DGCA fines Air India INR 30 lakh in urination case, pilot suspended for 3 months

Radhika Bansal

20 Jan 2023

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday, January 20 imposed a fine of INR 30 lakhs on Tata-owned Air India for violation of rules. The regulator has also suspended the license of the Pilot-In-Command of the flight for 3 months for failing to discharge his duties as per Rule 141 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and applicable DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements & INR 3 lakhs fine on Air India's Director-in-flight services. The staff involved in the matter was earlier taken off the roster.

Air India has submitted its reply to the DGCA in the case where passenger Shankar Mishra urinated on a woman co-passenger onboard a New York-Delhi flight in November last year.

On January 6, DGCA issued Show Cause notices to the Accountable Manager of Air India, the Director of in-flight Services of Air India, and all the pilots and cabin crew members of that flight as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations.

DGCA fines Air India INR 30 lakh in urination case, pilot suspended for 3 months

For fact-finding, DGCA sought the details of the incident from Air India and based on the reply of the airline, prima facie it emerges that provisions related to the handling of an unruly passenger on board have not been complied with. The conduct of the concerned airline appears to be unprofessional and has led to a systemic failure.

Prima facie it lacks appreciation of regulatory obligations as described in applicable Aircraft Rules 1937, Civil Aviation Requirements on 'Handling of Unruly Passengers', Cabin Safety Circular, Air India Operations Manual, Air India Safety and Emergency Procedure Manual and Air India Quick Reference Handbook and is devoid of empathy.

On Thursday, January 19, Air India banned Shankar Mishra from flying for four months in connection with the case. Other airlines are also expected to ban him from flying once the DGCA comes out with its decision on the matter.

Air India banned Shankar Mishra from flying for four months in connection with the case.

This means he would be banned from all the airlines under the Air India group — Air India, Air India Express, AIX Connect as well as Vistara. It had earlier barred him from flying for 30 days due to the internal committee enquiry.

His lawyer also made some bizarre arguments in the matter, claiming that Kathak dancers have bladder issues. “The complainant woman's seat was blocked. It wasn’t possible for him (Mishra) to go there. The woman has a problem with incontinence. She urinated on herself. She is a Kathak dancer, 80% of Kathak dancers have this issue,” the lawyer was quoted as saying last week. This also sparked angry reactions from different quarters.

Air India also registered another similar incident on the Paris-Delhi flight last month.

ALSO READ - Air India passenger incident: What? How? When?

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IndiGo uses Sensors to cut Life Vest inspection time by 90%

Sakshi Jain

20 Jan 2023

IndiGo will deploy a Sensor Tech for quicker and more accurate scanning of life vests on its aircraft to improve efficiency and speed up aircraft turnaround.

What are Life Vests?

How attentively, if at all, did you truly pay attention to the cabin attendant security demonstrations on your most recent flights? If you are reading this, you most likely belong to the segment of the travelling public that is an expert at fastening the safety belt.

Even while you may be aware that there is a life jacket underneath your seat, if for no other reason than the constant reminder on the back of the seat in front of you, you might not have given them much thought or thought about how important they are. 

An Airline flight attendant demonstrating a life vest before takeoff

The purpose of a life jacket is to keep you afloat in the water. To reduce the chance of drowning, they will automatically turn your face up, keeping your mouth and nostrils above the water. This is especially crucial if you are unconscious when you fall into the water in the case of mishaps. 

Life Vests Inspections

Life Vests often make up a very little portion of an air traveller's journey. In fact, they are so tiny that they may be tucked away in an armrest or beneath a seat. Although small, yet powerful! 

All passenger aircraft in commercial service must be equipped with life vests as a mandated piece of safety equipment. Periodic inspections of these vests are necessary to make sure there are enough of them on board and that they are in usable condition. It would typically take 90 to 120 minutes to manually inspect every vest, depending on the type of aircraft. According to a statement from IndiGo, this time has been reduced to 3–4 minutes per aircraft thanks to the use of sensor technology.

The time required for each aircraft's life vest inspection has been slashed to 3–4 minutes, according to a statement from IndiGo

IndiGo’s Sensor Technology for Inspections

Sensor technology is an automated data gathering technique that reads the tag on the life vests, allowing for the identification, tracking, and localisation of the tagged life vests. This system will enable IndiGo to keep track of the availability and expiration date of life vests in real-time.

This will save a massive amount of time for India's largest fleet of 300 aircraft and more than 53,000 life vests. The significant time savings may lead to higher fleet utilisation and shorter passenger wait times.

"Developed completely in-house, this sensor-based inspection process for life vests enables us to prepare aircraft faster for the next flight."- Neetan Chopra

“Developed completely in-house, this sensor-based inspection process for life vests enables us to prepare aircraft faster for the next flight. We will continue to push into new digital and innovative frontiers and introduce more such solutions to enhance operational efficiency and provide on-time, hassle-free, and affordable travel experience to our customers.”

–Neetan Chopra, Chief Digital and Information Officer, IndiGo

Adopting New Technologies

This isn't the first time IndiGo has used technology for better productivity. In partnership with India's aviation regulator, the DGCA, it became the first carrier in the nation to develop a "Digital e-logbook" for pilots in December.

In December, IndiGo became the first airline in the country to create a "Digital e-logbook" for pilots

The automated procedure ensures data and format consistency, resulting in operations that are safer and more effective. The removal of multilayer data validation allows for data accuracy and prompt submission for the issuance, renewal, and endorsement of licences. It also provides pilots with real-time access to flying hour data.

Also read: IndiGo introduces digitised e-logbook for pilots

Additionally, Vistara disclosed last year that it would replace the traditional paper-based aircraft technical log, cabin log, travel log, damage log, and fuelling log with electronic logbook software from Ultramain Systems.

Also read: Vistara implements Digital Rostering Solution for enhanced crew experience

Last year, AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) had a fantastic year in terms of on-time performance. Additionally, RedSmart Plus, a data analytics-driven tool created by Tata Consultancy Service (TCS), was one of the driving drivers behind the airline's excellent OTP.

One of the main forces behind AirAsia's successful OTP was RedSmart Plus, a data analytics-driven solution developed by Tata Consultancy Service (TCS)

The tool assists management in precisely tracking how much time is spent on various duties like loading and unloading, cleaning aircraft, refuelling, and catering. Ground staff input the data into the app, and its analytics feature generates reports on expected on-time performance for the day, increasing the airline's operational effectiveness.

Source: TOI

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AAI to monetize land parcels near airport terminals

Radhika Bansal

20 Jan 2023

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is working on a draft to amend the AAI Act, 1994, which will allow the state-run airport operator to monetize land parcels near airport terminals across the country, two officials aware of the matter said. According to the existing provisions of the AAI Act, the authority can use the land only to discharge functions related to airports.

“The amendment to AAI Act, 1994 is currently in a draft stage. Legal opinion has also been sought from the ministry of law and justice. Simultaneously, the authority has identified land parcels, where AAI can commence the process once final approvals are in place," one of the two officials said, requesting anonymity.

AAI has 55,000-60,000 acres of land across more than 150 locations, including airports and airstrips. “Out of the 150 airports, there are over 50 airports where land records are clear, and suggest that redevelopment will be possible without any roadblock. They should be the first in line once the Cabinet clears the proposal," the second official said, also seeking anonymity.

AAI to monetize land parcels near airport terminals

AAI’s plan to unlock additional revenue from a tangible asset like the land was suggested in the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016. “There are restrictions on the use of land allocated for commercial use of airports. Ministry of civil aviation will explore ways to unlock the potential of the same by liberalising the end-use restrictions for existing (excluding public-private partnership) and future greenfield and brownfield airports of AAI, and future greenfield and brownfield airport projects under PPP," the policy stated.

In 2017, AAI identified land for city-side development near airports at Lucknow, Raipur, Tirupati, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Kolkata, Amritsar and Jaipur in a phased manner. It had also started construction of multi-level car parking with commercial facilities at Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Calicut, Jaipur and Amritsar, besides planning to build hotels at Amritsar, Bhubaneswar and Kolkata airports.

So far, revenue generated from non-aeronautical sources at major airports of AAI makes up about 23% of its total airport services revenue. AAI recorded total revenue of INR 6,841 crore in FY22, up from INR 4,867 crore in the previous year. Revenue stood at INR 12,837 crore during the non-covid year of FY20.

So far, revenue generated from non-aeronautical sources at major airports of AAI makes up about 23% of its total airport services revenue.

The organization has been incurring losses since the onset of the pandemic due to a sharp drop in air traffic. AAI is expected to have incurred a loss of ?800-900 crore in FY22.

Under the airport development programme, announced by the Centre in 2021, AAI has taken up the development of new and existing airports with a projected capital expenditure of INR 25,000 crores over five years, including the construction of new terminals, expansion and modification of existing terminals, expansion and strengthening of existing runways, aprons, airport navigation services infrastructure, control towers and technical blocks.

So far, the government has accorded in-principle approval for setting up 21 greenfield airports in India. Out of this, eight airports—Sindhudurg and Shirdi in Maharashtra, Durgapur (West Bengal), Pakyong (Sikkim), Orvakal (Andhra Pradesh), Kannur (Kerala), Kalaburagi (Karnataka) and Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh)—have been operationalized.

(With Inputs from Mint)

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AAI places orders with Vehant Tech for dual-view X-ray baggage scanning machines

Radhika Bansal

20 Jan 2023

Vehant Technologies has received over INR 90 crore in orders from the state-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) for the supply and maintenance of dual-view x-ray machines for passenger screening at airports.

"The order is to supply 219 dual view X-ray baggage scanning machines to be deployed within 8 months across 70 airports in India in cities like Chennai, Kolkata, Trichy, Pune, Udaipur, Varanasi, Jodhpur, Prayagraj etc," Vehant Technologies said in a statement. The company said it has deployed its products at several airports in the past as well.

AAI places orders with Vehant Tech for dual-view X-ray baggage scanning machines

The new dual-view machines are designed and manufactured in India under the Make in India initiative of the government. The latest product provides a dual view of scanned baggage. It gives both vertical and horizontal views of the screened luggage. The dual view provides more efficient and quick identification to the operator.

“We aim to complete the order ahead of time. Vehant strives to work hard and ensure that it caters to such requirements with diligence, banking on our technological advancement. The X-ray baggage scanner is one level above the existing scanners with its dual view technology. We have completely developed the products in-house including the X-ray imaging software which will ensure the security of information. During the scanning, newly installed large-sized monitors with high resolution images will also ensure quick and instant assessment of any explosive, arms threat etc."

Kapil Bardeja, CEO, Vehant Technologies

The USP of the product is that it provides a dual view of the scanned carry-in baggage which will increase the possibility of identifying contraband /threats inside the bags. It gives both vertical and horizontal views of the screened luggage at the same time. The dual view provides more efficient and quick identification to the operator.

Noida-based Vehant Technologies focuses on the development of smart security solutions for corporate and industrial purposes.

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E-immigration process for Foreign Travellers soon

Sakshi Jain

19 Jan 2023

The Central government is preparing to implement E-immigration using biometric technology at airports in India to ensure ease of travel for foreign travellers.

Speaking at a conference put on by the industry body Assocham, Scindia said, “One of the things that we are looking at doing, and this is in conjunction with the Union home ministry, is biometrics, and digitising immigration processes, and that process is on as we speak.”

Scindia urged DIAL and BIAL to increase the adoption rate of DigiYatra in their terminals to ensure passenger convenience

“Certainly, a data bank or a repository has to be created based on which the throughput capability of our international airports also becomes much more seamless. On the immigration side, that is something we are working on.”

–Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation

In the past month, during the busiest travel period, the country's major airports, including those in Delhi and Bengaluru, saw congestion on a number of days. Currently, officials of the Bureau of Immigration, which reports to the Union Home Minister, performed the manual immigration screening process for international travellers at airports.

Scindia urged Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which is owned by the GMR Group and runs the Delhi airport, and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which is owned by Fairfax and runs the Bengaluru airport, to increase the adoption rate of DigiYatra in their terminals to ensure passenger convenience.

On December 1, Scindia introduced DigiYatra, a service that allows travellers to transit quickly through these airports by using facial recognition technology (by uploading their information and a photo on the app). Only domestic travellers presently have access to this amenity.

DigiYatra service at Bangalore's Kempegowda International Airport

Also read: IATA applauds India’s DigiYatra’s Contactless Boarding; keen to implement it globally

“The adoption rate of DigiYatra has also been tremendous. About 300,000 people have already downloaded the DigiYatra app at a time when it has been rolled out at only three airports.”

“I have given quite stiff targets (to DIAL and BIAL to ensure the adoption of DigiYatra) for the next quarter or so. What is amazing is the adoption rate in Varanasi airport, where it is almost 20 per cent. This means one in five persons is not using the old orthodox system of passing through the airport.”

–Jyotiraditya Scindia

He claimed to be keeping an eye on DIAL and BIAL's implementation of DigiYatra. At the airports in Delhi and Bengaluru, adoption rates are gradually rising.

Also read: Major Indian airports to get facial recognition system by March 2023

“It has not been implemented across the airport (in Delhi and Bengaluru). I have given them a certain time span by which it needs to be at every entry gate and every boarding gate. Then, you can leave it to the traveller whether he or she wants to go through the manual check-in and manual security check, or use DigiYatra app.”

––Jyotiraditya Scindia

The DigiYatra adoption rates at the airports in Delhi and Bengaluru are gradually rising

The creation of automated immigration clearance lanes at airports has begun at airports across the world!

At Changi Airport in Singapore, the nation's citizens, permanent residents, and holders of long-term passports use automated lanes to have their iris and face biometrics cleared at the immigration checkpoint when entering or exiting the nation. This feature is only available to foreign visitors at the time of departure from Singapore. It's anticipated that this facility will be made available to all travellers through Changi Airport this year.

Travellers at Changi Airport in Singapore use automated lanes to have their iris and face biometrics cleared at the immigration checkpoint when entering or exiting the nation

In July 2021, Tokyo International Air Terminal Corporation installed “Face Pass”, a facial recognition system that will allow passengers to board a flight without a boarding pass. 

Other airports all across the world have begun to issue boarding passes for flights using face biometrics, including Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Munich International Airport and few airports in the USA.

Source: Business Standard

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Vistara to now offer multimodel itineraries on Deutsche Bahn train network

Radhika Bansal

19 Jan 2023

Full service carrier Vistara has entered into a partnership with WorldTicket that will enable providing connections to customers on Germany's Deutsche Bahn train network.

The interline partnership with WorldTicket (W2), part of the 777 Travel Tech group, and the only authorised distributor for Europe's largest railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, will enable the carrier to offer multimodal itineraries to its customers. According to a release, customers can seamlessly book air and rail travel throughout Germany and other European cities on a single itinerary.

“We are delighted to partner with WorldTicket and offer Deutsche Bahn’s extensive network of destinations within Germany and the rest of Europe to our customers. This partnership is aimed at making the travel experience of our customers simpler and seamless as they go beyond Frankfurt to other parts of Germany and Europe on a single itinerary.”

Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial Officer, Vistara

Vistara customers can now easily connect from any one of the 16,000 train stations in Germany to Frankfurt Airport and fly Vistarato Delhi, and vice versa. In addition to train stations across Germany, Vistara customers can also travel to and from Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium), and Zurich or Basel (Switzerland) on Deutsche Bahn's extensive network.

The flight segment of the customer's journey is being operated and marketed under Vistara's 'UK' while the train segment is driven by Deutsche Bahn and marketed by 'W2'. From the customer's perspective, they will book a single itinerary that includes both flight and rail reservations and only need to check in separately for each segment.

Vistara to now offer multimodel itineraries on the Deutsche Bahn train network

Once passengers arrive at Frankfurt (FRA), they can clear immigration, collect their bags and proceed to the railway station at Frankfurt Airport to board their train. Vistara -- a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines -- has a fleet of 52 aircraft.

Vistara received additional widebody capacity in November last year after receiving a leased Boeing 787. Having three Dreamliners in its fleet allowed it to ramp up its European frequencies, benefiting both Frankfurt and Paris routes.

ALSO READ - Vistara adds new flights to Frankfurt and Paris on its new B787 Dreamliner

The airline currently offers a daily service from Delhi (DEL) to London (LHR) and five weekly flights to Paris (CDG) on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. To Frankfurt (FRA), it offers six weekly flights from Delhi on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

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