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    Top Stories

    When the going gets tough, the tough get going: A story of the fearless pilots braving the skies

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    By Capt. Nitin Anand, AirAsia India On the occasion of World Pilot’s Day, the author has penned an impactful experience in this feature highlighting their contribution towards the nation during the challenging phase of the humanity. Aviation World congratulates all the aviators who tirelessly work to keep the aircraft fly, ensure safe & secure travel and contribute their best for the nation. Happy World Pilot’s Day to All. The world as we know it changed in the beginning of February 2020, as we grappled with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. News of an unknown virus started emerging as the world was at a standstill, surprised at how things unfolded, when the once known normal was about to change forever. As it started to spread globally, countries had to gauge the situation and take effective action towards it. Educational institutions started shutting down, offices started to work from home and we started adapting to the new normal. It was during these unprecedented times that the tireless efforts of the pilot community created an indelible impact on people at large. Under the Vande Bharat Mission, pilots and cabin crew flew thousands of individuals stuck all over the world to their homeland and they were relentless in their duty to bring their fellow Indians back home. As the world was confined to their homes, these crew stepped up and stepped out every day. Despite the barriers presented by the pandemic, the pilot community stood tall against all odds to ensure stability and continuity while extending a safe and secure means for individuals to return home. While this battle continued and we worked united in the endeavour to define a new flying experience for individuals, this battle was soon replaced by a war that we did not anticipate. When Russia attacked Ukraine on the 24th of February, little did we know the impact that would be felt in India. As the Russian forces entered Ukraine, families in India urged the Government to bring back their family members and loved ones back home. The number of Indian students waiting to get back home stood at a massive 20,000. As the government embassies and officials scurried to bring them back with the utmost safety, pilots and cabin crew were called to duty. Operation Ganga needed their shoulders and wings to be a success. What followed was a lesson in precise planning and dedication to service. Flights flew into Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova to evacuate the Indian nationals who had crossed over to these countries from Ukraine. By March 10th, over 100 flights left their trails brazing through the sky and history as we undertook repatriation efforts to unite stranded students with their loved ones back home. But this was only a part of the story. Be it the Vande Bharat Mission or Operation Ganga, our aviation workforce in uniforms were always there to lead from the forefront with fortitude and resilience. They roared through the skies to keep hopes alive, extend their line of duty and continue building trust and faith.

    Recent News

    Britain’s newly launched Flybe airline opts for IBS Software solution

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    Thiruvananthapuram, Apr. 20: Flybe, Britain’s new regional airline, has struck a deal with IBS Software for its next-gen, customer-friendly solution, iFly Res, which would serve as the backbone of its commercial operations to propel its recent launch. The launch of the airline will generate hundreds of jobs in Birmingham, Belfast and elsewhere in the UK. The iFly Res platform will support Flybe with a string of customer-centric facilities, including an airline portal, a modern booking engine for consumers and a unique and comprehensive portal to drive indirect sales through a cost-effective channel with merchandising opportunities. The airline’s passenger service system (PSS), providing sophisticated offer and order management capabilities, will be compatible with the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s standard. “We are excited to be working with IBS Software to realise our goal of launching our new airline, growing and delivering a customer-focused system that merges retail capability with modern technology solutions,” said Dave Pflieger, CEO of Flybe“The flexibility of this reservations system, along with an excellent partnership, made iFly Res the perfect choice for us. We’re looking forward to continuing to leverage technology and innovation with IBS Software by our side.” David Friderici, Senior VP and Head of Aviation Passenger Solutions at IBS Software, said, “We are delighted to be supporting one of the UK’s newest airlines on its flight path into the skies. This partnership will help Flybe to provide its customers with a data-driven, personalised digital experience that will make travelling around its network easier than ever before.” He added: “We have been keen to welcome Flybe as a customer, and are pleased to stand side-by-side with them as we begin an exciting journey together.” Established in April 2021, Flybe Ltd is scheduled to operate flights throughout the UK and the EU from this month. It has a fleet of 32 fast and sleek Dash 8-400 planes, which are quieter and emit 35 per cent less CO2 on a per seat basis.

    Civil Aviation

    UDAN scheme Receives PMS’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration

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    The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) flagship Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNagrik) has been awarded Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020 under the category “Innovation (General) – Central”. The award was given away by the Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia to UDAN team lead by Smt Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA in presence of Secretary, MoCA, Shri Rajiv Bansal and Chairman, Airport Authority of India, Shri Sanjeev Kumar. Government of India has initiated this award to acknowledge, recognize and reward extraordinary and innovative work done by Districts and Organizations of State/Government. This scheme emphasises on Good Governance, Qualitative achievements, and last mile connectivity rather than only on achievement of quantitative targets. The award consists of a trophy, scroll and an incentive of Rs 10 lakhs. Launched in 2016, UDAN scheme aims to fulfil the aspirations of the common man by following the vision of UdeDeshkaAamNagrik, with an enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in tier II and III cities. In a short span of 5 years, today 419 UDAN routes connect 67 underserved/unserved airports, including heliports and water aerodromes, and over 92 lakh people have benefited from it. More than 1 lakh 79 thousand flights have flown under this scheme. UDAN scheme has immensely benefitted several sectors pan-India including Hilly States, North-Eastern region, and Islands.

    Defence

    DefConnect 2.0 organised by iDEX-DIO in New Delhi

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    New Delhi, 22nd April 2022: Continuing with the strategy of connecting regularly with the start-ups and the multifarious stakeholders, Innovations for Defence Excellence, Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO), under the aegis of Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence has organised DefConnect 2.0 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi . The event was inaugurated by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh. The event attracted a large number of innovators and investors from India’s leading industries in the defence sector. It ncluded sessions with stalwarts of the industry, various announcements and static exhibitions of an array of start-ups supported by iDEX-DIO. The event had presence of start-ups, corporates and military representatives to ascertain the indigenous innovations leading us into a bright future. The DefConnect provides a unique opportunity for innovators associated with iDEX-DIO to showcase their capabilities, products and state-of-the-art-technologies to the target audience of the industry leaders. The start-ups get to leverage this opportunity to generate investments and leads for future operations. This will be a unique opportunity to meet iDEX start-ups and understand their innovative technologies being developed with requisite support from iDEX and the associated partners. Platforms like the iDEX enable the military to find disruptive solutions to complex challenges through its flagship programmes like Defence India Startup Challenges (DISC) and Open Challenges (OC) which shall be the key components for the future of military technology. Till date, iDEX has launched five rounds of DISC and three rounds of OC, receiving more than 2,000 applications from individual innovators and start-ups. Furthermore, iDEX has been able to fund projects in numerous technological areas through its Grant-in-Aid framework, Support for Prototype and Research Kickstart (SPARK), which entail provisioning of grant up to Rs 1.50 crore to budding entrepreneurs. Innovation has become the key driver of the pace of societal evolution and it redefines social parameters with unique outputs. iDEX has always been at the forefront of innovation in defence and internal security and most of its projects also have tremendous civilian applications: Quantum Computation, Artificial Intelligence/Predictive Maintenance/Logistics/Data Analytics, Security/Encryption, Communication etc. To take this further, iDEX will be launching the sixth edition of DISC with numerous diverse problem statements from various stakeholders. iDEX is able to utilise India’s strong science, technology and research talent base to develop new capabilities in defence innovation. The understanding of the budding entrepreneurs for sensitising the audience towards defence innovation is being further complemented by the support provided through this scheme. The iDEX, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, essentially provides a unified platform for various stakeholders in the defence and aerospace sectors. It acts like an umbrella organisation to oversee technology development and potential collaborations in this specific field.

    Airports

    DIAL introduces cloud-based Vesta-Service Quality Management platform at Delhi Airport

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    New Delhi: Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), a GMR Infrastructure Limited-led consortium has introduced a state-of-the-art Service Quality Management platform that will help the airport operator in enhancing the travel experience of passengers at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.For this, DIAL has implemented Vesta, a cloud-based Mobile-First Airline Operations Management Platform – a next-generation operations architecture with a robust and dynamic delivery model – to tackle and improve its terminal operations. Vesta Airport Operations Management System will help DIAL in handling its operations faster than traditional methods. It will help DIAL in improving its productivity, automate its terminal services, increase operational flexibility to handle future growth in passenger traffic, and, reduce costs. The platform will help the terminal operations teams in the automation of handling of passenger requests, complaints, and maintenance jobs and, thus help DIAL in providing enhanced passenger experience at the airport. The platform will provide DIAL-Estate department managers with the ability to structure daily operations in a more efficient and organized manner by making real-time data available at their fingertips. It will also help optimize communications among all departments, boost the productivity of employees and third- party vendors by efficient use of resources, streamline operations and connect teams. This will help DIAL in making smarter decisions that are backed by real-time data and detailed records. Vesta is a core facility operations product of Check-Inn Technologies that focuses on providing cloud-based solutions. Vesta is a complete communication platform that brings all operations on a unified platform for better visibility across department operations. It creates requests, manages tasks, and sends notifications in real-time. It does trouble-shooting of complaints on a real-time basis and ensures its resolution from a single office seat. Speaking on the occasion, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO-DIAL, said, “DIAL has been working to provide world-class services to the passenger at Delhi Airport. During the pandemic, Delhi Airport has introduced several initiatives to ensure ‘flying is safe’ without compromising service quality. We have introduced the new platform that will facilitate the automation of handling of passenger requests, complaints, and maintenance jobs. It will also help us in capturing, tracking, and significantly reducing service breakdowns and digitizing daily housekeeping activities resulting in a significant increase in productivity and turn passenger satisfaction scores.” Sharang Majumdar, Co-founder, COO at Vesta said, “We are proud to partner with DIAL in its digital transformation journey. At Vesta, we are committed to helping airports function better by boosting operational efficiency that results in improved service quality. At IGIA, our team helped set up the system in a way that enables the employees and vendors across 28 departments and levels, to fully maximize the power of Vesta.”

    Defence

    Lt Gen Manoj C Pande appointed as Chief of Army Staff

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    Government has appointed Lt Gen Manoj C Pande, presently Vice Chief of the Army Staff, as the next Chief of the Army Staff with effect from the afternoon of April 30, 2022. Born on May 06, 1962, Lt Gen Manoj C Pande was commissioned on December 24, 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) of the Indian Army. During his long and distinguished service spanning over 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. The Command appointments of Lt Gen Manoj C Pande include Command of an Engineer Brigade in the Western Theatre, as part of Strike Corps and an Infantry Brigade along with Line-of-Control in Jammu & Kashmir. Other important Command appointments include a Mountain Division in the high-altitude area of the Western Ladakh and Command of a Corps, deployed along the LAC and in Counter Insurgency Operations area of Eastern Command. In the rank of Lt General, the officer has held important appointments including that of Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command and as the GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command at Kolkata before getting appointed as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. Lt Gen Manoj C Pande is an alumnus of National Defence Academy and has undergone courses at Staff College, Camberley (UK), Army War College, Mhow and National Defence College, New Delhi. For his illustrious service, Lt Gen Manoj C Pande has been conferred with Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.

    Top Stories

    Cathay Pacific appoints new Regional General Manager

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    New Delhi: Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong based airline has appointed Rakesh Raicar as the airline’s new Regional General Manager for South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA).Raicar who has over 30 years of experience working with Cathay Pacific, will take over from his predecessor, Mark Sutch. Based in Mumbai, India, Raicar would be responsible for the growth of the airline’s business and operations in the said regions. Raicar began his career with Cathay Pacific in 1992 and has held several roles through the course of his tenure including Regional Marketing & Sales Manager, South Asia and Country Manager, South Africa and Indian Ocean. His most recent role was General Manager – South West Pacific where he led all aspects of the company’s business for the region. Commenting on the development, Rakesh Raicar said, “My journey with Cathay Pacific has been very enriching. I began with my career with the airline in India and it is a privilege to once again be part of this wonderful team. Cathay Pacific has always seen SAMEA as an important region in the network to grow our passenger and cargo business.” “As an airline with a vision to be one of the world’s greatest service brands, we continue to stay true to our brand ethos and move forward for our customers and partners by offering them a series of enhancements and services across our business verticals.”

    Recent News

    SriLankan Airlines Records First Fourth Quarter Profit Since 2006

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    19th April 2022; Colombo SriLankan Airlines records its first profitable fourth quarter (Q4) since 2006 for the financial year that ended on 31 March 2022 with a group net profit of USD 1.7 million despite pandemic challenges. The airline was able to achieve this financial turnaround through various measures in its 2021-22 financial year including scaling down staff costs and overheads; renegotiating supplier contracts; increasing cargo revenue; and creating an ambitious growth plan capitalizing on pent-up travel demand. The initiatives paid off, with SriLankan making its first monthly profit since the onset of COVID-19 in December 2021 and continuing with a profit in the final quarter. The airline now has accumulated over USD 12 million in profits over the last 4 months as traffic has returned after the pandemic. SriLankan’s expansion initiative saw the launch of flights to several new destinations in the last year including Seoul; Moscow; Kathmandu and Paris. Frequencies were also gradually increased across the airline’s network in line with the recovery of the global travel industry and demand. The airline has also carried out major campaigns to boost tourism to the country including a major initiative in India, roadshows supporting new routes and most recently sponsoring the popular French annual adventure trail, Raid Amazones, in March of this year. The airline is now back to 75 per cent of the passenger revenue it made pre-pandemic in Q4 of 2019-20. Correspondingly, passenger numbers also rose to near 700,000 for the quarter. The airline is making strong headway towards matching pre-pandemic levels as demand for international travel recovers. The payoff is not limited to the airline, as it remains by far the largest carrier of tourists into Sri Lanka. SriLankan is also a net foreign currency earner for the country owing to a sizeable share of its revenue being generated from international markets. Ashok Pathirage, Chairman of SriLankan Airlines stated, “I am pleased to note that we ended 2021-22 on a high note, given our first quarterly profit in many years. The passenger demand remained strong, and revenues continued to recover from the setbacks of the pandemic during the quarter. Our annual expenditure remained within expectations. I am thankful to all our valued employees for contributing towards this achievement.” “We anticipate some headwinds in the first half of this financial year with high fuel prices and a short-term dip in demand to Sri Lanka. We have factored in these challenges and are working towards minimizing the impact with a strong business plan and a sound turnaround strategy to return to full-year profitability. Traffic is expected to recover fully by the end of the year as travel restrictions are eased off further. We will continue to support the tourism industry of Sri Lanka and be a catalyst for economic recovery,” added Richard Nuttall, Acting Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines.

    Top Stories

    AirAsia resumes flights from India to Malaysia and Thailand

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    New Delhi, 6th April 2022: AirAsia has announced resumption of flights from India to Malaysia and Thailand with few sectors already operational from 1st April onward. In total, six new routes from India to Malaysia include Bengaluru to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Chennai to Kuala Lumpur (commenced from 1 April 2022), Tiruchirappalli to KL( commenced from 5 April), Kochi – KL commencing 18 April, Kolkata – KL commencing 23 April and Hyderabad – KL commencing from 01 May, 2022. Five new routes launching India to Thailand will include Bengaluru-Bangkok (Don Mueang) commenced on 04th May, Chennai-Bangkok (Don Mueang) on 04th May, Kolkata-Bangkok (Don Mueang)commenced on 02nd May , Kochi-Bangkok (Don Mueang)commenced on 01st May , and Jaipur-Bangkok (Don Mueang) 01st May .Travelers can now fly with ease as quarantine requirements have been lifted. Manoj Dharmani, AirAsia’s Regional Commercial Head for India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh, acknowledged that “AirAsia’s resumption of international flights has been highly anticipated by both the airline and its guests. With Malaysia and Thailand reopening and travel restrictions being lifted, AirAsia will be continually re-introducing international services, starting from April 2022. In this regard, India, Malaysia, and Thailand are countries with significant potential in terms of stimulating tourism and reigniting the economy. We believe that our flight resumption will bring great opportunity and support to the countries’ economic recovery.”

    Airports

    Mumbai Airport to start Domestic to Domestic Passenger Transfer Facility at T2

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    Mumbai, March 04, 2022: CSMI Airport, Mumbai has brought innovation in solutions to provide ease in transfer for passengers with connecting domestic flights. Travellers with a domestic layover at CSMIA can now easily transfer with reduced congestion and transit time. With this new development, CSMIA has become the first airport in the country to create and begin operations from a dedicated domestic to domestic passenger and crew member transfer facility within Terminal-2 (T2). With an endeavour to smoothen passenger travel experience while adhering to mandated norms and regulations, this dedicated space has requisite security screening infrastructure along with pre-embarkation security checks conducted by the CISF. This transit area will considerably cut down the Minimum Connection Time (MCT) for transfer passengers and crew members, thereby enabling passengers with a shorter time gap between connecting flight to board. Besides, it will add flexibility to the airline operators in planning their flight schedule and rostering of crew members as they will now be able to accommodate passengers with a lesser time interval between their connecting flights. This enhancement will, in turn, also help decongest the airport, as the passengers who otherwise would earlier exit & re-enter the terminal and further wait for their onward flight will now be able to board without undergoing the process of re-entering the terminal building.

    FOREWORD

    Dear Reader’s,

     

    The current edition of Aviation World has covered many areas of Aerospace & Defence based on the latest development in the sector. The front cover highlights three different images, first for the Union Civil Aviation Minister ….. who is leading from the front to steer Indian Civil Aviation sector to witness one of the most interesting phases. He is also facing most tumultuous timing due to the ongoing financial stress in the Aviation sector due to ATF rising cost and long airspace restrictions resulting in mounting losses for Indian carriers. Despite of all the ground level challenges,the minister is addressing new things on regular basis which keeps the sector motivated. We have featured many such developmental works in this edition done under his guidance which will be interesting to read.

    Our lead story on “ The West War” is another important feature which covers the ground level reality of the challenges faced by the Aviation sector. Its though time ahead and we believe it will pass soon .

    There are features on Regional connectivity and MoCA revised rules on the UDAN 2.0 and how its going to transform the flying experience within India.

    In this edition, we have covered topics on MRO,Various Policy changes,Sea Plane Operations by SkyHop Aviation, TATA-Airbus joint project on C295 military aircraft under Make In India which is expected to roll out soon and many other interesting contents which will be good to read.

    We are covering Farnborough International Airshow 2026 from 20-24July 2026 in London and our next edition will be based on the same event.For features, you may contact our team on priority basis.

     

    Happy Reading!

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    NEWSLETTER

    Aviation World Magazine is India’s premier aviation magazine and has been actively supporting the development of the Indian and global civil aviation sector. We started our journey in year 2015 and its been 12 years now and the response and acceptance is really encouraging. Thanks to all our associates and writers who remained with us in our progressive journey.

    We have started 2026 on a very positive note and we look forward to increase our footprints to more locations and induct many more new companies in our campaign.. Do write to us at : editor@aviationworld.in

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