New Delhi:

India will get its first Airbus C-295 tactical military transport aircraft this month, an official of the European aircraft manufacturer said on Thursday.

“The first C-295 aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Air Force this month only,” Remi Maillard, Airbus India President and Managing Director, told a press conference in New Delhi.

Mr Maillard was interacting with reporters after Airbus inked a memorandum of understanding with the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya to train engineers for the aviation sector.

An Airbus functionary said that Indian Air Force chief Air Marshal VR Chaudhari will travel to Seville in Spain to take the delivery of the first C-295 aircraft.

India had inked an agreement with Airbus for supply of 56 C-295 military transport aircraft in September 2021.

As per the agreement, 40 aircraft will be built at the facility set up by Tata Advanced Systems Limited in partnership with Airbus at Vadodara.

Airbus will supply 16 aircraft in fly away condition from its facility in Spain.

The C-295, having 5-10 tonne capacity, is used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft. It also has a proven capability of operating from short or unprepared airstrips.

Remi Maillard said the aircraft production in India will begin in 2026.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Aviation safety regulator DGCA has temporarily suspended the Boeing simulator training facility of Air India for certain alleged lapses, a source has said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is “verifying” some of the documents pertaining to the matter and will take a call on the restoration of the training facility once it completes the process, the source said.

When contacted, a senior Air India official said DGCA carries out routine checks (on airlines) but did not divulge details.

“DGCA has temporarily suspended Air India’s Boeing simulator training facility for certain lapses. The regulator is verifying some documents related to the matter,” the source said.

The regulatory action against the Tata Group-owned Air India came days after a two-member DGCA inspection team allegedly found lapses in the airline’s internal safety audit reporting, prompting it to launch a probe in the matter.

A decision on the restoration of the training at the facility will be taken once the documents’ “verification” process is completed, the source said.

Air India wide-body fleet comprises Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The carrier is also likely to induct Airbus wide-body A350 planes in its fleet from this year end.

According to the inspection report submitted to DGCA, first reported by PTI last week, the airline was supposed to carry out regular safety spot checks in various areas of operations such as cabin surveillance, cargo, ramp and load but during a random inspection of 13 safety points, the team found that the airline prepared false reports in all 13 cases.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)