Assam government has approved a proposal to grant partial exemption on the sale of ATF

Assam government has approved the proposal to grant partial exemption by way of payment of VAT at the rate of 1% on the sale of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) made to aircraft operating under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).

Presently the VAT on ATF is 23.5%. The state cabinet meeting on Wednesday, November 24 decided this partial exemption shall also apply to such aircraft even when they provide air services to NON-Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) airports/airstrips.

The State Cabinet decided to rationalise and restructure the Advalorem levy to increase the total excise revenue collection. Advalorem levy constitutes about 95% of the total Excise revenue collection.

The state government has stated, “This move is in the light of fact that the rates of Ad-valorem levy in Assam in respect of the brand(s) being quite low compared to most of the states except for Arunachal Pradesh." Such revisions will lead to growth in revenue resulting from up-gradation of consumer preference, growth in the volume of sales and enhanced Ad-valorem levy rates.

Additionally, there would be consequential growth in annual VAT collection also. The amendments will come into force on the 10th of December 2021.

Recently Tripura and Madhya Pradesh governments have decided to reduce the share of Value-Added Tax (VAT) levied on Aviation Turbine Fuel from 16% to 1% and from 25% to 4% respectively.

In August, to give impetus to air travel, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia has written a letter to 22 States/ UTs urging them to rationalize VAT on ATF across all airports in States within the range of 1% to 4%. He has asked them to take forward common intention to boost air travel and connectivity in State to accelerate its economic development.

IndiGo said on Wednesday, November 24 it will resume Chennai-Singapore flight under-vaccinated travel lane (VTL) from November 29 onwards.

Air travel to Singapore is currently happening on VTL and non-VTL. VTL allows quarantine-free travel to Singapore for fully vaccinated travellers.

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) had on Sunday, November 21 announced that Singapore and India have reached an agreement to resume commercial passenger flights between the two countries from November 29.

IndiGo said in a press release that it will operate a daily flight on the Chennai-Singapore route from November 29 onward.

"Following incorporation of air bubble between India and Singapore, IndiGo has been allocated a total of 3,618 seats per week, of which 1,624 seats will be operated on the ChennaiSingapore route under VTL," the airline said.

The rest of the capacity will be utilised under non-VTL conditions for travel to and from Singapore, it added.

“As we eventually come out of the pandemic, we are happy to resume flights to Singapore under the air bubble agreement. International connectivity under air bubble arrangement has been helpful in slowly bringing back the international travel demand. The situation is improving rapidly, and we are hopeful that this will further help citizens of India and Singapore to travel with ease for various purposes."Ronojoy Dutta, CEO, IndiGo

Travellers on a VTL flight entering Singapore will be required two COVID-19 tests -- one within two days of flight departure and one on-arrival test at the Singapore airport. The VTL passengers would not undergo any quarantine.

After reporting an operating loss in 2020, the airport infrastructure sector in the country is expected to turn around this year with an operating profit of INR 3,200 crore, driven by a likely 82-84% growth year-on-year in air passenger traffic during the period, according to a report by rating agency ICRA.

The agency also said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing capacity expansion plans at the major airports are expected to be delayed by 12-18 months.

"The airport infrastructure industry was one of the worst-hit sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The sector's operating income and operating profits are estimated at INR 14,000 crore and INR 3,250 crore (operating loss of INR 1,450 crore in FY2021), respectively, in FY2022.However, the outlook on the airport infrastructure continues to remain negative.With the improvement in the operating margins and the consequent cash flows in FY2022, the interest coverage and debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) are expected to improve to 1.8x and 1.2x, respectively.The strong on the balance sheet liquidity is expected to support the sector in the near term."Rajeshwar Burla, Group Head (Corporate Ratings), ICRA.

The significant ramp-up in vaccination, decline in COVID-19 cases and a pick-up in revenge leisure travel are supporting the growth in the domestic passenger traffic, it stated in a statement.

According to ICRA, domestic passenger traffic has increased consecutively for five months after the slowdown witnessed in April and May this year due to the second wave of the pandemic.

The easing of COVID-19 restrictions by state governments, dip in new coronavirus infections, healthy pace of vaccination and a pick-up in leisure travel has resulted in a sequential domestic passenger traffic growth during the June-October period, with the same reaching 17.3 million in October 2021 (the highest since the start of the pandemic in March 2020), it said.

This is further supported by the recent decision of the civil aviation ministry allowing 100% domestic capacity of pre-COVID-19 levels with effect from October 18, it added.

ICRA said it expects domestic air travel to recover back to pre-COVID-19 levels by FY2023 and the international sector by FY2024.

"As per ICRA's base case scenario, the passenger traffic growth is now estimated at 82-84% y-o-y in FY2022, against the earlier projection of 71-73% y-o-y. This is factoring in the assumption that the impact of the third wave (if any) to be low due to mass vaccination," Burla said.

In the recently released tariff orders for some of the major private airports, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has acknowledged the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the airport operators, according to ICRA.

The true-up of traffic for FY2021 has been considered in the current control period. Further, considering the impact of a second wave of the pandemic on air traffic in Q1 FY2022, the regulator has decided not to increase the tariff for FY2022, as the sector is in the recovery phase and an increase in tariffs had made with effect from April 1, 2022, ICRA said.

However, given the low traffic on one side and ongoing/upcoming capacity expansion plans at major private airports, on the other side, the decision to continue with the same tariff for FY2022 is expected to impact the airport operators temporarily.

ICRA notes that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing capacity expansion plans at the major airports are expected to be delayed by 12-18 months. The completion cost is expected to increase due to an increase in interest during construction (IDC) as some of the airports have funded CAPEX with bullet bonds that have been drawn down at once, it said.

The ramp-up in domestic passenger traffic has been steady since the second wave of the pandemic. However, the ban on international commercial operations since March 2020 and the rise in coronavirus infections again in Europe and other international regions is expected to delay the recovery of international traffic, it said.

The rating agency added that the same is expected to recover back to pre-COVID-19 levels by 2023-24.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, November 25 at 1 PM. The development of the first phase of the airport is being done at a cost of over INR 10,050 crore.

The airport is spread over more than 1300 hectares of land. The completed first phase of the airport will have a capacity to serve around 1.2 crore passengers a year and the work on it is scheduled to be completed by 2024.

Taking to Twitter, the prime minister had said that the project will boost commerce, connectivity and tourism.

https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1463536335419940870

"Tomorrow, 25th November is a major day for India's and Uttar Pradesh's strides in infra creation. At 1 PM, the foundation stone of the Noida International Airport will be laid. This project will significantly boost commerce, connectivity and tourism," the PM had tweeted on Wednesday, November 24.

According to Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Uttar Pradesh will become the only state in India to have five international airports.

The development of the airport is in line with the vision of the prime minister towards boosting connectivity and creating a future-ready aviation sector, it said.

"A special focus of this grand vision has been on the state of Uttar Pradesh that is witnessing the development of multiple new international airports including the recently inaugurated Kushinagar airport and the under-construction international airport at Ayodhya," it said.

This airport will be the second international airport to come up in Delhi NCR. It will help decongest the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

As per PMO, the airport is strategically located and will serve the people of cities including Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Agra, Faridabad and neighbouring areas.

The airport will be the logistics gateway of northern India. Due to its scale and capacity, the airport will be a game-changer for Uttar Pradesh. It will unleash the potential of Uttar Pradesh to the world, and help establish the state on the global logistics map, a release said.

It further said that for the first time, an airport in India has been conceptualised with an integrated multi-modal cargo hub, with a focus on reducing the total cost and time for logistics.

Work in progress for the inauguration (Image Courtesy - The Quint)

"The dedicated cargo terminal will have a capacity of 20 lakh metric tonne, which will be expanded to 80 lakh metric tonnes. By facilitating the seamless movement of industrial products, the airport will play a crucial role in helping the region attract huge investments, boost rapid industrial growth, and enable them to reach local products to national and international markets. This will bring new opportunities for numerous enterprises, and also create tremendous employment opportunities," the statement added.

The Noida International Airport will be implemented in four phases and the work on the first phase is scheduled to be completed in 36 months, said Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal.

"The traffic of 12 million passengers per year is expected in the first phase and by the completion of final phase i.e. between 2040-50, the capacity of Jewar airport will be to handle 70 million passengers per year," Mr Bansal said.

He also informed that the Uttar Pradesh government is spending INR 4,326 crore on the acquisition of land and rehabilitation and resettlement. Mr Bansal said that the Prime Minister is personally monitoring the project.

As per PMO, the airport will develop a Ground Transportation Centre that will feature a multimodal transit hub, housing metro and high-speed rail stations, taxi, bus services and private parking.

This will enable seamless connectivity of the airport with the road, rail, and metro. Noida and Delhi will be connected to the airport through hassle-free metro service. All major nearby roads and highways like the Yamuna Expressway, Western Peripheral Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and others will be connected to the airport.

The airport will also be linked to the planned Delhi-Varanasi High-Speed Rail, enabling the journey between Delhi and the airport in only 21 minutes.

The airport will also house a state-of-art Maintenance, Repair and Overhauling (MRO) Service. The design of the airport is focused on low operating costs and seamless and fast transfer processes for passengers.

The airport is introducing a swing aircraft stand concept, providing flexibility for airlines to operate an aircraft for both domestic and international flights from the same contact stand, without having to re-position the aircraft. This will ensure quick and efficient aircraft turnarounds at the airport while ensuring a smooth and seamless passenger transfer process. It will be India's first net-zero emissions airport. It has earmarked dedicated land to be developed as a forest park using trees from the project site. NIA will preserve all native species and be nature positive throughout the development of the airport.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that almost $2 billion worth of investments have already come in for Jewar and the Centre hopes that about INR 60,000 crore of investments and production coupled with 1 lakh employment opportunities from Jewar.

This will also be India’s first net-zero emissions airport and has earmarked dedicated land to be developed as a forest park using trees from the project site. NIA will preserve all native species and be nature positive throughout the development of the airport.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came to the Jewar site to review preparations, ahead of PM Modi’s visit for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the airport.

The CM said the state is working on airports in areas where people could not have “imagined” earlier. He said the airport will bring 1 lakh jobs, and that many other projects like Film City, Electronic Park are coming up in the region.

“For many years, there have been discussions on the possibility of an airport in this region. But due to lack of political will, it could not materialise. I am thankful for the vision of the Prime Minister because of which the airport is being built. The government focused on development activities and this will be a monumental project for the public in West UP,” he said.

Noida Airport project is being funded on a debt-equity ratio of 65:35. Zurich Airport International AG (ZAIA), a fully owned subsidiary of Flughafen Zurich AG, is the main shareholder of YIAPL and is injecting INR 2,005 crores as equity into developing the airport.

The groundwork for the first phase regarding land acquisition and rehabilitation of the affected families has been completed.

Airbus

Losing lift and stalling is the last thing anyone would want to encounter when flying. Although helicopters don't necessarily stall the way airplanes do, when they do, it can be hard to recover from.

You really wouldn't have to worry if you're flying in an Airbus ACH160 though. The innovative model ACH160 is a  part of the H series, which has an autopilot system that would take over in rapid descent.

Apparently, the autopilot is designed to kick-off while in recovery mode, which would arrest the rapid plummet, thus bringing the chopper back to stable flight.

This is the latest of a new generation designed from the passenger’s point of viewsays test pilot, Olivier Gensse, who has been with the H160, the standard version of the ACH160 since the program’s inception.

How and when is the autopilot activated?

A vortex ring state free fall is a condition where the rate of descent of the copter increases rapidly. Gensse simulated a similar condition and demonstrated how pushing a button on the control stick activated the auto-pilot, kicking the system into recovery mode.

He further simulated an out-of-control flight in brownout conditions, resembling limited pilot visibility.

Tech and specifications

The chopper comes with enhanced safety features and sets a new standard for passenger comfort.With as many as 68 different patents for a customer step change, the copter also features the Airbus-developed Helionix avionics suite for reduced pilot workload, the canted Fenestron® for greater useful load and a flat attitude in flight, and sound-reducing Blue Edge™ rotor blades for quieter operations.

H160 Interiors | Airbus

Helicopter accidents often involve human error, especially if avionics are complicated. We designed the Helionix 3 system to be intuitive and simple, displaying critical information as needed. It’s about reducing the workload for the pilot without a hundred buttons on the displayGensse says

Further enhancing the safety is the integration of the first-ever computerised rotorcraft flight manual (C-RFM), providing the crew with essential information about the aircraft’s performance by the conditions of the day, the optional equipment, and the desired flight profile.

The ACH160 also has automated takeoff and a collision-avoidance system, both of which signify “a lot of new technology” incorporated into the design.according to Frédéric Lemos, chief executive of ACH.

Additionally, they also come equipped with the world’s first-ever ground helipad assisted take-off procedure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzV6WZZeg0U

Ground Helipad Assisted Take-Off | Airbus | Youtube

The H160 also includes a tail fin camera, Sea State 6 emergency floatation system and windows that exceed EASA Type IV emergency egress size requirements.

COVER : Adrien Daste | Airbus

The government is making all efforts to complete the disinvestment process of national carrier Air India by the end of December, according to a senior official.

Tata group firm Talace Pvt Ltd has emerged as the winning bidder for loss-making Air India.

On October 25, the government signed the share purchase agreement with Tata Sons for the sale of the airline for INR 18,000 crore. The amount includes payment of INR 2,700 crore in cash and takes over INR 15,300 crore of the carrier's debt.

On Wednesday, November 24, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said all efforts are being made to complete the disinvestment process of Air India by the end of December. Bansal is also the Chairman and Managing Director of the national carrier.

Along with Air India, Tatas will acquire low-cost carrier Air India Express and Air India's 50% stake in equal joint venture AISATS.

Air India has been incurring a monthly loss of more than INR 600 crore, he noted.

The airline has 43 wide-body planes, including 27 Boeing 787s.

On October 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the decision on Air India will give new energy to the country's aviation sector.

As of August 31, Air India had a total debt of INR 61,562 crore. Of the total amount, Talace will take over INR 15,300 crore, and the remaining INR 46,262 crore will be transferred to AIAHL.

Despite its precarious finances, Air India controls more than 4,400 domestic and 1,800 international landing and parking slots at domestic airports, and 900 slots overseas.

Currently, Air India has a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft and Air India Express Ltd. has 24 narrow-body aircraft.

Besides, non-core assets of Air India, including land and building, valued at INR 14,718 crore, are also being transferred to AIAHL. Further, liabilities of INR 15,834 crore towards dues to operational creditors, like those for fuel purchases, as of August 31 would be transferred to AIAHL.

In 2019, the government set up a special purpose vehicle -- Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL) -- for holding debt and non-core assets of the Air India group.