Category Archives: Aviation

Air Austral has officially received the first of the three A220-300s it ordered from Airbus in October 2019. The A220-300 acquisition process was successfully finalised on 27th July 2021. The second and third aircraft will be delivered shortly. Air Austral is continuing with its progressive strategy and is now the first French airline to have added this type of latest-generation aircraft to its fleet. The three new aircraft will streamline and modernise Air Austral’s medium-haul fleet by replacing two Boeing 737-800NGs and the ATR 72-500. “The arrival of this new aircraft is a significant moment for Air Austral, even more so in the current health crisis which we have been enduring for more than a year now. I would like to thank and congratulate the teams and partners who made this important and strategic acquisition possible for Air Austral, and for its future. This is an essential and responsible investment for us: the Airbus A220-300 will open up new horizons for us. It is the aircraft we needed to reinforce our pioneering position in the Indian Ocean and offer long-term profitability. The A220-300’s level of comfort and performance means that we have been able to make a major leap in operational and environmental efficiency. Our regional service is going from strength to strength. We look forward to sharing this new travel experience with our customers and will do so once the health situation improves. We are, more than ever before, ready for business recovery.” Marie-Joseph Malé, Air Austral CEO “We extend a warm welcome to Air Austral, who has just joined the ever-growing community of A220 customers and operators. With the efficient A220, Air Austral will be able to extend …

FM Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that will include the government’s four-year plan to monetise its brownfield infrastructure assets. For this project, the Centre has finalised Rs 6 lakh crore worth infrastructure assets that will be monetised. The list includes a range of assets. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, has said, “15 railway stadiums, 25 airports and the stake of central government in existing airports will be up for monetisation.”

SriLankan Airlines, in a bid to promote greater travel opportunities from India to Sri Lanka, has announced adding more destinations and frequencies. It currently operates four flights a week from Chennai, three flights a week from Mumbai, and once a week from Bengaluru to its hub in Colombo. It will be introducing a host of frequency enhancements out of key Indian cities effective September 1, 2021. SriLankan Airlines wishes to inform the travel trade partners across India that from September, the airline will resume services between Colombo and the Indian points: Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum and Cochin with flights once a week, whilst Hyderabad and New Delhi will be connected to Colombo with twice-weekly flights. Further, the airlines’ operations out of Chennai and Mumbai will expand up to five times a week whilst its Bengaluru-Colombo services will be enhanced to flights three times a week.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Nasir Kamal, IPS (UP:86) to the post of Director General in Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for a tenure up to his superannuation on 31 .07.2022, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.  BCAS is the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India. Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation is responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of the National Civil Aviation Security Programme(NCASP).

According to Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials, Flybig on Thursday started direct flight services from Guwahati’s Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport to Tezu in eastern Arunachal Pradesh’s Lohit district. With private airline Flybig launching its operations on the new route connecting Assam’s Guwahati with Arunachal Pradesh’s Tezu on Thursday, air connectivity expanded further in the hilly northeastern region.

Germany plans to sell up to a quarter of its 20% stake in Lufthansa over the coming weeks, the German finance agency said on Monday, citing positive developments at the bailed-out airline. Lufthansa shares fell as much as 4.9% to 8.81 euros in early trade after the announcement. The state’s 20% stake was acquired for 300 million euros ($353.67 million) as part of a bailout for the German carrier as the company and the entire aviation sector took a battering from the coronavirus crisis.

SpiceJet on  Thursday said it will begin trial of IATA (International Air Transport Association) Travel Pass mobile app for digital health verification. The trial will be conducted on flights out of Mumbai to Male effective August 23, 2021, as a step towards building passenger confidence as international travel picks up. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “SpiceJet is proud to collaborate with IATA to trial IATA’s Travel Pass initiative. Passenger safety and comfort has always been our top priority and the introduction of the Travel Pass will make the verification process absolutely simple and hassle-free, boost both passenger and government confidence and make international travel more efficient and secure.” “I am happy that IATA has confirmed SpiceHealth labs for the Travel Pass trial enabling it to securely share certified test and vaccination certificates with passengers that will be recognized by governments abroad.” “Adding SpiceJet to the growing list of airlines trialling IATA Travel Pass is another step towards demonstrating to governments how digital solutions can effectively manage both COVID-19 vaccine and test certificates for travel. IATA Travel Pass will simplify and enhance compliance with health requirements for SpiceJet’s passengers, facilitating a more seamless experience,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety,and Security. The IATA Travel Pass is a mobile application that helps travellers to store and manage their verified certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccinations. The Travel Pass will manage and verify the traveller’s COVID-19 status in line with governments’ health and border requirements. In another significant development, SpiceHealth has been on-boarded by IATA as a lab partner for the Travel Pass trial. SpiceHealth is a healthcare company founded by the promoters of SpiceJet. SpiceHealth has …

In a Twitter post, Air India has informed that the passengers travelling to the UAE from India are requested to report at the airport at least 6 hours prior to the departure. As per the entry requirement of the UAE, a rapid PCR test will be conducted for every passenger at the respective Indian departure airport. The test counters will start 4 hours before the departure time and would close 2 hours prior to departure.

The ministry of civil aviation issued an order allowing domestic airlines to increase flight capacity to 72.5% from 65% with immediate effect. This was done after review of the current status of Scheduled Domestic Operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel in terms of purpose specified in the initial order. This will remain in place until further orders. In July, MoCA hiked the capacity of domestic flights to 65% from the earlier 50%.

Jyotiraditya Scindia has written to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways, to start a Delhi-Agra-Gwalior train service under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to start 75 Vande Mataram trains within a year to commemorate 75th year of Indian Independence. Scindia shared this in a tweet and shared the letter he has written to Vaishnaw.