Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 4 (ANI): Mumbai Airport Customs on Monday seized 980 grams of Cocaine worth Rs 9.8 crores from a passenger who arrived by Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-610 from Addis Ababa, said customs.

New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) seized medicines worth 26.28 lakhs from a foreign national at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi, informed the officials on Wednesday.

New Delhi Dec 23 PTI The Indian aviation industry was able to breathe a little easier in 2021 as domestic flight operations reached their pre-pandemic levels even though international services continued to remain curtailed due to Covid-related travel restrictionsAir Indias sale to the Tata Group and arrival of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed new airline Akasa Air in 2021 are likely to introduce more competition and change the dynamics of the Indian aviation sector in the coming yearsWhile the Ministry of Civil Aviation MoCA removed all capacity restriction on scheduled domestic flights on October 18 the lower and upper limits on domestic air fares continue to remain in placeBoth -- capacity restriction and fare limits -- were imposed by the MoCA from May 25 2020 when scheduled domestic flights resumed after a two-month-long suspension due to COVID-19Though the MoCA announced on November 26 that scheduled international flights would resume from December 15 the decision was suspended on December 1 in the wake of spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirusScheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 2020 Currently special passenger flights have been operating between India and approximately 32 countries on the basis of air bubble arrangements signed with themWith US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing making all necessary software rectifications in 737 Max plane to the satisfaction of Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA the ban on the aircrafts commercial flight operations was lifted after 27 monthsAll Max planes were grounded in India by DGCA on March 13 2019 three days after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max plane near Addis Ababa which had killed 157 people including four IndiansAkasa Air -- the new airline backed by ace investor Jhunjhunwala and aviation veterans Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dube -- got the no-objection certificate NOC from the MoCA to launch commercial flight operations in the first half of AugustWith the DGCA giving its green light to Max aircraft in late August Akasa Air signed a deal with Boeing on November 26 to purchase 72 Max planesAviation consultancy firm CAPA said last month that the disruption in the Indian aviation sector due to Akasa Air will possibly be felt from 2024-25 onwards once it has scale and achieves a competitive cost baseSpiceJet reported a net loss of Rs 935 crore and Rs 998 crore in 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively In the first six months of the current financial year the airline has posted a net loss of Rs 1290 croreSections of SpiceJets employees went on strike outside the Delhi airport on September 3 and November 2 protesting against reduced salaries and its irregular disbursementSpiceJet chairperson and managing director Ajay Singh had told PTI in October that employees were being paid their full salaries on time and all issues related to their pays have been resolvedSpiceJet is the only airline in India that has Max planes -- 13 of them -- in its fleet currently In November the budget carrier said it had entered into an agreement with Boeing to settle outstanding claims related to the grounding of 737 Max aircraft and its return to serviceCAPA said that risks for SpiceJet would remain elevated without serious recapitalisation and long-term stability could be achieved with recapitulationAfter much effort over the years the Narendra Modi government was finally able to successfully able to sell debt-laden Air India in 2021 to a private entityOn October 8 the Centre announced that Talace Private Limited -- a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons -- has beaten a consortium led by Ajay Singh by offering Rs 18000 crore to win the bid to acquire Air IndiaAir India is expected to be finally handed over to the Tata group in the first quarter of 2022Tata Group already own and operate two airlines -- Vistara and Air Asia -- in India It is unclear if Vistara would be merged with Air India or notSimilarly it is unclear whether Air India Express -- Air Indias wholly owned subsidiary that operates narrow-body aircraft only -- will be merged with budget carrier AirAsia India or notOn July 8 Jyotiraditya Scindia took charge as the Civil Aviation Minister replacing Hardeep Singh PuriUnder Scindias charge the MoCA has given a big push to the drone industryThe MoCA on September 15 approved a PLI scheme for drones and drone components with an allocation of Rs 120 crore spread over three financial yearsThe PLI scheme came up as a follow-through of the liberalised Drone Rules 2021 released by the MoCA on August 25The Indian drone industry will have a total turnover of up to Rs 15000 crore by 2026 as the government has given a major boost to the sector with the PLI scheme and the liberalised rules Scindia had said on September 16The National Company Law Tribunal NCLT in June approved the Jalan Kalrock Consortiums resolution plan for Jet Airways two years after the once-storied full-service carrier went into insolvency proceedingsEarlier this month the winning consortium of Jet Airways said it wants to infuse funds in the airline and has approached the NCLT to fast-track implementation of the resolution plan approved by the insolvency court in June this yearThe consortium in a statement also said it plans to restart domestic operations at the earliest in 2022 as a full-service carrier PTI DSP ZMN

New Delhi [India], August 26 (ANI): India's aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday lifted its ban on Boeing 737 Max jets.