Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked the Opposition to “use common sense” and chided it for questioning his statement that if India had had Rafale fighters during the current engagements with Pakistan, “the results would have been different”. He appeared to suggest his comment had been about the February 27 dogfight between Indian and […]
Category: Civil Aviation
Adanis bag bids to operate 5 airports
The Adani group has entered the airport sector by winning the bids to operate five airports in the country for the next 50 years. The bid for Guwahati airport will be opened on Tuesday. The Adanis were the highest bidder for the Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Mangalore and Jaipur airports, a senior Airports Authority of India […]
Crucial Jet Airways meet today
The State Bank of India (SBI) is understood to have called a meeting of the lenders with Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal and Etihad Airways CEO Tony Douglas on Wednesday. The meeting has been called after the shareholders of Jet Airways cleared various proposals that will pave the way for banks to pick up a […]
SBI weighs tribunal route for Jet Airways
To recover its loans from Jet Airways, state-run lender SBI is considering moving the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) as it feels the airline is running out of funds for operations even as shareholders of the debt-laden carrier have approved a debt rejig plan, officials said. Shareholders of Jet Airways have approved the conversion of […]
Breather for HAL and troubled Mirage
Employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited found reason to smile on Tuesday after word spread that the Indian Air Force had used Mirage 2000 multi-role fighter aircraft for the pre-dawn air strikes across the Line of Control. The company, about which uncharitable remarks were made by those associated with the government after the Rafale controversy broke, […]
Supreme Court to hear Rafale review in open court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to conduct an “open-court hearing” of a batch of review petitions and a perjury plea challenging its verdict on the Rafale deal. The apex court had in December dismissed petitions that questioned the fighter jet deal on the grounds of irregularities over the decision-making, pricing and the choice of […]
Nirmala sells captive-market pitch to foreign defence firms
The Union government on Wednesday made a fervent call to defence manufacturers from around the world to invest in India, saying 100 per cent foreign direct investment is allowed in the segment. In her inaugural address at the Aero India biennial air show here on Wednesday, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman invited all defence manufacturers to […]
Air show deferred after pilot dies in collision of aerobatics planes
Two Hawk advanced jet trainers of the Indian Air Force’s Surya Kiran aerobatics team collided on Tuesday during rehearsals, killing a pilot and exploding when it hit the ground in an upcoming residential area full of highrises outside the Yelahanka IAF Station. Two other pilots were injured. Video footage captured by unidentified spectators show the […]
Two Surya Kiran planes crash during Aero India rehearsals
Two aircraft of Indian Air Force’s aerobatics team Surya Kiran crashed near the Yelahanka airbase in Bengaluru on Tuesday, a day before the opening of the Aero India show, a top police official said. Both the pilots ejected to safety, additional commissioner of police (East) SeemanthKumar Singh told PTI. But TV reports said one of […]
Airlines set for growth flight
Airline companies are ready to benefit from an expanding middle class and the induction of fuel-efficient aircraft, which will also enable them to overcome the chronic problems associated with high fuel prices and the depreciating rupee. Domestic aviation companies are now facing turbulence with crisis- hit Jet Airways suffering a loss of Rs 588 crore […]
Room for more planes at Birsa Munda Airport
Birsa Munda Airport, which has witnessed a passenger surge over the past five years, will be able to accommodate more aircraft from May. Airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria said groundwork for an additional apron (tarmac) had been completed and they were waiting for a nod from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “We have […]
Not enough clients, Airbus abandons iconic A380 superjumbo
European plane manufacturer Airbus said on Thursday it will stop making its superjumbo A380 in 2021 for lack of customers, abandoning the world’s biggest passenger jet and one of the aviation industry’s most ambitious and most troubled endeavours. Barely a decade after the 500-plus-seat plane started carrying passengers, Airbus said in a statement that key […]