Air India Express-AIX Connect merger completed. File
| Photo Credit: G. Ramakrishna

Aviation Regulator DGCA on Tuesday (October 1, 2024) said the merger of AIX Connect with Air India Express has been completed that sets a new benchmark for future airline consolidation in the country.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted the requisite regulatory approval for the merger.

“Effective October 1, 2024, all aircraft of AIX Connect have been transferred seamlessly onto the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of AIX, ensuring that airline operations of the combined entity continue without disruption to ensure a safe and smooth passenger experience,” DGCA said in a release.

Also Read: Vistara to merge with Air India from November 12

The airlines are part of the Tata Group.

The watchdog said it will closely monitor post-merger operations to ensure ongoing compliance with all regulatory conditions, safeguarding consumer interests and ensuring the continued safety of air operations in India.

“Our rigorous review ensures that this merger serves the public interest by fostering safe air operations while enhancing the overall travel experience for consumers. The insights gained from this experience will prove valuable for the upcoming merger of Air India and Vistara, which is currently in progress,” DGCA chief Vikram Dev Dutt said.

New Delhi:

The Annual Safety Review-2023 released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) indicated that air travel has significantly improved compared to the last two years.

On Wednesday, DGCA published the Annual Safety Review-2023. It informed that the safety performance assessment when compared to the past two years indicates that the number of Risk Bearing Airprox per million flights over Indian Airspace has reduced by 25 percent and achieved the target.

The number of GPWS/EGPWS warnings per 10,000 departures has reduced by 92 per cent and achieved the target. This reduces the risk of Controlled flight into Terrain.

The number of unstabilized approaches that continue to land per ten thousand approaches has shown a continuous decreasing trend with a reduction of approximately 23 per cent and met the target. This reduces the risk of Runway Excursions and Abnormal Runway Contact.

DGCA has published the National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP) identifying the National – High-Risk Categories of Occurrences (N-HRCs) in line with the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP).

The performance of NASP in terms of safety performance indicators (SPI) and safety performance targets is assessed annually and published in the form of the Annual Safety Review (ASR).

It presents the analysis of the aggregate safety data derived from the DGCA database and external sources such as ICAO iSTARS for the preceding year.

This data-driven approach ensures a firm embedding of the safety culture in the aviation growth trajectory and provides a robust process to identify emerging safety issues and continually refine existing procedures.

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