Delhi HC advises DGCA to strictly enforce COVID-19 regulations at airports and in aircraft

The Delhi HC on Friday, June 3 called for strict action against those found violating masking and hand hygiene norms at airports and in aircraft, observing that the COVID-19 pandemic has not abated and keeps springing up to its ugly head.

The high court said all such persons, who are found to be violating these norms, should be booked and fined and should be placed on the no-fly list and added that it is essential to introduce sufficient deterrence to enforce compliance with norms.

It said it is noticed that very often the norms are not implemented on the ground with the seriousness with which they are framed and therefore, it is essential for the authorities, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ensure that the implementation on the ground is effected properly.

Delhi HC advises DGCA to strictly enforce COVID-19 regulations at airports and in aircraft

For this purpose, we are of the view that the DGCA should give separate binding directions to all airlines to authorise the staff at airports and in aircraft, including air hostesses, captains, pilots and others to take strict action against passengers and others who violate the masking and hand hygiene norms, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta said.

The court noted the submission of DGCA’s advocate Anjana Gosain, who herself is inflicted with COVID-19 and appeared through video conferencing, that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued another order on May 10, calling for strict enforcement of COVID-19 protocol.

She said the authorities are seriously implementing norms regarding masking at airports and in aircraft by all concerned.

The issuance of said order, in our view, is the right step since the pandemic has not abated and keeps springing up to its ugly head, the bench said, adding that guidelines are always in place and it is the practical compliance which becomes a problem and we falter.

It said let necessary steps be taken and further action taken report to be placed before the court and listed the matter for further hearing on July 18.

The court’s order came in a PIL, registered on the experience of a sitting judge of the high court while travelling by a domestic flight during the pandemic.

Justice C Hari Shankar had on March 8, 2021, taken suo motu cognisance of the situation after witnessing passengers not wearing masks properly during transportation from the airport to the flight and their stubborn reluctance to wear masks properly.

The court, which had issued various guidelines to the DGCA and airlines for immediate compliance, had said it was constrained to pass the order because of an alarming situation which was witnessed by the judge himself during an Air India flight from Kolkata to New Delhi on March 5, 2021.

During the hearing, the court observed that people may not wear N-95 masks on flights but they must at least wear a surgical mask as the idea is to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.

Doctors also wear the surgical masks the whole day, the bench said, adding that only at the time of meals the passengers can take off the mask and the moment they finish their meals, they have to wear it again. People violating should be physically removed from the area if they have to be.., it said.

The DGCA had earlier informed the court that they were taking action against passengers who were not properly wearing masks after repeated warnings and they will be de-boarded before departure and may be treated as unruly passengers.

The DGCA had also said in its circular that passengers shall wear masks and maintain social distancing norms at all times during air travel. The mask shall not be moved below the nose except under exceptional circumstances, it had said.

CISF or other police personnel deployed at the entrance of the airport shall ensure that no one is allowed to enter the airport without wearing a mask, it had said.

In case, any passenger is not following COVID-19 protocol, they should be handed over to security agencies after proper warning. If required, they may be dealt with as per law, it had said.

The high court had earlier taken strong note of an alarming situation of passengers not properly wearing masks on flights and issued guidelines to all domestic airlines and DGCA for strict compliance, including penal action for offenders and periodical checks of the aircraft.

Passengers in a flight are in a closed air-conditioned environment, and, even if one of the passengers suffers from COVID-19, the effect on other passengers could be cataclysmic.

It is a matter of common knowledge that being within arm’s length distance of a COVID-19 carrier, even if he is asymptomatic and is merely speaking, is more than sufficient to transmit the virus, it had said.

If despite being reminded, he or she refuses to follow the protocol, action should be taken against the passenger by the guidelines issued by the DGCA or Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, including placing him or her on a 'no-fly' regimen, either permanently or for a stipulated, sufficiently long, period, it had said.

The Adani Group portfolio boasts of a wide domain including air and seaports, highways, thermal powerplants etc - all of which are key drivers of the economy of the nation.

The Defence & Aerospace arm is involved in helping India achieve self-reliance in defence & security and has established capabilities in small arms, unmanned aerial systems, radars, defence electronics & avionics, tactical communication systems, and electro-optical systems with a proven record to support the Indian Armed Forces and other para-military forces in India.

According to reports, the defence conglomerate is now collaborating with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel’s Elbit Systems to begin deploying counter-UAS equipment in some of the country’s major airports.

Representative | Chanakya Forum

First deployment is happening at the civil airports, which are owned by Adani’s and the intention is to take it to the largest set of airports within the country – and then you talk about any critical establishment, nuclear establishment, seaports, power plants, each and every establishment which require counter drone technologyAshish Rajvanshi, CEO of Adani Defence & Aerospace was quoted in the report

Ashish Rajvanshi-President & Head, Adani Defence and Aerospace | Adanidefence

Rajvanshi stressed how important it was for the organisation to make infrastructure asset safety a top priority by referencing the drone attacks on oil refineries in Saudi Arabia and on the Indian Air Force base in Jammu, in the past few years.

Manufacturing is already happening and again the roadmap is for 70-80% indigenization to happen within the country. We are still waiting for some rules to come out in the next couple of weeks and the deployment will immediately startSaid Rajvanshi

Back in April, the Ministry of Defence had identified counter-drone systems as a part of a list of 101 equipment which is to be indigenously made and procured.

Adani Elbit Advanced Systems India Limited is a joint venture between Adani Defence & Aerospace and Elbit Systems, Israel. The organisation has set up the first private UAV manufacturing complex at Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad to indigenize unmanned aerial platforms which also happens to be the only Hermes 900 production facility outside Israel.

Representative | The News Minute

Hermes 900 is a state of the art, combat-proven multi-role unmanned platform with an endurance of 36 hours, payload capacity of 420 kg, and altitude of over 32,000 feet (10km+) with applications spanning across civil, defence and homeland security.

The manufacture of Hermes 900 includes the use of carbon fibre composites, avionics as well as manufacturing and integration of payloads in collaboration with Bharat Electronics.

Adani Group

So today, we are already exporting to the global markets and the expectation is that, depending on how the Indian Government and the Indian Air Force moves, we will be having a big order in the coming monthsRajvanshi

SOURCE(s)

COVER: The Economic Times

Singapore Competition Commission on Friday, June 3 said it has raised concerns with the Tata Group over its acquisition of Air India as the conglomerate now owns two of the three key airlines that operate flights on Singapore-Mumbai and Singapore-Delhi routes.

Air India, Vistara and Singapore Airlines are the three key airlines that operate on the two aforementioned routes. Vistara’s 51% stake is held by the Tata Group and the remaining 49% is with Singapore Airlines.

Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata Sons Private Limited, took control of Air India on January 27 after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8, 2021.

Singapore Competition Commission concerned about Tata Group's acquisition of Air India

In January this year, the commission received an application from Talace for a decision on "whether the Transaction infringes section 54 of the Competition Act 2004, which prohibits mergers that have resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition within any market in Singapore."

In a statement on Friday, June 3 the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said it has raised competition concerns with Talace Private Limited on the transaction (Tata’s acquisition of Air India) based on information received from Talace and third parties.

"In particular, Air India and Vistara are two of the three key market players along the overlapping air passenger transport routes (Singapore-Mumbai and Singapore-Delhi), and both airlines are likely to be each other’s close (if not the closest) competitor.Third-party feedback also suggests the presence of Singapore Airlines as a significant competitor of Air India and Vistara along the overlapping air passenger transport routes (Singapore-Mumbai and Singapore-Delhi) and the overlapping air cargo transport routes (Singapore-India).However, the CCCS needs to assess further the extent to which Singapore Airlines competes with the merged entity along these routes, given that Singapore Airlines is a joint-venture partner with Tata Sons in Vistara and a prospective partner with Vistara in the Commercial Cooperation Framework Agreement."Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS)

The CCCS stated it also needs to assess further whether the competitive constraint from other airlines such as IndiGo would be sufficient post transaction, it mentioned.

Accordingly, the CCCS needs to further review the competition effects of this transaction (Tata’s acquisition of Air India) in greater detail, it noted.

Vistara’s 51% stake is held by the Tata Group and the remaining 49% is with Singapore Airlines.

"At this stage, the parties may offer commitments to address the potential competition concerns of the Transaction raised by the CCCS. Otherwise, the merger will proceed to a detailed further review upon the CCCS’s receipt of the relevant documents from the parties,” it mentioned.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had on December 20, 2021, announced that it has approved Tata Group’s proposed acquisition of debt-laden Air India.

The Tata Group had on May 12 announced that Campbell Wilson, CEO of Singapore Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary Scoot Airlines, has been appointed as the CEO and Managing Director of Air India.

Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata Sons Private Limited, took control of Air India on January 27 after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8, 2021.

He is expected to take charge at Air India during the next few weeks, aviation industry sources said.

Since April, Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran, who is also the chairman of the Tata Group, has rejigged the top management of the airline, bringing in senior and middle-level executives who have worked in other companies of the Tata group such as Tata Steel and Vistara.

ALSO READ - Vistara may merge with Air India, a decision expected by end of 2023

If an airline feels a specially-abled passenger's health is likely to deteriorate during a flight, it must consult a doctor at the airport and take an "appropriate call" on whether boarding should be denied to the flyer or not, the draft rules issued by the DGCA said on Friday, June 3.

The proposal to issue new rules has come just six days after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it has imposed a fine of INR 5 lakh on IndiGo airline for denying boarding to a specially-abled child at Ranchi airport on May 7.

ALSO READ - IndiGo penalised INR 5 lakh for refusing to board a specially-abled child

IndiGo had on May 9 said the boy was denied permission to board the Ranchi-Hyderabad flight as he was visibly in panic.

IndiGo had on May 9 said the boy was denied permission to board the Ranchi-Hyderabad flight as he was visibly in panic. After the boy was prohibited from boarding, his parents also decided not to enter the plane.

ALSO READ - DGCA finds Indigo at fault after not allowing specially-abled child onboard

The regulator had on May 28 said that to avoid such situations in the future, it would revisit its regulations, making it mandatory for airlines to take the airport doctor's written opinion on the health of a passenger before deciding to deny boarding.

"Airline shall not refuse carriage of any person based on disability. However, in case, an airline perceives that the health of such a passenger may deteriorate in-flight, the said passenger will have to be examined by a doctor who shall categorically state the medical condition and whether the passenger is fit to fly or not. After obtaining the medical opinion, the airline shall take the appropriate call."DGCA

The current clause on a standalone basis says that airlines can refuse carriage to any person on basis of disability if it opined that “transportation of such persons would or might be inimical to the safety of flight”. In such a case, airlines are bound to specify in writing the basis of such refusal.

The regulator has asked the public to send in their comments about the draft rules by July 2, after which it will issue the final rules.

DGCA amends rules; airlines can no longer deny boarding to any person with a disability

IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta had on May 9 expressed regret over the incident and offered to buy an electric wheelchair for the specially-abled child. Dutta had said the airline staff took the best possible decision under difficult circumstances.

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had on May 9 said on Twitter that no human being should have to go through this and he was investigating the Ranchi incident.

Infrastructure major Tata Projects has won the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the greenfield Noida International Airport in Jewar.

The Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL) - the special purpose vehicle (SPV) to develop the Noida airport, selected Tata Projects from three shortlisted teams with experience in the design, procurement, and construction of large infra projects.

The Government of Uttar Pradesh had signed the concession agreement with Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL)- which has been incorporated as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)- on October 7, 2020, to begin the development of the Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar.

Tata Projects has won the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the greenfield Noida International Airport in Jewar.

ALSO READ - SBI loan to kick off Noida International Airport dream

The project is being developed as a public-private partnership between Zurich Airport and Uttar Pradesh government. Zurich Airport is investing INR 5,700 crore for phase I and has tied up around INR 3,725 crore in debt from the State Bank of India for the project.

ALSO READ - Tata Projects shortlisted to build various airside and landside facilities at Noida Airport

With the contract for the Noida airport, Tata Projects beat L&T and Shapoorji Pallonji for its only second airport project after Allahabad which is built in a record time of 11 months. The first phase of Noida Airport is expected to be ready in about two years.

Noida International Airport to be built by Tata Projects

Tata Projects will construct the terminal, runway, airside infrastructure, roads, utilities, landside facilities and other ancillary buildings at Noida International Airport.

The passenger terminal will comprise parameters such as short and efficient passenger flows, digital services, and minimal environmental impact. Noida airport will be a digital airport in India, enabling contactless travel and personalized services for families, senior citizens, and business travellers.

"Tata Projects will work closely with YIAPL to deliver India’s most advanced and environment-friendly airport on time. We shall deploy the latest technologies in its construction while meeting the highest standards of quality, safety, and sustainability. We are proud to be entrusted the EPC works for the greenfield Noida International Airport at Jewar."Vinayak Pai, CEO and MD Designate, Tata Projects Ltd

Noida airport's design pivots on sustainable development and it will be the country's first net-zero emissions airport.

The airport will be designed and developed keeping in mind the requirements of green infrastructures such as IGBC certified buildings, rainwater harvesting, zero liquid discharge sewage treatment plant, and waste management facility amongst others.

"With the award of this EPC contract, our project enters the next phase, which will witness a rapid increase in the pace of construction activities on site. Together with Tata Projects, we’re working to deliver a passenger terminal, runway, and other airport infrastructure with a capacity of 12 million passengers annually, by 2024."Christoph Schnellmann, Chief Executive Officer, Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd. (YIAPL)

Meanwhile, other notable works of Tata Projects include the New Parliament Building, Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, multiple stretches of Dedicated Freight Corridors, and Metro Rail Lines across cities like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Chennai.

Currently, much of India’s private airport expansion is being undertaken by Larsen & Toubro’s arm L&T Construction, which has built Delhi’s Terminal-3, Mumbai’s Terminal-2, and the Kannur International Airport, in addition to doing airport expansion works in various cities like New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad. The company has also received the contract to build the Greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai.

Marking the start of commercial operations, a Dornier 228 aircraft operated by Alliance Air landed at Tezu airport in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday, June 2.

The 17-seater aircraft, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics took around 20 minutes to reach Tezu from Dibrugarh in Assam. The cost of the ticket is INR 1,600.

"We extend our deep gratitude to the government for bringing Tezu on the aviation map of the country, which will benefit the people immensely during medical emergencies, besides promoting tourism," said Ojimso Tayeng, who along with his wife, were the only passengers on the maiden flight.

https://twitter.com/allianceair/status/1532226121240309760

Captain TS Negi and Flying Officer Nishit Tare said that air connectivity is getting a new boost in the Northeast and the economy of the state would witness significant growth.

"Tezu and adjoining districts have tremendous tourism potentials, which will receive a major boost with air connectivity," Captain TS Negi said. The flight service would be available three days a week -- Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

ALSO READ - Alliance Air’s made-in-India Dornier 228 makes its first commercial flight

On April 12 this year, Alliance Air's first flight landed at Pasighat in East Siang district where Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia and Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju were received by Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

Alliance Air said it took delivery of the first made-in-India Dornier 228 plane on April 7 to facilitate connectivity within the north-eastern states.

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

Alliance Air said it took delivery of the first made-in-India Dornier 228 plane on April 7 to facilitate connectivity within the north-eastern states.

HAL describes Dornier 228 as “a highly versatile multi-purpose light transport aircraft.” It also notes that the aircraft has been developed to meet requirements like utility and commuter transport, third level services and air-taxi operations, coast guard duties and maritime surveillance.