IATA's senior vice president clarified that it is the airline's decision to cut down on crew size and operations amid air pollution in Delhi-NCR and IATA does not have the right to make recommendations to any airline company in this regard.
Singapore, June 27 (ANI): Last week, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) upgraded its outlook for the airline industry's 2022 financial performance citing the increased pace of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
New Delhi [India], May 4 (ANI): A decline in global air cargo markets was witnessed in the month of March, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) data showed amid COVID variant Omicron's influence in Asia and the Russia-Ukraine war that is leading to a challenging operational background.
Montreal [Canada], April 24 (ANI): India has suspended tourist visas issued to Chinese nationals, International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a circular for its members.
New Delhi Apr 24 PTI India has suspended tourist visas issued to Chinese nationals global airlines body IATA told its member carriers on April 20India has been raising with China the plight of approximately 22000 Indian students enrolled in Chinese universities who are unable to go back for physical classes However the neighbouring country has till date refused to let them enterThese students had to leave their studies in China and come to India when the COVID-19 pandemic began in the beginning of 2020In a circular issued on April 20 regarding India the International Air Transport Association IATA said Tourist visas issued to nationals of China Peoples Republic are no longer valid It said the following passengers are allowed to enter India nationals of Bhutan India Maldives and Nepal passengers with a residence permit issued by India passengers with visa or an e-visa issued by India passengers with an overseas citizen of India OCI card or booklet passengers with a persons of Indian origin PIO card and passengers with a diplomatic passportThe IATA also said that tourist visas with a validity of 10 years are no longer validThe IATA is a global airlines body with around 290 members that comprise more than 80 per cent of global air trafficIndia has urged Beijing to adopt a congenial stance in the matter as the continuation of the strict restrictions is putting the academic careers of thousands of Indian students in jeopardy MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said on March 17Bagchi said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had stated on February 8 that China was looking into the matter in a coordinated manner and that arrangements for allowing foreign students to return to China were being examined But let me clarify that till date the Chinese side has not given any categorical response about the return of Indian students We will continue to urge the Chinese side to adopt a congenial stance in the interest of our students and that they facilitate an early return to China so that our students can pursue their studies Bagchi saidHe said the issue was also taken up with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a meeting in Dushanbe in September last year The two foreign ministers had held talks in the Tajik capital city on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO PTI DSP SRY
Washington [US], December 3 (ANI/Sputnik): A fledgling recovery in both domestic and international air travel in October faces a new threat amid a spate of new restrictions imposed by governments due to the Omicron coronavirus variant, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday.
Washington [US], November 24 (ANI/Sputnik): The revival of global air travel to pre-pandemic levels requires that governments develop practical and predictable measures to mitigate the threat of COVID-19, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday.
Mumbai Nov 21 PTI As the pandemic clouds slowly clear Vistara on Sunday said a prolonged suspension of scheduled international flights to and from India is impacting the financial health of most airlines and also cautioned that it might be too early to conclude that the countrys aviation sector is out of the woods The full-service carrier which started flying to eight international destinations during the pandemic has embraced a nimble approach amid the dynamic and unpredictable situation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic as some countries are now witnessing rising infections Vistara CEO-designate Vinod Kannan said most predictions about recovery of the aviation industry have been proven wrong in these times of great unpredictability and it might be too early to say that the Indian aviation industry is completely out of the woods On the domestic front air traffic is nearing pre-COVID-19 levels and grew 70 per cent in October compared with the year-ago period A prolonged suspension of scheduled international operations is definitely impacting the financial health of most airlines thereby adding to the pressure on the revenue he told PTI In an email interview Kannan who is currently the airlines chief commercial officer said that though administration of vaccines across the globe has brought a lot of positivity and hope to the industry the situation continues to be dynamic and unpredictable With continuously evolving travel restrictions in different parts of the world recovery of demand in international segment still has a long way to go he noted Scheduled international air services to and from India remain suspended since late March 2020 due to the pandemic India has air bubble arrangements with more than 25 countries for operating overseas flights For now the suspension is till November 30 and there is no clarity on normalisation as discussions are going on against the backdrop of spike in the number of coronavirus cases in some countries Earlier this week Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the process is being evaluated with respect to normalising overseas flight services During the pandemic Vistara started flights to eight international destinations -- London Heathrow Dhaka Dubai Doha Frankfurt Sharjah Mal and Paris The momentum we have gained in this period on the expansion of our international footprint has been rewarding helping us introduce our product to new markets and cementing our brand presence to help us prepare for the restart of scheduled international operations Kannan said According to him Vistara is observing an increase in preference for direct non-stop flights on medium and long-haul routes which gives impetus to its growth plans in the international market Despite the ongoing challenges we continue to stay firm on our long-term expansion plans Kannan who is to take charge as CEO from January 1 2022 pointed out that certain international routes continue to be viable for operating special flights as part of travel bubble agreements as this provides flexibility but with largely limited opportunities to scale up However he did not respond to a question on international airlines body IATA recently saying that Indias air bubble arrangements are not driven by the pandemic but the desire to renegotiate its air services agreements We see great potential for long-haul direct flights from India and therefore we have been steadily growing our global network under travel bubble agreements with a series of additions to our network Kannan said Regarding starting flights to the US he said operations to the US have several requirements and approvals that we are currently working on We aim to keep up the momentum that we have gained in the last one year on international expansion and have our plans in place to add 10-12 destinations to our network as soon as we can he added Without sharing any specific numbers on the growth in yield and revenue as well as in passenger volume in the first half of the current fiscal Kannan said the first few months were extremely tough Just when the industry had started seeing a marginal increase in passenger volumes the second COVID-19 wave brought it down significantly with passenger load factors averaging around 50 per cent in April and May 2021 he said Further he said that only since June 2021 that we have started observing a return of demand which led to the load factors going up to 724 per cent in September We have also been able to effectively leverage commercial cargo and charter flights which has significantly contributed to the bottom line Kannan said With the ongoing festive season and year-end holidays coming up he said Vistara was hopeful that passenger traffic will continue to rise and normalcy returns gradually In October domestic air traffic rose 70 per cent year-on-year to 8985 lakh passengers as per the latest DGCA data On expenses Kannan said Vistara has been nimble in its approach from the beginning and took several measures to reduce non-customer facing operating expenditures while making every effort to conserve cash wherever possible The airline he said continues to leverage opportunities such as commercial cargo charter flights and introduce multiple ancillary services in our effort to generate additional revenue PTI IAS RAM HRS hrs
New Delhi Oct 24 PTI India continues to remain a high cost environment for airlines to operate in and it is critical to empower the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority AERA further to safeguard the interest of passengers said Philip Goh Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific of global airlines body IATAAERA decides what tariffs -- such as base airport charges landing charges parking charges and passenger service fee -- can major Indian airports charge an airline or a passenger for a particular period after considering the airports expenditure and revenue projections for that period Goh told PTI in a statement last week Over the past year with the third control period tariff reviews for Indias major airports AERA has demonstrated its effectiveness as an independent regulator At a time when the government is planning on a big thrust on monetisation of airport assets under its National Monetisation Pipeline it is critical that AERA is empowered further to safeguard the consumer interest he addedSince the beginning of the pandemic in February last year AERA has rejected the demands of operators of major airports such as Delhi and Mumbai for a major increase in tariffs for third control period which began on April 2019 and ends on March 2024For example AERA had in December 2020 rejected the Delhi airport operator DIALs demand to increase base airport charges by 424 per centSimilarly AERA had in February 2021 rejected Mumbai airport operator MIALs demand to impose an ad-hoc user development fee UDF of Rs 200 on domestic outbound passenger and Rs 500 on international outbound passengerIf the demand for ad-hoc UDF at the Mumbai airport was permitted it would be unfair and an additional burden to passengers who should instead be getting the benefit of reduced tariff as they have already overpaid in the prior years the AERA order had saidLast month AERA had issued an order stating that the UDF at the Bengaluru airport will remain unchanged till March 2022 and will be increased every financial year from April 2022 to March 2025In reaction Bengaluru airport operator BIAL had expressed its disappointment stating that the AERA order was likely to be seriously inadequate to meet our cash flow requirements and will also pose a challenge when it comes to meeting our operational expensesLast week Goh told PTI that India is and continues to be a high cost environment for airlines to operate in Thats why the role of AERA as the independent airport economic regulator is critical otherwise airports will be able to increase their charges unchallenged and without the necessary justifications transparency and oversight he addedBut airport charges are only a part of the problem contributing to the high cost environment in India While we welcome the abolishment of the fuel throughput fee in 2020 the MOCA Ministry of Civil Aviation must follow-through on it and do away with the rent seeking approach evinced in Indias airport royalties Goh mentionedSimilarly Indias Aviation Security Fee ASF -- which was introduced in July 2019 to replace the Passenger Service Fee Security Component -- has been increased for international passengers by 370 per cent and domestic passengers by 54 per cent in a short span of over two years without much transparency and consultation he notedThe increases in ASF were decided and announced by the MOCAAirlines are gradually emerging from the deepest crisis to hit the aviation industry he said They should not be dragged down further with unreasonable cost burdens that would weigh on their recovery he addedIATAs Director General Willie Walsh had on October 3 in Boston the US harshly criticised the airports demands to increase their tariffs when the entire global aviation sector has been incurring massive financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemicReducing costs-not increasing charges-must be at the top of everyones agenda But total confirmed airport and ANSP air navigation service provider charges increases announced in 2021 have already reached USD 23 billion Its outrageous And if unchecked it will get worse Thats why I am ringing the alarm This must stop he had said Everyone wanted to put COVID-19 behind them but placing the financial burden of a crises of apocalyptic proportions on the back of airlines -- just because you can -- is a commercial strategy that only a monopoly supplier could dream up he had said in his speech at an IATA event PTI DSP KJ KJ
Geneva [Switzerland], Sep 1 (ANI): Global air cargo markets show that demand continued its strong growth trend in July, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.