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With CoC approving bid in favor of consortium lead by Murali Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch, it seems Jet Airways will be back to sky soon once all regulatory approvals are in place. A detailed report about the latest development in this regard by Aviation World Team.   “There is light at the end of the tunnel “. Well, this famous proverb fits well in case of once India’s prized airlines Jet Airways, which got some hope for its revival after Committee of Creditors ( CoC) approved the resolution plan submitted by Murali Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch under Section 30(4) of the Code as the successful resolution plan. This has not only saved the airlines from nose diving and becoming an ill-doted history but a sigh of relief on the face of 20,000 employees and more than 60,000 people indirectly associated with Jet Airways. The journey ahead is still tough as the new owners have to take care of debt in tune of more than Rs 8,000 crore to banks, with public sector lenders having significant exposure. However, claims made by financial creditors, operational creditors, and employees have ballooned to over Rs 40,000 crore, out of which claims to the tune of Rs 15,525 crore has been admitted by the resolution professional. Financial creditors such as State Bank of India, Yes Bank, and others have claimed Rs 11,344 crore but only Rs 7,459. 80 crore has been admitted. It was marked a black day in the history of Indian aviation when on 17th April of 2019.Jet Airways ceased its domestic operations after its last flight between Amritsar-Mumbai. It has terminated its international flights much before as the lenders turned down its demand for any emergency funding. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on June 20, 2019, admitted the insolvency petition filed by the lenders’ consortium led by State Bank of India against Jet Airways. The insolvency process for Jet Airways was supposed to be completed by June this year and the deadline was first extended to August 21, due to lockdown curbs, and then extended for an unspecified time. It’s been 18 months since Jet Airways last operated, CoC met 16 times to finalize a bidder and finally consortium lead by Murali Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch of Kalrock Capital has been duly approved to restart the airlines. The consortium had placed a bid of nearly Rs.1,000 crore. Over 97 per cent of CoC have voted in favour of the resolution plan submitted by the Kalrock consortium. After CoC approval, Kalrock Capital led consortium will now have to get the plan approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Upon receiving the NCLT approval, they would need to apply to civil aviation ministry and corporate affairs ministry for their approvals, respectively. Following the norms of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Kalrock Capital-Murari Lal Jalan consortium deposited the performance security of approximately Rs150 crore ahead of the deadline of November 3. This amount is to bind the party in a bond and to ensure that the bidder doesn’t withdraw its plan later. Along with this, if the winning bidder is unable to execute the proposed plan, the amount is forfeited. THE EXACT DEAL & WAY AHEAD The new owner of Jet Airways, Kalrock Capital and Jalan consortium had placed a bid of nearly Rs 1,000 crore. The lenders will also get 9.5 per cent of equity in Jet Airways along with 7.5 per cent equity in loyalty rewards company InterMiles (formerly Jet Privilege). The Resolution Professional appointed by CoC,Ashish Chhawcharria  will now have to submit the resolution plan before the NCLT. Once the plan gets approved by the NCLT, the bidders will then have to get approvals from the Ministry of Civil Aviation for Air operators Permit( AoP) and slot allocation. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES At the time of its last operations, Jet Airways had a fleet of nearly 120 aircraft with new orders to acquire up to 225 Boeing 737 Max aircraft by late 2018. At present, it has only 12 aircrafts including Boeing 777, Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 planes. Experts believes that at present with curtail in both domestic and international routes, it will be good for the new operators to start with domestic routes first. Also, it’s been speculated that the actual operations of jet Airways might start from April 2021 onwards. ABOUT THE NEW OWNERS KALROCK CAPITAL London-based Kalrock Capital is a global firm owned by Florian Fritsch operating in financial advisory and alternative asset management, managing significant partners’ assets across a number of clearly defined and diversified strategies and single investments, with focus on private markets. The firm is primarily active in three verticals, Real Estate, Venture Capital and Special Situations. MURARI LAL JALAN Murari Lal Jalan is a UAE based entrepreneur and has investments in several sectors like real estate, mining, trading, construction, fast-moving consumer goods, dairy, travel & tourism and industrial works globally, according to reports. Quote: “We are delighted to hear such reports, and we remain committed to Jet Airways. Jet Airways is a renowned Indian aviation company with a strong legacy. The aviation sector underwent substantial correction on account of Covid-19 and created an opportune time to enter the sector. Our vision for Jet Airways is to operate the carrier as a full-service airline, both domestic and international.”     BOX ITEM: SERIES OF STEPS FOR JET AIRWAYS RESOLUTION April 2019: Jet shuts ceases its domestic operations June: SBI takes Jet to NCLT September: Synergy Group expresses but fails to give a plan January 2020: Resolution Professionals calls for fresh EoIs February: 3 suitors express interest but fail to give resolution plan March: RP asks for 3 months extension in CIRP of Jet from NCLT April: Jet gets CIRP extension till August 21 May: Lenders receive 12 fresh EoIs out of which 4 withdraws July: Finally 2 bidders give a final resolution plan September: Bidders make changes to their plans post discussion with lenders October: Voting concluded on 16th October 17th

DRONING IN: ON THE RED DOT  In this article, Piyush Gupta,Head of Aviation & Competition, Singapore provides a brief overview of the latest developments and regulatory changes proposed within the drone-tech space in Singapore to ensure that this ‘Little Red Dot’ becomes a drone hub within the South-East Asian region.  The last decade has seen a significant increase in innovation and commercial interest within the drone-tech space. Earlier drones were primarily used for military purposes, beginning in the early-2010s, a host of new uses were proposed for drones. As a result of their ability to reach the inaccessible places at low costs, drones are now being used by countries and governments for a number of purposes ranging from rescue operations, surveillance, delivering goods to transporting time-sensitive medical supplies. Suffice to say that drones are being seen by the governments across the world, as an important aid in its policies, both from a commercial as well as non-commercial perspective. Not to mention the plethora of opportunities (and challenges) that are, and will be generated from the commercial usage of drones and one can see why drones are considered the “new frontier”. Recently, we have seen Singapore taking massive strides towards becoming a pioneer in drone operations and use in a safe, commercially-savvy manner and this article dwells upon the latest developments and regulatory changes proposed within the drone-tech space in Singapore to ensure that this ‘Little Red Dot’ becomes a drone hub within the South-East Asian region. CHALLENGES A recent study conducted by drone research and consulting firm – Drone Analyst – identified the top three drivers for the drone industry in 2020, being: (a)Increased Hardware Competition – Commercial users have, until recently, largely used drones for recreational purposes. Now, new manufacturers and new commercial offerings are being provided to customers with respect to the hardware of the drones.  Additionally, even the open-source software companies have started taking interest in this tech space and are increasingly powering newer commercial drone solutions . For instance, the US Company – Freefly Systems – has recently announced a new multi-use enterprise drone for utility, telco, and infrastructure companies, as well as drone service providers and first responders . This means that instead of using different types / categories of drones for different uses, a ‘hybrid’ category has already been developed for multi-functional purposes. (b)Rising Global Tensions – The U.S.-China trade war could have a major impact on the drone industry.  While the Chinese manufacturers have never tried to market their drones to the U.S. defence forces, their products are typically inexpensive and customizable, making them attractive for a number of military operations.  Lawmakers subsequently questioned the use of federal funds to purchase Chinese-manufactured drones that hadn’t been designed for a military level of security. Now, many new manufacturers are marketing dual-use commercial drones appropriate for both military and commercial use . This links back to the ‘hybrid’ models that have already made an appearance on the drone-tech landscape. (c)Improved Autonomy – The ‘night-mode’ function has been around for ages now. When used on a phone, it automatically mutes all incoming calls. On a cuckoo clock, the sensor ‘senses’ night-time and automatically mutes the nightly “cuckoos”! Similarly, with the technological advancements, the question now is not whether drones can become autonomous, rather a question of how autonomous we want them to be? While the technology exists, for truly autonomous drones to take wings, adequate and proper regulations are needed. For instance, Remote Identification and Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) platforms should form the absolute basis on which the implementation of autonomous drone solutions should vest on. Singapore is pushing towards becoming the world’s first Smart Nation, one that will improve the quality of life for individuals and business opportunities for enterprises, and drones are now a part of the Republic’s Smart Nation initiative . To establish itself as a drone-hub in the region, Singapore has introduced a slew of new regulations and policies for drone operators and manufacturers. Unsurprisingly, the Singapore Government adopted an evidence-based regulatory approach, wherein drone users were asked to provide proof-of-use of drone technology. This initiative materialised in the last quarter of the previous year (December 2019) when the Air Navigation (101-Unmanned Aircraft Operations) Regulations were introduced. LEGAL ROAD MAP IN SINGAPORE The operation of drones in Singapore falls under the purview of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) – the same regulator which oversees the operation of aircraft. CAAS takes a serious view of errant unmanned aircraft (UA) operations which pose threats to aviation or endanger the personal safety of others. In May last year (2019), CAAS set up an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Advisory Panel (UASAP) to review the regulatory framework for Unmanned Aircraft Systems . Upon the recommendations of the UASAP, the Air Navigation (101 – Unmanned Aircraft Operations) Regulations (“Regulations”) were enacted [pursuant to section 3A of the Air Navigation Act (Chapter 6)]. The Regulations came into force on 2 January 2020. The Regulations list out the regulatory requirements that are needed to be fulfilled in order to operate a drone in Singapore, including the details in respect of registration and permit requirement for drone operations, specifying the ‘no-fly’ zones, as well as providing the penalties for non-compliance with the Regulations by the drone-operators. Set out below, is an overview of the basic provisions under the Regulations: (a)At the onset, a person who is 16 years of age and above and who desires to fly a drone, is required to register the drone with the CAAS if the drone weighs over 250 grams and if the intent is to fly the drone in and over Singapore. (b)For registration of the drone, a person needs to obtain a registration label. Each registration label will contain a unique identification number (UIN) which will be tagged to the respective drone(s) and needs to be stuck at a clear place on the drone. (c)Effective 1 February 2021, operating a drone weighing from 1.5kg up to 7kg requires the operator to hold

In order to boost defence exports a webinar between India and UAE was held on the theme of “Indian Defence Industry Global Outreach for Collaborative Partnership: Webinar and Expo India – UAE Defence Cooperation”.  It was organized on Tuesday, 27 October 2020 under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, MoD, through the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, SIDM. Ambassadors and senior MoD officials from both sides participated in the webinar and spoke about deep- rooted relations between the two countries. Both sides agreed to take up cooperation in defence further through joint production and mutual trade which could be a win – win proposition for both the countries. Shri Sanjay Jaju, JS (DIP) said that as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, we are not advocating protectionism. “On the contrary we are emphasizing on openness and inter-linkages so that our companies could become a part of the global supply chains and foreign companies could have a role in Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem.” This webinar was part of the series of webinars which are being organized with friendly foreign countries in order to boost defence exports and to achieve defence export target of $5 Billion in the next five years. Various Indian companies such as L&T Defence, GRSE, OFB, MKU, Bharat Forge and Ashok Leyland made company and product presentations on major platforms / equipment like Artillery Systems, Radars, Protected Vehicles, Costal Surveillance System, Akash Missile system and Ammunition etc. in the webinar. From the UAE side STREIT Group, Rockford Xellerie, EDGE, TAWAZUN and Marakeb Technologies made presentations. The webinar was attended by more than 180 participants and more than 100 virtual exhibition stalls were set up in the Expo.  

HUMAN RESOURCE  “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going”-  Beverly Sills. The famous quote suits well with the training requirements in the aviation sector as this is one of those sectors which requires only skilled manpower. Even for fresher’s every organization provides them required training as mandated by the regulatory authorities to make them perfect and job-oriented. Dr. (Prof) Dewakar Goel, a seasoned aviation expert through this article dwells upon all the jobs that aviation sector provides and their training parameters in details which will be of great help to the entire new age aviation enthusiast who are looking forward to make their career in this field. We have witnessed 23 Per cent increase in the passenger movement per year in India during last years and it is anticipated that same trend will continue for another ten years making India number one in domestic sector and among first five in International sector. The association of International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Policy framework of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the field of training is considered as a boon which helped aviation industry to grow in India tremendously. The role and responsibility shouldered by training institutions of airport operators, airlines and other agencies needs to be given the credit for enhancing the performance level of aviation personnel which gave rise to this growth. Having said so, we need to appreciate the importance of training and its impact on aviation growth. When we talk about training, it signifies imparting knowledge and skills to the employees so as to perform the task as per requirement of the job. The job of a trainer is like that of a civil engineer who maintains the pavements for filling up of the manholes. The engineer looks for the material and the techniques to fill these holes. He/she also identifies the causes and while filling the manholes, he takes care that there should not be any water retention on it because as per his/her findings, the potholes occurred due to water retention. Similarly, a trainer needs to identify the knowledge gaps of the trainees so as to fill up them with required knowledge and skills. Training can be of technical nature, non-technical nature, and soft-skills which also relates to personal development of employees. Every avocation has got the requirement of training whether it is in the manufacturing, marketing, finance, HR, logistics, and every technological field. Organizations prepare training modules as required for their working. During last two decades, we have seen that training has become an important area for enhancing the performance level of the employees and it has become essential systematic activity. Pre-training analyses are done and training modules are designed accordingly. Concept of on-the-job training has gained considerable importance and post training feedback is undertaken as a process of evaluation so as to know whether the desired outcome has reflected in the performance level that gives rise to the concept of train and re-train. TRAINING IN AVIATION Now, let us talk about training in aviation, which is quite different from the training in other sectors. Why it is different since aviation is a unique field where you do not get the manpower readily available. We create foundation of competencies keeping in view of organizational objectives. The manpower planning is done for short-term and long-term and jobs are created as per industry’s requirements. Job specifications and descriptions are discussed with the line managers to induct right kind of manpower. The next step comes in generating expertise from amongst the manpower inducted so as to assign the roles. We can get qualified experienced people for every industry except Aviation as the roles and responsibilities are different. Technical or non-technical graduates or post-graduates in management cannot be utilized straight away in aviation sector because the nature of job is unique. Let us come to the micro-level in understanding the training aspects of aviation industry. We can take the example of airport manager who is responsible for managing various activities of terminal management with the focus on passenger facilitation. It requires communication, co-ordination and control. The surveys are done by Airport Council International (ACI) for giving Airport Service Quality (ASQ) ratings on 5-point scale for all International airports of the world, classifying them as per flight and passenger movement. Here also, basis of grading is feedback from the passengers. The airport manager has got great responsibility of meeting the needs of all stakeholders. May it be, immigration, customs, police, CISF, Airlines, taxi operators, parking contractors, security agencies, various travel requisites shops, housekeeping staffs, Airport Operation Control Centre (AOCC), air worthiness and his own staff deputed for terminal management looking after facilitation. The job is multi-dimensional. He/she needs to have knowledge of air side management also whether it is for apron, air-traffic control, fire section, parking bays, runways, hangers, and all areas because if a customer comes with a query as to why his relative has not come out though the flight has landed 30 minutes before, the knowledge of air side management becomes handy when he/she knows time spent by the aircraft on taxi way and location of parking bay. Also, about the time consumed in arrival of unaccompanied baggage on the conveyor belt. See, how different is the profile of airport manager in comparison to the profile of hotel manager. Though, Now-a-days, we are hiring management post-graduates for both these jobs. The hotel industry prefers diploma/degree in Hotel Management as compared to MBA. If we look back three decades down the memory lane, the non-graduate unemployed commercial pilots were being inducted as airport managers and the experience showed that they were far more effective as excellent performers as airport manager as compared to present day MBAs mainly due to the strong base of air side operations  knowledge and other aspects of aviation. The aviation training is multi-dimensional. We talked about airport manager whose performance is before the public. Let us talk about air traffic controller who is responsible for proper separation of aircrafts to

US TO SUPPORT INDIA TO DEFEND ITS TERRITORIAL SOVEREIGNTY AND LIBERTY The 3rd India-US 2+2 dialogue held in New Delhi on 27th October 2020 had a very fruitful interaction by the top dignitaries of both the nations. The United States vowed to support India to defend its territorial sovereignty and liberty. Addressing the media, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that, “the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is “no friend to democracy”. “The United States will stand with the people of India as they face threats to their sovereignty and their liberty,” said Mr. Pompeo hinting at the ongoing tense scenario in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese forces in a standoff since May. Mr. Pompeo also referred to the greater threats posed by China in the Asia-Pacific region and the COVID-19 pandemic. The observations about the threats to Indian sovereignty came as New Delhi announced the signing of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on geospatial cooperation (BECA) with the U.S. In his opening remarks, Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh laid out the challenges before India. He said, “We are meeting today at an extraordinary time. This pandemic is something that we have never experienced in our lifetime. Our partnership is becoming stronger because of the challenges that we are facing at present.” He further added, “We have had comprehensive discussions on key aspects of our bilateral and multilateral cooperation. We considered the major challenges we face. The need for quick economic recovery and growth, prevention of the Pandemic, rebuild the global supply chains and related issues received obvious priority in our discussions. Apart from BECA, India and the U.S. also sealed a MoU on Technical Cooperation in Earth Observations and Earth Sciences, and an agreement to extend duration of the MoU regarding the Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership. The two sides also signed an agreement on electronic exchange of customs data and a letter of intent regarding cooperation in traditional Indian medicines. Earlier, India and US had also signed LEMOA in 2016 and COMCASA in 2018 is a significant achievement in that direction. MoD also highlighted some of the other noteworthy steps taken by both India and US in follow up to the earlier discussions. These include Positioning a USN LO at IFC-IOR and Indian LO at NAVCENT, Bahrain; greater interaction and coordination with CENTCOM and AFRICOM; setting up of the COMSEC account and increasing the scope and complexities of our exercises. Now LO’s at each other’s establishments could be leveraged to enhance our information sharing architecture. To sum it up, our military to military cooperation is progressing well. The current 2 + 2 meeting also explored probable capacity building and other joint cooperation activities in third countries, including our neighborhood and beyond. We have convergence of views on a number of such proposals and will take those forward. MoD welcomes the acceptance of our request for cooperation in the advanced field of maritime domain awareness. Both sides agreed to comprehend the requirements and initiate processes for joint development of requisite systems and expertise. In the Defence Industrial Cooperation area, the recent initiative of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in Defence sector was underlined as a key driver and a guiding factor of our Defence Industrial Cooperation. The capabilities of Indian Defence Industry and their usefulness in the supply chain of major US platforms and systems were highlighted. The MoD said that India has identified priority Near-Term projects for joint development between respective agencies, which need to be fast tacked under the DTTI and resolved to work together in Defence R&D more efficiently. Defence Innovation field has being growing consistently in our discussions in recent years, The instruments of ISA and iDEX/DIU MOl, which were agreed upon and signed during our last 2+2 meetings, are beginning to bear fruit. We welcomed holding of the inaugural meeting of iDEX-DIU in July 2020 through Video Conferencing and are looking forward to the first ISA Summit this year. During the meeting, assessment of the security situation across the Indo Pacific was done. In that process, it was reaffirmed the commitment to peace, stability and prosperity of all countries in this region. Both nation agreed to upholding the rules based international order, respecting the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international seas and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states are essential. The defence cooperation is intended to further these objectives and both sides welcomed Australia joining the forthcoming Malabar Exercise.

India’s first sea plane operation was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 31 Oct. 2020 with start of services between Statue of Unity in Kevadia and Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. The service is being operated by Spice Shuttle, subsidiary of SpiceJet Airlines. Under the visionary guidance of Hon’ble PM under the leadership of Shri Vijay Rupani, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Gujarat has signed an MoU on 22/07/2020 with Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Govt. of India, and Airports Authority of India to start first-ever “Seaplane Services in Gujarat” to provide seamless and affordable air connectivity from Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad to Statue of Unity, Kevadia which turn out a historical achievement of the State Government. The kind of service is first ever in the Country. The Scheme is being implemented by the terms and conditions of a tripartite agreement between State Government, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Govt. of India, and Airports Authority of India. In this connection, a high-level meeting was organized on 29th August 2020 at New Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar to review the progress of the water aerodrome operation in Gujarat which was chaired by Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat along with the Secretary, Civil Aviation –Govt. of India, Joint Secretary, Civil Aviation- GoI, DOG- DGCA, Concerned officials from Airports Authority of India, Airline Operator (Spicejet), and other Government officials from State Government and Central Government. The service operated by Spicejet Airline from Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad- Statue of Unity, Kevadia: 04 Flights, a day ( 04 Arrival & 04 Departures. The Ticket price would be around of Rs.4,800/- Per person. In this connection, a high-level meeting was organized on 29th August 2020 at New Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar to review the progress of the water aerodrome operation in Gujarat which was chaired by Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat along with the Secretary, Civil Aviation –Govt. of India, Joint Secretary, Civil Aviation- GoI, DOG- DGCA, Concerned officials from Airports Authority of India, Airline Operator (Spicejet), and other Government officials from State Government and Central Government. The service is operated by Spicejet Airline from Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad-Statue of Unity, Kevadia: 04 Flights, a day ( 04 Arrival & 04 Departures. The Ticket price would be around of Rs.4,800/- Per person. The inaugural flight will likely happen on 31st October 2021. On recommendation of Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), AAI Multi-Disciplinary team conducted Pre-Feasibility Study for development of Water Aerodrome at three sites namely Sabarmati River Front, Statue of Unity and Shatrunjay Dam identified by Govt. of Gujarat in June 2018. A tripartite MoU has been signed among MoCA, AAI and Govt. of Gujarat for development, operation and maintenance of Water Aerodrome at above sites. AAI appointed M/s Feedback Infra as consultant for preparing DPR. IWAI was entrusted of conducting bathymetry survey and execution of concrete pontoons and DGLL has installed marker buoys demarcating runway alignment, aircraft maneuvering and obstacles in water. Design of all works carried out by IWAI and DGLL have been vetted by IIT Madras. The average cost of development of water aerodrome is approx. Rs. 36 crore. Based on bathymetry survey and Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey Master Plan and flight SOPs have been developed by AAI. As per MoU, the city side development works has been undertaken by GUJSAIL, Govt. of Gujarat. Although, the site selected was remote and had a lot of challenges due to difficult terrain, the agencies involved have worked tirelessly to complete the infrastructure development works in record 45 days.   TYPE OF SERVICES The Water Aerodromes have been designed to cater to category 2B type of floatplanes such as the 19 seater Viking Twin Otter Series under VFR conditions. The runway of length 800m X 60m at Statue of Unity has been marked with Marker Buoys for clear visual demarcation. Also, areas with hazards to marine activity have been marked with nun buoys. A sturdy Floating Jetty made of Structural Concrete Pontoons of size 24m X 9m along with necessary safety equipment, soft fenders, ‘in deck’ service utilities, mooring systems and connecting gangway with shore have been installed at the site for docking of seaplane. Currently, there is provision for docking of one seaplane at a time however being modular in nature this system can be expanded to accommodate more seaplanes as well. The Water Aerodrome will initially function from an interim Terminal Building till the regular building of area 700 sqm. is constructed on shore for both the sites. The State Government shall operate and maintain the water aerodrome including providing fire and security services, as per regulations of DGCA and BCAS. The developed Water Aerodromes at Statue of Unity was officially inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 31 Oct. 2020.