Mum flew 4,200 miles from Manchester to India - using her husband's passport

A woman was able to fly unchallenged 4,200 miles from Manchester to India... with her HUSBAND’S passport.

Geeta Modha, 55, who runs Alankar bridal boutique in Rusholme, accidentally picked up her partner Dilip’s passport while rushing to the airport for a business trip.


She showed it at check-in and again before boarding the Emirates plane - and was able to sail through customs.

During a stop-off in Dubai, Geeta didn’t have to show her passport because she has an Overseas Citizenship of India card.

The error was only picked up at the airport in Delhi, where she noticed her blunder while filling out an immigration form.

Geeta, from Heaton Moor, Stockport, said: “It’s scary and worrying that people aren’t checking properly.

“The fact they say they are so strict on security in airports but you can do this in 2018 is terrible.

“At check-in, the staff member even made me move stuff from one bag to another because it was 2kg over - and yet let me travel with the wrong passport.”

Indian officials made Geeta travel back to Dubai to wait for her own passport, which was flown to her by Emirates.

She said the experience had left her concerned that passengers could potentially fly overseas without valid checks.
Frequent flyer and mum of two Geeta, who is still in India, said if the error had been flagged at check-in she would have had time to ask someone to bring her own passport to the terminal.

She added: “They only looked at my surname - not at my first name or the picture. If I got through who else could get through?”

In the end, Geeta’s son Sagar, 32, had to take her passport to the airport so Emirates could get it to her.

30/04/18 Manchester Evening News

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Emirates Crew Tells Indian-origin Siblings With Nut Allergies to ‘Spend Flight in Loo’

London: Two Indian-origin siblings, with a severe nut allergy, were allegedly told by Emirates cabin crew to 'sit in the loo' while cashews were being served on the flight, media reports said.

Shannen Sahota, 24, and Sundeep Sahota, 33, say they warned the airline three times about their allergies and were shocked when the fried nuts were served 40 minutes into the flight, leaving them "panic stricken", Daily Express reported.

Last week, Shannen and Sundeep departed England's Birmingham Airport en route to Dubai and Singapore to celebrate their parents' 60th birthday in a trip that cost more than 5,000 pounds, the report said.

The siblings claim they told the Emirates staff on multiple occasions of the severity of the condition when booking, checking-in and upon boarding the flight from Birmingham Airport.

However, when flight menus were passed around, the pair were panicked to discover the chicken biryani contained fried cashew nuts, it said.

After realising that they could be exposed to nuts, they claim that one staff member told them they might feel more comfortable if they moved into a toilet with cushions and pillows, the report added.
They refused to move into the toilets after a staff member suggested it and spent the next seven hours sitting at the back of the plane with blankets covering their heads and nostrils.
"We felt so degraded and embarrassed - it was horrible and it was meant to be a happy occasion but the start of our holiday was ruined," said Shannen, an analyst from Wolverhampton.
They refused to move into the toilets after a staff member suggested it and spent the next seven hours sitting at the back of the plane with blankets covering their heads and nostrils.
"We felt so degraded and embarrassed - it was horrible and it was meant to be a happy occasion but the start of our holiday was ruined," said Shannen, an analyst from Wolverhampton.
"We were stunned when a supervisor told us 'one way round it' was for us to spend the flight in the cabin loo," she said.

She said sitting at the back of the plane was "uncomfortable, embarrassing and demeaning". Sundeep, a contracts manager, said Emirate ignored all the information they had given them.

The airline, however, claims the booking records do not reflect any mention of an allergy and it can never guarantee nut-free flights.
30/04/18 PTI/News18

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Nepal prods India for new air routes

Kathmandu: Nepal is once again planning to prod India to commence operation of the proposed cross-border air routes, putting the issue that was in the backburner for nearly five years back into the spotlight.
Nepal had pushed India to formally open the new cross-border air routes via Janakpur, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kathmandu in 2014. The new air routes would facilitate movement of international flights to proposed international airports in Bhairahawa, Pokhara and Nijgadh.
spotlight.

Nepal had pushed India to formally open the new cross-border air routes via Janakpur, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kathmandu in 2014. The new air routes would facilitate movement of international flights to proposed international airports in Bhairahawa, Pokhara and Nijgadh.

The issue on new air routes is being revisited, as the Indian premier is visiting Nepal again on May 11.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting with concerned stakeholders to discuss agendas that Nepal plans to raise during Modi’s visit. “The air route issue was one of the key agendas raised during Sunday’s meeting,” said Pramod Nepal, under-secretary at the Tourism Ministry, without elaborating.

The airspace agenda was endorsed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal in August 2014. A joint communiqué issued by the two countries at the end of the visit said: “The cross-border direct routes will facilitate flights between regional airports in Pokhara and Bhairahawa, and this will save time and money for air travellers and also improve air connectivity between India and Nepal.”
30/04/18 Sangam Prasain/Kathmandu Post

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Manipur: Two Chinese nationals held at Imphal airport

Imphal: Two Chinese nationals were held at Tulihal airport on Monday for travelling without Protected Area Permits. They have been identified as Shu Hao, 26, son of Shu Zhonghua of Jinxian town, Nanching, China and Zhang Ruiqi, 25, son of Dazhi Zhang of Suinina town of Sichuan province, China. They both arrived on April 28 at Imphal airport.

Shu Hao came in by a Kolkata to Imphal flight and Zhang Ruiqi came from Delhi. They were supposed to leave from Imphal to Delhi in an Air Asia flight at 11.30 am on Monday when they were checked by security personnel. When the PAP permits were not with them, they were held and handed over to Singjamei police.
30/04/18 North East Today

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Zoom Air looking to spread its wings to B'desh, Myanmar

Kolkata: Zoom Air is looking to fly to nearby international destinations like Yangon and Chittagong, from Kolkata, a top official of the airline has said.

Last week, Zoom Air launched daily flights between Kolkata and Tezpur in Assam, under the Centre"s regional connectivity scheme (RCS).


"We are planning to operate flights to international destinations such as Yangon and Chittagong from Kolkata. These destinations are likely to be connected with one or two destinations in the North East," CEO cum MD of Zoom Air, Koustav M Dhar told PTI.

"We will be able to introduce international flights from Kolkata, because from now on, we will park two aircraft in the city at night," Dhar said.

At present, only one aircraft is parked at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) in Kolkata at night, and very soon the airline is going to park its new, the fifth aircraft, in Kolkata as well, he said.

"The routes on the international sectors are yet to be finalised. The options are Kolkata to Yangon via Guwahati and Kolkata to Chittagong via Guwahati. We are looking at these routes since there is a demand," Dhar said.

Dhar also said that the airline is planning to start flights between Mumbai and Delhi with a stopover in Durgapur.

"We are planning to start flight operations to Durgapur and the route will be Delhi to Mumbai via Durgapur. The Delhi-Durgapur-Mumbai flights are expected to start from August this year," Dhar said.
29/04/18 PTI/Business Standard

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Indian Navy's II-38 plane makes emergency landing in Moscow

An II-38 plane of the Indian Navy made an emergency landing in an airfield just outside Moscow late on Saturday night.

Local Russian media reported that the plane had developed a technical snag and was forced to make an emergency landing at the Zhukovsky Airfield. The airport was temprarily shut down for other flight operations.

A chasis failure is being suspected as the cause of trouble. There was, however, no fire even though emergency services were kept on high alert. The plane eventually made a successful landing 'with unlowered front landing gear," according to Sputnik News, quoting a press service statement.

In a statement, the Indian Navy clarified that the aircraft was in Russia for an overhaul and that no crew was on board when the incident took place.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On reports of Navy&#39;s IL 38 making a crash landing in Russia- the aircraft is in Russia for Overhaul and Mid Life Upgradation. No crew was onboard during sortie though they are present in Russia. Aircraft was on initial test flight with Russian crew.Damage being ascertained:Navy</p>&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/990428442440159232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2018</a></blockquote>
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29/04/18 Zee News

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3kg of cocaine seized from Portuguese national at Chennai airport

Chennai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized 3kg of cocaine, worth Rs 2.4 crore, from a Portuguese national at Chennai airport on Thursday. The smuggler had arrived in Chennai from Sao Paulo in Brazil via Dubai, an official statement from DRI said.
Both agencies were tight-lipped about the name and age of the accused, who was sent to Puzhal Central Prison after being arrested under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The drug was meant to be delivered at a hotel in Chennai.
The agencies received a specific tip off about the smuggling racket and were ready for the accused on Thursday morning. Though the accused denied carrying the drugs, he was questioned persistently and his check-in baggage was scanned.
When the baggage was opened, the officers found an electrical appliance in cardboard packing, which appeared to be a UPS. The device was opened to check the transformer portion which had a non-metallic core. Many layers of copper wire coils and adhesive tape were removed to recover six packets of cocaine weighing 3 kg, DRI said.
The accused made a voluntary statement that the cocaine had been given to him by an associate in Brazil to be delivered at a hotel in Chennai. He admitted to being a carrier, doing this job for a hefty pay packet.
Anyone carrying more than 100 gm of cocaine will get imprisonment for a period of 10-20 years with or without fine.
27/04/18 Siddharth Prabhakar/Times of India

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Bolivian national, suspected of narcotics smuggling, dies at IGI airport

New Delhi: In another suspected custodial death, a 49-year-old Bolivian national died after being searched for drugs by customs officials at the IGI airport on Saturday. Police have informed the Bolivian embassy about the incident and have initiated a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
DCP (airport) Sanjay Bhatia confirmed the incident and said that the cause of death would be ascertained after an autopsy. Police officers say that they had received a PCR call around 10.29pm from the international terminal of the IGI airport about a Bolivian national named Salomon Edgar Vaca Arambel being detained on suspicion of carrying drugs after he had arrived from Adis Ababa.
The passenger was examined and handed over to the customs officials who produced him before a court seeking permissions to conduct a medical examination to look for drug capsules. An X-ray was conducted on his chest and abdomen, but the doctors did not find anything suspicious.

In another suspected custodial death, a 49-year-old Bolivian national died after being searched for drugs by customs officials at the IGI airport on Saturday. Police have informed the Bolivian embassy about the incident and have initiated a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
DCP (airport) Sanjay Bhatia confirmed the incident and said that the cause of death would be ascertained after an autopsy. Police officers say that they had received a PCR call around 10.29pm from the international terminal of the IGI airport about a Bolivian national named Salomon Edgar Vaca Arambel being detained on suspicion of carrying drugs after he had arrived from Adis Ababa.
The passenger was examined and handed over to the customs officials who produced him before a court seeking permissions to conduct a medical examination to look for drug capsules. An X-ray was conducted on his chest and abdomen, but the doctors did not find anything suspicious.
The Bolivian Embassy would inform his family members. The customs officials who were accompanying the foreigner are being questioned to find out the situations under which the man had suffered a heart attack. A team led by SHO IGI has been asked to conduct an inquest under section 174 CrPC to establish this.
Reacting to the incident, customs officials said that they had acted on specific inputs that the passenger may be carrying drugs, either concealed or swallowed. Subsequently, the passenger was stopped at the IGI airport, however nothing was discovered, following which they took permission to take the passenger for an X-ray.
28/04/18 Somreet Bhattacharya/Times of India

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Lockheed Martin sees India as next big aerospace, defence hub

Hyderabad: US aerospace and defence major Lockheed Martin expects India to be next major defence and aerospace hub with several major deals set to be finalised with the Government and between Governments.

The diversified company, which already has presence in India for more than 25 years, and now with a manufacturing/assembly facility, in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, in Hyderabad, is closely watching the progress of major defence deals, which could trigger development of the local industry and manufacturing.

After the commissioning of a new facility in partnership with TASL at the aerospace park in Adibatla near Hyderabad international airport, senior executives of Lockheed Martin explained how aerospace and defence in India could be next major opportunity and have potential to become big like the automotive sector over the past few decades.

Phil Shaw, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India, Abhay Paranjape, Chief Operating Officer of Tata Lockheed Martin Aerospace Ltd, and John R Losinger, Integrated Fighter Group Communications, explained how the corporation was keenly watching the progress of some of the large defence procurement deals, which could trigger big local development.

Paranjape said Lockheed Martin had initiated a process for Indian manufacturing about 7-8 years ago even before the Government initiated the defence offset policy. Significantly, the manufacturing facilities that get created in India have the potential to not only serve the Indian requirements but also play a role as a regional hub.
25/04/18 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

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India lacked hard mind set against terrorists during Kandahar hijacking: Swamy

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today said absence of a "hard mind set" against terrorism led the Indian government to 'compromise' during the 1999 Kandahar hijacking case by releasing three terrorists to secure the release of nearly 190 passengers. He asserted that there should be zero tolerance against terrorists.

An Indian Airlines aircraft was hijacked from Kathmandu by terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in December, 1999. The flight landed in Amritsar and was subsequently taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

"We compromised on the Kandahar aircraft hijack when we released three terrorists, who were arrested with great difficulty and put in jail. One of them was Azhar, who went on to create the Jaish-e-Muhammed, which is everyday killing our people in some form or the other," he said.

Jaish-e-Muhammed had gained notoriety for its alleged role in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack.

Swamy, who was speaking at an event organised by Global Counter Terrorism Council, noted that India released the three terrorists due to lack of a "hard mindset" and "zero-tolerance towards terrorism".

Incidentally, senior BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee was heading the then central government.

Swamy said one of the few times that India retailiated against a terror attack was launching the surgical strike on terror launchpads across the Line of Control in September, 2016 following a terror attack on an Army camp in Uri that killed 19 soldiers.
26/04/18 PTI/moneycontrol.com

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SriLankan Airlines offers Colombo-Hyderabad daily services

Hyderabad: SriLankan Airlines has added two more flights per week to Hyderabad and now offers a daily flight to Colombo and onward connectivity to other destinations. Currently, it operates 145 flights per week to India across 14 destinations.

Chammika Iddagodage, Manager for SriLankan Airlines, in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, said, “India is SriLankan Airlines largest market for holidaying, conferences and even onward connectivity to various locations in Middle East, Far East and lately to Melbourne, which we started late last year.”

The airline, which had strengthened its South India connectivity with three new destinations during July 2017, including Visakhapatnam, Coimbatore and Hyderabad, is now looking to further strengthen its network.

“We started with four flights per week in on July 12, 2017 and added fifth one in November and this has been further bolstered with two more flights. Now we fly seven flights a week. This is a measure of the potential and opportunity for us,” he told BusinessLine.

Mentioning about leisure travellers, Iddagodage said while the Ramayana Tour has been a major attraction for tourists, visitors have begun to explore a number of other locations, including serene interiors. Flight connectivity from over 14 destinations is adding to the convenience of the passengers.
24/04/18 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

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Russia Ready To Upgrade Indian IL-76/78 Airlift Aircraft

Russia is ready to both upgrade the IL-76, IL-78 and IL-38s aircraft already in service and supply new equipment meeting long-term requirements of Indian partners, United Aircraft Corporation’s Vice President for Transport Aviation and CEO of Ilyushin Aleksey Rogozin has said.

UAC’s Transport Aviation Division made a detailed presentation of its IL-76MD-90A and IL-78MK-90A aircraft to the Indian delegation, which is on a tour of defense facilities in Russia’s Privolzhsky Federal District.

Il-76/78 family of aircraft are suitable for regional airlift of troops, military equipment, and cargo, as well as their air dropping. The IL-76/78 can be deployed from unpaved runways and can be deployed in roles that include fire-fighting, tanker, transport, flying hospital, airborne CP, and AWACS, Rosoboronexport said in a statement Monday.
24/04/18 Defense World.net

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Inaugural Flight of Garuda Indonesia from Mumbai is Successful

Denpasar: Garuda Indonesia Airbus A330-200 aircraft of Mumbai-Bali flight route, on its first landing at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, was greeted with a flood of water cannons. Greetings like this were often done by the Ngurah Rai Airport to give an appreciation to the airline that opens the first flight route to Bali.

Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya along with Garuda Indonesia President Director Pahala N. Mansury and VIP entourage from PT. Angkasa Pura I, as well as Indian media crew, escorted historic inaugural flight of Garuda Indonesia airline of Mumbai-Bali route which landed smoothly at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Tuesday (4/24/2018).

The opening of this direct flight makes the Minister Arief Yahya set to increase the target of tourist visit from India. Based on data from Bali Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of Indian tourist arrivals to Bali jumped almost 46 percent. The number of tourists from Bollywood Country was in the top 3. The figure is below China's 1.37 million people and Australia's 1.06 million people.

"For 2018, I have set a target of 700,000 visits of Indian tourists. This is a big target, but we are very optimistic to achieve this target," said Tourism Minister in a press release on Wednesday (4/25).

Minister Arief said that before Mumbai-Bali direct flights, the number of tourists from India to Indonesia has reached 485,314 in 2017. Optimism for 2018 target achievement is based on the growth of the Indian market which reached 30 percent compared to the period 2016, the second highest after China.
25/04/18 Netral

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Jet Airways offers special early bird fares for Gulf travellers

India's Jet Airways is offering guests early bird savings on flights from the Gulf to destinations across India, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

With daily flights to the Far East and non-stop connections to an array of India's cities via hubs in New Delhi and Mumbai, Jet Airways offers Gulf-based guests many choice of destinations - from Bangkok, Colombo and Hong Kong to Goa, Tiruchirappalli and Kochi.

Guests booking their tickets from April 26 to April 29, 2018, can avail of 8 per cent discount on economy class fares booked online on www.jetairways.com and the mobile App. Tickets booked as part of the promotion will be valid for travel from August 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019.

The special fares will be applicable only on flights operated by Jet Airways for both one-way and return journeys, a press release said.
25/04/18 Khaleej Times

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Direct flights between Dubai and India’s diamond hub set to boost trade

Finally, direct flights between the world’s two biggest diamond trade centers will take off next week to add some sparkle on the faces of dealers in precious stones on both sides.

Air India Express, the international budget arm of India’s flagship carrier airline, is all set to launch a thrice-a-week service to connect Surat, the global hub of diamond cutting and polishing industry in western Indian state of Gujarat, with Dubai, the second largest market in the world for rough diamond trading.

According to local parliamentarian C.R. Paatil, the last stumbling block for the jinxed project will be removed when the country’s diamond city is accorded the customs notified status by the federal government within in a few days.

The international flights between the two diamond hubs were to be started from May 15 last but it took one year to expand the runway from 2,250 meters to 2,950 meters and provide the required funds and 68-strong immigration staff to the airport of Surat where some 80 per cent of the world's rough diamonds are processed in its 4,500-odd small and large cutting-and-polishing units.

An Air India Express official told Al Arabiya English that the airline would deploy 189-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft and expected a 50-60 per cent seat occupancy on the route initially, adding that Surat would be air-linked to also Sharjah by October.

As per the rough estimate provided by the tours and travel association, around 400,000 people from Surat and south Gujarat travelled to international destinations during 2015-16. The passenger traffic from the region is increasing by almost 20-25 per cent every year.
24/04/18 Mahesh Trivedi/Al Arabiya

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Now, Birmingham flight to take off thrice a week

Amritsar: After getting good response from passengers, Air India has increased its flight frequency from Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Amritsar, to Birmingham from two to three days per week.
Tickets are open for booking on Air India website and other air ticketing portals for Saturday travel as well. This additional third direct flight of the week AI-117 on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft will depart from Amritsar on Saturday at 1.55 pm and return next day on Sunday at 7.30 am.
Member of Parliament (MP) Gurjeet Singh Aujla said he was thankful to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviations, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, Air India, Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Shwait Malik for endorsing his demand.
“Similarly Air India’s Nanded flight (AI 815/AI 816) is also expected to increase its operations to three days, including Wednesdays from May 12,” he said.
According to Aujla, he has been pursuing the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs and Prime Minister’s Office for adding Amritsar as a point of call amending the bilateral air services agreements with other nations. Amritsar is not a designated point of call in the bilateral air services agreement with many countries, so their carriers are not getting permission to fly to Amritsar.
24/04/18 Tribune

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More Haj pilgrims opt for Mumbai departure

Mumbai: Haj pilgrims travelling from Mumbai is expected to double from 6,297 in 2017 to 12,018, with the government allowing pilgrims to choose the point of embarkation for the first time.

Other embarkation points in the State, such as Aurangabad, could see only 350 pilgrims using it to travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, mostly due to the higher airfare: a round-trip ticket from Mumbai is expected to cost Rs. 59,200, while it could cost Rs. 81,929 from Aurangabad. Last year, 2,734 pilgrims travelled from Aurangabad.

This year, 1,28,002 Haj pilgrims are expected to spend Rs. 57 crore less on airfare than last year, which saw 1,24,852 pilgrims spend Rs. 1,030 crore on air travel to Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government’s commitment to transparency and strict directives to airlines to check unreasonable increase in fares has ensured that airfares come down significantly this year.

Mr. Naqvi said Saudi Arabia had approved India’s decision to revive the option of Haj pilgrims travelling by sea, and discussions are on to work out formalities and technicalities.

The Central government had withdrawn subsidy for the Haj in January based on a Supreme Court order in 2012. Around Rs. 450 crore was spent on Haj subsidy in 2017, of which Rs. 200 crore went into subsidising airfare. Post-subsidy, the net amount paid to airlines in 2017 was close to Rs. 830 crore.

Dr Masood Khan, CEO, Haj Committee of India, said the option to choose the point of embarkation has been crucial in reducing money spent on air travel. “This year, many are traveling to major cities to board flights, as the airfare is much cheaper from metro cities.”
23/04/18 The Hindu

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Emirates Airline eyes expansion in Iran, India

Dubai: Emirates Airline said it is eyeing expansion in Iran, which it described as “a very important market”, saying it is interested in increasing its operations there.
Shaikh Majid Al Mualla, divisional senior vice-president of commercial operations at Emirates, said the carrier is also interested in increasing its capacity to Saudi Arabia and India, both of which remain highly protected markets.

In Iran, Emirates currently operates flights to Tehran and Mashhad, and the carrier said seat factors on both routes are high year-round, at more than 70 per cent, and goes to 90 per cent at peak seasons.
“We are looking at opportunities there. Iran is not a small country; it’s huge, much like India. In India, we now cover nine points, so we need more flights there,” Al Mualla said on Monday at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) exhibition.
The removal of sanctions on Iran in 2016 opened doors for various industries to do business with the country and grow bilateral trade ties. Iran’s large population that is driving demand for consumer products also makes the country attractive to airlines.
“We haven’t started dialogue (with Iran), but I’m sure when the time comes, it will happen. See, the problem is we’re limited with the aircraft as well. The aircraft is coming, but we already know in the next five years where our capacity is going to be,” Al Mualla said.
In India, Emirates currently has a capacity of around 55,000-60,000 seats as India’s aviation market remains protected by its government that advocates local carriers. Authorities from the UAE and the Indian governments are involved in talks about boosting that capacity of UAE-based airlines into the subcontinent, given the strong demand for flights there.
“Even if we get another 20,000-30,000, that would be suitable. We’re asking for more than that, but for now, if we manage to get 20,000, that would be good.”
Emirates is expected to announce its financial results for the financial year ending March 2018 in the coming days, and while Al Mualla said he could not discuss performance, he said fuel prices were a challenge.
23/04/18 Sarah Diaa/Gulf News

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Jet Airways & AeroMexico to codeshare from May 1

New Delhi: Jet Airways and Mexican carrier AeroMexico have started codeshare sales from Monday for travel commencing May 1, 2018 between Delhi and Mumbai and Mexico City via the Heathrow Airport in London. Jet Airways will put its “9W” code on flights operated by AeroMexico from London to Mexico’s capital city. In turn, AeroMexico will put its “AM” code on the direct flights offered by Jet Airways from London to cities in India.
India and Mexico have seen a 15% annual growth of traffic rate over the last three years. Jet’s director Gaurang Shetty said: “This is an important agreement for the Jet Airways, as it enables us to offer our guests more connectivity options to Mexico which is gaining more and more traction with the discerning Indian traveler looking for new experiences. We are confident that this relationship will help facilitate demand for not only leisure but also in the fast growing trade and business cooperation areas between both nations.”
Anko van der Werff, chief revenue officer, AeroMexico said: “The celebration of this codeshare agreement is further proof that AeroMexico continues to work to connect its customers to the most important regions of the world, which is why it was fundamental to sign this agreement for travel to India, a country featuring continued growth of its economic activities and diverse tourism industry.”
23/04/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Air India flight to Copenhagen 4 times a week, more new services planned

New Delhi: Buoyed by the occupancy rate of its Delhi-Copenhagen flight, Air India on Monday announced increasing the frequency on this route to four days a week, even as it planned new services from Mumbai to Germany soon.
The airline took to Twitter to announce increasing the frequency of the tri-weekly Delhi and Copenhagen flight, launched in September last year to four days a week from May 11.
"Happy to announce Air India to increase frequency on Delhi Copenhagen sector four times a week effective 11th May 2018," it tweeted.

Air traffic between India and Denmark has seen a robust growth of over 10 per cent and the number of visas issued rose by about 20 per cent during the last couple of years.
Sources said the frequency of services from Delhi to Austria's capital Vienna would be announced soon.
23/04/18 PTI/Times of India

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Sri Lankan couple smuggling Rs. 9 mn worth gold to India nabbed at airport

Colombo: A Sri Lankan couple, who attempted to smuggle out a stock of gold worth over Rs 9.1 million to Mumbai, was arrested early this morning by the Customs officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

The Customs says the value of the stock of gold is around Rs. 91,183,850.

The business couple, residents of Maradana, had arrived at the Katunayake International Airport this morning to take a jet Airways flight to Mumbai departing at 5:45 am.

Upon inspection of their luggage at the airport the airport security officers found gold pieces weighing 2kg and 355g concealed in the luggage.
22/04/18 Colombo Page

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Airbus shortlists eight states for helicopter assembling facility

Chennai: Aerospace giant Airbus is planning to set up a helicopter assembling facility in India. The European giant has shortlisted eight states for the facility, which will be relocated from France.

Ashish Saraf, Airbus Group India vice-president for industry development, strategic partnerships and offsets, told Business Standard that the company has offered to assemble helicopters in India over the next three to five years if it gets the contract.


Tamil Nadu is among the eight states being considered. The state has access to a supplier base, owing to the region’s automotive industry. Being a coastal state, it also has an advantage in terms of logistics.

Airbus is planning to assemble its naval utility helicopters, including the Panther, for both domestic and export markets. These helicopters are being used by the navies of 18 countries, including the US Coast Guard.

“We have identified eight different locations in the country, that is all we can say right now,” Saraf said and refused to share any investment figures, adding that it would be a “substantial investment”.

“Airbus has started creating an ecosystem by building a supplier base for the Make in India programme,” said Saraf, otherwise known as the ‘Make in India’ officer for Airbus in India.

“To start with, minimum localisation would be around 40 per cent, according to the strategic partnership model,” he added.

Airbus’s supply base has grown 16 times over the last decade, reaching 46 suppliers in India. The company is still scouting for new suppliers. Sourcing from India in 2017-18 was over $550 million against $500 million the previous year, an increase of around 10 per cent. Saraf said this number will significantly increase with the sourcing of composites.
22/04/19 TE Narasimhan/Business Standard

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French delegation visits MIHAN project

Delegates of France appreciated the infrastructure created at Multimodal International Hub Airport Nagpur (MIHAN) and hoped that companies in France are willing to invest in India and particularly in Nagpur too.
A business delegate from France visited MIHAN project recently. The delegation include the members of French Aerospace Industries Association called, “GIFAS”. Michel Paskoff, Director General, Industrialization of Dassault Aviation and Bertrand Lucereau, President of GIFAS SME’s led the delegation.

Daniel CHAFFRAIX, EVP, North America and India, ALTRAN, while talking with MADC officials said that “He is impressed by infrastructure development in MIHAN. Nagpur has all the potential to develop as an Aviation and Aerospace Hub very soon.”

The delegation also saw all the prominent companies in MIHAN and visited TAL industry, DRAL, link Taxiway and the project site of Turgis and Gilliard, an aerospace industry coming up soon in MIHAN.

The program was jointly hosted by Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd. (MADC), Office of the Development Commissioner, MIHAN SEZ and Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd. (DRAL). The delegates were welcomed in Indian Traditional way at the entrance of Central Facility Building in MIHAN. The delegation includes the CEOs and officials of Aerospace Companies of France namely, AAA, Altran, Axon, Dedienne Aerospace, Finaero, Gaches Chimie, Paris Saint-Denis Aero, Secamic, Segula, Trigo, Weare AEROSPACE etc. and was coordinated by DASSAULT Aviation, France, the manufacturer of world famous defence aircraft RAFALE and high end FALCON family business jets.

At the outset Suresh Kakani, VC&MD of MADC and S. S. Das, ITS, Development Commissioner, MIHAN SEZ welcomed all the delegates with floral bouquets and a memento.
22/04/18 Hitavada

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Foreigner caught at IGI with Rs 35 lakh drugs

New Delhi: A woman foreign national was arrested at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport by CISF officials for trying to smuggle drugs worth around Rs 35 lakh, by concealing them inside plastic rolls.
While the woman from Zimbabwe tried to give the security agencies a slip by leaving her bag behind and changing clothes in the washroom, CISF personnel intercepted her after she came out of the washroom. She was handed over to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) with the seized drugs.
CISF officials said the incident was detected at 11.45pm on Friday, when Blessing Munetsi came for screening to board a flight to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. One of her bags looked suspicious. Officials said the bag was then physically checked, which revealed almost 40 plastic rolls. By this time Munetsi slipped away and headed to the nearest washroom to change her clothes.
“She realised that the bag was found to be suspicious and the drugs will be discovered on the plastic rolls she was carrying. Each roll had nearly 200gram of a substance, which tested positive for pseudoephedrine after being checked by a narcotic drug detection kit. Though the passenger went to the washroom, her movement was tracked by CCTV surveillance and she was immediately taken into custody,” said a senior CISF official.
22/04/18 Jasjeev Gandhiok/Times of India

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Boeing conducts aeromodelling competition

Boeing, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), conducted the finals for the fifth annual Boeing-IIT national aeromodelling competition, which saw participation from 1281 students from over 250 institutes nationwide.

The competition saw many “firsts” in its five year history, including participation from an international team from Iowa State University (USA), as well as a significant increase in the participation from schools and female aero-models.

As an aerospace leader, Boeing has been investing in educating and inspiring the next generation of engineering talent in India. The aero-modelling competition aims to nurture, recognize and reward talented aerospace enthusiasts and innovators in the country.

“Competitive aero-modelling requires multi-disciplinary skills, which is a great way to draw young minds to aerospace,” said Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India, adding “through this competition, we want to inspire students to experience the joy of aviation and strive to become future aerospace engineers. We are excited to see the tremendous response that the competition has attracted in the last five years”.

Prof P.V.M. Rao, head, department of design, IIT Delhi, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Boeing in developing an ecosystem from students from all engineering disciplines, so that they can channelise their creative energy into reimagining avionics of the future.”
21/04/18 Sunday Guardian

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Israel‘s El Al appeals towards Air India flights over Saudi

Jerusalem: Israel‘s El Al airline said it appealed on Wednesday to the Supreme Court to cancel the authorisation of direct flights between New Delhi and via Saudi airspace.

The Indian carrier began using the new route on March 22, reducing flight times between the two cities by more than two hours.

Saudi Arabia had previously banned flights over its territory bound for Israel, a country with which Riyadh has no official diplomatic relations.

Saudi Arabia has so far not allowed Israeli carriers to use its airspace, and El Al says it is the victim of unfair competition.

“The State of Israel does not understand the extent of the damage caused by the government,” said El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin.

“Today it is India, tomorrow it will be Thailand and all the east. It is impossible to assess the damage caused by this decision for the company‘s 6,000 employees.”

El Al flights bound for India currently take a detour along the Red Sea to avoid Saudi and Iranian airspace.

The new air link between Tel Aviv and New Delhi was announced in July last year by Indian Prime Minister and his Israeli counterpart , but it was not until January that the pair suggested it might use Saudi airspace.
21/04/18 Derby Journal

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Direct flights to Bahrain from May

Bengaluru: Come May and you can fly direct to Bahrain from the city. Gulf Air will commence operations to Bahrain starting May 1. The airline, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, will be the only one to offer daily connectivity seven days a week on the route.
With the commencement of flights, Bengaluru will become the eighth Indian city to connect to Bahrain. Bengaluru will become the second destination in the state after Mangaluru to operate a flight to Bahrain.
The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) had listed Bahrain as one of the international destinations in its summer schedule. The summer schedule commenced on March 25, 2018 and will be in effect until October 27, 2018. The operations of flights between the two cities comes after nearly eight years. Gulf Air had earlier operated flights till 2010.
With direct flights to Bahrain, KIA now connects 22 international destinations (20 direct and two connecting).
This is the second new international carrier to start operations from Bengaluru in the last six months. Since December 2017, Malindo Air has been operating flights from KIA to Kuala Lumpur twice each week.
21/04/18 Hemanth C S/Bangalore Mirror

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Airports Authority of India to develop Kalaymyo Airport

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will develop an airport in Myanmar’s Sagaing Division, it has been announced.

According to International Airport Review, the AAI signed an agreement with the Indian Government’s Ministry of External Affairs to begin preparations for phase one of Kalaymyo Airport’s development. The airport is located around 70km east of the border with India’s Mizoram state and is very close to the border with Chin State.
19/04/18 Mizzima

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Air India Express adds new flights to Kerala

Abu Dhabi: Budget carrier Air India Express is on an expansion mode and is introducing new flights on Kerala's Kochi sector.

Air India Express operates daily flights to Kochi and from April 18 to May 30 will add services on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. With the addition of three services, Express will be connecting Abu Dhabi with Kochi 10 times a week.

The carrier will fly at 4 pm from Abu Dhabi International Airport to land at Cochin International Airport by 9.35 pm. The return flight is at 12.30 pm from Kochi, which will arrive at Abu Dhabi by 3 pm on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Also, from June 1 there will change in schedule with flights on Monday, Thursday and Saturday departing from Abu Dhabi at 1.15 am and landing in Kochi at 6.50 am. The return services will be on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with 9.45 pm departure and 12.15 am arrival in Abu Dhabi.

Joy Joseph, Baniyas-based driver, is happy with the additional options.

"This is a great move by Air India Express, which gets into news only during flight delays. There are other local carriers which fly thrice daily. So, now Keralites have more options to choose and plan journey accordingly," said Joseph, who hails from Ernakulam district's Kothamangalam.
19/04/18 Khaleej Times

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Forgotten cell phone holds up Air India flight at Heathrow airport

A cell phone left behind by a ground staffer held up an Air India flight by about two hours at the Heathrow airport on March 18 after an inflatable slide-raft inadvertently opened when the cabin crew attempted to return the phone, sources said.

The crew was acting according to the instructions of the flight commander who in a “generous gesture” decided to return the phone to the maintenance engineer who had deplaned after readying the flight for departure, they said.
As the London-Ahmedabad flight AI 176 was about to take off, the commander found out about the cell phone and decided to hand it over to the engineer.

While the commander asked the ground staff to inform the engineer to rush towards the departing plane, the crew also acted promptly following his instructions to return it. However, in the process the inflatable slide-raft, used during emergency, was inadvertently deployed, they said.
This incident is arguably a first for Air India and it is investigating the matter, they said, adding that the cabin crew could have forgotten to change the door- handling operations in the confusion.

The flight finally left for Ahmedabad after a delay of two hours.
18/04/18 Afternoon Voice

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Air Italy inks codeshare with Qatar Airways; eyes India

Air Italy has inked a code-share agreement with its equity partner Qatar Airways  covering a total of seven domestic routes in Italy, effective April 24, 2018.

The deal includes services out of Milan Malpensa to each of Catania, Rome Fiumicino, Naples Int'l, Olbia, Palermo, and Lamezia Terme, as well as out of Rome Fiumicino to Olbia.

The code-share agreement between the carriers will also include Qatar Airways-operated routes from Italy to Doha Hamad Int'l, including flights from each of Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Pisa, and Venice Marco Polo, as well as onward services from Qatar to each of Singapore Changi and Malé.

In 2017, Qatar Airways acquired a 49% stake in AQA Holding, the parent of Air Italy. The carrier, previously known as Meridiana fly, is set to grow its fleet this year with five ex-Qatar Airways A330-200s. The deliveries of twenty B737 MAX 8s are due to commence in April 2018, too. According to Airline Route, Air Italy plans to also use the MAX 8s for its Malpensa-Lagos-Accra-Malpensa route from October 28 replacing its B767-300(ER)s on the route.

In a related development, Air Italy will also make its Indian debut later this coming winter season following confirmation it will launch a 5x weekly Milan Malpensa-Mumbai Int'l service on October 30, 2018. Operations are on-board A330-200 equipment
18/04/18 ch-aviation

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More flights to Dubai, Sharjah might be on the cards

New Delhi: Air connectivity between India and Dubai and Sharjah could soon improve with flyers going to get choice of more flights and increased capacity leading to lower fares. The Modi government is going to take a call on initiating talks to hike bilaterals with countries where airlines of both sides have utilised over 80% of existing flying rights.
“We are soon going to decide on the issue of holding negotiations with countries where 80% of existing bilaterals have been utilised by their airlines and ours,” aviation secretary R N Choubey told TOI. Airlines of India and Dubai are utilising 100% of the 66,500 weekly seats allowed to each side at present. Airline of Sharjah have utilised 100% of their flying rights to India (18,144 weekly seats) while Indian carriers are operating 94% of their rights.
Qatar Airways has used up all its rights to India (24,655 weekly seats) and Indian carriers are at 74% of their bileterals to Doha. Singapore is also soon going to be on this list with Indian carriers going to use over 80% of their flying rights to the prosperous island nation.
All these areas, especially Dubai, have been demanding enhancement of flying rights for some years now. While the Congress-led UPA was very liberal with giving bilaterals, the Modi government has been very conservative till now. Some countries like Qatar are learnt to be upset at not being more flying rights to India. India had earlier indicated that it will insist its airlines get ‘good’ slots at the slot-constrained Dubai airport while negiotating more bilaterals with the Emirate.
Now, however, Indian airlines have been asking to mount more flights to these high demand destinations. Also, Tata-Singapore Airlines JV Vistara is now eligible to start international flights after having a fleet of 20 planes and Tata-AirAsia low cost JV will achieve this milestone shortly. Many of the countries and region where bilaterals have been exhausted are in the range of these two airlines’ Airbus A-320 planes where they would like to go once they start overseas flights.
18/04/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Israel Warns Travelers About Measles Patient on Flight From India

A man with measles traveled from India to Israel last week and the Health Ministry has been warning high-risk passengers from his flight about possible contagion – particularly infants under a year old, pregnant women and people suffering from immune deficiencies.

On Sunday the Health Ministry’s Tel Aviv office was notified of a measles patient who had been on Air India flight AI139 that departed New Delhi at 4:30 P.M. on April 12 and landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport at 9:45 P.M. the same day. The ministry is calling on passengers who come down with a fever or a rash to go to a doctor immediately.
Measles is a serious, contagious viral disease that causes a characteristic rash and general malaise. The virus is spread through an infected person’s coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge or phlegm. The virus can remain in the air for several hours. The risk of an unvaccinated person getting sick after exposure is 90 percent.
18/04/18 Ido Efrati/Haaretz

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Philippine Airlines readies nonstop flights to New York, India

Philippine Airlines (PAL) will mount nonstop flights to New York and India as well as boost its operations in Davao, Cebu, and Clark in Pampanga, as the flag carrier expects the arrival of 21 new planes by 2019.

PAL, the country’s only 4-star airline, will have 15 new aircraft within the year, and another 6 planes in 2019, to mount more long-haul flights.

“We are no longer just a Manila-centric airline,” PAL president and chief operating office Jaime Bautista said in a statement.

New routes and increased flight frequencies will be introduced, as the flag carrier is set to receive 5 additional Next-Generation Bombardier Q400s and 6 new Airbus A321neos starting in May, along with 4 Airbus A350-900 trans-oceanic aircraft starting in June.

“Our new aircraft and our new hubs are a winning combination that will help expand our market reach both domestically and worldwide. This is imperative for a global airline, and we must sustain and build on our hard-won 4-star rating,” Bautista said.

He added that introducing new routes to India is the airline’s response to the call of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo for a direct link to the country – a potentially rich source of future tourists for the Philippines.

PAL’s expansion in 2018 also includes the following new routes:

Manila to New York (John F. Kennedy Airport), nonstop flights beginning October 28
Manila to New Delhi and Mumbai (Bombay) in India, nonstop flights by last quarter of 2018
Manila to Sapporo (Chitose) in Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, by last quarter of 2018
Davao to Siargao, 4 flights per week since March 25
Bautista said PAL also plans to add more flights between Cebu and Siargao, Davao and Tagbilaran, Davao and Clark, Cebu and Bangkok, Cagayan de Oro and Clark, Cebu and Busuanga, Clark and Busuanga, as well as Cebu and Clark.

The airline will also add frequencies from Manila going to Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Cebu, Puerto Princesa, and Bacolod, starting in April or May.
17/04/18 Retail News

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India's GMR loses new $15 mln claim over Maldives airport row

Despite winning a staggering USD271 million payout from the Maldives government in 2016, the company had filed a new claim for an additional USD15 million.

However, the Singapore based tribunal which had awarded the massive payout in 2016, had ruled against GMR on Friday, AVAS understands.

The dispute stems from a 25-year contract to modernize, expand and operate the Maldives’ main international airport that the government entered into with GMR Male International Airport Pvt. Ltd. in 2010.

The mega project worth over USD500 million was awarded to GMR during the tenure of former President Mohamed Nasheed, despite concerns by the then opposition.

Shortly after the controversial resignation of Nasheed, the government kicked out GMR and cancelled its lucrative contract to run the airport.
17/04/18 Avas Online

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Foreign national use fake papers to enter IGI Airport; arrested

New Delhi: In yet another case a foreign national was apprehended for using a forged document to enter Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. Airport officials said a Ukrainian man was caught after he was found in possession of a fake ticket to enter the terminal area.

The man has been identified by his first name  Melnychenko and was  intercepted by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel on Sunday as he was about to leave the Terminal-3 building of the IGI Airport, officials said on Monday.

 He was stopped and questioned as exiting the terminal area is not usually permitted for passengers, the officials said.

 The Ukrainian national told the security personnel that he used a "cancelled" ticket to enter the terminal area to see off his friend, who was travelling to Bishkek, they added.
17/04/18 Pioneer

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Ukranian man held at IGI with fake ticket

New Delhi: A Ukranian man was apprehended at the Delhi airport for allegedly using a fake ticket to enter the terminal area, officials said today.

The man has been identified by his first name — Melnychenko — who was intercepted by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel yesterday as he was about to leave the Terminal-3 building of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, they said.

He was stopped and questioned as exiting the terminal area is not usually permitted for passengers, the officials said.

The Ukranian national told the security personnel that he used a “cancelled” ticket to enter the terminal area to see off his friend, who was travelling to Bishkek, they added.
16/04/18 PTI/India.com

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International flights from Amritsar get good response

Amritsar: The air connectivity between Amritsar and South East Asia is set to consolidate with the launch of Air Asia’s Kuala Lumpur-Amritsar flight from August.
Already, Malaysia’s Malindo Air is operating Kuala Lumpur flight and Scoot Airways is connecting the city with Singapore. As per airport officials, such flights in the economical category are generating good response from passengers.
Former airport advisory committee member Gunbir Singh said, “These flights will consolidate the tourist circuit involving the city. It will enable travel for students and visitors between South East Asia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, further connecting to Australia and New Zealand, as well as remote West coast America and Canada.”
Earlier, Singapore Airlines had launched thrice a week flight to Amritsar on October 1, 2004. The service ran well for around five years before being discontinued in early 2009.
A pharmaceutical industrialist, Raman Gupta, said there were tremendous opportunities for business and trade in both regions. Many industries in the state are staring at stagnation over limited markets. Availability of more flights would open travel and business opportunities for both sides.
15/04/18 Neeraj Bagga/Tribune

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Bombay High Court quashes FIR against Israeli national found with live cartridge

Mumbai: Ganting relief to an Israeli national, the Bombay High Court has recently quashed an FIR lodged by the Sahar police station against a 61-year-old woman who it had alleged was found in possession of a live rifle cartridge while she was on a visit to Mumbai in 2015.

In her petition, Rachelle Oseran, a trainer by profession, had stated that she brought groups of tourists to India from Israel and other parts of the world on educational trips, known as ‘Mindful India Seminars’. She had claimed she had arranged for a seminar to be held in India between March 2 and March 17, 2015 and for the same, had obtained an Indian visa for three months — from mid-January to mid-April.

Oseran has maintained that while travelling to India, she was carrying sweets, toys and clothes for the children of an orphanage in Rishikesh, where her group intended to travel as a part of the seminar, as well as for the children of people who had helped her over the years.

According to Oseran, to carry the sweets and gifts, she borrowed a bag from her friend and travel agent Hillary Weiss. The bag, Oseran has said, was earlier used by Weiss’ husband Dani Weiss, who had previously served in the Israeli Army. During his service, he had used the bag that she had borrowed, Oseran told the court.

Oseran landed with her group at the Mumbai airport on March 1, 2015. During screening, no ammunition was detected in her hand luggage at the airport. Later, as her bags again underwent screening in the domestic transfer terminal at the airport, a “5.56 mm rifle cartridge” was found by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel.
The CISF interrogated Oseran and then handed her over to the Sahar police station on March 2, 2015. She was booked under sections 3 (licence for acquisition and possession of firearms and ammunition) and 25 (punishment for certain offences) of the Indian Arms Act-1959.
Oseran told the court that Sahar police ignored her explanation, impounded her passport and arrested her.
15/04/18 Sailee Dhayalkar/Indian Express

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Gupta plane lands at Lanseria airport, grounded in corruption probe

A private jet used by a business family at the heart of corruption allegations against ex-president Jacob Zuma has been flown back to South Africa where it was grounded by a court order, an official said Saturday.

The Bombardier Global 6000 landed at Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg late Friday night from Dubai with just two pilots on board, Mike Christoph, the airport's operations manager, told AFP.
A private jet used by a business family at the heart of corruption allegations against ex-president Jacob Zuma has been flown back to South Africa where it was grounded by a court order, an official said Saturday.

The Bombardier Global 6000 landed at Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg late Friday night from Dubai with just two pilots on board, Mike Christoph, the airport's operations manager, told AFP.
The High Court in Johannesburg on March 19 had given the Guptas 15 days to hand over the luxury aircraft to the airport.

"It's grounded," said Christoph.

"As an airport we have to comply with court orders and we cannot provide it with any services, we will not fuel it, we will not do anything with the aircraft."
14/04/18 Times Live

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Desi IndiGo, Jet Airways, Spicejet stay away, but 4 foreign biggies interested in Air India stake sale

Even as prominent domestic businesses from IndiGo, Jet Airways and even Tata Group have pulled out of the race to bid for Air India, foreign airlines British Airways Etihad, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines have shown interest in the state-run carrier. According to ET Now, Etihad Airways, UAE’s second-largest airline, is reportedly planning to bid for the debt-laden carrier and has initiated discussion with Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Earlier, Business Standard has also reported a source as saying that Etihad is scouting for partners to form a consortium to bid for Air India and is in discussion with companies, including the Anil Ambani group.

Apart from Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, have also shown interest in bidding for Air India, reported ET Now. Notably, Etihad currently owns 24% of Indian carrier Jet Airways, which has explicitly pulled out of the race to bid for Air India. Jet Airways’  deputy chief executive officer Amit Agarwal told PTI that while it’s a bold step by the government to divest stake in Air India, considering the terms of offer in the information memorandum and based on its review, Jet Airways will not be participating in the process.
While Reuters had earlier reported that Tata Group will not be bidding for Air india due to onerous terms and conditions, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons told CNBC TV18 that any decision to bid for Air India will be made by the middle of May.”There is a deadline which extends till, I think, middle of May, so I will leave it at that,” he told the channel. 

While these foreign carriers seem interested in buying a stake, the domestic carriers have stayed away due to various reasons including the debt and labour.
13/04/18 Saurabh Sunder/Financial Express

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Etihad sends feelers to Anil Ambani to buy 76% stake in Air India

Gulf airline major Etihad is planning to bid for state-owned carrier Air India. Etihad is looking for partners in major Indian corporate groups and has sent feelers to Anil Ambani-owned Reliance group (ADAG).

The Union government has invited expression of interest from private players to buy 76 per cent in the national carrier. The sale includes 100 per cent in subsidiary Air India Express and 50 per cent in ground handling joint venture AISATS.
Sources aware of the discussions said talks were at a preliminary stage. “Etihad is scouting for partners to form a consortium to bid for Air India and is in discussion with companies, including the Anil Ambani group,” a source said. There are chances that the talks may not translate into a partnership, but this indicates interest of foreign aviation firms and India Inc in the airline.

According to sources close to the transactions, several global airline majors such as British Airways and Singapore Airlines are evaluating investment prospects in Air India and looking for suitable partnership for the deal.

If the partnership works, this will be Etihad’s second investment in an Indian airline.

In 2007, it had bought 24 per cent stake in private airline Jet Airways.
“Relations with Jet Airways are not at an optimum level following Jet’s deepening of partnership with Air France-KLM. But Etihad will not let its hold in the Indian market go, so it is evaluating the opportunity,” another source said.
According to the agreement signed last November, the joint venture between Air France-KLM and Jet Airways is meant to share passenger traffic revenue on the India-Amsterdam and India-Paris routes. In an advanced form of commercial partnership, this will also involve closer tie-ups in sales and marketing, including common corporate and travel agency contracts.
Media reports indicate Anil Ambani had earlier explored opportunity to start an airline on his own or through investment in an existing carrier.
13/04/18 Arindam Majumder & Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Restored vintage Dakota aircraft ready to return to India

An Indian military aircraft, which played a pivotal role in the 1947-48 India-Pakistan war, has been fully restored to its original glory and is set to begin its flight back to India on Monday.
The refurbished DC-3 Dakota will become the third aircraft to join the Indian Air Force (IAF) vintage fleet at Air Force Station Hindon Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh when it arrives on April 25, joining the Tiger Moth and a Harvard aircraft. It will be used in aerial displays.
The WWII aircraft has undergone an extensive £580,000 refurbishment in the UK by Reflight Air Works Ltd. It was in service between 1946 and 1987 and was mainly used for transportation purposes.
Now air-worthy again, it will travel to India in short legs through multiple airspaces from Monday, stopping in various countries en route, with specially trained Indian and British pilots, as well as plenty of spares, on board.
Gifted to the IAF by MP and industrialist Rajeev Chandrasekhar, it has been named ‘Parashurama’ after the sixth avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. “He appears at a time when overwhelming evil prevailed on earth to correct the cosmic equilibrium by destroying the evil forces,” Air Commodore Anil Sabharwal said, at its symbolic fly off at RAF Benson on Thursday.
Dakotas were introduced in the 1930s as part of the 12th Squadron of the then Royal Indian Air Force and were the main workhorse in Ladakh and the Northeast region. They did not carry weapons, rather troops and supplies during WWII. Significantly Dakotas helped carry troops of the Army's 1 Sikh Regiment to Srinagar on Oct 27, 1947, during the 1st Indo-Pak War.
13/04/18 Naomi Canton/Times of India

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Indian-American entrepreneur among dead in Arizona plane crash

Washington: A young Indian-American entrepreneur was among six people killed in a plane crash in a suburb of Phoenix in Arizona, authorities said today.

They identified him as Anand Patel, 26, the founder of What's Happy Clothing.

The plane Piper PA-24 Comanche which was headed to Las Vegas crashed Monday night onto a Scottsdale golf course, some 15 minutes after takeoff from the city airport.

On hitting the ground, the plane burst into flames, killing all the six passengers on board. The age of all of them ranged from 22 to 28 years.

Anand Patel, popular among his friends by the name of happy, came to the US along with his twin brother Akash Patel in 2009 for studies. He co-founded the clothing line and worked as an event promoter, flying coast to coast with friends and clients on trips that often included stops in Scottsdale, local Republic news paper reported.
13/04/18 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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US-India Aviation Summit to be held next month in Mumbai

The US-India Aviation Summit is being hosted next month in Mumbai as a technical, policy and commercial forum by the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation and the US Trade and Development Agency.

The US Commercial Service said on Thursday: "The Summit will serve to assist India civil aviation agencies and aviation industry representatives, including private sector airlines and airport operators, to identify advanced US technologies and practices that can support their expansion and modernization efforts."
Besides a US and India bilateral meeting, the summit from May 9 to 11 will include sessions on India's projected aviation growth in next five years, aviation security, aviation and runway safety, technologies for worldwide airspace management, and regional connectivity using linking hubs for underserved/unserved airports.
13/04/18 IANS/Business Standard

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GECAS to lease 12 737 Max 8s to Jet Airways

GECAS has committed to leasing 12 Boeing 737 Max 8s to Jet Airways, with deliveries commencing in June and continuing through to 2020.

The lessor says that six of the jets will come from its own orderbook, with the other six to be acquired through sale-and-leaseback transactions with the carrier.

The deal was announced just over a week after Jet confirmed an order for an additional 75 737 Max aircraft. It also had 54 737 Max 8s on order from a commitment made at the 2015 Dubai air show.

Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that the carrier operates 72 737-800s, four -700s, four -900ERs and two -900s.
12/04/18 Ellis Taylor/FlightGlobal

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British Airways, Lufthansa, SIA among four foreign carriers interested in Air India

New Delhi: Four major international airlines — including British Airways, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines — are among those that have shown interest in Air India’s disinvestment + .
A Gulf carrier has also evinced initial interest, sources connected with the disinvestment process told TOI. One of the airlines already has a stake in an Indian carrier and marrying the Maharaja could mean divorcing its partner. Sources said the foreign carriers are in talks with Indian business houses to meet the criterion of “substantial ownership and control”.
A foreign airline can have a joint venture in India provided it has a local partner with at least 51% stake and effective control. Foreign carriers forming a consortium to make a bid for Air India will need to fulfil this rule.
“The four airlines are in active consultation with us. Among the Indian players they are in touch with to form a consortia is a medium-sized domestic airline. The head of an international airline is also eying the process with interest. A leading Indian industrial house is also in touch,” said a source, who did not wish to be identified.
The government has offered to sell 76% in the loss-making national carrier and will transfer a substantial chunk of its debt into a separate company.
When contacted, International Airlines Group (IAG) — parent company of British Airways — said: “IAG doesn’t comment on rumours or speculation.” SIA had also stated recently: “Our priority is the further expansion of Vistara (its JV with Tatas). However, we will keep our options open with respect to the proposed divestment of Air India.” Lufthansa did not comment till time of going to press.
12/04/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Air India suitors seek flexibility to change consortium members

New Delhi: The Tata Group remains in the race for Air India, the debt-laden national carrier on which IndiGoNSE -2.28 %, Jet Airways and Emirates are no longer keen. Other airlines still interested in participating in the privatisation of Air India include Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.

Reuters on Wednesday reported that the Tata Group is not interested in bidding for Air India. But sources close to the development told ET that the Tatas have not pulled out, and are still interested in acquiring Air India along with a foreign partner.

Meanwhile, in another move that will allow bidders to change members between the initial and final bidding stages, likely suitors for Air India have sought a relaxation in the norms for consortia participating in the debt-laden carrier’s privatisation, people directly briefed on the matter told ET.

Other issues raised by likely bidders pertain to the government’s rights on the residual 24% stake in the entity, and to provisions available on integrating their existing business with Air India.

“The query on integration of their existing airline business with Air India includes synchronisation of flights, which could be through code shares or interline agreements. This should not be a problem and one is hopeful that the government would allow such an arrangement,” said a source close to the transaction.
12/04/18 Mohit Bhalla/Economic Times
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Philippine Airlines Appoints Bird Group As GSA In India

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has appointed Bird Travels, the Airline Management Services arm of Bird Group as its local representative in India. The association marks the airline’s latest step in developing its sales distribution network within the Indian market. The appointment of Bird Travels is part of the intensive preparations undertaken by Philippine Airlines to realize its firm plans to commence operations to India by Winter 2018.

“India's tourism industry is expanding rapidly and already we’re seeing a steady flow of leisure and business travellers flying between India and Philippines. Bird Group is a veteran in air travel management and we are challenging them to capitalize on their strength and capabilities to help successfully launch our upcoming flights to New Delhi and Mumbai and help us strengthen our presence in India and enhance the quality of our services for the Indian market,” said Ryan Uy, Vice President for Sales of Philippine Airlines.
12/04/18 TravelTrendsToday

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Boeing to team up with India's HAL and Mahindra for fighter jet

New Delhi: Boeing (BA.N) will partner with India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics (HIAE.NS) and Mahindra Defence Systems for local manufacture of its F/A-18 Super Hornet that it is offering for a large Indian fighter acquisition program, the U.S. company said on Thursday.

India last week issued a request for information for 110 combat jets for the air force, marking the first step toward a long-delayed deal that could be worth more than $15 billion.

The planes have to be built locally as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India drive to build a domestic industrial base.
Boeing said it stood ready to build an aerospace manufacturing system in India along with its partners that will help India’s own aircraft manufacturing programs.

“The Super Hornet Make in India proposal is to build an entirely new and state-of-the-art production facility that can be utilized for other programs like India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program,” Boeing said in a statement during an Indian defense exhibition in the southern city of Chennai.

Lockheed Martin  Saab and Dassault Aviation are among the manufacturers expected to compete for the air force order, one of the world’s biggest fighter jet deals in play at the moment, industry experts say.

Lockheed, which has offered to move its F-16 production line in Fort Worth, Texas, to India, is partnering India’s Tata Advanced Systems to build the planes. Sweden’s Saab has said it will build the planes in collaboration with the Adani Group, a resources conglomerate.
12/04/18 Reuters

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AAI to develop airports abroad, to begin with Myanmar

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will now develop airports abroad too, like its Indian JV partners GMR and GVK groups. AAI has signed an agreement with the ministry of external affairs for preparation of detailed project report (DPR) in first phase for development of Kalay Airport as greenfiled airport in Myanmar.
Anil Gupta, AAI’s executive director (land management and business development), said the authority has developed more than 60 airports in metro and non metro cities in India and now wants to leverage its expertise to other countries on a larger scale. Gupta signed the agreement with for the Kalay Airport with MEA’s senior official Ankan Banerjee on Tuesday.
11/04/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Peru nationals arrested from Mumbai airport with 4 kg cocaine

New Delhi: Two Peru nationals, including a woman, were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) from the Mumbai airport for allegedly smuggling into the country over four kg of cocaine, officials said today.

Michael (35) and Mariya (25), were intercepted yesterday, when they landed in Mumbai from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, they said.

"The operation was based on an input provided by the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)," the officials said.

"They were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and 4.3 kg of "high grade" cocaine was seized from them," they said.

This is the second instance of smuggling this year in which high quantity of cocaine, a party drug, was seized.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had seized about four kg of cocaine in Cochin earlier this year.
In an another narcotics case, the agency had arrested three people and seized 56.8 kg of opium and 19.93 kg of poppy straw in Rajasthan's Ajmer district yesterday.
12/04/18 PTI/India Today

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Now Emirates too pulls out of race to buy Air India; says no plans to acquire any airline

Just a day after Jet Airways rescinded its interest from participating in the disinvestment process of debt-laden Air India, Emirates on Wednesday also denied plans to buy or acquire the national carrier. The company has no plans to acquire any airline but will partner with airlines where our customers benefit, CNBC TV18 reported citing Emirates response to its query. On Tuesday, major Indian international carrier Jet Airways had announced that it’s not interested to acquire the national carrier, giving a major blow to government’s plans to privatise Air India.

IndiGo and SpiceJet have already ruled out bids to buy or acquire stakes in the debt-ridden national carrier.  On the basis of our review and after considering terms of the offer in the information memorandum, the company has decided not to participate in the Air India privatisation process, Jet Airways’ deputy chief executive, Amit Agarwal said in a statement emailed to AFP.

Reuters also reported citing some analysts that the high levels of debt at Air India discouraged the airlines to bid for stakes especially considering the fact that the company itself is working on a plan to cut down its indebtedness. IndiGo had given reasons that it didn’t want to buy national carrier’s domestic and international networks together.

In March this year, the central government had made announcement to sell 76 percent stake in Air India, as per the preliminary information memorandum that was released on strategic disinvestment of the national carrier. The Civil Aviation Ministry also invited Expression of Interest (EoI) for the sale of stake in Air India and two of its subsidiaries.

The preliminary report released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on March 28 had said that national carrier Air India’s buyer will also have to take on debts of  Rs 33,392 crore.
11/04/18 Financial Express

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AI sale: Swiss Aviation Consulting denies bid

New Delhi: Switzerland’s Swiss Aviation Consulting (SAC) on Monday denied that it was interested in bidding for Air India or any of its assets.

“Though Swiss Aviation Consulting is delivering aircraft asset management and aviation consulting services in India and other Asian countries, it has never been in contact with any Indian government officials or Air India representatives regarding the bidding for Air India and has never expressed interest in acquiring Air India or parts of it,” the aviation advisory group said in a press release.

“Neither is Swiss Aviation Consulting acting as a front for some other stakeholder.” it said in response to media reports.

The Hindu had in its April 9 issue reported that the Swiss firm had expressed interest in acquiring Air India, citing a senior official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, who had spoken on condition of anonymity.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had shared the broad contours of the AI stake sale last month in a preliminary information memorandum.
09/04/18 The Hindu

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Singapore Airlines, Emirates may be possible contenders for Air India stake

New Delhi: Low-cost airline IndiGo’s decision not to bid for Air India is not a surprise to many as the Gurgaon-based airline had made it clear in an “unsolicited” bid even before the divestment process started that it was only interested in the Maharaja’s international operations and its low-cost arm Air India Express.

With the government making it clear in the Expression of Interest released last week that it wanted to divest Air India in totality (Air India, Air India Express and ground handling), IndiGo had no option but to withdraw from the divestment process. Perhaps, others too, who have been looking at parts of Air India for bidding, will now have to rethink.

In one sense, the government’s decision does clarify Air India’s divestment process as now only those who have the financial standing to bid for the airline in its entirety will remain. There is already talk that Jet Airways may tie up with Air France-KLM for making a bid for Air India.
Two other airlines — Singapore Airlines and the Dubai-based Emirates — seem to fit the bill as both have been consolidating their operations in the recent past.

In the case of Singapore Airlines, since July last year, Scoot and Tigerair have started operating under the brand name ‘Scoot’ which is the low-cost, medium-to-long haul arm of the Singapore Airlines Group. This is managed by Budget Aviation Holdings (BAH), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines Group (SIA).

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore in November 2015, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding which facilitates co-operation in a number of agreed upon areas of civil aviation services and airport management beginning with Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports.

Though this proposal is yet to get off the ground it is still something to keep in mind while looking at Air India’s divestment and who the interested international airlines may be.

With Emirates too, it is a similar situation. Late last year, Emirates and its low-cost arm flydubai decided to work together, thus, consolidating operations of the two airlines.
08/04/18 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Swiss aviation advisory firm interested in Air India

New Delhi: Global advisory firm Swiss Aviation Consulting has expressed interest in acquiring Air India, according to a senior official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The European firm is an independent advisory group offering services such as aircraft asset management, aircraft sales and acquisition support, risk management, strategic and operational advisory and flight training, among others.

Founded in 2005, the Hunenberg-headquartered firm has affiliates in the UAE, Malaysia and South Africa, according to its website. An e-mail query to the firm on the disinvestment issue remained unanswered.

The company’s keenness to buy Air India was shared with the Ministry of Civil Aviation months before the Centre formally invited bidders to participate in the disinvestment process. Though a foreign private player was said to have been interested at the time, Ministry officials had remained tight-lipped about its identity.

The official, however, did not mention whether the Swiss firm had formally written to the ministry about its desire to pick up stake in the national carrier. Last month, the Ministry of Civil Aviation invited expression of interest in Air India’s disinvestment process and shared the broad contours of the stake sale. The government has offered management control and 76% share in Air India along with its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express and 50% per cent stake in AISATS, a ground-handling joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services.
09/04/18 Jagriti Chandra/The Hindu

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While India is buying planes by hundreds, China is creating an industry

India's civil aviation market is looking at gargantuan growth in the next few years, but the country's record in building planes has been tardy.

Unlike China, which already has an airliner almost ready to compete with the world's top aircraft makers such as Airbus and Boeing, India imports most of its civil aircraft requirements.

"India and China both have very large civil aviation markets, however, China is still building its own platform but in India we are not seeing that happening on a big scale. So India continues to remain a buyer market when it comes to civil aerospace," said Rahul Gangal, Partner (Aerospace and Defence) at Roland Berger.

India's aviation market is expected to surpass that of China's by crossing a billion passenger trips per year in the next 10 to 15 years, a top government official said last year but there's little done in terms of setting up indigenous manufacturing units to meet the burgeoning demand.

On the other hand, China's investment in civilian and defence aircraft manufacturing is enormous.

China has built its capabilities through creation of a state-controlled entity - Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). COMAC also partnered with various aerospace majors like GE, Safran, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, United Aircraft Corp that help build aircraft in the shortest possible time.

COMAC says it already has 570 orders from 23 buyers.

"When it comes to military, China has developed its own platforms and has productionized those platforms. India is now starting to think about developing indigenous platforms in the military space," added Gangal.

According to Gangal, China's domestic manufacturing base is slightly more advanced because they are also looking at meeting domestic civil aviation demand through these platforms.

As far as Indian capabilities are concerned, the country has been placing bulk orders to get discounted rates from global aircraft manufacturers.

India is poised to become the third-largest buyer of commercial passenger planes in the world, with only the U.S. and China ahead of it.

The order book of Indian carriers currently stands at over 1,000 aircraft and is set to get bigger with Jet Airways ordering 75 more Boeing planes.

"So we are sourcing all your airplanes from Boeing or Airbus. We have a 'Make in India' campaign but there seems to be no synergy between our infrastructure development and imports," Jabin T Jacob, a senior researcher at the Institute of Chinese Studies said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is well aware that timely execution of the modernization plan hinges on creating a large base of domestic manufacturing and is pushing to revitalize the aviation industry through its "Make in India" program.

But India often prioritizes price, awarding contracts to state-owned defense firms that invest little in research and development, over-promise to score contracts and abandon many projects halfway, according to a report from New Delhi's Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

"We are constantly looking at our finances while China is constantly looking at creating a new economy. So they are willing to invest in infrastructure now because they expect it to pay back in 10-15 years," said Jacob.

However, with its leapfrog (technology absorption) capabilities, it is estimated that India can also build significant capabilities in parts or complete in the next 10-15 years.

The National Civil Aviation Policy released in June 2016 lays special emphasis on promoting civil aerospace manufacturing in the country.
09/04/18 Aastha Agnihotri/IBTimes

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Israel explores direct air connectivity with Goa

Tel Aviv: Buoyed by the recent direct flight service launched by Air India from New Delhi to Tel Aviv, a top Israeli official said that the country targets a growth of over 65 per cent in Indian tourist arrivals.

The Israeli tourism ministry is working on air connectivity from Indian cities like Cochin and Goa in tourist season.

Air India launched direct flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv on March 22, reducing the travel time substantially after Saudi Arabia for the first time allowed a commercial flight to use its airspace to reach Israel.

As many as 60,000 Indian tourists visited Israel in 2017, up from 45,000 in 2016 and 39,000 in 2015, showing a steady increase in the total number of Indian tourists’ arrival, said Hassan Madah, director of Israel ministry of tourism in India.

“We have seen the growth year by year. When a new aircraft comes to a country, there is an increase in the capacity (to carry people at better convenience) and we are targeting almost a lakh in 2018,” he told PTI recently.

The tourists’ arrival would definitely be over 80,000, he said.

“We hope that more airlines would come so the  capacity will be bigger. There is scope for more airlines because one from Delhi, three times a week, is not enough,” Madah said.

Air India operates a 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on New Delhi-Tel Aviv route three days a week.

The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost two hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israel’s national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai.

El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, do not allow airlines to use their airspace for flight services to Israel.

Madah said that the Israeli tourism ministry is working on connectivity from other Indian cities like Cochin and Goa in tourist season later this year.

Stressing that Israel’s picturesque offerings have a huge potential to attract film shooting, Madah said his ministry is also planning to promote Israel as a destination for making films.

“Over three million people visited Israel last year. Now the tourism in Israel is booming and we are having tourists from many countries not only from India. We have a record number of tourists’ arrival from China, the Philippines and other places,” the Israeli tourism ministry official said.
09/04/18 Navhind Times

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Iranian couple held with fake passport at Kempegowda International Airport

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crime frgn
Bengaluru: :Alert immigration officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Sunday caught an Iranian couple possessing fake Spanish passports just before they were about to board a British Airways flight to London.

The duo was desperate to reach Spain for medical treatment and took the help of someone in Bangkok to ready fake passports and other documents establishing them as Spanish citizens before reaching Bengaluru airport to head to Spain via London.

According to airport police, immigration officials suspected the behaviour of  38-year-old Golboustami Waheed and his wife Organelles Saddighpour Ammadiyeh and took them for questioning when they were completing the formalities to board the British Airways flight (BA 118) to London, which departs at 7 am. 
“The passports were found to be fake by immigration authorities. On sustained interrogation the couple spilled the beans,” another cop said.“The couple suffered from weakness of nerves and it affected their daily functioning enormously. They were desperate to regain strength in their nerves and someone in Iran had told them that free treatment for this health ailment was offered in Spain. So, to reach Spain somehow, they gave money to unscrupulous elements who created Spanish passports for them,” the cop added.

After receiving the fake Spanish passports at Bangkok, they flew to India and spent a few days in Gaya and Mumbai before reaching Bengaluru to board the London flight.After confirming their documents were fake, the couple was handed over by immigration officials to the airport police at 10.15 am on Sunday.
09/04/18 S. Lalitha/New Indian Express

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United Kingdom national enters IGI airport on fake ticket, held

New Delhi: A British national has been apprehended at the Delhi airport here for allegedly using a fake ticket to enter the terminal area, official sources said today. B S Birdi was apprehended yesterday when CISF personnel intercepted him while he was leaving the Terminal-3 (T3) building of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, they said.

He was stopped and questioned as exiting the terminal area is not normally permitted, the sources said. Birdi told the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel that he used a “cancelled” ticket to enter the terminal area to see off his wife, who was travelling to Birmingham, they said.
He was subsequently handed over to the police, they said. Entering an airport terminal without a valid ticket is illegal under the aviation rules.
08/04/18 PTI/Financial Express

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AAI receives interest from foreign players for remote ATC towers

New Delhi: State-owned AAI has received expression of interest from a few foreign companies for setting up remote air traffic control towers amid efforts to connect more number of unserved airports, according to a senior official.

Airports Authority of India (AAI), which manages more than 120 aerodromes, also provides Air Traffic Management Services (ATMS) over the entire Indian air space and adjoining oceanic areas.

"Remote (ATC) tower is being experimented in some North European countries. We also got interested because we have so many small airports coming into the RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme) network," AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra told PTI recently.

Having such towers would be cheaper since there would not be much construction involved.

"We are also introducing futuristic telecommunication network which will be ensuring very reliable data transfer on a robust, standalone platform. It means that by having state of the art cameras at airports, you can simply monitor the movements of that airport through another ATC tower somewhere else," he noted.

According to him, Expression of Interest (EoI) for the project has been floated and about "three to four" foreign companies have expressed interest. Discussions are going on, he added.
"We will essentially do it in one big ATC tower to cover two to three small airports from there. It could be in Gujarat or some other state but it has to be in a state where there are numerous airports. This is a futuristic area," he said.
08/04/18 PTI/Economic Times

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Israel targets over 65 per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals

Tel Aviv: Buoyed by the recent direct flight service launched by Air India from New Delhi to Tel Aviv, a top Israeli official said that the country targets a growth of over 65 per cent in Indian tourist arrivals.
Air India launched direct flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv on March 22, reducing the travel time substantially after Saudi Arabia for the first time allowed a commercial flight to use its airspace to reach Israel.
As many as 60,000 Indian tourists visited Israel in 2017, up from 45,000 in 2016 and 39,000 in 2015, showing a steady increase in the total number of Indian tourists' arrival, said Hassan Madah, director of Israel ministry of tourism in India.
"We have seen the growth year by year. When a new aircraft comes to a country, there is an increase in the capacity (to carry people at better convenience) and we are targeting almost a lakh in 2018," he told PTI recently.
The tourists' arrival would definitely be over 80,000, he said.
"We hope that more airlines would come so the capacity will be bigger. There is scope for more airlines because one from Delhi, three times a week, is not enough," Madah said.
Air India operates a 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on New Delhi-Tel Aviv route three days a week.
The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost two hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israel's national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai.
El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, do not allow airlines to use their airspace for flight services to Israel.
Madah said Israeli tourism ministry is working on connectivity from other Indian cities like Cochin and Goa in tourist season later this year.
08/04/18 PTI/Times of India

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Russia bound plane with 345 onboard makes emergency landing at Delhi’s IGI airport, here’s why

New Delhi: On Saturday evening, a non-scheduled aircraft made an emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The flight was carrying as many as 345 passengers onboard. The aircraft was bound to Russia’s Yekaterinburg and it took off from Phu-Quoe in Vietnam. The reason why the aircraft made an emergency landing at Delhi’s IGI airport was due to an engine failure.

The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) spokesperson said that the passengers who were on board the Russia bound flight are safe and all standard operating procedures were put into action during the emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. He further added that that flight made the landing in Delhi 6:10 pm, he said.

Police Station at IGI Airport received information from CISF control room that an emergency landing of flight no. ABG 8772 is expected to happen at the Delhi’s international airport. The police were informed about the same at 05:22 PM.

The flight made landing on the Runway No. 1129 at 6.05 pm. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) spokesperson said the non-scheduled flight, numbered RL-772 and was travelling from Vietnam to Russia.
07/04/18 Financial Express

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'Bomb to Brisbane': How Indian Granny's Luggage Shut Down Australian Airport

Brisbane: A portion of the Brisbane Airport was cordoned off on Wednesday after a package with the words 'Bomb to Brisbane' made its way along a baggage carousel.
Passengers at the Airport were removed from the area and a traveller who noticed the bag said she thought it was a joke, reported Yahoo7 News.
The Australian Federal Police, though, did not take the initial alarm raised lightly. "The Australian Federal Police responded to reports of a suspicious item of baggage at Brisbane International Airport this morning. An area near a baggage carousel was cordoned off and the item was examined in accordance with routine protocols and was not deemed to be suspicious," a spokesperson of the Police force said.
It later turned out that the suspicious piece of luggage belonged to an elderly lady who was travelling from Mumbai to Brisbane. In order to identify her bag, the lady had meant to write 'Bombay', not bomb.
Venkata Lakshmi (65) arrived in Brisbane from Mumbai on Wednesday only to be interrogated by the Federal Police.
Talking to Yahoo7 News, Lakshmi's daughter Devi Jothiraj said that her mother was mortified about the "mix-up".
"She was pulled into a room and interviewed. My mother told me they thought something was in there and people were panicking. They asked her to open the bag and asked her why it says bomb and she said — It's for Bombay!" said Jothiraj.
06/04/18 News18.com

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