A dozen airport and airlines maintenance staff reported working drunk in India

A dozen airport drivers, firefighters and even plane maintenance staff reported working drunk in India in the first two months of the year, a regulatory crackdown found, reigniting concerns about flight safety in an aviation market that’s previously had issues with inebriated pilots.

Under a program initiated by India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, ground employees with IndiGo -- the nation’s biggest airline -- SpiceJet Ltd., and even Indian Oil Corp. were found to have failed breath-analyzer tests in January and February, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A first breach leads to a suspension, and repeat offenders may see their permits to work in airports confiscated, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Ground employees with IndiGo, SpiceJet, and even Indian Oil Corp. were found to have failed breath-analyzer tests in January and February 2022.

India in December revised guidelines to expand the universe of airport workers who would be subjected to breath-analyzer checks. Maintenance staff and anyone who visits the cockpit for inspection, audit or training were included.

The list has since been expanded further to include drivers of baggage carts, loaders, push-back operators and air traffic controllers, the person said. Expanding the testing pool will bring Indian airport safety and operation standards closer to global benchmarks.

Even when blood alcohol levels are near zero, the effects of any alcohol consumption can last as long as 36 hours, according to guidelines released in 2021. A spokesman for India’s civil aviation ministry, which oversees the DGCA, didn’t have an immediate comment.

Even when blood alcohol levels are near zero, the effects of any alcohol consumption can last as long as 36 hours

ALSO READ - DGCA orders pre-flight alcohol tests for 50% of pilots and cabin crew daily

IndiGo said in a statement that January 2022 “witnessed the peak of Covid cases during the third wave.” “Being on certain medication can also lead to employees failing the breath-analyzer test,” according to the statement. “However, cases of ground staff failing this test are far and few between. We follow all laid down protocols to ensure the safety of our passengers and employees.”

Representatives for SpiceJet and Indian Oil didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. In 2018, a senior pilot with former state carrier Air India Ltd. -- who was also a member of the airline’s board of directors and was in charge of its overall flight operations -- tested positive on a breath test just an hour before he was scheduled to fly to London from New Delhi.

India in December revised guidelines to expand the universe of airport workers who would be subjected to breath-analyzer checks.

Two years earlier, the DGCA ordered Jet Airways India Ltd. and Air India to file police complaints against pilots who were found drunk, deploying legal action for the first time in such cases. Other countries and airlines have faced issues with drunk pilots.

Japan Airlines Co. was forced to put off a bond sale in 2018 and its president took a 20% pay cut for a few months after a pilot showed up drunk just before he was to operate a London-to-Tokyo flight.

A year later, South Korea’s transport ministry suspended the license of a pilot at budget carrier Jin Air Co. for 90 days for failing an alcohol test before a flight and imposed a 210 million won (USD 172,200) penalty on the carrier.

(With Inputs from Bloomberg)

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday, April 8 said the northeast is a "high-priority region" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he went on to list the various initiatives taken up by the government for its development.

“In the last two-three years, we've developed a new airport terminal at Agartala, a new terminal is coming up at Holongi, a runway at Tezu is being upgraded. Eighteen more airstrips/heliports are being developed in the region,” Scindia was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

ALSO READ - “Passenger operations from Agartala to Dhaka and Chittagong soon” – Tripura CM

The Union minister also said that a plan worth nearly INR 2,000 crore is in the works to develop the airport infrastructure in the region. “UDAAN has been a successful scheme for the region. We have given priority to Krishi Udaan here,” he added.

On April 12, two Dornier aircraft will be taken into operation by Alliance Air

“On April 12, two Dornier aircraft will be taken into operation by Alliance Air – they will operate from Dibrugarh to Pasighat, Tezu and Ziro in phase 1. In phase 2, Mechka, Vijoynagar and Tutling will be covered,” he further said.

ALSO READ - Alliance Air receives the first made-in-India civilian aircraft – Dornier 228

Last month, Scindia said the government has set a target of creating 220 new airports by 2025. He announced in the Lok Sabha while responding to demands for grants from the civil aviation ministry for 2022-23.

ALSO READ - Northeast India’s first commercial pilot training academy set to begin at Lilabari airport

With this, the government has set a target of creating 220 new airports by 2025 - Scindia

Stating that steps will be taken to simplify the process of granting pilot licences using advanced technologies, the minister added that the government intends to create 33 new domestic cargo terminals, set up 15 new flight training schools for pilots, and create more jobs, and increase focus on the drone sector. "With this, the government has set a target of creating 220 new airports by 2025," he said.

ALSO READ - Jyotiraditya Scindia advocates for paternity leave in airlines; wants 50% women pilots

Scindia also hailed the high proportion of women pilots in the country: "In all other countries, only five per cent of the pilots are women. In India, over 15% of pilots are women. This is another example of women's empowerment. There have been a lot of changes in the aviation industry in the last 20-25 years."

Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) Boeing 777-200ER had to be diverted to Karachi for a safe landing after it suffered a cracked windshield because of a bird strike.

The plane registered as AP-BGJ was on a flight numbered PK9759 taking travellers from Lahore in Pakistan to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia at the time of the occurrence of the incident. It is to be noted that this is not the first time this jet has suffered the problem of a cracked windshield.

The PIA Boeing 777 makes an emergency landing due to a cracked windshield (Image Courtesy - SimpleFlying)

Before the emergency landing in Karachi, the PIA aircraft was destined to land in Jeddah with 350 flyers onboard. At 08:03 local time, the plane took off and climbed to a cruising altitude of FL320. The trip to cruising altitude took about 20 minutes.

The crew decided to divert to Karachi after witnessing a shattered windshield during the aircraft's takeoff and rise.

The windscreen of the First Officer was fractured, according to the Aviation Herald. After descending to FL140 and flying for another 85 minutes or so, the plane arrived in Karachi at around 10:25 local time and landed safely on runway 25L.

The cracked windshield of the PIA's B777. (Image Courtesy - The Tribune Express)

The airline then disclosed that the crew was forced to divert due to a bird strike that damaged the windshield.

The Boeing 777-200ER registered AP-BGJ was delivered to PIA in 2004 and has been part of the airline for 18 years now. Earlier, back in 2012, it suffered a similar incident of bird strike while flying from Karachi to Lahore. Similarly, in 2016 it was a victim of a bird strike flying from Jeddah to Lahore.

Australian carrier Qantas on Friday, April 8 announced it will start flights on the Sydney-Bengaluru route from September 14 onwards and is finalising a codeshare partnership with Indian carrier IndiGo. In a codeshare partnership, each carrier on its distribution system can sell seats on other's flights.

Currently, IndiGo has codeshare partnerships with Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and American Airlines. The Sydney-Bengaluru flight will operate four times a week from September 14 onwards on an A330 aircraft, a joint statement by both the airlines stated.

https://twitter.com/IndiGo6E/status/1512335793586683905

"These are the first direct flights between Australia and southern India by any airline, cutting almost three hours off the current fastest trip between Bengaluru and Sydney," it noted.

Currently, Qantas operates flights to India on only one route -- between Melbourne and Delhi -- five times per week. "Travellers are also set to benefit from improved one-stop access to Sydney from more than 50 Indian cities, as part of a proposed codeshare agreement between Qantas and IndiGo," the statement noted.

Once finalised, customers will have more convenient access from not only the major Indian cities, but many popular regional cities such as Pune and Goa, it mentioned. The proposed codeshare agreement will enable seamless connections via Bengaluru, Delhi, or Singapore to Australia's largest capital cities, it noted.

Currently, IndiGo has codeshare partnerships with Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and American Airlines.

"As part of the proposed agreement, customers who join the Qantas Frequent Flyer program will be able to earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (QF code only) and IndiGo will recognise Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in, additional baggage allowance and priority baggage," it said.

Qantas customers travelling on IndiGo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks, it mentioned.

Qantas announces direct flights between Sydney-Bengaluru, finalises codeshare with IndiGo

"The partnership will extend to Jetstar customers who will be able to book connecting flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform on jetstar.com, currently intended to start from late April," it noted.

“We are pleased to announce our proposed codeshare partnership with Australia’s flag carrier, Qantas Airways under Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. Once finalised, this new partnership will enable the Qantas customers to fly to more than 50 unique cities on IndiGo via Bengaluru, Delhi, and Singapore with the access of 41, 33, and 6 destinations per station respectively.” Ronojoy Dutta, CEO, IndiGo

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said demand for direct flights between Australia and India had grown steadily since both countries reopened their borders.

Qantas continues to offer a Fly Flexible booking policy with unlimited flight date changes available on flights booked before 30 June for travel until 31 December 2022 (fare difference may apply).

“For the first time, southern India will have a direct connection to Australia, which will make travel between the two countries more convenient and much faster for customers. The signing of the Australia-India free trade agreement will also drive travel demand as trade and investment links expand between Australia and India’s population of more than one billion people."Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas Group

ALSO READ - IndiGo and Jetstar team up in a virtual interline agreement

Jetstar is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qantas. "IndiGo will introduce reciprocal benefits for its customers to connect on Qantas and Jetstar in the future. Sydney-Bengaluru flights go on sale today starting from INR 78,380 return," it mentioned.

After the coronavirus-induced suspension of two years, India resumed regular international flights on March 27 this year.

The Jetstar Group and IndiGo on Friday, April 8 confirmed a new Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) interline partnership that will enable Jetstar customers to book connections and flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform.

Launching at the end of April, the virtual interline partnership between the two LCCs is made possible by a technology company and flight search engine, Dohop.

https://twitter.com/IndiGo6E/status/1512338192720179202

The integrated booking engine allows customers to select flights and purchase both bundled and unbundled ancillary products, with customers connecting between international flights provided with seamless passenger and baggage transfer.

“We are pleased to announce the partnership with Jetstar. This strategic agreement will enable both airlines to tap into the rising demand for international travel, especially during this summer holiday season. The partnership will enable customers to book interline flights between the two leading carriers and enjoy access to a wide variety of destinations across Asia Pacific. This partnership will help us expand our international connectivity to yet another continent through Jetstar’s network.” William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo

Jetstar’s chief customer and commercial officer, Alan McIntyre, welcomed the partnership and said as the world reopens it was great to offer Jetstar customers in Asia and Australia opportunities to travel to exciting new destinations in India through its partnership with IndiGo.

"The ability to partner with other LCCs through Dohop has opened-up a new world of possibilities, helping customers enjoy more seamless connectivity throughout the region. This new partnership enables Jetstar to offer our customers more destinations, more frequency and better connectivity, by combining our expanding network with IndiGo’s, all at the click of a button, fulfilling our vision to make more travel affordable.Jetstar Connect on jetstar.com provides more options for customers to access Jetstar’s great value fares and an expanded number of low-cost connections. This partnership opens up new services to Jetstar customers to incredible destinations such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi through Jetstar’s hub in Singapore."Alan McIntyre, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Jetstar

Jetstar and IndiGo are also strategic partners of Changi Airport Group. Recognizing their joint potential,  Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group’s Managing Director for Air Hub Development said India was a key market for Changi Airport.

“In 2019, Singapore attracted over 1.4 million visitors from India to Singapore and with the relaxation of border policies, India has ranked among the top three countries at Changi in recent months,” Kiat said.

Jetstar Airways is a low-cost carrier and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qantas Group.

Jetstar Airways is a low-cost carrier and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qantas Group. Jetstar Airways launched Australian operations in May 2004, New Zealand trans-Tasman operations in December 2005, and New Zealand domestic operations in June 2009.

The carrier also serves short and long-haul overseas destinations. The brand also operates in a Singapore JV (as Jetstar Asia) and a Japanese JV (Jetstar Japan).

The airline operates an extensive domestic network as well as regional and international services from its main base at Melbourne Airport, using a mixed fleet of the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

In a bid to address the growing concerns of its pilots, cabin crew and commanders, IndiGo's chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta in a letter to the airline's staff said that IndiGo is constantly reviewing the salaries of its staff and will adjust salaries based on the competitive environment and IndiGo's bottomline.

The email was sent to employees by the CEO on April 8 as various media reports were saying that there are disagreements between the airline's top management and staff.

"Salaries are a difficult, thorny issue and underlying imperatives are to consider the wage structure in competitive industries," Dutta said in the email.

IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta addresses salary concerns, says will review wages regularly

He added that the aviation industry is dealing with sky-high aviation turbine fuel prices and a recovery in passenger air traffic.

"I want to assure you that the interest of our employees is our utmost priority but at the moment we have to carefully manage a balance between higher costs, higher ticket prices," Dutta said.

The letter comes a week after the airline had partially restored the salaries of its pilots from April 1. IndiGo on April 1st had increased the salaries of its pilots by 8%.

ALSO READ - IndiGo partially restores pilot salaries by 8% from April 1

IndiGo on April 1st had increased the salaries of its pilots by 8%.

The airlines had also last week suspended some of its pilots for planning protests against the continued pandemic-time pay cuts. The pilots had planned to go on mass leave from April 5 in protest against the 28% pay cuts till last month.

ALSO READ - IndiGo pilots suspended for planning a strike to protest pay cuts

The protests from the airline's pilots come after IndiGo allotted employee stock options (ESOPs) for the financial year 2021 to its top management but left out its pilots and other staff last month.

While, IndiGo had also vowed to restore another 6.5% from November 1, 2022, if operations continue to run smoothly, pilots and commanders say that the "so-called" cuts taken by the top management of the airline for the year due to the pandemic have been in effect negated by the generous allotment of stock options.

Indigo employs 23,711 personnel as of March 31, 2022.

In May 2020, Indigo has revised its pilot's pay structure to slash salaries by as much as 40%. Indigo employs 23,711 personnel as of March 31, 2022.

Many of the airline's senior pilots had received emails from the company's leave planner, asking them to choose from two options, each involving a pay cut. One includes a pay structure with 42 annual leaves and the second will have the pilots take one week off every month. They used to have a package that included 22 days of annual leave.

Before this, it revised the contract terms of pilots who were undergoing training, with new terms including up to a 50% cut in salaries and a change in rostering. This was after the carrier had cut pay in varying degrees depending on the employee group.

In May 2020, Indigo has revised its pilot's pay structure to slash salaries by as much as 40%.

In the letter, the IndiGo CEO also urged its staff to provide a wholesome service and experience to corporate customers, who were being lured by rivals Vistara and Air India.

“We have looked carefully at our product positioning and the end of the day we think IndiGo is positioned quite correctly in the sweet spot that is important for all customer segments – safe, on time, hassle-free and courteous service,” the letter said.

The combination of full-service carriers Vistara and Air India is more to target high-end customers, particularly corporate customers, while the competition in the low-cost space is also increasing with IndiGo, SpiceJet, Go First, AirAsia India and Akasa Air all vying for the same pie.