First drone school of Madhya Pradesh inaugurated in Gwalior

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday, March 10 inaugurated the first drone school in Gwalior. The chief minister said that drone technology opens huge technology opportunities for youngsters.

"First drone school in the state has been inaugurated in Gwalior. There's huge employment potential in this industry as drones can be used for various purposes," Mr Chouhan told media persons in Gwalior.

Scindia said that 40 to 50 youngsters will be trained in drone technology every month at the school. “This way, around 500 youths will be prepared as drone pilots in a year. They can easily earn INR 30,000 a month. When all five drone schools are operational, 2,500 drone pilots will graduate in a year,” he said, adding that MP is one of the leading states in the use of drone technology.

First drone school of Madhya Pradesh inaugurated in Gwalior

“Students of Indore have developed startups worth INR 800 crore to INR 1,000 crore. The youth of Gwalior can also take advantage of the government’s startup policy. MP’s youth should become job givers, not job seekers,” the CM said.

Under the new startup policy, the government provides full financial and technical assistance to innovations made by the youth, he said. Scindia pointed out that the first drone school has been set up within 90 days of the announcement being made on December 11.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi dreams that India should become a leader, not a follower of any country. To realise this concept, efforts are being made to take drones to every village and door-to-door,” Scindia said.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the first drone school in Gwalior.

In addition, Madhya Pradesh was also the first state in the country in advancing the use of drone technology on a big scale by organising a drone fair in Gwalior in December 2021.

The programme was the biggest congregation of drone manufacturers, service providers, drone enthusiasts and user communities, especially students, farmers and common man of the city. The programme included drone exhibition, demonstration, industry-user interactions and launches.

The inauguration of Drone School was an event that saw people from the industry gather in huge numbers. Several Drone manufacturers, enthusiasts, service providers, and others attended the event along with farmers and students as well.

Indian carriers have increased their domestic services by 10.1% to 25,309 weekly flights in the upcoming summer schedule as compared to 22,980 last season, aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday, March 11.

IndiGo has increased its domestic flights by 10.4% to 11,130 weekly services for summer 2022 as compared to 10,084 weekly services in the corresponding period in 2021, the regulator noted.

The COVID-19-induced travel restrictions have badly affected the Indian aviation industry in the last 24 months. However, with COVID-19 infections decreasing, air travel has been picking up in the last couple of weeks.

(Data - DGCA)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the summer schedule of Indian carriers has been finalised after a virtual meeting held last month on airport slots. The summer schedule begins on March 27 and ends on October 29.

As compared to the summer schedule of 2020, which was pre-COVID-19, there has been a growth of 3.7% departures this time. In 2021, the DGCA had approved 18,843 flights per week, keeping in mind that airlines were permitted to operate not more than 80% of their pre-COVID flights.

The DGCA said, "It has been observed that 25,309 departures per week have been finalised to and from 112 airports. Out of these 112 airports, Gondia, Ziro and Puducherry are the new airports proposed by the scheduled airlines."

The summer schedule begins on March 27 and ends on October 29.

The Centre-owned Alliance Air will be operating 17.6% more weekly domestic flights (982 flights) in summer this year as compared to 835 services in the corresponding period last year, the regulator noted.

The Tata Group-run AirAsia India will operate 1,601 weekly domestic services -- a 16% jump -- in summer 2022, it mentioned. Air India, which was sold in 2021 to the Tata Group, has increased its weekly domestic services for summer this year by 10% to 2,456, it noted.

It said SpiceJet will be operating 14.2% more weekly domestic services in summer 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021, it mentioned. Vistara and Go First will be increasing its weekly domestic services by just 6.7% and 1.9% in summer 2022 as compared to summer 2021, it mentioned.

As compared to the summer schedule of 2020, which was pre-COVID-19, there has been a growth of 3.7% departures this time

Regional carrier FlyBig will operate 158 weekly domestic flights in summer 2022 as compared to 54 weekly services in summer 2021, it noted.

ALSO READ - India to restart scheduled international flights after 2 years from March 27

On March 8, the Civil Aviation Ministry had announced that it will resume regular international flight operations from March 27. The ministry further added that international operations shall be subject to strict adherence to Ministry of Health guidelines for international travel.

ALSO READ - Aviation stocks soaring as India set to resume international flights

The Scheduled international flight services have remained suspended in India since March 23, 2020. However, special international flights have been operating between India and about 35 other countries since July 2020 under air bubble arrangements.

India currently has air transport bubbles with 40 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the US.

Wings India-2022, Asia’s largest Civil Aviation Show, will be held at the Begumpet Airport from March 24 to 27 with the first two days being business days and the rest for the general public.

The fifth edition of Wings India, a biennial exhibition on civil aviation, is organized by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The event is expected to provide aviation sector stakeholders insight into technology-driven innovations which will help revolutionize air travel in the coming years. The exhibition will feature chalets, demonstration flights, CEOs forum, static display, aerobatics along with media conferences and B2B meetings.

Wings India-2022, Asia’s largest Civil Aviation Show, will be held at the Begumpet Airport from March 24 to 27.

A preparatory meeting on Tuesday was attended by the officials from various authorities involved in the facilitation of infrastructure, law and order and other services where FICCI briefed the attendees about the show and its highlights.

Over 125 international and domestic exhibitors are expected to participate along with 11 hospitality chalets, over 15 country delegations, and several States and Union Territories. Aviation Ministers of several countries and industry captains are expected to participate in the Global Aviation Summit.

The Sarang helicopter air display team of the Indian Air Force will be performing at the event.

IIM Bangalore to host International Virtual Conference on Future of Aviation and Aerospace 2022 on March 12

India is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world. To ensure the availability of quality managerial talent to meet the growing needs of this sector, the Executive Education Programme Office at IIM Bangalore has partnered with Toulouse Business School, France to design and offer a General Management programme for Aviation and Aerospace Executives.

IIMB and TBS also collaborate on a variety of initiatives to provide thought leadership for this sector. One of the initiatives, under this partnership, is to organise an International Conference on the Future of Aviation and Aerospace (FOAA).

This is a virtual conference and BIAL is one of the partners in this conference.

The FOAA is an annual event that brings together industry experts, researchers and scholars to deepen the understanding of the current state and future of the sector. The FOAA, for 2022, is being held on 12th March. This is a virtual conference and BIAL is one of the partners in this conference.

FOAA 2022 will feature keynote speakers and panel discussions anchored by several C-suite executives from Aviation and Aerospace companies and faculty from IIM Bangalore.

Tirupati international airport expansion works are all set to begin soon and the state government of Andhra Pradesh has immersed itself in addressing the land acquisition-related issues mired in legal tangles.

MP Dr M Gurumoorthy said that Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during his recent interaction with Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia at New Delhi asked the centre to clear all decks for the expansion of the Tirupati and the Bhogapuram airports.

Expansion of Tirupati international airport set to begin soon

Following the Chief minister's directive, Tirupati MP Dr M Gurumoorthy held a series of meetings with the airports authority of India officials, the Chittoor district administration and a group of farmers who filed cases against land acquisition linked to the airport expansion works.

"The runway was proposed to extend from the existing 2,285 metres to 3,810 metres to facilitate the landing of wider aircraft like B-747-400, B777-300 ER type. Airport Authority of India has proposed to extend the runway by 240 metres at one end and 1,284 metres at another end for the purpose was caught in some land issues which we are sorting out how to speed up the land acquisition process.AAI officials informed us that after runway expansion works were completed, cargo flight services, flight overhauling and engine service centre will come up at the Tirupati international airport soon for which an MRO facility has already been sanctioned by the union government."Dr M Gurumoorthy, MP, Tirupati

The MP added that the shifting of high-tension electric line works will also be completed soon.

Tirupati Airport is a public airport serving the city of Tirupati in Andrea Pradesh. The airport opened a new terminal building in November 2015, upgrading facilities to international standards. It was awarded the international status in 2008. Tirupati Airport is operated by the Airports Authority of India.

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is set to audit the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) again soon and to check on the work done on changes in procedures flagged during the last audit conducted in October 2021.

In the last audit, they had given some findings on procedures. "All those findings have been worked upon and the FAA would come for an audit again," said a government official, who did not want to be identified.

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is set to audit the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) again soon

A five-member team of FAA had audited safety guidelines, including the licensing of personnel and airworthiness, during their October audit. The findings were mainly on procedures being followed by the aviation regulator in the country.

If the FAA is satisfied with the changes in the DGCA, they will retain the category I status for India's aviation sector. Any dissatisfaction would lead to a downgrade of the sector, which would mean more scrutiny of airlines from India flying to the US.

Officials say that they are hopeful of staying with category I status and most of the procedures have been complied with.

A five-member team of FAA had audited safety guidelines, including the licensing of personnel and airworthiness, during their October audit.

In 2018, the FAA had raised concerns over regulatory and guidance material by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) but after it was rectified, the UN body had given the highest safety ranking for aviation watchdog in India.

The US agency had downgraded India to Category II in safety oversight capability in January 2014 over two key concerns: lack of training of officials and the absence of full-time flight operations inspectors on the DGCA's rolls.

The UN aviation body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is also expected to conduct an audit of India's air safety readiness in 2022 and will focus on aerodromes, air navigation services, certification, aircraft airworthiness, flight operations, airlines, among others.

The premier body of the Sikhs, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) condemned the recent notification by the Ministry of Civil Aviation barring Amritdhari (initiated) Sikh employees who wear their Kakaar (Kirpan) from performing duty at the Indian airports.

President Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami has termed the notification of the government as an attack on Sikh rights, in which, Sikh employees are barred from wearing Kirpan, one of the five Kakaars (symbols of faith).

SGPC takes strong notice of the ban on Sikh employees wearing kirpans at airports

While taking further the issue to the government of India, Advocate Dhami has written a letter to the Union minister of civil aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, urging immediate withdrawal of this order issued on March 4, 2022.

"In their own country, this discrimination is a major attack on the religious freedom of the citizen Sikhs, which will never be allowed to be implemented. The government of India should never forget that the Sikhs have remained at the forefront in making sacrifices for the freedom of this country and if the culture of the country survives today it is because of the Sikhs."Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, President, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)

SGPC President said that it is unfortunate that in their own country excesses are being committed against the Sikhs, who die for the country. "The governments should refrain from adopting such policies which hurts the religious sentiments of the Sikhs", said Advocate Dhami.

As per the notification dated March 4, on page 5 Section 20 (ii)(b), it is written that exemption shall be given to Sikh passengers only, whereas no stakeholder or its employee at the airport (including Sikh) and working at any terminal, domestic or international, shall be allowed to carry a ‘kirpan’ on a person.

Sikh passengers can carry the ‘kirpan’ on Indian aircraft provided the length of its blade does not exceed six inches and its total length does not exceed nine inches.

As per the guidelines for a Sikh passenger, the ‘kirpan’ may be carried, provided the length of its blade does not exceed six inches and its total length does not exceed nine inches. It is allowed while travelling by air on Indian aircraft within India (domestic routes of fully domestic flights operating from domestic terminals only).

The issue was also raised by an NGO — Amritsar Vikas Manch. Sandeep Singh Gumtala of Amritsar Vikas Manch said: “If Sikh passengers are allowed to wear a ‘kirpan’ on domestic flights, it is hard to believe that Sikh employees pose a greater security threat after undergoing security clearances. To my knowledge, Sikh employees at airports in the UK, Canada are permitted to wear a ‘kirpan’ at the airside,” he said.