Overview
- An Appointments Committee of the Cabinet order Tuesday installed Vir Vikram Yadav as director general of the aviation regulator and reassigned Faiz Ahmed Kidwai to the personnel department.
- Yadav, a 1996-batch Odisha-cadre IAS officer and former additional secretary in the environment ministry, now leads India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
- The regulator faces intense pressure after the June 2025 Air India crash and IndiGo’s mass cancellations in December, with penalties, audits, and added checks on non-scheduled operators shaping its recent stance.
- New rules require airlines to keep at least 60% of seats free of extra seat-selection fees from April 20, a change carriers say could cut revenue.
- He takes charge as airlines grapple with aircraft shortages and longer routes caused by West Asia airspace limits, and as the reshuffle also elevates Puneet Kansal to additional secretary at the civil aviation ministry.