Category Archives: Aviation

UK-based start-up airline Hans Airways has revealed the initial board line-up to spearhead its drive to gaining its Air Operator Certificate from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) later this year. The carrier plans to begin direct non-stop flights from the UK to India in Autumn 2021. The airline will soon make announcements about the structure of the senior management team.

Ajay Singh, Chairman & MD, SpiceJet said that SpiceJet has decided to raise funds of up to Rs 2,500 crore. “To ensure our long term growth and sustainable operation we have decided to raise funds, these funds will be used to significantly strengthen our balance sheet,” he said. The airline has reported a net loss of Rs 998.3 Crore in FY2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a major blow to the aviation industry, severely impacting passenger volumes, as well as revenues. Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport), which managed a record 32.3 million passengers in FY2019-20, witnessed an unprecedented 66% decline in traffic during FY2020-21. During this period, BLR Airport welcomed only 10.91 million passengers since domestic air travel resumed in India on May 25, 2020, following a two-month suspension. 10.45 million passengers flew domestic routes, recording a 63% drop, as compared to 27 million in FY2019-20. International routes witnessed 4 million passengers in 2019-20 – the passenger footfall, however, declined substantially to 0.46m in FY2020-21, a decline of 90%. This is mainly attributed to the continued suspension of international flights and COVID-19 restrictions across the globe. After showing signs of recovery during the middle of the fiscal year, the traffic dropped significantly due to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in India, beginning February 2021. The reduced slots for airlines at airports driven by DGCA guidelines, too, added to the lowered numbers. ATMs dropped by 50% to113,993 from 231,051 in 2019-20. While domestic movements reduced by 49% at 102,801, international traffic saw 11,192 movements, lower by 61% in the last 311 days of operations. However, the subdued environment due to the pandemic had a marginal impact on cargo operations. The cargo processed during FY2020-21 was 326,643 Metric Tonnes (MT), 12.70% short of last fiscal’s 374,181 MT. BLR Airport was the only major Airport in the Country to reach 100% of the previous year’s tonnage on a year-on-year basis from September 2020 through January 2021. In March, it regained momentum, recording 34,401 MT – the highest in the …

CAPA Advisory (India) says that while reforms are just a start, they are required to instil confidence. It has recommended some reforms to fix the core of the aviation sector, including implementing a refund protection scheme for consumers and extending the airport tariff control period in the AERA Act from five years to eight years, among others.

The Resolution Plan submitted by the Jalan Kalrock Consortium for the corporate insolvency resolution of Jet Airways (India) Ltd was approved earlier today by the Hon’ble National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench. The Consortium awaits the written order by the National Company Law Tribunal approving the Resolution Plan and shall inform all stakeholders on next steps for the revival of Jet Airways. NCLT asks the DGCA, Aviation Ministry to decide on slots within 90 days. A two-member bench of the NCLT pronounced its final ruling on the Kalrock Capital and Murari Lal Jalan consortium resolution plan for Jet Airways on June 22. Jalan had claimed that the consortium intends to get Jet back in the skies within four to six months of getting the approval. NCLT says the airline will have no historic right over landing slots.

The government of Malaysia has issued new guidelines for passengers travelling to Kuala Lumpur from India, including a COVID-19 swab test, the cost of which will be borne by the passenger, as well as 21 days of quarantine in a hotel. Passengers are also required to submit an RT-PCR negative report within 72 hours prior to departure.

The Airports Authority of India has achieved another milestone in getting its staff across the country, as well as their dependants, fully vaccinated. As part of this massive initiative, the Authority claims that all the staff at the Jammu airport is now vaccinated. Since the launch of the initiative, Airports Authority of India has conducted the mass inoculation drive across several airports under its aegis.

Vistara in its industry-leading efforts to ensure the highest standards of safety on board, today operated India’s first flight with pilots and cabin crew fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The special flight UK963 on 16 June 2021 departed Delhi at 0850 Hours and arrived in Mumbai at 1110 Hours, operated by the crew that have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The crew will also be operating the return flight, UK 960, which is scheduled to depart from Mumbai at 1155 Hours and expected to reach Delhi at 1405 Hours today. Vistara plans to operate more such flights in the coming days as their number of fully vaccinated staff increases. Vinod Kannan, Chief Commercial Officer, Vistara, said, “Vaccination is the best known defence against the pandemic that is helping the world get back to normalcy, subsequently aiding the recovery of the aviation industry. We have been consistently getting our staff vaccinated in our endeavour to ensure safety for them, their families and our customers whom they serve. This special flight operated by our fully vaccinated cabin crew and pilots is a sign of our continued commitment towards making ‘flying feel safe again.” The airline recently announced that it had got nearly 100% of its eligible employees vaccinated with at least their first doses. This included Vistara’s airport and corporate staff, cabin crew and pilots. Vistara continues to ramp up its efforts to ensure all eligible employees receive their second doses as well in time and are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at the earliest.

Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways & Ministry of Civil Aviation have signed an MoU for the development of seaplane services in India. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the MoU between the two ministries will help in expediting the development of new water aerodromes and also operationalisation of new seaplane routes. “It gives a big fillip to the provision of a new kind of tourism,” he said.

Air travellers from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will no longer have to carry a negative RT-PCR test report when they land at the Delhi airport. Airlines have informed their passengers that no mandatory RT-PCR negative test report is required for passengers from these 3 states.