Covid-19: DGCA extends validity of pilots' licences nearing expiry

India's aviation regulator DGCA on Friday extended the validity of pilots' licences that were nearing expiry by 90 days, noting that they were facing issues in completing various requirements due to the restrictions imposed to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.

Similarly, the regulator has also extended the validity of medical assessment certificates, aircraft rating certificates, skill test certificates, etc, for a period of 90 days.

"DGCA is aware that operators and individual license holders are facing issues in completing their requirements towards renewal, issuance of various pilot licenses and ratings and to exercise the privileges of their respective licenses and ratings including temporary authorizations (FATA)," the regulator stated in a public notice on Friday.

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FATA stands for foreign aircrew temporary authorization, which is issued to foreign pilots that are working for Indian airlines.

"Due to the impact of COVID-19, restrictions have been imposed by the government. Owing to this, several training organisations utilised for the training of flight crew, conduct of checks have been affected and shut down in many places," the public notice said.

"Training organisations have also been shut down in many other ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) contracting states," the notice added.

While more than 700 persons have been infected by the virus in India, 17 people have died due to it, according to the Union health ministry.

Domestic air passenger traffic grew by 8.98% in Feb on rising demand: DGCA

Domestic air passenger traffic in February increased by 8.98 per cent to 12.36 million as compared to the same period last year, according to data released on Wednesday by aviation regulator DGCA.

However, the rise in the number of domestic air passengers for January was just 2.2 per cent when compared with January 2019 figures.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data, passenger load factors of all major airlines -- Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir, IndiGo, AirAsia India and Vistara -- increased in February as compared to January.

Passenger load factor measures the seat capacity utilisation of the airline.

In its report the DGCA stated, "The passenger load factor in the month of February 2020 has shown increasing trend primarily due to airlines offering promotional fares resulting in increased demand."

With 83.4 per cent, AirAsia India was number one in on-time performance (OTP) measured at four metro cities -- Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

IndiGo at 81.6 per cent and GoAir at 78.6 per cent were number two and three respectively on OTP performance at these four cities. The airline also maintained its lead position with 48 per cent share of the domestic passenger market in February 2020.

SpiceJet's market share decreased from 16.6 per cent in January to 15.3 per cent in February, even as it retained the number two spot, as per the data.

The market share of Air India, GoAir, AirAsia India and Vistara was 12 per cent, 10 per cent, 7.3 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively last month.

In February, a total of 790 passenger-related complaints were received by the domestic airlines. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the same month was around 0.64, according to the data.

Among the major domestic airlines, Air India topped the list of passenger grievances with 1.9 complaints per 10,000 passengers in February, while GoAir was at number two position with one complaint per 10,000 passengers.

DGCA gives IndiGo 4 months more to replace unmodified A320Neo engines

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given IndiGo time till May 31 to replace unmodified Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines on its Airbus A320Neo aircraft. It has also permitted the airline to deploy newly-inducted planes for capacity expansion.

In November, the regulator had set January end as the deadline for replacing the unmodified engines following repeated incidents of mid air engine shutdowns and aircraft returning to the departing airport.

The deadline has now been relaxed and restrictions on use of new planes for new routes or additional frequencies has been eased.

The airline had cut down its capacity expansion outlook in the fourth quarter as well as the full year following the earlier directive.

IndiGo operates over 257 aircraft, including 106 Airbus A320/321Neos. While latest batches of the aircraft have modified engines, the older ones in the fleet require changes to address failure of low pressure turbine blades.

Initially, the number of engines requiring replacement was estimated at 120 but now that has increased to 135, following additional inspections and inquiry to find the cause of failure.

“The process of placement of at least one modified engine on the entire fleet has been accomplished by IndiGo well before the timeline of March 31, given by European Aviation Safety Agency Airworthiness Directive. Moreover, about 70 per cent of the total Neo engines of the IndiGo fleet is likely to be modified by January 31,” the DGCA said in its update on Monday.

It added that procurement of modified engines was impacted due to Christmas and New Year holidays.

In their action plan, Airbus and P&W submitted that the replacement of all 135 engines will be completed by June.

DGCA has, however, asked them to complete the task by May end. No aircraft with unmodified engine in the IndiGo fleet will be allowed to fly after that date, it said.

“Mitigation measures put in place such as introduction of inspections of mid turbine frame (MTF) piston seal in addition to existing inspections and aircraft climb procedures, will help in containing engine failure on the wing,” said the DGCA.

P&W had identified fracture of the MTF piston seal as the cause of 50 per cent of engine failures.

The DGCA order is likely to have an impact on future capacity, IndiGo said last month. It expects a year-on-year capacity increase of 15-20 per cent in Q4FY20 and 22-23 per cent in FY20. The previous forecast was 22 per cent for the third quarter of FY20 and 25 per cent for FY20. However, that will not harm the airline’s profitability, it said, while retaining its profit forecast.

DGCA instructs IndiGo, GoAir to replace PW engines on A320neo aircraft

IndiGo planes fitted with Pratt & Whitney 1100 series engines that have clocked more than 2,900 hours must have at least one modified engine, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement on Monday.

The DGCA said it has issued a similar directive to GoAir on Tuesday.

The regulator said a total of 29 A320neo planes are affected, of which 16 are operated by IndiGo and 13 by GoAir. The airlines together have more than 100 A320neo planes in their fleet.

For IndiGo, India's top airline, the restrictions come days after it posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss hurt by higher maintenance costs from leasing A320ceo planes to fill a gap caused by the grounding of A320neo due to engine issues.

The airline, owned by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd , said "it will cooperate with authorities and will comply with the next course of action."

GoAir said it has not yet received any such directive from the DGCA.

Pratt & Whitney said in a statement it is working with the airlines to address the issue with minimal disruption.

IndiGo is Airbus' biggest client for the A320neo planes and while the United Technologies' Pratt & Whitney engines are fuel-efficient they have consistently caused issues since they entered into service in 2016, forcing IndiGo to ground its planes several times.

The DGCA said it found three in-flight engine shutdowns on IndiGo's planes in October following which it reviewed maintenance and safety data at the airline.

Earlier this year, the DGCA had directed airlines to make extra checks on their A320neo aircraft fitted with Pratt & Whitney engines as part of new safety protocols after temporary grounding orders affected the planes last year.

DGCA suspends licence of 2 SpiceJet pilots for one year over violations

Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday suspended flying licences of two SpiceJet pilots for unstabilised landing approach that led to their aircraft overshooting runway after landing at Mumbai airport this month, according to a senior official.

The accident, involving a Boeing 737 plane coming from Jaipur, happened on July 1. It had also led to closure of Mumbai airport's main runway for more than three days before the aircraft was removed.

The official told PTI that the licences of the two pilots -- Ajinkya Hanchate and Tushar Dasgupta -- have been suspended for one year and they also have to undergo corrective training.

Preliminary probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) showed that final approach was unstabilised and the plane touched down with high speed at around 1,600 metres from runway threshold, resulting in runway excursion. The two pilots failed to exercise due caution and did not take corrective measures, the official added.

As per the regulator, the plane floated for longer time and landed after consuming half the runway 27.

After one-year suspension, Dasgupta has to undergo corrective training. He would fly as first officer for six months or for 300 hours whichever is earlier and his licence would be restored after assessment, the official said.

There was no immediate comment from SpiceJet.

DGCA serves notices to four senior executives over safety lapses

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday issued show cause notices to four senior executives of IndiGo over lapses in safety management practices. IndiGo is the first airline after SpiceJet to get pulled up by the DGCA over safety issues.

The notices were sent to heads of training, flight safety, operations, and quality assurance following a surprise audit by the DGCA.

Among other lapses, the audit found no safety action group within the training department to discuss and resolve critical safety issues.

Further, guidelines have not been established for deciding type and quantum of corrective action, it said.

IndiGo did not immediately respond to a query on the regulators’s action.

Last week, the regulator had issued show cause notices to senior executives of SpiceJet. An inspection at SpiceJet had found that implementation of safety management system was lacking and in many cases crew involved in incidents were only given counselling. The audit said flight safety department failed to flag off reportable incidents. 

Notices have also been issued to airports in Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Kozhikode over poor runway safety.

The DGCA is initiating the audits of airlines and airports following overshooting of Air India Express and SpiceJet planes last week.

Will comply with DGCA recommendations: AirAsia

A day after the DGCA suspended its two pilots for procedural violations, AirAsia on Friday said it would comply with the recommendations. 

“AirAsia confirms receipt of final remarks in an incident. We have followed all norms and will comply with the recommendations of the regulator. AirAsia abides by and is actively involved with the regulator to ensure safe flying experience always,” it said in a statement.

DGCA grounds 12 pilots, issues show-cause after 6 flights veer off runway

Aviation regulator DGCA has grounded 12 pilots and served show-cause notices on them after the six recent cases of aircraft veering off runway or taxiway, a senior official said Thursday.

SpiceJet, Air India Express and GoAir have been involved in three, two and one such incidents, respectively, in the past few days, prompting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take action against the 12 pilots.

The action come even as the main runway at Mumbai airport remained shut after a SpiceJet plane from Jaipur veered off it while landing amidst heavy rains on Monday night and got stuck in the adjacent grass area.

On June 30, another SpiceJet plane from Bhopal veered off the runway at Surat airport due to heavy rainfall and wind.

A SpiceJet spokesperson told PTI that the "pilots involved in both incidents -- which happened in Mumbai and Surat -- have been suspended as per the directions of the DGCA".

On July 2, another SpiceJet plane veered off its path on the runway while landing at Kolkata airport, damaging four lights. On the same day, an Air India Express flight coming from Dammam had a tail strike while landing at Calicut airport.

Another Air India Express flight veered off the taxiway after landing and got stuck in soft ground at the Mangalore airport on June 30. On the same day, a GoAir flight coming from Bengaluru had a tail strike while landing at Ranchi airport.

The reaction of Air India Express and GoAir to the DGCA action is awaited.

After SpiceJet scare, DGCA issues new landing guidelines for bad weather

In a stern warning to airlines, the DGCA director general said on Wednesday that all aircraft should refrain from landing with "unstabilised approach" while experiencing adverse weather conditions and initiate a go around, non adherence to which will invite punitive action.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had in a communique on Tuesday asked airlines to make available sufficiently experienced crew in the cockpit and that crew rostering should factor in fatigue element associated with the operations during adverse weather conditions.

The circular, titled 'Monsoon Operations', comes as the main runway at Mumbai airport continues to remain shut after a SpiceJet plane from Jaipur veered off it while landing and got stuck in the adjacent grass area.

"We have also instructed heads of flight safety of airlines to include in their safety briefings to pilots, an express instruction to refrain from landing with unstabilised approach while experiencing adverse weather conditions and initiate a go around," Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar said in his message.

He also said that safety cannot be compromised at any cost.

"All concerned are requested to strictly comply with the instructions. Non-adherence shall invite appropriate punitive action," he said.

A senior official at the DGCA told PTI that it is probing the incidents of planes overshooting runways.

Earlier in the day, a SpiceJet flight veered off its path on the runway while landing at Kolkata airport, damaging four lights.

On June 30, another SpiceJet plane from Bhopal veered off the runway at Surat airport due to heavy rainfall and wind. On the same day, an Air India Express flight mover away from the taxiway after landing and got stuck in soft ground at the Mangalore airport.