MUMBAI // India's aviation industry is bouncing back with a sharp rebound in air traffic, but industry experts worry new rules proposed by the government will slow the revival.
India's aviation regulator has drafted regulations to enhance aviation safety by placing new limits on pilots' flying hours to avoid fatigue.
The recommendations include reducing the number of landings for pilots flying at night from three to two and more rest for pilots flying on international routes. It also makes it mandatory for airlines to maintain electronic rosters detailing the duty hours of pilots. Critics fear the rules will lead to a severe shortage of pilots.
The new rules, to be implemented from June, come after an Air India plane crashed in Mangalore last May, killing 158 people. The new aircraft, operated by experienced pilots, overshot the runway, plunged down an embankment and burst into flames.
Investigations revealed the crash was a result of pilot error caused by exhaustion. One of the pilots was heard snoring on the recovered cockpit voice recorder.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the regulatory agency, is also investigating a scandal that exposed seven pilots with commercial airlines had fake flying licences, obtained allegedly after bribing government officials. The affair led to questions being raised about safety in Indian skies.
"Safety continues to be a prime concern as India's aviation sector grows," says Harsh Vardhan, the chairman of Starair Consulting, an aviation consultancy firm based in New Delhi. "It cannot be ignored at any cost."
But safety issues aside, airlines complain the new guidelines could lead to a huge shortfall of pilots in a rapidly expanding industry already facing a manpower shortage.
The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an independent aviation research group in New Delhi, estimates airlines will need to hire about 20 per cent more pilots to maintain the same level of operations if the rules are implemented.
After a brief lull since the start of the economic crisis, India's aviation industry is back in expansion mode.
Soaring economic growth and rising incomes are encouraging more people to choose air over train travel. Last year India's airlines carried 52 million passengers on domestic routes, more than 20 per cent up on 2009.
Domestic passenger numbers are expected to rise to 180 million by 2020. Airbus estimates that with the current growth in passenger numbers, India would need 1,032 new aircraft by 2028.
Carriers aggressively cut capacity during the downturn, but are now gradually adding new flights.
IndiGo, India's largest budget airline, set a new aviation record in January after it ordered 180 aircraft from Airbus to be delivered between 2016 and 2025. The deal is worth US$15.6 billion (Dh57.29bn), said the airline, which is targeting India's burgeoning middle class.
SpiceJet, another low-cost carrier, has ordered 30 Boeing aircraft, which are expected to be delivered by 2014.
Currently 4,000 aircraft are operated in India by 300 pilots. This year, more than dozen new aircraft will be added to the growing fleet, but there are not enough trained pilots to man them, airlines say.
The issue reflects a major problem facing many other high-growth global sectors of the economy - a shortage of skilled workers.
"It's a common story: human resources is conveniently forgotten in India's growth equation," says Kapil Kaul, an executive with Asia Pacific Aviation. "Getting the right people, building a quality workforce, is a growing strategic problem among Indian businesses."
Mr Kaul estimates at the current rate of expansion, India's aviation sector will have a shortfall of 500,000 skilled workers - including pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers and ground handlers - over the next decade.
To offset this shortage, Asia Pacific Aviation has invested $125 million to develop an aero training facility in Bangalore. Expected to be ready next year, it will include flight simulators, a flying school and engineering workshops.
business@thenational.ae
THREE
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The%20specs
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TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
MATCH INFO
Bangla Tigers 108-5 (10 ovs)
Ingram 37, Rossouw 26, Pretorius 2-10
Deccan Gladiators 109-4 (9.5 ovs)
Watson 41, Devcich 27, Wiese 2-15
Gladiators win by six wickets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The studios taking part (so far)
- Punch
- Vogue Fitness
- Sweat
- Bodytree Studio
- The Hot House
- The Room
- Inspire Sports (Ladies Only)
- Cryo
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Pathaan
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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Scores
Wales 74-24 Tonga
England 35-15 Japan
Italy 7-26 Australia
