Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews , Delhi February 4, 2019 Indian efforts to grow its aviation infrastructure have been boosted by the 2016 National Civil Aviation Policy but challenges persist, Airports Council International (ACI) World Director General Angela Gittens told   Jane’s in an exclusive interview. Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Aviation Summit in Mumbai, Gittens urged Indian airports to focus on “accommodating growth and securing sustainable and good customer service”.,,,Read more JAR 1735867 Angela Gittens, ACI World Director General, spoke to Jane’s in January during the Global Aviation Summit in Mumbai. ( Neelam Mathews ) ...more in JAR Follow us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter   Follow us on LinkedIn   Follow us on YouTube  

by  Neelam Mathews  -  October 18, 2018, 11:30 AM India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) awaits a visit by a Federal Aviation Administration team from the U.S. on October 31 and November 1 to review compliance of safety oversight following an audit carried out a few months ago. If the Indian regulator hasn’t addressed major oversights, it risks a downgrade to Category 2 status, similar to that issued in 2014. Such an outcome would result in a grim deceleration in growth plans of domestic carriers with ambitions to fly to the West. Recent incidents include an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 flying for four hours in a severely damaged state after clipping a perimeter wall and instrument landing system antennas at the airport in Tiruchirapalli on takeoff. Others include a case of a technician getting sucked into an engine, near midair collisions, and many bird strikes. Release of investigation reports generally takes at least a year....

by  Neelam Mathews  -  August 28, 2018, 10:09 AM The first biofuel technology demonstration flight ever performed in South Asia on August 27 served as a reminder of how the fast the increasing price of turbine fuel has come to hurt yields among several Indian airlines. At the event, Indian Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said such awareness will soon lead to a policy on biofuels derived from non-edible oils for powering jet, marine and road engines.  The fuel for the 55-minute flight in a SpiceJet Bombardier Q400, performed under its “Green Miles” initiative, consisted of a blend of 75 percent aviation turbine fuel and 25 percent biofuel derived from Jatropha seeds and produced by the Indian Institute of Petroleum. Gadkari said the biofuel policy will call for a 12-year program involving identification of areas for farming, incentivizing farmers to grow the crop on a continuous basis, setting up the industry, and transfer of technolo...

Publication Jane's Airport Review Neelam Mathews , Delhi Date posted 27-Apr-2018 There are signs of progress on development of the long-awaited second airport for Delhi, after the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) approved – in principle – the construction of a USD1 billion greenfield airport at Jewar, in the National Capital Region. Prabhat Kumar, chairman of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (the nodal agency implementing the project), described this as an “important milestone”. Proposals for a second Delhi airport have encountered a series of regulatory impediments since the early 2000s, but MoCA was swayed by a techno-economical feasibility report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and  Singapore -based.......Read more in JAR

by  Neelam Mathews  -  March 29, 2018, 9:08 AM Budget airline SpiceJet wants India to extend its Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) to international destinations, the airline’s managing director, Ajay Singh, told  AIN  during the Wings airshow held in Hyderabad recently. In an effort to lower the cost of air travel, Indian authorities action and award routes identified under the RCS to airlines asking for the least amount of subsidy and willing to submit to ticket price ceilings. Also called "Udan," the RCS—introduced last year—aims to develop remote regional airports. “We are looking at a version of Udan,” said Singh, referring in particular to the untapped potential of eight hilly states of the Northeast Region (NER), many sharing a common border with China and Southeast Asia. A purchase agreement  signed  last year for 25 specially configured Bombardier Q400s will make SpiceJet the first airline in the world to operate a 90-seat ...

Neelam Mathews Janes Airports  Aug 30, 2017 s Indian domestic traffic surges, overtaking projected air traffic and resulting in constraints from congestion in the air and on the ground, airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is seeking to add capacity at Indira Gandhi International airport with a revised masterplan. Low-cost carrier (LCC) growth, changes in airline fleet mixes, and increases in transit traffic and belly hold cargo are primarily responsible for the incremental change since 2006, when Delhi processed 10.4 million passengers, said I Prabhakara Rao, CEO of DIAL. "Keeping in....Read more in Janes 

RH - Rotorhub 29th August 2017 - 03:08 GMT |  by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi There is reassuring news for India’s fledgling helicopter industry with the Ministry of Civil Aviation .........

Rotorhub 11th August 2017 - 12:07 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi  Government disinvestment of India’s only state-owned helicopter company Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) is moving to fruition with transaction and legal advisors and asset valuers chosen, Junior Minister for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha confirmed in parliament on 10 August.  Reports are to be submitted in ....More on Shephardmedia

by  Neelam Mathews  -  August 3, 2017, 1:40 PM Budget carrier SpiceJet is using some of its Q400s for India's Regional Connectivity Scheme. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) Boeing’s 20-year market outlook for India, released on July 31, reflects the manufacturer’s optimism that the Indian economy will remain strong and grow from the world’s seventh to third largest by 2037. But that outlook may underestimate the need for smaller regional jets identified during a conference the following day in India’s northeast region. Based on the expected economic underpinning, Boeing forecast a demand for 2,100 new airplanes valued at $290 billion over the next two decades, increasing from the 1,850 new airplanes it predicted last year. “This is the highest-ever forecast we have presented for India,” Dinesh Keskar, Boeing senior vice president of sales for Asia-Pacific and India, said during a briefing in Delhi. The bullish Boeing forecast, however, calls for only 10 new delive...

Neelam Mathews June 8 2017 AIN Having gained a majority in parliament, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun seriously considering the restructuring and/or privatization of national carrier Air India. A high   GDP   growth rate and a domestic aviation market set to overtake Japan this year as the world’s third largest has led to calls for a more effectual national carrier. Air India’s debts now amount to $7.5 billion, about half of which stems from aircraft loans. The Ministry of Civil Aviation, prodded by a proposal made by the government’s newly formed innovation think tank Niti Aayog, has started the process of preparing a note for the cabinet that will decide on the future course of action, confirmed junior minister of civil aviation Jayant Sinha at a press briefing on June 5. He and an Air India official both refused to comment on the details or reports that the new entity could launch in 18 months. Asked whether the move could presag...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 13, 2017, 4:31 PM Business aircraft operators are encountering barriers to participating in India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme ( RCS ), which is supposed to stimulate cost-effective air service to second- and third-tier cities. The first flights under the program, which is intended to boost service to some 325 airports and airstrips around the vast country, are due to be made in March, according to the Airport Authority of India ( AAI ). To date, prospective operators have bid to add service at just 19 of these airports. “ It is a good policy plan that has fallen short of implementation,” said Rohit Kapur, former president of India’s Business Aviation Operators Association ( BAOA ). For instance, charter companies wanting to operate under the  RCS  now need to complete a new certification process to qualify under the new designation of scheduled commuter airline ( SCA ). “This is an extra conservativ...

by  Neelam Mathews  - December 6, 2016, 11:57 AM AIN (US) India’s replacement of all Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes in an attempt to curb counterfeit and “black” illicit money is negatively affecting business aviation in the country. A shortage of the new currency since last month's announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is creating problems for business aircraft operators, who have traditionally conducted certain aviation services transactions in cash in India. “Our business has been affected…mainly because of our own operational compulsions of paying in cash for various purposes,” Jayant Nadkarni, president of India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA), said yesterday during the release of the group’s “Business Aviation in India” report. With some 80 percent of the old notes withdrawn, the country is facing a cash crunch that is being amplified by cash withdrawal limitations. Nadkarni told  AIN  that some flights had to be cancelle...

by  Neelam Mathews  - June 29, 2016, 3:00 AM New Indian carrier Vistara stands to be a beneficiary of the long-delayed reforms of the country's air transport policy. [Photo: Neelam Mathews] India released a national civil aviation policy on June 17 after two decades of fits and starts, as the country works to properly develop its fledgling infrastructure and prepare for a forecast 20 percent annual traffic growth until 2020. Within three days of the announcement, India radically liberalized its restrictive foreign direct investment regime by opening ten sectors, including defense and aviation. Ministry of Civil Aviation secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey called June “a fun month,” while admitting challenges of implementation lay ahead and that “nuts and bolts” of the policy still required fine-tuning. “We are concerned that if we fall behind our growth curve, we will face civil aviation slumps,” he said. “We have told OEMs to bring in ...

by   Neelam Mathews  April 16, 2016 Recognizing the need for a regulatory framework for operating civilian unmanned aerial systems ( UAS s), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FICCI ) has provided India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation initial guidelines that it hopes will form the basis of legislation. The final policy is expected to be released by year-end, Rajiv Nayan Choubey, India's secretary for the Ministry of Civil Aviation, confirmed to  AIN  recently. Currently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation permits only government agencies to fly  UAS s in India. The Indian Space Research Organization has made a start to open operations to others by filing a request for proposal ( RFP ) for exploratory studies using  UAS s for remote sensing. An unidentified  U.S.  company is believed to have received a separate  RFP  from the Gas Authority of India for using  UAS s to inspect a ...

  Neelam Mathews     April 24, 2016 Long overlooked, helicopter emergency medical services ( HEMS ) in India will get a boost through a civil aviation requirement to be issued by the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) in mid-April. This is the first time separate regulations are being set for the  HEMS  industry in India. Issues to be addressed include eliminating the requirement for  HEMS  operators to file a flight plan and allowing helicopters to fly point-to-point without prior air traffic control clearance in airspace below 5,000 feet and outside of prohibited or restricted areas. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is simultaneously working on a plan to coordinate with the National Highways Authority of India, hospitals, insurance companies, on-ground ambulance services and airports to facilitate rapid medical evacuation. “ HEMS  is critical for India, which has a poor road infrastructure. There is...

Neelam Mathews March 2016 Asian Aviation