Scindia working on a policy for regional airlines and helicopter operations to improve last-mile connectivity

The government is working on a policy for regional airlines and helicopter operators to boost last-mile connectivity, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday, February 28. The minister said the emphasis has to be on smaller town airports as well as regional connectivity in India.

“That poses its own sets of issues — economies of scale, leasing costs and pricing — and those are the things we are exploring today,” he said at an event organised by industry body ASSOCHAM.

“We are going to come out with a policy for regional airlines and helicopters to make them much more economical, to make them much more pervasive, and to provide that last mile connectivity because growth is also going to come from that sector,” he mentioned.

Jyotiraditya Scindia was speaking at an event organised by industry body ASSOCHAM

The growth opportunity is coming from smaller cities like Jharsuguda in Odisha and Rupsi in Assam, he said. “We have to provide the last mile connectivity,” he noted. The penetration of helicopters today in India is negligible, he mentioned.

India has 130-140 civil helicopters and if you look at a developed country, it has helicopters in thousands, he said.

“So we have to come out with a policy that makes it possible for helicopters to drive the growth especially in northeastern states and in the island states…that is something that I am working on as we speak,” he said.

India has 130-140 civil helicopters and if you look at a developed country, it has helicopters in thousands

The aviation sector in India is at an early part of its growth stage, he said. Scindia said the aviation sector is going to become the backbone of the transportation of our country. The auto sector is known today by the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and I want the airline ecosystem to grow similarly, he said.

“In the success of this aviation sector is the success of the government,” he noted.  Eleven states had VAT rate on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) between one and four per cent and 25 states had between 15 and 30% when I took charge as the Aviation Minister, he said.

The minister was talking about the 13 states that have the VAT rate on ATF between 15 and 30%.

The Centre then went to states and helped them understand that lowering the VAT rate on ATF will assist them in boosting economic growth and tourism, he stated. In the last over six months, 12 more states have brought their VAT rate on ATF in 1-4% bracket, he stated.

“Let me assure you that I would not rest until VAT is reduced in all states. I have 13 more states to deal with,” he added. The minister was talking about the 13 states that have the VAT rate on ATF between 15 and 30%.

Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkish Airlines Ilker Ayci has rejected Air India's CEO offer, news agency Bloomberg reported.

“I have concluded that it would not be a feasible or an honourable decision to accept the position in the shadow of such a narrative," Ayci said in a statement seen by Bloomberg. Bloomberg further reported that Ayci said his appointment to the position was 'coloured' by Indian media.

Earlier last week, RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch had said the government should not give clearance to the appointment of Ilker Ayci as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India "keeping in view national security".

Full Statement of Ilker Ayci (Image Courtesy - Tarun Shukla - Twitter)

ALSO READ - RSS asks the government to not give clearance to the newly appointed Air India CEO

SJM's co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said the government is "already sensitive" to the issue and has taken up the matter "very seriously".

When asked for the reasons why the SJM is opposed to the newly appointed CEO and MD, Mahajan reiterated to PTI that it's a matter of national security. "After all, decisions are taken about a person based on his relationships."

On February 14, Tata Sons announced the appointment of Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India.

On February 14, Tata Sons announced the appointment of Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India. Announcing his appointment, it said in a statement that Ayci will assume his new responsibilities on or before April 1.

Ayci was an advisor of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an when the latter was mayor of Istanbul, from 1994 to 1998. He also served Turkish Airlines as its chairman from 2015 to 2022 and was credited with turning the airline around.

SpiceJet on February 25 announced the launch of six new international flights to Bangkok enhancing connectivity between India and Thailand under the air bubble agreement.

The new flights will commence operations from March 10 in a phased manner, the company said in a statement. The airline will introduce daily direct flights connecting Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with Bangkok, it said.

SpiceJet to launch 6 new flights to Bangkok as part of air bubble agreement

The Delhi-Bangkok flight and the return flight will begin from March 10, it noted. SpiceJet will start the Mumbai-Bangkok flight and the return flight from March 17, it said.

“We are delighted to launch new flights connecting Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with Bangkok. The Thai Capital has always been among the top picks for leisure travellers and a favourite international destination for SpiceJet passengers. With international leisure travel picking up again, we expect our new flights to do very well.”Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet

SpiceJet will be deploying its Boeing 737 aircraft on these routes. The flights can be now booked from the official website i.e. www.spicejet.com, SpiceJet’s mobile app and through online travel portals and agents.

Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday, May 19 said it has suspended the licenses of two Alliance Air pilots whose actions led to their plane overshooting the runway while landing at the Jabalpur airport on March 12. The two pilots were operating an ATR-72 aircraft from Delhi to Jabalpur on March 12.

An ATR 72-600 aircraft operated by state-owned Alliance Air had overshot the runway after landing at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh on March 12. Even as all 55 passengers and five crew members on board were safe, the airline had de-rostered the pilots then.

DGCA suspends the licences of 2 Alliance Air pilots for runway excursion at Jabalpur Airport

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said its probe found that during landing at the Jabalpur airport, the aircraft floated for a long period and touched down approximately 900 metres after the aiming point (touchdown point).

"The decision of PF (pilot flying) to continue despite long float resulted in the long landing and subsequently runway excursion. PNF (Pilot not flying) did not call out for Go-Around despite prolonged flare," the regulator said.

A "Go-Around" is done when a pilot feels that the aircraft does not have a stabilised approach just before landing.

Statement of the Alliance Air at the time of the excursion

In the statement, the DGCA said the above "action or inaction" of the crew jeopardized the safety of the aircraft and its occupants and was in violation of the Aircraft Rules 1937 and Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR). The privileges of the licenses held by both the operating crew have been suspended for one year.

A runway excursion is a runway safety incident where an aircraft makes an inappropriate exit from the runway. Runway excursions include runway overruns, where an aircraft is unable to stop before it reaches the end of the runway. Runway excursions can happen because of pilot error, poor weather, or a fault with the aircraft.

FlyBig Airlines chairman and managing director of the airline, Sanjay Mandviya on February 25 said that the airline is all set to commence the flight operations on the Indore-Gondia-Hyderabad route from March. He said that all the formalities have been completed and the company is all set to commence the operations from March 13.

"The booking of tickets will start from March 1 and will be available both online and at the window. The fare is also very affordable as the services will be run under UDAN RCS (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik- Regional Connectivity Scheme). The fare will be just INR 1,999 for Indore-Gondia or Gondia-Hyderabad travel and the maximum fare would be around INR 2600."Sanjay Mandviya, Chairman and Managing Director, FlyBig Airlines

Mandviya and Sunil Mendhe, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Bhandara-Gondiya seat, were addressing reporters at Birsi Airport, situated 18 km from Gondia city. Mendhe said that Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia would inaugurate the Indore-Gondia-Hyderabad flight from Indore.

FlyBig Airlines to begin services between Indore-Gondia-Hyderabad from March

After a delay due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the flight operations are most likely to start from March 13, Mendhe said. The airport at Birsi near Gondia was constructed in 2008 and there was a big demand of the people to start commercial flight operations from here, he said. 

FlyBig is also likely to induct two aircraft, sub-leased by GIFT City’s Vman Aerospace, by March-end. Vman Aerospace leased the two ATR 72-600s aircraft from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. The registration numbers for the aircraft will be VT TMC and VT TMT.

ALSO READ - FlyBig plans to induct 2 aircraft shortly

FlyBig Airlines is promoted by Gurugram-based Big Charter Private Limited.

With the induction of these two aircraft, the regional carrier will have three aircraft on its fleet. The airline also plans to wet-lease another Q400 aircraft soon. 

Flybig is a regional carrier based in India. The airline commenced operations in December 2020 with the launch of a twice-weekly Delhi-Shillong service. It is promoted by Gurugram-based Big Charter Private Limited. It is focused on connecting tier-2 cities within India.

The aircraft movement at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport, Patna, increased by more than 9 times and the number of passengers by about 26 times in 2019-20 when compared to the period of 2004-05.

The growing air transport activities in the state have translated into the higher contribution of the civil aviation sector to the overall economy of the state.

As per the Economic Survey Report of 2021-22 presented in the state legislative assembly on Friday, February 25 the contribution of the civil aviation sector to gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Bihar has increased by 10 times in a decade, from INR 30 crore in 2011-12 to INR 300 crore in fiscal 2020-21.

Aircraft movement at Patna airport increased 9 times

The state has, however, faced a decline in different indicators in the civil aviation sector during 2020-21 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, despite the Covid-induced lockdown and other travel restrictions, the Patna airport recorded a footfall of 27.09 lakh passengers, 23,579 aircraft movements and 11.74 freights (in tonnes) in 2020-21, as per the data of the Airports Authority of India (AAI)-Patna.

Besides, the Patna airport ranking in Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Index has improved from 107 in the first quarter (April to June 2021) to 87 in the second quarter (July-September 2021) with a 4.54 ASQ rating.

Number of passengers increased 26 times in 2019-20 when compared to the period of 2004-05.

In the first quarter, the overall rating was 4.48. The ASQ Index is prepared by the Airports Council International (ACT) for around 400 airports across the world. According to this survey, Patna airport has improved its ranking from 333 in 2020-21 to 86 in July-September 2021, report says.

The state has been benefited immensely through the regular commercial operation of air services from Darbhanga airport since November 8, 2020.

Darbhanga airport has direct flight connectivity with Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore while Patna is now connected to Amritsar, Varanasi and Prayagraj under the UDAN-2.0 scheme.

Darbhanga airport has direct flight connectivity with Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore

Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) airport here has been selected as one among the total of seven airports of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in the country chosen for 'Voice of the Customer” recognition under Airports Council International (ACI) - Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey 2021.

ACI has initiated the ‘Voice of the Customer' initiative to acknowledge and recognize airports that continued to prioritize their customers and are committed to ensuring their voice was heard, even during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, over 200 airports have been recognised around the world. Six other airports of AAI, which have been chosen for 'Voice of the Customer” recognition, include Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Pune, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh airports.