Operation "Pitch Black" - Indian Sukhoi and C17 Globemaster land in Australia

Aerial prowess has always been a major differentiator when it comes to establishing air supremacy. In what can be termed a show of strength in foreign skies, four Indian Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets and two C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlifter have touched down in Australia for the major 'Pitch Black' air combat exercise.

What is a "Pitch Black" air combat mission?

Exercise Pitch Black 2022 is the Royal Australian Air Force’s most significant International Engagement activity with allied nations and other partners participating, developing and enhancing military relationships at all levels.

This year, the RAAF Base Amberley, located near Ipswich will also be included and will witness the participation of around 100 aircraft and 2,500 military personnel from 17 nations- including France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Japan, Republic of Korea, UK, the Philippines, Thailand, UAE, Canada, Netherlands, Malaysia, New Zealand and the US.

A JAS-39 Gripen from the Royal Thai Air Force prepares to taxi out of the shelters for another mission during Exercise Pitch Black 2018 at RAAF Base Darwin | defence.gov.au

It is also to be noted that Germany, Japan, and the Republic of Korea will be participating fully for the first time.

It is a biennial three-week multi-national large force employment exercise conducted primarily from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal.

The mission features a range of realistic, simulated threats similar to a modern battle-space environment. It will include day and night flying involving up to approximately 100 participating aircraft. There will not be any overarching scenario for the exercise. Each mission will be executed as a stand-alone serial with distinct training objectives.

The exercise which has already commenced is slated to go on until 8 September 2022.

India's participation in the exercise

The IAF contingent, led by Group Captain YPS Negi, will undertake multi-domain air combat missions in a complex environment and will exchange best practices with the participating air forcesan officer said

https://twitter.com/IAF_MCC/status/1560634660429844485

The IAF last participated in the Pitch Black exercise two years back in 2018 and since then has bolstered military ties between the two countries.

Indian Air Force SU-30 Flanker aircraft conduct air-to-air refuelling from a Royal Australian Air Force No. 33 Squadron KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport during Exercise Pitch Black 2018 | defence.gov.au

Conversely, Australia has also become a regular participant in India's Malabar naval exercise with the US and Japan. This time around, the exercise has a special significance with China's recent activities concerning Taiwan and the "Quad" countries pledging their intent to deter any "coercion" in the Indo-Pacific region.

Source(s)

Cover: defence.gov.au

Adani Airports-owned Mangaluru airport has sought an immediate increase of INR 100 in user development fee (UDF) for domestic passengers, to undertake development activities. It has also requested permission to levy the fee on both arriving and departing passengers.

The airport in its latest tariff filing has sought to levy a UDF of INR 250 on domestic passengers starting this October, and gradually increasing it to INR 725 by March 31, 2026.

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), the tariff-fixing body, is in the process of fixing tariffs for Mangaluru airport for the period of April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2026. For worldwide passengers, it has sought to levy a UDF of INR 525 and enhance it to INR 1,200 by March 2026.

Mangaluru airport to increase user development fees for development activities

UDF could be charged on each departing and arriving passenger if the AERA agrees to it. At the moment, the UDF is INR 150 for home and INR 825 for worldwide passengers, however, is charged solely to departing passengers.

Multiple Airport Authority of India (AAI) owned and private airports have sought an increase in tariff in light of the expansion works they have undertaken. Airlines have opposed any significant hike in user or landing and parking charges as this will hurt their recovery after Covid.

“Any increase in airport charges for the remaining period will worsen the crisis for airlines. Airport operators should equally play a role in this situation by lowering their profit expectations and help provide the much-needed financial help to airlines,” said an executive of a private airline.

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), the tariff-fixing body, is in the process of fixing tariffs for Mangaluru airport for the period of April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2026.

The Adani Group took over the operations of the worldwide airport within the Karnataka port metropolis on October 31, 2020.

In its submission to the pricing regulator, the airport mentioned no tariff revision had taken place since 2010. “The modernisation plan of the airport can also be underway. The cumulative affect of those concerns could have a consequential affect on the tariff,” it mentioned.

The proposed developmental tasks, together with re-carpeting of the runway, and the development of a brand new terminal construction and cargo terminal, are estimated to value about INR 5,200 crore. The airport mentioned it will fund these via debt and fairness from guardian Adani Enterprise.

The airport has additionally sought will increase in touchdown and parking costs for airways. The AERA has sought remarks from airways, passenger associations and enterprise jet operators.

The airport has additionally sought will increase in touchdown and parking costs for airways.

Mangalore International Airport serves the port city of Mangalore, in the east Indian state of Karnataka. Mangalore is served by most major Indian carriers, which provide domestic services and international services to destinations in the Middle East.  

Mangalore International Airport is the second busiest airport in Karnataka. In addition to domestic destinations, flights depart daily for major cities in the Middle East.

Airports Authority of India announced it formally transferred operation and management responsibility for Mangalore Bajpe Airport to Adani Airports in October 2020. Adani will operate Mangalore under a 50-year contract.

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

Stocks of aviation companies — InterGlobe Aviation, Jet Airways, SpiceJet — moved mixed on Friday, August 19 after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation released the data for July on Thursday, August 18.

Shares of IndiGo's parent company, InterGlobe Aviation, fell 2.37% and touched an intraday low of INR 1,974.65. Jet Airways stock jumped 4.5%, and SpiceJet fell 1.4%.

According to the data released, domestic airlines carried 97.05 lakh passengers in July, a 7.7% decline compared to June. Overall, 6.69 crore people travelled on domestic flights in the January-July period of 2022.

Stocks of airlines of India moved mixed after the release of July air traffic data

ALSO READ - Vistara becomes the No.2 carrier by market share in July

IndiGo’s market share continued to rise and held the largest share, followed by Vistara, Air India, and GoFIRST.

Vistara whizzed past rivals SpiceJet and Go First, both of whom have grounded planes and cut flights, to become India’s No.2 carrier by market share in July. The airline is Tata Sons’ joint venture with Singapore Airlines.

IndiGo – India’s largest carrier – carried 57.11 lakh passengers in July, a 58.8% share of the domestic market. Vistara flew 10.13 lakh passengers and Air India flew 8.14 lakh passengers in July this year, according to the data shared by the DGCA.

The occupancy rate of Vistara, IndiGo, Go First, AirAsia India and Air India was 84.3%, 77.7%, 76.5%, 75.2% and 71.1%, respectively

Go First, SpiceJet, AirAsia India and Alliance Air carried 7.95 lakh, 7.76 lakh, 4.42 lakh, and 1.12 lakh passengers, respectively, in July, the data showed.

However,  the passenger load factor (PLF) — which assesses how efficiently a transport provider fills seats and generates fare revenue — fell for IndiGo, AirAsia India, and GoFIRST in July month-on-month. Vistara and SpiceJet reported a rise in PLF.

The occupancy rate or load factor for SpiceJet was 84.7% in July, the DGCA noted. The occupancy rate of Vistara, IndiGo, Go First, AirAsia India and Air India was 84.3%, 77.7%, 76.5%, 75.2% and 71.1%, respectively, in July, it added.

(With Inputs from CNBC TV18)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday, August 18 suspended the licences of a Spicejet pilot and a charter pilot for violation of rules in two separate incidents.

A senior DGCA official confirmed that the aviation regulator had suspended the licence of the pilot-in-command (PIC) of the SpiceJet flight for six months after he disregarded a co-pilot's warning to skirt the clouds and flew the plane into severe turbulence.

ALSO READ - Spicejet mid-air turbulence – here’s what is known so far

Spicejet pilot suspended over violation of rules by DGCA

On May 1, a few passengers were injured when the Boeing B737 aircraft, which was flying the SG-945 route from Mumbai to Durgapur, met strong turbulence during the descent. There were 195 persons on board the aircraft including two pilots and four cabin crew members.

After that, aviation regulator DGCA instituted a multidisciplinary team to probe the severe turbulence incident on SpiceJet's Mumbai-Durgapur flight that left 15 people injured.

A total of 15 people 12 passengers and three cabin crew members were injured in this flight due to severe turbulence, said officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

A total of 15 people 12 passengers and three cabin crew members were injured in this flight due to severe turbulence

The aircraft that took off from Mumbai at approximately 05:13 PM, encountered severe turbulence and the vertical load factor varied from +2.64G and - 1.36G, at the time of descent. During this period the autopilot got disengaged for two minutes and the crew manually flew the aircraft, the DGCA revealed in its statement.

ALSO READ - SpiceJet pilots have reliability issues with weather radar

In another instance, the DGCA suspended the licence of a pilot of a charter airplane in a false fuel emergency case for one month. The pilot of a charter flight from Bokaro to Ranchi on October 19, 2021, falsely announced a low fuel emergency to receive priority landing because he wanted to avoid the hovering period. Later, the investigation revealed that the plane had ample fuel.

Air India’s senior pilot Captain Zoya Agarwal of the Boeing-777 aircraft has made its way to the SFO Aviation Museum. Zoya is the first Indian woman pilot to fly an aircraft over the North Pole and has covered a record-breaking distance of nearly 16,000 kilometres.

Reports claim Zoya was the youngest woman pilot in India to fly a Boeing-777 back in 2013 and is one of the gender equality spokespersons at the United Nations.

Capt Zoya Aggarwal is the only human being to get a place as a pilot in the San Francisco Aviation Louis A Turpen Aviation Museum, commonly known as the SFO Aviation Museum.

The ace pilot was also part of India's Vande Bharat mission in 2020 as the government launched flights to evacuate Indians stuck in countries due to the coronavirus lockdown. Agarwal had captained the flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru which is one of the longest non-stop air routes in the world. The US museum offered Agarwal a place after her achievement.

"I was amazed to see that I am the only living thing out there, I am honestly humble. I can’t believe I am part of a prestigious aviation museum in the USA and first Indian woman to live in a museum in the United States, if you ask an eight-year-old girl who sits on her terrace, looks at the stars and dreams of becoming a pilot. It is an honor that the US recognizes an Indian woman for her museum."Captain Zoya Agarwal, Air India

Recently, the SFO museum showcased Indian pilot Zoya Agarwal’s extraordinary career in aviation and her advocacy for promoting women's empowerment across the world, inspiring millions of girls and youth to pursue their dreams.

Four women pilots steered Air India’s longest flight and the maiden route over the north pole.

India has 2,764 registered woman pilots. The Indian government had said last year that women constitute over 15 per cent of pilots in the aviation sector which is one of the highest in the world. 

The participation of female pilots in India has grown rapidly, with India having the largest proportion of female pilots in the world, according to the International Society of Women’s Airlines. That accounts for about 12.4% of all pilots, compared to 5.5% in the US.

ALSO READ - Jyotiraditya Scindia advocates for paternity leave in airlines; wants 50% women pilots

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air, which started services on 7 August this year, has announced in a release that the company expects to operate more than 150 weekly flights by the end of September. 

India’s newest airline which is also backed by aviation veterans Vinay Dube and Aditya Ghosh began operations on August 7 and now flies on three routes — Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Bengaluru-Kochi and Bengaluru-Mumbai.

Currently, the carrier has three planes and the third one was received on August 16.

The airline inaugurated its first service on the Bengaluru-Mumbai route, enabling it to offer twice-daily flights in each direction.

"Further expanding operations on the Bengaluru-Mumbai route, we will commence one additional daily flight from August 30, 2022, and another from September 19, 2022."Official said in a release.

The release further informed that the airlines will start a new route connecting Bengaluru with Chennai from 10 September.

ALSO READ - Big plane order may be placed by Akasa Air in the next 18 months

Currently, the carrier has three planes and the third one was received on 16 August. It plans to add one new aircraft every two weeks and its fleet size will be 18 aircraft by the end of March 2023. Over the next four years, the airline will add 54 additional aircraft, taking its total fleet size to 72 planes.

Akasa Air started its commercial operations with two aircraft and received its third aircraft on August 16.

According to a statement on August 17, the airline's CEO Vinay Dube said the carrier is well-capitalised and its growth is secure with the financial means to place an order for more planes. The carrier is looking to induct 72 aircraft over the next five years.

In line with the airline’s vision of adopting a phased approach and strengthening its pan-India network connectivity, it has already announced flights for six routes across five cities, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

Feature Image - Siddh Dhuri