At Dabolim, six hours of preps for each rescue flight

Panaji: Goa International Airport is used to handling chartered flights filled with tourists coming to enjoy the sunny shores of Goa. But ever since the novel coronavirus pandemic gripped the world, Goa’s lone airport at Dabolim has become accustomed to handling a different kind of chartered flights.
The naval-controlled airport has become the focal point for foreigners to be rescued by their respective nations.
Hours and often days before a flight can land at Goa International Airport, private agencies and government departments have to coordinate to ensure all systems run smoothly and to minimise the risk of infection.

“At a time when the airport is not fully operational, each repatriation flight takes five to six hours of preparation,” said Goa Airport director Gagan Malik. He adds that the airport is functioning at just 30% strength.

Till date, 33 rescue flights have been chartered by 12 different nations, with some more flights planned over the next few days. According to the nodal officer for repatriation of foreigners, of the approximately 58,000 foreigners who have left the country, 6,447 foreigners flew out from Goa. Of these, British tourists formed a major chunk at 42%, while three other countries namely Russia, Germany and Finland accounted for 80% of those who were repatriated.

Given that some airlines do not have a credit facility with the Airports Authority of India, AAI has allowed some countries to operate rescue flights on a cash-and-carry basis. This, explained Malik, means that the Captain of the flight has to pay all the charges with a credit card before being allowed to take-off.
01/04/20 Times of India

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32,000 Indians in the UAE register to fly home

Dubai: More than 32,000 Indians in the UAE wishing to fly home during the COVID-19 pandemic registered their details on day one after the launch of the e-registration by the Indian missions here.
“As of 5pm on Thursday, we received more than 32,000 registrations,” Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told Gulf News.

Meanwhile, the government of Kerala on Thursday said the total number of registrations it received from Malayalis living in 201 countries has reached 3,53,468.

“The highest among them, 1,53660 registrations, were from the UAE,” the Norka department said in a statement.

The Consul General urged Keralites in the UAE, who have already registered with Norka, to also register with the missions since it would help the central government to make arrangements for flight operations.
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai on Wednesday night announced they were accepting the registration through the link https://cgidubai.gov.in/covid_register/

Within minutes of announcing the launch of the registration process, the site faced technical issues prompting the missions to delete the tweet about it and repost it hours later.

In a tweet posted in the wee hours of Thursday, the Indian Consulate asked applicants “to bear with it if it takes time for the page to load due to high traffic.”

When contacted later, the Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told Gulf News that the technical issues took place because of the huge rush of people trying to access the webpage on the consulate’s site for registration.
30/04/20 Sajila Saseendran/Gulf News

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Air India flight with 101 US nationals leaves Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Continuing the repatriation of citizens of the United States from here, 101 US nationals were sent home from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here on Thursday.

The US nationals were repatriated in a special passenger relief flight of national carrier Air India. A domestic flight of Air India arrived from Mumbai at 2.46 pm and departed with the US nationals to Mumbai at 3.52 pm. They will be further airlifted by the Delta Airlines from Mumbai to the US.
All these passengers were serviced through the fully-sanitized main terminal building of the domestic departures of the airport, which was kept ready for evacuation operations. With the support and collaboration of the US Consulate, Hyderabad and the State government, the US citizens started arriving at the airport from 12 noon to 2 pm in buses from various parts of the city.

Special screening and safety measures were in place during the flight’s handling as part of Covid 19 precautionary steps that included thermal screening, mandatory social distancing enforced through special queuing arrangements at all passenger processing points.
30/04/20 Telangana Today

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SpiceJet flight brings 14 tonnes of medical supplies from China

New Delhi: SpiceJet said on Thursday that it has brought 14 tonnes of medical supplies here from China.

The airline said it operated its maiden freighter flight carrying medical supplies from Guangzhou in China to Delhi on Wednesday.

The cargo plane had left Kolkata at 10:30 am on Wednesday for Guangzhou. After loading all the items, the plane came back to Kolkata at 8:20 pm, the airline said in a release.

The B737 plane then left Kolkata at 9 pm and came to Delhi at 11:15 pm on Wednesday, it said.

The airline said the plane brought 14 tonnes of medical supplies including medicines and protective gear.

India has been under lockdown since March 24 midnight to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has infected more than 33,000 people and killed around 1,070 people in the country till now.
30/04/20 PTI/Economic Times

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263 stranded people leave for Heathrow from Amritsar

Chandigarh: A total of 263 stranded people, mainly Britons, on Friday left for their destinations in a special flight from the international airport in Amritsar in Punjab, officials said.

Qatar Airways flight with 221 Britons and 42 Indians departed from Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport to Heathrow via Doha, Special Chief Secretary K.B.S. Sidhu, who is in-charge to monitor statewide coronavirus cases, informed in a tweet.

The British government on Thursday announced seven further charter flights to bring over 2,000 stranded British travellers home from India.

Once these flights are completed, over 15,000 British travellers will have been brought back from India on 59 flights chartered by the government, it said in a statement.

It said the Amritsar to Heathrow flights will ply on seven days consecutively from May 5.
Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, said: "Our charter programme has already helped more than 10,000 British travellers return home from India by ensuring flights to the UK have run every day since 8 April, with thousands more due to depart in the coming days."
30/04/20 daijiworld

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Special air ambulance to fly Joy Arakkal's remains to India

Dubai: The Consul-General of India to Dubai, Vipul, on Wednesday confirmed reports that a special permission to fly Indian businessman Joy Arakkal's remains to India in a chartered air ambulance was provided by the Home Ministry, Government of India.

Four family members, including Arakkal's wife Celine and children, Arun and Ashley, will accompany his mortal remains to Kozhikode, Kerala. Arakkal, the owner and founder Dubai-based Innova Refining and Trading FZE, passed away on Thursday, April 23 by suicide, according to Brigadier Abdullah Khadim Bin Sorour, director of Bur Dubai police station.

"They are hoping to travel soon as the embalming process was completed yesterday. They have a necessary no-objection certificate from India. We are waiting for a clearance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MOFAIC), which is expected to come through soon," said Vipul.

A small group of family members and social workers and prominent community members including Advocate Hashik, Ashraf Thamarasherry and Anwar Naha were present at an embalming service which took place at the Embalming Centre in Muhaisana on Tuesday.

Indian businessman and former president of Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), Anwar Naha, said, "It was a very quiet service with participation from few family members. The body will be flown to Kozhikode International Airport in Kerala as it is closest to his native-home in Mananthavady, Wayanad." Member of Indian Parliament MK Raghavan and R Harikumar of Elite Group in the UAE have offered great support for securing approvals from the Indian authorities, said Naha.
29/04/20 Dhanusha Gokulan/Khaleej Times

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39 stranded Australians take long flight back home

Kolkata: For the 139 Australians, who took off in an aircraft from Kolkata airport at 3.05pm on Tuesday, the journey home was insanely circuitous and excruciatingly long. But no one was complaining. After being stranded in Kolkata and other towns and cities in eastern India for over a month, they were glad to get on any plane that took them home.
The route though was crazy. Instead of flying 9,133km to the east, the plane first flew 3,742km to the west to reach Doha. On Wednesday, the flyers will board a flght that will fly east-ward and retrace 3,742km, fly over Kolkata, continue to fly another 9,133 km, and finally reach Sydney.
“Had the passengers flown directly from Kolkata to Sydney or Melbourne, they would have reached in 10 hours and 45 minutes. But now, after 9 hours of flight time, they will be over Kolkata again with nearly 11 hours of flight time still left,” said an aviation industry official. The passengers will land in Melbourne and Sydney around 9pm local time on Wednesday.
Even thereafter, they will not be able to return to their homes. The flyers will have to enter a mandatory 14-day isolation in a hotel, supervised by the police and Australian Defence Force.
29/04/20 Times of India

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AirAsia Philippines tries PPE suits for cabin crew, no decision on group-wide usage yet

AirAsia Philippines has launched a customised personal protective equipment as a uniform for its cabin crew as part of a trial run and is assessing whether a group-wide usage of PPEs for cabin crew will be possible for the airline.

"AirAsia Philippines initiated a trial run of a customized PPE design. It was first used in a recent recovery flight and a further assessment of the design is underway," an AirAsia India spokesperson said.

AirAsia India is a joint venture between Tata sons and AirAsia Berhad. The budget carrier controls about 7% marker share in the domestic aviation market.

The customised PPE wear for the cabin crew has been designed by Filipino fashion designer Puey Quiñones. Calling the PPE wear the "new normal", Puey Quiñones said on his social media platform of Instagram that the airline has launched PPEs to protect its cabin crew.

It is not clear if the airline will finalise the PPE as a uniform for its cabin crew. However, gloves and masks will be worn by the cabin crew.

"All cabin crew will be in protective equipment including masks and gloves. Cabin crew handling menu items will wear disposable gloves. Cabin crew are well trained to assist with any medical situation in-flight including identification and isolation of anyone onboard who may feel unwell," Malaysia-based AirAsia said in a statement separately on April 28.
Airlines across the world are taking steps to ensure the safety of their crew members and passengers. Since an aircraft has a limited space for social distancing, airlines are opting for more disciplined usage of safety equipment such as gloves, masks to ensure hygiene.

US-based airline JetBlue has made it compulsory for its passengers to wear face masks during the entire travel journey, Indian airlines are also in the process of finalising a standard operating procedure in consultation with the government regarding flying rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Separately, Malaysia-based AirAsia Berhad, the parent organisation of AirAsia Philippines, has also decided to make masks compulsory for passengers and has said that it will deny boarding to passengers if they travel without a mask.
29/04/20 Anu Sharma/CNBC TV18

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22 flights, 17 destinations: Bengaluru facilitates transit for 3,000 foreigners

Bengaluru: As thousands of international passengers remain stranded across the world due to the lockdown, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport claims to have facilitated the transit of nearly 3,000 foreign nationals to 17 destinations across the globe.

According to Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) officials, as many as 22 flights carrying foreign nationals took off from the airport in the last month.
While the first evacuation from Bengaluru airport was to Frankfurt with Air India operating a flight on March 31, Tokyo emerged as the destination with the largest number of passengers, with JAL operating three flights over three consecutive days.

The other destinations to which passengers flew from Bengaluru include Incheon (South Korea), Azerbaijan, Baghdad, Cairo, Colombo, Doha, Frankfurt, London, Male, Muscat, Paris, Paro (Bhutan), Riyadh, Rome, Stockholm and Tbilisi (Georgia).

According to BIAL officials, this was the first time Bengaluru airport facilitated flights to eight new cities – Baku (Azerbaijan), Baghdad, Cairo, Incheon, Paro (Bhutan), Rome and Stockholm and Tbilisi (Georgia).
“These flights were coordinated between governments to help foreign nationals, stranded in Bengaluru and across south India due to the nation-wide lockdown, return home,” a BIAL spokesperson told Indianexpress.com.

Officials further added that the BIAL staff and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at the airport worked with Immigration and Airline staff to ensure passengers maintained social distance and had access to hand sanitisers and masks.
29/04/20  Ralph Alex Arakal/Indian Express

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Flight bringing Sri Lankan students stranded in India lands at Katunayake Airport

A special flight carrying 164 Sri Lankan students stranded in India due to Covid Nineteen (New Coronavirus) arrived at the Katunayake airport this afternoon.
The Hiru correspondent at the airport stated that SriLankan Airlines flight UL 1172 operated from Bangalore, India arrived at the airport around 12.40 pm with students.
Previously, Sri Lankan students who were staying in India, as well as those who were stranded in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal were also evacuated by special flights.
28/04/20 Hiru News

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UAE Indian missions to compile data of expats wishing to fly home

Abu Dhabi: Indian missions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will soon start compiling the data of expats wishing to fly home amid the coronavirus pandemic, a news report said.

The missions are currently awaiting more clarifications from New Delhi regarding the details that need to be collected and "some more issues" that need to be clarified, Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor told Gulf News on Monday.

He did not elaborate on the clarifications sought or the expected date of beginning the registration.

"We hope to start soon," the Ambassador added.

As reported by Gulf News, the missions on April 15 had denied seeking data of stranded Indians for repatriation citing no instruction from the Indian government in that direction.
28/04/20 daijiworld

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Oman Air operates flights to India for supplies

Muscat: Oman Air continues to operate flights to bring necessary food and medical supplies.
An official from Oman Air said: "Pictures of Kochi Airport in India, in light of these unprecedented conditions, Oman Air continues to operate flights to many destinations, forming an air bridge to bring important products such as food, medicine, equipment and medical devices, in addition to many components for different vital sectors in the country. "
29/04/20 Times of Oman

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Air India, Navy on standby to evacuate Indians from Gulf

New Delhi: In a major move, the centre asked Air India and Indian Navy to be on standby with their aircraft and warships for mass evacuation of Indians from Gulf countries as coronavirus continues to spread rapidly.
Scores of Indians are stuck in the Gulf due to the suspension of air operations and other modes of travel at present. India has announced a lockdown and suspended all kinds of travel till May 3 due to coronavirus.

ANI quoted a top government official saying, “We are assessing the scenario and finding the plan to evacuate Indians from the Gulf countries. We have asked Air India and the Indian Navy for the detailed evacuation plan.”

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Consul General of India to Dubai Vipul, said that they are still waiting for official confirmation from Delhi on the issue. He further said that the authorities in the Gulf are yet to decide on the matter of collecting registrations from Indians who are interested in returning home.

It is gathered that many Indians have contacted the embassies through social media and emails, showing a willingness to return to their homes. “The government is doing all possible planning and making arrangements to evacuate them from their destinations,” said a source from the government to ANI.

Sources also said that the Indian Navy was involved in the plan of action since around 10 million Indians live in the Gulf and many of them live in port cities. The Indian Navy, taking the responsibility has submitted a detailed evacuation plan where they mentioned that it can evacuate 1,500 Indians from the Gulf countries in three warships.

Sources from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told ANI that it has already started consulting with the states and union territories for the necessary arrangements to start the process of evacuation.
28/04/20 daijiworld

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Mortal remains of seven from the Gulf reach Kerala

Kozhikode: The remains of seven people who died in the Gulf countries were airlifted from Dubai by a cargo flight which arrived here Tuesday, ending the uncertainty over bringing back the bodies of those who died following non-Covid-19 reasons. Airport sources said the flight reached the airport by around noon.
The bodies include natives of Kerala, one each of people from Goa and Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. "Karipur in among the few airports where cargo flights are operating in South India.

This is the reason why the bodies of those belonging to Goa and Sivaganga and other parts of Kerala have all been brought here for onward transport to respective destinations by road," an airport official said.

"As per information received from the airport, the bodies are of John Johannan of Kollam, David Shamy of Punnakkal, Kannur, Sathyan of Cheranelloor, Thrissur, O C Mathai and Sijo Joy, both of Pathanamthitta, Sreenivasan of Sivaganga and Henrick D Soza of South Goa," said Thomas, Assistant Sub Inspector, Special Branch CID, Malappuram.

Special passes have been issued to ambulances to transport the bodies to their destinations after the formalities at the airport are over, a senior police officer said.

There had been some confusion on bringing back the bodies from the Gulf region for about a week for want of clearance from the embassy authorities.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week seeking his intervention in ensuring that bodies of Keralites, who die in Gulf countries due to no non COVID-19 reasons, should be broughtto the state without any delay forenabling family members to perform their last rites.
28/04/20 PTI/Outlook

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Swiss Airline Operates Repatriation Flight From Kochi to Zurich With 213 Passengers

  More than 200 Europeans mostly Swiss nationals stranded in India, following the nationwide lockdown were evacuated by a special plane of Swiss International Airlines, Kerala Tourism department said here on Sunday.

The plane took off from Kochi late Saturday night and landed at the Zurich airport on Sunday morning (10 am IST), it said in a release here.

Besides the 164 passengers who had boarded from Kochi, the flight carried 49 others from Kolkata from where it had a stopover in the Kerala city.

Earlier, a Cochin International Airport spokesman said the aircraft had arrived here after picking up 62 Swiss nationals stranded in Kolkata.

This is the fourth flight that repatriated tourists from the state to Europe since the international airports were closed on March 23 to contain spread of Covid-19 disease.

At the airport here, Swiss Consul-General to India (Bangalore) Sebastien Hug oversaw the repatriation mission along with Syed Ibrahim, Honorary Consul of the German Honorary Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.

Besides 115 Swiss citizens, the flight carried tourists from Germany, Austria, Norway, Denmark and France. Most of the passengers from Kochi were tourists in Kerala, while the others were brought in from neighbouring states, the release said.

Kerala had earlier facilitated the return of 268 tourists to the UK when a London-bound British Airways departed from Kochi on April 15. Prior to it, an Air India aircraft with 232 passengers had left for Germany on March 31, and, four days later, a flight to France (112 people).

Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said most of the foreign tourists stuck in the state have been repatriated. There were messages from the returned guests appreciating the excellent arrangements that the government had made for their care and health during their stay after the lockdown.

Secretary of Kerala Tourism, Rani George said most of the guests who returned had used the registration portal of the Swiss consulate, while others sought the help of the Kerala Tourism's help desks.
All the returnees were transported to the airport from different places by the tourism department. "Providing them care is always our top priority," she said.
28/04/20 PTI/News18

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Biman, US-Bangla to bring back 1,000 Bangladeshis from India

National airliner Biman Bangladesh Airlines and private air operator US-Bangla Airlines will operate six special flights from India to bring back around 1,000 stranded Bangladeshis from the neighbouring country.

The national flag carrier will operate flights from Kolkata on May 1, New Delhi on May 2 and Mumbai on May 3, while US-Bangla Airlines will operate all three flights from Chennai on April 30, May 1 and 2, according to Biman MD and CEO Mokabbir Hossain and the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.

Each of the three chartered flights of Biman will take off at 2:30pm (Bangladesh local time), sources at Biman said.

Any Bangladeshi citizen will be able to buy air tickets by depositing fare to particular Biman bank account as per the information given at the website of the national airliner.

The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi advised the stranded Bangladeshis in Chennai and its neighbouring cities to contact the US-Bangla Airlines local office for purchasing air tickets of the private airlines.

The High Commission also said all passenger must show Covid-19 free medical certificates before boarding the flights from India.

At least 2,500 Bangladeshis including students, tourists and medical treatment seekers remained stranded in different cities of India, especially in Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad due to Covid-19 outbreak, the foreign ministry said in a statement on April 3.
27/04/20 Daily Star

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More than 45,000 Keralites in UAE register to return

Registrations have opened for expatriates from Kerala wanting to be repatriated, and already more than 45,000 have signed up from the UAE. And that’s just within the first few hours.
Repatriation requests via a dedicated online portal (www.registernorkaroots.org) opened at 12am midnight, and as of now, the highest number have been from the UAE.

The numbers have swelled as job losses mount, forcing many families - and individuals - to decide that heading back to India is the most viable option financially.

But are India’s airlines up to the task of picking up all those wishing to fly back? And doing so smoothly enough?
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MGH Group backs SpiceJet in maintaining India’s supply chain amid coronavirus pandemic

The MGH Group has been actively involved in supporting SpiceJet freighter flights carrying crucial medical supplies from various countries to India, while extending full support to the airline’s regular cargo operations to Hanoi and Bangkok.

MGH Group is the Global Cargo General Sales Agent (GSA) of SpiceJet.

Anis Ahmed, founder & CEO of MGH Group said: “Ajay Singh’s [Co-founder and Chairman of SpiceJet] bold and farsighted move to set-up an independent cargo arm for SpiceJet has paid rich dividends by not only ensuring the key supply chain remains intact, but also providing healthy cash flows for the company when air passenger operations have been completely grounded."

“He’s a true visionary. No other Indian carrier runs a dedicated freighter fleet and it was indeed a bold bet to make in 2018,” he added.

SpiceJet’s fleet of five dedicated freighters are crisscrossing the global skies carrying vital supplies including medicines, medical devices, cold chain medical supplies and farm produce for various governments, medical and pharma companies, international retailers and farmer bodies in this global war against theCovid-19 pandemic.

The airline has transported close to 4000 tons of cargo on more than 430 flights since the nation-wide lockdown began in India three weeks back, which is more than 70% of all air cargo carried by Indian airlines.

SpiceJet, India’s second largest airline, has been ferrying crucial medical supplies to and from Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Ho Chi Minh City, Colombo, Kabul, Dubai and a host of other places.

SpiceJet’s cargo operations have been significantly boosted by the airline’s passenger aircraft fleet where both its B737 and Q400 aircraft have been deployed to operate cargo-on-seat flights.

The airline has even operated special flights to carry quarantined passengers to government facilities providing its planes, crew and staff for national duty.

SpiceJet, along with the MGH Group, has been planning to further expand its freighter operations and add multiple global routes to its fast expanding network, considering the surge in demand for essentials and medical supplies globally.
27/04/20 Dhaka Tribune

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Spicejet ferries medical equipment from Shanghai

A cargo flight of Spicejet has laned in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Dumdum yesterday late evening carrying about 100 tonnes of emergency medical equipment from China. Spicejet sources said that primarily mask making equipment have been ferried from Shanghai in China.

A couple of days ago, minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri has announced that it is planned that Air India, Spicejet and Bluedart will airlift another 220 tonnes of critical medical cargo in the next three days.

The medical cargo, both heavy weight and light weight, related toCovid-19 fight includes reagents, enzymes, and other medical equipment.
27/04/20 Statesman

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Airlines Will Resume Israel Flights From May

Foreign airlines have been announcing the resumption of flights to Israel starting in May. So far, Low-cost Hungarian carrier Wizz Air, British Airways, and Air Canada flights are available for online booking, but there is still some doubt that the flights will actually happen.
Other airlines, too, are planning to resume their flights to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), but not until June. These include Air India flights from New Delhi, Alitalia flights from Rome, and airBaltic flights from Riga.
Of the airlines ready to return to Israel in May, British Airways has already started to second guess the idea after moving the original start date back two weeks, from May 2 to May 16.
What seems to be giving airlines like British Airways cold feet is not knowing if the demand will be there when flights resume. Airline passengers are very wary of booking flights, fearing that if at the last minute they get canceled, it will be tough to get the money back. This has been seen with many airlines during the COVID-19 crisis.
27/04/20 Mark Finlay/Simple Flying

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Over 140 Saudi nationals set to fly out from Kozhikode

A special aircraft of Saudia Airline will on Monday afternoon fly out Saudi nationals, who have been stuck in Kerala and have been unable to return due to COVID-19 lockdown. About 90 of them are staying put at a premier hotel here, while the rest of them are convalescing after an ayurveda treatment at a hospital in Malappuram district.

"The flight is scheduled to leave Kozhikode airport around 3 p.m. and these people will arrive at the airport by noon. All the protocols for boarding the aircraft will be carried out and they have with them all the necessary papers," said an official who is involved with the operations.

This is the fifth international flight that will repatriate tourists from the state since the international airports were closed on March 23 to contain the spread of Covid-19 disease.
27/04/20 IANS/IndiaTV

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Back, finally: Bodies of Indians return from UAE days after being sent back from Delhi airport

Three days after India Today reported on how the Bureau of Immigration refused to off-load mortal remains of three Indian nationals who died of reasons other than Covid-19, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued fresh guidelines for importation of human remains related with coronavirus.

Following these fresh orders specific to coronavirus, it was clear that non-Covid deaths of Indian nationals on foreign soil would be treated as was done in the past, while strict regulations and procedures have to be followed for Covid-19 deaths.

After new guidelines were issued, the mortal remains of the three returned to India and were handed over to the respective families on Monday.

“It was only last evening [Sunday] after fresh orders from the MHA that procedures were carried out for the bodies to be sent back last night and handed over this morning to the relatives,” said a source.

Speaking to India Today from Abu Dhabi, Indian ambassador to UAE Pavan Kapoor said, “I am just very relieved that the mortal remains have finally been handed over to the grieving families.”

The mortal remains of Kamlesh Bhatt (25) and two others were sent back from the Delhi airport on Friday following some confusion, sources had said. The bodies were flown back to UAE without any intimation to the Indian mission or the authorities.
27/04/20 Geeta Mohan/India Today

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Singapore to send 78 tonnes of relief materials to India

Indian High Commission on Sunday said two Air India and one Blue Dart flights will send about 78 tonnes of cargo to India as part of the 1 million PPE kits being sourced from Singapore-based company.
Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep S Puri had said on April 15 that domestic cargo operators, including SpiceJet, Blue Dart and Indigo are operating cargo flights on "a commercial basis while they also carry Lifeline Udan cargo". "Spice Jet: 230 flights, 2765 tons, Blue Dart: 108 flights, 1709 tons, and IndiGo: 25 flights, 21.77 tons," the minister added.
'Lifeline Udaan' is the central government's arrangement for operating medical cargo lifelines for the countries facing coronavirus crisis.
"The total cargo transported by these flights is around 240 tons during COVID-19 lockdown. 161 flights have been operated under Lifeline UDAN to date covering 1,41,080 Kms.

Out of these, 99 flights were operated by Air India and Alliance Air while 54 were operated by the Indian Air Force," the aviation ministry said.
With 1,990 more COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's count of coronavirus cases has reached 26,496, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.
26/04/20 ANI/Business Standard

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Government Planning To Fly Back Indians From Abroad After Lockdown

New Delhi: The Foreign Ministry, in coordination with the Civil Aviation Ministry, Air India, state governments and Indian missions abroad, has started planning for the evacuation of Indian nationals abroad who are looking to return home. While the consultations are on, the Indians will be flown back only after the nationwide lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus is lifted, government sources said.
The evacuations will be made through special flights or regular flights once they resume and will vary from state to state, depending on the lockdown situation there, the sources added.

The evacuations will be done on payment bases, with citizens having to pay for the flight tickets.

There are thousands of Indians stranded abroad, especially in the Gulf, and there has been diplomatic pressure mounted on India by Gulf nations to take the Indian nationals back and "not exploit the hospitality being given to them" since March 24.

There have been political demands in India, especially from Kerala, for the return of those working in the region. The Foreign Ministry is closely working with state governments and Indian missions abroad to register with Indian citizens who want to return to India. The evacuation will take place from various countries but the citizens will have to pay for the flight tickets.
26/04/20 Nidhi Razdan/Sunil Prabhu/NDTV

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Sri Lanka brings home its 113 stranded nationals, mostly students, from India

Colombo: Sri Lanka on Sunday brought back its 113 nationals, mostly students, stranded in India due to the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

A special SriLankan Airlines flight carrying 113 Sri Lankans, including three infants, arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport Sunday afternoon from Coimbatore, the Colombo Gazzete reported.

The Sri Lankan nationals, many of them students, who were stuck in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala after the coronavirus lockdown was enforced, were identified and brought to Coimbatore.

Sri Lanka has identified nearly 1,000 students studying in various parts of India and will be evacuating them in phases, police in Coimbatore said.
26/04/20 PTI/New Indian Express

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Charter flight set to evacuate Taiwanese in India

A charter flight has been scheduled to evacuate approximately 200 Taiwanese citizens from India on May 4, as the South Asian nation announced an extension of its national lockdown due to the worsening pandemic.

After much negotiation, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has reached an agreement with the Indian government to send out a China Airlines aircraft to the Indian capital, New Delhi, and pick up Taiwanese stranded in the country. According to Taiwan's representative office in India, 295 Taiwanese have expressed a desire to board the charter plane, while 143 of them have already confirmed their status with MOFA.

The stranded Taiwanese are expected to meet at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 4 p.m. on May 4 before departing several hours later. The price of travel for each individual will be determined by the final number of passengers aboard the charter flight.

During the daily press conference Sunday afternoon, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Deputy Commander Chen Tsung-yen (???) said that the returning Taiwanese have been asked to report their health status and will undergo screening before being allowed to board the aircraft. He added that the evacuees will all be quarantined upon arrival in Taiwan.
26/04/20 Ching-Tse Cheng/Taiwan News

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3 bodies of UAE expats returned from Delhi airport

Abu Dhabi:The mortal remains of three Indians repatriated from Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening were returned from New Delhi early on Friday for lack of approvals. Separately, two bodies flown out early on Thursday from Dubai and held at Chennai airport were handed over to families on Friday.

Khaleej Times has learnt that by Thursday evening, immigration check posts across Indian airports were closed except for crew members of cargo and evacuation flights. The new order meant suspension of clearance for mortal remains.

On Thursday evening, bodies of Jagsir Singh, Sanjeev Kumar and Kamlesh Bhatt, who died of non-Covid reasons, were flown out from Abu Dhabi International Airport. But with a new order being implemented in India, the bodies were denied clearance and returned from Indira Gandhi International Airport. As per the new order, additional approvals are needed from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs for repatriation of bodies. Till Thursday, there were no restrictions and bodies of deceased indians were flown back from the UAE to India.
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi said officials are working closely with Indian authorities to sort out the issue.

"Two bodies were bound for Punjab and one for Uttarakhand. All three bodies were returned to Abu Dhabi. We are actively working with the Ministry of Home Affairs in India and other authorities. A new procedure is being worked out," an official from the embassy said.
Colleagues and friends of the deceased are hopeful that bodies will be flown back to families in India. "We had all necessary clearances. But New Delhi airport said additional approvals are needed. It's clear from the death certificate that cause of death was accident," said a colleague of Jagsir Singh. Other two expats reportedly died due to natural causes.
"For sake of humanity, bodies should not have been returned. If there is any documentation issue it could have been cleared but sending back is insulting," Harjinder Singh and Jaswant Singh of Abu Dhabi gurudwara said.
25/04/20 Ashwani Kumar/Khaleej Times

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Repatriation of bodies of expats hit

Kozhikode: The repatriation of bodies of Malayalee expats who died due to Covid 19 from the Gulf in cargo flights has been hit following new instructions issued by the Central government.
The instructions asking individual airlines to approach the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for special approval for immigration clearance of the bodies have resulted in the stalling of repatriation through cargo flights in recent days.
With passenger flights not operating in the wake of the pandemic, the bodies were being repatriated to the state in cargo flights bringing vegetables and other goods.

State government sources said that Indian embassies in Gulf countries were also asking for no-objection certificates from MHA for issuing clearance certificates for repatriation of bodies, which has caused hurdles in the repatriation process.

Expat social activist Ashraf Thamarassery based in UAE said there are 26 bodies of Indian expats that are to be repatriated from UAE alone, including two bodies of Malayalees- that of a Kayamkulam native and Kasaragod native- are stuck in Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports.

Kozhikode MP, M K Raghavan, has written to the Prime Minister saying two bodies that were brought to the Chennai International Airport in Qatar Airways cargo flight on Thursday were denied permission by the ministry at the last moment.

He said that individual airlines have now been instructed that because of closing of immigration check posts (ICPs) for all incoming traffic except crew members of cargo/ evacuation flights from March 23 onwards, the immigration clearance of dead bodies has also been suspended except those which are specifically approved by the MHA.
25/04/20 Times of India

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Ethiopian Airlines to operate B777-300 from Hyderabad starting April 26

Effective April 26, Ethiopian Airlines will be operating its B777-300 passenger freighter from Hyderabad, India. As of now, it will be a weekly flight and the frequency is expected to go up to two in the near future. Both cabin and belly will be used to carry the pharma shipments which accounts to a total of 70 tonnes.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Ethiopian Airlines has been flying cargo-only passenger aircraft and freighters around the world carrying essentials supplies. The first flight using a B777F took off on March 22 from Guangzhou, China to Addis Ababa carried 108 tonnes, which included 1.1 million testing kits, 6 million masks, face shields, and 60,000 protective suits.

Recently, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has selected Addis Ababa as a humanitarian shipment hub for Africa to distribute medical supplies with Ethiopian Cargo. The hub is part of a UN initiative move to scale up procurement and distribution of protective equipment and medical supplies for the Covid-19 response.

On the other hand, the Kenyan government has inked a deal with Ethiopian Airlines to operate passenger planes grounded due to the coronavirus for shipment of cargo between the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi to Europe and Asia. The deal allows Ethiopian Airlines to fly cargo using six of its passenger planes from Mombasa to Nairobi and Asia and Europe, posing a threat to the Kenya Airways (KQ) cargo business. Ethiopian Airlines is expected to ship fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers and meat which are currently scarce in Europe.
25/04/20 Shalini Nair/Logistics Update Africa

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Singapore Airlines extends cancellation of 96% of flights till June

Singapore: Singapore Airlines (SIA) said that it has extended its wide-ranging flight cancellations until the end of June, just four days after it announced a one-month extension amid the coronavirus pandemic, it was reported on Saturday.
This means that 96 per cent of its scheduled flights till June-end will be cancelled, amid travel restrictions worldwide and a drastic drop in demand for air travel, reports The Straits Times.

The first round of cuts were announced in late March. It was initially for scheduled flights till April end.
In a notice on its website on Friday, the flag carrier said it will continue to adjust its services in response to the ongoing pandemic.
25/04/20 IANS/India Tribune

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SriLankan Airlines flight leaves for Coimbatore to bring back 122 students stranded in India

Colombo: A SriLankan Airlines flight has left from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at Katunayake Sunday (26) to bring back 122 Sri Lankans who were stranded in India being unable to return to Sri Lanka sue to the outbreak of COVID-19.

SriLankan Airlines flight UL 1193 departed from the Katunayake airport at 9.05 am Sunday for Coimbatore International airport in Tamil Nadu, India. Only seven crew members including the pilots are onboard the plane.

The flight is scheduled to return with the passengers to Katunayake airport at 12.15 pm.
25/04/20 ColomboPage

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Indian cargo plane lands at Islamabad airport for fuel

An Indian cargo plane landed at Islamabad International Airport for fuel re-filling on Saturday, reported a local media outlet.

The Indian cargo aircraft DM 2112 took a flight from the Kolkata Airport and landed in Islamabad for 40 minutes. The plane took off for Georgia after the refuelling.
On April 4 also, Pakistan’s Air Traffic Controller (ATC) praised India flights for operating relief flights amid the coronavirus crisis. Air India was operating special flights from India to Frankfurt with relief materials and evacuated European and Canadian nationals, who were stranded in India amid the coronavirus crisis.

According to a report by Asian News International (ANI), one of the captains operating the special flights said: “It was a very proud moment for me as well as the entire Air India crew when we heard Pakistan ATC praising our special flight operations to Europe.”
25/04/20 Pakistan Today

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Ailing IT professional brought back from UK in chartered flight

Kozhikode: A Malayali IT professional, who is in critical health conditionm was brought here in a special chartered flight from the United Kingdom to undergo treatment for gastrointestinal cancer. Prasad Das, 35, a native of Thalasserry, is a software engineer with UST Global at Nottingham and he preferred further treatment in Kerala as Covid fear is looming large over hospitals in Britain.

He arrived at Karipur Airport at 9am on Friday and was brought to Aster Mims Hospital here in a special ambulance and was admitted. His initial Covid-19 screening test was conducted at the airport itself. Prasad was diagnosed with the disease a year ago in the same hospital, but continued treatment in the UK as he is working there. Bringing the IT professional here in a short span of time was possible with the timely intervention of the Centre and state governments and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
A WhatsApp group ‘Distress Management Collective’ led by Justice (Retd) Kurian Joseph and Alphons Kannanthanam, MP, had made Prasad’s return possible by putting pressure on both governments. According to Kannanthanam, the collective was approached by Tom Aditya, the Kerala-origin mayor of Bradley Stoke, on April 20 to bring Prasad back to India as the Nottingham University Medical Centre, where Prasad was undergoing treatment, had conveyed that nothing more could be done for him.
25/04/20 New Indian Express

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Afghan students airlifted from IGI

Greater Noida: As many as 41 Afghan students stranded in Greater Noida’s Sharda University were sent back to their country along with over a hundred others in a special flight of Ariana Afghan Airlines on Saturday. The move came after the Afghan government decided to airlift its citizens who were stranded in India amid the lockdown.
Ashok Daryani, the director of the international division of Sharda University told TOI that the ministry of external affairs told the university officials on Friday to facilitate the movement of students after the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan sent them a request for the same.
“The letter sent to us informed that at least 171 people of Afghan origin have been found stranded in Noida, Delhi and Punjab, and the Afghan government has arranged a relief aircraft to airlift them back to their country,” he said, adding that the flight took off around 5.30pm on Saturday.
The Varsity official said the students were accommodated in cars to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport.
25/04/20 Times of India

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Will enquire about mortal remains of Indian who died in UAE: Centre to HC

  New Delhi: The Central government on Saturday informed the Delhi High Court that it will enquire about the state and location of the mortal remains of an Indian national who recently died in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the corpse was returned to the Middle Eastern nation due to immigration issues.

"We will find out from the embassy concerned about the location and condition of the mortal remains of Kamlesh Bhatt, who died of heart attack in Abu Dhabi on April 17" the Centre told a single judge bench of the high court presided by Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva.

The submissions were made while the court was hearing a plea filed by deceased''''s brother Vimlesh Bhatt, resident of Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand seeking direction to repatriate the mortal remains of his brother, which were sent to India by Etihad airport services cargo on April 23, respectfully to Delhi from UAE.

He sought direction to the authorities to bring back the mortal remains of his 24-year-old brother who was working in Abu Dhabi and on April 17, his family in India received the information regarding his death due to sudden cardiac arrest.

"In a most inhumane, insensitive and unexpected conduct of the respondents the human remains of the deceased were sent back to UAE on the same flight without citing any order/notification/circular or furnishing any medical report by a medical officer or giving any explanation or reason to the petitioner who kept praying for handing over of the mortal remains of his 24-year-old younger brother," the plea said.

During the course of the hearing, Advocates Rituparn Uniyal and Abhishek Kumar representing the petitioner said that on April 23, a social worker at UAE shipped the human remains from Etihad Airport to Delhi''s International airport and even the petitioner was informed when the cargo had arrived here.

The petitioner further told the court that it was shocked after the cargo company informed them that they were not allowed to unload the corpse due to a few immigration issue despite having complete documentation and legal formalities which were required for repatriation of human remains to India as laid down by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
25/04/20 IANS/Outlook

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Appalled: Indian envoy in UAE after mortal remains of three deceased nationals sent back to Abu Dhabi

Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor has expressed shock over the mortal remains of three Indians being sent back to Abu Dhabi after they were flown to their families in India, according to a media report on Saturday.

The deceased were not coronavirus cases but were returned by the authorities in New Delhi, the Gulf News reported.

"We are appalled at what has happened. We do not know if the bodies were returned because of coronavirus-related restrictions, but we are obviously not sending the remains of people [who have passed away from COVID-19]," Kapoor told the daily.

"[As we understand], it happened because of new protocols at the airport and we are trying to sort it out," he said.

The deceased were identified as Kamlesh Bhatt, Sanjeev Kumar and Jagsir Singh.

Bhatt died of cardiac arrest on April 17, both Kumar and Singh had died on April 13.

A foreign worker's employer has to usually arrange cargo companies to repatriate bodies of deceased persons.

"If airport protocols have changed, it means cargo companies have to be more careful about the clearance they're getting," Kapoor told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, the Indian government on Saturday told the Delhi High Court that it will find out from the embassy concerned about the location and condition of the mortal remains of Bhatt, who died in UAE and his body was returned to Abu Dhabi from Delhi due to immigration issues.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Maninder Acharya, representing the Centre, submitted that it being a unique case, the ministries of Home Affairs and Health and Family Welfare are in the process of framing Standard Operating Procedures so that in future there is no difficulty in similar matters.

She further said that a meeting was going on at the highest level to consider the petitioner's case and prayed for some time to report about it.

The law officer said the Centre shall find out from the concerned Embassy as to the location and condition of the mortal remains of the deceased which were flown back from India.
25/04/20 PTI/New Indian Express

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Parents Devastated as Son’s Body Flown to India for Cremation is Sent Back to UAE After Govt Order

The 23-year-old Indian who was working in Abu Dhabi died last week of a cardiac arrest. What followed was a struggle by his relatives to get his mortal remains home. But to no avail.

Bhatt was a native of Tehri in Garhwal. His remains were flown to India this week, but were sent back to the UAE within hours after immigration authorities refused his relatives permission to receive them, according to a report by ETV Bharat.

Bhatt’s relatives said that on April 23, the remains of three Indian passport holders were brought back to India. However, the fight which carried them -- Etihad EY 9809 -- soon flew back after a new circular was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, according to which the body could not be received in India.

The deceased's relatives were just about to reach the airport and receive Bhatt's remains -- hoping to soon hold their son's last rites -- when they were informed of the new order.

They said that the staff at the cargo terminal told them that the body could not received in India due to the order.
But they were even refused a copy of the circular in question. "They just gave me a number of MHA which was not working," Manish Uniyal, Bhatt's maternal uncle, told ETV Bharat.

Vimlesh Bhatt, cousin of Kalpesh, said that this was a clear lack of coordination between the two ministries.

If the Indian Embassy had given permission for the body to be flown back, he said, then no branch of the GOI should later dissallow it.

Vimlesh had arranged a special pass to come from Dehradun to Delhi and receive his cousin's body.

He put light on the turmoil of Bhatt's parents. He said that its not enough that their son died in UAE, but that his mortal remains could not be received by them despite having reached India, due to some circular.

Vimlesh said he felt scared to convey the heartbreaking news to his cousin's parents; who were eagerly awaiting their son's last remains.

Bhatt's relatives said the Indian embassy in UAE did not have information about Bhatt's death. The family received a call about his death on April 17 only from the HR department of his company.

According to Vimlesh, the family had to contact a local social worker there to arrange for a post mortem and get an NoC from the Indian embassy to get the body back.

A source in the Ministry of External Affairs told ETV Bharat that they were trying to ascertain with the embassy about the protocol to be followed in such cases.
25/04/20 News18.com

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International passenger capacity for India reduced by 89 per cent in April due to COVID-19: UN

International passenger capacity for India plunged by a whopping 89 per cent so far in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to a “business-as-usual” scenario, according to the latest projections from the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

The Montreal-based ICAO, the specialised agency of the United Nations, said that by September, the world could have 1.2 billion fewer international air travellers, compared to regular originally planned or business-as-usual. Estimates by the organisation show a dramatic reduction in international passenger capacity for countries across the world between January and April, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread globally.
In February 2020, international passenger capacity reduced by 13 per cent, mainly related to traffic from/to States experiencing an early outbreak and States deeply interconnected to China.

By March, global international passenger capacity reduced by 49 per cent, with significant reduction not only in States experiencing an early outbreak but also worldwide. In April 2020, global international passenger capacity so far experienced by unprecedented 91 per cent reduction.

For India, the international passenger capacity has reduced by 89 per cent so far in April or a negative 6,263,030 capacity change from originally planned or in a business as usual scenario. In January, there was zero reduction for India in international passenger capacity as the pandemic was in its nascent stages across most of the world, except China, and air travel was still not significantly impacted.
The passenger capacity reduction was about 2 per cent for India in February. However by March, when the World Health Organisation had declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and infection rates were soaring across the world, India witnessed a 29 per cent capacity reduction, with capacity falling 2,077,578 as compared to originally-planned.

ICAO estimates also show that international capacity globally could drop by as much as two-thirds from what had been forecast for the first three quarters this year, leading airline revenues to drop by as much 160 to 253 billion dollars for the January to September period.

It said Europe and the Asia-Pacific will be hardest hit by the capacity and revenue impacts, followed by North America. Similarly, the most substantial reduction in passenger numbers is expected to be in Europe, especially during its peak summer travel season, followed by the Asia-Pacific.
24/04/20 PTI/Financial Express

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India Bans Medical Evacuation Flights As Rich Play The System

India has moved to ban medical evacuation flights over fears that the ultra-rich may use them for non-essential travel. These types of services take place when patients are critically ill or need access to specific resources that are not available where they are. India, currently amid a lockdown, has a ban on all commercial flights as it tries to contain the virus’ spread.

India placed a ban on all domestic and international flights at the end of March to slow the virus’ spread. The ban has left many stranded away from home and without a way to travel, even for emergencies. However, it seems the some of the super-rich may have been using a loophole to continue flying.
The flight ban only extends to passenger flights, meaning cargo and medical flights can still operate. However, India’s recent ban on these medical evacuation flights is based on fears that the rich are using these planes for non-essential travel. While no instances of this have been made public yet, this could lead to a shortage of medical planes for those who need it.
Nearly all passenger flights have been canceled, minus repatriation flights, but some airlines are still in the air. A number of Indian airlines are operating all-cargo flights to transport essential supplies within India and from other countries.
India’s ban on medical evacuation flights will mean anyone in genuine need for such a flight will need to jump through several hurdles. In order to take such a flight, it must be proven that treatment cannot be provided at the origin. After that, permission must be granted by the local authorities, the aviation ministry, and the aviation regulator, before the flight.
24/04/20 Syd Sharma/Simple Flying

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International passenger capacity for India reduced by 89% in April due to Covid-19: UN

United Nations: International passenger capacity for India reduced by 89 per cent so far this month due to COVID-19 pandemic as compared to a “business-as-usual” scenario, according to the latest projections from the United Nations specialised agency for international civil aviation.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said that by September, the world could have 1.2 billion fewer international air travellers, compared to regular originally planned or “business-as-usual”.

Estimates by the organisation show a dramatic reduction in international passenger capacity for countries across the world between January and April, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread globally.

In February 2020, international passenger capacity reduced by 13 per cent, mainly related to traffic from/to States experiencing an early outbreak and States deeply interconnected to China.

By March, global international passenger capacity reduced by 49 per cent, with significant reduction not only in States experiencing an early outbreak but also worldwide.

In April 2020, global international passenger capacity so far experienced by unprecedented 91 per cent reduction.

For India, the international passenger capacity has reduced by 89 per cent so far in April or a negative 6,263,030 capacity change from originally planned or in a business as usual scenario.

In January, there was zero reduction for India in international passenger capacity as the pandemic was in its nascent stages across most of the world, except China, and air travel was still not significantly impacted.
24/04/20 PTI/Times of India

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IndiGo may expand cargo ops to China, Malaysia to ferry essential goods

New Delhi: Even as it awaits Centre's clear indication on the commencement date of passenger services, airline major IndiGo plans to expand its international and domestic cargo operations.

Accordingly, the airline plans to launch cargo operations to China, Singapore and Malaysia in the near future.


The move to haul more cargo assumes significance as the airline has a massive domestic network and the largest aircraft fleet in India.

However, most of these flights have been operated on a "Free-of-Cost" basis to ferry medical equipment and other essentials.

The airline's Chief Operating Officer William Boulter told IANS: "Cargo is playing a significant role for us since the passenger services are not active... We plan to expand our presence in this segment."
"We have operated both domestic and international cargo services transporting medical essentials and other daily need items.

Our flights to Abu Dhabi and Muscat provided fresh vegetables from India to a leading food store chain based there. We are looking for similar opportunities."

Lat week, the airline operated first cargo flight service to Muscat and Abu Dhabi from the southern port city of Kochin.

On April 18, IndiGo for the first time used the aircraft's cabin space for loading cargo on a flight between Kochin and Abu Dhabi.

Besides the gulf, the airline plans to haul cargo to China, Singapore and Malaysia in the near future.

"Malaysia, Singapore and China are on our radar to start cargo services," he said.
24/04/20 IANS/Business Standard

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SriLankan Airlines Brings 829 Stranded Indian Pilgrims

As initiated and facilitated by the Government of Srilanka, SriLankan Airlines, brought back 829 Sri Lankans who were stranded in India. They have been arriving in the country, as Sri Lanka was going into 48-hour quarantine curfew, since March 20 to 22, 2020.

The Airline wishes to state that these passengers had travelled to India on other airlines and were stranded there as the carriers concerned stopped operations to Colombo due to travel restrictions.

The National Carrier took every measure to bring them home swiftly and safely, given that these passengers mainly consisted of senior citizens, an age group that has been advised to take extra precautions to be safe from the virus.

Ever since the global outbreak, SriLankan Airlines has been playing a pivotal role in facilitating passage home to many Sri Lankans, which includes the mercy flight that was operated to Wuhan. The Airlines’ operational areas have been fully functional despite the government declared holidays and ‘work-from-home’, and the staff members have been attending to their work dedicatedly and diligently, understanding fully the role that they are expected to play during these difficult times.
20/04/20 T3

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Health Ministry issues guidelines for bringing home human remains of coronavirus patients

New Delhi: The Health Ministry on Tuesday issued guidelines for bringing home the remains of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients but asserted that importation of human remains of such cases is not recommended.
 However, according to the guidelines, if human remains of suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus arrive into India, the airport health officer will verify the death certificate mentioning the cause of death, 'No objection certificate' for the transportation of human remains issued by Indian missions and embalming certificate issued by an authorized agency.
 The airline shall ensure that the external packing of human remains (coffin) is undamaged and the airport health officer will verify the documents and inspect the packing in accordance with the provisions under the Indian Aircraft (Public Health) Rules, 1954. "If there are any obvious signs of damage to the external packing, the handlers shall use full PPE, cover the coffin in plastic sheets to avoid any contact with the body/ body fluids before hand-over of the human remains to the concerned authority for final burial/incineration," the guidelines stated.
 21/04/20 PTI/Business Insider

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Second mercy flight from India to touchdown in Adelaide

A second mercy flight from India is expected to arrive in Adelaide on Tuesday, carrying more than 400 Australian travellers.

Passengers will be met at the airport to undergo a medical assessment.

Those confirmed to be in good health will be trasported by bus to an Adelaide hotel, where they will undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

The South Australian police commissioner said the first mercy flight - which arrived on Monday - was a successful operation and he expected the second to be the same.
21/04/20 Skynews

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British Airways Flight With 250 Onboard To Depart From Amritsar Today

Amritsar: A British Airways special flight carrying 250 passengers, including 28 Indians, will depart for London from Amritsar airport on Tuesday.
"Amritsar International Airport: British Airways flight special chartered flight for London departs shortly. 222 (UK) + 28 (Indian) Total PAX 250," Punjab Special Chief Secretary, Disaster Management, KBS Sidhu, said on Twitter.
A British Airways relief flight had departed from Amritsar on April 18 with 260 stranded passengers.

Last week, the British High Commission said that 17 more chartered flights will take home UK citizens stranded in India due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Commission had also said that the flights from Amritsar will operate on April 21, 23, 25 and 27.

Flights from Bengaluru via Ahmedabad to London will fly on April 23. The flights will also be operating from Delhi to London on April 21, 23, 25 and 27. Flights from Goa to London will fly on April 20, 22 and 24 and a flight from Mumbai to London will operate on April 26.
21/04/20 NDTV

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Crowdfunding aids elderly UK couple’s return flight

Panaji: A elderly British couple stranded in Goa for more than a month will finally make their way home to Bradford, UK after an online crowdfunding initiative helped pay for their flight back.
Barry Lodge, 72, and Beth McKelvie, 63, spent a significant amount of their life savings while desperately trying to get flights home even as McKelvie struggled for life-saving inhalers in Goa.
The pair were due to return home to Bradford, West Yorkshire, on March 18, but their flight from Goa to Mumbai was delayed and they missed their connecting Etihad Airways flight back to the UK. The couple, said Lodge, spent two days stranded there before a fellow passenger helped them book new flights with Qatar Airways online for an extra £2,000.

By then, their tourist visas had expired and the couple lost out on their tickets. After several hotels turned them away, the couple took a taxi all the way back to Goa only to get stuck in the 21-day lockdown.

Lodge said that all attempts to contact the Foreign Office, the British embassy in India and various helplines came to nought.

“Cannot even get inhalers and medication. The wife’s inhalers are running out. All we want is to go home. It is not our fault that the flights got cancelled,” said Lodge.

Random strangers have come to their aid after a fellow Briton noticed their plight and started an online GoFundMe campaign.

Around 121 people raised £4,355 out of the £5,000 that the couple has spent from their savings.

Their ordeal appears to be coming to an end with UK announcing 17 more rescue flights to India, including three to Goa.
21/04/20 Times of India

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152 South Koreans evacuated from India on Saturday

New Delhi: A total of 152 South Koreans and 7 Korean origin people were evacuated from India by a second special flight from Delhi Airport on Saturday.

"A total of 159 people including Korean origin people were evacuated by a second special flight. Out of the total, 7 were Korean origin people, including 1 American, 5 Indians and 1 Canadian," Jongho Choi South Korea embassy minister told ANI.

He said that they did not face any problem in arranging the flights and appreciated the Indian government for the cooperation.

"We did not face any problem or challenge in arranging the flights as the Indian government is very intelligent and efficient. We must appreciate the cooperation extended by the government," Choi said.
19/04/20  ANI/New Kerala

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164 stranded Bangladeshis brought home from India by special flight

The first batch of Bangladesh nationals, who got stuck in India due to countrywide lockdown there, returned home from Chennai on Monday.

The government in coordination with Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi facilitated the return of 164 Bangladesh nationals in the first batch, reports news agency UNB.

More similar special flights will be operated in next few days to bring back Bangladesh nationals who got stuck in India after going there for treatment.

A good number of Bangladesh nationals from Kolkata, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and other border areas returned home with the support of Bangladesh missions there, said the Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi.

US-Bangla Airlines is operating the special flights with the support of the government to bring back Bangladesh nationals who got stranded in Chennai and Kolkata due to countrywide lockdown in India amid coronavirus outbreak.

The US-Bangla Airlines said they will operate five more special flights on Chennai-Dhaka route until 25 April.

Two more special flights will bring back the Bangladeshis from Kolkata to Dhaka on 21 April and 23 April.

Some 2,500 Bangladesh nationals including over 1,000 students got stuck in different Indian cities due to current lockdown there, according to the foreign affairs ministry.

The government earlier urged the Bangladesh citizens, now got stuck in a number of Indian cities, to have patience assuring them of their gradual repatriation after bringing back patients from South India.
20/04/20 Prothom Alo

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Kingfisher Airlines tycoon loses appeal against extradition to India

The Indian multimillionaire businessman Vijay Mallya has lost his appeal against a decision to extradite him to India to face allegations of a £1bn fraud at his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

High court judges on Monday rejected Mallya’s appeal against a 2018 decision granting his extradition, ruling that there was a “prima facie case of fraud by false representation”.

The then home secretary Sajid Javid signed an order authorising Mallya’s extradition in February 2019, saying he was “accused in India of conspiracy to defraud, making false representations and money-laundering offences”.

Mallya, the self-proclaimed “king of the good times” who lives in a £11.5m mansion in the sleepy Hertfordshire village of Tewin, has previously dismissed the allegations that he fled India leaving a trail of £977m worth of debts as “ludicrous” and said the allegations were politically motivated. He has said he made an “unconditional” offer to pay what he owed in full in July 2018.

A judge ruled in December 2018 that Mallya had misrepresented how loans from Indian banks were used and the decision on his extradition was approved by Javid.

The senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot described Mallya as a “glamorous, flashy, famous, bejewelled, bodyguarded, ostensibly billionaire playboy who charmed and cajoled these bankers into losing their common sense and persuading them to put their own rules and regulations to one side”.

Mallya, 64, is alleged to have knowingly misled largely Indian state-owned banks about the fortunes of his failing Kingfisher airline, before laundering the cash to fund his former Force India Formula One team and other projects.
20/04/20 Guardian

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Coronavirus could impact timeframe for Vijay Mallya's extradition to India

London: The coronavirus pandemic may impact the timescale for the extradition to India of liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, who lost his UK High Court appeal on Monday against the Indian government's fraud and money laundering case.

The Royal Courts of Justice in London concluded that the 64-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss did have a prima facie case to answer in the Indian courts over the alleged Rs 9,000-crore fraud associated with loans sought from Indian banks for his now-defunct airline.

However, an extradition expert in the UK said the strict social distancing norms in place to try and curb the spread of Covid-19 may add a further dimension to the UK's Article 3 obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, relating to inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

"In terms of the timeframe, much now is up in the air due to coronavirus. There is a question now that the UK could be in breach of Article 3 if it were to extradite a person to a country where they could be at risk of being detained in an environment where they are at risk of contracting coronavirus," said barrister Toby Cadman, co-founder of Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers and an extradition specialist.

Lord Justice Stephen Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing, in a judgment handed down remotely this week under the Covid-19 protocol in place across the UK judicial system, ruled "there is a prima facie case both of misrepresentation and of conspiracy, and thus there is also a prima facie case of money laundering".
Mallya has 14 days to seek permission to appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order dismissing his appeal and the UK Home Office can carry on with the extradition process only once that avenue has been exhausted.

The leave to appeal to the Supreme Court is on a point of law of general public importance.

Cadman, who has led several high-profile extradition cases in the UK, explained: "That is a very high threshold that is not often met.
20/04/20 PTI/New Indian Express

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SpiceJet operates maiden freighter flight carrying medical equipment to Myanmar

Kolkata: SpiceJet, the country’s biggest air cargo operator, operated its first freighter flight to Myanmar today carrying medical supplies to the country. On its return leg, the aircraft will carry medical equipment from Myanmar to Delhi.
 The airline also operated its maiden cargoon-seat international flight from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi carrying 15 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and ensuring that the supply chain for our farmers remains intact. The airline deployed its Boeing 737 aircraft for both, the cargo-on-seat and freighter flight to Abu Dhabi and Myanmar, respectively.
 Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “We have been continuously expanding our cargo network on both domestic and international routes carrying not just COVID-19 related medical supplies but also ensuring that vital export lines from India to other countries remain intact. We operated our first freighter flight to Myanmar today carrying medical supplies to and from Yangon.
Our cargo-on-seat operations have significantly increased from April 7 when we operated India’s first cargo-on-seat flight to operating our first international cargo-on-seat flight to Abu Dhabi today.” SpiceJet has operated more than 430 cargo flights, including 135 international, since the lockdown began carrying over 3500 tons of cargo.
 SpiceJet has operated special cargo flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Colombo, Dubai, and Kabul carrying vital supplies. On April 15, SpiceJet operated its first-ever cargo flight to China carrying COVID-19 related essential medical supplies from Shanghai to Hyderabad and also operated a freighter carrying farm produce from West Bengal to Colombo on the same day.
 21/04/20 UNI

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Special flights take home stranded foreigners

Chennai: Special flights continued to rescue foreigners stranded here because of the lockdown extension on Monday. Around 160 British citizens left by a special flight to London on Monday while 270 South Korean citizens will leave by a special flight to Seoul on Tuesday. Another 264 South Korean nationals will leave on Wednesday.
The British nationals left the city by a special aircraft operated by British Airways from Chennai airport. The plane had a stop over in Bengaluru, where it picked up more foreigners before leaving for London.
An airport official said the rescue flight was arranged by the British government. “Check-ins and boarding formalities were conducted with precaution,” he added.

Deputy consul general of the Consulate General of Republic of Korea in Chennai, Yup Lee, said one flight will leave on Tuesday with 270 South Korean citizens, another with 264 on Wednesday and a third from Bengaluru with 270 on Friday. “They are students, family members of businessmen and other temporary travellers,” he added.
He also said, “We have 7,000 Koreans in South India. Only about 800 of them will return home.” Most of them are women and children, he added.
21/04/20 Times of India 

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Kolkata: British flight takes 160 citizens home

Kolkata: A British Airways flight landed in Kolkata on Sunday afternoon, marking the touchdown by a direct flight from Europe after 12 years. But far from ringing in cheer, the arrival was met with stark silence and the mood at the airport was sombre as 160 passengers, including three infants, boarded the flight to return home to the UK that is still in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Boeing B777-200 aircraft with 336 seats touched down at Kolkata airport around 4pm on Sunday as part of a massive 12-flight operation undertaken by the British High Commission in India to repatriate its citizens who have been stranded in different parts of India since international and domestic flight services were suspended.

The last time BA flew to Kolkata was in 2008. The service was withdrawn citing commercial reasons. Though there were enough passengers to fill the flight, its first and business class seats on the sector didn’t fill up, leading to low yield. Ironically, when the aviation market reopens around the world, fewer seats will be occupied on planes to maintain social distancing norms and fare in economy class is expected to be as expensive as those in premium class.
20/04/20 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

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Fear of Super-Rich Faking Medical Flights Spurs India Ban

India is banning medical evacuation flights on concern the super-rich may falsely claim they need treatment so they can jet around the nation during lockdown, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Air ambulances and other medical evacuations are no longer allowed unless treatment can’t be provided at the point of origin, and even then permission to fly is needed from local authorities, the federal aviation ministry and the aviation regulator, the people said, asking not to be named as the decision isn’t public. The move aims to prevent the misuse of medical flights and ensure enough aircraft are available for emergencies.
The government has already indefinitely banned all domestic and international commercial flights, and asked airlines not to take bookings. India’s health-care infrastructure is widely criticized as inadequate and treatment often isn’t reliable even if local doctors are qualified to attend to patients. That’s driven demand for air ambulances among the more affluent. Authorities will allow medical.
20/04/20 Bloomberg|Quint

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265 UK tourists fly back from Goa

Panaji: Two hundred and sixty five British nationals took off for the UK in a special flight from the Goa International Airport on Monday, an Aiport Authority of India official said.

The officials said that since the Covid-19 lockdown, more than 5,000 foreign tourists, including those from Russia, France, US, Canada, had been repatriated.

"This was the 27th special flight flying foreign tourists out of the Goa International Airport. In all we have facilitated the exit of 5,233 passengers since March 25," Goa Airport director Gagan Malik told reporters here.
20/04/20 IANS/Outlook

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Details of first charter flight for the stranded Kiwis in India emerges

Provisionally selected Kiwis stranded in India boarding their first flight back home have received the details, and guidelines of their travel from Safe Travel.

The Indian Weekender, on Sunday, April 19 reported that the first flight from India has been tentatively scheduled from New Delhi airport on Friday, April 24.

The details sent to provisionally selected Kiwis revealed that their booking will remain provisional until they complete their flight payments and New Zealand health requirements.

The first flight will depart from the New Delhi Airport, tentatively scheduled at 2 a.m. (Indian Standard Time) on Friday, April 24.

The email confirmed that New Zealand government is working with Orbit World Travel to bring New Zealanders and their immediate family back home from India.

The email also mentioned the two meals services will be provided during the flight, with no alcohol and Wifi on board and standard 30 kg per person check-in and 7 kg cabin baggage per person will be allowed.

20/04/20 IndianWeekender

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Air Arabia announces new repatriation flights from India

Sharjah-based Air Arabia today announced that it will operate new repatriation flight from four cities in India to Sharjah carrying UAE nationals back home.

Last week, Business Traveller India reported about the carrier announcing repatriation flights to multiple destinations including India.

The special flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Sharjah International Airport will operate today, April 20 while special flights from Cochin and Hyderabad to Sharjah International Airport on April 22.

The airline said, “Air Arabia remains committed to bring stranded citizens back home as well as supporting requests to operate repatriation flights and is working closely with UAE authorities in this regard. The airline announced earlier that it is operating a mix of repatriation flights as well as cargo flights during the month of April to multiple destinations.”
20/04/20 Business Reaveller

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Flght carrying 400 Aussies landed in Adelaide

SA Health and Police expect at least 380 Australians to be on-board the first of two flights, which took off from Chennai in India and is passing through Jakarta before landing in the state at 7am on Monday.

The passengers will be processed and undergo health checks at Adelaide Airport before being sent directly to the city's Pullman Hotel for 14 days of quarantine while under constant security watch.

"At all points when the people coming through off the flights, through the airport and into the hotels, (they) will be very closely secured on that journey," SA Health's Dr Michael Cusack told 9News.

The major operation is being closely monitored by health authorities in an attempt to prevent any possible coronavirus outbreak entering South Australia.

The second mercy flight is expected to leave from Mumbai, travel through Indonesia and arrive on Tuesday.
20/04/20 Five aa

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India’s first cargo-on-seats international flight moves perishables to Abu Dhabi

The Indian airline, IndiGo today operated country’s first-ever international flight with cargo on seats from Kochi to Abu Dhabi. Willy Boulter, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo notes that the aircraft transported fresh vegetables and other supermarket supplies for Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates in his LinkedIn post. 

IndiGo’soperated its inaugural cargo-on-seats flightdomestically on April 16 from Delhi to Kochi carrying medical supplies for the Indian government. Besides this, SpiceJet is the only Indian airline that has transported cargo in the passenger cabin.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on April 1, 2020, allowed Indian airlines to use their passenger flights and even their main cabin to move freight. Butit also came with some stringent guidelines about what to carry on seats. The guidelines ask not to carry dangerous goods or marine products on the seats, while perishables including vegetables and fruits are allowed.
18/04/20 STAT Trade Times

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Over 4500 foreigners in 25 relief flights departed from Goa Airport so far

Goa: Some 25 relief flights carrying more than 4,700 stranded citizens from various countries have departed from the Dabolim International Airport so far, Goa Airport Director Gagan Malik said.

"Team GOA takes pride in sending more than 4,700 passengers around world. It is a dedicated and selfless service of the AAI staff and other stakeholders," Malik told ANI over phone on Saturday.
The official stated that a B777-300 relief flight carrying 406 passengers on board departed from the Goa Airport yesterday night. "It was the 25th relief flight that took off from Goa Airport," he said.

Strict thermal screening and social distancing measures, undertaken to contain the coronavirus spread was maintained at every checking, pre-security and immigration post at the airport, the airport director said.

Hand sanitisers are made available at all key touchpoints on the ground and in the aircraft. Necessary arrangements including food and water are also provided for the passengers who mostly arrive early due to required protocols, the official said.
To contain the spread of the deadly contagion, which has infected more than 14000 people across the country, the Centre has restricted all national and international flights from operating in India. As a result, thousands of foreigners, mostly on a visit to India, remained stranded at various locations within the country. Domestic airlines, along with a few international relief flights, have evacuated most of them so far.
18/04/20 New Indian Express

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125 Bahrain nationals board special flight at Pune Airport

One hundred and twenty five Bahrain nationals from Pune and Mumbai boarded a special chartered flight to return to their home country from Pune Airport on Saturday afternoon, Pune Airport Director Kuldeep Singh said. However, one Bahrain national was detained in Pune and sent to a government hospital for screening as he showed a high temperature at the time of boarding.

The flight came to Pune Airport from Bahrain Saturday morning, took the passengers at the airport following screening by medical teams and then left for Chennai, where more passengers boarded the flight. The Gulf Air flight then left for Bahrain from Chennai International Airport, Singh said.
It was a special operation undertaken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation after obtaining the requisite approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs following a request from the Kingdom of Bahrain to the central government.

“These were people from Pune, Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore, Ahmedabad and other areas and included male and female students, tourists, those who came for medical treatment and others who were visiting India for business but were stuck after the lockdown. The flight took off from Pune Airport at 4.30 pm,” said Singh.

After the flight left for Chennai, the terminal building was sanitised, Singh said. The passengers were handled by personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Department of Customs and Immigration authorities at the airport before boarding the special flight GF7753, A321.
18/04/20 Atikh Rashid/Indian Express

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Delhi HC dismisses plea against Centre's decision to operate chartered flights to repatriate foreigners

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has declined to interfere with the Centre and Air India's decision to operate chartered flights to repatriate foreign nationals to their respective countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. A bench of justices J R Midha and Jyoti Singh was of the view that the Centre and the national carrier have taken measures such as issuing protection kits to the pilots and crew of the flights to protect them from the novel coronavirus.
The court also noted that the government has issued guidelines with regard to screening and testing of the pilots and cabin crew when they return to India and the measures to be taken during their home quarantine.
"COVID-19 is an unprecedented pandemic and calamity of enormous magnitude and the government is taking all necessary steps to ensure protection of its airline crew, as assured by the Additional Solicitor General, and would continue to do so...," the bench said.
It also took note of the work being done by the airline crew and said they should be applauded for serving humanity at this hour of crisis.
The observations by the bench came while dismissing a plea challenging the government and Air India's decision to operate chartered flights to repatriate foreign nationals.
The court, however, said petitioner Vaibhav Sharma is free to give his suggestions to the government.
The petitioner, in his plea, wanted the government to lodge the crew of such flights in hotels, instead of home-quarantining them.
18/04/20 PTI/Economic Times

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3 lakh more Rapid Antibody Test kits sent to India from China: Envoy

Three lakh more Rapid Antibody Test kits used for the quick detection of the coronavirus have been dispatched to India from Guangzhou, the Indian envoy here said on Saturday, as India ramped up the global hunt to procure more kits to tackle the rising cases of the infection.

The kits were airlifted to Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, Vikram Misri said. Great work on ground by our team, Mr. Misri tweeted.

This is in addition to the 6.50 lakh antibody and RNA Extraction Kits China sent earlier this week.

India is procuring the medical supplies from China in recent weeks to ensure availability of adequate supplies.

The Rapid Antibody Test Kits deliver results in 15 minutes and work on blood samples instead of nasal swabs to tell whether a patient has ever been exposed to the virus.

Two major consignments of the medical kits were reported to have been sent to India from China earlier as part of the efforts to step up testing especially in hotspots during the lockdown.

India has been facing severe shortage of personal protection equipments and testing kits in view of the rising cases.

By Saturday evening, the toll due to the infection rose to 488, while the number of cases climbed to 14,792, according to data provided by the Centre.

On Tuesday, Mr. Misri told the media here that India has placed orders for 15 million personal protection gear from China for medical personnel treating the Covid-19 patients, besides three million testing kits.

The orders are being placed with bona fide firms with the help of the Chinese government.
18/04/20 PTI/India Today

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Why international air travel may not be back to normal soon

The coronavirus pandemic has brought air travel to a screeching halt around the globe. Government restrictions and stay-at-home orders have stopped passengers from crossing borders or even leaving their homes, sapping demand for flight bookings. In the wake of these unprecedented changes, experts are beginning to look ahead to how the airline industry will restart once the outbreak is mostly behind us. When can we travel again, and what will it take to get air travel going again after so many different aspects of aviation have been put on months-long lockdown? There are countless moving pieces that need to be put in motion by organizations, airlines, and governments around the world to get air travel up and running in a post-coronavirus world.
Conde Nast Traveller's experts look at the four biggest barriers we’ll need to cross before we get back in the skies >>

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US-Bangla Airlines to operate eight special flights for Bangladeshis stranded in India

US-Bangla Airlines will operate eight special flights on the Chennai-Dhaka and Kolkata-Dhaka routes from April 20 – 25, to bring back over 1,000 stranded Bangladeshis.

Most of the stranded Bangladeshi citizens went to India for medical treatment.

The airlines will also operate a special flight on the Bangkok-Dhaka route today to bring back 49 stranded Bangladeshi nationals, Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) at US-Bangla Airlines, told The Daily Star.

Of the eight special flights from India, six will be operated from Chennai from April 20 to 25 while two flights on the Kolkata-Dhaka route will be operated on April 21 and April 23, added Kamrul Islam.
17/04/20 Daily Star

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136 British nationals airlifted from Hyderabad

Hyderabad): As many as 136 British nationals stranded in Hyderabad were Friday airlifted by a special flight of British Airways.

The special relief flight landed at Hyderabad International Airport 04.59 p.m. from Bahrain and departed at 06:46 p.m. with 136 British nationals to Ahmedabad, from where few more British nationals were to be airlifted to Bahrain and then onwards to London.

The airport officials said all the passengers were serviced through the fully-sanitized Interim International Departures Terminal (IIDT) of GMR Hyderabad International Airport, which has been kept ready for evacuation operations.

In coordination with the British Deputy High Commission Hyderabad and the Telangana state government, the UK-bound passengers began arriving at the airport from 3.30 p.m. from various parts of Hyderabad.

"Today, we have partnered with the British Deputy High Commission in Hyderabad and the government of Telangana to support the operation of a special flight to evacuate UK citizens stranded in this region," said ASGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL).
17/04/20 IANS/daijiworld

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India suspends visas granted to foreigners till May 3

New Delhi: The Government of India has suspended all existing visas granted to foreigners and all incoming passenger traffic into India through Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) till May 3.

The rules will be applied to all except certain categories, an order issued by the foreigners' division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.
The ministry decided to extend the suspension of all existing visas granted to foreigners, except to those belonging to diplomatic, official, UN or international organisations, and employment and project categories, till May 3 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The ministry further directed that all incoming passenger traffic into India through any of the 107 ICPs shall remain suspended till May 3, which is the last date of the second phase of countrywide lockdown imposed to break the chain of transmission of Covid-19.

Similar restrictions were earlier issued by the Home Ministry when the first 21-day lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the midnight March 24.

Modi extended the lockdown for another 19 days on Tuesday as the pandemic is still growing in India, claiming 452 lives and the number of active cases going beyond the 11,500-mark.
17/04/20 IANS/daijiworld

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SpiceJet operates its first cargo freighter to Singapore to bring critical medical equipment to India

Pune: SpiceJet recently operated its cargo freighter on the Chennai-Singapore-Chennai and Singapore-Bengaluru routes carrying critical medical equipment and COVID-19 related medical supplies.

The airline has transported over 1500 tons of cargo carrying essential supplies since the nation-wide lockdown began and has been extending all possible support to the Government, medical and pharma companies and international retailers to fight this war against the global pandemic.

Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “SpiceJet is putting its freighter and passenger aircraft to maximum use to carry medical and other vital supplies in these difficult times and is firmly committed and honoured to be a part of the government’s ‘Lifeline Udan’ initiative."

He said, "SpiceJet’s freighters have been flying non-stop carrying vital supplies to and from Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and host of other places including South-East Asia. Since the lockdown began, we have operated around 200 domestic and international cargo flights transporting more than 1500 tons of cold chain medical supplies, medicines, medical devices for various state governments, medical and pharma companies along with essential supplies.”

The airline operated the country’s first cargo-on-seat flight carrying vital supplies in the passenger cabin on April 7. Since then, the airline has been regularly using its Boeing 737 aircraft to carry cargo in the passenger cabin.

SpiceXpress, SpiceJet’s dedicated cargo arm, has been regularly transporting surgical supplies, sanitizers, face masks, etc. and providing doorstep deliveries of essential supplies, medicines and medical equipment in Bengaluru, Patna, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Kochi, Guwahati, Jammu, Lucknow among other cities.
17/04/20 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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SpiceJet operates its first China freighter flight

SpiceJet has operated its first-ever B737 freighter flight to China carrying Covid-19 related essential medical supplies from Shanghai to Hyderabad.

The airline said the flight, which took place on April 15, was part of efforts to mitigate the shortage and supply disruption of essential supplies and medical equipment.

SpiceJet has transported more than 2,700 tons of cargo on more than 300 flights since India’s nationwide lockdown began.

Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet, said: “From today, SpiceJet freighters have begun ferrying crucial medical supplies from China. In addition to Shanghai, we are also operating freighters to Singapore and Sri Lanka today.

“Regular SpiceJet cargo flights are also being operated to Hong Kong, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Ho Chi Minh City and other places while our domestic cargo operations have been significantly boosted by our passenger aircraft fleet where both our B737 and Q400 aircraft have been deployed to operate cargo-on-seat flights. We have put our resources to maximum use transporting over 2,700 tons of cargo on more than 300 flights since the nation-wide lockdown began.”

SpiceJet is also operating a freighter flight to Colombo (Sri Lanka) carrying farm produce from West Bengal and another cargo flight to Singapore today.
17/04/20 Damian Brett/AirCargoNews

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