Category Archives: Aviation

DGCA raps Air India for not reporting another in-flight incident

According to a report in The Hindu, Air India chief executive officer Campbell Wilson met DGCA Director-General Arun Kumar after the civil aviation regulator issued a show-cause notice to the airline for its failure to respond to a mid-flight safety incident when a passenger urinated on a woman co-traveller on November 26.

The airline also received another rap for two other incidents on a flight 10 days later which were not reported to the regulator and involved another passenger relieving himself on an unoccupied seat.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a second show-cause notice to Air India over a span of five days. The latest reprimand is over two events on December 6 on an Air India flight from Paris to New Delhi during which a passenger was caught smoking in the lavatory. The passenger was also in an inebriated condition and refused to listen to the crew’s instructions. On the same flight, another passenger allegedly relieved himself on a seat which was vacant because its woman occupant had briefly gone to the toilet.

Noting that the airline had failed to report the incident until January 5, the DGCA said “the response of the airline has been lackadaisical and delayed”.

“DGCA has issued show-cause notice to Accountable Manager of M/s Air India as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations,” the regulator said in a statement about the airline’s failure to comply with rules laid down by it for dealing with unruly passengers, which includes the requirement of reporting the incident to the DGCA within 12 hours after an aircraft lands. The airline has been given two weeks to respond.

The DGCA also asked the airline to constitute an internal complaints committee to inquire into the two incidents of December 6 which can lead to a lifetime ban. It also said that until the committee arrives at a decision the airline should also consider banning such passengers for up to 30 days.

The DGCA had last week issued a similar notice for a “systemic failure” in failing to respond to a situation where Shankar Mishra urinated over a woman traveller in an inebriated state because the airline failed to hand him over to the CISF, or report it to the regulator and the police.

Star Air signs lease for 2 more Embraer E175 jets to boost network

Star Air, the aviation vertical of Sanjay Ghodawat Group, has signed a lease for two more Embraer E175 passenger jets with Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC), the largest Regional Aircraft Lessor in the world.

These two aircraft are in addition to the two Embraer E175 jet orders signed at the Farnborough International Airshow, UK in August 2022. The first of these four aircraft orders is due to arrive this month.

Focusing on establishing a fleet of Embraer aircraft to improve regional connectivity, the E175 is powered by GE CF34-8E engines which continue to set the standard in terms of reliability and performance in the regional jet segment having surpassed 200 million hrs in operations, has no middle seats, and provides best-in-class legroom in a dual-class cabin configuration. With a flying range of 2,200 nautical miles, Star Air is set to fly longer, faster, and smoother. Currently flying over 18 destinations across India, the airline is geared to expand its regional presence.

Commenting on the fleet expansion, Shrenik Ghodawat, Director – Star Air said, “As we witness the increase of passengers, Star Air is delighted to announce the expansion of our fleet. The addition of these aircraft will not only address the need for more capacity but also help us with Connecting Real India. The E175 aircraft will not only help us achieve greater productivity and higher utilization but will also strengthen our customer experience.”

Currently, the airline operates scheduled flights using its 5 Embraer E145 to connect 18 Indian destinations that include Ahmedabad, Ajmer (Kishangarh), Bengaluru, Belagavi, Delhi (Hindon), Hubballi, Indore, Jodhpur, Kalaburagi, Mumbai, Surat, Tirupati, Jamnagar, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bhuj, Bidar, and Kolhapur. For more information, please visit www.starair.in. You can also connect with us @OfficialStarAir on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

Rajya Sabha MP seeks resumption of flights to Punjab under UDAN

Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora has written a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia seeking the resumption of flights from Ludhiana in Punjab under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, in the same way as other airports in the state are operational under UDAN.

‘Let the common citizen of the country fly’ was launched by the Government of India with the aim of Ude-Desh-Ka-Aam-Nagrik (UDAN), but some airports and UDAN operations in Punjab have not been reopened even after COVID,” as per the lawmaker.

Arora requested in his letter, “resumption of flights to Ludhiana from Sahnewal airport till the time Halwara Airport is operational. There was a flight under UDAN to Ludhiana which was stopped in Covid times and never started again”.

While starting flights under UDAN to Ludhiana, the government assured that flights from small towns would connect big cities and businesses would benefit and grow.

“I would like to apprise you that Ludhiana being one of biggest industrial cities not just in Punjab but also in the country and with over 5 million population it is imperative to resume flights to Ludhiana immediately,” Arora’s letter read.

“I would request you to kindly direct the concerned officials to recapitulate Alliance Air for resumption of flights to Ludhiana at the earliest under UDAN,” the AAP MP’s letter read.

 

IndiGo commences operations from the New Goa International Airport

IndiGo has announced the commencement of operations from the new Goa International Airport (Mopa, North Goa). The operations commenced with direct flight between Hyderabad and Goa making it the 76th domestic and 102nd overall destination in 6E network.

IndiGo will operate 168 weekly flights between Mopa and 8 domestic destinations like Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad right from the start at the first day of operations. The new network will cater to the increasing demand owing to the popularity of Goa as a preferred leisure travel destination and will provide more options to the customers, making travel more affordable and enhancing direct connectivity to North Goa. The present Goa Dabolim Airport, South Goa will remain active, and IndiGo continues its existing operations there.

Speaking on the occasion, Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo said, “We are excited and proud with this largest ever, new station opening for us at New North Goa International Airport in Mopa. It’s momentous for us at IndiGo to have such a massive opening and it speaks to our ambition and endeavor to provide connectivity, ease of accessibility and ever more options for our customers to one of the most visited tourist destinations of the country. We continue to stay true to our promise of affordable fares, on-time performance, courteous and hassle-free service, connecting people with places they love.”

It is important to mention here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Goa’s second international airport at Mopa in North Goa on December 11, 2022. The bustling location of the airport will provide travellers an ease of access to nearby tourist attractions like Chapora Fort, Vagator Beach, Anjuna Beach, Fort Aguada, Baga Beach, Candolim Beach, Calangute Beach, Sinquerim Beach, Reis Magos Fort, Basilica of Bom Jesus, The Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception and more. Since it is located near Maharashtra and Karnataka, travel enthusiasts can also visit places which are located nearby such as Amboli, Gokarna, Dudhsagar Falls, Tarkali, Jog Waterfalls, Dandeli, Kudremukh, Devbagh, Panchgani, Murudeshwara, Malvan, Ganpatipule and Kolhapur.

Vietjet adds the new A321neo aircraft to its fleet

VietJet has added the new A321neo aircraft to its modern fleet. With a passenger capacity of 240, the new aircraft is among the most technologically advanced Airbus models. The enhancements made by Airbus have increased carrying capacity while also increasing the efficacy of environmental protection initiatives.

With this addition VietJet to now has 78 planes in its fleet. This addition is a positive step of VietJet’s mission to expanding and increase flight operations for both leisure and business travel.

Vietjet operates around 400 flights daily, carrying more than 80 million passengers to date, with 113 routes covering destinations across Vietnam and international destinations such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, mainland China, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Collinson’s Priority PassTM Access India Partners with RazorpayX to Provide Premium Lounge and Airport Experiences to Corporate Travellers in India

Priority PassTM Access India, a recently launched domestic airport lounge experiences programme owned and operated by Collinson, announces a new partnership with Indian digital payments and banking solution provider, Razorpay.

This partnership will enable eligible RazorpayX cardholders to enjoy access to over 50 premium lounges and airport experiences across all major cities in India by easily tapping or swiping their RazorpayX Corporate Card on entry. Eligible cardholders will be entitled to two complimentary visits per quarter and a maximum of eight visits annually to Priority Pass’ extensive lounge network in India.

The India market is already rapidly approaching full recovery in the international segment. At over 1.3 million scheduled international seats, it is only approximately 11% below its 2019 figure. The total air passenger traffic is also expected to increase from 341 million (during 2019-2020) to 827 million by 2033, according to the Airports Authority of India.

According to the release, the announcement of this partnership is ideally timed to better support RazorpayX’s travelling cardholders. A recent Collison study that surveyed over 5,400 frequent travellers across seven Asia Pacific markets (1,063 of which were India-based respondents) revealed that 49% of Indian travellers ‘feel safer at the airport’ when they are able to access a lounge. The same study also revealed lounge access to be the number one most desirable travel benefit at the airport, leading to 87% of Indian travellers expecting airport lounge access as a premium card benefit; 55% revealing they feel ‘rewarded’; while a further 52% ‘feel valued as a customer’ when they are provided with lounge access.

Commenting on this, Sumit Prakash, Country Director, India and South Asia at Collinson, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with Razorpay, a locally grown brand that has made its mark as one of India’s largest Fintech giants. Known to be innovative in its solutions and pushing the boundaries to deliver the best for their clients, we are excited to help Razorpay enhance their customers’ travel experience. India is an extremely exciting market that is leading the way in respect to travel recovery. Eligible RazorpayX’s cardholders now have access to a wide network of premium airport lounges and experiences through Priority PassTM Access India, and we can’t wait to welcome them.”