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Airports

AAI Airports facilitate the rapid and safe delivery of vaccines, oxygen and essentials across the country

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New Delhi, 06th May 2021: Amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Airports Authority of India country in collaboration its subsidiary AAI Cargo Logistics & Allied Services Company Ltd (AAICLAS) isplaying a key role in facilitating the rapid and safe delivery of large volumes of doses of vaccines, oxygen containers and other medical equipment needed for the hospitals and towards the vaccination campaigns across the country. AAI Airports Cargo terminals have become an important hub for the storage, processing and transportation of vaccines and other essentials. Approximately95 million dosages of vaccines have been handled till now while taking utmost precautions through AAI Airports. Along with AAICLAS, Standard Operating Procedures were made in consultation with The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for safe delivery of vaccines through airports across the country. Jointly working with airlines,various state administrations and other stakeholders AAI Airports are ensuring that there is no time wasted in unloading of these vaccine consignments and they are handed over to State Health Department in the shortest possible time to maintain the cold chain. The average delivery time is between 3 to 20 minutes and all arrangements are in place for immediate clearance on priority and delivery to the respective department. This so that the Cold Chain that is vital for the safe delivery of the vaccines are maintained. So far, the Vaccines Consignment weighing approximately 281,000 Kgs has been transported across 40 airports through more than 400 flights by seven domestic airlines.An Operations Control Centre(OCC) has been set up at the AAICLAS CHQ in Delhi where the movement control of the vaccines is coordinated. The shipments of Oxygen cylinders transported by IAF are also being facilitated by AAI Airports, ensuring smooth and quick delivery to the consignee with efficient terminal operations.Oximeters &Oxygen concentrators were dispatched to different locations across the country through AAI`s Kolkata and Chennai Airport. Apart from this, AAI Airports spread across the country are taking part in the nationwide vaccination drive by organizing vaccination camps for all the frontline workers and stakeholders working at the airport including airlines, and ground handling agencies. While our nation is fighting against the alarming Covid19 surge, AAI continues to be at the forefront during these tough times. As the nation strives to achieve a CovidFree environment, AAI Airports are working diligently towards ensuring safe and secure travel experience with strict compliance of necessary protocols. (Aviation World Online News)

RCS

flybig forays into North east India

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The scheduled commuter airline will continue to provide connectivity under UDAN scheme to remote areas amidst the pandemic Guwahati, 5th May 2021: After the initial launch in Central India, flybig is all set to embark on its operations in the North-east region starting from the second week of May 2021. Flights will connect Guwahati, Rupsi, and Kolkata initially. In due course, other routes like Agartala, Dibrugarh, Tezu and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh will be connected with Guwahati and Shillong. On the occasion of this launch, Captain Srinivas Rao, CEO, flybig said, “We are extremely happy that flybig is taking its vision one-step ahead by commencing the operations in North-East India and providing regional connectivity to remote areas like Rupsi, Pasighat and Tezu. We are determined to provide essential and safe travel to everyone at this crucial time our country is going through. I am grateful to the government for the Regional Connectivity Scheme which has made travel affordable for common man. In years to come, we will boost connectivity in more regional spaces.” flybig operates ATR72 type of aircraft. The product proposition is ideal for the target customer segments as it offers connectivity to all emerging cities within the specific region and convenient flight timings and exceptional hospitality. Tickets for the new routes are now available. Passengers can make the bookings directly through flybig website, online travel agencies and regional travel partners. Below are the new routes that will be launched in various phases: Set 1 • Guwahati (GAU)-Rupsi (RUP) • Rupsi (RUP)-Kolkata (CCU) • Kolkata (CCU)-Rupsi (RUP) Set 2 • Agartala (IXA)-Dibrugarh (DIB) • Dibrugarh (DIB)-Agartala (IXA Set 3 • Guwahati(GAU)-Pasighat(IXT) • Pasighat (IXT)- Guwahati (GAU) • Pasighat (IXT)- Shillong (SHL) • Shillong (SHL)- Pasighat (IXT) (Aviation World Online News)

Top Stories

SpiceHealth Wins Gold Stevie Award in 2021

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Stevie Awards Winners to Be Celebrated During Virtual Event on 14th July’21 Gurugram, May 7, 2021: SpiceHealth has won the Gold Award at the 2021 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards for ‘Most Valuable Medical Innovation’ under Covid-19 response category. This award is based on the average scores of more than 100 global professionals for more than 900 nominations from organizations and over three months of judging.The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only business awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace in all 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific region. The Stevie Awards are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in programs such as The International Business Awards® for 19 years. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for “crowned,” the winners will be celebrated during a virtual (online) awards ceremony on Wednesday, 14th July’2021. At a time when Covid-19 was at an all-time high in India in November 2020, SpiceHealth, under the leadership of Avani Singh, disrupted the Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing space by offering tests in mobile laboratories at Rs. 499, as opposed to the then existing rate of Rs. 2400 in Delhi and helped bring down Covid-19 testing cost dramatically across the country. SpiceHealth was also the first to introduce the innovative concept of mobile testing laboratories that could be placed in remote areas, in containment zones, in villages where access to hospitals and medical facilities was and remains a challenge. Avani Singh, CEO, SpiceHealth, said, “I am extremely happy that SpiceHealth has been selected as the Gold Stevie® Winner in the prestigious 2021 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards for the Most Valuable Medical Innovation under Covid-19 response category. SpiceHealth was founded with the vision of introducing innovative healthcare solutions aimed at serving the masses and I am happy that we have been recognised for our efforts and contributions in these very difficult times. I dedicate this award to all our frontline workers who have been fighting tooth and nail to beat the worst ever pandemic in human history.” “The eighth edition of the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards attracted many remarkable nominations,” said Stevie Awards president Maggie Gallagher. “The organizations that won this year have demonstrated that they have continued to innovate and succeed despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and we applaud them for their perseverance and creativity. We look forward to celebrating many of this year’s winners during our virtual awards ceremony on 14th July’21.” SpiceHealth has been actively involved in the country’s fight against Covid-19. Since its launch in November 2020, SpiceHealth has conducted more than 2.2 million RT-PCR tests and has spread its operations across fives states – Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttarakhand. SpiceHealth has also been working actively with state governments and hospitals across the country to address the issue of acute shortage of oxygen and has airlifted thousands of oxygen concentrators for emergency use and distribution across India. The Company is also supplying thousands of its ‘Made-in-India’ SpiceOxy ventilators to different governments. (Published Online at Aviation World)

Civil Aviation

Qatar Airways Cargo Convoy Carrying Medical Aid and Equipment to Support COVID-19 Relief Efforts in India

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‎300 tonnes of aid from around the world departed in a three-aircraft cargo convoy from Doha to India, as part of the freight carrier’s WeQare initiative Delhi, India, 3rd May 2021 – Three Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 777 freighters departed to India today, carrying approximately 300 tonnes of medical supplies from around the world to support COVID-19 relief efforts. The three flights departed one after the other bound for Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi as part of Qatar Airways Cargo’s WeQare initiative. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Having seen with great sorrow the impact this further wave of COVID-19 infections has had on people in India, we knew we had to be part of the global effort to support the valiant health care workers in the country. “As the leading air cargo carrier in the world, we are in a unique position to offer immediate humanitarian support through the provision of aircraft to transport much needed medical supplies, as well as coordinating logistical arrangements. We hope today’s shipment and further shipments in the weeks to come will help ease the burden on local medical workers and provide relief to the impacted communities in India.” Ambassador of India to Qatar, His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Deepak Mittal, said: “We deeply appreciate the gesture of Qatar Airways to carry free of charge essential medical supplies to India and supporting the fight against COVID-19.” Today’s cargo shipment included PPE equipment, oxygen canisters and other essential medical items, and consists of donations by individuals and companies around the world in addition to existing cargo orders. (Aviation World Online News)

Events

DUBAI AIRSHOW, 14-18 NOVEMBER 2021

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Name: Dubai Airshow Date: 14-18 November 2021 Website: https://www.dubaiairshow.aero/ City: Dubai, UAE Dubai Airshow 2021, is all set to be one of the most significant in-person aerospace events to take place this year and has already been marked as a must-attend by regional and global organisations keen to accelerate their speed of recovery. Join us as we launch a range of new features including new content streams, emerging technologies showcase, intelligent matchmaking platform, enhanced networking and much more.

Civil Aviation, Top Stories

AirAsia India offers free cancellation and rescheduling on all flights to and from New Delhi

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20th April 2021: Bringing relief for their guests, AirAsia India announced free cancellation and rescheduling for all flights to and from New Delhi between 19th and 26th April 2021, both days inclusive. AirAsia introduced this additional flexibility for guests in light of the lockdown and curfew on the movement of individuals announced by the Government of Delhi from 22.00 hrs on 19th April till 05.00 hrs on 26th April 2021, even though people going from and to airports are exempt on production of a valid itinerary. All AirAsia guests flying to and from Delhi can now opt to cancel or reschedule to another flight without any change fees or cancellation charges.AirAsia also launched its #FlexIt campaign, offering free rescheduling on all flights across India for bookings made till 15th May 2021. In addition, the airlines also revamped its popular ‘Premium Flex’ fares, which in addition to unlimited changes, also offers a choice of seats, pre-booked hot meals for all flights above 2 hours, and among lowest charges of only ₹500 for cancellations made beyond 72 hours before the scheduled flight departure. ( Aviation World Online News Desk)

Civil Aviation, Recent News

ETIHAD AIRWAYS STARTS IATA PASS TRIAL ON FLIGHTS FROM ABU DHABI TO NORTH AMERICA

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20 April 2021,Abu Dhabi Guests travelling with Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, from now until 31 May from Abu Dhabi to Chicago, New York, Washington and Toronto, will be the first to trial the IATA Travel Pass app to easily manage their travel health credentials. Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “With the dynamically changing health requirements for travel, Etihad believes that a digital health passport solution will provide additional clarity and ease for travellers. Etihad has partnered with IATA so that together, a globally unified approach to a travel pass can be simplified to make travel easier once governments decide what regulations are required to cross borders in either direction.” To participate in the trial, guests simply download the IATA Travel Pass app from the Apple App Store and book an appointment with Life Diagnostics at Sultan Bin Zayed the First Street or BioGenix Labs at Masdar City. At the clinic, guests inform reception they are participating in the IATA Travel Pass trial and should be ready to show their passport and mobile device with the IATA Travel Pass app downloaded. Once the test result is ready, travellers will be able to view it on both the IATA Travel Pass app and through the testing clinic’s own digital platform. ( News published unedited on the basis of Press Release)

Civil Aviation, Top Stories

SriLankan Airlines strengthens presence in North America and Europe through Qatar Airways codeshare

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20th April, 2021, Colombo SriLankan Airlines is strengthening its presence in the North American and European markets through the expansion of its existing codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways, with additional connections to serve various cities in these regions. This codeshare would expand across 10 cities in 06 countries covering Canada, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Scotland, Ukraine, and Turkey. Vipula Gunatilleka, Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines said: “The expansion of our partnership with Qatar Airways is an important element in SriLankan’s ongoing initiatives to provide seamless connectivity for our valued passengers across a wide range of destinations, apart from increasing the number of cities that we fly to.” Accordingly, SriLankan Airlines will codeshare on Qatar Airways operated flights between Doha and Turkey’s Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Ankara Esenboğa Airport in the city of Ankara, Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport in Izmir, Antalya International Airport in Antalya and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Sabiha, Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Azerbaijan, Edinburgh Airport in Scotland, Kyiv Boryspil International Airport in Ukraine serving the European region. Reaching the North American territory through Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport situated in Montreal, the largest city in Canada’s Québec province. Both airlines offer easy connectivity between Qatar Airways’ hub in Doha’s Hamad International Airport and Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport several times a day. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “The expansion of codeshare cooperation between Qatar Airways and SriLankan Airlines is a natural next step in the strengthening of our close partnership. We look forward to working closely with SriLankan Airlines to offer passengers more flexible travel options via the Best Airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport.” This is the third phase of the recent expansion of the codeshare agreement between the two airlines, which are both members of the oneworld global airline alliance that connects passengers to over a thousand cities in more than 170 countries and territories through 14 member airlines. Codeshare operations with Qatar Airways began in 2016. Phase 1 was completed in the last quarter of 2019, while phase 2 was implemented in February 2020 by adding a large number of destinations to the networks of both airlines. The total number of destinations shared between the two airlines is 48. Expanding the SriLankan Airlines route network across 111 cities in 55 countries with the addition of these codeshare destinations. SriLankan Airlines passengers will now have the option of seamless long-distance travel via Doha through one travel booking with enhanced travel options to Europe and North America. SriLankan Airlines has a number of codeshare agreements with other airlines. ( News published unedited on the basis of Press Release)

Drones

Wg.Cdr. S Vijay (Veteran) takes over the reins of Skye Air Mobility

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New Delhi, 16th April 2021: Skye Air Mobility, a drone delivery tech company based out of New Delhi & Bangalore, has appointed Wing Commander S Vijay (Veteran) as its Chief Operating officer (COO). Skye Air has received the permission to start BVLOS Drone flights as a pilot project and the company is geared up to start the trials soon. The appointment of Air Veteran will help the company to accelerate its ambitious plans of starting drone deliveries in India and his rich experience in the field of Drone technology will provide strategic leadership to Skye Air Mobility as the company eyes overseas growth opportunities in the drone sector. Capitalizing on its core competency in drone-based delivery, Skye Air Mobility has been at the forefront of various BVLOS trials. It is also developing customized drones for healthcare and delivery use cases. The company is working to integrate drone-based deliveries into Healthcare logistics, Relief logistics, Food & E-commerce logistics, Urban and Defence logistics. The Skye Air team is well-experienced in the field of aviation operations, design & development of drones and its commercial applications. The combined experience of the team is over 100 man-years. The company also endeavors to bring transformational change in rural and remote healthcare system by helping easy and faster access to vital medical supplies. Vijay, who will head the Skye Air Mobility, is also a Certified Trainer in Instructional Design, Learning and Development and a Guest Faculty at Indian Institute of Drones. During the course of his career with the Indian Air Force, S Vijay was specialized in UAV operations and maintenance along with other responsibilities that involved complete life cycle management of UAV fleet. Post his retirement from the IAF and in the last 4 years, Vijay has been guiding and Mentoring Drone & GIS Start-ups, and was consulting TQ Cert Services Private Limited (A wholly owned subsidiary of TATA Projects Ltd) on ‘Drone Certification’. “The growth achieved by Skye Air Mobility in a short span of it coming into existence is highly impressive. Drones are the need of the hour. The potential of drones is immense, and its uses will only grow with the time. I am excited to be part of this energetic, talented and committed team” said Wg Cdr S Vijay (Retd). On the appointment, Mr. Ankit Kumar, Board Member & Director of Skye Air Mobility said, “Vijay’s appointment is linked to a key phase for our company. After our initial successes, the company must structure itself to grow internationally and bolster its leadership. Vijay’s experience will surely be a real asset to Skye Air Mobility as our ambition is to transform, build and operate futuristic transportation solutions helping mankind achieve a better life”.

Airports, Recent News

AAI extends cooperation to Bangladesh in Aviation Sector

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New Delhi, 15th March, 2021 With an objective to ascertain the possible cooperation avenues in aviation sector, a high-level delegation from Civil Aviation Authority of Bangaldesh visited AAI establishments from 07th to 11th March 2021. This exploratory visit was significant for both the nations, as Bangladesh is an important stakeholder in this region in aviation sector. Shri Mafidur Rahman, Chairman CAAB along with other delegates visited Civil Aviation Training College at Prayagraj (U.P.), Indian Aviation Academy, Fire Training Centre and Cental Command Centre of Air Traffic Flow Management at New Delhi for effective cooperation in respect of training. Shri Anuj Aggarwal, Chairman, AAI assured the delegation that all possible assistance shall be extended to strengthen the aviation sector in Bangladesh AAI with its highly skilled professionals, state- of –the-art aviation training institutes, expertise in airport infrastructure &airspace design has agreed to assist CAAB Bangladesh, to enhance its capacity, in terms of aviation infrastructure and skilled manpower resources, to sustain the post COVID growth in aviation, in Bangladesh. AAI also suggested providing customized courses as per the requirements to assist in the training progress.

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!

USEFUL LINK

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

Disclaimer

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