Category Archives: Aviation

With the continuous rise in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices, flight tickets are expected to cost more. HS Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, says, “There has been a continuous rise in price of ATF, so it has been decided to increase the lower fare band by 5 per cent, keeping the upper fare band unchanged.” 

Reacting to a social media post by Air India on March 18, Pradip Lulla, Acting President, TAFI, said that the association has written to the national carrier, asking for clarification. The post said, ‘Passengers traveling on AI flights to Rome, Toronto and Vancouver from India may kindly note that booking for these flights will not be available through travel agencies based in India.’

In its bid to strengthen regional connectivity, IndiGo has announced Rajkot as its newest destination. The airline will operate direct flights from Rajkot to Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad as part of its summer 2021 schedule, w.e.f 28th March.  

Rating agency ICRA in a note said that the domestic airport sector is expected to incur a net loss of Rs 5,400 crore, and cash loss of Rs 3,500 crore in FY21, impacted by a 66% year-on-year slip in passenger traffic amid COVID-19 induced travel restrictions. It also said the domestic passenger traffic may drop by 61% in 2020-21.

Sharing plans for fleet numbers, Vinod Kannan, CCO, Vistara says, “We have not cancelled any deliveries. We are still taking aircraft. In fact, over the last couple of years, we’ve taken about seven or eight of them. Very importantly, we took deliveries of the 787s and the 321s. We have two, each of them, in our fleet right now. We remain committed to the order book of about 70-plus aircraft in the next couple of years.”

Bird Travels, the airline management service arm of Bird Group, has been appointed as the General Sales Agent in Mumbai for Maldivian – the national carrier of Republic of Maldives. The appointment is part of Maldivian’s expansion in India, which aims to strengthen the airline’s sales team and provide support to the Indian travel trade.

Nigerian airline Air Peace plans to start operations in India in 2021 and has appointed Minar Group as its General Sales Agent in India. Air Peace will be the first Nigerian carrier to connect India with Lagos and other West African countries. “We’re gearing up to take a strategic positioning and close partnership with Air Peace,” says HS Duggal, MD, Minar Group of Companies.

Qatar Airways is proud to become the first airline in the Middle East to begin trials of the innovative new IATA Travel Pass ‘Digital Passport’ mobile app, in partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Qatar Ministry of Public Health, Primary Health Care Corporation and Hamad Medical Corporation, starting 11 March 2021. Passengers on the award-winning airline’s Doha to Istanbul route will become the first group to experience the ‘Digital Passport’ app which aims to play an important role in the airline’s vision to have a more contactless, secure and seamless travel experience for its passengers. IATA Travel Pass ensures passengers receive up-to-date information on COVID-19 health regulations at their destination country, as well as complying with strict global data privacy regulations to enable the sharing of COVID-19 test results with airlines to verify they are eligible to undertake their journey. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency, Akbar Al Baker, said: “As the world’s leading airline for safety, innovation and customer experience, we are the industry’s firmest advocate for introducing digital solutions to help passengers safely and seamlessly navigate complex and ever-changing entry restrictions across the globe. “We have confidence in the credibility of the IATA Travel Pass as the industry’s most reliable and innovative solution given its strong data privacy compliance, long-standing entry rules engine and ability to provide an end-to-end solution. We are proud to be at the forefront of trialling this platform, being one of the first globally and the first airline in the Middle East to trial the technology. “With the strictest data privacy regulations, IATA Travel Pass is a huge step towards proving that ICAO’s global standards for digital passports do work. It …

Vandana Aggarwal, Sr. Economic Adviser, MoCA, has said that the industry needs to have regulations in place to ensure seamless working of the sector. She also deliberated on the growth blue print for the MRO & OEM industry, and mentioned that we need to have our own systems and be less dependent on other countries.

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has proposed 392 routes under UDAN 4.1 bidding process, and is focused on connecting smaller airports, along with special helicopter and seaplane routes. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA, says, “This round invites bids for priority routes which have not been covered under UDAN so far.”