News Analysis India

Tag: Civil Aviation

  • India will become world’s largest civil aviation market within a decade: Jyotiraditya Scindia

    By Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that India is set to become the world’s largest civil aviation market within a decade.

    Speaking at the International Conference on Advanced and Short Haul Air Mobility for All (ASHA) in Bengaluru, Scindia said, “In the next 4 to 5 years, civil aviation is going to become the bulwark of transportation in India. Advanced air mobility must have its foundation on the basis of a strong civil aviation network and India will become the largest market for aviation within the next decade.”

    Elaborating on the giant strides made by the civil aviation sector, Scindia said, “We are today the world’s third largest domestic market with 144 million travellers. Combining domestic and international, we have the world’s seventh largest market at 200 million travellers,” he said. “However, with a population of 1.3 billion, we are still talking of penetration rates of only 4 to 5%. There is unimaginable potential for it in India,” he added.  

    The minister said occupancy levels in flights have shot up to 90 to 95% presently compared to 80% pre-Covid. “Earlier, we had aircraft but no passengers. Today we have a bevy of passengers but a shortage of aircraft. We need more aircraft and need it more quickly because India has an insatiable desire to travel by air today,” he said.

    Stating that India has experienced “a V-shaped recovery” post-Covid, the minister said, “Pre-Covid our high was 4,10,000 passengers per day. We are now coming off the high season (October till January) and have attained a new high of 4,55,000 travelling per day, a 10% increase over the pre-Covid high season (October-November 2019). It is not a blip.”  

    ALSO READ | ‘Crests and troughs’ in aviation sector, benefit from booking in advance: Scindia

    India had built 74 airports during its last 65 years of existence. “In the last nine years under the stewardship of the PM, we have built an additional 74 airports, waterdromes and heliports doubling our number from 74 to 148. This is only the beginning of the journey. In the next 4 to 5 years, we will take the number to 200 to 220 airports, waterdromes and heliports,” he said.

    In a period of transition in world aviation history, India was forging ahead in areas that are just seedlings on the world aviation market due to its engineering capability, human resource capability and large mobility, he added.

    Drone industry to be worth Rs 3 lakh crore in 2030

    To make India the World Drone Global Hub by 2030 as envisioned by the PM, drone rules have been completely recast. “Earlier, we had to take 72 permissions to be able to set up a drone company and fly drones. That has been reduced to a paltry five permissions,” he said. A Rs 120-crore Performance Linked Incentive Scheme has made the industry grow manifold over the last 12 months. “In 2020, it was a Rs 3,000 crore industry. In the next five years, we are looking at it increasing to close to a Rs 77,000 crore industry. In 2030, it will become a Rs 3 lakh crore industry providing employment to almost 3 to 4 lakh people in the country. That is the potential of the drone sector,” he said.

    11.5 million flew due to UDAN

    The Regional Connectivity Scheme, Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), through its viability subsidized network has made the common man fly. “In the last six years after this programme was started in 2016, we have built 74 new airports, waterdromes and heliports, transported 11.5 million people who could never dream of flying before, with 220,000 flights. Eleven airlines are part of the scheme and there are three new regional air transport companies,” he said, adding that airports were being set up in remote places.   

    Special emphasis has been given to promote helicopter travel, he said. “It is astonishing that a country the size of Inda has a fleet of only 280 helicopters. Countries like Brazil and the US have around 4,000 helicopters. Along with it, Helicopter Emergency Medical Service has been started. “We have commitment from the Road Transport Ministry that all Expressways in future will have helipads built along the way which can also serve as Vertiports for ASHA in the days to come.”

    BENGALURU: Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that India is set to become the world’s largest civil aviation market within a decade.

    Speaking at the International Conference on Advanced and Short Haul Air Mobility for All (ASHA) in Bengaluru, Scindia said, “In the next 4 to 5 years, civil aviation is going to become the bulwark of transportation in India. Advanced air mobility must have its foundation on the basis of a strong civil aviation network and India will become the largest market for aviation within the next decade.”

    Elaborating on the giant strides made by the civil aviation sector, Scindia said, “We are today the world’s third largest domestic market with 144 million travellers. Combining domestic and international, we have the world’s seventh largest market at 200 million travellers,” he said. “However, with a population of 1.3 billion, we are still talking of penetration rates of only 4 to 5%. There is unimaginable potential for it in India,” he added.  googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The minister said occupancy levels in flights have shot up to 90 to 95% presently compared to 80% pre-Covid. “Earlier, we had aircraft but no passengers. Today we have a bevy of passengers but a shortage of aircraft. We need more aircraft and need it more quickly because India has an insatiable desire to travel by air today,” he said.

    Stating that India has experienced “a V-shaped recovery” post-Covid, the minister said, “Pre-Covid our high was 4,10,000 passengers per day. We are now coming off the high season (October till January) and have attained a new high of 4,55,000 travelling per day, a 10% increase over the pre-Covid high season (October-November 2019). It is not a blip.”  

    ALSO READ | ‘Crests and troughs’ in aviation sector, benefit from booking in advance: Scindia

    India had built 74 airports during its last 65 years of existence. “In the last nine years under the stewardship of the PM, we have built an additional 74 airports, waterdromes and heliports doubling our number from 74 to 148. This is only the beginning of the journey. In the next 4 to 5 years, we will take the number to 200 to 220 airports, waterdromes and heliports,” he said.

    In a period of transition in world aviation history, India was forging ahead in areas that are just seedlings on the world aviation market due to its engineering capability, human resource capability and large mobility, he added.

    Drone industry to be worth Rs 3 lakh crore in 2030

    To make India the World Drone Global Hub by 2030 as envisioned by the PM, drone rules have been completely recast. “Earlier, we had to take 72 permissions to be able to set up a drone company and fly drones. That has been reduced to a paltry five permissions,” he said. A Rs 120-crore Performance Linked Incentive Scheme has made the industry grow manifold over the last 12 months. “In 2020, it was a Rs 3,000 crore industry. In the next five years, we are looking at it increasing to close to a Rs 77,000 crore industry. In 2030, it will become a Rs 3 lakh crore industry providing employment to almost 3 to 4 lakh people in the country. That is the potential of the drone sector,” he said.

    11.5 million flew due to UDAN

    The Regional Connectivity Scheme, Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), through its viability subsidized network has made the common man fly. “In the last six years after this programme was started in 2016, we have built 74 new airports, waterdromes and heliports, transported 11.5 million people who could never dream of flying before, with 220,000 flights. Eleven airlines are part of the scheme and there are three new regional air transport companies,” he said, adding that airports were being set up in remote places.   

    Special emphasis has been given to promote helicopter travel, he said. “It is astonishing that a country the size of Inda has a fleet of only 280 helicopters. Countries like Brazil and the US have around 4,000 helicopters. Along with it, Helicopter Emergency Medical Service has been started. “We have commitment from the Road Transport Ministry that all Expressways in future will have helipads built along the way which can also serve as Vertiports for ASHA in the days to come.”

  • 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)

  • Suspension of scheduled international passenger flights extended till further orders: DGCA

    The restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA.

  • Play Indian music in flights, airports: Aviation ministry

    By PTI

    The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday asked all airlines and airports to consider playing Indian music in their flights and terminal premises.

    The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) had on December 23 requested Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to promote Indian music in flights operated by Indian carriers.

    Therefore, the ministry wrote a letter to all airlines and airports on Monday stating that music played by most of the airlines across the globe was in quintessential of the country to which the airline belongs, for example, Jazz in an American airline or Mozart in an Austrian airline and Arab music in an airline from the Middle East.

    “But, Indian Airlines seldom play Indian music in the flight, whereas, our music has a rich heritage and culture and it has one of the many things every Indian has a reason for truly proud of it,” the ministry noted. India has a rich diversity of traditional music, it noted.

    “Owing to India’s vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms, which include classical music, folk, light vocal, instrumental music, etc,” it mentioned.

    India has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several geo-locations spanning the sub-continent, it said. Music in India began as an integral part of the socio-religious life, it noted.

    The ministry said it is in receipt of request from ICCR for playing Indian music in the aircraft being operated in india and also at airports.

    “It is, therefore, requested to kindly consider playing Indian music in the aircraft being operated in India and at airports following the regulatory requisites,” the ministry stated.

    Scindia had on December 23 visited the headquarters of the ICCR here and met its president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.

    The ICCR, which works under the Ministry of External Affairs, had said on Twitter that various suggestions were made during the meeting “including promotion of Indian music in flights operated by the Indian air companies”.

    Eminent artists and musicians, including Malini Awasthi, Anu Malik, Kaushal S Inamdar, Shounak Abhisheki, Manjusha Patil K, Sanjeev Abhyankar, Rita Ganguly and Wasifuddin Dagar were also present during the meeting, it added.

  • Centre aims to make air travel affordable for common man: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

    By PTI

    INDORE: Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said the central government aimed to provide an affordable air travel facility, which even a person “wearing slippers” could avail.

    As part of the domestic civil aviation sector’s expansion in the past four years, new airports have been opened in many smaller cities and air services started on new routes, connecting these places with big cities, Scindia told reporters here in Madhya Pradesh.

    “We want to provide an affordable air travel facility to the common people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again said this facility should be such that even a person wearing ‘hawai chappal’ (slippers) can travel by air. We, in India, have the full potential to make it a reality,” the minister said.

    He said the government was making efforts towards expansion of the air services with a view to provide air travel facilities to more and more common people in the coming decade. Meanwhile, Scindia flagged off nine trucks carrying relief material, including ration and clothes, for people in Sheopur, one of the worst flood-affected districts in the state following heavy rains recently.

    The Indore Municipal Corporation arranged for this relief material, according to officials.

    Scindia, who was given charge of the civil aviation ministry after his induction into the Modi-led Union cabinet last month, started a three-day ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ from Tuesday in the Malwa and Nimar regions of western MP to reach out to people.

    His tour will end in Indore on Thursday.

  • Air India has no plans to phase out B747 aircraft: Civil aviation ministry

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Air India has no plans to phase out its B747 aircraft which have an average age of about 26 years, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said Wednesday.

    In July last year, British Airways had announced that it will phase out its entire fleet of 31 B747 aircraft due to downturn in travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “As on date, there are four B747-400 aircraft in Air India fleet and their average age is about 26 years,” Singh stated in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

    Currently, three of the four B747 aircraft are under maintenance checks, he mentioned.

    “At present, Air India has no plan to phase out the operation of Boeing 747 from the fleet,” he stated.

  • AAI spent Rs 17,784 cr in last 5 years to build, renovate airports, says govt

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has spent approximately Rs 17,784 crore during the last five years in renovating or building airports across the country, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Wednesday.

    In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Singh also said that the central government has accorded in-principle approval to two greenfield airports — Jewar in Uttar Pradesh and Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh — during the last three years.

    “During the last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21), an amount of approximately Rs 17,784 crore has been spent by the government/AAI in renovating/building airports,” he mentioned.

  • Empty planes flying from India to Saudi Arabia to bring back stranded Indians: Hardeep Singh Puri

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said empty planes are flying to Saudi Arabia to bring back Indian citizens stranded there, amid the gulf nation barring flights from India and various other nations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    In a series of tweets, Puri said that Indian citizens are travelling to and from 27 countries under air bubble arrangements.

    “Some countries, including Saudi Arabia, have placed entry restrictions on Indian citizens among others. However, VBM flights continue to bring back Indians from Saudi Arabia,” he said.

    International flights are operated under the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) to bring back stranded Indians in various countries.

    “Our planes are flying empty to Saudi Arabia & are bringing back our citizens stranded there. We will be able to carry Saudi Arabia bound passengers once the travel restrictions on Indians are eased by Saudi Arabia,” the minister said.

    Last month, Saudi Arabia suspended flights from various countries, including India, in the wake of a spurt in coronavirus cases.

    India suspended scheduled commercial international flight operations from March 23 last year in the wake of the pandemic.

    Last week, the suspension was extended till March 31.

    Overseas flights to and from India are allowed under VBM since May 2020 and bilateral air bubble agreements with certain countries since July last year.

  • Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh tweeted – Bilaspur residents will fly from Bilasa Airport soon

    This can be good news for the city as well as the zookeepers. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has given information to Guswar to start air from Bilasa Airport soon. Bilasa Airport is expected to start air services to Bhopal, Prayagraj and Jabalpur. It was Guswar who met Bilaspur Lok Sabha constituency MP Asar Sawan Civil Aviation Minister Puri and Airport Authority of India Chairman Anuj Aggarwal.

    The wait of the people who have been sharing air service for years now seems to be over. During the meeting in Delhi, Union Minister Puri told MP Saw that Bilasa airport has been upgraded by spending Rs 31 crore under the UDAN scheme of the Government of India. Within a month, a three-license has also been issued.

    He informed that there is a plan to start air service at Bhopal-Prayagraj-Jabalpur route. Hence, the demand of the people will be fulfilled soon. Later, after receiving good response from passengers, other airline companies will also be attracted, which will pave the way for direct flights to metros.

  • New COVID-19 strain: Centre allows limited resumption of flights to, from UK

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that the government is reviewing the situation and it has allowed limited resumption of civil aviation with the United Kingdom.

    “We took a decision on limited resumption of civil aviation traffic between India and the United Kingdom based on an assessment of available facts as available with our medical professionals. We decided that RT-PCR test which was done 72 hours ahead of travelling was not enough,” Puri told ANI.

    “So, we made it compulsory to test again on arrival. We will review the situation if any steps have to be taken. So far it is the limited resumption of civil aviation with the UK. The total number of flights to UK has been reduced from 60 a week to 30,” he added.

    “If the situation demands that we need to take more steps, we are constantly reviewing the situation,” the minister added.

    When asked to comment on the new strain of COVID-19 detected in the UK, Puri said: “Our medical professionals clearly stated that the vaccines which are coming will take care of the new strain. We are capable in terms of procedures and SOPs in place dealing with it. When the new evidence comes up, our professionals will look at it.”

    The Union Minister had earlier informed that resumption of flights between India and UK from January 6.

    “Resumption of flights between India and UK: India to UK from 6 Jan 2021. UK to India from 8 Jan 2021. 30 flights will operate every week. 15 each by Indian and UK carriers. This schedule is valid till 23 Jan 2021. Further frequency will be determined after review,” he tweeted.

    A total of 38 samples have been found to be positive with the new UK variant genome of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, confirmed the Union Health Ministry on Monday.