure inside the cabin so that there is sufficient oxygen for passengers and crew members.

    There have been multiple technical malfunction incidents in planes flown by Indian carriers in the last one month.

    Between Sunday and Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held multiple meetings with airlines and officials from his ministry and DGCA to ensure safety oversight.

    READ HERE | Aircraft technical snags: DGCA crackdown finds insufficient engineering staff certifying planes

    The DGCA had on Monday said it conducted spot checks and found that an insufficient number of engineering personnel were certifying planes of various carriers before take-off.

    Before each departure, an aircraft is checked and certified by an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME).

    The DGCA has now issued guidelines for airlines on deployment of qualified AMEs and directed them to comply by July 28.

    “The spot checks also found that AME teams of airlines are improperly identifying the “cause of a reported defect”, the DGCA order stated.

    A Go First flight heading from Delhi to Guwahati on Wednesday was diverted to Jaipur after the A320neo aircraft’s windshield cracked mid-air.

    On July 17, IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was diverted to Karachi as a precautionary measure after pilots observed a defect in one engine.

    On the night of July 16, the Calicut-Dubai flight of the Air India Express was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed in the cabin mid-air.

    A live bird was found in the cockpit of the Air India Express Bahrain-Kochi flight on July 15.

    SpiceJet is also under the scanner.

    On July 6, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19.

    The DGCA is currently investigating all these incidents.

    NEW DELHI: Air India’s Dubai-Kochi flight was diverted to Mumbai on Thursday after the pilot-in-command reported a loss in cabin pressure, officials of aviation regulator DGCA said.

    The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft and off-rostered this flight’s crew, they said.

    It has also started investigating the incident, the officials said.

    This is the third instance in the last three days when the aviation regulator grounded a plane after an incident.

    On Tuesday, Go First’s Mumbai-Leh and Srinagar-Delhi flights faced engine snags and both the planes were grounded by the DGCA.

    An Air India spokesperson said the matter has been reported to the DGCA.

    “Flight AI 934, operating from Dubai to Cochin, was diverted to Mumbai today due to a technical issue. The B787 aircraft landed safely at Mumbai at 1912 hrs with 247 passengers and crew. An alternate aircraft is being arranged to carry passengers from Mumbai to Kochi,” the spokesperson said.

    DGCA officials said that when the Air India flight was heading from Dubai to Kochi on Thursday, the pilot observed a loss in cabin pressure and immediately contacted the integrated operations control centre (IOCC) of the airline as well as the air traffic controller.

    Oxygen masks were deployed so that the passengers do not face any discomfiture.

    The plane was allowed to divert to the nearest airport, which in this case was the one in Mumbai and it landed safely, they added.

    An aircraft generally operates at an altitude of around 30,000 feet where the oxygen level is quite less.

    Therefore, all aircraft create pressure inside the cabin so that there is sufficient oxygen for passengers and crew members.

    There have been multiple technical malfunction incidents in planes flown by Indian carriers in the last one month.

    Between Sunday and Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held multiple meetings with airlines and officials from his ministry and DGCA to ensure safety oversight.

    READ HERE | Aircraft technical snags: DGCA crackdown finds insufficient engineering staff certifying planes

    The DGCA had on Monday said it conducted spot checks and found that an insufficient number of engineering personnel were certifying planes of various carriers before take-off.

    Before each departure, an aircraft is checked and certified by an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME).

    The DGCA has now issued guidelines for airlines on deployment of qualified AMEs and directed them to comply by July 28.

    “The spot checks also found that AME teams of airlines are improperly identifying the “cause of a reported defect”, the DGCA order stated.

    A Go First flight heading from Delhi to Guwahati on Wednesday was diverted to Jaipur after the A320neo aircraft’s windshield cracked mid-air.

    On July 17, IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was diverted to Karachi as a precautionary measure after pilots observed a defect in one engine.

    On the night of July 16, the Calicut-Dubai flight of the Air India Express was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed in the cabin mid-air.

    A live bird was found in the cockpit of the Air India Express Bahrain-Kochi flight on July 15.

    SpiceJet is also under the scanner.

    On July 6, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19.

    The DGCA is currently investigating all these incidents.

  • Aircraft technical snags: DGCA crackdown finds insufficient engineering staff certifying planes

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: 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 required engineering personnel certifying planes of various carriers before their scheduled arrivals/departures in a short interval.

    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. 

    The spot checks also found that the AME teams of airlines are improperly identifying the “cause of a reported defect”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s order noted.

    “We will ask operators to be more vigilant. On our part also, we will further tighten our oversight,’’ said the Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar. There will be more spot checks, audits of domestic airline operators, and this will ensure that airlines are more vigilant, he added.

    The DGCA has also found that there has been an “increasing trend of MEL (minimum equipment list) releases” of aircraft, the order said.

    “MEL releases” means an aircraft is allowed to fly with certain inoperative equipment or instruments for a specific period of time, until the repairs are done. It is also seen that airlines are resorting to frequent one-off authorisation to Category A certifying staff at transit stations which is not in line with existing regulatory provisions,” the DGCA said.

    ALSO READ | Aircraft technical snags: DGCA crackdown finds insufficient engineering staff certifying planes

    The engineering head of one of the Indian airlines explained that a Category A engineer is called a ‘limited scope engineer’, and he or she is allowed to certify and release planes for departures only when the aircraft does not have any complex defect.

    The Category B1 engineer is one step above the Category A engineer and he or she is capable of handling mechanical defects. Similarly, Category B2 engineering is capable of handling defects in the electronic equipment of planes.

    The DGCA said: “It has been decided that all aircraft at base and transit stations shall be released by certifying staff holding AME Category B1/B2 license with appropriate authorisation by their organisation.”

    The regulator told airlines to position Category B1 and Category B2 engineers at all base and transit stations and make sure that required tools and equipment are available. “Alternatively, you may opt for sending the certifying staff on flight duties,” the DGCA mentioned.

    The DGCA said that its directions must be complied with by July 28.

    The airline engineering head, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that it will be very difficult for airlines to place Category B1 or Category B2 engineers on all transit stations. “If I operate one flight per day from Jorhat or Jharsuguda, how can I keep two Category B1 or B2 engineers — which are anyway in fewer numbers — just to certify and release that one flight,” the head explained.

    Meanwhile, Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, held a high-level meeting following the air safety-related incidents. “There should be no compromise when it comes to the safety of people,’’ he said.

    There have been multiple technical malfunction incidents in Indian carriers’ planes during the last month.

    On Sunday, IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was diverted to Karachi as a precautionary measure after pilots observed a defect in one of the engines.

    On Saturday night, the Calicut-Dubai flight of the Air India Express was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed in the cabin mid-air. The smell was coming from one of the vents in the forward galley and the pilots, therefore, diverted the plane to Muscat and landed safely.

    A day earlier a bird, which was alive, was found in the cockpit of the Air India Express Bahrain-Kochi flight.

    A few days earlier, a SpiceJet flight SG11 made an emergency landing at Karachi airport. The Delhi to Dubai international flight suffered a technical fault and made the landing at Pakistan’s Karachi airport on July 5. A replacement flight ferried the passengers to Dubai later in the day. More than 150 passengers were present on board the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

    Indian carriers have landed in Pakistan as the flights involved were travelling between Gulf and India and the only flight route between India and Gulf nations either passes through Pakistan or over the Arabian Sea, adjacent to Pakistan.

    SpiceJet is under regulatory scanner right now. On July 6, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19.

    The DGCA is currently investigating all these incidents.

    ALSO READ | Will be ‘doubly careful’, strengthen aircraft inspection before flights: SpiceJet CMD

    (With inputs from Express News Service and Online Desk)

    NEW DELHI: 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 required engineering personnel certifying planes of various carriers before their scheduled arrivals/departures in a short interval.

    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. 

    The spot checks also found that the AME teams of airlines are improperly identifying the “cause of a reported defect”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s order noted.

    “We will ask operators to be more vigilant. On our part also, we will further tighten our oversight,’’ said the Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar. There will be more spot checks, audits of domestic airline operators, and this will ensure that airlines are more vigilant, he added.

    The DGCA has also found that there has been an “increasing trend of MEL (minimum equipment list) releases” of aircraft, the order said.

    “MEL releases” means an aircraft is allowed to fly with certain inoperative equipment or instruments for a specific period of time, until the repairs are done. It is also seen that airlines are resorting to frequent one-off authorisation to Category A certifying staff at transit stations which is not in line with existing regulatory provisions,” the DGCA said.

    ALSO READ | Aircraft technical snags: DGCA crackdown finds insufficient engineering staff certifying planes

    The engineering head of one of the Indian airlines explained that a Category A engineer is called a ‘limited scope engineer’, and he or she is allowed to certify and release planes for departures only when the aircraft does not have any complex defect.

    The Category B1 engineer is one step above the Category A engineer and he or she is capable of handling mechanical defects. Similarly, Category B2 engineering is capable of handling defects in the electronic equipment of planes.

    The DGCA said: “It has been decided that all aircraft at base and transit stations shall be released by certifying staff holding AME Category B1/B2 license with appropriate authorisation by their organisation.”

    The regulator told airlines to position Category B1 and Category B2 engineers at all base and transit stations and make sure that required tools and equipment are available. “Alternatively, you may opt for sending the certifying staff on flight duties,” the DGCA mentioned.

    The DGCA said that its directions must be complied with by July 28.

    The airline engineering head, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that it will be very difficult for airlines to place Category B1 or Category B2 engineers on all transit stations. “If I operate one flight per day from Jorhat or Jharsuguda, how can I keep two Category B1 or B2 engineers — which are anyway in fewer numbers — just to certify and release that one flight,” the head explained.

    Meanwhile, Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, held a high-level meeting following the air safety-related incidents. “There should be no compromise when it comes to the safety of people,’’ he said.

    There have been multiple technical malfunction incidents in Indian carriers’ planes during the last month.

    On Sunday, IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was diverted to Karachi as a precautionary measure after pilots observed a defect in one of the engines.

    On Saturday night, the Calicut-Dubai flight of the Air India Express was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed in the cabin mid-air. The smell was coming from one of the vents in the forward galley and the pilots, therefore, diverted the plane to Muscat and landed safely.

    A day earlier a bird, which was alive, was found in the cockpit of the Air India Express Bahrain-Kochi flight.

    A few days earlier, a SpiceJet flight SG11 made an emergency landing at Karachi airport. The Delhi to Dubai international flight suffered a technical fault and made the landing at Pakistan’s Karachi airport on July 5. A replacement flight ferried the passengers to Dubai later in the day. More than 150 passengers were present on board the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

    Indian carriers have landed in Pakistan as the flights involved were travelling between Gulf and India and the only flight route between India and Gulf nations either passes through Pakistan or over the Arabian Sea, adjacent to Pakistan.

    SpiceJet is under regulatory scanner right now. On July 6, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19.

    The DGCA is currently investigating all these incidents.

    ALSO READ | Will be ‘doubly careful’, strengthen aircraft inspection before flights: SpiceJet CMD

    (With inputs from Express News Service and Online Desk)

  • Temporary suspension of flights to & from the United Kingdom till 7 January 2021: Hardeep Singh Puri

    A decision has been taken to extend the temporary suspension of flights to & from the United Kingdom till 7 January 2021, said Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.