Afghan Airspace Closed: All commercial flights suspended, Air India cannot fly to Kabul
•Amid the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, all commercials flights from around the world have been suspended at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International (HKI) airport.
•Air India’s flight scheduled to Kabul on August 16, 2021, will not be able to fly due to the closure of Afghan airspace. Air India’s AI 126 Chicago-Delhi flight had to be re-routed to Gulf airspace due to the Afghan airspace being shut.
•Meanwhile, Vistara Airlines has also stopped operating in Afghanistan airspace to ensure the safety of passengers and flight staff.
•Authorities at the Kabul Airport declared Afghanistan airspace as ‘uncontrollable’ before closing Afghan’s airspace. A NOTAM has also been issued to inform that closure.
•Taliban forces have entered Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.
HAL successfully conducts ground run of its ‘Made in India’ civil aircraft
•Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on August 15, 2021, successfully conducting the Ground Run and Low-Speed Taxi Trials (LSTT) of the Hindustan-228 (VT-KNR) aircraft for DGCA ‘Type Certification’.
•The Trials were conducted as part of the 75th Independence Day of India celebrations at HAL’s Kanpur facility.
•The DGCA Type Certification will enable HAL to gain the international certification for the first fixed-wing Made-in-India civil aircraft in India. The aircraft currently complies with the latest FAR 23 certification requirements.
•HAL’s Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur took the task of manufacturing Hindustan-228 aircraft to support the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN) of the Government of India.
•The 19-seat multirole utility aircraft, Hindustan-228 can be used successfully by State governments and civil operators for their inter and intra-state connectivity for several activities such as VIP transport, air ambulance, passenger transport, cloud seeding, flight inspection roles, aerial surveillance, cargo applications, and para jumping.
Civil Aviation Ministry grants conditional exemption under UAS Rules 2021 to 10 organizations
•Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on August 16, 2021, granted conditional exemption from Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, to 10 organizations.
•The 10 organizations to be exempted from UAS Rules, 2021, are the Government of Karnataka, National Health Mission (Mumbai), Gangtok Smart City Development, Steel Authority of India, IISCO Steel Plant (Burnpur, West Bengal), Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy (Hyderabad, Telangana), Blue Ray Aviation (Gujarat), Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (Chennai), Mahindra & Mahindra (Mumbai, Maharashtra), Bayer Crop Science (Mumbai, Maharashtra), and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (Pune).
•The exemption from the UAS Rules, 2021, will be valid for one year from the date of approval and subject to terms and conditions of the SOP issued by DGCA.
Uttarakhand Forest Dept discovers new rare orchid species for first time in India
•The Research Wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department discovered a new and rare species of orchid – Cephalanthera erecta var. oblanceolate for the first time in the Chamoli district.
•The species was found at an altitude of 1,870 meters in the Rhododendron-Oak Forest.
•Cephalanthera erecta var. oblanceolate has been reported for the first time in India and has now been officially included in the list of Indian flora by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
•The BSI stated Cephalanthera erecta var. oblanceolate as an endangered species of orchid.
•In 2020, the same team had found a rare species of orchid Liparis Pignea in the Chamoli district at 3,800 meters. The Research Wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department had also set up an Orchid Conservation Center in the Mandal area of Chamoli district where 70 different species of orchid have been conserved.
Afghanistan will play T20 World Cup, preparations underway, says Afghan’s cricket team media manager
•Amid the current turmoil in Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has made it clear that the team will be playing the T20 World Cup, said the Afghan’s cricket team media manager Hikmat Hassan to ANI.
•The preparations are underway and the board is keen on looking for a venue for going ahead with a tri-series involving West Indies and Australia for the preparation for the main event.
•Hassan further said that the Afghan cricket team is set to play Pakistan in Hambantota and planning to play the domestic T20 tournament that will be the best preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup.
•The T20 World Cup will be played for the first time since 2016. The main event will be held in Oman and three UAE cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah from October 17 to November 14, 2021.