Near-collision between 2 planes prompts FAA investigation

Jinen Gada

07 Feb 2023

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a close call between a FedEx plane and a Southwest Airlines flight at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas on February 4, 2023. 

The FedEx jet - a Boeing 767 cargo plane - had been cleared to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 06:40 local time (11:40 GMT) on Saturday morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

But an air traffic controller cleared Southwest Flight 708 (B737) for departure from the same runway with the FedEx crew about three miles away, flight data interpreted by FlightRadar24 shows.

Aviation officials are investigating a near-collision between a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest passenger flight at a Texas airport on Saturday.

The FedEx plane at one point reported an altitude of 75ft before climbing as it caught up to the Southwest plane, which remained on the runway.

An animated video released by FlightRadar24 shows the cargo plane approaching and passing directly over the commercial flight before making a sharp turn away from the runway.

https://twitter.com/flightradar24/status/1622067973111308288?s=20&t=A49untaiuM1W8zVeRLOxUw

Fortunately, both planes were able to continue on their respective flights without incident. However, the near miss has raised concerns about runway safety and the protocols in place to prevent such incidents from occurring.

The FAA is the primary agency responsible for ensuring the safety of air traffic in the United States, and it is taking the near collision at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport very seriously. The FAA has launched an investigation into the incident to determine what caused the two planes to come so close to each other, and what can be done to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

The aviation industry is a critical component of the global economy, and incidents like this one serve as a reminder of the importance of maintaining the highest levels of safety and security in air travel. Airlines and airport operators must work together to ensure that they are following all necessary protocols and procedures, and that they have the appropriate safety measures in place to prevent incidents like this one from occurring.

It comes less than a month after a similar close call between an American Airlines and Delta Airlines plane in New York.

It is too early to determine what caused the near collision at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, but the FAA is committed to conducting a thorough investigation and finding out what happened. The results of the investigation will be used to make any necessary changes to improve the safety of air travel for passengers and crew members alike.

In conclusion, the near collision between a FedEx plane and a Southwest Airlines flight at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is a reminder of the importance of maintaining the highest levels of safety in air travel. The FAA is investigating the incident, and the results of the investigation will be used to improve the safety of air travel for everyone.

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Lockheed Martin to showcase F-21 fighter jets, other platforms at Aero-India 2023

Admin

06 Feb 2023

US defence major Lockheed Martin will showcase its F-21 fighter jet, S-92 multi-role helicopter, MH-60R Romeo multi-mission chopper and anti-tank weapon Javelin, among others, at the upcoming Aero-India exhibition in Bengaluru.

The 14th edition of Aero-India, known as Asia's largest aerospace exhibition, will be held at Bengaluru in Karnataka from February 13 to 17. Almost all leading aerospace companies around the world are expected to attend the event at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, in a total area of around 35,000 sq metres.

Lockheed Martin has been pitching its F-21 aircraft as the best option in the Indian Air Force's hunt for 114 combat jets. The company said it will showcase its vast range of advanced defence capabilities and solutions at Aero-India and the exhibits will include the F-21 fighter aircraft, C-130J transport aircraft, MH-60R 'Romeo' multi-mission helicopter, Javelin weapon system, and S-92 multi-role helicopter, among others.

"We are excited to participate at Aero-India 2023 to showcase our advanced capabilities and address our customers' biggest challenges for the 21st century," William Blair, chief executive, of Lockheed Martin India Private Ltd said. The top executive said Lockheed's focus in the country would be to create opportunities for the local industry to feed into the global supply chain and manufacture in "India, for India and for the world". "We continue to strengthen and grow our presence and partnerships in India for strategic security and greater self-reliance in the defence sector," he said. "We have a high degree of confidence in the manufacturing and technical capabilities of the Indian industry which is reflected through our two joint ventures and multiple associations with public and private companies of all sizes, including MSMEs," Blair added.

The company said the prime attraction at the Lockheed Martin booth will be the F-21 fighter aircraft cockpit demonstrator. It said the F-21 jet, which is on offer to the Indian Air Force (IAF) for the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft competition, is configured with the latest sensors and mission avionic systems.

The Indian Navy's most recent rotary wing acquisition, MH-60R 'Romeo' Seahawk helicopter, will occupy a prominent place at Lockheed display. The MH-60R is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) multi-mission helicopter. The first three MH-60R helicopters were delivered to India in 2021 and are being utilised to train Indian pilots and crew members in the US.

In July-August last year, the Indian Navy accepted the delivery of another three helicopters at Kochi International Airport. A total of 24 MH-60Rs are being delivered to India over the next few years. Lockheed said the "world's most versatile" one-man portable and platform-employed anti-tank precision weapon system, Javelin, will also be a part of its exhibits at Aero-India. Using "fire-and-forget" technology, the weapon guides itself to the target, allowing soldiers and platform assets to reposition out of harm's way once the missile is fired, it said.

"Boosting Lockheed Martin's presence at the show will be the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and the S-92 multi-role helicopter, both of which represent a strong legacy of partnership with the Indian defence industry," the company said in a release.

The Indian Air Force operates 12 C-130Js using the tactical airlifter for a variety of missions. India is also connected to C-130J through Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited, a joint venture, that has the distinction of being the single-global source of C-130J empennage assemblies included on all new Super Hercules aircraft. All C-130Js now built have major components manufactured in India. Lockheed said its present and future programmes in India range from transport, maritime and fighter aircraft to sea and land-based air and missile defence projects, as well as capabilities in civil sectors, including new and renewable energy.

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DGCA fines Vistara INR 70 lakh for not operating the minimum number of mandated flights

Admin

06 Feb 2023

Vistara airlines has paid a record penalty of ?70 lakh imposed by India’s civil aviation regulator for not operating the minimum number of mandated flights to underserved areas of the country’s northeast, officials said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had in October last yearfined the full-service carrier for not complying with the rules in April. “The airline paid the fine this month,” an official said, seeking anonymity.

Director general Arun Kumar confirmed the development but declined to comment further on the issue.

“As a law-abiding organisation and in compliance with the order, Vistara has paid the penalty under protest,” a Vistara spokesperson told HT on Friday. “We also confirm to have deployed capacity in excess to the RDG (route dispersal guidelines) requirement since then, as we had been doing in the past.”

Officials said that Vistara could not operate one flight from Bagdogra due to which a record-breaking fine was imposed on the airline.

The CAT IIA routes served by Vistara under RDGs are - Srinagar-Jammu- Srinagar, Bagdogra-Dibrugarh- Bagdogra and Dibrugarh-Guwahati-Dibrugarh.

Vistara’s available seat kilometres (ASKM) for April 2022 was found to be 0.99%, lower than the requirement of 1% on northeastern routes as mandated by the civil aviation ministry.

“We have been consistently deploying more than the requisite ASKMs in the various categories, as prescribed in the RDG rule. For April 2022 also, we were poised to deploy significantly more than the minimum required ASKM per category, which would have resulted in 1.22% flights on CAT IIA routes against the requirement of 1%,” the airline said. “However, some flights had to be cancelled due to the closure of Bagdogra airport, leading to a shortfall of just 0.01% in the required number of flights in April 2022.”

The matter was highlighted in October last year, after which the airline had submitted a reply, a second official said. “Their reply, however, was not found to be satisfactory by the DGCA even in their appeal,” the official said, declining to be named.

Flights connecting to airports in the northeast, including Bagdogra in West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep, constitute the category II routes, and flights within these areas are classified as category IIA.

“Vistara had previously defaulted in the requirement of ASKM deployment in CAT IIA routes of route dispersal guidelines in November and December 2017 and in January 2018,” the second official said, adding that no penalty was imposed then, as there was no provision of levying penalty before May 2021.

(With Inputs from The Hindustan Times)

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IndiGo plans to launch flights to Nairobi, Jakarta and China

Admin

06 Feb 2023

IndiGo will soon launch new flights between India and Nairobi in Kenya and Jakarta in Indonesia, Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers said on February 3, as India's biggest airline reported a profit of INR 1,422.6 crore in the December quarter.

Elbers said that IndiGo is looking to launch operations in China as well, as the country opens up to international travel following an easing of COVID-19 curbs.

Speaking in a post-earnings conference call, Elbers said IndiGo would look to add more than 15% to its capacity in 2023-24, after increasing its capacity by around 17% in 2022-23. "We expect deliveries of Airbus to resume in a strong manner in FY24, which will help IndiGo expand its capacity even more next year," Elbers said.

The airline said that it caters to 16% of the international market share to and from India, where it uses 23% of its capacity. "We will aim to deploy around 30% of our capacity for international traffic in 2023-24," Elbers said.

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the parent company of budget carrier IndiGo, posted an 11-fold jump in the quarter that ended December 31, 2022, led by a pick-up in demand for air travel.

ALSO READ - IndiGo reports a multi-fold surge in net profit to INR 1,422 crore in Q3

The airline's profit came in at INR 1,422.6 crore against a profit of INR 129.8 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations surged 61% to INR 14,932 crore in the third quarter as against INR 9,294 crore a year ago.

IndiGo's management added that it expects profitability to continue in the coming quarters and will look to end 2022-23 as operationally profitable.

"Forward bookings have been strong in January and February and going forward, we expect to end 2022-23 being operationally profitable, excluding the impact of foreign exchange losses," the airline's top brass said.

IndiGo also said that its total cash as of December 31 stood at INR 219.247 billion, out of this around INR 100 billion was free cash which would be used to increase capacity in 2023-24.

The low-cost carrier also said that it has surpassed its pre-COVID numbers in terms of catering to passengers, however, the overall market is still operating below pre-COVID levels.

"The growth of the aviation market in India back to pre-COVID levels and further is an opportunity for IndiGo to grow," the airline's top brass said.

IndiGo said that its yield for the December quarter stood at INR 5.38 but have fallen around 3-4% in January due to seasonal weakness. Yield is the average amount of revenue received per paying passenger flown one mile. It is calculated as Passenger Revenues/Revenue Passenger Miles.

The airline's RASK (Revenue per Available Seat Kilometer) for the December quarter stood at INR 5.26. RASK is the total Operating Revenue per seat (empty or full) flown one kilometre. Often referred to as a “unit revenue” measurement it is calculated as Total Operating Revenues/Available Seat Miles.

IndiGo's average aircraft utilisation stood at around 13 hours per day, excluding the impact of grounded aircraft.

The airline also said that its ground aircraft are slowly returning to service but the situation will take some time to be completely resolved. IndiGo added that it has reached out to aircraft manufacturers for compensation for its grounded fleet.

"We have received some compensation for our grounded aircraft from OEMS (Original Equipment Makers/Aircraft Makers) which has led to a rise in our other income in the December quarter," the airline said.

IndiGo's other income jumped to INR 4,772 million in the December quarter when compared to INR 1,853 million for the same period last year.

(With Inputs from MoneyControl)

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Jodhpur airport to get a new INR 500 crore terminal building

Radhika Bansal

04 Feb 2023

In order to cater to the increased air travel demand in Rajasthan, a new terminal building will be inaugurated soon in Jodhpur. Sharing the information on increased air travel infrastructure in the state, Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, said that the terminal will be built at a cost of INR 500 crore, with an area of 20,000 square meters. The airport will have the capacity to handle one thousand passengers and ‘give a big boost to tourism and the local economy’.

The minister added that since 2014, there have been significant developments in Rajasthan’s civil aviation landscape. He further added that new airports have been established in Kishangarh, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer and a new airport is also being planned for Kota.

Apart from infrastructure, tremendous growth has also been seen in the number of aircraft movements. “In 2014, this number stood at 555, which has now increased by almost three times to reach the mark of 1530 aircraft movements per week,” the minister stated. Scindia was speaking while inaugurating the IndiGo flight connecting Jaipur and Jodhpur which will be operated four days a week with effect from February 2, 2023.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia along with Minister of State for Civil Aviation, General Dr Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.) inaugurated a flight connecting Jaipur and Jodhpur virtually on Thursday, February 2. IndiGo will operate this route under a schedule effective from February 2, 2023.

Stating that it is a very important occasion for the two cities, he also emphasised how this new connectivity will further strengthen the already established Golden Triangle Tourist Circuit of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur.

The Minister went ahead to talk about India’s emergence as the 3rd biggest aviation market in the world in terms of domestic traffic and 7th biggest in the world in terms of international and domestic traffic combined.

Minister of State, General Vijay Kumar Singh congratulated the stakeholders and said that this connectivity will create ease of travel for tourists and play a big role in bolstering trade and tourism in the region.

The inauguration was also attended by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, Government of India and Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Culture, Government of India. Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Asangba Chuba Ao, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, R K Singh, Principal advisor – IndiGo, and other officials from MoCA, Government of Rajasthan and IndiGo were also present.

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IndiGo reports a multi-fold surge in net profit to INR 1,422 crore in Q3

Radhika Bansal

04 Feb 2023

Aviation major IndiGo on Friday, February 3 reported multi-fold surge in net profit to INR 1,422 crore for the three months ended December. The profit rose over 1,000%, compared with INR 129 crore in the last-year period. Revenue from operations surged 61% to INR 14,932 crore in the third quarter as against INR 9294 crore a year ago.

The massive bottomline growth was driven by low base of last year, mainly due the impact of the pandemic. The company had posted a loss of INR 1,583 crore in previous September quarter.

The airlines sector was battered by the pandemic like any other, but it was among the last ones to recover from the after-effects of Covid. As economies opened and air travel demands recovered, companies' performances improved.

“Third quarter performance was strong both operationally and financially against the backdrop of robust demand for air travel. The wide range of initiatives that were set in motion across the organization have started to yield results. I am proud to report the highest-ever quarterly revenue of 154.1 billion rupees and robust profit of 14.2 billion rupees for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.

We are thankful to our customers and all IndiGo employees who enabled us to achieve this performance. With a modern fleet of over 300 aircraft, we continue to serve the market with further capacity growth planned across domestic and international sectors."

Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo

For the December quarter, IndiGo's passenger ticket revenues were INR 13,162 crore, an increase of 63% and ancillary revenues rose 25% to INR 1,422 crore compared to the same period last year.

The Gurugram-based company's EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and Rent) surged 70% to INR 3,399 crore for the December quarter. It was INR 1,995 crore in the same period last year.

Operationally, the airline's capacity increased by 25%, while passenger numbers rose 26% to 22.3 million. On the other hand, yield improved by 21.9% to INR 5.38 during the quarter under review and load factor advanced 5.4 points to 85.1% Fuel costs jumped 77% to INR 5,785 crore in the three months ended December.

IndiGo had a total cash balance of INR 21,924 crore, of which INR 10,612 crore is free cash and INR 11,312 crore is restricted cash.

In a reflection of strong travel demand, the budget carrier carried 2.23 crore passengers in the third quarter, an increase of nearly 26% compared with the same period a year ago when it stood at 1.78 crore.

The load factor, a measure of seat occupancy, rose to 85.1% against 79.7% in the year-ago period. The airline had a domestic market share of 55.7% in the December quarter.

The airline has a fleet of 302 aircraft, including 23 A320 CEOs, 160 A320 NEOs, 78 A321 NEOs, 39 ATRs and 2 A321 freighters as of December, a net increase of 22 passenger and 1 freighter aircraft in the third quarter.

The airline took delivery of 11 A320neos, 10 A321neos, four ATR 72-600s, and one A321 freighter in the previous quarter, while returning three A320ceos. The A320neos which were scheduled for return have been re-inducted to tide over the crunch due to delays in getting the grounded aircraft back in air.

It operated a peak of 1,685 daily flights during the quarter including non-scheduled flights. The airline’s network spanned across 75 domestic and 22 international destinations in Q3.

IndiGo reported capacity in terms of available seat kilometer (ASKs) growth at 28.8% in the third quarter and it expects fourth quarter ASKs to increase by around 45% year-on-year. On Friday, February 3 ahead of the results, IndiGo stock closed 1.17% lower at INR 2,100 apiece on the NSE.

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