Aerospace Diary

By Neelam Mathews  - January 3, 2019, 11:09 AM IndiGo pix As airlines in India suffer severe losses despite high passenger loads, relief has come by way of an extension of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) mandatory deadline for installing GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (Gagan) equipment on all India-registered aircraft from January 1, 2019, to June 2020. A dip in international aviation turbine fuel prices by 14.5 percent has also provided a reprieve. “While we welcome the respite, we hope the prices could be line with the $52 a barrel global price,” said Sanjay Kumar, chief commercial officer of budget carrier AirAsia India. Heavily taxed fuel comprises about 40 percent of total airline operating costs in India. The compulsory use of Indian satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) called Gagan has faced vociferous opposition from airlines for the past two years. Estimates place costs at about $200,000 for equipment and training per aircraft ...

Neelam Mathews March 2016 Asian Aviation

Neelam Mathews and Ben Vogel Dec 3 2015 US -based PrecisionHawk (PH) is building a low altitude tracking and avoidance system (LATAS) as a solution for safe air traffic management (ATM) of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). PH is developing LATAS in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NASA, and major industry partners Verizon, Harris, and DigitalGlobe. The aim is for LATAS to enable pilots of manned aircraft to pinpoint the location of unmanned aircraft in the airspace before they become a safety hazard. 1644271 Could LATAS assuage FAA concerns over RPAS safety? (PrecisionHawk) LATAS is being assessed in the FAA Pathfinder programme and the NASA-led UAS Traffic Management (UTM) project. PH is working with NASA and other partners to test a wide range of RPAS in real-world scenarios. As NASA continues to develop a workable UTM, LATAS will have the potential to serve as the hardware addition for each drone attached to that overarchin...

 by Neelam Mathews  - December 1, 2015, 10:00 AM Some Asian airlines have had their operations inhibited by restrictions imposed by U.S. and European authorities over concerns about alleged poor safety oversight by their national aviation authorities. [Photo: Neelam Mathews} As Asia Pacific airlines experience strong passenger growth, the region continues to face a host of diverse challenges, not least of which involves effective safety oversight. At the recent Association of Asia Pacific Airlines ( AAPA ) annual 59th Assembly of Presidents in Bali, delegates also called on governments to boost infrastructure investment, simplify passenger facilitation and moderate consumer rights legislation. But perhaps the foremost concern centered on what   AAPA   director general Andrew Herdman characterized as a heavy handed regulatory approach by world aviation bodies toward airlines whose countries’ aviation authorities do not meet international standards. A...

Neelam Mathews Nov 20, 2015 NEW DELHI: In 1998 India released a stamp to celebrate woman in aviation, an important recognition for this ofttimes invisible force. Today, there is a storm of motivation brewing to do more to educate, train and recognize women in aviation, as this journalist recently learned in the green environs of the Dusit Devarana Hotel on the outskirts of New Delhi. There, a group of women has launched the India chapter of Women in Aviation, International (WAI). CJ Collins, who serves as the FAA senior representative in New Delhi covering South Asia, is the brainchild behind WAI’s launch in India. “I was at a WAI event and what hit me was India’s neighbor UAE had a chapter. Why not here?” A couple of chance meetings with Radha Bhatia, chairperson at Indian travel and technology services provider Bird Group, “where we were two lone women” in an all-male crowd, led to their mutual resolve to launch WAI’s 147th Ch...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  May 5, 2015, 10:14 AM Even as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)  restored India’s safety oversight to Category 1  in March following a 14-month  downgrade to Cat-2  under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, Indian authorities will make presentations this month on their country’s safety status to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).   As India looks to expand its economic footprint with fiscal engagement in the Asian region, air connectivity gains added importance, making it imperative to ensure and project a satisfactory air safety record. “Every country is concerned about safety and it cannot be compromised,” Indian minister of civil aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju told  AIN . “ICAO sets the standards and we were downgraded by the FAA…Now we’re back with many issues ...

Category 1 status will benefit Air India and Jet Airways--the two Indian carriers that fly to the US. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) Neelam Mathews April 8, 2015 The  U.S.  Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) has restored India’s aviation safety ranking to Category 1 under its International Aviation Safety Assessment ( IASA ) program.  U.S.  Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx made the announcement on Wednesday during a meeting with India’s Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju. After 14 months of enduring  Category 2 restrictions , India now complies with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ). Foxx commended the government of India “for taking corrective action to address the safety oversight issues identified during the  IASA  process.” The major hurdle faced by Indian regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) centered on hiring additional flight-safety ...

by Neelam Mathews  - February 17, 2015, 2:54 PM The Indian government is hopeful that the  U.S.  Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) will soon upgrade the country’s rating under the International Aviation Safety Assessment ( IASA ) program from Category 2 to Category 1. The rating was downgraded in  January 2014  on the basis of deficiencies in the capability of the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) to regulate safety standards in the country’s air transport industry. An  FAA  inspection team is due to visit India during the first week of March to assess the degree to which the DGCA  has improved its safety oversight. “We are confident that the downgrade will be revoked and that a decision will be made by around April or May,” Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation joint secretary G. Asok Kumar told AIN  at a conference held in Bangalore on the eve of this week’s AeroIndia show. According to a  DGCA ...

by    NEELAM MATHEWS October 23, 2014, 2:30 PM Indian lawmakers are considering a proposal by the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) that would revoke the commercial licenses of nonscheduled operator permit ( NSOP ) holders with fewer than three aircraft available for charter. Affected  NSOP s that do not augment their fleet to at least three aircraft within one year will have to operate in the private category, depriving them of permission to offer charters. India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) sees the proposal as “a kneejerk reaction” to the  DGCA ’s shortage of flight observation inspectors ( FOI s) and its difficulties in recruiting more of them. The process of registering private aircraft owners as  NSOP s requires the services of an  FOI . This scarcity of  FOI s is also hindering India’s compliance with an  FAA requirement that would help restore the country’s safety r...

AINALERTS  »  APRIL 10, 2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS April 10, 2014, 2:55 PM India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) accused the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) of trying to undermine the industry’s reputation by leaking observations made about nonscheduled operators during routine safety checks. According to the industry group, government officials have disclosed the findings of the checks to divert blame from the  DGCA  in the wake of the January 2014 downgrading of India’s safety rating by the  U.S.   FAA . “Most of the cases brought to light have been minor and level-two observations, which do not even prescribe the grounding of aircraft or penalties,”  BAOA  secretary  R.K.  Bali told  AIN . “This is causing damage to the business aviation industry as it tries to limp back to a saner business environment.” In a letter sent by the  BAOA ...

Neelam Mathews April 2, 2014 India's DGCA's feeble attempt to prove to FAA how serious it is on its filling gaps on its inadequate regulatory oversight on safety can be seen in its release of information to the media,  which, many consider inappropriate. Take the checks on the Challenger 605 in Delhi recently, for instance. This was a regular check and should have been the practice ever since Indian business aviation took off. However, to have overblown it in such a way, is a mistake on DGCAs part. Very clearly, it is causing damage to the business aviation industry as it tries to limp back to a saner business environment. At first glance, this story might look one-sided. Nevertheless, AerospaceDiary is known to give the dog its due. We in the industry know of the levels of safety recognized by regulators in which level one observations are serious as they impinge on safety. Level 2 can be mitigated as in the case of the Challenger,  and such oversights are not m...

Neelam Mathews March 26, 2014 Pix Credit-Deccan Chronicle As India enters the final phase of elections carried out in phases over five weeks starting April 7, regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued strict guidelines to helicopter and small fixed wing operators and warns non-compliance could lead to suspension of licenses and Air Operators Permits. The circular comes in the background of DGCA reeling under a cloud of FAA having downgraded India's aviation safety rating in January. DGCA acknowledges: “An analysis of earlier accidents and incidents…….has revealed laid-down instructions were violated time and again and safety was jeopardized.” A shortfall in supply with over 31 helicopters sold in the past year and a half, and politicians wanting to campaign at 4-5 remote villages in a day, have created logistics and safety problems. “Most landings in remote areas are dusty. Hovering blades create a dust storm and ground handlers need to spray wate...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS A KPMG report suggest India needs more service to secondary markets, such as that SpiceJet now provides with its Bombardier Q400s. (Photo: Bombardier) March 18, 2014, 10:33 AM India’s next government needs to press ahead with the development of domestic air routes, according a new report published by consultants  KPMG  last week. India’s Five-Year Plan for the period from 2012 to 2017 included a policy to improve flight connections between second- and third-tier cities, but progress all but stalled due to the political inertia that has gripped government ahead of elections to be held in April and May. At the same time,  the recent downgrading of the country’s aviation authorities to Category 2 by the  U.S.   FAA  has compromised India’s ability to develop further international air service. According to the  KPMG  report, “Enhancing Air Connectivity,” high fixed co...