SRINAGAR: With GoAir successfully conducting its first trial night operation from Srinagar International Airport to Delhi on Friday, SIA authorities are hopeful that all airlines will operate night flights from the airport after final approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) next week. SIA director Santosh Dhoke said: “Today (Friday) GoAir started its trial night flight at 8.30pm from Srinagar airport to Delhi, and it was a successful one. IndiGo is likely to do the same tomorrow (Saturday).” Dhoke said the air-safety teams of GoAir and IndiGo had on Thursday requested DGCA for operating trial night flights from Srinagar, before sending their reports to the aviation regulator. “DGCA is expected to give its final approval for night flight operations from Srinagar airport next week,” he added.
Former chief executive officer (CEO) of Jet Airways and GoAir, Vinay Dube, is planning to start a domestic airline in 2021.
According to a report by CNBC-TV18, he might launch an airline with five aircraft by the end of 2021. Dube has joined hands with his airline colleagues Praveen Iyer and Nikhil Ved for the venture and has held talks with aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, said the report.
Dube, who quit Wadia Group-controlled GoAir in August 2020 after being CEO for six months, has had more than one round of discussions with the Directorate General of Civil Av1iation (DGCA) and the civil aviation ministry.
After working with American Airlines and Delta Airlines, Dube joined Jet Airways in June 2017. He quit Jet in May 2019, soon after the airline suspended operations.
The Murari Lal Jalan-Kalrock Capital consortium won the bid for Jet Airways in 2020 and plan to restart the airline in the coming months.
Meanwhile, around 78.27 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in February 2021 which is 36.71 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year, Indian aviation regulator DGCA said.
As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 77.34 lakh people travelled by air within the country in January.
While IndiGo carried 42.38 lakh passengers in February, a 54.2 per cent share of the total domestic market, SpiceJet flew 9.62 lakh passengers which is 12.3 per cent share of the market, according to data shared by the DGCA.
Air India, GoAir, Vistara and AirAsia India carried 9.16 lakh, 5.81 lakh, 5.4 lakh and 5.21 lakh passengers respectively in February, it showed.
The occupancy rate or load factor of the six major Indian airlines was between 67.9 per cent and 78.9 per cent in February, it stated.
India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 last year after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 80 per cent of their pre-COVID-19 domestic flights.
