Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is charged with the responsibility of

 

·         Formulation of National Policies and Programmes for development and regulation of Civil Aviation.

·         Devising and implementing Schemes for orderly growth and expansion of Civil air transport.

·         Oversee the provision of airport facilities, air traffic services and carriage of passengers and goods by air.

·         Administratively responsible also for Commission of Railway Safety, a statutory body set up under the Railway Act.

 

Organizations under Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA)

 

(i) Attached Offices:-

·         Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA);

·         Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS); and

·         Commission of Railway Safety (CRS).

 

(ii)Public Sector Undertakings:-

·         Airports Authority of India (AAI);

·         National Aviation Company of India Ltd. and its subsidiaries (NACIL);

·         Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL).

 

(iii) Autonomous Organizations:-

·         Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi(IGRUA); and

·         Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA)

 

Background

 

India has been a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and is also on the Council of ICAO since its inception.  The civil aviation sector has three main functional divisions--regulatory, infrastructural and operational.  The civil aviation sector in India has seen an unprecedented growth in the recent years.  As on date there are a large number of companies providing passenger transport and cargo handling services in the country.  The Air Transport Companies are both in public sector and in the private sector. In the public sector, there is the National Aviation Company of India Limited (Erstwhile Air India), and its subsidiaries viz. Alliance Air, Air India Charters Ltd. (Air India Express) etc.

 

Apart from Air India and its subsidiaries there are at present 07 private scheduled operators viz. Jet Airways (India) Ltd., Jetlite Airlines, Go Airlines (India) Pvt. Ltd., Kingfisher Airlines, Spicejet Ltd., Paramount Airways Pvt. Ltd., and Inter Globe Aviation Ltd. (IndiGo) operating on the domestic sector providing a wide choice of flights and connectivity to various parts of India.

 

Besides above, a new category of Scheduled Airlines i.e. Scheduled Air Transport (Regional) Services has been introduced to enhance connectivity to smaller cities and also with in a region. MDLR Airlines and Jagson Airways have been granted operator permits as regional scheduled airlines in Northern Region.

 

Three cargo airline viz. Blue Dart Aviation Private Limited,  Deccan Cargo & Express Logistics (Private) Limited and Aryan Cargo Express Private Limited are operating scheduled cargo services in the country.

 

Recent Developments in Civil Aviation Sector

 

(i)     India Aviation 2008, 2010 and 2012.

 

The first ‘India Aviation -2008’ was held during 15-18 October 2008 by Ministry of Civil Aviation in collaboration with FICCI.  The second edition of ‘INDIA AVIATION 2010’ was organized, in association with FICCI, from 3^rd to 7^th March, 2010 at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad.  The PARTNER COUNTRY in the second edition was France, and USA was the FOCUS COUNTRY for the event.  The event was a bigger event in magnitude to its predecessor ‘INDIA AVIATION 2008’.  More than 200 exhibiters participated and the exhibition covered a gross area of 12,000 sqms.  40 aircrafts participated.  The Antanov An-148 was on display for first time in India. More than 500 conference delegates and more than 5000 Business visitors attended the event.  Parallel events of International Conference on Civil Aviation and CEOs Forum were also organized.  The third edition of INDIA AVIATION 2012 will be organized in Hyderabad from 14^th to 18^th March, 2012.

 

(ii)   India – US Summit

 

The 2^nd India – US Aviation Partnership Summit was held in USA from 07 - 09 December, 2009, in which a high level delegation led by Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation participated.  The event attracted excellent response.  Over 200 representatives from 80 companies participated in addition to Government delegation.  The Joint Aviation Steering Committee Working Group Meetings were also held during the Summit.  On the sidelines of the Summit, the delegation also held meetings with the Federal Aviation Administration, transportation security administration and the US trade and Development Agency.

 

The Summit was designed to foster Government to Government and industry to industry dialogues on key issues relating to India’s on-going aviation modernization, aviation safety, air traffic control management, aviation security, airspace utilization etc.

 

The Summit served as a very useful forum for exchanges on technical, policy and commercial issues.  It assisted Indian Civil Aviation agencies and aviation industry representatives in identifying advanced technology and practices that would best suit our expansion and modernization needs.

 

  Signing of MoUs under India – France civil aviation co-operation:-

 

Three MoUs were signed on 11^th February, 2010 between DGCA of India and BEA of France relating to Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigations, between Airports Authority of India and French Civil Aviation Authority and between DGCA of India and DGAC of France in order to pave way for the India – France civil aviation technical co-operation.

 

  Amendments of Air Services Agreements (ASAs) with foreign countries:-

 

Keeping in view the recent developments in the civil aviation sector, and with a view to modernize and update the existing ASAs with foreign countries as per the ICAO templates, bilateral air services consultations were held in 2010 with foreign countries viz.  Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Ireland, Brazil, UK and Iran and the respective ASAs have been amended and finalized.

 

Also, Bilateral Air Services Agreements were formally signed with Bhutan, Iceland, Nepal, Bosnia & Herzegovina, South Africa and Iran.  Apart from these, new Air Services Agreements have been initialled with Senegal, Barbados and Rwanda.

 

Technical co-operation agreements with Nepal and Afghanistan:-

 

Technical co-operation agreements were signed by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) with the Nepalese and Afghan civil aviation authorities in order to provide active technical support including training of personnel to these countries by India to promote and develop civil aviation sector.

 

India – EU civil aviation co-operation programme:-

 

Under the Joint Action Plan, a Civil Aviation Co-operation Project - II has been agreed to.  Its Terms of Reference (TOR) have been finalized.  The project called “Institutional Capacity Building in the Civil Aviation sector in India (ICAA)” has been started under India – EU civil aviation co-operation.

 

India – US Aviation Joint Working Group on Security:-

 

The India – US Aviation Joint Group Meeting on Security was held in New Delhi on 20 – 21 January, 2010.  During this meeting two MoUs on deployment of Air Marshals and Co-operation in Airport Technical Visits were signed between the Government of India and the Government of United States of America.  The two MoUs mark the beginning of an ongoing co-operation between the two countries in matters of security.

 

India – EU ATM Symposium:-

 

Under India – EU project on civil aviation co-operation, a high level EU – India ATM Symposium was held in New Delhi on 23^rd and 24^th November, 2009.   The purpose of this technical session was to present and exchange views on European and Indian initiatives on ATM such as the Single European Sky Legislation, the SESAR programme and those undertaken by India and to explore together the precise field of co-operation that may set up the EU – India ATM agenda in the future.

 

Growth of the domestic passenger traffic:-

 

Passengers carried by domestic airlines from January-August, 2010 were 339.09 lakh as against 284.24 lakh in the corresponding period (January-August) of year 2009 thereby registering growth of (+19.3%).

 

  Scheduled Operators:-

 

The number of scheduled airlines operating in the country has increased considerably. The number of domestic scheduled airlines has now become 16; this includes 11 Scheduled Passenger Airlines, 2 Scheduled Regional (Passenger) Airlines and 3 Scheduled (Cargo) Airlines.  However, at present only 13 scheduled airlines are operational. The total number of aircraft in their fleet has risen to 425 in August, 2010.

 

Non-Scheduled Operators:-

 

The number of Non-scheduled operators is 118.  The number of aircraft in their fleet has risen to 344 in August, 2010 from 327 in December, 2009.

 

Regional Airlines:-

 

To promote air connectivity between specific regions and to enable more efficient air travel services within the region, as well as linking such regions and expand air travel services for Tier II and Tier III cities within the country’s aviation network, 06 companies were granted initial NOC to operate Scheduled Air Transport (Regional) Services.

 

Guidelines for Passenger Facilitation:-

 

From time-to-time the Ministry of Civil Aviation / Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issues guidelines for Passenger Facilitation.  Some of the important guidelines issued recently in this regard are as under:-

 

(a)        Guidelines for Computer Reservation System / Global Distribution System:-

 

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part III on Computer Reservation system (CRS) / Global Distribution System (GDS) which contains guidelines to be followed by system vendors, subscribers and participating carriers.  The issue of fictitious booking and abusive ticketing practice is covered in Paragraph 4.4.2 of the CAR.  The violation of the provisions of the CAR is punishable under the provisions of Schedule VI to the Aircraft Rules, 1937. This will be a Category III offence attracting a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment or Rs. Two Lakh fine or both.

 

Under the heading of ‘Obligation of Subscribers’ the following provisions have been made:

 

-The subscriber shall not manipulate information supplied by the Computer Reservation System (CRS)/Global Distribution System (GDS) in a manner that would result in biased, inaccurate or misleading information to the consumer.

-The subscriber shall not make fictitious reservations in the CRS/GDS and shall not resort to any abusive ticketing practice. On detection, the concerned participating carrier shall report the matter to DGCA for appropriate action in the matter.

 

-The subscriber shall provide to a consumer all relevant information furnished by the participating carriers in respect of services in the following manner:

 

a) Orally, at the time the consumer expresses an interest and at the time of reservation or sale; and

(b) In writing, at the time of reservation, when requested by the consumer, and at the time of issue of ticket.

-In any direct oral communication with a consumer concerning a flight that is part of a code-share arrangement, a subscriber shall act in a following manner:

(a) Inform the consumer, before effecting booking, that the carrier whose designator code will appear on the ticket is not the transporting carrier and shall identify the transporting carrier.

(b) At the time of sale, provide the consumer with written notice of the carrier that will be operating the service or segment of an itinerary.

 

(b)        The guidelines for payment of compensation to passengers in case of denied boarding due to overbooking:

 

            The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part IV, which provides for payment of compensation to passengers in case of denied boarding due to overbooking. The CAR is available on website of DGCA. 

 

The CAR inter-alia includes:

 

- The financial compensation indicated below shall be given only if the amount of tickets cost is higher than the compensation amount:-

a) Rs. 2,000/- or the value of the ticket whichever is less for flights having a block time of upto and including one hour

b) Rs. 3,000/- or the value of the ticket whichever is less for flights having block time of more than one hour and upto and including two hours

c) Rs. 4,000/- or the value of the ticket whichever is less for flights having a block time of more than two hours.

 

If the cost of the ticket is less than the amount of compensation indicated above, the airline will be liable to compensate an amount equivalent to the ticket cost in addition to refund of air ticket.

 

Additionally, passengers shall be offered free of charge the following:

 

a) Meals and refreshments in relation to waiting time.

b) Hotel Accommodation when necessary (including transfers).

 

Airlines shall pay particular attention to the needs of persons with reduced mobility and any other person(s) accompanying them.

 

(c)        Guidelines for refund of airline ticket:

 

Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 3 - Air Transport Series ‘M’, Part II, Issue 1 dated 22^nd May, 2008 prescribes minimum requirement for refund of ticket purchased by persons / passengers with respect of air transport undertaking including scheduled and non-scheduled operators. The salient features of the CAR are as under:-

- In case of credit card payments, refund shall be made by the airlines within seven days of the cancellation to the account of credit card holder.

- In case of cash transactions, refund shall be made immediately by the airlines office from where the ticket was purchased.

- In case of purchase of ticket through travel agents, the arrangement for refund be left to the passenger and the travel agent.

- Airlines shall necessarily return the PSF collected by them from the passengers on non-utilization / cancellation of tickets.

- Airlines shall refund any charges such as congestion charge, fuel surcharge etc. alongwith the refund of the ticket, unless these are clubbed with basic fares.

- When being offered tickets for future travel, passengers shall be allowed an option for refund of money instantly.

- The airlines should indicate in an unambiguous manner the amount of refund of money admissible on cancellation of a ticket.  For this purpose, the amount and its break-up may be indicated on the ticket itself or through separate form used for the purpose, and the policy and amount of refund shall also be displayed by the airlines on their respective websites.

- In case of lost ticket coupons, the airlines shall take prompt action to refund the ticket amount after verification from their records.

Compliance of above mentioned CAR is mandatory for all the domestic scheduled airlines.

 

(d)        Guidelines on Carriage by Air of persons with disability and / or persons with reduce mobility:

 

DGCA had issued CAR Section 3- Air Transport, Series ‘M’, Part I, Issue II dated 1^st May 2008 on Carriage by Air of persons with disability and / or persons with reduce mobility. The CAR inter-alia states that no airlines shall refuse to carry persons with disability or persons with reduced mobility and their assistive aids / devices, escorts.  The airline shall formulate a detailed procedure for Carriage of disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility and publish the same on their website.

 

 

 

(e)        Guidelines on deceptive advertisement of airlines.

 

In order to have transparency in airfare advertising, Rule 135 of Aircraft Rules, 1937 has been amended whereby airlines shall display tariff in a conspicuous manner to show the total amount payable by a passenger and a complete break-up of the total amount, indicating the fare, tax, fees or any other charge, if any, separately.

 

DGCA has issued Air Transport Circular 5 & 6 of 2009 in this regard. Accordingly, scheduled airlines were requested to comply. Scheduled domestic airlines viz. NACIL (I), Jet, JetLite, Kingfisher, Spicejet, Paramount, Go, IndiGo and MDLR Airlines have complied with the Rule 135 of Aircraft Rules, 1937 with regard to display of airfares on their respective websites.

 

(f)        Instruction to airlines to issue row seat numbers to all passengers on their boarding passes:-

 

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), Section 3 - Air Transport, Series ‘C’ Part VII dated 26^th April 2007 instructing the scheduled airlines to issue row and seat numbers to all passengers at all stations, which should be indicated on their boarding passes.

 

Policy for Greenfield Airports

 

The Government has promulgated the ‘Policy for Greenfield Airports’ on 24.04.2008.  The new policy aims to streamline the approval process to facilitate strengthening and augmenting of airports infrastructure in the country.  It also attempts to make the approval process more transparent and predictable.  The policy does not attempt to undermine the authority of the Government / Union Cabinet.  Pursuant to Policy for Greenfield Airports, a Steering Committee was constituted to monitor and facilitate the approval process of proposals received for setting up of the airport.  So far, the Central Government had accorded “in-principle” approval for setting up of a Greenfield airport at Mopa (Goa), Navi Mumbai, Sindhudurg (Maharashtra), Bijapur, Gulbarga, Hassan, Shimoga (Karnataka), Kannur (Kerala), Pakyong(Sikkim), Durgapur (West Bengal), Dabra (Madhya Pradesh), Palladi (Rajasthan), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh).

 

Streamlining and promoting Cargo Operations

 

The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued an order dated 23.02.2009, wherein, it was decided that the free period applicable for air cargo at all Indian airports are as under:-

a)      Free period for imports and exports would be calculated in terms of hours and not in days.

b)      For import cargo, the free period would be 72 hours (i.e. 3 working days)

c)      For export cargo, free period for airlines would be 48 hours and free period of exporters would be 24 hours. Thus, the total free period available for export cargo would be 72 hours (i.e. 3 working days.). In case of public holidays on any two or more consecutive days, free period would be further increased by an additional 12 hours.

d)      If the cargo operations at an airport take place round the clock, the counting for holidays would be considered for the purpose of reckoning of free period.

 

Development of Non-metro airports by Airports Authority of India (AAI)

 

AAI has been undertaking up-gradation and modernization of 35 non-metro airports in the country in a time bound manner as per Government’s decision.  In pursuance to Committee of Infrastructure’s decision, AAI has also initiated the process for preparing the tender document for city side development of selected 24 non-metro airports through Public Private Participation (PPP).  Meanwhile, the scope of city side development has been restricted to the following activities e.g. Commercial development of property on city- side, Car park and Cargo operations.

 

 Restructuring of Delhi and Mumbai airports

 

i.                     Modernization of Delhi Airport: The Operation, Management and Development Agreement (OMDA) was signed between M/s Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 04.04.2006.  The lease of the Airport to the Joint Venture Company (JVC) is for an initial period of 30 years, which is extendable by another 30 years. Subsequent to the signing of OMDA, DIAL took over IGI Airport at Delhi on 3^rd May 2006.  DIAL had prepared a 20 year Master Plan for restructuring and development of IGI Airport Delhi, projecting all the facilities which would be commissioned in a phased manner and would ultimately cater to 100 million passengers by the year 2036.  Phase-I of the project has been completed on 31.03.2010, at an estimated cost of Rs. 12,258 crores for additional passenger handling capacity of 34 million passengers per annum (mppa).  The major development works completed during the Year 2009-10 are Civil Work-Terminal - 3 Passenger Terminal Building, Apron, Taxiways and the work on all 32 Mandatory Capital Projects (MCP).

 

Modernization of Mumbai Airport: The Operation, Management and Development Agreement (OMDA) was signed between Mumbai International Airport Private Limited. (MIAL) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 04.04.2006, and the Joint Venture Company (JVC) took over the management and development of Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport (CSIA) w.e.f. 3^rd May, 2006.  There was a transition phase of three months and w.e.f. 3^rd August, 2006. MIAL has been independently handling management and operation of CSIA.

 

As per the Master Plan prepared by MIAL, total project cost for development of CSIA is estimated to be Rs. 9,802 crores.  The target completion of this project is 31.12.2012.  The major development works completed during the Year 2009-10 are S6 (Realignment of Taxiway B1 to Code F), S10 (Domestic Terminal Expansion), S9 (South-West pier), Upgradation and Realignment of Runway 14/32, T2 (New common User Terminal including MLCP & Elevated Roadways), T2 Apron etc. The work on 31 MCP has been completed.

 

Greenfield airports:

 

i.                    Bengaluru International Airport, Devenahalli, Bengaluru: A Greenfield airport project at Devanahalli near Bengaluru has been implemented on a Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis for 30 years with Public-Private - Participation (PPP) at revised cost of Rs. 2,068 crores.  State Government of Karnataka and Airports Authority of India (AAI) together hold 26% equity and the strategic joint venture partners hold the balance 74%.  AAI’s investment in the equity is capped at Rs. 50 crores.  A Consortium led by Siemens, Germany with Unique Zurich, Switzerland and Larsen & Toubro, India Limited, as other members have been chosen as the strategic Joint Venture Partners. The airport was commissioned on 24^th May, 2008.

 

ii.                  Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, Hyderabad: A Greenfield airport has been developed in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad on Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis with Public Private Participation (PPP) by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh. The approximate cost of the Project is Rs. 2,920 crores. Airports Authority of India (AAI) and State Government of Andhra Pradesh together hold 26% equity with AAI’s equity being capped at Rs. 50 crore. The balance 74% being held by the strategic partner, a consortium consisting of M/s GMR Enterprises and Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhand (MAHB). The airport was commissioned on 23^rd March, 2008. Airports Council International has adjudged Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad near Hyderabad as the ‘World’s Best Airport’ for the Airport Service Quality amongst the airports handling 5-15 million passengers category for the year 2009.

 

Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for declaring the Airport at Tirupati as an International Airport.

 

Development of Airports Infrastructure by Airports Authority of India

 

Airports Authority of India is a leader in infrastructure building for developing airports infrastructure along the length and breadth of the country including remote and far flung areas.  AAI at present manages 115 airports including 23 Civil Enclaves.  AAI also provides CNS-ATM facilities at 11 other airports.  About 2.8 million nautical square miles area of nation airspace covering Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea has been assigned to AAI for provision of Air Traffic Services.

 

New Terminal Buildings have been constructed / commissioned at Dehradun, Jaipur, Kullu, Udaipur, Gaya, Cooch Behar, Dibrugarh, Lilabari, Ahmedabad (New Departure Block for Domestic Terminal Building), Aurangabad, Bhuj, Gondia, Porbandar, Mysore, Mangalore, Trichy, Vizag, Srinagar, Trivandrum, Varanasi, Barapani (Shillong), Ahmedabad (New International Terminal Building) and Madurai.  These Terminals have modern passenger facilities besides comfortable lounges / user friendly amenities and good ambience.  State of the art technology has been used in these Terminals.

 

New Terminal Buildings are under construction at Kolkata, Chennai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Khajuraho, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar, Raipur, Bhopal, Goa, Indore and Rajamundry airports.  A Greenfield airport is under construction at Pakyong in Sikkim.  Expansion and modification of Terminal Buildings at Pune and Coimbatore airports is also in progress.

 

Construction of new terminal buildings at Leh, Port Blair, Badodara, Jammu, Jaiselmer, Coimbatore, Pondicherry and Tirupati airports have been proposed.  New Greenfield Airports have also been planned at Chiethu in Nagaland and Itanagar in Arunchal Pradesh.

 

Modernisation of Kolkata Airport

 

The project for the development of a new Integrated Terminal Building at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata was sanctioned in August 2008 at a cost of Rs.1,942.51 crore.  The physical progress of the project upto September 2010 was 44%. The project comprises construction of a Passenger Terminal Building of approximately 1,80,000 sqm. having pile foundations including all civil and superior finishing works at par with international standards.  The pavement works includes extension of secondary runway by 432 metres towards southern side, construction of associated taxi track, apron / parking bays and 2 nos. rapid exit taxiways.  The integrated Passenger Terminal Building is designed to handle 20 million passenger annually (16 million Domestic & 4 million International) with peak hour capacity of 7452 passengers.  For Domestic Terminal, the saturation year is 2016-17 and for International Terminal, the saturation year is 2023-24.  The main work of building construction costing 1602.61 crores was awarded on 06.10.2008.  The probable date of completion of this work is August 2011.  The pavement works costing Rs.95.24 crores has also been awarded on 25.08.2008.  The probable date of completion of this work is August 2011.

 

Modernisation of Chennai International Airport Chennai

 

The project for the development and modernization of Chennai International Airport was sanctioned in August 2008 at a cost of Rs.1,808 crores.  The physical progress of the project upto September 2010 was 58%.  The project consists of construction of a new Domestic Terminal Building covering an area of 67,700 sqm. and extension of existing Anna International Terminal of 59,300 sqm. and Extension of secondary runway across the Adyar River by 1032 meters, construction of parallel taxi-track and 10 nos. of parking bays.  The main work for construction of Terminal Building has been awarded in October 2008 at a cost of Rs.1273 crores.  The probable date of completion of this work is May 2011.  The work for extension of runway taxi-track and parking bay has been awarded.  Probable date of completion of this work is January 2011.  After completion of the work, passenger handling capacity at Chennai will increase from 9 million to 23 million.  The Terminal Building will be with modern design shall have all state of the art facilities like aerobridges, escalators, travellators, etc with multi-level car park.  The new Terminal will also have Metro connectivity. The cost of both of the above projects at Chennai and Kolkatta airports have however been revised to Rs.2015 crores and Rs.2325 crores respectively.

 

National Flying Training Institute Private Limited, Gondia in Maharashtra

 

Airports Authority of India (AAI) in collaboration with CAE, Canada has set up a Joint Venture Company (JVC) in the name of National Flying Training Institute Private Limited (NFTIPL).  This Institute is located at Gondia in Maharshtra.  AAI holds 49% equity share capital while CAE, Canada holds 51% share capital in this Joint Venture Company (JVC).  The Institute has been named after the late Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi National Flying Training Institute (RGNFTI).

 

The facility became operational in September, 2008. The objective of setting up this institute is to provide qualified and well trained pilots.  The Institute, spread over an area of 12 acres has State-of-the-art Simulator, Administration Block, class rooms, hostels for boys and girls, sport complex and a wi-fi enabled cafeteria.

 

At present, 63 boys and 23 girls are undergoing training at RGNFTI for becoming commercial pilots.  The first batch of students was likely to get CPL by second week of September 2010. Training is imparted on simulator and through a fleet of seven single engine aircraft (DA-40) along with one multi engine aircraft (DA-42).

 

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA)

 

The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) is an autonomous Body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). The Akademi was established to bring about a quantum improvement in the standards of flying and ground training of Commercial Pilots in the country.  The Akademi has got 26 aircraft with associated host of Simulators, Airfield, Air Space and excellent infrastructural facilities for imparting, flying and ground training to the student for award of Commercial Pilots Licence.  The Akademi imparts training for Commercial Pilot Licence, Instrument Rating and Multi Engine Endorsement, Until Sep 2010. 572 Pilots already passed out of IGRUA with CPL and at present 193 students are undergoing training at IGRUA for CPL.

 

IGRUA entered into a Management contract with M/s CAE Canada in March 2008.  As per the contract, CAE Canada is to manage IGRUA and bring it to a world class standard.  It has been entrusted with the task of training 100 pilots per year.  The training period would also be gradually reduced from two years to one year.  With the appointment of CAE for management of IGRUA and continued financial support from Ministry of Civil Aviation for its infrastructure upgradation, IGRUA has increased its output both in quality and quantity substantially.

 

National Aviation Company of India Ltd. (Air India)

 

‘Air India’ and ‘Indian’ merger attained its official status on the formation of National Aviation Company of India Ltd. (Air India) on 27^h August 2007. Post merger the new entity is known as Air India while its mascot is retained as 'Maharajah'. The new company has the following subsidiaries under its control:

 

Hotel Corporation of India

 

The Hotel Corporation of India Limited (HCI) is a Public Limited Company wholly owned by Air India Limited and was incorporated on July 8, 1971 under the Companies Act, 1956 when Air India decided to enter the Hotel Industry in keeping with the then prevalent trend among world airlines. The objective was to offer to the passengers a better product, both at the International Airport and at other places of tourist interest, thereby also increasing tourism to india. However, in 2002-03, three properties of HCL, viz. Indo-Hokke Hotel Limited (Centaur Hotel, Rajgir), Centaur Hotel, Juhu Beach and Centaur Hotel, Mumbai airport were sold off. The remaining units of HCI are Centaur Hotel, Delhi Airport, Centaur Hotel Lakeview, Srinagar and Flight Kitchens at Delhi and Mumbai.

 

Air India Express

 

Air India Express has a fleet of seven leased and six owned B737-800 aircrafts. Commencing with 26 Kerala/ Gulf flights, Air India Express operations have grown and new routes have been added to the network. Currently, 57 international flights are operated on different routes. In addition, Air India Express operated five weekly flights on the Chennai/ Kuala Lumpur Sector on behalf of Air India. Effective 11 January 2007, Air India flights between India and Bahrain/Doha are being operated by Air India Express. Effective Summer ’07, with the fleet expansion, it is anticipated that Air India express will operate approximately 130 flights per week. New cities such as Tiruchirapally, Jaipur, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Kolkata are likely to be added to the network. In addition, frequencies on some of the existing routes may be increased in response to market requirements.

 

Alliance Air

 

Historically Alliance Air was set up on 15.4.1996 as a separate company envisioned to function as profit centre of erstwhile Indian Airlines Limited to effectively utilize the Boeing 737 aircraft fleet and to improve productivity and profitability of India Airlines Ltd.  At present, Alliance Air has taken a lease 4 ATR- 42 aircraft and commenced scheduled operations in the North-East Region with effect from 2.1.2003. These aircraft have been deployed exclusively in the North-East Region in terms of MOU with the North-Eastern Council. In return, a budgetary support of Rs.175 crores is being provided over a period of five years (annual budget of Rs.35 crores) by the NEC during the 10^th Five Year Plan. Throughout the period of the MOU, North-Eastern Council is required to facilitate Alliance Air in obtaining concessions on ATF, Landing RNFC rates, etc., whenever available. The MOU is effective from the financial year 2002-03 for a period of five years, which has now been extended for another one year i.e. December 2008. Besides the ATR aircraft, Alliance Air operates B 737-200 aircrafts on various regional/trunk routes.

 

As on 1^st July 2010, the operational fleet strength of Air India  is 134 of which 107 are owned and 27 are leased.

As a part of fleet augmentation, an order for the purchase of 111 new aircraft (50 for erstwhile Air India, 18 for Air India Express and 43 for erstwhile Indian) has been placed by Air India.

             As a part of improvement of the infrastructure, Air India is in the process of creation of bases for new aircraft as under:

Ø    Thiruvananthapuram- As a part of setting up a base for B737 aircraft, a MRO facility is being set up at Thiruvananthapuram. The hanger facility for the same is nearing completion.

Ø    Delhi – As a part of setting up the additional base at Delhi for B777 & B787 aircraft, a wide body hanger facility is being set up at Delhi for these aircraft.

 

Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited.

 

PHHL provides helicopter support services to several state Governments namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, Andmans & Nicobar Island. It is also providing helicopter services to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at Guwahati and GAIL. PHHL runs the helicopter services from Phata to the Holy Shrine of Kedarnath during the May-June and September-October seasons, after construction of Helipad at the location. The Company has succeeded in obtaining award of contract for two light single engine helicopters for a period of 3 years for helicopter services at Mata Vaishno Deviji from Katra to Sanjhichat under competitive bidding and the services commenced w.e.f. 3.4.2008.   PHHL has also got contract for deployment of helicopters for Sri Amarnathji during the season in July-August, 2010. The year 2008 was celebrated as the “Year of the Helicopter”.  Delhi Development Authority has given “in-principle” approval for providing land for a heliport at Rohini and at the Commonwealth Games Village in Delhi.

 

Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA)

 

AERA has been established on 12.05.2009 with the prime objective to create a level playing field and foster healthy competition among all major airports (Government owned, Public Partnership based, Private), encourage investment in airport facilities, regulate tariffs of aeronautical services, protection of reasonable interest of users, operate efficient, economic and viable airports at notified airports.  The commencement of Chapter III and Chapter VI of AERA Act is notified, w.e.f. 01.09.2009 to enable AERA to discharge regulatory functions.  AERA has got operationalized with manpower consisting of Chairperson, Secretary and other skeleton supporting staff.  The AERA is in the process of formulating approach, philosophy in economic regulation of airports and air navigation services for regulation of tariff in consultation with stake holders.

 

FDI in Civil Aviation Sector

 

Government has approved the FDI limits in Civil Aviation sector, which involves upto 74% on automatic route for non-scheduled airlines, chartered airlines and cargo airlines and upto 100% for NRIs, subject to ‘no direct’ or ‘indirect’ participation by foreign airlines in the non-scheduled and chartered airlines.

 

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MC/MK