Photo used for representation purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The privatisation of Air India leading to the transfer of its ownership by the government to Tata Sons in 2022 and the ensuing transformation plan being undertaken at the airline has triggered a strategic transformation in the country’s airline sector.
This was a remarkable milestone and the boldest reform since the second wave of liberalisation that commenced in financial year 2004. At the time of Air India’s acquisition, CAPA India had anticipated this would be a critical inflection point that would stabilise the airline system which, in turn, would have a positive impact on the entire value chain, possibly even beyond the borders of India. 

Key developments in the sector

Let’s look at the key developments in the sector since 2022. Last year, Air India placed an order for a record 470 aircraft, with the option to add another 370 aircraft. The group has added 40 aircraft last year  and is expecting to take delivery of five aircraft per month for the near to medium term.
Meanwhile, India’s largest airline IndiGo, which has a fleet of about 370 aircraft with more than 980 on order, continues to grow rapidly, despite supply-chain challenges that have fettered growth plans for airlines globally.
This means that the country’s airline fleet of almost 700 aircraft could double by the financial year 2030. It took the Indian industry about 90 years from the time of the first commercial flight to reach a fleet size of 700 aircraft. But the rate of growth is so strong that carriers could add a further 600-700 aircraft in just the next 5-7 years. But, do we have the ecosystem to support this rapid expansion?

 We have a solid and aggressive airline system with the size, scale, aircraft orders and strategic intent to emerge as world-class operators. Air India’s investment of $6.5 billion in its business plan is a reflection of this. IndiGo reported record profitability of approximately $1 billion in FY2024, with another year of unprecedented results expected in FY2025.

Despite there being about 150 aircraft on the ground last year, domestic traffic grew by about 13% in FY2024 and international by 22%.

To support the appetite for travel as well as airline fleet expansion plans, the country also needs a solid airport infrastructure, which for the first time is ahead of demand and there is an investment pipeline of $11 billion at various stages of implementation. In the National Capital Region, we will have a world class airport infrastructure in a dual airport system where Delhi International Airport Limited will grow its capacity from 100 million and reach 130-140 million passengers per annum (PPA), which will be complemented by the greenfield Noida International Airport which is likely to open by April 2025, with eventual capacity for 70 million PPA.  The Mumbai Metropolitan Region will similarly have a dual airport system within almost 12 months, which will eventually be able to handle about 145 million annual passengers. The Adani Group is also significantly expanding capacity at its six PPP non-metro airports of Lucknow, Jaipur Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru and the Airports Authority of India is investing $4 billion to significantly enhance non-metro capacity. Greenfield airports are also planned in Chennai and Pune. 

Policy impetus

As far as policy impetus is concerned, given the rate of growth of the aviation industry in the country skills shortages could arise across the ecosystem, but particularly with respect to technical staff such as pilots and maintenance engineers and technicians. The shortage of pilots is a serious issue and is likely to become more acute, especially in light of the new duty and rest norms laid down by the DGCA for them, which could increase the number of pilots required by about 15%. Similarly, air-traffic controllers as well as security and safety personnel are inadequate relative to requirements. Therefore, the Budget must provide fiscal incentives for investment in skilling, training and education.

Beyond the Budget, the restructuring of Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security will be needed to address challenges emerging from disruption in technology and digitisation as well as environmental issues. Air Navigation Services should also be hived off from the AAI to enable corporatisation of air traffic control allowing for improved access to capital to invest in systems to cope with growing air traffic.

The Budget could also look at rationalising direct and indirect taxes, which today account for nearly 20% of an airline’s quarterly revenue such as through levies by States on aviation turbine fuel. The benefits of airport privatisation have been well demonstrated in the country through access to modern and efficient infrastructure as well as the economic development unleashed for the wider geographical region, and therefore the government must fast track the privatisation of 25 airports planned under the national monetisation plan.

(The writer is Chief Executive Officer and Director at CAPA India)

Tata Group-owned Air India on July 1 said it will set up a training institute at Amravati in Maharashtra with an aim to train 180 commercial pilots annually.

“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)-licensed Flight Training Organisation (FTO) at the Belora Airport will be the largest such institute in South Asia and become operational from the first quarter of next financial year,” Air India said in a statement.

According to the airline, the upcoming facility will be the first by any Indian airline in the country and will have 31 single-engine aircraft and three twin-engine aircraft for training.

Air India said it has got the tender from the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) to establish and operate the facility for 30 years.

“The FTO at Amravati will be a significant step towards making Indian aviation more self-reliant and offering more opportunities to the youth in India to fulfil their ambitions of flying as pilots. The young pilots coming out of this FTO will fuel Air India’s ambition of becoming a world-class airline, as it moves ahead in its transformation journey,” said Campbell Wilson, Managing Director and CEO at Air India.

“The facility, which will be developed on 10 acres, will have digitally-enabled classrooms, hostels on a par with global academies, a digitised operation centre, and a maintenance unit,” Air India said.

“The FTO will be operational by Q1 FY26 and offer aspiring pilots an opportunity to undergo training with world-class curricula on a par with best-in-class global schools,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, Director, Aviation Academy, Air India.

The collaborative initiative between MADC and Air India will not only boost the economy of Maharashtra by focussing on more than 3,000 new employment opportunities within the aviation sector, but also create employment in multifarious allied activities in skilling, technical and small entrepreneurial ventures culminating in an impressive contribution of more than ₹1,000 crore to the State’s GDP over the next decade,” said Swati Pandey, vice-chairman & Managing Director of MADC.

Representative image.
| Photo Credit: SAMPATH KUMAR GP

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to ensure that children up to the age of 12 years are allocated seats with at least one of their parents or guardians in a flight.

The directive comes against the backdrop of instances of children below the age of 12 years were not seated along with their parents or guardians during flights.

“Airlines shall ensure that children up to the age of 12 years are allocated seats with at least one of their parents/guardians, who are travelling on the same PNR and a record of the same shall be maintained,” the DGCA said in a statement on April 23.

In this regard, the regulator has revised the Air Transport Circular titled, ‘unbundle of services and fees by scheduled airlines’.

As per the norms, some services like zero baggage, preferential seating, meals/ snack/ drink charges and charges for carriage of musical instruments are permitted.

The DGCA said that such unbundled services are provided on an “opt-in” basis by airlines and are not mandatory in nature.

“There is also a provision for auto seat assignment to the passengers who have not selected any seat for web check-in before scheduled departure,” the statement said.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing civil aviation markets and domestic air traffic is on the rise.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had notified the revised rules governing duty hours and rest periods for pilots in January 2024. Photo: dgca.gov.in/

The story so far: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has rejected a request by airlines to postpone new pilot duty norms, reiterating that the revised schedule will have to be implemented from June 1. The DGCA had notified the revised rules governing duty hours and rest periods for pilots in January.

What are the new rules?

The new rules provide enhanced weekly rest for pilots which has gone up from 36 hours to 48 hours. The rules have also reduced night-time flying, which is known to contribute to fatigue and impact alertness levels as sleep is displaced from the optimum part of the circadian rhythm.

Earlier, a pilot could carry out six landings during night-time flying, which has now been reduced to two. The night-time shift has been extended by an hour to 6 a.m, from the earlier midnight to 5 a.m. The maximum flight duty period for flights encroaching night-time has also been reduced from 10 hours to eight hours. While pilots have broadly welcomed the changes, their demand for a ban on two consecutive night duties went unheeded. Pilots say that flying a second night without a reset of the circadian rhythm is extremely stressful. Consecutive night duties result in accumulation of sleep debt and an increase in fatigue related impairment. According to IATA’s Fatigue Management Guide for airlines, recovery of waking alertness and performance after accumulating a sleep debt may take longer than two nights of unrestricted sleep.

Pilots also pointed out that airlines are only required to publish the crew roster “sufficiently in advance” and the time frame has not been defined unambiguously. The draft rules placed for stakeholder comments had proposed that rosters be finalised seven days in advance.

The DGCA also wants airlines to submit an analysis of fatigue reports submitted by pilots on a quarterly basis along with an action taken report. It has also said that it plans to adopt a new regime of fatigue management, known as the Fatigue Risk Management System, which is a data-driven approach to enhance monitoring and reporting of flight crew fatigue though pilots are apprehensive that this could reduce existing rest periods prescribed in the rules.

Why are the airlines opposed to it?

The Federation of Indian Airlines, FIA, comprising Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, wrote to the DGCA in February seeking postponement of the June 1 implementation deadline as it could have “immediate and significant impact to business and customers alike” as airlines would be required to hire “15% to 25% more pilots” when it takes approximately 8-10 months to release a newly inducted pilot for flying. The FIA warned that the June 1 deadline could result in the cancellation of 15%-20% of flights by most airlines as well as cancellation of some long-haul international flights. In response, the DGCA reiterated that it will stick to the June 1 deadline.

A senior DGCA official told The Hindu that by speaking about flight cancellations during the peak summer travel season, airlines were indulging in “scaremongering”. He said that a six-month time frame for implementation was provided keeping in mind that a commercial pilot licence holder, who has completed his training on a specific type of aircraft such as an A320 or Boeing 737 MAX, did not need more than four months to be cleared for flying.

Is fatigue mounting?

In a first, the DGCA has acknowledged that unfortunate instances of pilot deaths in the recent past were “ostensibly” due to punishing schedules and cumulative impact on health and well-being of pilots, which it said was an “urgent wake up call” for the industry. There were at least three such deaths while on duty, including the death of IndiGo pilot, Manoj Balasubramani, who fell unconscious at the boarding gate after reporting for duty to operate a flight from Nagpur to Pune on August 17, 2023. He was rushed to hospital, where he passed away.

Pilots say that not only has flying increased for them in the past five years, a growing route network beyond metros has resulted in tougher combination of flights, which involve more landings and are therefore strenuous. For example, the return leg of an international flight is often combined with an additional domestic flight. There are also more red eye flights to short-haul destinations such as in the Gulf and Singapore. Add to this an uncertainty of roster, where a pilot can be called in for a flight for 4 a.m. with just a 12-hour notice. “Denying a duty in such circumstances can lead to disciplinary proceedings,” said a senior pilot of a full-service carrier. Pilots recall Jet Airways days where a printed roster was sacrosanct. There are also rostering malpractices, where pilots are compelled to work beyond their maximum duty hours or provided less rest periods than what is laid down. On March 22, the DGCA imposed a fine of ₹80 lakh on Air India after it discovered lapses during a spot check in January.

How many pilots are registered with DGCA?

Many airlines like Air India and Vistara are already grappling with pilot shortages compared to aircraft strength. As on December 2023, there were a total of 771 aircraft with various Indian airlines and 9,524 commercial pilots registered with the DGCA. Additionally, there were 67 foreign pilots too due to a shortage of commanders on certain aircraft type such as the Boeing 777. India’s commercial airlines are likely to nearly double fleet size to 1,400 by fiscal year 2029-30, shows CAPA data. This will mean airlines will have to add 10,900 additional pilots by 2030, which is nearly 1,600 new pilots a year. Last year, the regulator issued 1,272 commercial pilot licences.

A pedestrian walks past the Air India building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on September 21 said it has suspended the approval of Air India’s Flight Safety Chief for one month for certain lapses.

On July 25 and 26, the regulator’s team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.

The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organisation and the availability of the requisite technical man power as required in the approved Flight Safety Manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements, the DGCA said in a release.

“The approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established,” it said.

A pedestrian walks past the Air India building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on September 21 said it has suspended Tata Group-owned Air India’s Flight Safety Chief Rajeev Gupta for one month for certain lapses.

On July 25 and 26, the regulator’s team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.

The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organisation and the availability of the requisite technical manpower as required in the approved Flight Safety Manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements, the DGCA said in a release.

“The approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established,” it said.

Mr. Rajeev Gupta is the Chief of Flight Safety Air India Ltd.

In the past also, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had cracked the whip against the full-service private carrier for various alleged violations and lapses. Last month, the regulator suspended for 10 days the ATO approval to Air India’s training facilities in Mumbai and Hyderabad for certain lapses in simulator training.

“Further it was observed that some of the internal audit/spot checks claimed to be carried out by the airline were done in a perfunctory manner and not as per the regulatory requirements,” the DGCA said in its statement on September 21.

The DGCA said, after reviewing the action taken report submitted by the airline, it issued show-cause notices to the concerned post holders.

“Based on the review of the replies received, the airline has been directed not to assign any audits/surveillance/spot checks pertaining to compliance of DGCA requirements to the particular auditor involved in the perfunctory inspections which indicates lack of diligence,” it said.

In February this year, the regulator had ordered the removal of Air India subsidiary AIX Connect (earlier AirAsia India) head of training, from his position for a period of three months, violating certain norms relating to the pilots training.

Besides, it had imposed a penalty of ₹20 lakh on the airline, as well as a fine of ₹3 lakh each on eight designated examiners..

A two-member inspection team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has found lapses in internal safety audits of Air India and the regulator is probing the matter, according to officials.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said that all airlines are subject to regular safety audits by regulators and other bodies.

“Air India actively engages in such audits to continually assess and strengthen our processes,” the spokesperson said in a statement and added that the airline directly addresses any matters raised with the authority concerned.

According to the inspection report submitted to the DGCA, 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.

“Moreover, when cross-verified with CCTV, recordings, auditee statements, shift register documents, GD (General Declaration) list, passenger manifest etc, it is understood that all the aforesaid 13 spot checks shown to be carried out in stations Mumbai, Goa and Delhi were verified and were established to have not been actually performed,” the two-member team said in the ‘Deficiency Reporting Form’ (DRF).

The inspection found that these reports “were subsequently prepared/falsified when demanded by the DGCA team”.

Further, the inspection report noted that these forged spot check reports were not signed by the Chief of Flight Safety (CFS) who has the authority to do it.

The team visited Air India’s office in Gurugram in Haryana on July 25 and 26, and after inspection, they mentioned the lapses in the DRF.

When contacted, DGCA Director General Vikram Dev Dutt said the matter is being investigated by the regulator.

According to the inspection report, the checklists were physically signed by an auditor from the Quality Management System (QMS) Department which does not fall under the approval and inspection scope of the DGCA and has different eligibility criteria/qualification industry standards.

The inspection report said the team did not find any written communication for the delegation of authority to the auditor. “Also other than verbal confirmation by CFS, there were no email correspondences and authorisation by the CFS for the aforementioned sport checks,” it said.

As per the inspection report, regarding the Pre-Flight Medical Examination (alcohol consumption test of pilots), Air India claimed that it carried out the spot check but the team found that the airline’s internal auditor “had not physically visited the facility which is mandatory to satisfy many items of the checklist”.

“Also, the equipment details and test readings have not been noted on the checklist. Merely, all the points have been marked as satisfactory without actually performing the spot check,” it said.

With respect to ramp services, the inspection team found that the airline’s spot check list mentioned the name of a person as the duty officer but there was no such person in the said shift.

“It has also been confirmed by the auditee department that there were no spot checks carried out on the subject date in the said area. Merely, all the points have been marked as satisfactory without actually performing the spot check,” it said.

As far as spot check in cabin surveillance was concerned, the inspection team found that the airline claimed to have done it on July 16, 2023, but it was not done and “the claimed auditor was merely travelling in the said flight as a passenger with family members”.

Further, the inspection team said the airline was unable to provide the flight safety auditors list on time.

“Subsequently, the list was only provided at the end of the inspection which included the auditors of QMS as well whose qualification/eligibility is different from that stipulated in the FSM (Flight Safety Manual). As the QMS does not come under the ambit of DGCA, the CAR (Civil Aviation Requirements) doesn’t specify the qualifications of the QMS auditors,” the team said.

Further, the operator was unable to provide the actual flight safety auditors’ list and their authorisations when sought by the inspection team to differentiate the flight safety from the QMS auditors, it added.

“All aviation companies, including Air India, are subject to regular safety audits by regulators and other bodies both in India and overseas.

“Air India actively engages in such audits to continually assess and strengthen our processes. We directly address any matters raised with the authority concerned,” the Air India spokesperson said in the statement.