Category Archives: Aviation

Vumlunmang Vualnam, Secretary of Civil Aviation, Government of India said, “While we have 157 airstrips already, which are functional, which we are proud of, we have already started looking at the 453 full list of airstrips that exist in our country. We are considering to develop these as brownfield projects. We also look at the defense airfields to expand joint user concept.”

Kapil Kaul, CEO & Director, CAPA India, addressing the CAPA India Aviation Summit said, “India’s airline fleet is set to double by FY2030. It took the Indian industry around 90 years from the time of the first commercial flight to reach a fleet size of 700 aircraft. But the rate of growth is so strong that carriers could add a further 600-700 aircraft in just the next 5-7 years.”

Airlines must stay vigilant about governments “going rogue” on globally agreed aviation standards, as the Dutch government did when it moved to cut Amsterdam Schiphol Airport’s capacity without consultation, Willie Walsh, Director General IATA, said. Such actions had the potential to create a retaliatory mess, he warned.

Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD of Air India, has said that the airline’s focus is now on integration, growth optimisation and consumer experience onboard. “The operational processes related to the merger with Vistara to complete towards end of this calendar year,” he said, adding that India has huge 3rd and 4th freedom traffic and the airlines aims to take significant portion of this traffic.

Air India Express expands its network in the National Capital Region (NCR), bringing more convenience to flyers in NCR and North India, by operating 28 weekly direct flights connecting Hindon with Bengaluru, Goa, and Kolkata, with fares starting from ₹5,134. Flight operations will commence on 1st August 2024. Besides operating over 280 flights a week from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in New Delhi, AIX will be operating from Hindon Airport, ensuring enhanced connectivity to/from other cities in Western UP, Uttarakhand and Haryana. Hindon’s strategic location within the National Capital Region (NCR) ensures seamless access for travellers based out of Central and Eastern Delhi, Noida, Alipur, Agra, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Dadri, Dasna, Dehradun, Faridnagar, Hapur, Haridwar, Khekra, Loni, Meerut, Modinagar, Muradnagar, Noida, Nangloi Jat,  Pilkhuwa, Panipat, Rishikesh, Saharanpur, and Sonipat. Speaking about the announcement, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express, said, “Our network expansion is focussed on enhancing connectivity across the rapidly growing domestic and short-haul international market, particularly the new and underserved routes. The maturity and size of major metropolitan areas in India can support secondary airports, spreading the benefits of air connectivity and further stimulating growth. We believe the launch of our flights from Hindon is a pioneering effort towards this direction. It will benefit travellers from an extended catchment area, even beyond Delhi NCR, including Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal and Haryana. The new services will complement our operations from the primary airport serving Delhi NCR, providing convenient options.”

Kapil Kaul, CEO & Director, CAPA India, addressing the CAPA India Aviation Summit said, “The industry’s average fare in FY2024 was almost the same as in FY2023. IndiGo’s average airfare in FY2024 was just 1.3% higher than FY2023 but 36% higher compared to FY2020.”

Amitabh Khosla, Country Director-India, IATA said that India’s air traffic had already surpassed 2019 levels, both for domestic and international flights, in 2023 itself.  “So certainly, we are witnessing rapid growth, as demonstrated in the unveiling video of the 2025 AGM. There is a significance amount of activity and technology driving aviation growth in India, ” he added.

Adnan Kazim, CCO, Emirates, said, “There is a great opportunity for IndiGo and other carriers to tap the ultra-long-haul market. Today, India is sitting on 70-80 million traffic that is going on international routes. It is not enough with a population size of 1.4 billion. I think there is enough room for all of them, including us, to be expanding.”

IndiGo will host the 81st IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Delhi, India, on 8-10 June, 2025. Expressing his views on the IATA AGM’s return to India, Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo, said, “IndiGo is proud to be the host airline for the event and looks forward to welcoming the global aviation community to Delhi in 2025. India’s rise in the global aviation landscape over the last years has been nothing short of remarkable.”

Vistara, India’s finest full-service carrier and a joint venture of the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, has elevated its inflight dining experience by adding popular regional flavours to its onboard menu. The additions celebrate India’s diverse culinary heritage, offering an exquisite gourmet dining experience to customers onboard Vistara flights. From the royal kitchens of Awadh to the bustling streets of Mumbai, Vistara has included a repertoire of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes in its menu, that capture the essence of culinary experiences from across the country. Customers departing from Delhi and Mumbai to international routes can now savor epicurean treats like laal maas, anjeer kofta and apple badam kheer. Also, on domestic routes from Mumbai, the airline offers the option of signature dishes from the regions of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa including chicken koliwada, pav bhaji, methi thepla with sev tamatri, Parsi cutlet or the aromatic Goan fish curry. On flights from Kolkata, a delectable spread of Bengali specialties is offered, which includes Gondhoraj chicken tikka, narkel diye cholar dal, mochar chop and the authentic Kolkata chicken biryani. Furthermore, customers travelling from Chennai and Bangalore can treat themselves to delicious South Indian fare with options such as, chicken Chettinad pie, Hyderabadi chicken biryani, paneer nilgiri korma and meen moilee, among others. Additionally, Vistara has enhanced the in-flight meals for its business class customers on long-haul flights. The first course of lunch and dinner services will now include a choice of appetizers (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian) and soup with garlic bread. Customers can also enjoy a curated selection of cheeses as part of post-meal service in addition to sumptuous desserts and fruits. Furthermore, Vistara has revamped its amenity kits onboard for customers flying …