IndiGo A320 faces an "engine stall" warning due to wake turbulence caused by B777

Jinen Gada

31 Aug 2022

An Airbus plane operated by IndiGo faced an "engine stall" warning for a few seconds as it flew into wake turbulence caused by a Boeing 777 aircraft that flew from the opposite side.

The mid-air incident happened on IndiGo's Guwahati-Mumbai flight that was operated by an Airbus 320 ceo plane on Monday, August 29.

An Airbus A320 operated by IndiGo experienced an uncommon occurrence while passing over the Guwahati to Mumbai route at a height of about 36,000 feet. The captain detected an Engine 1 stall warning signal that suddenly disappeared.

The wake turbulence arose due to the large jet aircraft crossing in the opposite direction of the Indigo aircraft.

An official reported that IndiGo flight 6E-6812 briefly experienced an engine 1 stall warning signal as a result of a larger jet of a Boeing 777 aircraft travelling in the opposite direction of IndiGo’s A320 aircraft and creating “Wake Turbulence” mid-air.

Commenting on the development, an official said the warning signal appeared for a moment due to the presence of a bigger jet of Boeing 777 aircraft passing in the opposite direction. However, despite the warning, the flight landed safely at the Mumbai airport.

The heavier the aircraft is and the slower it is moving, the stronger the vortices.

Wake turbulence is a disturbance in the atmosphere that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. It includes a variety of components, the most significant of which are wingtip vortices and jetwash.

All aircraft produce wake turbulence more correctly called wingtip vortices or wake vortices. Wake vortices are formed any time an aerofoil is producing lift. Lift is generated by the creation of a pressure differential over the wing surfaces.

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Air India retains Capt R S Sandhu as Chief of Operations

Jinen Gada

31 Aug 2022

The Tatas have retained Captain R S Sandhu as chief of operations of Air India, making him among the few top management people from the Maharaja’s government-owned days to be utilised for the big transformation under the new owners.

Captain Rajwinder Singh Sandhu will continue as Tata-owned Air India's chief of operations. The airline on Tuesday, August 30 announced that Captain Sandhu will continue to lead as Chief of Operations till further notice.

According to an order issued then, Sandhu had been appointed as Director, Operations, of Air India for three years with effect from the date of his joining, or until disinvestment of Air India, or up to the date of superannuation, or until further orders, whichever was earlier. He was working as Executive Director in the same organisation.

Capt RS Sandhu retains as Chief of Operations for Air India.

His appointment for the role was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in July 2020. This makes the 58-year-old pilot one among the few top management people from the carrier's government-owned days to be retained for as Air India undergoes a big transformation under its new owners - the Tatas.

One of the senior-most pilots who fly the 787 Dreamliner, Captain Sandhu was nearing the airline's retirement age of 58, however, he has been given an extension in the term following Air India's recent decision to raise it 65 years.

ALSO READ - Air India plans to let its pilots fly until the age of 65

The Tata-owned carrier had recently decided to give an extension for another five years to select pilots. This was also given Air India's expansion plans as it looks at widening its fleet.

This was also given Air India's expansion plans as it looks at widening its fleet.

"Considering future expansion plans for our fleet, it is imperative to meet our workforce requirement for pilots," S D Tripathi, Air India's Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), had said in a July 29 notice.

DGCA allows pilots to fly till the age of 65 years, compared to Air India's retirement age of 58 years. Allowing pilots to fly till the age of 65 is a practice followed by most airlines in the industry.

To meet our requirement, it is proposed to retain our current trained pilots at Air India post-retirement on a contractual basis for 5 years extendable to 65 years, it added.

Air India’s load factor improves to 80% under Tata group management.

To grant an extension to pilots till the age of 65, Air India has introduced a screening process. "A committee comprising of the functional representatives of HR, operations and flight safety will be constituted to examine the eligibility of pilots retiring in the next two years," according to the policy.

The committee will be responsible for reviewing the records of the pilots concerning discipline, flight safety and vigilance. Post the review, the committee will recommend shortlisted names to the CHRO for issuing post-retirement contracts.

ALSO READ - Key to TATA’s strategy to infuse fresh energy into Air India

(With inputs from The Times of India)

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IndiGo CEO consents 2-year non-compete post his retirement in September

Radhika Bansal

31 Aug 2022

InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta, who will be stepping down in September ahead of his tenure, has agreed to an enhanced two-year non-compete period wherein he will not engage with any similar business or in competition with the company.

Dutta is to step down as the Whole Time Director and CEO of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of the country's largest airline IndiGo, on September 30 whereas his current tenure is till January 23, 2024.

On Tuesday, August 30, the company said it will seek shareholders' approval for the remuneration of Dutta for this fiscal "as minimum remuneration in the event of absence or inadequacy of profits".

IndiGo CEO consents 2-year non-compete post his retirement in September

The e-voting on the proposal will be open from August 31 to September 29 and the results will be declared on or before October 1.

According to the filing, Dutta has agreed to an enhanced non-compete period of two years as against one year that was originally agreed to after stepping down.

Under the non-compete restrictions, "he shall not engage with any business or allied business that is in any way similar, identical or competitive with the business, activities or services of the company, or with customers or suppliers of the company with whom he had any contact during his employment".

Further, the restrictions would apply in the event Dutta is engaged in the Indian (domestic) aviation sector or providing consultancy services to an entity engaged in the Indian (domestic) aviation sector with any airline or potential airline within 4,800 kilometres of India, as per the filing.

Pieter Elbers has been appointed as Ronojoy Dutta’s successor after Ronojoy Dutta decides to retire by September.

Dutta was appointed as CEO in January 2019.

ALSO READ - IndiGo appoints Pieter Elbers as new CEO after Ronojoy Dutta decides to retire by September

Pieter Elbers has been appointed as Ronojoy Dutta’s successor after Ronojoy Dutta decides to retire by September. He will be joining IndiGo on or before October 01, 2022.

Elbers has served as the President & Chief Executive Officer of KLM Royal Dutch Airline since 2014. Elbers is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Air France – KLM Group.

Shareholders of InterGlobe Aviation had approved Dutta's annual fixed salary.

The filing also said that as per the original terms of appointment, Dutta was required to serve a six-month notice period but at the management's request, "he (Dutta) agreed to be relieved by serving 4.5 months of notice thereby foregoing 1.5 months of notice pay".

Shareholders of InterGlobe Aviation had approved Dutta's annual fixed salary. "This notice pay is calculated based on 4.5 months (from May 15, 2022, to September 30, 2022) of the annual fixed salary amounting to Indian rupees equivalent to USD 393,000," it noted.

Also, Dutta is currently taking a pay cut of 17.5% and the same would apply while calculating his notice pay. The bonus payable to him has been approved by the shareholders and is due to be paid in December-end and the amount will be equivalent to USD 1,270,000. Besides, there will be an accelerated payment for stock options.

InterGlobe Aviation posted a net loss of INR 1,065.4 crore in the three months ended June, mainly due to the depreciating rupee and higher fuel prices.

In the filing, the company said that independent of financial performance for FY 2022-23, it may have inadequate profits for managerial remuneration, considering the losses accumulated over the last two financial years, which were driven by the impact of the pandemic on operations.

"Apart from the pandemic, the recent geopolitical developments have led to a significant increase in fuel prices and depreciation of the rupee. All these factors together materially impacted the company's financial performance resulting in significant accumulated losses during the period of FY2021 through FY2022," the filing said.

ALSO READ - IndiGo reports net loss of INR 1,064 crore in Q1

InterGlobe Aviation posted a net loss of INR 1,065.4 crore in the three months ended June, mainly due to the depreciating rupee and higher fuel prices.

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Cash-strapped government to privatise Sri Lanka's national carrier soon

Radhika Bansal

30 Aug 2022

Sri Lanka will privatise the country's loss-making national carrier as the cash-strapped government "can no longer afford to inject money" into running the airline.

The government is looking to sell a 49% stake in each of the SriLankan Airlines' catering and ground-handling units to restructure the state-run carrier, while 51% will be retained under state hold, Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

This restructuring is essential as the government can no longer afford to inject money into running the airline. Annually the government has been providing the airline between USD 80 billion to USD 200 billion to run its operations.

ALSO READ - Sri Lanka’s new government plans to sell its national airline to stem losses

Cash-strapped government to privatise Sri Lanka's national carrier soon

The minister said the revenue from the sale of the catering operation can be used to pay off debt amounting to USD 80 million that was obtained by mortgaging its shares, as well as some other loans. The airline's debt currently amounts to USD 1.226 billion (LKR 401 billion).

The airline, formed in 1979 as Air Lanka, was rebranded by Srilankan Airlines under the management control of Emirates in 1998. In 2007, the government took back control of it from the Emirates.

Srilankan Airlines is among over 190 state-owned enterprises that are making huge losses. Without retaining a 51% stake in the airline, Sri Lanka might lose ownership of the companies to be sold.

But if the investors are Sri Lankan nationals, we can go for more. There are many rich people in Sri Lanka, they can come together as a syndicate or with airlines and offer a bid, he said.

The airline, formed in 1979 as Air Lanka, was rebranded by Srilankan Airlines under the management control of Emirates in 1998.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called for much-needed reforms for the loss-making national carrier.

According to Colombo-based think tank Advocate, SriLankanAirlines has, on numerous occasions, required treasury guaranteed loans to stay afloat, and has amassed over LKR 53.6 billion in guarantees as of August 2021, the report said.

ALSO READ - Cochin International Airport starts technical landing facility for aircraft refuelling

Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic crisis has left millions struggling to buy food, medicines, fuel, and other essential items. The shortage of fuel is also severely impacting the island’s aviation industry, with long-haul flights having to make a refuelling stop in the Southern Indian cities of Trivandrum, Kochi, or Chennai.

The airline did report a USD 1.2 million profit earlier this year – its first profit since 2006.

Shorter flights have been carrying extra fuel for their next flight – a process known as tankering. Tankering fuel greatly increases the weight of an aircraft, limiting the amount of cargo it can carry.

According to SriLankan Airlines’ chief commercial officer, this is costing around USD 7 million per month in lost revenue. That said, the airline did report a USD 1.2 million profit earlier this year – its first profit since 2006.

From its base at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport, the airline today operates an all-Airbus fleet of 24 aircraft, including four Airbus A321neos and seven Airbus A330-300s.

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Cochin Airport, the most sustainable airport in India, logs INR 37.68 crore profit in FY 2021-22

Radhika Bansal

30 Aug 2022

A big contribution in this direction comes from India. The Cochin Airport became the first ‘green airport’ in the world, for which it was awarded the Champions of Earth award 2018, the United Nation's highest environmental honour.

One of the prominent challenges of the 21st century is how to make aviation sustainability a reality in the face of the industry’s high global footprints. In this modern world, transportation by air has become a necessary evil as more and more people and industries rely on it, creating a dilemma between the economy and the environment.

The aviation sector, if it were a country, would be one of the top 10 carbon-polluting nations in the world. To put that in perspective, the top 10 countries together emit more than two-thirds of all carbon emitted each year. It is also one of the highest and fastest growing sources of individual emissions. A single international trip taken by one person emits more carbon than someone living in Paraguay for a year.

The Cochin Airport became the first ‘green airport’ in the world, for which it was awarded the Champions of Earth award 2018, the United Nation's highest environmental honour.

Ground operations, mainly performed at the airport form a major aspect of the sector. Airports act as the interface between landside access to airspace and airside access to the ground.

The airport fully operates on solar power, which meets all its electricity requirements. This is no small feat as the Cochin airport stands to be one of the most important airports for not just India but the rest of the world.

It is the largest airport in the state of Kerala and the seventh largest in India in terms of passenger traffic. It has one of the longest runways, measuring up to 3.4 km, equipped to handle the largest of aircraft. It is also the first ever airport in India to be developed under Public-Private Partnership.

Installing the first solar photovoltaic power station plant on the rooftop of the Arrival Terminal Block way back in 2013 turned out to be a trendsetter. Since then, it has not looked back, adding several more solar power units to maximise energy production and produce enough for all its needs.

CIAL now has a negative carbon footprint.

A total of INR 7 crore was spent on solar power units, which might already have been recovered from the massive saving of INR 7-8 lakh per month on electricity bills.

The most recent news on the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) confirmed that it has become a power surplus, having achieved power neutrality way back in 2015. This means, CIAL now has a negative carbon footprint.

Rather than adding to the global carbon emission, it is making a significant contribution to off-setting emissions done elsewhere. It is also now the second-largest energy producer in the Indian state of Kerala after the State Electricity Board (KSEB).

This sense of cost consciousness is probably what motivated the sustainability drive.

CIAL has a culture of cost-effectiveness. The entire construction of Cochin airport can be considered a marvel gave the low cost of mere INR 303 crore at which it was constructed. This sense of cost consciousness is probably what motivated the sustainability drive.

Becoming energy positive might be the most important of its achievements but it by no means is the only one. The airport is also engaged in scalable agro-photovoltaic activities, putting to efficient utilisation the vacant spaces between the solar panels within the CIAL solar plant, which has by far produced close to 90 metric tons of pesticide-free vegetables.

This is largely in line with the Indian government’s general push in the direction of organic and zero-budget natural farming. The solar project pioneered by managing director Vattavayalil Joseph Kurian has motivated CIAL to take up several more solar and hydropower projects in the rest of the state.

In a world where global climate action is witnessing stagnation, India’s environmental leadership is inducing hope for a better and sustainable future.

Since the success of the Cochin International Airport, the government of India has every airport in the country produce at least 2 MW of solar energy.

Despite having a large population leading to a low per capita GDP when compared to the global powers, India has engaged itself proactively in global environmental initiatives, being on track with its international commitments, and coming up with several great initiatives of its own, the International Solar Alliance being one of its major initiatives.

ALSO READ - Cochin International Airport starts technical landing facility for aircraft refuelling

Cochin Airport logs INR 37.68 crore profit

Giving indications of a prosperous future, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has made a strong comeback from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation sector.

4.5 MW Arippara hydropower plant, and 12 MWp Payyanur Solar power plant were commissioned during this period.

After having incurred a loss of INR 87.21 crore during the FY 2020-21, the company has registered a profit (before tax) of INR 37.68 crore for the FY 2021-22.

The board of directors met at Thiruvananthapuram with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the chair and also decided to hold the Annual General Meeting of shareholders on September 26, 2022.

"The company has come back from a situation where it incurred a loss of Rs 87.21 crore in the FY 2020-21 against a turnover of Rs 252.71 crore," the company statement said.

ALSO READ - CIAL experience a boom in air passenger traffic

CIAL, which used to handle around 10 million passengers annually, had to witness a huge drop both in passenger traffic and revenue during the pandemic era.

The company resumed the construction of the International cargo terminal.

"With the eventualities of the pandemic starting to wane, the management implemented new operational strategies and financial restructuring to improve connectivity and general performance. Subsequently, the number of passengers increased from 24.7 lakh during FY 2020-21 to 47.59 lakh in FY 2021-22," it said.

The company said it made a turnover of INR 418.69 crore for FY 2021-22; registering an operating profit of INR 217.34 crore. The profit before tax is INR 37.68 and the net profit is INR 26.13 crore.

"In addition to that, CIAL Duty-Free and Retail Service Limited (CDRSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of CIAL have also increased its turnover from INR 52.32 crore in FY 2020-21 to INR 150.59 crore in FY 2021-22," it said.

CIAL Duty-Free and Retail Service Limited (CDRSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of CIAL have also increased its turnover from INR 52.32 crore in FY 2020-21 to INR 150.59 crore in FY 2021-22

The company said it is eying a total revenue target of INR 675 crore for the current fiscal and the target worked out for CDRSL for the current financial year is INR 270 crore.

The Ministers, as well as Directors of the company, P Rajeeve and K Rajan, Chief Secretary V P Joy, Directors E K Bharat Bhushan, Aruna Sundararajan, M A Yusuff Ali, N V George, E M Babu, CIAL Managing Director S Suhas and Company Secretary Saji K George, participated in the board of directors meeting.

“The management's efforts to enhance connectivity have begun to bear fruit. Many airlines, including Akasa Air, the country's newest airline, have started services from CIAL. Several domestic airlines have also started considering CIAL as a de facto hub to start their international services. The company is targeting projects including the start of operations of a business jet terminal in the ongoing financial year."Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL)

Despite the crisis, CIAL has successfully implemented many infrastructure development projects. 4.5 MW Arippara hydropower plant, and 12 MWp Payyanur Solar power plant were commissioned during this period.

CIAL also started construction of the business jet terminal and completed ‘Operation Pravah’, the integrated flood mitigation project. The company resumed the construction of the International cargo terminal.

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Russians develop the LAOP-500 drone after disassembling American Switchblade drones found in Ukraine

Prashant-prabhakar

30 Aug 2022

A kamikaze drone was developed by Russian engineers against the backdrop of how unmanned aircraft were able to successfully demonstrate themselves in hostilities, emphasising the success of their deployment against various targets.

This drone's design is almost identical to that of the American Switchblade 300 drone, but it is nearly twice as powerful, allowing it to destroy enemy manpower and unarmored vehicles in addition to hitting heavily armoured ones.

Representative | Bloomberg

According to statements made by the corporation, the Russian firm Android Technics NPO designed the LAOP-500 drone, which can attack enemy soldiers, unarmored vehicles, and heavily armoured vehicles.

Switchblade vs. LAOP-500 drone

A single-use aircraft (LAOP) may fly for up to 20 minutes while still hitting targets up to 5 kilometres away. Similar to the American Switchblade drones, the drone is launched using a specialised launcher that throws it into the air and accelerates it to a speed that maintains its flight.

The Russian unmanned aerial vehicle, in contrast to the American Switchblade 300 drone, carries a payload of around 500 grammes of TNT, making it possible to hit targets in a fairly wide area.

The LAOP-500 drone's range is doubled with the Switchblade 300 munition, which also has a slightly shorter 15-minute endurance.

While the weight of the LAOP 500 is unknown, it can apparently carry a payload of about 500 grammes of trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosives. In contrast, the Switchblade 300 weighs 2.5 kilogrammes, including the warhead.

The launch unit for the Switchblade 300 | Wikipedia

The Switchblade 300 is made for precise attacks on hostile soldiers or exposed weapons like mortar launchers or machine gun emplacements. The LAOP 500, on the other hand, is said to be twice as powerful and capable of destroying heavily fortified vehicles.

Representative

The larger Switchblade 600 loitering munition is man-portable, weighs 54.5 kg (120 lb), and takes 10 minutes to set up. It is intended to fly out to a distance of 40 km (25 mi) in 20 minutes before loitering for an additional 20 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XInLO6LGHbo

The ability to be "waved off," which enables the avoidance of collateral harm, is a noteworthy characteristic of Switchblade drones. For instance, the drone's operator can change the blast radius such that just the driver of the car is killed and not any other passengers.

The Switchblade 600 also features the "recommit" option in addition to the "wave-off" function, allowing drone pilots to cancel a mission at any time and re-engage the same or different targets again.

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