Tag Archives: Civil Aviation Minister

Jyotiraditya Sciindia, Civil Aviation Minister, said, “Civil aviation is expected to grow from 14.5 cr passengers to 45 cr passengers by 2030. There is a huge potential in the aviation sector to be explored both in terms of passenger traffic and infrastructure”.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday met with Jyotiraditya Scindia, Civil Aviation Minister, representatives from travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors to discuss various banking-related issues. Travel, tourism and hospitality sectors are among the worst hit due to the COVID pandemic. The industry leaders from these sectors have been pitching for financial support from the government.

Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic last year domestic air traffic reached its highest level on Sunday, said Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. A total of 3,27,923 passengers travelled on 2,372 flights within India on Sunday, he noted. Before the pandemic struck, India’s daily domestic air traffic was approximately 4.25 lakh passengers. The Centre had suspended all scheduled domestic flights from March 25, 2020, to May 25, 2020, as part of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Under the chairmanship of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has formed three advisory groups comprising airlines, airport operators and MRO, cargo carriers, FTOs and ground-handling companies. The groups will meet regularly to deliberate upon issues and resolve challenges that each of these sectors faces.

While taking stock of ongoing airport development projects during his Review Meeting with officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, cabinet minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that stress must be laid on the use of AirSewa for grievance redressal. He also added that new airport terminals must embody local art and culture so they become the face of the region they represent.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, in Parliament, said Air India’s only 21 routes, including nine domestic and twelve international, are profitable. Only these routes can cover the total cost of operating flights on 100 routes on which the airline operated between April 2019 and March 2020, he further added. Puri’s response indicated that Air India operates in 56 domestic and 44 international destinations and out of those 101 domestic and 10 international routes, it does not cover variable costs. “Air India continuously monitors market developments and the performance of its flights and conducts studies with the aim of withdrawing, introducing new routes or increasing / decreasing the frequency of existing routes. Air India has withdrawn flights that did not meet fixed / variable costs,” said Puri. He said that services on loss-making routes will be analyzed based on their strategic importance before deciding whether to withdraw or continue those routes.

SpiceJet, Alliance Air, and three other airlines have emerged winner in the first round of bidding and 43 airports in India are set to get flights under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, revealed Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Civil Aviation Minister, Govt. of India. Apart from SpiceJet and Alliance Air, the other three airlines awaiting license include Air Deccan, Air Odisha and Turbo Megha. Airports Authority of India (AAI), the implementing agency, will issue Letter of Awards for 27 proposals received under RCS-UDAN. A total of 13 unserved airports will get flights under the scheme, and the total viability gap funding that the government will provide will be around Rs. 200 crore. Raju also said that the total seats on these routes will be around 13 lakh and the scheme will be active in the next 4-6 months.

A new Air Services Agreement (ASA) has been signed between India and Fiji, replacing the previous ASA, which was signed between the two governments in 1974. The agreement was signed between Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Civil Aviation Minister, Government of India and Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum, Attorney General and Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of Fiji. This new ASA has been negotiated to meet the conditions that exist now and will exist in the foreseeable future. According to Khaiyum, the new ASA will spur economic growth and create opportunities for trade, investment and tourism. Under the ASA and to ensure ease of travel between the two countries, Fiji Airways has already signed a code-share agreement with Jet Airways of India to allow seamless travel between Fiji and a number of Indian cities. He said, “This new agreement is good for both countries. We want to thank India’s Hon. Minister for Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, and the entire Indian government for their good faith, goodwill and respectful posture throughout these negotiations. Although Fiji is economically and geographically much smaller than India, we were at the table as equals.” Fiji is now in the process of reviewing and updating its ASA with other countries, with the goal of increasing the scope and quality of economic activity and connectivity while at the same time protecting the Fijian aviation industry.

The much debated 5/20 rule has been replaced by 0/20 rule in the new civil aviation policy, which has been cleared today by the Cabinet. The new rule allows the airlines to fly foreign sector if it has 20 aircraft and without flying domestic sector for 5 years. The news brings a wave of cheer for start-up airlines. in fact, the new rule would also bring competition in the aviation market. The 0/20 rule is in line with what the Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathy Raju claimed. He had said that the new policy would offer a level playing field for every airline company.