In a shocking incident, two Indonesian pilots of Batik Air fell asleep for around half an hour mid-flight, with passengers onboard, as per a report in the Guardian. The pilot and co-pilot slept at the same time for roughly 28 minutes. As per the preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), on January 25, the Batik Air flight was its route from South East Sulawesi to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia.

Although there were several navigational errors as a result of the incident, the two-hour and thirty-five-minute flight did not result in any injuries to the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers or four flight attendants.

Transport Ministry’s Civil Aviation Director-General M Kristi Endah Murni, stated that the ministry “strongly reprimands” Batik Air for the incident and urged airlines to be more mindful of their aircrew’s rest time. An investigation is also being launched by the ministry.

As per the report, the second-in-command pilot had notified his co-pilot earlier in the day that he did not get “proper rest.” The captain requested permission from his second-in-command to take a short break about ninety minutes after takeoff, and the request was approved. The investigation stated that once the co-pilot assumed control of the aircraft, he unintentionally slept off as well. “The second-in-command had one-month-old twin babies. His wife took care of the babies and he assisted while at home,” the report said.

The Jakarta Area Control Centre (ACC) attempted to contact the aircraft twelve minutes following the co-pilot’s last known transmission, but the pilots did not respond, according to the ACC. Around 28 minutes after the last recorded transmission, the pilot-in-command woke up and realised the plane was not on the proper flying route. According to the report, he then woke up the second-in-command and responded to the ACC. The pilot-in-command informed the ACC that there had been a “radio communication problem” during the flight, but that it had been fixed.

The report identified the pilot-in-command as a 32-year-old male Indonesian, and the second-in-command as a 28-year-old male Indonesian, but did not disclose the names of the pilots.

The flight, BTK6723, landed safely and no injuries were reported. As per the standard operating procedure, the flight crews have also been grounded till further investigation is conducted.

Batik Air said in a statement that it “operates with adequate rest policy” and that it was “committed to implement all safety recommendations”. It added the pilots have been suspended.

Singapore:

Boeing and Airbus struck deals to sell billions of dollars’ worth of planes at this week’s airshow in Singapore, but supply chain disruptions mean they may struggle to deliver them on time, analysts said.

Plane makers are already behind in their current orders due to parts shortages and lack of skilled labour, as the travel sector recovers from the havoc caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

From engines and seatbelts to wiring and screws, a single plane needs millions of parts from suppliers across the world, making them vulnerable to supply chain hiccups.

Among the major deals announced at Asia’s biggest airshow, which ends Sunday, was an order by Thai Airways for 45 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, while Royal Brunei Airlines bought four of the popular model. 

Europe’s Airbus said it secured a commitment from Vietnamese carrier Vietjet Air to purchase 20 of its A330-900 aircraft, with the first delivery due in 2026. 

That might be optimistic.

Aviation analyst Shukor Yusof said Boeing and Airbus had already indicated that some of their popular models would be unavailable until 2030.

“The new orders will struggle to be delivered as continued shortages in labour and raw materials, problems in logistics as well as energy costs prevail,” said Shukor, founder of consultancy Endau Analytics. 

“Raising production rates will be very tough to achieve. You’re not making hand phones.”

The delays mean airlines cannot offer more seats and will be stuck with older, less fuel-efficient planes, which may dent their profits, Shukor said.

– ‘Major bottlenecks’ – 

Problems across the supply chain were caused largely by the pandemic when restrictions and border closures disrupted shipments of raw materials and led to layoffs of pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers and aircraft mechanics. 

The war in Ukraine also interfered with oil supplies and triggered higher costs for goods and services worldwide. 

As Covid-19 eased, air travel returned with a vengeance on pent-up demand, leaving manufacturers, airlines, airports and suppliers struggling to keep up. 

The supply chain “has become a major bottleneck, a major issue, holding capacity coming back into the market, aircraft delivery delays,” said Brendan Sobie, an analyst with independent consultancy Sobie Aviation. 

Parts shortages have led to planes spending more time waiting for maintenance, while engine problems have forced aircraft to be grounded, he added.

Boeing said each 787 Dreamliner needed around 2.3 million parts, with some made by the company and others sourced from suppliers worldwide, according to its website. 

Airbus has thousands of direct and indirect suppliers from more than 100 countries from where it sources parts, components, systems and services, the company said on its website. 

International Air Transport Association director-general Willie Walsh told a seminar ahead of the airshow that supply chain issues were “likely to continue for a few more years”.

Labour shortages were another problem.

Boeing said last year the industry would need 649,000 pilots, 690,000 maintenance technicians and 938,000 cabin crew members over the next 20 years “to support the commercial fleet and meet long-term growth in air travel”. 

Shukor said some airlines that let go of pilots during the pandemic were finding it hard to hire them back, while manufacturers were struggling to find highly specialised aircraft mechanics and technicians, who need time to be trained and get licenced. 

Many were “no longer interested in coming back” to the industry because Covid proved their jobs were not secure, Shukor said. 

Michael Szucs, chief executive of Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific, said his airline had been forced to ground 10 planes which may increase to 16 this year due to problems in the Pratt & Whitney engines. 

The carrier was also affected by delays from Airbus. 

“We’ve got a shortfall in capacity either through aircraft grounded or aircraft not arriving on time,” Szucs told AFP at the airshow. 

“It’s just never been more difficult to keep the fleet flying.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

India will get its first Airbus C-295 tactical military transport aircraft this month, an official of the European aircraft manufacturer said on Thursday.

“The first C-295 aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Air Force this month only,” Remi Maillard, Airbus India President and Managing Director, told a press conference in New Delhi.

Mr Maillard was interacting with reporters after Airbus inked a memorandum of understanding with the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya to train engineers for the aviation sector.

An Airbus functionary said that Indian Air Force chief Air Marshal VR Chaudhari will travel to Seville in Spain to take the delivery of the first C-295 aircraft.

India had inked an agreement with Airbus for supply of 56 C-295 military transport aircraft in September 2021.

As per the agreement, 40 aircraft will be built at the facility set up by Tata Advanced Systems Limited in partnership with Airbus at Vadodara.

Airbus will supply 16 aircraft in fly away condition from its facility in Spain.

The C-295, having 5-10 tonne capacity, is used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft. It also has a proven capability of operating from short or unprepared airstrips.

Remi Maillard said the aircraft production in India will begin in 2026.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Aviation safety regulator DGCA has temporarily suspended the Boeing simulator training facility of Air India for certain alleged lapses, a source has said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is “verifying” some of the documents pertaining to the matter and will take a call on the restoration of the training facility once it completes the process, the source said.

When contacted, a senior Air India official said DGCA carries out routine checks (on airlines) but did not divulge details.

“DGCA has temporarily suspended Air India’s Boeing simulator training facility for certain lapses. The regulator is verifying some documents related to the matter,” the source said.

The regulatory action against the Tata Group-owned Air India came days after a two-member DGCA inspection team allegedly found lapses in the airline’s internal safety audit reporting, prompting it to launch a probe in the matter.

A decision on the restoration of the training at the facility will be taken once the documents’ “verification” process is completed, the source said.

Air India wide-body fleet comprises Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The carrier is also likely to induct Airbus wide-body A350 planes in its fleet from this year end.

According to the inspection report submitted to DGCA, first reported by PTI last week, the airline was supposed to carry out regular safety spot checks in various areas of operations such as cabin surveillance, cargo, ramp and load but during a random inspection of 13 safety points, the team found that the airline prepared false reports in all 13 cases.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)