Latest news with #CivilAviationDepartment
RTHK
10 hours ago
- Business
- RTHK
Low-altitude economy rules 'must allow for taxi tests'
Low-altitude economy rules 'must allow for taxi tests' Lawmaker Chan Siu-hung, second left, says more relaxations of rules are needed so businesses can carry out trials on the transport of people and heavier cargo loads in the future. Photo: RTHK The Low Altitude Economy Association on Wednesday suggested 13 ways that the government can expand the development potential of the new industrial sector. One of its suggestions is for unmanned aircraft weighing more than 150 kilogrammes to come under regulatory oversight. The suggestion comes in the wake of amendments to the Small Unmanned Aircraft Order of the Civil Aviation Ordinance coming into effect on Friday that regulates such aerial vehicles weighing between 25 and 150 kilogrammes. Machines exceeding the 150 kilogramme limit will have to obtain permission from the Civil Aviation Department before they can take flight. Speaking for the association, lawmaker Chan Siu-hung said more relaxations were needed to enable businesses to perform trials on transporting humans and cargo. 'We must be mindful that you need to carry out a series of pilot runs or trial runs in order to collect sufficient data to assess safety implications as well as the risks associated with such a pilot," he said. "Rather than allow the carrying of real persons on the unmanned aerial vehicles, the government should think of allowing the carrying of dummies with the same size as well as similar weight for the purpose of trial runs," he added. Chan's association and legislative colleague Frankie Yick said the government should also develop more cross-border logistical routes through waterways despite high expectations for the low-altitude economic potential associated with the Northern Metropolis. 'At the end of the day, we will to have much more than one [flight] route," he said. "The Northern Metropolis is one of the places that we are talking about because it is close to the Shenzhen area, but how about other parts of the Guangdong area? "Or even in the future if we can, we can go even further to Guangxi, because we can fly [unmanned aircraft] all over the sea." Among the other suggestions are for a comprehensive training system to be instituted for those looking to use such aircraft and for a department to be set up specifically to promote the development of the low-altitude economy.
RTHK
10 hours ago
- Business
- RTHK
Low-altitude economy rules 'must allow for taxi tests'
Low-altitude economy rules 'must allow for taxi tests' Lawmaker Chan Siu-hung, second left, says more relaxations of rules are needed so businesses can carry out trials on the transport of people and heavier cargo loads in the future. Photo: RTHK The Low Altitude Economy Association on Wednesday suggested 13 ways that the government can expand the development potential of the new industrial sector. One of its suggestions is for unmanned aircraft weighing more than 150 kilogrammes to come under regulatory oversight. The suggestion comes in the wake of amendments to the Small Unmanned Aircraft Order of the Civil Aviation Ordinance coming into effect on Friday that regulates such aerial vehicles weighing between 25 and 150 kilogrammes. Machines exceeding the 150 kilogramme limit will have to obtain permission from the Civil Aviation Department before they can take flight. Speaking for the association, lawmaker Chan Siu-hung said more relaxations were needed to enable businesses to perform trials on transporting humans and cargo. 'We must be mindful that you need to carry out a series of pilot runs or trial runs in order to collect sufficient data to assess safety implications as well as the risks associated with such a pilot," he said. "Rather than allow the carrying of real persons on the unmanned aerial vehicles, the government should think of allowing the carrying of dummies with the same size as well as similar weight for the purpose of trial runs," he added. Chan's association and legislative colleague Frankie Yick said the government should also develop more cross-border logistical routes through waterways despite high expectations for the low-altitude economic potential associated with the Northern Metropolis. 'At the end of the day, we will to have much more than one [flight] route," he said. "The Northern Metropolis is one of the places that we are talking about because it is close to the Shenzhen area, but how about other parts of the Guangdong area? "Or even in the future if we can, we can go even further to Guangxi, because we can fly [unmanned aircraft] all over the sea." Among the other suggestions are for a comprehensive training system to be instituted for those looking to use such aircraft and for a department to be set up specifically to promote the development of the low-altitude economy.
Time of India
27-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Expansion project shelved; govt seeks back Rs 100cr grant
Surat: The civil aviation department of Gujarat has directed the Surat collector's office to return Rs 100 crore, which was deposited as compensation for the acquisition of land for the airport expansion, a project that was suddenly suspended two years after being approved. The project envisaged an important CAT-1 approach lighting system to enhance visibility for pilots during landing in poor visibility conditions like fog, airport surveillance radar (ASR), and Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR). ASR is used for primary surveillance in the airport, airspace, and terminal area, while MSSR is an advanced radar that uses transponders on aircraft to provide exact position and identification information. The grant was assigned to a special land acquisition office in Surat to compensate owners of 20.33 acres of private land. Sources said that the Director of the Civil Aviation Department wrote a letter on June 16 requesting the return of the grant. Sources said the grant was immediately transferred back to the account provided by the civil aviation department. The Gujarat govt allocated Rs 215 crore for the project, which included installing a CAT-1 approach lighting system at the Surat airport on 20.33 acres of land. An additional five acres were to be acquired for ASR and MSSR. The project, which was deliberated for over 10 years, was finalised after an MOU was signed between the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the civil aviation department in December 2023. Moving swiftly, a special land acquisition officer was appointed under the supervision of the collector. The office received a first instalment of Rs 100 crore to acquire land from 20 private landowners in Magdalla village. "A grant of Rs 100 crore was allotted to your office for 20.33-acre land acquisition for the Surat Airport Expansion project following a proposal on the 'Gatishakti portal'. However, as AAI has written to the Surat collector on June 2 that it does not require the land as of now, and as AAI has asked to suspend land acquisition until further orders from AAI headquarters, it seems that there is no need for land now. So, it is requested that the grant allotted to you for compensation for land acquisition should be returned to our office," the letter from the civil aviation department read. The suspension of this expansion project has been criticised by Surat's aviation groups, who have cited safety concerns as runway 22 operated with a 615-metre displacement. The CAT-1 approach light was proposed on this side of the runway only.
South China Morning Post
16-06-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Air India Dreamliner turns back to Hong Kong following mid-air technical issue
An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for New Delhi on Monday morning diverted back to its origin of Hong Kong after the pilot suspected a technical issue mid-air. Hong Kong Airport Authority said on Monday that AI315, a passenger flight operated by Air India from Hong Kong to New Delhi, turned back to the city's airport and requested a local standby at around 1pm, before landing safely at around 1.15pm. Air India said the pilot of the flight in question suspected there was a technical issue and decided to divert the plane to Hong Kong for safety precautions. Flight tracking app Flightradar24 showed that Air India flight AI315, which departed from Hong Kong to Delhi at 12.16pm on Monday after a delay of three and a half hours from its planned departure at 8.50am, returned to Hong Kong. The Post has approached the city's Civil Aviation Department for details. The model of AI315, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, is identical to the Air India plane that crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad last Thursday, the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade, killing more than 200 people.
Morocco World
15-06-2025
- General
- Morocco World
After Deadly Air India Crash, India Faces Another Fatal Aviation Incident in Uttarakhand
Rabat – Seven people, including a two-year-old child and the pilot, died today in a helicopter crash in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Authorities in the country confirmed the news, noting that the aircraft was en route from Kedarnath when it went down. 'At around 5:30 AM, we got the information that a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham, could not be located,' the CEO of Uttarakhand's Civil Aviation Department said. Al Jazeera reported that the bodies of the victims were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash. A rescue operation is underway in coordination with local police in the area, with officials believing the crash was caused by poor weather conditions. Pushkar Singh Dahmi, chief minister of Uttarakhand, took to his official X page, describing the accident as 'extremely unfortunate.' 'I express my deepest condolences to the departed souls in this tragic incident,' he said. He added that a high-level meeting took place at the government headquarters with all concerned departments for an in-depth review of the incident. 'The safety procedures of helicopter operations are being thoroughly investigated,' he affirmed. Indian reports suggest that the new incident is the fifth of its kind in less than two months. The crash comes just days after the deadly Air India accident in Ahmedabad. The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area, killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew members. Tags: air france crashairplane crash
